Tag Archives: jeans

Orange Blazer and Jeans

I’m wearing my thrifted orange blazer again. It’s a favorite piece that I keep going back to. And since Lindsay Living is having a thrifting link-up, I thought I should share how I’m wearing it now.

orange blazer

Blazer: Goodwill (Seattle)
T-shirt: H&M via Goodwill (Pittsburgh)
Jeans: Forever 21 via Goodwill (Bellevue)
Boots: Old Navy

I’ve worn this before with dress pants and here I’m wearing it with green and denim, both of which I got at Goodwill too. In fact, only my shoes are new, and they weren’t pricy. It’s a thrifty outfit.

orange and green

I’m laughing because I saved so much money.

Do you check out thrift stores when you travel? I like seeing what lands in shops in other areas and was thrilled to get this sneaker-motif T when I was in Steel City a couple of years ago.

I also have a little DIY project planned for this jacket so when you see it next, it will look a little different.

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Zebra Stripes Again

I wore this top on jeanofalltrades a year and a half ago and still can’t decide if it’s tiger or zebra.

zebra and jeans

Top: Metropark
Tank: Old Navy
Jeans: Banana Republic
Shoes: Seychelles
Cuff: Lauren Harkness
Bag: Crystalyn Kae
Earrings: Premier Designs

No matter what animal print this is, it’s fun, and the color makes it sophisticated.

top details

I like pieces that are versatile and wearing this top with a skirt or jeans fits the bill. Next time, I’ll have to break out of the monochromatic zone and pair this with more colorful bottoms.

black and beige

What would you wear this with?

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Read my Belt Buckle

A few years ago, while poking around some vintage boutiques, I found a belt buckle with my name on it. If something has your name written all over it, you get it, right?

belt buckle

I don’t wear belts with jeans a lot because they’re bulky and tend to make my longer shirts lumpy. But this top skims my waist, shows off the buckle, but isn’t too short that it’s midriff-baring. So I attached it to a rubber belt and added it to my otherwise plain outfit.

jeans and a T

Top: Swapped
Jeans: Swapped
Shoes: Thrifted
Cuff: Gifted
Bag: Sue Huston (sample sale)
Belt strap: Alternative Outfitters
Belt Buckle: Red Light Vintage

simple outfit

All three of my furry beasts made it into this shot! You can barely see Alice’s ears. She’s outside under close supervision. Being blind, she can’t be left out alone, but she also doesn’t know the escape routes (like Margo). Margo lives inside and has access to a catio I made. She still wants freedom, but it’s too dangerous on the busy street where we live.

outfit details

Sometimes jeans and a T is all I want to wear. I kept this fun with stacked heels and a bright bag.

This post is part of Visible Monday at Not Dead Yet and ColorBlind’s Thrifter’s Anonymous– Check out all the other thrifty, visible women!

Update: I just joined The Pleated Poppy and Transatlantic Blonde too–for WIWW. More group post fun!

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Last of the Fall Foliage

Winter officially arrives on December 21st, and thought it might feel like winter already in some parts, I’m still savoring fall. I love fall colors but I don’t like the reminder that the cold, wet winter lies ahead.

This is, to me, a quintessential fall look: knee-high boots, earth tones, and a jacket and scarf.

fall outfit

Jacket: Bedo
Jeans: Old Navy via swapped
Scarf: Swapped
Boots: Mia

I bought this jacket on sale last spring and had to put it away for summer. I haven’t had the chance to wear it until now, but buying last year’s merchandise at the end of season saved me a bundle. Besides, I’ve seen leather-sleeved jackets in the stores recently so it’s hardly out of style. These sleeves are faux leather, making the piece affordable–and vegan!

faux leather sleeves

I thought black boots might make this look a bit like a uniform so I wore caramel-colored boots and brought in more warm tones in the scarf. I’m looking forward to wearing this with skirts and dress pants, and of course with jeans, like I’ve done here.

autumn outfit

What fall/winter pieces are you looking forward to wearing until the weather warms up?

I’ve joined What I Wore Wednesday at Transatlantic Blonde and The Pleated Poppy. Check out all the other submissions!

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Holiday Party Outfits

I look forward to Christmas and New Year’s parties and love to dress to the nines. For me, that usually means a long dress. For black tie events, I like to wear a gown, but I’ve been known to wear cocktail dresses to less formal affairs. Sequins, satin, velvet and embellishments add to the holiday flair.

This year I had two parties on my list, and I broke tradition: I wore pants. I wear pants a lot but I’ve always thought dresses were, well, dressier. However, I had a fantastic sequined blazer and I wanted to try it out.

sequined blazer

For the first holiday party, I wore the blazer with a cowl necked ivory top and glazed black denim. Yup, I wore jeans to the biggest party of the year. But I paired them with Christian Louboutin booties, which take any outfit up a few notches. And when denim is black, it always looks elegant.

Black on black

jeans and Louboutins

cream and black

Jacket: Thrifted
Top: Express
Jeans: Zara
Purse: Thrifted
Bracelet: Thrifted
Shoes: Christian Louboutin via consignment

The next party was just as fun, and I was one of the MCs! I had to corral 200 of my closest colleagues and lead the events of the afternoon. I’d heard it was a tough job (“herding cats” was part of the pep talk), so I dazzled them with red satin pants and the same sequined blazer I’d worn to the gala the weekend before. I was determined to get noticed.

