Surprises

When picking out my outfit the night before, I knew I wanted to wear my new jacket. I found this jacket earlier in the week while shopping for my Halloween Costume, and knew it would be a great 'work appropriate' addition. I decided that my black A-line skirt would be the next best piece to add to the outfit, and the rest I would figure out in the morning.

Laying in bed, I decided that I didn't want to wear a black shirt, even though it would highlight the jacket so well. I decided that I would stand in my closet and pick out the one color that I don't wear much of, to spice up the look. I pondered over the Forest Green shirt for awhile, before finally decided that my Orange tee hasn't seen much wear lately. It wasn't until about an hour later when I was in the car that I looked down and realized, I have dressed for the holiday, except I didn't mean to. I spent the whole day looking like every 5 year olds favorite Librarian. In the words of a good friend, ' at least it isn't April'. Surprise to myself #1- pairing orange, black and white the week before Halloween makes you look hoakie.

These boots haven't been worn in about a year. When I worked clothing retail, all of us girls had gone out and purchased a pair of black pointy boots. I wore my pair to the ground. They were the perfect work shoe, comfortable enough to wear all day, they looked stylish under a pair of jeans and they were sturdy. When my first pair finally kicked the bucket, I headed out to buy myself a new pair. My new pair however isn't as great as my first pair was. These shoes are extra pointy and they make me feel like a witch, which happened to be fitting because well I was dressed for the holiday. Because I haven't worn these shoes in so long, I had forgotten what they looked like on, and while they were comfortable for the long day, they added to the hoakie-ness of my outfit. Surprise to myself #2- The one time you don't really look at yourself, including your shoes before you walk out the door, you will regret the decision. Pointy shoes make you look like a witch.

All things aside, I was still excited about this jacket. My costume calls for a white denim jacket, so while I searched through the racks looking for said item, I was surprised when I stumbled upon this. It wasn't what I needed for my costume, but I knew it would be a great blazer choice for work. Adding this to a t-shirt and jeans would instantly make the whole look feel more professional. I checked the tags as I always do, and didn't recognize the name, but I did recognize the reasonable price tag and the options it would allow my closet and I added it to my pile as I headed to the register.

When I got home and was taking the tags off everything, I got a better look at the jacket. All of the tags are in Chinese! No wonder I didn't recognize the name in the store! I'm not opposed to well made fashion from anywhere in the world, but now that nice sheen that I thought made the jacket look dressy, now makes me think that this jacket looks a little more China Town/ Canal Street, and a little less, shiny for work. After closer inspection I'm sad to report that this isn't a gem shipped from over seas, but instead a knock off purchased which seems to have been purchased in the back of a van, out of someone's trench coat or on a table on the side of the road in the city.

I still love the jacket and it's little bow, but if I had really stopped to think about the whole story before I bought it, maybe it wouldn't have seemed like such a good deal at the time. Surprise to myself #3- Read you idiot! Just because something is shiny, doesn't mean that it's a great purchase. You'll still wear the jacket a lot but now you'll always be self-conscious that the whole world thinks you bought it on a subway stop.

White Blazer/ Jacket: ( which I will still wear with pride and love) Goodwill $10

Orange Tee: Target $5

Necklace: Claire's $1

Skirt: Salvation Army $3

Tights: Kohl's $4

Boots: old

Halloween Archive

Halloween is one of my favorite time's of the year. I can really let my creativity flow. There is nothing better than coming up with an idea and figuring out how to piece it all together. Each year I try to stretch Halloween out for as long as I can, so last year I wore 3 different outfits.

Suprisingly, this was one of my favorite outfits. Our manufacturing facility, also has a retail shop attached. I decided for Halloween to dress as Andy, my favorite butcher. Andy had his 80th birthday last year, and arrives to work happy as can be each day. Getting the outfit together was easy, I wore an 'old man tie' ( yellow and oddly patterned) a button down shirt, khaki's and some old man slippers. The smock, apron, hat and gloves all came from work and were easily returned or thrown out. Andy enjoyed my impression of him so much! He told every single customer that came in that imitation is the sinceriest form of flattery.

