Bold Floral

It's been so hot lately, I've been essentially living in summer dresses, with a cardigan for work, of course.  Today's summer dress is a bright, bold floral:

Paired with red shoes because, as it turns out, I love red shoes:

And I think they're especially good with a bold floral:

Dress: vintage  Belt: thrifted (similar)  Shoes: Fidji via Shoes.com

Happy Monday, All!

Gracey

Shop Bold Floral Dresses

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

Feeling Plummy

I was feeling rather plummy the other day:

And yes, it's too cold for open-toed shoes.  But, as I'm sure you know, when you're feeling plummy, that feeling doesn't end at your feet.


So, of course I had to pair my plum pants with plum shoes:

I also added a sweater that doesn't match, but goes really really well:

And then there's the scarf; I don't think it contains the color of the pants or the sweater, but it still serves to tie the two together:

Pants: LOFT  Sweater: LOFT
Scarf: sister gifted (similar)  Shoes: Franco Sarto (similar)

Prints are just the best for that, aren't they?

Happy Monday, All!

Gracey

Stripes and Studs

Based on the title of this post, you're probably expecting something cool and a little bit rock n' roll.  Something like this:

Image via Pinterest

For those of you who thought that might be what you're getting, let me welcome you new readers to the blog.  Because if you've read me before, you know that my thighs would use those pre-made tunnels to escape those jeans and try to take over the world.


And you'd know that my version of stripes and studs is neither cool nor rock n' roll, but rather, candy-colored and cheery:

Dress: thrifted, vintage   Shoes: Lollipops via yoox

Because when I buy studs, they're on orange suede sandals:

Lollipop sandals via yoox.com

And then I pair them with the happiest stripes I can my hands on:

Happy stripes, folks.  That's where it's at:

And happy Monday's, of course!


Gracey

more happy stripes

Pantone Fall 2015

Below are the top 10 trend colors Pantone has selected for this fall:

They are: Cashmere Rose, Biscay Bay, Cadmium Orange, Amethyst Orchid, Oak Buff, Marsala, Desert Sage, Dried Herb, Reflecting Pond and Stormy Weather.

I'm pretty excited about most of the colors and am especially excited for Dried Herb because I'm pretty sure that's just another name for my beloved olive.

I mean, right?  That's totally olive.


I'm also excited for Reflecting Pond; it's a gorgeous navy.

And for Stormy Weather; it may seem boring to some, but I think it's a great gray and a fabulous neutral:

Oak Buff and Biscay Bay are my two other favorites out of the ten:

They'll be gorgeous paired with the olive, navy and gray neutrals.


As for the other colors, I don't imagine I'll be introducing them into my wardrobe this fall.  No, not even the orange.  I do love orange, but the Cadmium Orange is not my favorite.  At all:

On their site, Pantone explains that this color is meant to reference the 60s, and it does, but surely there was another color from that decade they could have referenced instead.  This is just not great for me.


I'm also taking a hard pass on the Desert Sage and the Marsala:

I'm just not a fan of "dusty" colors; I like more saturation

As for the Cashmere Rose and the Amethyst Orchid, they're not for me either:

I like the idea of them for Fall because they're unusual choices.  And I think they both pair especially well with navy, but I'm picky about my pinks and hardly wear any purple at all so I'm going to skip these two as well.

What about you, Reader Friends?  Which of these color trends will you be trying for Fall?

Happy Thursday, All!

Gracey

Embellished and Olive

I'm sad to say that this outfit is not an original idea:

Sweatshirt: LOFT (similar)  Vest: Old Navy (similar)
Scarf: Gifted (similar)  Jeans: Old Navy
Boots: Born Crown "Sosie" (similar)

Nope.  Not original.  In fact, brazenly ripped off from this Pin:

Image via Pinterest

As you can see, my outfit is less seasonally confused (Tulips and layers?  And is that snow on the ground? What is going on here?!) than the original, but it's basically the same.


Well, almost.  My outfit is also considerably less blinged-out than the original, but I like the colored jewels on this sweatshirt.  Especially with the claret color of the scarf:

Now if only I can get that Louis Vuitton bag...


Happy Thursday, All!

Gracey

The Sweater Coat

This sweater coat is one of the pieces I was most excited to wear in cold Pennsylvania:

Sweater Coat: thrifted vintage  Jeans: Old Navy
Boots: Born Crown (similar)

And I was right to be excited.  This thing is cozy as heck; probably because it's basically a full-body sweater.  It's also colorful, color blocked and from my favorite 80s brand, I.B. Diffusion.  Never heard of I.B. Diffusion?  That's okay, I can help.  Here is one of their fabulous ads:


I.B. Diffusion Fall 1986 from Steve Weiss on Vimeo.


