Polar Vortex

We had a very cold week here in Minnesota, so I thought I'd highlight some of the ways I managed not to freeze to death.

I've never worn this huge angora sweater outside of the house before, but I found it necessary on this extra cold day. Sometimes you just need to dress like a bear to feel safe.

Dottir

Ooh whee!

I've lived through all of the cold, mid-western winters that have occurred over the last 35 years, but I don't think I've ever been so afraid of the cold. I'm literally shaking in my boots. You guys, I know everyone is so sick of talking about the Polar Vortex, but it was terrible and I'm not happy about it.

One good thing that has come of all of these cold winters is that I'm very adept at layering. 

People always wonder why I wear skirts and dresses in the winter. I'm always way warmer in skirts than pants because I can easily add layers under a skirt.

Another abysmally cold day and fantastic feat of layering. Can I get another sweater under there? Certainly.

Honorable mention goes to this coat.

I wear it every time temperatures dip below zero

It's very ridiculous and at the same time very necessary.

Every time I put it on, I say "Don't worry, I've got my big coat" and then I do a little dance.

I'm sure by now, after all of the below zero days we've had this season, my friends and family are very sick of my coat announcements, but I don't really care. It's the only happiness I have. 

Earmuffs

These earmuffs have proven themselves invaluable this winter and I'm campaigning to bring earmuffs back.

They're super soft and warm. And they're incredibly cute, no doubt.

In my opinion, their best feature is their ability to muffle sound. I wear these at work when I need to concentrate. They were also a life saver during a social outing with a very loud talker when I had an excruciating headache and no escape.

Social Science vs Retrorama

I wore this outfit to an event at the Science Museum called Social Science: Speakeasy. 

I went with a friend who I used to attend Retrorama with. Retrorama was an annual event put on by the History Center that stopped taking place in 2015. Retrorama encouraged attendees to dress up in their best vintage, participate in a fashion show, imbibe in retro cocktails and snacks, dance to live music, partake in activities and explore the museum's exhibits. We thought that this would be a good replacement. We were wrong. Despite below zero temperatures, the event at the Science Museum was well attended. So well attended, that the entire museum consisted of lines. I felt like I was at Disney Land, but not in a fun way. It was impossible to get a drink or partake in any of the special activities they had arranged for the night. We did explore the exhibits, but I think I would have preferred to do that on any other day with the regular Science Museum crowd, kids and all. I do not recommend this event and this is my plea to the History Center to bring back Retrorama. It was our special thing and we had a good thing going with the photographer.

Retrorama 2010

Retrorama 2010

Retrorama 2011

Retrorama 2012

Retrorama 2013

Retrorama 2014

Lutsen

Dottir

I spent a very cold weekend in Lutsen and wore a couple of versions of this outfit all weekend. 

It's my snow bunny look. 

I don't ski.

Keeping it Cozy

This was one of those days when I didn't want to wear clothes. Pajamas were at the top of my wish list, so I opted to wear this super soft and roomy top paired with this cozy cotton sweater. The corduroys fit like leggings and these shoes are the most comfortable shoes that I've ever worn. It's not pajamas, but it's pretty damn cozy.

Silk Scarves

A fun scarf tied around my neck has always been a favorite way to add interest to an outfit. I used to own a lot of polyester scarves in fun patterns and colors, but I've been slowly replacing all of those polyester scarves with silk. I love the way silk hangs and how it feels against my skin. They're also great for temperature regulation. A silk scarf will keep you warm when you're cold and cool when you're hot. It's a perfect accessory.

Dottir

I've been obsessed with this scarf lately. I've owned it for as long as I can remember, but I've never worn it as much as I've worn it this winter. I guess my newly found love for silk scarves and winter white has brought it to the forefront.

Also, I love these boots with black leggings and a tunic. There's something very 60s about it.  

Jeans

The sweater is from Mighty Swell Vintage in case you were on the edge of your seat about it.

These jeans are the same cut Levi's as these, but they fit completely differently and serve a different purpose in my wardrobe. Jeans aren't really my thing, but I'm starting to see what all the fuss is about.

