Floral and Chambray

This may be my ideal Spring outfit:

Wrinkled-but-still-cute vintage dress?  Check.

Chambray blazer?  Check.

Caramel-colored boots?  Check.


Also, not for nothing, but I think this chambray blazer may be my wardrobe's jean jacket:

By which I mean the piece I will throw over any- and everything all season long.  I can't do regular denim jackets.  They make me look like a box.  And not like a cute little jewelry box with a ballerina inside.  No.  Like a denim box that a refrigerator was shipped in that now makes an awesome fort.  That kind of box.


But, the chambray blazer?  This I can do:

Blazer: LOFT (this season's version)
Dress: thrifted vintage (similar)  Boots: Enzo Angiolini "Colston"

Happy Wednesday, All!

Gracey

The Mini

Recently I was once again lucky enough to be contacted by the lovely people at Long Tall Sally with the offer to review a few pieces from their current collection.  And, once again, I jumped at the chance.  There were a couple of pieces that I knew I wanted to try right off.  One was this mini skirt:

Aztec Jacquard Skirt - Image via Long Tall Sally

I don't wear a lot of mini skirts, but I couldn't resist the bold, graphic print and subtle shine of this skirt.  I think it's beautiful.  I also think that it's perfect for holiday parties.  However, I don't go to holiday parties.  I go to work.


But, I have good news!  Because the shine is subtle, this skirt is also good for work, especially when dressed down with an over-size sweater:

See?  Mostly, maybe even totally, work appropriate!  Hooray!!



In addition to being both party-ready and probably-work-ready, this skirt is fantastic because you can pair it with a variety of different colors.  It would look fabulous with a black top, of course, but I also really like it with this tobacco-colored (Gap's description, not mine) sweater.  I think it pairs well with the cream and black colorway:

Sweater: Gap  Skirt: c/o Long Tall Sally
Earrings: gifted (similar) Tights: Spanx  Boots: Franco Sarto "Eminent"

But, really, you can pair nearly any color with this skirt.  And, knowing me, I likely will at some point, because this skirt is both beautiful and versatile.


Happy Monday, All!

Gracey

Borrowed from the Boys

I don't wear a lot of menswear-inspired looks because it's not really my thing.  And then I saw these shoes:

Bettye by Bettye Muller "Quote" Flats

And I was like, dammit, Annie Hall, here I come!

Sweater: Gap  Jeans: Gap (self-frayed)  Shoes: Bettye by Bettye Muller

As you can see, I didn't quite make it to Annie Hall-levels of androgyny.  But my look is definitely borrowed from the boys; I paired the shoes with an oversized sweater & frayed jeans.  I'll definitely wear the shoes in the future with skirts and tights, but, today, I wanted to pay homage to their awesome manliness.

So manly.  So cute.


Happy Friday, All!  Don't forget to enter my giveaway!

Gracey

Tobacco

That's right, I'd like to talk about tobacco today.  No, not the cigarette filler, the color.  The color of this scarf:

Now, personally, I'd call that caramel, but, for some reason, retailers are calling it tobacco this season.  And whatever it's called, I love it.


Especially paired with chambray and black:

Scarf: Old Navy  Top: Nordstrom  Jeans: Old Navy  Boots: Born Kyndra

If this looks familiar, that's probably because you recognize it as the outfit I wore under my Long Tall Sally coat.  I just liked it so much I wanted to do an individual post for the outfit:

And to talk about tobacco, of course.

What do you think, Reader Friends?  What are your thoughts on this color?  Would you wear it?


Happy Thursday, All!

Gracey

Get the Look

Arbitrary Neon

Arbitrary Neon is going to be the name of the band I start after Neon Peach goes up in flames because the bass guitarist thinks she should be a solo artist.  It also describes my accessories today:

Although you can’t see it very well, I am wearing a neon necklace.  This neon necklace: 

Long Epoxy Link Necklace -image via Target.com

Why?  Because it made sense this morning and who am I to ignore morning inspiration.  (Also, Morning Inspiration is going to be the name of my 70s soft rock cover band).  In addition to the arbitrary neon necklace (Target), I also wore dark leopard skinnies (Old Navy Rock Star), a sheer, printed blouse (Liberty Love via Nordstrom Rack), an oversized blazer (gifted J. Crew; thanks Alex!) & boots (MIA “Roam” via Piperlime). 

