Stand and deliver

Necklace: JCPenney
Cardigan: Target, Christmas gift from parents
Skirt: Boden
Tights: Walmart
Boots: Target

Oh how I love this sweater! I saw it at Target right before Thanksgiving and begged my mom to buy it for me for Christmas. She lied and told me it was sold out and BAM, sweater for Christmas! It is my first ever cashmere sweater and I love it.



I thought this necklace was very silly when I first saw it. Bib necklaces aren't really my look (though I do have a couple large necklaces), but I ended up trying this necklace on and I loved it. One string did fall out but I was able to clip it. No harm, no foul. I really like how silver, brown and black look together. People say not to mix black and brown, to which I say whatever!

This outfit was great for a long day at work. I was running around for eight hours in two different departments, juggling various different tasks, but everything got done ahead of the new year and I was comfortable. My body temperature was perfectly level, despite the fact that my coworkers were complaining about how cold it was in the work area!

Lastly, here is a picture of my rings, which I mentioned earlier. I really like rings and think they're great accessories but my finger sizes change between summer and winter, which makes it hard to wear most rings year round! Boo, because I love my class ring.



I hope you all have wonderful, healthy and most importantly, very happy new year celebrations!

What were they thinking

Cardigan: Target
Silk top: Gap
Belt: Target
Wool pants: Gap
Socks: Walmart
Wedges: Shoe Carnival

I'm not totally sure what was going through my head with this outfit. I guess I was thinking "brown! and yellow! great combo!" & then somewhere along the line I thought red would be wise too? I don't know. Sometimes you have an off day.



This is the first silk top I've ever owned. It is as much a pain in the tail as everyone has ever said to maintain. I generally try to take good care of my clothing (though I do avoid wearing white if I'm not at work), but silk has really tested the limits of my patience. I love the detail of this top but I've somehow managed to stain the top several times and one stubborn mark will not disappear. I will admit that the Tide To Go stick totally works on silk though!



My wool pants, on the other hand, are one of my favourite investments. They're comfortable, flattering, and have a nice houndstooth pattern. They are also warm!

Are there any fabrics you try to avoid?

Channeling Dorothy

Top: Old Navy
Belt: Target
Skirt: American Apparel
Tights: Target
Heels: Nine West

I received this top for Christmas (and the tights!) and I love it. It's really comfortable, and I think it's very flattering. I especially love the pockets and the collar.



I struggled to figure out how to incorporate these decidedly summery shoes into my winter wardrobe. I love these shoes and they're extremely comfortable but because of the very open toe I didn't really want to wear them without anything. I usually want to wear crazy coloured tights but in this case, black is perfect with the colour of the shoes.



I painted my toes white and you could kind of see them through the tights. It was cool!

Lastly, I dyed my hair recently. It is, I think, a lot darker. Eep.

The work party

Here, belatedly, is the holiday party post with my coworker!



My coworker C. (on the left) wrote her very own post to go with the picture! Read on:

Tonight C. is wearing a black and white animal print sweater paired with tailored black trousers both by Multiples purchased at Dillards. Watch and earrings by Guess. Her bracelet is a handcrafted gift from her daughter. Her shoes are black patent leather low wedges by Nine West, which she snagged for a deal at TJ Maxx. Notice the cohesion of the repeating circle design on both the earrings and shoes (see below) which pulls everything together.



(C. can't sit still!)

On J. (right):
Dress: Handsewn by my mother
Cardigan: Target
Necklace: Target
Tights: Target
Flats: Steve Madden

I have to say I'm impressed by the amount of support my coworkers have shown me in starting this blog! (Hi everyone!) C. was so excited that she wrote her own post, and today at our shared desk computer I found that someone had typed the address to my blog into the address bar. Goodness.

This dress is really important to me--my mom made it for my college graduation ball, and she put an incredible amount of work into it. It is beautiful and I only wore it twice in college before it was relegated to a garment bag in my closet. I broke it out for the holiday party but was obliged to put a cardigan on because my chest area was a bit overwhelming! It was not like that two years ago!

Our shoes, as C. mentioned, were pretty awesome. They added cohesion for both of us, and we were comfortable and classy in our flats!

Bits and bobbins

A friend of mine, A., has mentioned on my Flickr that there are certain things I wear daily that I don't mention as part of my outfit. I thought I would outline them to avoid future confusion!

a) My glasses.



Most likely the second thing I reach for in the morning (after my cell phone/alarm), my glasses are included in most (if not all) of my outfits. My glasses change rarely, though I do have two pairs; I normally wear a pair of burgundy rectangular frames from America's Best, because one pair is free! My second pair is black cat eye frames.

b) My ring.



I got this ring years and years ago at American Eagle. I started wearing it a couple years ago on my right ring finger and I only take it off to shower and bake. I don't know why I wear it so much, but it has left a slight indent in my finger, and my hand feels weird without it. The ring I wear when I'm not wearing the leaf ring is my class ring.

c) A hairtie.



