Layers

Every time I wear this dress, something feels a little off about it.  It is proportionally more baggy in the waist than the hips.  (FYI - I am blaming it more on the design of the dress than the shape of my body.)  So, there is lots of adjusting going on.  That issue is now compounded by the fact that I recently shrunk it in the wash.  Oops.  It also lost the luster the fabric used to have.  Darn. Laundry just isn't my forte.  I get sidetracked and then end up shoving everything from the washer into the dryer and forgetting all the items I made a mental note to take special care of. 

Last time I wore it, I wore a belt to help flatten out some of the bagginess in the waist.  Today I decided to layer a sweater on top.  And necklaces.  There is not much I can do about the length and width that shrunk.  Grrr.  I hate it when I ruin perfectly good clothes.

Since I really like the royal blue color and don't have much else like it in my closet, I am trying to make it work.  This may be this dress's last hurrah though.  Or maybe there is an app Spanx for that.

Daily Style File
Dress:  Gap (Spring 2009)
Sweater:  Gap
Leggings:  Old Navy (Spring 2011)
Necklace:  Simply Vera by Vera Wang for Kohl's (Fall 2009) 
Boots:  Nine West Vintage America via Belk (Fall 2011)
 
I Wore It Where?
preschool, kindermusik

Colorblocking

I had colorblocking on the brain today.  It seems to be a trend that just keeps going and everytime I think it is over, I see more colorblocked items pop up.  I received a catalog yesterday and all the cover models were wearing colorblocked outfits, so that makes it still ok to wear.  I can't tell if there are any particular rules for this trend, so I just went with what I felt like.  Once I took the pictures, however, I realized that perhaps my color combo could easily be confused with some collegiate colors.  Have no fear, the colors don't mean anything.  In fact, I am rarely correct on what sports are played in what season, so what colors are associated with what school is way way out of what my brain is capable of processing.

By the time I took this picture, I had cream cheese smeared across my skirt and something splattered on my boots (milk, maybe?).  However, I had finally removed the dry toothpaste that I found around my mouth - but only after I dropped my daughter at preschool and ran some errands that involved me getting assistance from the salespeople.  Ugh.  I have to remember to look more closely in the mirror before leaving the house.

My favorite part of my outfit today is the back of my shirt.  My only complaint is that I somehow hooked my purse on the strings while trying to get my son into the car - which invariably set off a chain of events that may or may not have involved me hopping around the parking lot with my purse hanging off of me while muttering curse words to myself and swatting the air like some lunatic.

Happy February, everyone!

Daily Style File
Shirt:  Lush via T.J.Maxx (Winter 2011)
Skirt:  Forever 21 (Fall 2011)
Boots:   Nine West Vintage America via Belk (Fall 2011)

I Wore It Where?
preschool, music class, errands 

Orange you glad to be here?

We had an Open House at our preschool this weekend and nothing says "Welcome to our Preschool" quite like a tight, bright orange skirt.  Well, the bright says "Welcome" and the tight says, "You've had enough spinach cheese balls, Kristie."

There is something about this color.  Once I wear it I just want to keep doing so.  Case in point:  I wore the skirt both Saturday and Sunday after wearing my orange vest on Friday.  Bright, easy, fun.  What's not to love?  Unfortunately, I ran out of time on Saturday and wasn't able to get pictures of my outfit.  I am slightly neurotic about my clothes (a.k.a. I get bored very easily), so instead of wearing the same outfit on Sunday I changed it up a bit but kept the skirt the same.  Plus, it was still laying on the settee in my room from the day before, so it made the dressing process much quicker.

Neon colors are trending for Spring, so brace yourself for lots of color in the next couple of months.  If you are unsure about rocking something so bright, try it in small doses first (accessories, t-shirts, shoelaces, etc).  Before you know it, you'll be having flashbacks of the late 80's/early 90's and wanting to dig up your neon green Lycra leggings while belting out Tiffany's hit "I Think We're Alone Now."

What's the brightest piece of clothing you own?  

