Freshman Football

My sweet darling oldest nephew played freshman football this year.  He had never played before, but at 6'2" with a size 15 foot (he's only 14!) they thought he'd be an asset in the wide receiver position, so he played.  And he did wonderfully, especially for it being his first year and for him being in the middle of getting even taller which is very, very hard on the knees.

Unfortunately, the freshmen played on Thursdays and often at small, out-of-the-way country schools so I was only able to attend one game.  It was the last game of the season and they won (no doubt in no small part due to my presence).  This is what I wore:

I know the poncho isn't the most flattering piece of clothing ever, but it's orange!  And warm and comfy.  And orange!

It's sort of funny because it's a Target poncho, but I found it at Goodwill.  Sometimes I think perhaps I don't spend enough time in Target, which seems impossible, because I often find Target stuff in the thrift stores that I don't ever remember seeing in an actual Target.  Does that ever happen to you, Reader Friends?


So, as much as I'd like to be able to tell you that this is last year's Target or whatever, I really don't know.  I just know that it's warm, comfy and orange:

Oh, and, perfect for freshman football games, of course.



Happy Thursday, All!

Gracey

I Can't Believe It's Not Vintage

This top is not vintage:

I know, I know, I can't believe it either!  I mean, look at this print:

Delightful and very vintage, right?  Well, half right.  It is definitely delightful, but it's also very definitely not vintage.  It's actually Foxcroft.


They contacted me recently to try some of their new pieces and let me just say that I was very pleasantly surprised by the selection.  I knew that Foxcroft shirts were well made and can free one from the tyranny of ironing (hallelujah!) but I had no idea they were so fun.  I often shy away from venerable brands like Foxcroft because I don't feel like I have enough gravitas to pull them off, but with some of their new prints, I can wear them and continue to live my gravitas-free lifestyle.


Like this top for example:

This fun, bright print is the "vintage royal" print and represents the vision of Foxcroft's head designer, Laura Poretzky-Garcia, to find inspiration from Foxcroft's vast print, fabric and design archives.


And I think that's fabulous.  As much as I love vintage, I also really love brands that do modern vintage, like this blouse.  Because, if this blouse were true vintage, it'd probably be made of sweat-inducing polyester and be too narrow for my "modern" shoulders (I call them modern because they get mad when I call them "linebacker-like").


Also, although it's not vintage, this top fits perfect with the rest of my outfit, which is vintage:

Top: c/o Foxcroft  Sweater & Culottes: thrifted vintage  Shoes: Steve Madden

That's right.  No iron, no sweat, no tall-girl-in-a-narrow-shirt and plays well with vintage.  Win-win.

And you can win too; right now Foxcroft is having their Friends & Family event and everything is 40% off through Friday.  That includes the top I'm wearing, this other delightfully vintage-y blouse and this amazing houndstooth piece.


Happy Tuesday, All!

Gracey


Please Note: Although this blouse was given to me in exchange for a review, all opinion expressed on this blog are my own.  And that means that if the top was not great (Bob) I'd tell you.  Promise.

Blue Plaid

As you all know, I love blue; blue hair, blue shoes, the blues.  I just love blue.  And I love plaid.  Especially for fall.  So, imagine the joy I felt at seeing these blue plaid (blue plaid!) skinnies at Gap:

Not only are they blue plaid, but they're subtle blue plaid.  My thighs and I had a long talk at our last peace summit and they agreed I could wear plaid as long as it wasn't screaming-70s-leisure-suit plaid (their words, not mine).  Happily, these pants fit that bill nicely.

Pants: Gap   Top & Cardigan: LOFT  Shoes: Nine West

So nicely that I heard nary a peep from my thighs while I was wearing these.  And that's kind of a big deal because my thighs consider almost everything I wear as a casus belli.

Happy Monday, All!

