Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Burgundy, Olive and Rust

My photographer, and friend, Ferge, asked me this morning if I was depressed because my outfits the last few days have been rather subdued.  I told her that I wasn’t depressed but maybe my wardrobe was; I think my wardrobe is already tired of winter.  Mostly though, I just liked these colors together:



When I bought this scarf (Target) I was a little hesitant because I prefer brightly colored scarves (with giraffes, if I can get them) and I wasn’t sure how much I’d wear it.  I think it’s proven to be fairly versatile though.  I like it with leopard and I like it with this burgundy sweater tunic.  Because it’s frickin’ freezing today (literally; we had snow and ice and sleet), I layered the tunic over an olive-colored long-sleeve tee (Gap), ponte leggings (Vince Camuto via Nordstrom), wool socks and riding boots (Born Crown “Sosie” via Nordstrom).

And I was still cold.  So, if my wardrobe is suffering from a case of SAD, I can’t say I blame it.

Happy Wednesday, All!

Gracey

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

A Pencil and a Popped Collar

I wore a pencil skirt and a popped collar to work today:



I chose the pencil skirt because we had offsite training this morning so I didn’t ride my bike.  I chose the popped collar because popping the collar was the only way to see the bit of red under this sweater.  And also because Catherine from Not Dressed as Lamb often pops her collar to great effect and I’m nothing if not the occasional copycat.

The collar belongs to a handmade (by someone else) gingham blouse (thrifted) which I layered under a caramel sweater (thrifted).  The pencil skirt is knit and vintage and I thrifted it in Santa Fe last year.  I added black tights (Spanx), black wedge booties (Nine West via Piperlime) and black and white cameo earrings (which I forgot to photograph).

I like the bit of red gingham with this outfit; it adds both color and pattern.  But this particular gingham blouse is hard to wear.  It’s not quite long enough for a secure tuck so it bunches up under the sweater making me look plump, yet cozy.  Cozy is good; plump I can do without.  I tried to hike my skirt up for more tucking room but it’s a bit roomy in the waist so it didn’t do much good.  Sadly, I think a new gingham blouse may be in order.

At least it had a good collar for popping.

Happy Tuesday, All!

Gracey

Tangerine Love

I may have mentioned once or twice; okay, okay, several times, how excited I am that Pantone named Tangerine Tango as it's color of the year.  I know it's generally considered more of a summer color, but I think it works well for cooler weather as well and I set out to prove that point yesterday:



In my humble opinion; point proven.  I like the tangerine sweater (Gap) with the gray A-line skirt (Banana Republic) and the plum tights (Hue).  And the wrinkles; I'm totally owning those bad boys.  In addition to unplanned (but still loved) wrinkles, I also wore a tassel pendant (Old Navy), a studded belt (Michael Michael Kors via Nordstrom) and riding boots (Born Crown "Sosie" via Nordstrom). 

What do you think, Reader Friends?  Does tangerine work for winter?

Gracey

Monday, February 27, 2012

WeeCap: Mad Men

My friend Alex and I are huge Mad Men fans; as much for clothes as for the wonderful acting, writing and that sexy misogynist, Don Draper.  So, when we heard that the theme for this year’s annual Salem Art Association Clay Ball was Mad Men, we knew we had to go.  And we knew we had to go all out.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have anything appropriately 60s in my closet, so I had to go shopping.  Luckily I was able to find this dress at an antique mall in Albany:


I realize in looking at these pictures that it’s a little too big for me, which I didn’t notice before because too big vintage is not often an issue I run into.  I’ll probably have to take it in before I wear it again.

Fit aside, I knew I had to get this dress as soon as I saw the fabulous sleeves – I love that they’re unattached and sequined.  Not that the sequins were enough; oh, no, I had to add some rhinestones too:


I embellished my hair with two clip-on rhinestone earrings, wore the rhinestone earrings and a bracelet and added a rhinestone pin to my clutch.

Unlike me, Alex had the foresight to buy a gorgeous 60s gown a couple years ago:



Isn’t it amazing? She also accessorized with rhinestones and added long white gloves and major lashes.


