Shoes.

I love them. Those who know me best know that in the past 5 years, I have acquired a bit of a shoe problem. I used to be a Birkenstocks-only kind of woman [and don’t get me wrong, I still love my Birks]; but now, I’ve come to embrace quite a large variety of footwear. I’ve been collecting shoe pics, and I thought I’d share them as a group here.

Note: I do not own the last two pair — the purple and yellow Prepares. These, I merely tried on in the Fluevog store in Chicago.

Shoe Deets, from top to bottom:

• Keen Women’s Santiago Corduroy Lace in Arabian Spice
  
• Fluevog Prepare: Guide in Turquoise
• Naturalizer: Janzen in Brown
• Tsubo: Millay in Midnight Red/Merlot
• Fluevog Prepare: Map in Brown/Yellow
• Fluevog Prepare Hi: Steady, first in Purple, then in Yellow

Stripey stripes.

I do love stripes, and am delighted by the fact that my long sleeve t-shirt, sweater, and socks all sport them here. Ultimately, I decided to donate the t-shirt, since it was a smidge short and kept riding up during the day. And, even though the sweater is not as conventionally “flattering”* as some of the longer, more flowy sweaters I often choose, I love it for its unexpected colors and contours.

*I have reservations about what we mean when we call a garment “flattering” – thus the scare quotes. I think everyone should feel free to decide what “flattering” means to them. This might mean eschewing the cultural norm that says one should always strive for a longer, slimmer silhouette. Sally says it better here.

• long sleeve tee – Gap
  
• sweater – thrifted
• jeans – Miss Etam
• socks – H&M

Travel Wardrobe.

I’ve learned a lot from Sally at Already Pretty about using capsule wardrobes when traveling. The belated blog Academichic also offers a marvelous collection of resources for creating capsule wardrobes.

Our recent holiday started in Atlanta, moved on to Phoenix, then proceeded to the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, and San Francisco. We did laundry twice during the trip, and so everything I packed, I planned to wear three times. Even so, I ultimately overpacked. Next time, I shall strive to take less!

I did not think to document my entire capsule wardrobe for this trip, but here are a couple of outfits caught on film:

Above:

• fleece – V&D
• jeans – Miss Etam
• shoes – Merrell
• purse – gift

Below:

• tunic & jeans – Miss Etam
• hand warmers – REI

Phoenix Style.

Over the New Year, Brandon and I enjoyed a holiday in AZ, where we visited my sister and brother-in-law. Here, on a platform in downtown Phoenix, we awaited the light rail to Tempe. I am wearing my very favorite dress, made by Karina, a small business in Brooklyn that employs seamstresses who make a living wage. The microfiber material is eco-friendly, does not wrinkle, and is machine-washable. Plus – those colors! I am in love. 

Everything stays … except the sweater tights, which were falling down all day. I am in the process of DIY-ing them into either knee socks or leg warmers.

• dress – Karina Marisa sleeveless
• cardigan – Target
• sweater tights – One Stop Plus
• shoes – Fluevog Stop It: Arret
• necklace – Ten Thousand Villages

Two.

Two outfits for the price of one! The top two pictures feature the following:

• cardigan – modcloth
• tee – thrifted
• jeans – H&M
• necklace – Ten Thousand Villages
• hair clip – a store in Barcelona
• shoes – thrifted

The bottom two show a bit of variation in how I recently wore this sweater dress. New items include a thrifted necklace (love that strawberry!) and thrifted gray Mary Janes.

Layering.

I’m late to the game, but I’ve found myself repeatedly layering short sleeve tees atop long sleeve tees this winter. I love the extra warmth without the bulk of a sweater. Here, I only photographed the top half of my outfit – pretty sure I paired this with jeans.

• long sleeve tee – Torrid
• short sleeve tee & short red necklace – thrifted
• long necklace – Miss Etam

For the love of thrifting.

I get a kick out of thrifting – that’s no secret to anyone who knows me. This outfit features a number of my more recent finds here in northwest Ohio.

• long sleeve tee, top, necklackes – all thrifted
• earrings – Anika Burke (no longer available, but a great collection of earrings here)
• socks – Free People (now $7)

Casual Pastels.

For years, I thought I was over pastels. But such is no longer the case! Here, I livened them up with some pattern mixing, a textured sweater, and a pop of richer colors in the necklace and earrings.