My most creative costume, was also my biggest dissapointment. I went as a troll doll! I was so excited when I came up with the idea and quickly started my hunt for the necessary items. A nude leotard and tights helped to give me the illussion of being naked. The little heart jewel I simply pinned to my shirt. The biggest issue was my hair. Because my hair is so thin, as soon as we filled it with products it became to heavy to stay up, so a few well placed hair clips,and tons of colored hair spray later I was everyone's favorite toy from the 90's! Well apparently not everyones. No-one knew what I was. A few party goers thought that I was Eve (??) and even though I kept telling people, they had no idea what this 'Troll Doll 'was. Finally a good friend about half way through the night goes, ' Oh wait, are you that thing that we used to stick pencils up their butts?'. Apparently I was the only kid in town who had a collection of troll dolls displayed on my window sills. Lesson Learned

My girlfriends and I were headed to a party on the night after Halloween, and decided for our first year to dress with a theme. For some reason we have just always dressed as individual costumes, and I was so excited for last years theme, Disney Princess'! We all grew up in the 90's and our love of Disney animation will never go away. Each of us grew up with the dolls and the markers and the dresses so it was a great idea. Some of my friends bought their costumes, but I decided to piece mine together. I was Belle, from Beauty and the Beast and my favorite of the princesses.

I had purchased a vintage blue dress months prior with no real idea of what exactually to do with it. It was perfect for my costume so I hacked off about 12 inches and hemmed the bottom. Simply placed that over a button down white shirt ( the same from my butcher costume), added a black wig a bow and I was out the door! ( Our costumes from Left to Right: Snow White, Mulan, Pochahontas, Snow White and Belle) I was so comfortable all night, which was good because we spent most of the night singing Karaoke. Standing alone people had no idea what we were, but together the theme became obvious. Plus we all got to live out our secret dreams of being princess' for a night!

This year Johnny and I changed our costumes a little last minute, so while I'm prepared and have started hemming and adjusting we still have to do some shopping for him. Tonight will be spent scowering the store for the perfect items! Halloween only comes once a year, and it's the only time it's completely acceptable to be entirely inspired by someone or something so participate and have fun!

Buisness Dinner

When I received the phone call from one of our salesman Monday, " We have a big dinner on Wednesday night, and you need to go. Please you have to come." I agreed, and than silently said my thank you for this dress.

Last spring, as I started my search for wedding appropriate dresses, I found this little beauty at Burlington Coat Factory. Because of the Easter sales, the dress was a well priced $20, and while I didn't have any wedding's in mind to wear it to, I knew that it would be a good basic dress to have. This dress has since become a great patterned, ' little black dress for me'.

The dinner went well. The food was free, the bar was open, and my butt was in place to fill the table. I spent a good chunk of time shaking hands and making polite conversation, but I was confident in this outfit.

Before walking out the door, I turned to my ' plus 1' for the evening, and one of my best friends and asked if this dress was too short. It's a problem I always have. It's not that the dresses are too short, or that I'm kind of a whore, but rather that my legs are so long they immediately make everything look smaller. A year ago it would bother me to be showing so much leg, but now I've learned to embrace it. I may not always have these amazing limbs so I should celebrate them not hide them!

I also live with the old rule from High School. Put your arms down at your sides. Your skirts should never fall above the point on your leg in which your longest finger touches. I have long arms, which made me hate the rule when I was trying to fit in with the rest of the skinny naked girls in gym class. Now, I figure with long arms and long legs, no matter how far down my fingers reach, I will always have a hint of the Daisy Duke.

Cardigan: old

Dress: Burlington Coat Factory $20

Shoes: Target via Goodwill $10

Diamond Necklace and Earrings: gifted- my boyfriend is pretty amazing

Bracelet: absolutely fake from a temporary store in mall $5

Matching the Scenery

* Sorry for the unecessary stink face*

During the fall months I tend to find myself dressing to match the scenery. It's when the leaves are changing and falling that I love to use nature as inspiration. When I scored this sweater at the H&M outlet while in Atlantic City, I was immediately drawn to it's mustard color. I'm finding this color more an dmore in my wardrobe, and I love the hint of calm it can bring. It just seemed like the perfect thing to wear before all of the leaves drop and are soon covered in a layer of white.

This necklace was also a find this past weekend. Claire's clearance has always been a source of great finds for me. In general, the jewelery store geared for a younger crowd is usually full of teeny boppers buying tons of neon pieces of plastic jewlery. Occassionally though, I can find some great things, and with the 10 items for $10 sale going on at the outlet, I was determined to get some finds. Mostly I was able to get some great things for Christmas gifts, but some of the 10 items were great for me too. This necklace looks antique, and I love that about it. It has a great brassy finish, and the main oval piece is actually a locket. This is sadly not metal, which means with every step it makes a funny plastic on plastic sound. Even still the look of this item is so retro that I just couldn't say know, and I plan on displaying it often dispite what sounds it makes.

As I spend most of my week in various colored tights, there are a few things I've learned. The biggest of which, is to make sure that when your colored tights are the same color family as your shoes and skirt, in this case brown, make sure all 3 are not the exact same color. I made the mistake weeks ago with a darker brown legging under a darker brown boot and I spent the whole day looking like a giant leotard. I won't be making that mistake again, and so today I grabbed the lighter brown boots.