And then we were off to the party.  And, you guys?  It was so much fun.  The first couple of hours were the silent auction, drinks and hors d’oeuvres.  And a photo booth:

Erich McVey Photography was there with a very cool wall of old advertisements from the late 50s and early 60s.  If you want to see more pictures from the event, go to http://www.hautebooth.com/ and you can see a bunch of the other party goers.

After the silent auction we had dinner and the live auction – it was the first I’d ever attended, and it was fabulous.  Really, the whole night was fabulous.  Except that my feet hurt the next day.

It doesn’t help that I was out dancing Friday night too but by Sunday, the dogs were barking.  Luckily, I had some of these to wear around the next day:


They’re Kushyfoot Flats-to-Go and they’re wonderful.  They fit easily into my purse and they really are cushy.  When I received them from the fine folks at Kushyfoot, I was a little worried because the size is 9/10 and in my experience, things that have two size on them never fit the larger size listed.  But, I was wrong; these wonderfully comfortable flats really do fit my monstrous size 10 feet easily.

My pair is black embossed crocodile, but these fabulous flats also come in bronze alligator, zebra, polka dot, snake, perforated cream, black patent and silver.  And they're only $9.99 per pair in drug stores everywhere.  Or, of course, you can get some at kushyfoot.com.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend as well!

Gracey

Friday, February 24, 2012

Giraffe-a-Dots

I’m afraid today’s post is going to be another rambling one, much like last Friday’s.  I’m not saying rambling is my Friday thing, but it does look like we’re heading in that direction.  So, yeah, that’s something.

Let’s start with the clothes.  Today I’m wearing giraffes and dots:




I love navy and hot pink together and figured why not giraffes and dots; hence, giraffe-a-dots.  I paired a navy and white polka dot sweater (Old Navy) with a hot pink giraffe print scarf (Target), cuffed jeans (Gap Real Straight jeans), the lion earrings from yesterday (vintage) and black mini-wedges (Jessica Simpson via Nordstrom).

And now for the rambling…

The lion earrings and giraffe scarf got me to thinking.  Do lions eat giraffes?  Does anything eat giraffes?  Are we really at the top of the food chain?  Or is it giraffes?  

And yes to every one who pointed out that I think and laugh about hard core/parkour because of Schmidt.  Schmidt cracks me up.

This album cover also cracks me up:


It’s The Knack and it looks like the two on the left didn’t tell the two on the right that My Sharona is a huge hit and it’s okay to smile.  Or the two on the right didn’t tell the two on the left that they were supposed to be a sexy band, damnit.

Finally, I’m going to a Mad Men-themed benefit dinner and auction this weekend with my girl, Alex, and I am crazy super excited.  I love my dress, hope I can figure out a hairstyle, am wearing lots of rhinestones and promise to take lots and lots of photos to share.

Oops.  One more thing; Happy Friday, Everyone!!!

Gracey

FBFF for February 24

As Katy Rose of Modly Chic followed along with all the NYFW posts and tweets it got her thinking... so much of what we bloggers do is all about the tools that we use. Technology certainly makes what we do easier, even if it is sometimes a major pain.

To that end, this week’s FBFF questions are regarding technology.  Which is interesting to me solely because it’s not at all interesting to me.  I’m not technologically savvy and I don’t really care to be.  I know it might help my blog grow if I used Twitter or Pinterest or Chictopia, but it’s just not me.  If I were to use those tools it wouldn’t be because I have an honest interest in them, and I try not to associate my blog with anything unless I have an honest interest in it.  Should I fake it to make?  Maybe.  Could I?  I don’t think so.

That being said, obviously I understand that technology can be useful, especially to bloggers.  I wouldn’t have a blog without the Internets and computers.  Below are my responses about the technology I do use.

1. What are the tools you use to blog?

A computer and a camera.  The computer is just a regular old desktop.  The camera is a Nikon Coolpix L110.  I also have a tripod but luckily am not often forced to take my own photos.  I’m not even sure a tripod is considered technology nowadays, but it was cutting edge back when cavewomen were cooking stuff over an open fire.

Which is actually one of the things I don’t like about technology; I hate how quickly things become obsolete.  It drives me absolutely crazy.