Gracey

Get the Look

Skipjack Weather

I have a lot of scarves.  No, really.  I mean a noticeably large amount of scarves.  But, my very favorite scarf is my skipjack cowl:

I love it for a lot of reasons.  One, because it's made right here in the Pacific Northwest by a Seattle knitter.  I love that and love the fact that I actually had the opportunity to meet the woman who makes them; her name is Anna and she has an Etsy shop called Victory Garden Yarn.  Anna is really, really nice and she makes beautiful scarves.  Like this skipjack cowl scarf:

Scarf: Victory Garden Yarn  Sweatshirt: thrifted  Jeans: Old Navy  Boots: Born (similar)

I also love it because the rust color is so perfect for fall.  And perfect for me given my love of orange. And love it because it's warm but not too hot, so, once again, perfect for fall.  Last, but not least, I love it because it looks cool.  And I need all the cool I can get in my wardrobe.

As you can see, I am super, super excited that it's finally skipjack weather here in Oregon. I think I'm going to celebrate by wearing the heck out of this scarf.

Happy Friday, All!

Gracey

Making Do

I don't own a denim jacket for the same reasons I didn't own a denim skirt before this one.  Because between the denim and my broad shoulders, I end up looking like a denim box.  And I'm usually okay with the decision not to look like a denim box.  But, once every two years or so, I end up wishing that I had a denim jacket because I am convinced it would be the perfect finishing piece for whatever I'm wearing.

This biennium, it was this outfit:

I don't know why, but this outfit just cried out for some denim.  I think it's the tiger.  Doesn't this face say "top me with denim" to you?

Yeah, it does to me too.


But, as you can see, I don't own a denim jacket so I had to make do with a denim shirt:

Tee: Bobeau (similar)   Skirt: Leith   Shirt: Caslon (similar)  Shoes: Madden Girl (similar, similar)

I wore it open and wondered if anyone would point out that it was not a jacket and therefore my jacket-like utilization was not okay:

And you know what?  No one did.  Possibly because they have better things to do but most likely because making do with a denim shirt works just fine.


Happy Friday, All!

Gracey

Fall Floral & All-Season Animal

In between the rains, we've been blessed with some really gorgeous days here in Oregon.  I took the opportunity on one of those days to go bootless.  Choosing instead my favorite animal print flats:

Dress & Belt: vintage, thrifted  Shoes: Nine West

These  flats are some of my very favorite shoes and really, if it didn't rain like the dickens here all fall and winter, they would be all-season shoes for me.


This time around, I paired them with a dark, fall-appropriate floral dress:

All of my dark floral dresses are thrifted, and this one is no exception.  They are one of the easiest items to find in secondhand stores and a great way to wear floral through autumn and winter.


I especially love the mix of bright pink and black on this dress:

It's fall-appropriate without being gloomy.  And it's the perfect fit with the leopard flats.


Honestly, even if you're "not really into" animal print, I recommend a pair of animal print shoes.  They're fun, they're exceeding versatile and I promise that they won't lead to head-to-toe leopard velour.  Unless, of course, you want them to.

Happy Monday, All!

Gracey

Shop the Shoes

Loose Layers & Mixed Media

I was recently lucky enough to be offered a piece from the MarketPlace: Handwork of India Fall line and I was thrilled as they are one of my favorite companies to work with.  They are a wonderful company doing wonderful things and their clothes are both unique and well made.

As always, it was a struggle to decide which fabulous piece to choose, but I finally landed on the Indu top:

Indu Top in Charcoal

Why this top?  Well, I love the colors. And I also love the patterns.  But, my main reason was the fact that it's a mixed media top, combining woven panels with cozy tee shirt material and embroidery.  I love combining different textures in an outfit to add interest, but sometimes I'm too lazy to make the effort.

And that's why the Indura top is perfect for me.  I can be lazy and still be interesting.  Yay, me!