• cardigan – Ann Taylor Loft
• t-shirt, necklace, & earrings – thrifted
• jeans & socks – H&M
• reversible kerchief – Hip Mountain Mama
• ring – modcloth

Target for the win, once again

I bought my second-ever sweater dress from Target recently. You may remember my enthusiasm for sweater dresses from this post. As comfy as pjs, as dressy as a dress!

• sweater dress – Target (still on sale, in limited sizes)
• headband – a boutique in Chicago
• necklace – Ten Thousand Villages (50% off currently)
• flower pin – purchased by my mom at a department store in the 1950s
• round pin – thrifted
• socks – sockdreams (out of stock)
• boots – Woman Within (also on sale now)

And the blog is back!

Just in time for Valentine’s Day! I decided to dress the part today, especially since my choir went “Valentine’s Caroling” tonight. (Let’s hear it for One in a Number!) 

• Cardigan: Modcloth
• Dress: less than $10 from Target, still available in assorted colors!
• Leggings: We Love Colors
• Socks: sockdreams
• Booties: Blowfish Haha
• Earrings: Ten Thousand Villages
• Hair Butterfly: Ten Thousand Villages

Lots of outfits to share from the past couple of months. Let’s play catch-up, starting now!

An outfit from last week:

• Flower-in-Hair ~ The Body Shop (I think)
• Earrings ~ a boutique in Columbus, OH
• Necklace ~ HEMA
• v-neck sweater ~ thrifted in Atlanta
• yellow t-shirt ~ Jessica London (other colors now available)
• red corduroy pants ~ no longer available, but here’s more info @ Alloy
• red corduroy shoes ~ Keen Santiago
• ring ~ Botanical Bird

VERDICT – I will probably donate the red corduroy pants later this winter. They are a bit big around the waist, and without a belt… well, let’s just say it gets a bit drafty! But they are so warm and cozy that I can’t give them up just yet. The rest of the outfit is a-okay by me!

Ah, the hint of oncoming winter! Cold snaps, warm stockings, cuddly kittens, steaming suppers, and endless cups of tea!

B. snapped the top picture of me on the first day it snowed in our little town. We got up, immediately donned our winter gear, and headed out for a walk.

I wore:

• Fleece-lined head band ~ Hip Mountain Mama (no longer available, but these wool hand warmers are awesome!)
• Fingerless Gloves ~ REI
• Scarf ~ thrifted
• Sweater ~ Athleta
• Waterproof, lined snowpants ~ REI
• Shoes ~ Merrell Jungle Moc
• Plus some capilene long underwear, also from REI

The rest of the photos show off my love of cozy pj’s, cats both real and virtual, and toasty socks.

In the background of our tasty Halloween feast (yes, these pics were taken a while back!), you can see me sporting my thrifted fleece footie pajamas! Those were three dollars well spent, let me tell you.

The collection of rolled-up socks showcases the 31 pair that did not survive the Great Sock Culling of 2012! Half I gave to my mother; the other half I donated to the local thrift shop. Most of these socks were ankle-length, which I liked at one time, but never wear anymore. A few were just too small for my size 10 feet. (All were in good condition.)

The last 2 photos feature my beloved Tubular Rainbow Cat Socks, plus my beloved-er Pollux-the-cat, with me in my jammies.

Yay winter!

VERDICT: Everything stays - except for the 31 pair of socks.

It’s been a spell since I’ve posted, but you may remember that last time, I was struggling to assemble a tunic/cardigan/leggings/leg-warmers combo; in the end, I loved the individual elements, but wasn’t sure about the outfit as a whole. Here, I tried a similar formula, but with scrunchy boot socks and booties instead of leg warmers and flats. These were good changes to make, IMO.

• cardigan ~ Target
• tunic ~ Miss Etam
• leggings ~ We Love Colors
• socks ~ Sockdreams (other colors available here)
• wool booties ~ Blowfish “Haha” ~ still available in select sizes (These are super warm and cozy – like wearing slippers all day! They do run about a half-size small.)
• earrings ~ Etsy, Botanical Bird

VERDICT – Everything stays!

• Cardigan ~ Target
• Tunic ~ thrifted from the Et Cetera Shop
• Leggings ~ We Love Colors
• Leg Warmers ~ Sock Dreams
• Socks ~ Sock Dreams
• Shoes ~ Naturalizer

VERDICT – Everything stays … though I’ll tweak this outfit next time.