2. What technology item is on your wish-list?

I should probably get a laptop.  In case I ever want to post while on vacation and stuff.

3. Through the barrage of posts, tweets, pics, poses, messages, etc... how do you avoid becoming a slave to the constant infiltration of information?

Easy, I don’t subscribe to Facebook or Twitter so I’m not constantly receiving tweets, updates, etc.  I’ve opted out of receiving emails when some one comments on my blog.  Really, as is evidenced in my answer to question # 1, I only use the bare minimum of technology that allows me to blog and interact with readers/other bloggers.

For more posts on blogging and technology, head on over to Modly Chic.  And if you want even more, I’d suggest this post at Destrehan’s Daughter; I found it very interesting.

Gracey

Thursday, February 23, 2012

The Best Earrings Ever (Oh, and Some Clothes)

I am convinced (convinced!) that these are the best earrings ever:


At the very least, they are the coolest earrings I own and I love them.  I got them last Monday when I was looking for a rhinestone brooch for this Saturday.  They are vintage, and for some reason, they were only $3.00!  And, unless the reason they were only $3.00 is because they turn ears green, I will be wearing the heck out of them.  I may even wear them if they do turn my ears green.  Because I’m hard-core like that (which, btw, when I hear hard-core, I always think parkour and it makes me laugh.  For no reason).

I also wore clothes today:



I layered a men’s button-up (thrifted) under a long wool cardigan (Ports International, thrifted) and over black leggings (Ross).  For the accessories, I decided to stay with the “Big Cat” theme of the earrings and added a leopard belt and my animal print wedges (80%20 via Piperlime).  Blah, blah, blah; did you see the earrings?!

Happy Thursday, All!

Gracey

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

A Floral Moment


The always lovely Stacey from Gray Skies (whom you should absolutely read if you don’t already) said she was “having a floral moment” last week.  And I thought, “well, what about me?  I like florals, I want to have a floral moment too.”  And then I remembered that I don’t actually like florals that much because they’re often too pastel for my tastes.  And then I found this vintage skirt:



And, et voila, I was having a floral moment of my own.  I found the skirt while I was thrifting with Kelsey (Hi, Kelsey!) and took it home, hemmed it, washed it and had to wear it right away (as one does).  I decided to pair it with a black v-neck sweater (Hinge via Nordstrom), a cream bow blouse (Old Navy), red tights (DKNY via Nordstrom) and brown, lace-up booties (Nine West via TJ Maxx).

Why that combination?  This photo doesn’t show it very well, but the skirt is actually pinkish-red, black and brown:


So I wore the black sweater to pick up the black, the brown booties to pick up the brown, the red tights because I finally own some and the bow blouse to keep the top from looking too dark in connection with the tights and booties.  And, frankly, I love it.  Even though this skirt is not remotely good for riding a bike in, it’s a floral I can do and do happily so you’ll definitely be seeing it again.

How about you all, do you have floral moments?

Happy Wednesday, Everyone!

Gracey

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Eighties Town


As I mentioned in my WeeCap, I had a bit of an 80s moment while thrifting with Kelsey.   I think I was still in the throes of that moment when I put this outfit together this morning:



Does it feel a bit 80s to you?  Because it feels a bit 80s to me.  Maybe it’s because my skirt (vintage, thrifted) photographed neon red, or because I paired my bright-ass skirt with a bright-ass sweater (Old Navy).  Or maybe it’s the black; maybe it’s the turtleneck (Gap), tights (Spanx via Nordstrom) and boots (Naughty Monkey via Nordstrom) that push it into Eighties Town

Not that I’m saying Eighties Townis a bad place to be.  I probably wouldn’t live here, but I think it’s become obvious that I like to visit periodically.  Like today.  Today I am visiting Eighties Townand I’m enjoying the scenery.

Happy Tuesday, All!

Gracey

WeeCap: February 18th and 19th


Wherein the Gracey the Giant meets Kelsey the CharmingPumpkin and it is awesome.

