Flow-y, But With Pants

A combination that I really, really love, but don't wear nearly enough, is the combination of a dress over pants:

It can just be such a hard look to get right.  The proportions can go wacky, and stumpifying, very quickly. (And, trust me, no one wants to look both wacky *and* stumpified.  One or the other, sure, why not?  But not both).  Still, as I said, it's a look I love and one I'll keep trying.


That being said, I rather like this iteration:

Turtleneck: Gap (similar)  Dress: thrifted vintage
Pants: Gap (similar)  Belt: thrifted vintage  Boots: Franco Sarto "Eminent"

I think wearing the dress partially open over the pants helps minimize any damage I'm doing with these proportions.  And even if it's not, I still like this version because it is great for swanning about without freezing my nethers. It's flow-y, but with pants.  So, you know, win-win.


Happy Wednesday, All!

Gracey

Advanced Layering

One thing I will say for Pennsylvania winters, they've forced me to up my layering game.  I now feel fully confident in saying that I've progressed to advanced layering.

This outfit is a perfect example of that:

It's a sweater dress layered over a turtleneck topped with a vintage plaid cardigan.  Oh, and there are tights and a slip under there as well.



Layers, Folks.  All the layers.

All the layers, made better with vintage plaid:

Dress: thrifted vintage  Turtleneck: Old Navy (similar)
Cardigan: thrifted vintage (similar save, splurge) Tights: Spanx  Boots: Franco Sarto "Eminent"

And pockets.  Pockets also make layers better.



Happy Wednesday, All!

Gracey

Big Ol' Blogger

I took a bit of a risk with this outfit, pairing a voluminous cape with a voluminous circle skirt:

The prevailing logic is that you're supposed to pair bulky pieces with slim pieces, but, I just didn't feel like it.  I wanted to wear my big ol' cape with a big ol' skirt and I didn't give a heck if it made me look like a big ol' blogger.

And, honestly, I just don't think it's that bad.  I felt great in this outfit.


With or without the cape, this outfit is just right up my sartorial alley:

I mean, it's a vintage circle skirt, a vintage cape and a turtleneck:

Cape: vintage, thrifted (save, splurge)  Turtleneck: LL Bean, thrifted (similar)
Belt: Michael Kors (similar)   Skirt: vintage, thrifted (similar)
Boots: Sole Society

So, yeah, if this is what a big ol' blogger looks like, I'll be that.  I'll be that all day long.


Happy Thursday, All!

Gracey

In the Pink

Although I usually avoid wearing pink around Valentine's Day, I couldn't resist pairing my fuzzy pink jacket with my new sweater vest:

Jacket: Vintage, gifted  Vest: Nordstrom  Turtleneck: Gap
Skirt: Thrifted  Tights: SPANX  Boots: Naya (similar)

It's just so pink and fuzzy:

And the sweater vest is pretty cool too:

The open sides and the high/low hem make it both modern and versatile.  And because it's a mock turtleneck, I can layer it over a standard turtleneck.  So, you know, that's a win-win for my turtleneck-loving self.


Happy Friday, All!

Gracey

Let's Talk Turtlenecks

I love turtlenecks.  I mean, I even have a Pinterest board dedicated to Turtleneck Style.  I know they're considered by some to be the realm of kindergarten teachers (or kindergarten students), but you don't have to pair a leaf-print turtleneck with an appliqued-acorn sweater vest, folks.  There are chic ways to wear turtlenecks.

Like these looks:

All images from Pinterest: Left, Top, Bottom

See?  Chic.


So, what are the best turtlenecks for mastering these chic looks?  Well, I've done a lot of research (bought a lot of turtlenecks) and I can help you out with that.

The first look is a thin turtleneck sweater layered under a dress & a belted fur vest.  For this look, I love the lightweight turtleneck sweaters from Old Navy:

They are truly lightweight and they come in Tall.


For the second look (top right), I also recommend Old Navy:

These jersey turtlenecks are a great lightweight layering piece, available in striped, solid and heathered colors.  And also available in Tall.


