Zebra Cape for the Win

I bought this cape at an estate sale that I went to in early March. It is hand made and utterly fabulous. 

That same night, I had plans to go to a 90s themed party sponsored by zubaz and I decided that there was no better time than the present to wear this zebra cape.

It was a perfect topper for the 90s outfit I already had picked out and it made me feel like a Spice Girl. The party invitation claimed that there was going to be a costume contest, but nobody handed me a trophy, plaque or roses, so they must have canceled that part of the evening

Also, notice my zigzag part.

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 4/4

This post is the last of my old outfit drawings and I'm excited to post more drawings soon that showcase my current style.

Handmade by Kristina

Poppy

I love these earring that I'm wearing! My friend Kristina made them out of shrink film, but they look like sea glass. They're super elegant and go with everything, especially this outfit.

Lula Vintage

This dress is one of those garments that has never lived up to it's imagined potential but I continue to hold on to it and wear it anyway. My main problem with it is that it's too tight in the bust. Every time I put it on, I have to get my husband to zip me into it and then I spend the entire day with a limited ability to breath. When I take it off, I exclaim "I'm free" and I vow never to wear the dress again. 

It is cute though...

Poppy

This one is a sure fire winner. I've gotta get this skirt back into rotation immediately.

Poppy

I don't know what crack I was smoking when I wrote that these vintage earrings came from Urban Outfitters, because they most certainly did not.

Lula Vintage

This all beige outfit reminds me of my Grandmother and I'm pretty sure I kept saying that all day while I was wearing it.

Catching Up 3/4

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 show me embracing blue, a color that is under appreciated by me.

Dottir

Poppy

Half Pint

Hey! It's my Birthday! Happy Birthday to me (last year)!

I celebrated by going out for a nice civilized dinner with some friends and family and then turned the tables completely by forcing everyone into the Otter for some raucous karaoke. Good times.

Dottir

Poppy

Lalunette

necklace drawn, but not listed on drawing. (sorry Rose)

This dress is one of my favorites. It's very comfy. It's made of soft, stretchy fabric and the fact that it's a wrap makes it easy to wear. It's very pretty. I don't usually like floral prints or roses, but the color scheme on this dress is lovely enough to make up for it. It's versatile. I've worn it in every season. I've worn it casually and to fancy events. 

Long story short, this dress is amazing.

Ooh!! I love this one! Definitely gonna wear something like this again this Winter!

Dottir

Poppy

Handmade by Kristina

This post is just bursting with quality goods from two of my favorite stores. 

I know I've talked at length about how great I think Poppy is. They're a local boutique specializing in whimsical, wearable, on trend clothing and accessories. I can't go in there without buying something and I've never regretted a purchase that I've made.

Dottir is a jewelry maker and friend of mine who makes exquisitely unique jewelry made mainly out of brass, silver and leather. I wear her earrings often and always receive compliments. She does not have a physical store, but you can find her beautiful jewelry at the following places:

The Golden Rule

I Like You

Patina

Walker Shop

Dottir Shop (her website)

Boxy Silhouette

If you follow me on Instagram, you may already be familiar with some of these outfit drawings as well as drawings from blogs that I have yet to post. In an effort to get myself back into the swing of things, I made it a point to post something every day during the month of December and label it with the hashtag #31daysofstyle. So far I've managed to keep it up and I don't feel overwhelmed about it. This is a good thing and hopefully this exercise will be the thing that will change my habits and make blogging a more regular activity.

I've been highlighting a few silhouettes that I wear on the regular. This is what I call the boxy/mini or the boxy/slim. It's usually a boxy high collared top paired with a very short or slim fitting skirt. I like the juxtaposition between the legginess and volume that this silhouette creates.

My Sister's Closet

This look was a good idea in theory, but it just didn't turn out quite right. The material of the top and the skirt are rather heavy and kind of bulky and they did not play well together. While the colors looked stunning together, I was constantly adjusting my clothes because of the friction that these two fabrics created. I think that this top would work better with a lightweight pleated tennis skirt, but I don't have anything like that.

Poppy

I'm playing with a lot of layers here to achieve this casual and studious look. I feel like I should have drawn in a stack of books under one of my arms. Maybe it's the color scheme of bright red, mustard yellow and light denim that reminds me of school. Whatever it is, it make me want to go to the library.

Handmade by Kristina

This bodycon dress from LulaRoe is so much fun and pretty versatile. I can easily dress it up or down. I can wear it by itself, layer it with jackets or vests or wear it as a skirt like I'm doing here. I'm really happy that it matches this sweater that I wear all the time.

