It’s My Party and I’ll Shine If I Want To

Well, it wasn’t actually a party, it was dinner, but it was my dinner and my dress was shiny:

I wore this outfit for Day 2 of my Birthday Extravaganza.  We were going to dinner at The Chart House, which is a lovely restaurant in the hills above Portland, and I figured why not wear sequins.  So I did:

Although I love my black, sequined dress (vintage via Goodwill), I wanted to inject a little color into my outfit as well, so I added blue tights (Hue via Marshalls) and a burgundy eelskin clutch (vintage via Goodwill).  I also added a few bracelets, the same Juicy Couture necklace (via Nordstrom) I wore the night before (I know, I know, worst blogger ever) and black Mary Jane pumps (Franco Sarto Leticia via Nordstrom).

Franco Sarto "Leticia" - image via Nordstrom.com

Dinner was fabulous.  The view was amazing and so were the food and the service.  Definitely an excellent Day 2.

Happy Thursday, All!

Gracey

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What Would Coco Wear?

I have no idea.  I realized when I signed up for Adrienne & Jill’s Chanel Inspired Challenge that I really didn’t know that much about Chanel.  I’m afraid I haven’t studied the history of fashion much (or at all) and I have only vague, half-formed ideas about what “Chanel-inspired” might mean.

And I think most of those ideas come from pop culture and a movie I saw where Audrey Tautou played Chanel.  From that movie, I learned that Coco liked pants:

 And striped shirts:

From pop culture, mostly this outfit from The Devil Wears Prada, I learned that today* Chanel means layered necklaces:

I took that very, very meager store of knowledge and came up with this:

I paired my black trousers (Vince Camuto via Nordstrom) with a striped shirt (Old Navy), a layered necklace (v. old) and pointy toe pumps (thrifted).   Yes, yes, I know; they should have chosen me instead of Audrey for that role.

To see more interpretations of Chanel-inspired style,visit Jill at Everything Just So.

And have a Happy Wednesday!

Gracey

* Okay, not even today; that movie came out in 2006. 

Butterscotch and Mauve: Take Two

Last time I wore this outfit, the proportions were off:

At the time, I blamed it on the boots, but it wasn’t entirely their fault.  It was the combination of the boots and the skirt.

Now, I’m the first to admit that I don’t always pay attention to proportion.  Looking at my pictures, I think I sometimes treat this is a personal smile blog instead of a personal style blog.  Which is fine, I like to smile (obviously, I guess), but I do also like style.  So, this time around, I shortened the skirt and remixed the outfit with different shoes:

A close up of the tights

And, I think it worked.  It’s still a color combination I love; it’s just also now an outfit that I love.  I kept the same butterscotch sweater (thrifted) and paired it with the same mauve skirt (thrifted and now hemmed).  I added the same gray Swiss dot tights (Hue via Macys) and the same silk bow tie (thrifted).  But, this time I wore burgundy pumps (Naya “Jada” via Nordstrom) instead of boots; which, along with the shortened skirt, made all the difference.

Also, it snowed today in Oregon.  A lot.  My friend Kathy said it was a sign of the impending apocalypse.  I heard “zombie apocalypse” and made this face:

And with that, I wish you all a Happy Wednesday!

Gracey

Grown Up Clothes

I had an interview today (same agency, different position) so I wore some grown up clothes:

I wore a black pencil skirt (thrifted), a sheer blue blouse (Olivia Moon via Nordstrom) layered over a black camisole (Old Navy) and added black pumps (Aerosoles via Piperlime), a few black, white and blue bracelets and some hoop earrings.  Once again, photographing this top gave me and Ferge (my photog) fits.  It’s gorgeous and I love wearing it, but can’t seem to model it for anything.  It’s fabulously flowy but, as I said last time, that means it’s better in motion.  This shot shows the drape a little bit though:

Interview clothes are an odd thing for me to wrap my mind around.  Kari over at The Chronicles of Lady K wrote about this same topic yesterday (she has an interview tomorrow) and it made me think about the rules for dressing for an interview.  My only rule is to dress appropriately while at the same time not dressing like anyone but me.  I want to be comfortable in what I’m wearing so I can concentrate on the interview and not worry about whether or not I look foolish because I’m wearing something outside of my comfort zone.

But, what does it mean to dress appropriately for an interview?  Kari mentioned that she wouldn’t dare bare legs.  I have bare legs and a sheer blouse, and still think I’m dressed appropriately because I also have a pencil skirt and pumps.  In my mind nothing says “interview” like a pencil skirt.  But, does the pencil skirt negate the sheerness of my blouse?  And do my sensible pumps make up for my bare legs?

For me, this outfit is the perfect combination of dressing for the situation, but still dressing for me.  It’s not as, let’s say “fashion forward,” as my bright, color-blocked outfit from yesterday but even I know bright red pants would be a bit too much for an interview.  And perhaps a sheer blouse is also a bit too much for an interview, but maybe that’s my aesthetic.  Maybe “A Bit Too Much” should be the Fashion for Giants motto.

But what about you, Reader Friends?  Do you have your own set of rules for dressing for an interview?

Happy Wednesday, All!

Gracey

P.S. The interview went well but I won’t know until Monday if I got the position or not.  I’ll keep you posted!

Inadvertent Matching

Daily Outfit for Wednesday, May 25, 2011

I didn’t mean to match my umbrella today so I think we all just got lucky with this one:

See?  Don’t you feel lucky?  Me too.

For this unintentional-umbrella-matching outfit, I paired my black cropped pants (Banana Republic) with a cream tunic (Nordstrom), black peep toe pumps (Aerosoles), a gold charm bracelet (Banana Republic) and a gold belt worn as a necklace (via Mabel & Zora).  I don’t usually wear such bright yellow gold, preferring muted, more brass-like tones, but I thought the bright gold would pop nicely against this otherwise plain outfit.

I was actually surprised at my decision to wear my belt as a necklace.  I know that seems ridiculous because it was my decision, but I was running late and didn’t have time to think it though.  I remember seeing other bloggers wear belts as necklaces and possibly vice versa and I remember thinking “Whose waist is small enough that their belt could double as a necklace?  Mine certainly isn’t.”  Well, my waist hasn’t gotten any smaller, and I don’t think my neck has gotten any bigger, but I think this works for me.  So, in case you were wondering, yes, giants can wear their belts as necklaces. 

How about you all?  Do you ever surprise yourself (pleasantly or otherwise) in your decision to wear something?

Gracey