Now, for the third look, you don't want anything too lightweight or insubstantial because it won't be completely covered.  For this look, I recommend these Land's End turtlenecks:

I have two of these, and they're great.  Thick enough to be worn on their own, or under a blazer, and a great layering piece for very cold climates.  Like Pittsburgh!  They're also great because the neck is thicker than the jersey necks so you can wear them scrunched or folded without them falling.  The striped version is not available in Tall, but the solid (12 colors available!) and printed versions are.


What about you, Reader Friends?  Are you yay or nay on turtlenecks?

Happy Wednesday, All!

Gracey

A Little Wine With That Cheese

Someone the other day made the comment that I have a big, cheesy smile.  This is true.  I do.  And, I figured if I was putting all this cheese out, I should offer some wine too.  So here you go:

Get it?  I'm wearing a wine-colored outfit.  Yeah, my sense of humor is pretty cheesy too.  But, this outfit isn't, right?  It's kind of great?  I always forget how flattering monochromatic looks can be, as I tend towards a riot of color and prints, but this is almost slimming:

Skirt and Sweater: thrifted  Boots: MICHAEL Michael Kors "Bromley"  Necklace: Macy's

In real life, the skirt and the sweater aren't actually as similar in color as they appear in pictures.  In fact, I thought the skirt might be radiant orchid, but it really is reading as wine (or burgundy or oxblood) in these photos.  Which is cool . It helps the title make sense.

Also, because I really don't do monochromatic, I added some color with my earrings:

They're vintage Mexican silver (via Lil' Gypsy) and I think they're a lovely addition to my otherwise monochromatic look.

Happy Monday, All!

Gracey

Literary Stylings #7 - Case Files

I didn't have time (I forgot) to list the books I read for this month's Literary Stylings Link Party, but one of them was Case Histories, by Kate Atkinson:

Case Histories is the book that I chose to base today's outfit on.  Specifically, my outfit is a recreation of an outfit worn to a funeral:

As you can see, it starts of quite funereal.

And then it goes all to heck:

Dress: eShakti (same fabric, different cut)  Tights: DKNY (similar)  Boots: Nine West Darsy

Needless to say, the all-to-heck part is my favorite part of this look.  Partially because bright red legs remind me of red-legged birds, like the red-legged honeycreeper, and partially because in the book, the way the outfit is written about makes me laugh.  The woman wearing the completely inappropriate bright red tights to a funeral notices a man noticing her tights and thinks he's looking at her bright red legs because he's into her.  But, the man is like "what the eff?  Who wears bright red tights to a funeral?!!"  And, in the book the moment is even better because it's summer and she's wearing bright red woolen tights.  It's pretty great.

And, really, the book in general, is pretty great.  It's dark, but it's well done and I plan on reading more Kate Atkinson in the future.  I think this book is the first in a series, so I think I'm going to try to hunt down the next one.

And now it's your turn.  If you read a book in December or January and it inspired an outfit, I'd love to see it.   You can link up here:



I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with!

Happy Tuesday, All!

Gracey

How It Works

My sister looked at today’s outfit and said “I don’t get it”:

I said, “What is there to get?  They’re both plaid.”

She responded with, “I don’t think that’s how it works.”

I responded by laughing really loudly and saying “That’s exactly how it works.”

The thing is, I honestly do think this outfit makes perfect sense.  I’ve had the skirt for a while but the sweater vest is a recent thrifted acquisition.  But, when I tried the vest on, my immediate* thought was that I would wear it with this skirt.  

For me, a plaid with a plaid is nothing but good, especially when the other rules of pattern mixing are followed; these pieces have a similar scale and they share a predominant color.

Vest: thrifted vintage   Skirt: thrifted vintage  Tights: Spanx  Belt: Gap, similar  Shoes: Naya "Jada", similar

Okay, so I guess both pieces being plaid isn’t what makes these pieces work together, but I still maintain that they do work.

Happy Thursday, All!

Gracey

*Okay, that’s not entirely true.  My actual immediate thought when trying this vest on was “holy side-boob!” as it’s open basically to the waist.  But, my second thought was to pair it with this skirt.  I swear.

