Girls Night Out: Feathers and Fire

On Sunday night, I went to dinner and a pole dancing exhibition with my friends, Jodi and Erica, for the first part of my birthday celebration.*  I wore feathers:

Thrifted top, Juicy Couture necklace & Gap blazer.

And watched stuff get lit on fire at El Gaucho: 

Flaming sword of meat.

FIRE!!

Bananas Foster in the making

But, let’s get back to the feathers.  Although you can’t see it very well in the photo above, I wore a feathered headband fascinator from Dorfman Pacific:

Image via Hartford York

When I was offered a chance to try one of these fascinators, I was a little worried I wouldn’t have any place to wear it.  And that I wouldn’t know how to style it.  But, a fire-filled dinner and a Christmas-themed pole dancing show seemed like the perfect place to wear it; and I paired it with more casual pieces, like jeans and a blazer, so that it still felt like me.

Thinking about a fascinator for yourself?  Here are my pros and cons.

Pros:

Feathers!

It was very comfortable.

It stayed in place even as I demonstrated some very vigorous booty-shaking to my friends.

Feathers!

Cons:

Not the best thing to wear in a windstorm.

You have to pay attention to overhead clearance; especially if you’re already tall.

Your friends may mistake your feathers as someone eavesdropping on your conversations.

Your cat will try to eat it.

As you can see, the pros far outweigh the cons, so I strongly recommend fascinators for everyone.  And I recommend the Dorfman Pacific fascinator.  They have all sorts of different types, from the simple yet effective model I wore, to those with full on veils and silk flowers.  If you are interested in a Dorfman Pacific fascinator, you can find them here, at Hartford York.

Happy Wednesday, Everyone!

Gracey

*Little known fact, tall people celebrate their birthdays for at least three days.

It's Weird, But I Like It

It being this tweed dress-tunic thing that I'm wearing:

I found it at The Sticky Thrift Store (aka Better Bargains, in Northeast Portland) and was immediately enamored.  I like its stiff, sort of paper-doll shape.  And I like how basic it is; no bells and whistles, just pockets:

And I love its overly detailed tag:

I'm just not convinced that I know how to style it yet.  I definitely needed the long-sleeve tee underneath (Gap) because it's unlined and tweed is itchy as hell.  I also added some jeggings (Bandolino via Macys), tall boots (Enzo Angolini via Nordstrom) and, my favorite addition, a butterfly pin from my friend, Ana:

I think that it probably could have also used a belt, but it turns out that tweed, in addition to being itchy, is hard to belt.  Or, at least this piece is.  But, belt-needy and weird as it is, I really do like it.

Happy Saturday, Everyone!  Have a fabulous weekend!

Gracey

When Squirrels Attack

Yesterday, I was outside taking my pictures, when I was attacked by this squirrel:

That’s right, that little beady-eyed, venom-fanged menace tried to kill me.

He snuck up on me along the retaining wall, and when I screamed and ran away, he rushed me:

If you look closely, you can see the shank he has hidden in his tail.

Witnesses believe I was targeted because the squirrel didn’t like my outfit: 

I think that’s ridiculous because my outfit was awesome, but maybe he didn’t like the combination of burgundy cords (Banana Republic, here), lemon yellow sweater (Gap, here) and cherry red belt (Macys, similar here).  Or maybe he hates houndstooth (Old Navy via Goodwill, similar here). 

Whatever the reason for the attack, I think we can all agree that the squirrel is a menace to society and needs to be stopped.  

So, please take a good look at that horrifying face of evil, and if you see that razor-clawed ninja squirrel, please perform a citizen’s arrest.  We must keep the world safe for the children.  But, be careful.  He’s both fluffy and dangerous.

Happy Thursday, All!

Gracey

** Disclosure: Actions taken from the hyperlinks in this blog post may yield commission/compensation for the writer. Please see the Disclosure tab for more details.

Subdued

My friend looked at this outfit and said I looked “subdued”:

 Yes, this shirt was considered subdued: 

I mean, it doesn't light up or anything, but subdued?  Really?

Which kind of makes me wonder what people think about my style.  I mean, I must dress like a complete lunatic for a wildly printed blouse (vintage via Goodwill) paired with animal print booties (80%20 via Piperlime) to be considered subdued.  Or maybe the black skirt (Goodwill) and tights (Spanx via Nordstrom) do actually work to subdue the mixed prints (not my intention).  Or, maybe, just maybe, my friend is the lunatic.  Yeah, I’m going with that.

Happy Wednesday, Everyone!

Gracey

Black and Blue and a Lynne Pin

Some time back, awesome, fabulous, gorgeous blogger friend Lynne sent me an awesome, fabulous, gorgeous vintage pin:

I wore it with black and blue: 

In what was, apparently, the most confusing outfit I’ve ever worn.  As I was leaving the house, my sister said “That’s a cute… thing.”  I asked her what thing she was talking about and she said my outfit.  She said she didn’t know what it was, but she liked it.  And, later in the day, I was trying to talk to my manager and he just kept staring at me until I asked him what the problem was.  He said he just didn’t understand what he was looking at.  I explained that it was three different pieces all layered together.

Specifically, I layered a turtleneck (Gap) under a cap-sleeve bow blouse (via Vintage by the Pound) and topped them both with a sleeveless wool dress (vintage Liberty House via Goodwill):

I also added leggings (Macys), a studded belt (JC Penney) and cuffed boots (Gap).  Oh, and neon pink stud earrings (Kate Spade New York via Nordstrom): 

image via Nordstrom.com

Confusing or not, this was one of my all-time favorite outfits.  I’ll be the first to admit that my attempts at layering don’t always work, but I think I frickin’ nailed this one. 

Happy Monday, All!

Gracey