These Boots Tho

Dottir

After over a year of loving on my brown Spring Step booties, I finally purchased the boots in black and guess what. They're amazing too!! This is my sixth pair of Spring Step shoes and I couldn't recomend them more. 

Life of Luxury

I love every piece of this outfit separately, but I love the combination even more. So Luxe.

Winter White

I felt so incredibly good in this outfit all day and wanted to continue to wear it for the rest of the winter. I wear a lot of black during these cold months, so I think there was something about the lightness of my clothes that brightened my mood. I even wore it out that night on a date with my husband where I ate a beet salad and pasta with red sauce without incident. I think this outfit might make me invincible.

Skewl Lewks

Dottir Jewelry

I got this sweet shirt at the Minneapolis Vintage Market from Old Gem Vintage. She drew me in with all of the gorgeous white silk and linen items that she had but I didn't walk away with any silk. I did, however, buy this shirt because it was so familiar yet so different at the same time. This 70s men's button up is so reminiscent of my past. I rocked a lot of these shirts in high school and college, but I've never seen a print like this before. The scales skewed my look toward academic. The only accessory I'm missing is an armload of books.

I Breathe Sparkles

I took a friend shopping to buy business casual basics for a new job. We went to Nu Look Consignment and found a lot of great classic pieces for her to mix and match. 

I, on the other hand, found these shiny genie pants and a sheer, gold sequin top (not pictured) for $20.00

Overall, I'd say it was a successful trip.

It's All About the Shoes

This is one of the best outfits I've worn in awhile. I love the color scheme and this 1940s meets 1980s silhouette is so very me. But most of all I love these shoes. They're the perfect color to compliment my wardrobe and they're incredibly comfortable. I've been wearing them almost non-stop since I bought them this winter. I long for another pair in black, just so that I never have to wear another pair of shoes again. 

OH MY GOD I LOVE THESE SHOES! 

They even look good tucked under skinny cut pants.

I always get a lot of compliments on this dress when I wear it, but I don't wear it very often. I wonder why. Probably because I never used to have these shoes.

Apparent Denim Shortage

Necklace - The Artifakt

What is it with pants these days? Why are they all so short? I went on the Levi's website the other day looking for some nice, high-waisted flares and all I found was this.

What even is this? 

Is there some sort of denim shortage that I'm unaware of?

Despite my ranting, I really like this outfit with short pants. However, I might like it better with full-length pants. 

I've been struggling for awhile with how to wear this dress and I think I nailed it on the head with this outfit. Keeping it simple with a collarless shirt, minimal jewelry, and oxfords allowed the interesting detailing of this dress to be the main focus. I know it's hard to see the details in this drawing, but the dress is made out of heavy suiting material, cut like a wrap dress, with oversized front pockets and a large sash around the waist. It's really quite nice.

I assure you that this outfit was cute in person. This drawing is hideous. 

I was wearing navy blue tights with ivory, open-weave sweater tights over them and it was subtle and lovely; not crazy as indicated by this drawing. 

Ode to Experimentation

The following outfits are experimental. While I love experimenting with clothes, it hardly ever results in a perfect outfit. Here are a few examples of what I consider to be flubs:

Dottir

I've had this sweater dress hanging in my closet for over a year now and this is the first time I've worn it. I find the design of this dress to be a little baffling. It's a heavy knit, turtle neck mini dress with cap sleeves. In what climate is this appropriate? I also find the bright orange color to be a little overbearing. Yeah, you heard me right. Overbearing.

I decided to try it out by layering the dress over my trusty, long-sleeved slip dress, some sweater tights and leg warmers. This worked out ok to keep me warm, but I think I overdid it with the colors. If I wear this dress again, I might swap in gray tights for the blue to tone it down a little. 

Lula

Here's another dress that I'm wearing for the first time. I like it a lot layered with this vest, but next time I should rethink the tights and shoes. These red tights were old, with busted out elastic and I spent the entire day pulling them up to my waist where they belong. They are now in the trash, so I have no choice but to wear different tights the next time I try this outfit. As for sandals in January...I don't know, we all make mistakes.