The one I currently use is white, but I permanently have an elastic hairtie either in my hair or on my left wrist. I tend to prime my hairties because if they're too tight they choke my wrist, but if they're too loose they don't hold all my hair. My college roommate used to give me her hairties when they stretched too far for her fine hair, but for my thick beast of a mane, a hairtie with extra elasticity is perfect.

d) Chapstick. This isn't something you can see, but believe me, it's important!

I don't believe there's anything else on a day to day basis that I wear (that you can see, of course). I do wear nail polish quite often and tend to consider it more an accessory than makeup, but if I find my nail polish pertinent to my outfit, I'll of course say so!

Is there anything you wear without fail?

I dedicate this house to the Griswold family Christmas

Today is Christmas!



Necklace: Old Navy
Cardigan: Target
Beaded top: Marshall's
Belt: Target
Pants: JCPenney
Shoes: Shoe Carnival

I've finally set up a separate Flickr account for hosting my clothing photos. I take a lot of pictures but most of them aren't outfit related, and considering the amount of pictures I'm taking for this blog, I should split them up better. Anyway.

This is my Christmas outfit! I wore it last night (sans necklace) to mass, and I liked it so much I rewore it today. I don't think it's a big deal because mass + driving time was about two hours. Originally the plan was to just wear the pants, top and cardigan, but somehow tucking in the top and adding the awesome red belt pulls everything together.



I'm also a big, big fan of the necklace my mom gave me for Christmas! I love the colours and the big black bow to tie it together, and it's the perfect length for the outfit. I see getting a lot of use out of it in the future.



My hair, as usual, did whatever it wanted. Last night for mass it looked fantastic, voluminous without being out of control and wavy to the point of perfection. Then I slept on it and all hell broke loose, so for most of the day it was in a lump at the back of my head. I did take it down for the pictures, though, and it does look pretty good. But between baking and wrapping and cleaning and entertaining, not a lot of time was available to style my hair!



This picture is more for the haze than for my outfit, because the haze is foreboding of a white Christmas, the first in my part of South Carolina in 43 years. Amazing, and quite awesome. I hope you all have a very merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah, a lovely Kwanzaa, mildly painful Festivus, or enjoy your winter!

Wrapping it up

Cardigan: Target
Tank: Target
Jeans: Walmart
Boots: Target

The final countdown to Christmas is here! I'm still receiving packages--this one is for my coworker and my dad--and I'm nowhere near done my wrapping! Ack.

This is what I wore to work today. A systemwide email was sent out yesterday announcing that per the head of the system, we were allowed to wear jeans. Very exciting, since normally jeans are relegated to weekends & Fridays and require a work-approved t-shirt. I don't mind, though it's nice to have a break from pants and skirts once in a while! Especially on a long work day like today.



Coworker S. mentioned that she would never think to put a yellow tank underneath a black cardigan. I considered green this morning, but decided against it because it didn't seem to have the same pop. I also really liked how the mustard had the same warmth that my boots do, while my jeans & sweater have the same dark coolness about them. The yellow balances everything out and adds a shock of colour without going overboard or detracting from the sweater.

Because see the shiny stuff on my boobs? That's a sequin bow!



You can sort of see it here. It's not the clearest picture (though it sure is hip!), but it gets the point across. S. and I have similar styles, so it surprises me that she didn't pinch one of these cardigans herself at Target! I'm also surprised that I went for this cardigan myself--I'm not really the bow type, but I couldn't resist. I also love how perfectly this cardigan fits with no gaps at the buttons.

My next post will be about what I wore to my department's holiday party--because most of us have to put up with them at some point, don't we? Fortunately I had a blast and the food was delicious.

Do you like embellishments?

Out of the shadows

With a guest photographer!



Sweater: Ann Taylor
Skirt: Boden
Tights: Target
Boots: Target

My best friend was in town, and she kindly took these pictures for me! It's kind of great to have someone else holding the camera, instead of propping it on a shelf or desk or something else flat. I obviously need a tripod.

It was so warm today in South Carolina that I need to wear something to celebrate that! I truly love this skirt and am considering buying another colour in the new year. Boden is great for comfortable, well fitting, easy and colourful clothing that lasts. I'd complain that it's expensive, but you get what you pay for, and Boden's clothing quality is excellent.



Pockets. POCKETS on a skirt! and front and back. It's fantastic for when I don't want to haul my purse around.

I want to be a little more adventurous with photo locations. Again, I'm limited by where I can balance my camera, but there are a lot of places in my town that I can photograph, and lots of friends to help! I know my armoire is not that fascinating, and outdoor locations tend to be more interesting. It's hard to juggle time for taking pictures of my outfits with everything else I do, though. But I'll keep trying.



Ok, maybe I need to work on my posing too. It's kind of awkward to pimp myself out to a camera, but it must be done. In the name of style! Finally, let me introduce my guest photographer, E.:



She's #1. And much better at posing than I am! But obviously this venue has a lot of potential.

Earning my stripes

Top: Target
Belt: Target
Skirt: American Apparel
Both pairs of tights: Target
Wedges: Shoe Carnival

This is a near carbon copy of an outfit E. put together last week over at Academichic. She has incredible style and an eye for putting together patterns in an amazing way, and as soon as I saw her outfit I knew I had to steal it.