Amazing, right?  Yeah, the company that made that ad also made my sweater:

MICHAEL Michael Kors belt via Nordstrom (similar)

Yes, I know.  I am a lucky, lucky girl.


Happy Monday, All!

Gracey

Branching Out

I tend to be a creature of habit when it comes to buying clothes.  I stick with the stores that I know (so much so that my dad asked me the other day if my blog was sponsored by Nordstrom - he's very funny) because I know how they'll fit me.  This is especially true when it comes to brands that carry "tall" clothes.  Because, as all tall women know, there is tall and then there is "tall."

Unfortunately, due to this reliance on the brands I know, I haven't really tried a lot of other tall lines.  But, today I am branching out.

You see that wonderfully stripe-y tunic?  It's from Chadwick's of Boston.


I know!  I had no idea that Chadwick's carried tall clothes either.  But, they do.  Like this tunic:

When Chadwick's offered me an item to review, I was a little hesitant because their "tall" starts at 5'7" which isn't always long enough for me.  But, as you can see, this tunic is plenty long, covering my bum and everything!

Tunic: c/o Chadwick's  Leggings: c/o metrostyle  Jacket: Kenneth Cole Reaction (similar)
Scarf: c/o FRAAS (similar)   Boots: Naughty Monkey (similar)

Which, given how my bum resists coverage by most tunics, is a miracle.  A Chadwick's miracle!


Now, I can't say how Chadwick's will work for women taller than myself, but if you're between 5'7" and 6', I'd say give them a try.  They don't have a huge selection, but they carry good, classic pieces.  I especially like their basics, like my tunic, and I'm drooling over this fabulous plaid blazer!

What about you, Reader Friends?  Are you creatures of habit when it comes to purchasing clothes?  Or do you like to branch out?

Happy Wednesday, All!

Gracey

Winter Brights

The best part about wearing brights for winter is that you can wear them towards the end of winter and everyone will tell you that you look "spring-like" but you'll still be warm!  This dress is great for that:

Dress: thrifted  Jacket: Nordstrom  Belt: Thrifted  Boots: Zappos  Scarf: LOFT

It's also great for catching the wind:

Unfortunately that wind was cold, but I still kind of like the skirt belled out like that.

Happy Monday, All!

Gracey

Shop the Look

Similar hot pink dress

Kenneth Cole New York jacket

MICHAEL Michael Kors boots

Similar scarf

T3: Geek Love's Rose Garden

The other day I was invited by M, at My Closet Catalogue, to participate in Thoughtful Third Thursday (T3), which is a new link party.  The idea is to create a post about what you're currently reading, including a quote or synopsis and an outfit based on the quote/synopsis.  As you can see, I'm a bit late with my post, but I figure better late than never.

I am reading Geek Love, by Katherine Dunn, which is about a family where the children were purposely bred, by their parents, to be "circus freaks" to work in the family's traveling circus.  And it's amazing.  Here is my inspiration quote:

"Please, Papa," I begged, "tell us the Rose Garden."

...

"It was in Oregon, up in Portland, which they call the Rose City, though I never got in gear to do anything about it until a year or so later when we we were stuck in Fort Lauderdale."

He had been restless one day, troubled by business boondoggles.  He drove up into a park on a hillside and got out for a walk.  "You could see for miles from up there.  And there was a big rose garden with arbors and trellises and fountains.  The paths were brick and wound in and out."  He sat on a step leading from one terrace to another and stared listlessly at the experimental roses.  "It was a test garden, and the colors were... designed.  Striped and layered.  Once color inside the petal and another color outside."

...

The roses started him thinking, how the oddity of them was beautiful and how that oddity was contrived to give them value.  "It just struck me - clear and complete all at once - no long figuring about it."  He realized that children could be designed.  "And I thought to myself, now that would be a rose garden worthy of a man's interest."

And here is my outfit, inspired by that quote:

I thought the blue and purple roses on my dress, with their jade stems, were a good representation of what designer roses might look like:

And, not for nothing, but I also have jade stems today:

In addition to my dress (vintage, thrifted) and my jade tights (Target), I also wore a vintage wool blazer (thrifted), black ankle boots (BC Footwear) and an animal print belt (thrifted).  The belt is there because I can't resist the combination of animal and floral and because the traveling circus has big cats as well as home-grown "freaks."

As I mentioned, I'm linking up with My Closet Catalogue for T3, but also to Visible Monday at Not Dead Yet Style.  Thank you to M and Patti for hosting!


Happy Monday, All!

Gracey