Saturday, February 18th

I spent Saturday with my best friend Jodee, shopping the Nordstrom Rack clearance sale, eating German food, trying and failing to make sense of H&M and finally (finally!) finding red tights.  I wore this


Yes, you are correct; I dohave a lot of patterns going on.  I paired leopard and paisley and stripes.  But, I’m convinced it works because all of the patterns share a color palette and I kept the rest of the outfit simple.  For the not-so-simple portion of my outfit, I paired a striped tunic (Banana Republic) with a paisley scarf (Target) and topped it off with a leopard coat (Wet Seal, consigned).  The unseen simple portion is just skinny jeans (Macy’s) tucked into riding boots (Born Crown “Sosie”).


Sunday, February 19th

Sunday, Sunday was when the magic happened.  After a totes delish brunch with Jodee, I met up with the ridiculously awesome Kelsey of the Charming Pumpkin.  We were planning on doing A LOT of thrifting and laughing, so I dressed accordingly:



Here’s the thing folks; do you know what’s good for thrifting and laughing?  Leggings.  And leggings it was.  I paired some black leggings (Macy’s) with a printed chiffon blouse (Nordstrom Rack), a sleeveless black dress/tunic (Nordstrom), an orange cashmere scarf (Nordstrom) and my riding boots from the day before.  And I thrifted and laughed in comfort the entire day.

I’ll get to the thrifting in a second, but first, let me tell you about Kelsey.  I knew she was funny and smart and adorable from her blog, but she’s even smarter and funnier and more adorable in person.  Seriously folks, she is one bright lady.  And hilarious.  And irreverent.  And the best thrifting good luck charm.

We only made it to three thrift stores, but I found a ton of stuff.  Mostly a lot of floral stuff:





















And 80s stuff, like this red, angora sweater coat of ridiculousness:


And other 80s stuff that you’ll have to wait until 80s prom to see.  Trust me, it’s so worth it.

We also found, but did not buy, sticky stuff (seriously, it was so disgusting)  and sexy nun stuff; we decided the floor length, long-sleeved grey dress with the rhinestone collar was the domain of Sister Elizabeth – she’s the sexy one.  And 80s prom dresses with butt bows the size of small dogs; sadly mine was too small and Kelsey’s was too big, otherwise that totally would have happened.

And then we met up with Mr. CP, who is also brilliant and hilarious, and had dinner at the Veritable Quandary which was delicious and funny and wonderful.

All in all, it was an absolutely fabulous weekend and I’m sorry I don’t have any pictures of Kelsey and I together, but we were too busy trying on stuff that didn’t fit and laughing to snap photos.

Next time though, I promise!

Gracey

Friday, February 17, 2012

At a Loss for Words

I’m pretty much at a loss for words regarding today’s outfit.  Not because it’s bad or anything, I just don’t have much to say about it.  So, I’m going to ramble on about some other things until I get tired.  First though, the clothes; this is a personal style blog after all:



See?  I wore a completely unsurprising combination of leggings (Ross), a tunic (Gap) and a sweater (wool, thrifted).  Even the addition of a cashmere scarf (Nordstrom) and riding boots (Vince Camuto via Nordstrom) isn’t that exciting.  But, it was warm and comfortable and these boots are finally (finally!) getting broken in.

Now, for the rambling.  First of all, I just finished the book “Iodine” by Haven Kimmel and I gotta tell you, folks, I just don’t know.  I think maybe it made me mad.  Has anyone else read it?  If so, let’s talk.

Second, The Walking Dead is back on AMC and I am thrilled.  I thought Sunday’s episode was good and I no longer think Rick is as ill-suited for the post-apocalyptic world as I originally thought he was.  I was sort of on Team Shane before, thinking his brutality was better suited for a world inhabited by the walking dead but now I think he might just be a sociopath.

Third, I have a super fun, totally awesome weekend planned.  I am going to be spending Saturday with my bestie Jodee and Sunday, I finally (finally!) get to meet Kelsey from Charming Pumpkin!!!  I anticipate shenanigans.

Fourth, it’s a three day weekend!!!!!  (The exclamation points indicate how very excited I am by the prospect of NOT coming to work on Monday).

