Knits and Stripes

Man but I love a knit pencil skirt:

In fact, I love them so much that I only have one pencil skirt that is not knit and I only keep it because it's the most beautiful blue ever.  And, in spite of it's gorgeous color, I don't even wear it that much because I prefer the knit skirts.


They are just so darned comfortable.  And so darned easy.

The same is true for this knit bomber.  It's comfortable and easy like a cardigan, but with a less expected silhouette.


Seriously, knitwear is the best.  Especially when paired with a t-shirt.  And doubly especially when paired with a striped t-shirt.

Bomber: LOFT (similar)  Tee: LOFT
Skirt: thrifted (similar)  Sandals: Steve Madden (similar)

For some reason, I am very into stripes lately.


Happy Friday, All!

Gracey

Literary Stylings #12: Hippie Days

As promised, the Literary Stylings Link Party is happening (and hopefully happening, if you know what I mean).

For today's look, I wore an outfit inspired by Ian McEwan's Sweet Tooth:

Image via npr.org

Well, Ian McEwan's Sweet Tooth and my own dear mother.  You see, I got this vest from my mom:

She sent it to me just last weekend, saying she remembers wearing vests like this during her "hippie days."  Which, if you know my mom is kind of funny because she'd still totally rock a vest like this.  But, instead of keeping if for herself, she sent it to me, because she's awesome like that.

So, what does this have to do with Sweet Tooth?  Well, the novel takes place in England in 1972.  And while the heroine of the novel, Serene, is not into the counter-culture movement, choosing instead to study "maths" at Cambridge and to later work for MI5.  Serene's sister, however, is heavily involved in the counter-culture, choosing to backpack in Morocco in lieu of college.  And during a visit to the University of Sussex Serene notes that the students there were much bigger hippies than at Cambridge.

And here you have it, my hippie-inspired outfit, but with 100% less Birkenstocks because I just can't with those:

And now it's your turn, Reader Friends.  If you were able to scrape together an outfit in the last possible minute, I'd love it if you linked up below!

An InLinkz Link-up

Happy Tuesday, All!

Gracey

Embrace the Gray

Oregon, being Oregon, only has summery weather approximately every fourth or fifth day.  Saturday was gorgeous, Sunday it rained like hell, yesterday was overcast and today is more of the same.  With some more rain thrown in because Oregon is ridiculous.  I don't have the strength to fight it, so I've decided to embrace the gray:

Literally.  I hugged each and every one of these pieces before I put them on.  The pieces being a gray sweater skirt (Macy's) with a gray sweater (JC Penney) and dark gray boots (Gap).  Yep, just gray on gray on gray.  But, I think the print on the skirt keeps it from being too dull.

Also, this sweater looks like a crop top on me.  It think it's a combination of my giant size and the fact that I shrunk it in the wash:

Thank goodness this skirt can be hiked up to make up for the possibly disastrous lack of sweater.

Happy Tuesday, All!

Gracey

Textural Interest

One of the more difficult things for me is working different textures into an outfit.  As with most things, the textures that appeal most to me are not subtle.  I don’t just want texture, I want TEXTURE.  I want big, chunky sweaters and fur and the odd feather or seven.

Unfortunately, when you get into the bolder textures, they can add bulk to an outfit.  This can be problematic for everyone, but we larger women, especially, are told to stick to sleek knits for their slimming effect.  God forbid we look bigger than we are, or even our actual size; the oft preached goal is to appear smaller. 

Well, as I often do, I’ve thrown that rule aside.  This time in favor of some texture:

But, I’m not a complete fashion heathen, so I’ve tried to compromise.  My delightfully fuzzy vest (Design History) has a fairly slim cut and so adds texture without adding too much bulk.  The sheer blouse (Liberty Loves via Nordstrom Rack) under the vest and the slim cut of the skirt (vintage via Goodwill) also add texture without bulk.  I added a bit of leather with the boots (Born Crown “Sosie” via Nordstrom) and metal with the cuff (thrifted via Goodwill), all of which combine to create textural interest. 

 

At least that’s what I’m going with.

Happy Thursday, Everyone!  And Happy Valentine’s Day!

Gracey

Ambitious

I think today’s outfit was a little ambitious:

It hurts to smile...

...but I fought through the pain to provide you all with this goofy look.

I don’t mean sartorially ambitious (obviously), I mean it’s too ambitious for my current physical capabilities.

It took me at least 10 minutes to struggle into these tights (DKNY via Nordstrom) today.  And my sister not only had to hook my bra for me, she had to tuck my shirt (Halogen via Nordstrom) into my houndstooth pencil skirt (thrifted) for me.  I was able to put on my sweater vest (vintage, thrifted) and studded belt (Michael Michael Kors via Nordstrom) all by myself but needed her help to pad the bruise on my ankle before I could put on my boots (Born Crown “Sosie” via Nordstrom).

I think I’m going to have to go a bit simpler for the rest of the week, if only for my sister’s sake.

Happy Monday, All!

Gracey