Cropped & Striped

I'm wearing a cropped jacket with my cropped pants today:

Of course, the jacket isn't just cropped:

It's cropped and striped.



The pants, though, are just cropped:

Jacket: vintage silk  Pants: LOFT (similar) 
 Blouse: Banana Republic Factory (similar)  Shoes: Steve Madden (similar)

I know, I know, I'm disappointed in their lack of stripes as well.



Happy Friday, All!

Gracey

Blurry Black and White

What's black and white and blurry all over?  This dress in the wind:

That's right, the print on this dress is actually black and white, not blurry abstract gray:

But, this print proved to be extremely difficult to photograph, especially with all the darned wind.



Really though, it's rather pretty:

But, mostly, it's blurry:

Dress: thrifted vintage
Belt: second-hand vintage  Sandals: Isola

Happy Wednesday, All!

Gracey

They're Elephants

On my skirt, I mean:

They're elephants:

I'm also wearing hearts and polka dots.  But on my skirt, they're elephants.



Specifically, they are thrifted, vintage, pleated elephants:

Skirt: via Vintage by the Pound
Blouse: LOFT  Shoes: Via Spiga "Nalo" Wedges

And I think they're adorable.

Happy Monday, All!

Gracey

Better Shiny Than Sorry

I have a lot of cropped pants in my closet.  And a lot of stripes.  So, I figured I'd wear them together:

With a little bit of shine to keep my neutral outfit from being too boring:

Just kidding.  There is no way a waist this high is boring.  It's just flat out glorious.  And stripes aren't boring either.  They're classic.  And awesome.



But, still, you can't go wrong with a little shine:

Shirt: old LOFT (similar)  Pants: Ann Taylor
Necklace: Piperlime (similar)  Belt: LOFT (similar)  Sandals: Isola 'Lisinda'

Because, you know what they say, "Better shiny than sorry."  And if they don't say that, they should.



Happy Monday, All!

Gracey

Pleats, Stripes and Brights

I thrifted this vintage pleated skirt the other day and couldn't wait to wear it:

Happily, the weather cooperated and I was able to pair it with a striped tee and colorful flats instead of tights and boots:

I mean, it's not that I don't love my tights and boots.  I do.  But these flats are just so much fun:

So bright flats it is:

Tee: Old Navy (similar)  Skirt: thrifted vintage (similar)
Earrings: local Portland craftsman (similar)  Shoes: Via Spiga "Pallas 2" Flats

And pleats.  And stripes.  All the good things.



Happy Wednesday, All!

Gracey

Snow Birds

So, it's still not snowing here in Pittsburgh, but it was snowing when I wore this outfit two weeks ago.  And since I've been rather lax about taking new outfit photos, you're getting these oldies but goodies:

I mean, you can't be too mad when I'm offering up double grid print and birds.


Yes, that's right, birds:

This scarf is covered with birds.  And I think it pairs perfectly with the black and white grid print.  And with the camel jacket.

Blouse: LOFT (similar)  Skirt: LOFT (similar)
Scarf: vintage thrifted  Jacket: thrifted J. Crew (similar)  Boots: Franco Sarto "Eminent"

Although... maybe it's the red-ness of the scarf that makes it perfect, as opposed to the bird-ness.  Eh, either way, I love this combination.


And, hopefully, next time I post, it'll be something more seasonally-appropriate.  Don't get your hopes up though; March is awfully early for Pittsburgh to give up on snowing.


Happy Monday, All!

Gracey

It's Not Terrible

I really like this outfit because it combines two of my favorite things; graphic prints and bright colors:

Or, rather a graphic print and a bright color, but you get the point.



Also, is there any color that looks better than red with black and white?

I think not.  I mean, all brights work with black and white.  And cobalt is pretty great with graphic prints, but even I, a life-long lover of cobalt, think that red is just the perfect compliment to graphic black and white.

Skirt: LOFT (similar)  Tunic: Banana Republic (similar)
Tights: SPANX  Boots: Franco Sarto "Eminent"

I guess what I'm saying is that red, well, it's not terrible.

Happy Wednesday, All!

Gracey

Literary Stylings # 23: Obsidian

After much deliberation, I decided to base today's LitSty look on the two books of the Red Rising Trilogy, Red Rising and Golden Son:

As I said before, I wasn't actually familiar with these books prior to reading them.  I was just looking for something for my nephew and he's only 15 so I still like to pre-read any books I get for him.

And, as I also said before, I was very pleasantly surprised at how good these books are.  I won't say that Brown is the best writer, but the story is very, very good and he writes well enough to keep the reader engaged.