Jovy Rockey

How many turtlenecks are too many turtlenecks? I think the answer might be two.

Catching Up 2/4

For the entire year of 2017, I've been tired. It seemed that all of the energy that I used to have for anything in my life was completely zapped and anything I had left was used in an effort to stay afloat. So here I am posting outfit drawings from nearly a year ago. Hey, they're still relevant, right?

The following outfits illustrate to me the feeling of hygge, which I try to embrace when all of the days are so damn cold and dark.

Poppy

Ooh, this sweater is lovely. It's very soft and warm and it's sweaters like these that make the winter months bearable.

Lula Vintage

Sorel boots and a gigantic sweater. Everything about this is bliss.

Blanket scarves...are those still a thing?

Liz Carlson Art & Illustration

I do believe that this day was crazy cold and that's why I wrapped my body in sweaters. All of the sweaters!

Lula Vintage

This outfit makes me wish I was at a ski lodge. I don't ski, but I do like to drink hot toddies by a fire.

Catching Up 1/4

For the entire year of 2017, I've been tired. It seemed that all of the energy that I used to have for anything in my life was completely zapped and anything I had left was used in an effort to stay afloat. So here I am posting outfit drawings from nearly a year ago. Hey, they're still relevant, right?

All of the outfits in this post are mainly colorless, which I find fitting, considering my state of mind.

This vest used to be a big shapeless tunic made out of flax or something. I had the sleeves removed and it's still big and shapeless, but I like it better this way.

Lalunette

One of my favorite winter outfits right here. I love everything about it. The layering, the black and tan color combo, the mixed materials, the proportions. 

10/10, would wear again.

Yes, yes yes! I want to wear this tomorrow!

Dottir

This is a very classic winter look for me. If I had a uniform, it'd look a lot like this.

This reminds me that this shirt has a rip in it that I need to mend. 

Thanks outfit drawing from my past! You're a real help!

January

This is my favorite winter dress! There's  nothing like a cozy calf-length sweater to make any sub-zero day a little more bearable. A coat like this helps too.

I got the idea for this outfit from this chart that was all abuzz on Pinterest at the time. It illustrates some obvious ways to wear a blanket scarf (2, 4, 5,8), some questionable ways (3,7), and something that I had never considered, belting. The dress I am wearing has a belt attached, so I just used that to cinch the scarf at my waist. It looked good, but ended up hindering my movement throughout the day, so I ended up wearing it like a cape by midday.

I think I was inspired by my scarf belting experience above when I put this outfit together. I belted this bulky cascade cardigan to give myself a little shape and it really worked for this look. I'm also really enjoying the absence of color here with a pop of excitement from my sparkly statement necklace.

Here's that blanket scarf again worn a little more conventionally. I did not intend to wear this scarf all day, but in case you didn't know, January is a cold month.

I don't think I've had the chance to rave about these jeans yet, which is interesting because I've worn them at least once a week since I got them. These are some form fitting, super long, ultra-soft flares and I love them. Personally, I am very happy that flares have come back into style. I've always liked their fun retro appeal.

Monthly Self Portraits

I mentioned in a previous post that I spent 2010 drawing a self portrait every month.  This is true.  Each month, I would pick an art material, take an hour or two, and draw or paint my mug. It was fun, but it also grew tiresome.  In May, I was so sick of my face that I drew my legs and that's OK.  I thought I might do this for the rest of my life and have a unique record of my personal growth, be it physical and artistic.  That didn't happen.  But with some urging from my mother, I decided to take it up again.  So, five years later, I present to you my January self portrait.

 January 2015

It looks kind of distorted and like I'm about to cry because this January I feel kind of distorted and like I'm always on the verge of tears.  It was a rough month.

Comfy Casual Cool

Similar sweater

Tank

Pants

Booties - Nordstrom

Similar beanie

Earrings

Similar necklace - BYMN

This is what I wore when all I wanted to wear were pajamas, but I needed to look presentable enough to grab a glass of wine with a friend.  Success!