Eating my words.

Why, you ask? Because these are on my (very happy) feet today:

For years I've been pretty vocal about my belief that Uggs and their brethren were the scourge of the footwear world. But when I tore open my Christmas present from my father today (I'm an adult so I am not required to delay gratification), I fell in love with these cozy beauties. So now I'm eating my words because although these are not Uggs- they're from a New Zealand company called Canterbury Sheepskin- the idea is pretty much the same.

These are acceptable, right?  As long as I never wear them with bare legs and mini skirt in the middle of winter? (Yes, UCD undergrads, bare legs in the freezing cold is ri-dic-u-lous, even if your boots are very warm.)

Today's outfit was inspired by this lovely blogger.  I'm a sucker for stripes. I found myself obsessed with the way her striped sleeves were sticking out of her coat. I love the look of layered sleeves. My rendition doesn't have the same sweet sophistication hers does but, for house cleaning, which is what I did today, I think it's pretty snazzy.

I'm linking up to Visible Monday at Not Dead Yet Style. Click though to see what everyone else is wearing.

Wet window skirt

 

I think the print on this skirt looks like raindrops racing down a window. The skirt was a part of the interview outfit shopping spree I indulged in recently. Since no interview has yet been forthcoming I  wore it today for grocery shopping and a trip to Target.

At first I tired to pair this skirt with some tan suede flat boots but I didn't like the way they looked with the black tights. My legs looked color blocked and choppy. I keep wondering what this would look like with tan or cream colored tights and the suede boots. In my imagination it seems as if the boots, tights, and skirt might work together to create a nice, long, neutral colored leg line. But then again, it's hard for me to believe that tan tights could ever really be flattering in real life.

I did buy some colored tights tonight at Target (two pairs of green- for my holiday outfit, and because I wished I had green tights to wear with my green dress and boots yesterday, and a pair each in purple and navy because I am a laggard in adopting the colored tights trend), but I didn't see anything in cream.

Lunch date with the ladies.

I wore this green printed dress with green boots to meet my major professor and several grad student friends for a celebratory lunch. We were celebrating the completion and submission of L's dissertation. It was a lovely lunch. We enjoyed sparkling beverages and absorbing conversation. And I left feeling a little bit more inspired and hopeful about someday completing my own thesis.

I don't know what color this dress is on your monitor but on mine it looks like the background is teal with an army green print. It's actually forest green and the print is kind of yellow. I like the colors of the dress in real life but I simply adore the distorted colors as they appear on my computer screen. If this dress had been available in a teal and army colorway I would have chosen that over this forest and yellowy green combination. I like the dress plenty in real life, I just like it even better in the pictures.

Not enough love.

I've been feeling rather guilty lately about not giving this hat enough love. Even though it was, quite literally, made for me, I find it hard to wear. It's more masculine than any other hat I own. (That would be on account of it being a man's hat, Captain Obvious.) You might recognize it as being the hat I'm wearing in my profile picture, but that doesn't mean that I wear it often- that photo was taken outside the hat shop the day I picked it up and I think I've only worn it once or twice since then.  It was a pretty expensive hat, which really shouldn't make a difference, but does make me feel like a bit of an idiot for not wearing it, as my cost per wear is currently in the $100+ range. And it's a great hat so I really do want to wear it. My excuse for buying it was that it was going to be a 'go to' hat- a classic style, in season spanning brown straw- something I could toss on with minimal effort year round; decorative and protective, fun yet practical. I think it still could be that. I just need more menswear inspired pieces to make that idea work.

I conjured up an ideal outfit for this hat over the weekend. Picture rolled cuffed dad jeans (I resist the heteronormativity of the term 'boyfriend jeans'), argyle socks, rich brown men's wingtips, an oxford shirt with the tails out, layered under a blue V-neck cardigan sweater, and this hat. In my mind it's perfect. How many components of this perfect outfit do I currently own, besides the hat? Just the jeans that I thrifted this weekend. This is my best approximation of the outfit created with clothes that I do own.

