Tag Archives: fashion

Taking a Walk on the Wild Side

Here’s a look-at-me dress. It’s neutral, not bright, but animal prints are definitely bold, no matter what their hue.

animal print dress

Dress: Marshall’s
Shoes: Manolo Blahnik
Purse: Crystalyn Kae
Cuff: Lauren Harkness

I love animal prints! I also have a snakeskin faux-wrap dress, a grey-tone leopard print shirt dress, and a green and blue leopard print wrap dress. Do I really own four animal print dresses? Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

animal attraction

This one was a steal at Marshall’s and is my first in brown and tan. I scored the shoes at Second Time Around consignment during my trip to Boston. STA is an amazing place. I’ve dreamt of going back to Boston just to hit up their three locations in beantown. If there’s one near you, don’t miss it!

wild side

Also, don’t miss Not Dead Yet’s Visible Mondays and ColorBlind’s Thrifters Anonymous, the two link-ups I’m participating in this week.

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Thrifty Thursday: Plaid Jeans

I hit the Goodwill jackpot a few months ago and brought home several great pieces, including these gray and black plaid jeans.

plaid skinnies

They were $5 and fit perfectly. They’re YMI brand. I’d never heard of the label so I don’t know if they’re originally $20 or $200 (I suspect closer to the former), but I liked them.

I recently wore them car shopping with hubby. We weren’t in the market for a car, but window shopping for vehicles is one of his favorite pastimes. Here, I found neat, old Chevy station wagon.

Jean and the Chevy

Top: Swapped
Pants: Goodwill
Purse: Target
Sunglasses: Old Navy
Necklace: eBay
Shoes (not shown): Payless

I dressed up an otherwise simple outfit with this neat star necklace I found on eBay. There’s a lot of fun costume jewelry to be found it you have the time and patience. All in all, not bad for a $45 outfit, including shoes and accessories).

star necklace

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Bloggers Do It Better: Oxblood

I’m participating in another group challenge. This one is Bloggers Do It Better by Pretty Shiny Sparkly and the theme is oxblood. Now when I recently posted my shoes of that color, Sarah Hulbert of Sarah Hulbert Style called them merlot in her comment. I like that idea much better! My first pair of Dr Martens were called oxblood–the name’s been around a while, and the color is in again is in–but calling it wine sounds much better.

merlot scarf

Today I wore just a touch of merlot, but I was surrounded by gorgeous shades of burgundy, bordeaux, and wine. I was at Portalis, a wine shop in Ballard, WA, tasting wines and learning about a wine-themed novel called Killer Cuvée.

scarf and jeans

Scarf: Cost Plus World Market via swapped (thanks Kristen!)
Sweater: Suzy Shier
Jeans: Me too (from the Frock Shop)
Boots: Urban Outfitters
Purse: JC Penney
Arm candy: Various shops

I chatted Steve Wells, the author of the book, bought a copy, and selected a couple of nice Washington wines too.

wines on the shelf

Just before leaving the shop, hubby and I looked up and saw the most interesting skylight: It was made of wine bottles. Love the colors! This is one glass ceiling I’d be happy to have!

Wine bottle skylight

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Last Day of Summer

Today is the last day of summer, but I’m hoping the weather stays warm. If not, I’ve got my fall wardrobe ready to go.

pink and blue

Top: H&M
Skirt: Crossroads Trading Company
Belt: Marshall’s
Necklace: Ebay
Shoes: Aerosoles

I wore this skirt with tights last spring, and that’s what I’ll be doing again soon, I’m afraid. Don’t get me wrong–I love fall fashions. I just don’t like to think about seven or eight months of rain. At least it rarely snows around here. I’ll take wet roads over icy ones any day!

simple skirt with bright shoes

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Shorts and a Bright Yellow Tote

I love the look of a long-sleeved top paired with shorts. For most shorts-wearing weather, it’s too hot for long tops though. that’s why fall is the perfect time for this look. It’s a nice transition between skimpy summer clothes, and warmer autumn attire.