Jacket: Forever 21 $15

Sweater: H&M outlet $6

Skirt: Old Navy $4

Tights: Kohls $4

Boots: Target $6

Necklace: Claire's $1

Great Fashion Advice

http://ohhoneyno.wordpress.com/2009/10/28/the-n00bs-guide-to-colorifying-your-wardrobe/


I'm always looking for new ways to spice up the items I have in my closet, and how I wear them. A great blog that I follow, ohhoneyno just posted a great list of some tips, advice and go to places for inspiration! Check it out. Maybe we'll all learn a thing or two!

Special Dinner

We were only in Atlantic City for one night, and after a long day of shopping and spa treatments, my girlfriend and I were ready for a nice sit down dinner. The boys were still downstairs at the craps tables, so we got dressed, did our hair and makeup and headed down to collect them so we could head out to a fancy restaurant. After finding both of our respective men downstairs winning and enjoying themselves, we quickly realized that plans were changing. Dinner happened a few feet away at the buffet that night. It was good food, and the selection was huge. While conversation was limited, due to atmosphere and location, dinner was good and we were clearly the best dressed in the room.

I'm sad that this shirt doesn't photograph well. It is a great silky blue material that has an over layer of drappy sheer fabric. The look is great. The silky blue helps to hug to my curves while the sheer material drapes ever so lightly over top. I'm not sure if it was the top itself or the hotel lighting, but getting any good pictures just wasn't optional.

But try I did anyways...

Top: Charlotte Russe $5

Cardigan: old

Tank Top: Weathervane $6

Jeans: Seven via Marshall's $20

Shoes: Target via Goodwill $10

Modcloth Jewelery

See what I mean? All of these amazing pieces are brought to you by Modcloth.com, and all of these amazing pieces sold out before I could get to them. I'm sure they will be well loved by their future owners, and I will sit in anticipation for re-stocking to occur.

Modcloth Sale

I just saw that Modcloth is having a huge fall sale! Their clothes are amazing, the coats are unbelievable and their jewelery is just divine. When I checked out their website, so many things were already gone so hurry while there is still time!

www.modcloth.com

Jimmy Choo

http://andeelayne.blogspot.com/2009/10/update-jimmy-choo-for-h.html

Apparently I'm the last to know, but Jimmy Choo is putting out a reasonably priced line of clothing and accessories through H&M. Check out the link about to see a video about the items. Those studs, the zebra print, those heels!! I die, I literally die.


P.S. ( Has Rachel Zoe changed anyone else's vernacular when it comes to describing fashion?)

Must Have Monday

When I first put myself on a shopping ban, I made a few exceptions. My upcoming Shopping Vacation, and holidays( which include Halloween costume needs). So imagine my excitement when my shopping trip to Atlantic City finally came! I had put aside a certain amount of money, so when my shopping buddy and I did some browsing earlier in the week at our local mall, I wasn't upset when I purchased a few well priced clearance items. What was left of my money was being used for the big shopping trip. I was able to find some sweaters and a few shirts, but most all of my shopping ended up being for Christmas. I am a type A personality and that becomes even more apparent when it comes to Holiday shopping. Now with gifts already on my list of 'things I need for the end of December', I'm feeling a little more at ease already. With so much shopping this last week, and smart shopping at that I feel content. My closet is full of great sweaters, tons of shoes, my make-up has been updated and full and my jewelery closet is starting to rival Rachel Zoe's. There is simply nothing I need, except for some work pants. The outlet's we visited had none, and trust me I looked. When the season's first started changing and I tried everything on again I wasn't disappointed by the fit of what work pants I did have, but by their length. It can be hard to find pants long enough as it is, and add in the requirement of them being comfortable materials that can still look professional and shopping suddenly becomes a chore. With no shopping on the horizon, I'm still keeping my eyes open for great deals, and some potentially great stores to look for better fitted work pants.
But first let me gush over these shoes for a moment. No I don't need any more shoes. No I'm not planning on spending any more money on shoes, but if the money fairy suddenly dropped $20 under my pillow, I would rush to Forever 21 to grab these amazing booties. It's my childhood love of the Secret Garden that makes these the next Must Have shoe for my collection. Booties get tons of use in my closet anyways, so with these great heel, comfortable platform and amazing color, I've already decided on 25 different outfits to wear with these shoes. My gushing will end here, but my drooling will not. Oh Forever 21, thank you for the Carlita Lace-up Bootie. Retails for $18.80.