Cozy Thunderbirds

I think I might be getting another sinus infection (stupid bad sinuses) and couldn’t think past being cozy when getting dressed this morning.  So, I wore this:

And it did the trick.  This sweater is super cozy, especially when layered over one of my beloved turtlenecks (Gap).

Luckily, it didn’t rain today so I didn’t have to wrestle with tights (I would have lost) and was able to pair the sweater (via Vintage by the Pound) with pants.  Specifically, I paired it with some graphic print skinnies (thrifted via Goodwill) and added some boots (Enzo Angolini “Saylem” via Nordstrom).

I think I rather like the graphic print of the pants with the stylized thunderbird.  But, then again, I’m not feeling well so I can’t be held accountable.

Happy Wednesday, Everyone!

Gracey

Shop the Look:

Vintage thunderbird sweater

Graphic print skinnies (Reasonable, Expensive but Cool)

Enzo Angolini "Saylem" boots

** 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.

Zigzag Goodness

I adore this sweater.  It is full of zigzag goodness:

It is vintage Nan Dorsey and is in amazing condition; one of my better Goodwill finds, for sure. 

I wore the sweater with a black turtleneck (Gap), black knit pencil skirt (vintage via Goodwill) and boots (Gap) to pick up the black zigs.  And I added cobalt blue tights (Nordstrom) to pick up the blue zags.

Yep, zigzag goodness.

Happy Thursday, Everyone!

Gracey

Shop the Look:

Vintage Nan Dorsey sweaters (here and here)

Similar knit pencil skirt

Similar mid-calf boots

** 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.

Indigo Girl

I’m not sure today’s photos are really doing this dress justice.  They’re skewing a little cobalt when, in truth, this dress is a lovely, deep indigo:

Not that there is anything wrong with cobalt.  I love cobalt.  But this dress is not cobalt, it’s indigo.  I think these photos show it a little bit better: 

Hmmph.  Maybe not.

But this photo definitely shows me doing The Duck Face Robot, which is a dance I made up this morning:

Ducks and robots aside, my dress is indigo, not cobalt.  And it’s vintage and warm (wool/acrylic blend) and has pockets, so it’s basically awesome.  In addition to my awesome dress of awesome indigo-ness, I also wore a turtleneck (Gap), tights (Hue via Macys) over which I wore OTK socks (Nordstrom), and suede boots (Naughty Monkey via Nordstrom).  I also added a studded belt (JC Penney) and neon pink studs (Kate Spade New York via Nordstrom). 

Also, if you don’t know who the Indigo Girls are, we may need to have a talk.  At the very least you should watch this video (to which you could dance The Duck Face Robot if you wanted):

You're welcome.

Happy Wednesday, All! 

Gracey

Lord Jeff’s Cousin, Chet

In November, I wore a vintage cardigan made by “Lord Jeff” (you can see it here).  Well, I’m pretty sure this cardigan was made by Lord Jeff’s cousin, Chet:

Excuse me, I mean Lord Chet.  My understanding is that Lord Jeff and Lord Chet were minor royals/playboy cousins during the 70s.  They spent a lot of time in Ibiza, of course, but also in Switzerland.  It was their time in Switzerland that encouraged them to create their own lines of après ski wear.  Like this sweater:

In the spirit of the 70s, when they wore the heck out of some turtlenecks (and also because I love turtlenecks,) I layered the sweater (vintage via Vintage by the Pound) over a black turtleneck (Hinge via Nordstrom).  I also wore a pleated skirt (Goodwill), tights (Spanx via Nordstrom) and my new rain boots (Merona “Zajac” via Target).  I feel like Lord Chet would totally approve of this look.

You know who else would approve?  Starsky.  Little known fact: Starsky, of Starsky and Hutch, was dressed almost exclusively in sweaters by Lord Jeff and Lord Chet.  From what I’ve heard, their cousin Penny was the costume designer for the show so they had an in.

Happy Thursday, Everyone!

Gracey

Shop the Look:

I couldn't find my exact cardigan anywhere, but there are a lot on eBay and Etsy vendor hellhoundvintage, has a great selection.

Spanx Tight End tights

Similar skirt

Similar turtleneck

Merona Zajac Rain Boots (I think you can find them in the store for 1/2 off)

** 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.