shorts and top

Top: Florida street vendor
Shorts: H&M
Tote: Snap Designs
Shoes: Goodwill
Necklaces: eBay (wing); Falling Whistles (whistle)
Bracelets: Shop on Bainbridge Island

The weather is still in the 70s around here, so I threw on a loose cotton knit top with dressy shorts. I’d never been a fan of shorts (and I still think a skirt trumps them for most occasions), but I have branched out and tried shorts more in the past year. I don’t think I had a pair of shorts in my closet for a long time–turns out, they’re fun to wear with tights though.

yellow bag

I’m getting lots of use out of my Snap Designs tote. I wasn’t sure how versatile yellow would be, but it is! It’s a fun piece that pops and doesn’t really have to match anything else I’m wearing. I also tried layering necklaces just like I stack multiple bracelets. It’s a fun way to create different looks with exiting pieces.

detail of tote and necklaces

I think the shorts carry over into fall. What transition pieces are you taking with you from summer to autumn?

the whole look

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Black and Seafoam Dress

dress and cardi

Dress: Shop in Canada
Cardi: Smart Set
Shoes: Timberland
Necklace: Santa Fe street vendor
Bracelets: Various places

The dress is sleeveless, low-cut, and short, so I wore it with a coral cardigan and casual sandals. I didn’t need to vamp it up. I added a bunch of inexpensive stretchy bracelets for an impromptu arm party. These are from places like Claire’s, and shops around town. If it fit with the color scheme, it went on my arm.

arm party

I might try this with a blazer too.

tie dress

Do you hang onto clothes or is your closet lean and mean? According to many people, “if you haven’t worn it for a year, toss it.” But I really like this dress; I just don’t always get to things in my closet. I tend to prefer collecting clothes, and I keep them as long as they’re in good shape, fit well, and suit me.

Oh, don’t forget to check out the other Visible Monday posts. I added this to Not Dead Yet’s linkup.

dress

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Back to School Look

I haven’t had to worry about going back to school for a long time but I did start a new job a couple of weeks ago, so I’ve dealt with a lot of similar concerns: first-day jitters, what to wear, decorating my locker office, finding my way through a new building. So when I found out Everybody, Everywear had a back to school challenge, I accepted.

back to school

Sweater: Store in Vancouver
Shorts: Salt Works via swapped
Shoes: Kelly and Katie
Bag: Furla via gifted
Bracelets: Lucca
Necklace: Falling Whistle

This outfit isn’t prep-school crisp, nor does it incorporate plaid, a pleated skirt, or uniform of any kind. But it is more fall-like than most things I’ve been wearing lately. I’ll break it down.

back to school outfit

A sweater is quintessentially fall. In burgundy (or, as they’re calling it this season, oxblood), it’s autumnal for sure. Yes I have on shorts–a staple of summer–but in the longer length and denim fabric, I feel more British schoolboy than Daisy Duke.

My shoes are what really remind me of the school uniform season. A low, buckled flat (and in this season’s color).

shoes

The necklace is a Falling Whistle. Not a back to school item by any means. It’s part of a campaign for peace in the Congo (and the opposite of a child soldier is a child in school–so I thought it worked). Jamillah from Made to Travel wrote about them and I bought one.

outfit details with whistle

Summer didn’t start in Seattle until mid-July so I’m not ready to switch gears and dress for fall. As long as the weather allows it, I’ll be bare-legged and coatless. I do need a back to school haircut. I’ve been trimming and coloring my own hair since December in an attempt to grow it out and see if I can go a year with out a salon visit.

Are you going back to school? Ready for fall or hanging onto the last of summer?

