A Little Dress-on-Dress Action

I haven't been engaging in very creative layering lately.  I usually just add a cardigan to whatever I'm wearing to combat the office AC.  I'm not even sure that counts as layering.  But today's look totally counts:

No cardigans here, just layered dress:

Both dresses are thrifted, the bottom dress is vintage and the top dress is from the 90s, and has a great sketched floral print:

Now, I'll probably be back to layering with cardigans tomorrow, as I do love cardigans and hate AC, but, for today, I went with a little dress-on-dress action:

Black dress: thrifted vintage (see similar below)  Belt: thrifted vintage
Floral dress: thrifted (similar below)  Sandals: c/o LTS (similar)

And I'd probably do it again.

Happy Wednesday, All!

Gracey

Layering Dresses

8/28/15 Five for Friday: LTS Fall Collection

Early today I posted an outfit featuring these houndstooth skinny jeans from Long Tall Sally:

In case you missed that post, here's a brief synopsis: these jeans are very 90s and I love them.


But, they're not the only piece from the Fall Collection I love, so I thought I'd use today's Five for Friday to share five more pieces I'm thinking about adding to my closet this fall:

1. Herringbone Flippy Dress: Maybe it's seeing all the cardinals in the snow out here, but I just love red dresses for winter.  This one is sleeveless for easy layering and looks like it'd be flattering as heck on most anyone.

2. BFT "Garnet" Paneled Loafer: I have a thing for two-toned shoes.  And I love the classic black-and-white combination of these.  And I love that they're loafers (I think I'm getting preppy in my old age).  The best part though is that because these are Barefoot Tess, they are offered up to size 15.  I know!!

3. Chalky Check Maxi Skirt: As I said in my outfit post, I am pretty excited that the 90s are back for fall.  And this skirt has a great grungy, 90s feel to it.  I want to wear it with an oversized sweater and big boots.

4. Supersoft Jeggings: I actually have these jeggings; they were in the package LTS sent me to try and they are my favorite ever.  They really are super soft and have that nice, high waist that I love.  They come in the deep olive/forest color shown above, but also in a great rust color.  I think I need them in both...

5. Fleece Lined Tights: One of the hardest things, for me, about being tall is that I can't wear really the great tights.  The fun patterns, sweater tights and so-very-necessary-in-Pennsylvania-in-the-winter fleece-line tights are generally too small/short for my tights-loving giant self.  But, this winter, I will finally be warm thanks to these fleece-lined tights for tall women!  I will be buying multiple pairs.


Happy Friday!

Gracey

Long Tall Houndstooth

This past week or so has been surprisingly, delightfully cool here in Pittsburgh.  So, I took the opportunity to break out a couple of fall items early.  Like these houndstooth skinny jeans:

Blouse: LOFT (similar)  Jeans: c/o Long Tall Sally
Sandals: Steve Madden (similar under $30!)

These jeans are part of the Fall Collection over at Long Tall Sally.  And those fine folks were kind enough to send me a pair to try.


And I'm so happy they did.  I love the plummy color:

And I love the 90s-vibe they have.  I'm kind of excited that the 90s are back in play this fall.  The fashion wasn't as fun as the 80s, but there was a lot of houndstooth.

You can't go wrong with a lot of houndstooth.


Happy Friday, All!

Gracey

Last Thursday and the Friday Before

I mentioned in my Thursday post that I was going to Last Thursday.  For those of you who don’t know what that is, it’s a combination gallery walk/street fair that takes place on the last Thursday of every month.  It’s held on Alberta Street in Northeast Portland and it is, frankly, sort of insane but completely awesome.  It’s one of my absolute favorite things about Portland and we try to go every month during the summer.  Unfortunately, we missed May so June’s Last Thursday was our first. 

And it did not disappoint.  I really can’t explain it, so I’ll just show the pictures and let imagine the smells of Caribbean food, Hawaiian food, grilled corn on the cob, patchouli, sweat and sage.

There are street performers everywhere at Last Thursday, from DJs to vaudevillian circus acts to belly dancers to three-piece bands, like this one:

And snake charmers:

And stilt walkers:

There is also food everywhere, from restaurants to food carts; you can find almost anything you want to eat.  I wanted to eat cream puff swans and mustache cookies from Petite Provence:

Part of the fun of Last Thursday is definitely the people watching:

Even babies love Last Thursday

I'm pretty sure those hats are made of wood...

Head scarves and moon boots

But, my favorite part of this particular Last Thursday was this fire dancer:

 And these air squid:

I also wanted to share pictures from the 90s party Alex and I went to a week ago.  She went with Designing Women 90s, I went with grunge 90s:

Our Back Porch Cat, Jethro, just went as himself.

I hope you’re all having a fabulous weekend!

Gracey

A New Record

I’m wearing pants two days in a row.  I think that may be a new record for me:

Today’s pants are cropped, floral Ralph Lauren (thrifted) with a crazy-high waist that makes me suspect that they may be from the late 80s or early 90s.  I paired them with an aqua sweater (Target) and yellow peep-toe mini-wedges (Me Too via Nordstrom).