I Like You

Here's that sweater again. I wish I had more of them in different colors like black or white, but I'm glad that the one I have is yellow. Yellow goes with everything and I've worn this sweater in innumerable outfit combinations since I got it at a very good clothing exchange

I love this sweater just as much as the yellow one, but I don't wear it as often. This is an around the house or weekend low key hang sweater. It's incredibly warm and kind of delicate so I never wear it to work where I do a lot of physical activity and regularly catch myself on merchandising hooks or protruding corners. I would ruin this sweater in an instant at work. A lot of people don't see me wearing this sweater on the regular, but during the colder months, I'm almost always wearing it when I'm at home. I had a mostly event free weekend and I wore this sweater everyday on top of boxy mini dresses with tall wool socks or leg warmers and I knew the meaning of hygge.

A Familiar Silhouette

Ever since midi skirts came back into favour, this has been a go to silhouette for me. I love a midi skirt, in any cut, but I especially love a midi-length pencil skirt. There's something so sleek about it. It's sexy and modest at the same time. I know not everyone is comfortable wearing this look, but if you have long legs, I recommend you give it a try.

Dottir

LaLunette

Here's a blast from the past. Can you believe I haven't posted anything since May? Time flies when you're having fun or whatever. 

This vintage jumper has seen better days. It buttons all the way up the front and most of the button holes are wrecked or the fabric where the buttons are secured is wrecked. Either way it's kinda wrecked and held together with safety pins. In fact most of my clothes are held together in some fashion by safety pins. 

Since the election, there is a new movement of wearing a safety pin to show support for the vulnerable. I've worn one on my lapel, like the masses do, but mostly what I'm thinking is, this is going to come in handy when my skirt inevitably rips up the back seam. All I'm saying is, I've always worn safety pins, not as a political statement or as an accessory, but as a useful tool. So, if you're ever in need of a safety pin or an ally, I'm your girl.

UP6 Vintage

Poppy

Here's a vest that I thought I'd wear more often than I do. I'll have to work on getting that back into rotation now that it's layering season again.

So, I bought this dress from UP6 when they were having their moving sale. I also bought a crazy Saved By the Bell era yellow and black stripey cropped jacket that I have yet to make work. This was during my black and yellow phase that I'm still really into. Anyway, the day that I wore this dress, I went over to a friend's house to hang out and when I walked in the door, everyone pointed at me with mouths agape. This was not the greeting that I was expecting. Apparently, my friend Jeanette had gone to the sale that same day, tried on this dress and seriously contemplated buying it. This is my friend who I have never seen wearing anything other than jeans and a hoodie. When I heard this story, all I wanted to do was take the dress off and offer it to her because in my opinion, there's nothing better than a super cute dress that makes you feel like you're wearing jeans and a hoodie. Actually, it's even better because it's basically a calf length t-shirt and you don't have to wear pants...and isn't that the American dream?

I Like You

New favorite outfit for sure. Serioulsy, if this whowhatwear line from Target keeps pumping out midi-length pencil skirts with my name all over them, I'm going to have to stop going to Target. Maybe that's a good idea anyway.

March is a Fickle Friend

Earrings by Dottir

Necklace by Lalunette

Today was a beautiful day and I did my best to honor it with my outfit. Here's to no socks, light layers, and sunshiny yellow!

The shoes I'm wearing are exactly like a pair of moccasins I had when I was a little girl. The pair I'm wearing now are a few sizes larger and a few shades whiter, but they're pretty much the same.

proof that I was once a little girl and that I had tiny shoes

I think I rocked these mocs everyday for at least one summer

Remember yesterday? Well, today is nothing like that. 

It's cold and it probably snowed or wintry mixed or something. 

I made myself feel better by wearing this lovely wool jacket and a hat all day. I felt a bit like a 1970s reporter and that's fun.

I wore this beautiful turquoise necklace today and yesterday and when I did these drawings, I couldn't remember where it had come from. Once I remembered, I got sad because it came from a beautiful boutique that is no longer open. BNOX was located on the Mississippi river in Pepin, WI about a block down from the Harbor View Cafe. If you've never been to the the Harbor View, make it a point to get there some weekend this summer. Trust me, it's worth an hour+ drive down the river from the cities. Anyway, I used to meander over to this jewelry shop after dinner and ogle the things I couldn't afford, sometimes buy something I could and almost always pick up a new soap rock. Now all I do when I'm through with dinner is cry into my wine...I mean relax in an adirondack chair overlooking the Mississippi.