Daily Style File
Turtleneck:  Forever 21 (Winter 2011)
Open cardigan:  Porridge via Anthropologie (Winter 2011)
Skirt:  Forever 21 (Winter 2011)
Necklace:  Anthropologie (Winter 2011)
Boots:   Nine West Vintage America via Belk (Fall 2011)

I Wore It Where?
errands, preschool open house, dinner 

Bohemian sparkle

I'll be the first to admit my outfit today is a bit frumpy.  I'm going to call it Bohemian instead.  I think that has a much nicer ring to it.  I spent so much time ironing my hair this morning that I didn't have time to iron my clothes.

The number one rule for wearing harem pants is they need to be ironed or else they look like pajamas.  The first thing I did this morning was break that rule.  Whoops.

So, instead of focusing on the wrinkles on my pants, let's focus on my stick straight hair.  Nary a wrinkle in sight.  Or my metallic plated scarf.  Because what else is a girl to do when she wants to cover up her unironed clothes?  Layer a huge, beautiful, sparkly scarf and hope that takes the attention away from things that were neglected.

Let's marvel at the scarf, shall we?

Daily Style File
Cami: Free People via Belk (Spring 2011)
Cardigan:  Gap (Summer 2011)
Pants:  Aftershowershop on Etsy (Spring 2011) last worn here
Scarf:  Nordstrom (Fall 2009)
Boots:  Nine West Vintage America via Belk (Fall 2011) last worn here 

I Wore It Where?
breakfast playdate, mall, errands

Leggings

Whenever I know I have an especially hectic day, I gravitate towards leggings.  Now I know there are widespread opinions about leggings and whether or not they should or shouldn't be worn and how exactly to do so if you do in fact choose to go the leggings route.  I even saw a Pinterest post recently about how leggings are not pants.  (Now I have seen some girls wear mistake their tights as leggings and that, my friends, is a major fashion faux pas and quite unfortunate - for both the wearer and the viewer.)

I am a leggings girl.  I almost always wear them as the base part of a layered ensemble (unless I am working out...which, to be honest, happens pretty much never).  They are easy, and in the case of today, helped bring my summer dress into fall.  I love it when I can wear things across seasons.

Daily Style File
Dress:  Gap (Spring 2009)
Leggings:  Old Navy (Spring 2011)
Necklace:  Simply Vera by Vera Wang for Kohl's (Fall 2009)  
Belt:  Old Navy (Fall 2011) 
Boots:  Nine West Vintage America via Belk (Fall 2011)

I Wore It Where?
preschool, airport, playground, walk, errands 

Do princesses wear jeggings?

I finally caved to the jeggings trend.  Or, maybe the word jeggings is already last year because the tag said Jean Leggings.  Either way, I caved.  I am happy I did.  I think.  They seem totally acceptable with tall boots and an oversized shirt.  I haven't tried enough different style tops with them to have a set opinion on shirt style but my instinct seems to guide me to bigger rather than smaller.

For my first foray into the world of jeggings, I decided the key was to layer and flow.  Black turtlenecks are one of my wardrobe staples and they never lead me astray.  So, I layered that with a flowy, oversized tank and a statement necklace.  The size of the tank helped me feel okay about the tightness of my pants, at least in my mind.  And, a necklace seems to make so much more of a statement when it is on top of a black turtleneck.

My daughter and I had Princess Day today (nails, shopping, Build-A-Bear, dress up) and although I haven't seen too many princesses following the jegging trend, I highly recommend it.

Have you ever worn jeggings?  If so, I'd love to hear your favorite way to wear them.

Daily Style File:
Jeggings:  Joe's Jeans via Nordstrom Rack (Fall 2011)
Turtleneck:  Mossimo via Target (Fall 2011)
Tank:  Old Navy (Summer 2007)
Necklace:  Source Unknown
Boots:  Nine West Vintage America via Belk (Fall 2011)

I Wore It Wear?
shopping, out to eat, nail salon, errands