I've long heard that Anne Taylor comes out with great pants, and the above image seems to back that rumor up. My shopping habits tend to be on the relatively affordable end of the spectrum, but investing in a few great staples is always acceptable. Maybe some work pants needs to be thought of as a staple. Items that you will have for years, that you will wear often and that will help to keep you looking professional. Maybe a great pair of pants can be your ticket to promotion. These pants retail for $120 on the website, but with so many Anne Taylor coupons available, getting a deal on these pants doesn't seem completely unreasonable.

Maurice's website doesn't have the most attractive looking images. Their pictures make these pants look flat, and the fit can't be seen. Luckily for me I have a location local, and lucky for you I have bought en a number of pants from them on the past and can report that a lot of their pants fit wonderfully. Their fabric is always well made, and their styles aren't outdated. Even finding pants that are longer doesn't seem a problem for me when it comes to this great store, but trying on before buying is a must. The chocolate pants retail for $34 and the tweed for $34 as well.

Old Navy has always been a long time retail favorite of mine. They are the place to go to stock up on basics, and since all of their sizes run big you have to be prepared to shop a size down to find your perfect size. No woman minds needing to try on a size or two lower than they would in any other store, and with thick material to match their great prices, Old Navy leaves a great option for some more professional looking pants. These wide-leg Khaki's retail for $32.50.

That's Miss Janitor to you

With a wedding Friday evening, my work day was cut in half. This of course doesn't mean that I had less work to do, just less time to do it in. So I brought out a great pair of jeans and a well placed shirt and cardigan. This drappy cardigan just doesn't get a lot of use. I think it's partly because it is short sleeve so it doesn't do much to help keep in warmth. Since I was already wearing a long sleeve shirt though, I liked that it would help to add an extra element.

The real star of this show however, was my new key necklace. I have been on the hunt for a great key necklace for weeks, so when a friend spotted this necklace on our shopping trip last week, I couldn't say no. With so many different key's this necklace immediately solved all of my necklace searching problems. And with an amazing price tag of $6 I couldn't say no.

Shirt: Wal-mart $3

Cardigan: Target $10

Necklace: Charlotte Russe $6

Jeans: Weathervane old $20

My most favorite functional shoes: $9

Big Bruise

And just like that I finally jumped on the colored tights bandwagon. I've been watching so many fashionable ladies wear their tights with pride, and yet I was a little nervous before making the final jump.

I had purchased these purple tights last year when I took advantage of a Kohl's sale and stocked up on every woman's must have cold weather staple. When fall hit this year, I realized they were still in their packaging, and I had no reason but to put them on. The bigger dilemma was what to pair my brightly colored legs with. I have such a soft spot for blue and purple paired together. I think the two colors, because they are so close on the color wheel play off each other and almost highlight one another, and so with excitement I grabbed my blue top and my new belt. I decided last minute to add a touch of purple up top as well and brought out my purple drop necklace.

For most of the day I had almost forgotten that my tights were a brighter color than I usually wear. They just didn't stand out as much as I had assumed they would. It was when I looked down at one point during the day and realized that with my purple and blue I resembled a big nasty bruise, that my fashion heart sank a little. Oh color wheel how you deceive me again! I think I was the only one in the world who noticed the similarities, and my realization won't stop me from wearing these again. Instead they have sparked my interest as I start my shop for tights in other colors as well.

Top: Maurices $6

Necklace: Lia Sophia $20

Belt: Charlotte Russe $10

Skirt: Wal-mart $5

Tights: Kohl's $6

Shoes: Charlotte Russe $12

Another amazing dress giveaway

http://megannielsen.com/2009/10/ladies-who-lunch-dress-giveaway.html

Two great dress giveaway's in one day. Happy Monday everyone!

Shabby Apple Dare to Design Limoncello Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

Shabby Apple Dare to Design Limoncello Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

Tight Washing

Tonight is ,believe it or not, the first time I will attempt to wash my tights! Usually my tights get runs and holes before I need to wash them, but since purchasing a whole slew of tights at Kohl's I have had the best luck and still no holes or runs! Last night I looked at my ever growing pile of dirty tights and decided that now is the time. I've done a little googling to figure out what the best way to wash, but does anyone have any advice? How do you wash your dedicates??

Date Night

We finally got the chance to enjoy a perfect date night this week. Our schedules have been so busy which made it even nicer when Johnny and I got to enjoy a great restaurant, a few glasses of wine and some wonderful conversation. And with the signing of the bill came a promise that we wouldn't loose touch with our love of eating out, quiet conversation and spending the night together.

*I don't care what Johnny says, I just love the broken down rag doll look. Maybe its the ANTM in me

Dress: Kmart $15

Cardigan: ?? old

Coat: Guess gifted from Johnny

Tights: Kohls $6

Necklace: After Thoughts $5

Bracelet: Little shop in the mall $6

Earrings: Diamond gifted from Johnny

Shoes: Payless $20