Sweater Weather

This sweater is the best thing to happen to my wardrobe in awhile. Seriously, I want 3 more just like it in case of emergencies...and that is hoarder mentality.

I don't normally gravitate towards 70s inspired outfits, but these pants were asking for it.

This is the second time I've sported this look and each time the reaction has been that I'm too put together...as if that's even a thing.

This dress is hounds tooth. In the past I've gone on and on about how I don't have the patience to draw hounds tooth. It's true and I apologize that I've denied you the full essence of this outfit.

Sapphire

When I was a kid, I drew an illustration of what my super hero would be and her name was Sapphire. I don't remember what her powers were, but I'm pretty sure her costume resembled this outfit.

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.

Vintage Dresses

Earrings - Dottir

This dress came from a garage sale that I recently attended where everything was free. Free I tell you! I'm really proud of myself for not pulling my van up to the door and filling it completely because believe me there was enough beautiful stuff at this sale to do so. It was hard because the "sale" was put on by a woman around my age with almost the exact same style as me. Same color pallet and a knack for vintage flair. She was however, a different size (petite 6, whereas I'm a tall 10), making it easier for me to take a reasonable amount of clothing. I contemplated each piece one at a time and determined if it would fit and how it would work with my current wardrobe. Once I got home and tried everything on, there were a couple of  duds, but mostly I feel like I made out like a bandit. 

Is this dress me or what? I didn't get it at the free garage sale, but I was wearing the above outfit when I bought this dress at My Sister's Closet. I don't know why that matters, but it gives me pleasure to make connections.

New Favorite Outfit

Similar shirt

Similar skirt - Up6

Similar necklace - Poppy

Similar boots - DSW

Similar hat - Urban Outfitters

I have so many things to say about this outfit. 

First of all, I've been watching Friends lately and I find that this outfit is very Phoebe inspired. Side note: Phoebe is surprisingly my new favorite character. She's presented as quirky, ditsy and weird, but she usually gives the best advice and comes off as the most grounded and sound minded member of the group. Kind of like Luna in Harry Potter. Also, she dresses cool.

Second, this skirt is actually a maxi dress that I've folded under to fit like a floor-sweeping skirt. This is one of the many things that I do to extend my wardrobe. Just because something was intended to be worn one way, doesn't mean that you have to wear it like that. I wear shit inside out and backwards often. Layering with sleepwear is another go to for me. Dresses as skirts and skirts as dresses is pretty common.

Third, the top is a wash-shrunken shirt that someone gave to me because it was too small for her. It's too small for me too, but I took it anyway. Normally, I wear it underneath things so that you can't tell how short it is. After trying my dress as skirt idea, I thought, this would look really great with a crop top, which I don't have. Bright idea! Wash-shrunken shirt is now a crop top.

Now I want to go out and buy a crop top or two because I foresee them as something that will get a lot of wear this summer.

I topped this all off with my sweet sweet orange leather jacket and this officially became my new favorite outfit. I'm restraining myself from wearing this everyday.

Superhero

Similar sweater

Similar tank top

Similar skirt - Goodwill

Boots

Similar earrings - Urban Outfitters

I've been feeling the primary colors lately and I find that wearing red yellow and blue makes me feel like a superhero. If I was a superhero, this skirt would be my cape and I'd probably wear some tough boots and a lot of gold jewelry.

Hippie Meets Preppy

Shirt

Similar jacket

Corduroys - The Gap

Shoes - DSW

Similar hat - Urban Outfitters

Similar necklace

Similar earrings

This look is confusing, but I like it.

Incorporating My New Duds

After my clothing exchange, I was so excited about all of my new clothes, that I immediately found them homes in my closet. Then I thought, these clothes have been incorporated into my closet, but I need to incorporate them into my daily wardrobe before I forget that I have them. I decided that everyday I will wear a different clothing exchange item or two and make them work with my current wardrobe. So, here it is, three weeks of "new" clothes.

You may have noticed that Sundays are missing. That's because Sunday (and sometimes Saturday) is my lazy day and I spend most of the day in my pajamas.

There are some items that haven't gotten worn yet because they're not of this season and there are some items that have been worn frequently. I think my favorites from the exchange are the western  sweater, the ombre chambray shirt and the skinny jeans. This is very surprising because these are items that have never been a part of my personal style. Again, this is why I endorse the clothing exchange.