I have to say, the responses I received about my tights were quite similar to the responses she received. One coworker liked the idea but hated the thought of wearing two pairs of tights when one is "enough of a pain". I can't disagree because tights can be a pain in the tail, especially the patterned tights here. I had a horrible, horrible time getting them on, and eventually had to take them off and put them back on, AND I ended up with a couple holes in this pair, but I still like them enough to put up with it!



Please ignore my lumpy knees! When I was at Target over the weekend I found these red tights in my size. They aren't quite as vibrant as E.'s, but they do the job. I really want now to buy a tights sampler--another 6 pairs of solid coloured tights (including white) and a bunch of patterned tights and fishnets and do a billion different things with them. I think people really underestimate what a weapon tights--and accessories in general--can be.

Here's a close up of the pattern:



I love it. It's simple, but still adds a lot of intrigue to what otherwise would be a plain pair of tights. Though I'm not sure there really is such a thing!

What's your secret weapon?

Hay fever

My parents are gone for the week, so I'm running the show here!



Hat: American Eagle
Vest: Target
Shirt: Old Navy
Jeans: Walmart
Boots: Tractor Supply
Hay: coastal

I took these pictures on Saturday, before it was freezing cold. The wind and cold that came from Canada are pretty horrifying and painful, and I'm now wearing a LOT more when I go out to handle the horses.

I've always avoided vests. For a long time I thought they made me look fat and stupid and kind of lumpy, since they add so much bulk. But I got this one a couple weeks ago and I like it a lot! It's warm and comfortable and I don't think it actually adds a lot of weight.



I wear the same hat to the barn every time I have to wear a hat. I got this hat two years ago, and the first time I wore it to feed the horses, they wouldn't come near me because they weren't used to my hat. Now that they're used to it, I can't change my hat! It's a pretty goofy looking hat but it's fleece lined and keeps my head warm. There's nothing like an ugly hat when you're in the barn!

To the doctor!

Jacket: JCPenney
Scarf: Target
Shirt: Old Navy
Jeans: Walmart
Boots: Target

Well, I really wanted to avoid going to the doctor. Like really. I can beat this thing on my own! I'll be fine! I was my own cheerleader and I told myself I was BETTER THAN THIS ILLNESS, and I would be a-ok come Thursday.

Here's Thursday, and here's me with a stack of drugs high enough to open a pharmacy.

I was scheduled to work this morning, but as soon as my alarm went off I knew it was so not happening. Something was hacked up at one point so I called in, then I broke and called my doctor. I slept fitfully until lunchtime, when I swallowed some soup and pulled on some jeans and plaid.



I have to admit that I was resistant to plaid. I went to a concert in November and 90% of the audience (and all three of the people I went with!) were wearing plaid shirts. It's always screamed hipsterwear to me, hard to pair with anything but jeans, and, well, kind of goofy looking. But then Old Navy came along and made it sort of okay. I'm going to be fodder forever, but at least I'll be plaid fodder!

One thing I love about these boots--they're the same as these boots, but brown--is that they have an exposed zipper in the back, and the lining fabric is red. At first I hated it, but it actually creates a jumpoff point for the rest of the outfit. It matches my shirt!



Now I'm going to take four different kinds of medicine and hope one makes me better before I'm scheduled to work tomorrow!

What to wear when you feel like death

Hint: probably not this.



Cardigan: Target
Top: Anthropologie
Pants: Target
Socks: Target
Shoes: Target

I have felt like I've been Zamboni'd all week. Since Sunday I've been fighting a very nasty cold/sinus infection/nasal thing that has taken me over. I have also been dragging myself into work, Monday & Tuesday because I was facilitating programs, and Wednesday (today) because I thought I could do it, I really did! And then around 3pm patrons were telling me I sounded awful and at the behest of my coworkers, I was sent on my way with a sick leave request and a box of decongestants. I spent the rest of my afternoon/evening passed out.

It's really hard to get dressed when you're sick. Most people, very understandably, take a pass and throw in whatever's clean and a giant warm sweater because when you're sick, the last thing you want to think about is putting together an outfit. I didn't want to do that simply because I was having dinner with friends afterward and didn't want to look like I felt--I thought that if I wore something nice, I'd feel nice. WRONG



On the bright side, I did receive a lot of compliments on my outfit, especially the top. I absolutely love this shirt; I bought it from Anthropologie in a moment of weakness/when it was on sale, and despite it being a large, I think it fits me very well. My only complaint is that the cowl is definitely waaaaaay too low. I have a fairly small chest, but this top without something underneath makes me look like Dolly Parton. Maybe that's not a bad thing? (No, it's a bad thing.) I also have a hard time matching it to anything, which is why it usually sits in my closet. I'm trying to get past matching it anymore, and moving on to pairing. It's a fine line to toe.



Which is why I'll need good shoes to do it.

How do you handle dressing when you're sick? Is there a go-to outfit you wear?