Black and white and red all over

Jacket: Thrifted
Top: Express
Pants: Armani via Goodwill
Shoes: Manolo Blahnik via consignment
Earrings: Claire’s

It worked. I chatted up the room, kept the events going (gingerbread house building and a white elephant gift exchange were on the list), and made sure people found the main buffet, vegan table, and chocolate fountain.

red pants

Dressing the part helped get me into the role and made people pay attention to what I had to say. Carrying a mic around and talking to a crowd that big isn’t part of my usual day!

shiny outfit

I loved these pants when I found them at Goodwill and knew I’d find a good use for them. The only problem was, with heels, they were a bit short. I like to break fashion rules, but unless they’re gauchos, wide pants need to be long–at least in my book.

The solution: Hubby let out the hem for me so the pants could skim the ground as they were intended. Yes, the creases still visible (and I need to finish the edge), but no one noticed. What’s worse than a frayed edge? Highwaters. Definite faux-pas!

holiday pants

Have you been to any holiday parties lately? Got plans for New Year’s? If so, let me know what you like wearing to festivities.

dressy pants

This post is part of the Ethical Fashion Bloggers holiday party challenge, Visible Monday, and Thrifter’s Anonymous–a three-fer!

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Glazed Denim and Velvet

I’ve been digging the glazed denim that’s hit the stores recently. And when I saw these at Zara in Vancouver, I snagged them. Glazed denim looks almost leather and is a great vegan alternative. It’s more affordable than leather too. Plus it stretches and is machine washable. And an added bonus: chocolate wipes off it in a snap (don’t ask).

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Blazer: Doki-Geki
Shirt: Loving Eco
Glazed jeans: Zara
Shoes: Old Navy
Purse: Crystalyn Kae
Rubber bangles: eBay

Coincidentally, my purse is made of glazed fabric too. It has a leathery sheen, but it isn’t (making this 100% vegan outfit!).

I wore my new glazed denim skinnies with an old velvet blazer and an asymmetrical striped shirt I bought last winter. Have you heard of glazed denim? Do you have/want some?

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Leopard and Denim

I’ve joined WIWW at The Pleated Poppy. Check out what all the others are wearing on a Wednesday!

Look what I found in the vaults: A couple of photos that never made it into my blog. You can tell this isn’t current because a) the rhododendrons are blooming and b) my hair is a bit shorter. That means that my hair is actually growing! I’m trying to grow it but it’s a slow process.

leopard and denim

Shirt: Old Navy
Tank: Target
Jeans: Earnest Sewn
Boots: Urban Outfitters
Bag: SNAP Design
Earrings: Amy Bengston

I wore this sheer leopard shirt over a tank and paired it with skinny jeans and booties. I wanted casual, not sexy. And a sheer, animal print top can easily veer into sexy if you’re not careful. Not that there’s anything wrong with sexy. But if memory serves me correctly, I wore this on a Saturday for running errands. I was going for casual and fun.

yellow and red with leopard

Even though this picture is a few months old, it’s a current look. I wore it in spring, and I’ll wear this shirt in fall too. In fact, I keep most of my clothes for a long time and they make appearances season after season.

Does your wardrobe have a high turnover or do you keep pieces year after year?

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Halloween Costume: Rosie the Riveter

We can do it!

Jean as Rosie the Riveter

And I did. Many thanks to Cable Car Couture for giving me the idea of a simple, DIY costume. This Rosie the Riveter look cost me $1.89 (only because I had to buy the bandana at a craft store). I love this look because it’s simple to assemble and instantly recognizable, it’s work appropriate (I can’t go to the office dressed as a French maid!), and it’s given me ideas beyond Halloween.

For example, I want to wear headscarves on a regular basis now. I just might turn rockabilly. This is so fun to wear and a great trick when growing out a short hairdo.

head to toe denim

Another reason I liked this costume idea is because of the sartorial and feminist implications. Here, I’m a literal and figurative blue-collar worker. That got me thinking about two things: women in the workforce, and the history of denim. I’ll start with denim: In the 1870s, Levi Strauss created cotton canvas pants. The 501s went on to become the world’s best-selling item of clothing. Perhaps it’s because they were durable, practical, and riveted.

Blue jeans were a working class staple that cowboys and railway workers wore. But by World War II, they were an essential commodity and sold only to people in defense–like Rosie!

red headscarf

Rosie is an icon. She represents the thousands of American women who worked in factories during the War, often replacing positions of men who were off to battle. After the war, women were expected to return to more traditional duties in the home or in secretarial roles. Many did, but not all. It was the beginning of an important shift in women’s economic power.

On a personal note, my grandmother worked in a factory in England during WWII. She was just a teen when she made airplane engine parts. I’ll write about her soon. It’s an incredible thought to be a schoolgirl one day, and building bombers the next.

Rosie halloween costume

What a lot of inspiration from a simple costume. Thanks again to Cable Car Couture! Oh, and I joined ColorBlind’s special Halloween linkup. Check out the entries here. I’m also participating in Transatlantic Blonde’s WIWW linkup. All those entries are here.

Happy Halloween!

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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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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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