The Replacement Shoes

This was not a good summer for my shoes.  My blue suede platforms broke, my leopard peep toes are years old and starting to fray, I ruined the soles on my ankle boots falling down some concrete stairs and the linen straps on my espadrilles gave up the ghost:

The thing is; I’m hard on my shoes.  I use my heels to put my kickstand up, I ride my bike in the rain so my shoes can get pretty wet, and, let’s be honest, I’m not the most delicate flower in the blogosphere, so my shoes have to contend with a not small amount of weight.  I do what I can to protect my shoes against wear and tear, but they do eventually wear out.  Which means Mama needs a new pair of shoes.  Or four.

Luckily for me, I’ve added all of these to my shopping list.  Because, after my admittedly brief, but still grueling, shopping ban and closet purge this summer, I am actually doing better about sticking to my list.  And, because I am getting rid of the shoes I’ve replaced, I’m also following the (admittedly half-assed) one-in-one-out policy I’ve implemented.  Yay, me!  

Even more luckily for me, Nordstrom Rack had a clearance sale over Labor Day weekend and I was able to score two pairs of replacement shoes for under $50.00.  I bought the yellow pair I’ve been wearing the past couple days to replace my blue pair, and I bought this pair to replace my espadrilles:

I paired my new sandals (BP. Shoes) with a new-to-me thrifted dress and added a thin belt (Steve Madden via Ross) and a vintage bangle.  I know these shoes don’t resemble the pair they replaced that much, but they had everything I was looking for: they’re two-tone (black and natural), they’re strappy (T instead of ankle) and they’re comfortable.

Enough about the shoes though, let’s talk about the dress for a bit.  I love this thing:

Not the print so much – I have no idea what it is.  But, I love the cut and the fit.  And what I really love are the possibilities of this dress.  Because it buttons from hem to neck, I think it will be extremely versatile.  I can’t wait to layer it over, under and next to things all year round.

Happy Friday, Everyone!  Have a great weekend!

Gracey

I Rock a Lot of Florals

Like Jess from New Girl, I really do rock a lot of polka dots.  But, I realized today, as I wore my newest floral vintage dress, that I also rock a lot of florals:

This dress is one of the first items I Pinned once I figured out what the heck Pinning was.  It’s from the House of Heirlooms Etsy shop and I knew it would someday be mine.  For the inaugural wearing, I cinched the dress (vintage Donna Toran) with a black leather belt (thrifted) and added my ankle-tie espadrilles (Nordstrom).   And I loved it.  I love that it’s bright, shiny and colorful.  Oh, and floral.  Because, in case you hadn’t noticed, I rock a lot of florals.

Happy Tuesday, Everyone!

Gracey

Saving the Best for Last

I’m not sure this is absolutely the best vintage dress I have in my closet, but it’s definitely top three:

Unlike Tuesday’s dress that I tried to love, but just couldn’t, I have no problems loving this dress.  In fact, I think it may be pert near perfect.  I love the strange little print (no idea what it is), the colors, the jaunty little lady tie and the length.  Most of all though, I love the fit.  I don’t think this dress could be any more flattering even if it whispered “hey baby, lookin’ good” every three steps.

Seriously, it’s even good from the side:

I paired the dress (vintage Anthony Richards, thrifted) with a braided, cognac belt (thrifted) and cognac espadrille wedges (Corso Como via Piperlime).  I had originally thought to pair this dress with red accessories but then I ousted my red wedges and got a little stumped.  But, I think like it just as well, if not better, with the cognac accessories; the red might have been a little too matchy-matchy.

Whether or not this is the best vintage dress in my closet may be up for debate, but it is definitely the last that I needed to wear before Maurice and I would be allowed to board the ship home from Nosh Opping.  This weekend, I’ll post a wrap up of what got ousted during the expedition; I actually got rid of a surprising amount of clothes.

Happy Thursday, All!

Gracey

The Silk Obsession

Over the past year or so, I’ve become obsessed with silk.  It started with a couple of silk blouses from Banana Republic and has resulted in my thrifting four silk tees, two tanks, a halter, four more blouses and a dress.  This is one of the silk tees:

This one makes me happy because it’s so very 80s and we all know I have an irrational fondness for the 80s.  But, c’mon, how can this print in these colors not make you happy?

I paired today’s happy silk tee (thrifted) with black cropped pants (Banana Republic), ankle-wrap wedges (Very Volatile via Nordstrom) and a turquoise-colored bead necklace (rummaged).  The tee really does make me happy and these pants are definitely a keeper.  I want to keep the shoes, but they are several seasons old now and the linen straps are beginning to fray.  I’ll try to repair them, but if not, they’ll be added to the list of items I need to replace.  (Because no shoe wardrobe is complete without ankle-wrap wedges). 