One thing I appreciate is how much though Brown put into the world he created.  In his version of the future, people are split into color-coded groups.  Each group has been genetically modified to do the work their group does.  Golds lead, Pinks were created for pleasure, Whites are the law, Grays are the military, Reds are the miners and Obsidians are the fighters.


Here is a hierarchy I found on Pinterest:

As you can see, Gold is at the very top and Red is at the very bottom.

The main character of the trilogy, Darrow, is a Red who finds out that although he and his people have been living underground in the mines, killing themselves to mine material so Mars can be terra-formed, it was already terra-formed hundreds of years ago and they're just slaves.

In his fight against the ruling Golds, Darrow is assisted by an Obsidian and for me, the story of the Obsidian group is one of the most fascinating of the book.  They also fought against the Golds once and as a result, the Golds took their technology, sending them back to the Middle Ages at best, and then set themselves up as Gods to the Obsidians.  They also did a bunch of other horrible stuff to them, effectually making them into killing machines to be used by the Golds to maintain their power.

Most of the groups have hair and eyes the color of their group; Reds have red hair and eyes.  Golds have golden hair and eyes and golden skin.  Obsidians, have paper-white skin and obsidian-black hair and eyes (and tattoos).


My outfit represents my fascination with the Obsidian story:

The black and white represents the Obsidians.  The bit of red represents the alliance with Darrow and his Obsidian.  And the leopard booties represent my belief that leopard is a neutral.

Poncho: Zara (save, splurge)  Tunic: Gap (similar)
Leggings: c/o Long Tall Sally (similar)  Shoes: Isola "Banner" Bootie

Sorry for the long post, but I really do appreciate the thought that Brown put into his books and wanted to share some of that with you.


But, enough about me; it's your turn!

An InLinkz Link-up

Happy Tuesday, All!

Gracey

Fuzzy Stripes

Stripes are great:

But, do you know what are even better than stripes?  Fuzzy stripes:

I mean, really.  What beats a sweater that allows you to rub your own belly for comfort on a rough day?  The answer is, obviously, nothing.



Because fuzzy stripes are the best stripes:

Sweater: LOFT  Skirt: thrifted vintage (similar)
Tights: Spanx  Boots: Franco Sarto "Eminent"

Bar none.


Happy Monday, All!  And don't forget to link up tomorrow for Literary Stylings!

Gracey

Duck, Duck, Grid

Gah.  Okay. Fine.  They're swans, not ducks:

But, "swan, swan, grid" doesn't even remotely sound like a thing and duck, duck, grid is fun.  So, duck, duck, grid it is:

And, whatever you call it, I think it's a fun play on black and white:

Blouse: Target (similar in navy)  Skirt: LOFT (similar pencil skirt)
Tights: Assets via Target (similar)  Shoes: Bettye Muller (similar)

Classic, but with a twist.


Happy Wednesday, All!

Gracey

Pattern Play

One thing that has been both frustrating and amusing about getting a new job is that I have a new set of people I get to explain my outfits to.

This outfit required quite a bit of explanation:

First I tried to tell them that mixing patterns was okay.  They were not convinced.



Then I tried convince them that this mix especially made good sense.  I mean, look at this:

Could any two prints go any better?!!!



And yes, I said go.  I know this outfit doesn't match:

But, I'll be gosh-darned if it doesn't go.  Apparently though, "going" isn't a concept my new co-works are ready to embrace yet.



That's okay.  I'll just keep mixing my prints and eventually they'll agree that the mixes make sense.

Top: H&M (similar) (similar)  Skirt: H&M (similar)
Belt: thrifted (similar)  Boots: v. old Steve Madden (similar)

Maybe.


Happy Friday, All!

Gracey

Color Confusion

Modcloth says the color of this cardigan is "rust":

But, I don't think it is.  To my mind, rust has a little more orange to it.


In fact, I thought it was brick... right up until the point when I wore it next to some bricks:

Turns out it's neither rust, nor brick.  I think it might be burgundy.  Which is good because I was hoping to find a burgundy cardigan for fall.  Of course, I was also hoping to find a rust cardigan for fall, so that search continues.


But, whatever color it is, it's perfect for fall.  And perfect mixed with a wool skirt and chambray shirt:

So, I'm not complaining about the color.  I'm just confused:

Cardi: Modcloth   Top: LOFT (similar)
Tights: SPANX  Skirt: thrifted vintage (similar)  Boots: Born Crown (similar)

But, that's okay.  I'm used to it.


Happy Wednesday, All!

Gracey