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Neon Yellow Boyfriend Jeans

No one needs a pair of yellow jeans–and now I have two. But they’re so different from each other! My other pair is mustard yellow skinnies. These are cropped, loose and day-glo! Plus, I’m participating in Not Dead Yet’s Visible Monday link-up and neon seemed very appropriate.

yellow pants

Top: Street market in Florida
Pants: The Gap
Shoes: Payless
Necklace: Swapped

I bought them in Boston (before my shopping ban). They were 40% off the lowers price and came in at about $17. I could justify it. I’ve worn them a lot already.

yellow and white

It’s funny: I wore these pants with a white top and leopard shoes, just like I wore the mustard ones. But I’ve also worn these with patterned tops, chambray, and bright solids.

leopard shoes

I like neon (just like I liked it in the 80s) but I seem to be collecting only yellow pieces. I should branch out and try lime, orange, or hot pink. I already have neon yellow maxi skirt, envelope clutch and belt. I’ve heard monochromatic is big for fall but head-to-toe neon is a bit much.

Do you wear neon? What colors?

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Back to Fashion’s Night Out at the Bravern

Last year, the Mister and I went to Fashion’s Night Out at the Bravern. We had so much fun, we did it again this year. First Mr. Jean of all Trades checked in. He looked fine. I was impressed that he left the suit behind and went with a Perry Ellis sweater and H&M slim-fit pants. It was more risky, but it paid off.

check-in

Then we listened to a band. Don’t you just love her shoes?

band

Last year, I drooled over Jimmy Choos; this year, I had my own pair. Of course I wore them to the event. We decided to head over to Jimmy Choo. On the way, I was distracted by the wonderful pattern- and texture-mixing in the window of Tory Burch.

Tory Burch

We went in so I could drool over the gold cuffs and double-wrap bracelets.

bling at Tory Burch

I sipped on champagne…

champagne at Tory Burch

And thought of all the ways I could wear these black riding boots: maxi skirts, tights and minis, over skinnies. Endless options and a classic boot.

classic riding boot

The fall collection is fantastic and the store drew a crowd.

Tory Burch collage

We dropped by Karen Millen too. I love the asymmetrical coats and shapely dresses. Everything has such structure, but was still feminine. A great combination of tough and soft.

Karen Millen

Finally, we made it to Jimmy Choo. I chatted with the wonderful associates who work there.

chatting at Choo

The champagne was flowing here too. Then, the wonderful, always glamorous Sarah Hulbert and her husband arrived. She picked up an extra swag bag for me while she was at The Bellevue Collection’s VIP lounge. So sweet! You can see the bag–red with white text and pictures of models–in this picture.

champagne at Choo

We did the red carpet thing–a must at an event like this.

red carpet

Here you can see my whole outfit. I wore an H&M dress, carried an oversized Asos clutch, and wore my Jimmy Choo shoes. My necklace is from Buffalo Exchange.

There was so much to see–we didn’t even get upstairs to David Laurence. I did pop into Anthropologie with Sarah. After we said our good-byes, I poked into Neiman Marcus and ogled the Stella McCartney bags. Amazing!

What a night! did you go out for Fashion’s Night Out?

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Robin’s Egg Blue and Dove Gray

I have a bird theme going on today. My pants are robin’s egg blue and my shoes are dove gray. Well, the first ones. The second are blush pink. I can’t think of a bird-related name for that color.

blue and gray

Top: Wildlife Works
Tank: Target
Pants: Goodwill
Bracelets: Boutique on Bainbridge Island
Shoes: Badgley Mischka

I started with sky-high Badgley Mischka pumps. These are my cab-to-café shoes–but I was on my way to work.

shy-high shoes

Before I even finished this shoot, my feet were getting sad. I knew I wouldn’t last 8 hours in them so I switched to ballet flats.

jimmy choo ballet flats

Both these shoes are on the pricier side of things. The Badgley Mischkas were on sale online. The Jimmy Choos weren’t, but at least I’m getting lots of use out of them–and they are more comfortable for the long haul. The heels make the outfit more elegant, but I value comfort too.

ballet flats

I call these pants my “old lady pants” because they are high-waisted, pleated, tapered leg pants that one might associate with “the older set.” But rolled up and paired with a slouchy top, they suddenly become on-trend. I didn’t want to fork over a lot for the pastel trend or the harem trend, so I turned a pair of $5 pants into the latest thing. When I don’t wear them out of the house anymore, they’re going to be great for lounging around in.

old lady pants

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