Unlike yesterday’s actual pants, these cropped, colorful print pants are NOT perfectly serviceable and so will most likely not be cut from the team.  Also unlike yesterday's pants, I like these ones.  Really, the only reason I haven’t worn them before (I’ve had them about a month) is because they’re tough for me to style.  I don’t really do pastels, and we’ve established that I don’t really do pants, so pastel pants are quite a conundrum for me.

I think this outfit worked though and I have a couple more ideas so I’ve decided that these pants shall stay.  For now.

Happy Friday, Everyone!

Gracey

Gracey and Friends Go to Prom

Last night I went to 80s prom at the McMennamin’s Kennedy School.  It was epic.  The band, RadicalRevolution, was fantastic.  They played everything from Bon Jovi to Journey to Def Leopard to Joan Jett.  I danced until I was sweaty and then just kept on dancing.

We’ll get to my oh-so-very-pretty prom pictures in a minute.  But, first, I want to share some pictures from the amazing and awesome bloggers that responded to my call for prom pictures of their own.

Are you ready?  Okay then, here we go.

Vivienne of Thrifted Shift

We’re going to start with the fabulous Vivienne of Thrifted Shift who was awesome enough to give me the idea for this post.  This photo is of the lovely Vivienne and her lovely date who, 10 years later, became her lovely husband.  Here they are at pre-prom dinner which is the same restaurant where they had their wedding reception:

Yes, that is the sweetest thing you’ve ever heard.

Taylor of It’s My Cardi

The year was 1998.  The date was then-boyfriend Andy.  The dress was a “lovely iridescent shimmery spaghetti strap sheath purchased from the Leggett Outlet Center.”  No, you can’t get your own; they are, sadly, no longer in the business of selling such gems.  The unseen shoes are glittery (!) pewter sandals from Nine West.  And the hairstyle was a neck-ache-inducing up-do that Marie Antoinette would have approved of. 

Please to enjoy:

Mia of Reading in Skirts

The year was 2006.  The date was her brother’s best friend, Andrew.  The dress is a simple affair from City Triangle’s via Macy’s because for whatever reason, Mia didn’t want to look like a parade float.  (Don’t worry, there is plenty of parade float coming later on).  Mia was kind enough to grace us with not one, but two prom photos:

"...me and Andrew smiling awkwardly for the camera before we all left in the limo."

"...getting home at 2am, taking a picture in our horribly be-butterflied bathroom for my online friends."

Grace from What If No One’s Watching

The year was 1996 and Grace set out to prove that the 90s were just as sartorially awesome as the 80s.  To wit?  A “Blossom” hat and butterfly cleavage stickers.  Yes, it’s all kinds of good:

Ally from Shybiker

Ally didn’t go to prom in high school because she couldn’t go as she wanted.  However, now she can wear what she wants and she wanted to wear a flirty little strapless number.  The dress, which has glittery (!) blue flowers and a blue satin sash, is paired perfectly with a complimentary blue scarf, patent heels and major bling.  Me-ow:

Lynn W. of Frivolity of 40

Lynn was fabulous enough to also send two prom pictures.  For the first, the year was 1988 and Lynn rocked a bee-yoo-ti-ful blue floor length number with a velvet bodice, that she actually modeled in a prom fashion show:

In her 1989 look, Lynn takes dedication to 80s style to a whole other level.  The dress, handmade by her mother, is pink satin.  And the hair.  The hair was not permed; no, Lynn spent hours hand-curling her coif with a teeny, tiny curling iron.  Again, that’s dedication, folks:

Terri of Rags Against the Machine

The year was 1971 and we have another lovely handmade dress.  Terri’s was lavender Swiss dot and was complimented quite nicely by her date’s snazzy white blazer:

Molly of More Charming in Person

The year was 1995 and we have Molly and Dan attending prom in “Cache” and “Rented” respectively.  I personally have taken a magpie-level liking to Molly’s sequined dress and covet her satin shoes:

Last, but hopefully not least, are my photos from last night’s prom.

The year (in our heads) was 1985.  My date was Alex.  I wore a black and blue velvet and taffeta number.  Alex wore what is quite possibly the ugliest hand-painted, acid-washed jean jacket/dress ever.  We both wore a LOT of make-up and giant hair bows.  We were sooooo pretty last night, y'all:

Alex and I

 

We were joined at prom by some friends and family:

My little brother, J, and his wife.

My little sister and her boyfriend.

My little sister and brother and my brother's dead-squirrel mullet wig.

Seriously, I can't tell you all how much fun 80s Prom is.  If you ever get a chance to go, either here in Portland, or in your city, I suggest you do it.  It's brilliant and you can wear giant hair bows without anybody looking at you funny.

I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend!  And a special thanks to everyone who shared there prom pictures with me!


Gracey