Because I Want To

I wore this scarf today because I wanted to, not because I had to:

Because it was warm here today.  Not just not-cold, warm.  I think it got up to 78 or so.  In November.  In Western Pennsylvania.  So, did I need this scarf?  No, I did not.



And the same could be said for the boots:

Dress: Target  Cardi: LOFT (similar)
Scarf: c/o of FRAAS (similar)  Boots: v. old Steve Madden (similar)

I'm wearing them not because it's cold and I have to.  No, I'm wearing the boots because it's November, damnit, and I want to wear boots.



Happy Wednesday, All!

Gracey

Summer Sweaters and Arctic Offices

I am fed up with the air conditioning at work.  It's so cold in my office that I was forced to wear a sweater to work today:

A sweater!  At the end of June!  I know!


Because, apparently, once the air goes on at work, they can't (won't?) adjust it.  So, on days like today when it was neither warm enough nor humid enough to justify blasting the air conditioner, they do it anyway.  So, in order to survive my Arctic office, I've learned that summer sweaters are not only a real thing, but a sometimes necessary thing.


I paired today's summer sweater with diamond-print pants and leopard flats:

Crap, but white is hard to photograph.  Well, trust me, those are black diamonds on my pants, not gray blobs.



And trust me that a sweater was more than called for today:

Sweater: LOFT (similar) Earrings: Mata Traders
Pants: Gap  Flats: Nine West (similar)

More than called for.



Happy Wednesday, All!

Gracey

Polka Dots and Leopard Spots

For me, polka dots and leopard are one of the easiest combinations to do when I want to mix prints:

I mean, think about it.  Polka dots are round, leopard spots are round-ish:

Or blobby.  Amoeba-like?  Eh, whatever.



Look; the point is, either way, roundish or blobby, amoeba-like or whatever, leopard spots work with polka dots.

Dress: thrifted (similar)
Belt: Old Navy (similar)  Shoes: Kate Spade New York "Kayleigh"

They just do.


Happy Monday, All!

Gracey

A Spot of Leopard

Today's outfit is plum, navy, orchid, and a spot of leopard:

I thought about plum shoes, but I really like the contrast of the animal print with the berry tones:

Also, it's fun to say I'm wearing "a spot of leopard":

Jacket: thrifted  Blouse: LOFT (similar)
Pants: LOFT  Belt: LOFT (similar)  Shoes: Nine West (similar)

Happy Monday, 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

Flared and Mohair(ed)

My jeans are flared.  My jacket is mohair(ed):

And this color combination is a little weird:

Maybe more than a little weird.  But, weird in a good way, I think.



Or, maybe not.  Maybe just weird in a weird way.  Something about it still appeals to me though:

Blouse: Target  Cardigan: LOFT
Jacket: vintage, gifted  Jeans: Gap  Boots: Franco Sarto "Eminent"

Happy Friday, All!

Gracey

Just Enough

This outfit is striped and red.  And flared and leopard.  And there's a fox face in there.  Basically, there's a whole lot going on in this outfit:

But, I can't help it.  I love all off these pieces and I love them all together.


I mean, how great is my fox brooch with my striped shirt?

Pretty great, I'd say.


Also pretty great is the combination of the everything else with the rest of the everything else:

I guess what I'm saying is that I know this seems like too much, but for my personal aesthetic, it's just enough:

Jacket: thrifted vintage  Blouse: thrifted vintage (similar)
Brooch: vintage  Belt: v. old (similar)  Jeans: Gap  Boots: Franco Sarto "Eminent"

Yep, just enough.


Happy Monday, All!

Gracey

No Nonsense, Well, Maybe Just a Little

But, not with the tights.  No, these tights were given to me by No Nonsense, and they are living up to their name:

The skirt, on the other hand, is straight up full of nonsense.  The darn thing insists on spinning around on my waist like it's being paid to do so.  Seriously, that front pocket seems to think it's a side pocket and is trying it's darnedest to get back home.

But, enough of the silly skirt.  Let's talk about these tights:

I'm not kidding folks, they are fantastic.

Now, this particular pair, while fabulously patterned, isn't especially thick, but for Fall, or mild winters, these are perfect.  Also perfect?  The fit.  I'd never tried No Nonsense tights because I tend to shy away from tights that have combined sizes, like L/XL, because I've found they're more on the "L" side than on the "XL" side and I am the opposite.  But, these tights fit beautifully.  They're long enough for my legs and didn't sag at all during the day.  They also didn't pinch my thighs, which is good because my thighs hate being pinched.

If your thighs also hate being pinched, I highly recommend No Nonsense tights.  Because, having No Nonsense on your legs gives you more time to deal with the nonsense of your skirt:

Nonsense Skirt: LOFT  Sweater: Woolovers (get 10% off with that link)
Tights: No Nonsense  Boots: Franco Sarto "Eminent"

And that takes a lot of energy.

Happy Wednesday, All!

Gracey

Gray Leopard

The other day I was wandering through Macy's in search of a new fall lipstick when I saw this gray leopard skirt:

Of course, my search for lipstick was immediately ended when I saw this skirt.  I mean, who cares about the perfect plum when you can get the perfect sweater skirt?


And it really is the perfect sweater skirt:

I love the length, the print (of course) and the fit; it has a nice wide waist band so it's super comfortable.


And, did I mention that it was a sweater skirt?  I've convinced myself that means I can wear it all winter long:

Cardigan: LOFT (similar)  Skirt: Macy's 
Tights: Spanx  Boots: Born Crown (similar)

I'll let you know how that goes come January.


Happy Wednesday, All!

Gracey

Plum Dotty

Even though it's back to being hot and humid here in the afternoons, you can definitely feel the difference in the air.  Especially in the mornings when it's actually cool enough to warrant pants.

I know.  Pants, people!  Pants!


Plum pants, in fact.  Paired with a dotty, collared top from LTS:

Oh, and because I like to rhyme my clothes, I added some (leopard) spots to go with my dots:

Top: c/o LTS  Earring: Modcloth (similar)
Pants: LOFT  Shoes: Nine West (similar)

Happy Wednesday, All!

Gracey

Pom Wonderful

As I mentioned before I, for some reason, have a favorite trim.  And for all the reasons, it's pom pom trim:

I like it so much, I like to wear it all at once:

All the pom poms.  All of 'em.


Because pom poms are...

Peplum: eShakti (similar) (more coverage)  Scarf: gifted (similar)
Pants: Old Navy (similar)  Flats: Nine West (similar)

That's right, pom wonderful.



Happy Friday, All!

Gracey

Pop of Non-Color

I'm not a big fan of white shoes.  They tend to remind me of nursing shoes.  Or, if they're sandals, of bandaged feet.  Or, if they're pumps, the 80s.  You know I love the 80s, but I never could get behind the brightly color-blocked outfits paired with white pumps.

But, what I can get behind are speckled white flats:

I just think they're more interesting than a black shoe would be with this outfit:

And more palatable, for my tastes, than a white pump would be:

Top: LOFT  Skirt: vintage, thrifted  Shoes: Steve Madden (save, splurge)

It's not that either of those choices wouldn't work, it just that I like these as my pop of non-color.


Happy Thursday, All!

Gracey