Flat Pleats Are Good Pleats

Today I'm wearing one of my favorite silhouettes:

The pleated midi.


Pleats can be hard to wear, and so can midi skirts, but I still love this style of skirt.  If you love them too, I recommend looking for flat pleats, like those on this skirt:

Flat pleats help keep the volume down, which is important because too much volume in a skirt can make it look like you're smuggling throw pillows on your hips.  Even if you *are* smuggling throw pillows, you don't want to look like it because that's not very sneaky and smugglers need to be sneaky. #wordtothewise


I paired my flat-pleated skirt with a textured sweater:

Because everything is better with texture.


So, what did we learn today?

Skirt: thrifted vintage (similar)
Sweater: Nordstrom (cute option)  Sandals: Kork-Ease (similar)

We learned that smugglers need to be sneaky, everything is better with texture, and flat pleats are good pleats.  All important things.

Happy Monday, All!

Gracey

Shirt Dresses Are Easy

It's true you know, shirt dresses are easy:

Kinda like Earth girls.



But, really, just add a belt and shoes and you're set:

Not that all shirt dresses (or aliens (have you seen Jeff Goldblum in that movie???)) are equal.  Some shirt dresses have pockets:

Dress: thrifted (similar sleeveless) (with sleeves)
Belt: thrifted (similar)  Sandals: Kork-Ease (similar)

In my opinion, pocketed shirt dresses are the best shirt dresses.  And Jeff Goldblum aliens are the sexiest best aliens.



Happy Thursday, All!

Gracey

Diplomacy

My skirt is navy, not black:

Why does this matter?  Because, the Pittsburgh Penguins, whose colors are black and gold, are currently in the middle of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.  This means that most of Pittsburgh is very involved in rooting for the Penguins right now.

And that means that when you wear buttercup and dark navy to the office, the dark navy is mistaken for black and you are cheered for wearing black and gold.  Even when you're not.



But, you smile and say that you are anyway:

Cardigan: Target  Belt: LOFT (similar)
Skirt: thrifted vintage (similar)  Shoes: Kork-Ease (similar)

Because although that sounds like lying, I'm pretty sure it's called diplomacy.



Happy Wednesday, All!

Gracey

Knotted

I've never really been successful in my attempts to knot my belts in a stylish, cute manner.  Knowing when I'm beat, I decided to try a pre-knotted belt:

And I'm so glad I did.  Now I don't have to worry about the knot laying correctly or the belt flipping up.  This belt lays perfectly:

And just happens to pair wonderfully with my sandals:

Top: Nordstrom (similar)  Skirt: thrifted
Belt: LOFT (similar below)  Sandals: Kork-Ease (similar)

I'm not a big advocate of matchy-matchy accessorizing, but even I have to admit that this belt and these sandals look fantastic together:

And not too shabby with the skirt either.


Happy Monday, All!

Gracey

Shop Knotted Belts

All The Volume

I try to avoid tight-fitting clothes during the summer, especially here in Pittsburgh where the humidity is so high we have thunderstorms nearly every afternoon.  Instead, I reach for loose-fitting pieces like these cropped pants:

And instead of offsetting their volume with a fitted top, I chose to wear a loose-fitting top as well:

Pants: LOFT  Top: Anthro  Sandals: Kork-Ease

Because, sometimes, I like to wear all the volume.


Happy Friday, All!

Gracey

So Chevron, It's Right

So, Emma, from Behind the Leopard Glasses is having the best month-long challenge and link party ever.  It's all about prints and patterns!  The idea is to wear a different pattern every day (you can see the challenge calendar on her site).  I missed the first couple of days due to lack of appropriate patterns and general laziness, but today, today I'm participating.

The featured pattern for today is chevron.  As it turns out, I don't have a lot of chevron in my closet, but I was determined to participate in this fun challenge and after a bit of scrounging around I found this top:

Top: Nordstrom Rack  Cardi: Gap  Skirt & Belt: Thrifted  Sandals: Kork-Ease

It's technically lace, but it has a few lines of chevron running through there.


In addition to being lace, the top is also sleeveless so, because our mornings are a bit chillier now, I paired it with my olive cardigan:

At first I wasn't sure about the combination of coral, olive and navy, but I figured that coral and navy look good together and olive is basically a neutral so it'd be fine.

See?  That color combination totes makes sense.


Also, I realize that in all of the above pictures, my left earring is turned around so it looks like I'm just wearing gold earrings.  I'm not.  I'm actually wearing even more color:

Are any of those colors in my outfit?  Of course not!  But I wore the earrings anyway.  Because they go.


So, there you have it.  Chevron lace, a possibly weird color combination and non-matching, but totally-going earrings:

All part of an outfit that's so wrong, it's right.

Happy Thursday, All!

Gracey

Jolly Blue Giant

I'm dressed like the Jolly Blue Giant today:

Jeans: Gap (similar)  Tee: LOFT (similar)  Sandals: Kork-Ease

In retrospect, perhaps the combination of double light-wash denim & four-inch heels wasn't a good idea.  Except that I like this outfit.


I know that you're supposed to mix shades of denim when you do double denim, but I've been feeling pretty matchy-matchy lately.  Obviously:

But, hey, if being matchy-matchy is a crime, lock me up; I'm already wearing my prison blues.


Actually, I was hoping the layered necklaces kept this outfit from looking too institutional:

I'm not sure if I was successful in that endeavor but I am pretty sure I don't care.  Seriously, I know this outfit is reminiscent of prison, of scrubs, of Britney & Justin at the VMAs, all of it, but I'd still wear it again.


Matchy-matchy for the win:

Happy Tuesday, All!

Gracey