I will try to get through the rest of my seasonally-appropriate thrifted silk items within the next couple weeks, which should put me on track for finishing this expedition by August 1.

Happy Tuesday, All!

Gracey

Blue Makes All the Difference

As you all know, I love orange and think it goes with everything (which it totally does) but even I’m hesitant to pair it with black for fear of looking Halloween-y.  Today, however, paired black with orange and did so fearlessly because I also tempered the look with blue:

I got the idea for this color combination from Jill at Good Life for Less.  And I was thrilled because it gives me even more ways to wear the orange in my wardrobe.  For today, I paired a black jersey dress (v. old) with my orange beaded necklace (street fair vendor) and a bright blue cardigan (v. old).  I added cognac accessories in the way of a braided belt (thrifted) and espadrille wedges (Corso Como via Piperlime). 

And I loved it.  I think the blue cardigan really does make all the difference in the world to this outfit.  But, the fact that the necklace is more of a red-orange instead of a bright orange also helps keep the look out of Halloween territory.

Today’s Takeaway?  You can pair orange with black; just keep the orange muted and add some blue.

What do you think, folks?  Do you think you might give this color combo a try?

Happy Thursday!

Gracey

Blue Dots

After another very warm weekend, the weather in Oregon has finally cooled down again.  It’s not quite fall weather yet, but it’s definitely cooler, so I’m bringing back my day dresses.  I didn’t wear them for much of the summer – they were too warm – but I’m excited to attempt to transition them for fall.  There is not much transition going on here, but I still like this dress and was happy to finally wear it:

I paired my vintage Karin Stevens dress (thrifted) with espadrille wedges (Corso Como via Piperlime), a vintage cameo bracelet and vintage carnelian earrings (via Lil’ Gypsy).  I’ve been more conscious lately of not going head-to-toe vintage/vintage-inspired.  I love vintage clothing, but head-to-toe vintage doesn’t feel right for my style.  The dress, bracelet and earrings are all vintage, but I think the shoes add a modern element.  I think a belt would help do the same; I just have a fondness for the pin-tucking at the waist and didn’t want to cover it up.

How about you all?  Do you prefer head-to-toe vintage or a mix of modern and vintage? Or maybe you prefer head-to-toe modern?  

Happy Monday, All!  I hope you all had fabulous weekends!

Gracey

Pretty for Pretty’s Sake

Daily Outfit for Thursday, June 02, 2011

I think this dress is so pretty:

I paired the dress (vintage Karin Stevens – thrifted) with black ankle-tie espadrilles (Very Volatile via Nordstrom).  I wanted to keep it simple given the fairly busy pattern of the dress (an abstract floral).  And I also wanted to highlight the cut of the dress, which I think is brilliant for my shape.  I love the fact that the waistband hits me at the smallest part of my waist and that the top is fitted without being too tight.  And, it has pockets!  Two of them!!

Sometimes I feel like there is pressure on bloggers to be “edgy” or “experimental” in how we dress.  Outfits with deep juxtapositions between the pieces (cowboy boots and ball gowns, tutus and Converse, etc) are applauded as being unique and so very interesting.  And while I would like my readers to find me interesting, sometimes I’m drawn to pieces just because they are pretty.  And I think this dress is very pretty.

How about you, Friend Reader?  Are you drawn to edgier pieces or are you a fan of pretty for pretty’s sake?

Happy Thursday, All!

Gracey

Hot Pink Blouse, Questionable Skirt

Daily Outfit for Thursday, May 05, 2011

I thought I’d start my homage to the 80s a day early with this outfit:

I wore this lovely hot pink camp shirt (thrifted), paired with a black tie-waist skirt (also thrifted) and black ankle-tie espadrilles (Nordstrom).

I enjoy the color of this blouse immensely and would wear it more often except that its cropped shape makes it a little difficult to wear.  But, it’s really the skirt I had the questions about today.  While it has a sufficiently high waist to wear the blouse tucked in, I think the cut might be sort of off.  From certain angles, I like this skirt and think its flattering.  From others, I think it might be horrible.  Basically, I spent all day making sure no one was viewing me from ten or two.

In other news, prom is tomorrow!!!  And I’m super excited.  I bought some hideous pale pink lipstick and blue eye shadow last night and am nearly ready.  I just need to decide what I’m doing with my hair – definitely something big.  Also, I wanted to let you all know that I will be posting my usual daily outfit post tomorrow during the day, as well as my FBFF post, but probably won’t get my prom pictures up until Sunday. 

Happy 80s Prom Eve!

Gracey