This top has a boxy, oversize fit that stymied me a bit at first because boxy on me looks, well, boxy.  But then I had the idea to layer it over another oversize piece and, as un-figure-flattering as that sounds, I really liked it:

Top: c/o MarketPlace: Handwork of India  Shirt: Gap  Jeans: Old Navy  Boots: Born (similar)

Because the top is a little short on my giant self, I think the loose layers actually work better than the Indu top on it's own would.  Or, maybe I just really love layers.  That could be it, but I'd swear this works:

So much so, that I plan on wearing iterations of this layered look throughout the fall.  So, I'm not saying you have to get on board, but the train is certainly leaving the station.

And I'll be wearing this as I drive it:

Happy Friday, All!  And a huge thank you to MarketPlace: Handwork of India!

Gracey

A Little Going

The jewels on this sweatshirt do not match this skirt:

Top: LOFT  Skirt: thrifted vintage  Shoes: Old Navy (similar, similar)

But, the jewels on this sweatshirt go with this skirt:

LOFT Jeweled Sweatshirt

Why do they go?  Because the color of the jewels and the color of the skirt are in the same color family; that sort of burgundy/wine/claret color family.  They may not match, but being in the same family tricks the eye into thinking they match.  Or, close enough for government work.


Especially from far away:

See?


This trick is why you don't have to worry over much about whether or not what you're wearing matches.  The eye doesn't require a perfect match; it just requires a little going.


Happy Wednesday, All!

Gracey

A Lot of Culottes

Just as Jessica Day rocks a lot of polka dots, I rock a lot of culottes:

Top: LOFT  Belt & Culottes: vintage, thrifted  Shoes: Madden Girl

These are my current favorites:

If I had my way, I'd wear culottes every day.  Every day, People.  It's that serious.  In fact, I had to be talked out of some blue satin culottes the other day.  And, to be honest, I'm not sure I have been talked out of them.  It's not that I need blue satin culottes, there probably isn't anyone that needs blue satin culottes, it's just that I love them.


And I love these:

I found them  at Goodwill the other day and practically begged them to fit over my hips.  Happily, they complied and we've been together ever since.  It's basically a match made in heaven.  They treat me right by fitting, having pockets and making all my culotte dreams come true.  And I treat them right by pairing them with stripes and lace up wedges:

Perfection.  Outfits like this are the exact reason I rock a lot of culottes.


Happy Monday, All!


Gracey

Get the Look

Five for Fall - Animals

As much as I complained about summer taking it's sweet time getting here, when it got here, it was hot, hot, hot and now I'm ready for fall.  I'm ready to get back to wearing my beloved scarves.  I'm ready to get back to wearing layers.  And I'm ready to get back to fall fashion.

Here is the first of the five trends I'm excited for this fall...

Animals

I have to admit that I was not always a big proponent of clothing with animals on them.  Animal print, sure, but a print of animals?  Not so much.  To my tastes, clothes with animals on them can look a bit twee.  Case in point:

Personally, pieces like those just aren't my style and are the reason I'm generally so lukewarm on this trend.  Happily, haters of twee have options.  Animals can be found on all sorts of pieces at all sorts of price points, and range from the ridiculously twee to sophisticated pieces that add a touch of whimsy, not a touch of Pampers.

Here are some of my favorites and while some of them are darned cute, none of them are cutesy:

And, while you generally see animals on intarsia sweaters, scarves are a great way to try the trend as well:

Whatever your taste in this trend, there are a few things you can do to keep from looking juvenile, unless of course that's your thing, then I totally support you.  No judgement here.  But, if it's not your thing and you are a giant who knows you're too tall to be twee, here are some tips to keep your animal-inclusive outfits from heading into twee territory:

1. Don't do baby animals.  A tiger is cool, a baby tiger is cutesy.
2. Limit the color.  I know, I know, this, coming from me.  But, that rooster sweater?  That's an amazing sweater with a leather skirt or jeans.  With matching burgundy cords, it's a Geranimals-for-Grown-Ups outfit.
3. If you wear it with a mini, which is totally cute, please don't do knee socks and Mary Janes and pigtails.

What about you, Reader Friends?  Are you fans of the animal trend?  How do you like to wear it?

Happy Thursday, All!

Gracey