Full disclosure, I love this outfit.  I love the weird color combination (tobacco, blue & fuchsia?), the pattern mixing (of course) and the arbitrary neon necklace.  It’s randomly cohesive, which is totally my thing.  As of right now.

Happy Thursday, All!

Gracey

Shop the Look:

Neon Target necklace

Similar blouse

Old Navy RockStar Skinnies

MIA “Roam” boots

I couldn't find a similar blazer, but I'd suggest thrifting something; thrift stores are full of oversized blazers.

** Disclosure: Actions taken from the hyperlinks in this blog post may yield commission/compensation for the writer. Please see the Disclosure tab for more details.

Day 3: Birthday Cake and Hobbit Thoughts

Day 3 of my Birthday Extravaganza-Fest was definitely more low-key than Days 1 and 2.  There were no sequins, no feathers, no champagne and only a minimum of fire.  But, there was cake (yay, cake!) and there were thoughts on hobbits (yay, hobbits!).

The low-key nature of Day 3 meant, of course, a low-key outfit:

Especially since I had to go to work – yes, they made me work during my Birthday Extravangaza-Palooza; can you believe that?!  I wore jeggings (Bandolino), a striped tunic (Old Navy) layered under a caramel sweater (Goodwill) and riding boots (Born Crown “Sosie” via Nordstrom).  I also wore my new glasses, from Firmoo, but I'll post more on that later.

After work, I had dinner with my family and I had cake.  This was my cake:

The candles are a joke; I'm not 33.

It was a homemade chocolate Bundt cake drizzled with white and milk chocolate and it was delicious.

And, after cake, my brother-in-law and my nephew took me to see The Hobbit.  Here are my thoughts:

1. Aw, the Shire.  I still totally want to live there.
2. Wow, someone spent a LOT of time styling those dwarves’ head suits.
3. That lead dwarf is sort of sexy, you know, for a dwarf. 
4.  Orcs are gross. 
5.  Was Saruman really always such an ass? 
6.  What’s with all the slapstick comedy? 
7.  Yes, but why were the stone giants fighting? 
8.  The Gollum scenes were pretty great. 
9.  Orcs are gross. 
10.  Not bad, Peter Jackson, not bad.

What about you Reader Friends?  Have you seen The Hobbit yet?  Any thoughts?  None?  Well, then how about any thoughts/comments on cake?

Happy Friday, Everyone! 

Gracey

Happy Halloween

I didn't dress up for Halloween.  In fact, this is what I wore:

MIA "Roam," Image via Piperlime

I know it’s not very Halloween-y, being neither sexy (my sexy Bert and Ernie costume is at the cleaners) nor scary.  Well, not scary as long as you’re not chromophobic.  If you are, you’re probably terrified of my bright cobalt dress (Target).  Of course, if you’re chromophobic, you probably don’t read my blog.  But, in case you are and you do, maybe as a form of immersion therapy or something, I did tone the look down a bit with the blazer (J. Crew, swapped), the tights (Target), the scarf (c/o FRAAS) and the boots (MIA “Roam” via Piperlime).  Let it never be said that I’m not looking out for my chromophobic peeps.

Happy Wednesday, All.  And, yes, Happy Halloween.

Gracey

P.S. Chromophobia is a fear of bright colors.

Inspired By: A Scarf and a Broken Elbow

The colors in today’s outfit were inspired by the colors in today’s scarf:

The pieces in today’s outfit were inspired by my broken elbow:

Please to allow me to explain.  Today I wore a plum-colored sweater dress (Target) layered over leggings (Ross) and under a caramel blazer (J Crew, swapped).  I added riding boots (Born Crown “Sosie” via Nordstrom), cameo and garnet earrings and, of course, the scarf (Target).  Color-wise, the scarf, while it contains no plum, contains colors that compliment plum, such as caramel, camel, black and rust.  Broken-elbow-wise, the sweater dress and leggings pulled on easily and the blazer, being a bit over-sized, is easier to wrestle myself into that a more fitted blazer.

In other news, I hooked my own bra this morning.

Happy Thursday, Everyone!

Gracey