I am wearing a bit more eyeliner than usual. It's probably not noticeable in the photos, but I think it helps in real life to balance the masculine feel of the hat. I'm really happy with the fit of the jeans. In the past when I've tried to pull off the borrowed-from-the-boys look I've gone with pants that fit low on my hips and as a result, along with the nice full leg I wanted, I also got a saggy butt and a droopy crotch, which I certainly did not want. These jeans have a 32 inch waist which means they fit me snug and high, kind of like what a 1950's teenage girl would wear, so I appear as narrow as possible through the waist and still have a fair amount of room in the thigh. Now I need to search out the other pieces to complete my perfect outfit. In the meantime if you've got suggestions for outfits featuring this love deprived hat bring 'em on!

Sequins and stripes.

I'm linking to Everybody, Everywear today. The theme is Sequins and Sparkles- perfectly appropriate for the season but ever so slightly difficult for a Tuesday. I'm also linking to Visible Monday- even though, as previously stated, it is in fact, Tuesday. I've mentioned that I'm trying to be more of an active involved blogger by participating in more link ups, but this week I'm off to a bad start. Yesterday I completely forgot that Mondays are always Visible Mondays over at Not Dead Yet Style. And, come on, since Monday is part of the name, how hard is it to remember? Yesterday I was too focused on today being EveryBody EveryWear and I almost missed out on Visible Monday. Luckily it's not closed yet and I do feel very visible in this stripe and sequin combination so the spirit is correct even if I did get the day wrong.

To make things worse, I woke up today remembering that there was something I wanted to link up to but until I was in the process of getting dressed I was convinced that it was Thursdays are for Thrifters at Spunky Chateau. Half dressed, I figured out that couldn't be right, as we've all agreed now that this is actually Tuesday.

I've worn almost this exact outfit before on the blog (here). And even more often in undocumented real life. I've worn the sequin cardigan with different, plain colored shirts underneath but I love the sparkle and black and white stripe combo so much that I can't imagine wearing one without the other anymore. Unfortunately tried and true combinations like this one might make for a boring blog eventually. (Not much to worry about yet though, in a year I've only hit on maybe three of these perfect-for-me combinations.)

I picked these jeans up at the thrift store this weekend. I'm resigning myself to the fact that I simply am a jeans person. They just work for my life. I'm a student, I'm unemployed, and I live in an area where people wholeheartedly embrace a casual esthetic. I'd love to be the kind of sophisticated lady that only resorts to denim on the rarest of occasions, but I'm not. At least I'm not yet. This weekend I decided to just go with it and bought two new-to-me pairs. At some point (I hope) I will be working and my jeans wearing will once again be limited to the weekends, until then why not? It's not like I'm laying out major cash for premium denim. This pair set me back all of $4.99. Maybe someday my level of sartorial sophistication will increase and I'll ditch the denim, but for now I just can't live without jeans. They're warm, washable, durable, practical, and for me, indispensable.

White Christmas

No snow... but I did put up my tree and go see White Christmas at the Woodland Opera House. The light in these photos is not the greatest but I wanted so badly to pose with my tree.

This is the outfit I'm planning on wearing for our family Christmas Eve party. I think I want to add green tights next time.

Here's the coat I wore to the theater. It's a beautiful coat but the swing style isn't the most flattering shape on me. I've owned it for twenty years and I won't give it up even though when it's buttoned up I look like a giant spottted triangle with a tiny head because, in my mind, I look like Kim Novak in Bell, Book and Candle. I adore that movie- you gotta love a movie where the furrier gets a screen credit along with the actors.

I often have days like this...

But I don't often post on those days. This is what I look like when I am running late, can't get out of bed, and need to be somewhere in twenty minutes:

No shower, no makeup, and yes, that is the same sweater I wore yesterday. The feather beret is kind of a lifesaver, in my opinion. It always makes a thrown together casual outfit look like I put much more thought into it than I really did. It also hides the bed head.

I'm still technically a student until I get my thesis written, so I'm still allowed to indulge in typical student behaviors- I sleep late, I don't wash, I arrive at appointments with just moments to spare. I'm going to miss this life when I have to rejoin the working world.