Finally, Happy Friday, Everyone!  I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Gracey

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Another Day, Another Day Dress

I rock a lot of polka dots.  I also rock a lot of dresses.  Although I am firmly on Team Skirt, dresses are just so easy.  And some days a girl just has to take the easy route.  Today was one of those days:



I actually had another outfit planned but I changed my mind this morning because I’m fickle and it’s going to rain (trust me, it totally makes sense).  This meant that I needed something quick and easy drying.  Enter the day dress.  Today’s dress (vintage Karin Stevens, thrifted) is fairly summery, so I wanted to winterize it and toughen it up a bit.   To that end, I paired it with black accessories like a black blazer (Gap), a studded belt, black tights (Spanx) and black booties (Nine West “Peekaboo” via Piperlime).

Remember, it’s not lazy, it’s easy.

Happy Thursday, Everyone!

Gracey

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Blue Collar

I wanted to title this post “Working Girl” and then I remembered that, in the American lexicon at least, working girl means something completely different.  And, like V.D., it has a rather unsavory meaning.  Why does ‘working man’ mean a blue-collar physical laborer and ‘working girl’ mean a hooker?  Like that’s the only work a girl, or a woman, is good for?  Seriously, that’s some BS right there.

But, let me climb down from my soap box and we’ll talk about my outfit.  This outfit:



It got very cold (though thankfully clear) here in Oregon last night and today, so layers were in order.  I layered my chambray tunic (Old Navy) over a long-sleeve tee (Old Navy) and layered a pleated, plaid skirt (vintage, thrifted) over blue tights (DKNY).  I added wool socks and my trusty riding boots (Born “Sosie” via Nordstrom).  I was actually still cold but there is really no way of getting around that when you ride your bike in the middle of winter.

Happy Wednesday, Everyone!

Gracey

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

That Doesn’t Mean What You Think It Means

I was in the hallway at work today and a woman yelled “Happy V.D.” to her friend down the hall.  I started laughing, but what I really wanted to do was tell her that “that doesn’t mean what you think it means.”  And then, of course, my friends and I spent the rest of the day saying “Happy V.D.” to each other.

In other news, I wore some clothes today.  These clothes, in fact:




You may notice that I’m not wearing pink or red.  I know that today is the EBEW Pink and Red Challenge, but I purposely skipped it because pink and red together on Valentine’s Day is just too on-the-nose for my taste.  I went with blue(s) and burgundy instead.

I’ve paired this day dress (vintage Karin Stevens, thrifted) with this cardigan (a.n.a via JC Penney) and belt (Gap) before, but with my riding boots.  Today I added teal tights (Hue) and burgundy shoes (Naya “Jada” via Nordstrom) instead.  And I love it.  I wasn’t sure about the burgundy shoes, but I think they definitely work.  And we can pretend I wore them in the spirit of Valentine’s Day (I didn’t).

Happy Tuesday, Everyone!  And Happy V.D!!

Gracey

Monday, February 13, 2012

Mustard and Leopard and Pleats (Oh my!)

So, I’m feeling much better.  I’m getting over both my sinus infection and my body image issues (my HMO said I was fat – I took it personally).  And as a result, I was able to put together an outfit that I love instead of one that just didn’t make me stabby:


I mean, what’s not to love?  Mustard, leopard and pleats?  All in one outfit?  Yes, please!



For this much loved outfit, I paired my mustard cashmere sweater (thrifted) with my new-to-me pleated skirt (thrifted) and added black and grey herringbone tights and cuffed boots (Gap).  At this point, the outfit felt a bit “private school” so I added a leopard-print scarf, tied into a bow, as both a wink and a nod to the private school idea.  And it kept me amused all day.

Happy Monday, All!

Gracey

Friday, February 10, 2012

Sweatshirt. Blazer.

This blazer is genius.  It’s a blazer that’s made of sweatshirt material.  Which makes it… what?  A swazer? Blazeshirt? Sweatzer?  Bleatshirt?  I don’t know, but I know I like it:



It is crazy comfortable and I sort of feel like I’m getting one over because I’m basically wearing jeans (Gap Real Straight) and a sweatshirt (J. Crew) to work today.  Sure I added a blouse (Old Navy), wedge boots (Kenneth Cole Reaction, v. old) and a red scarf, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s still just jeans and a sweatshirt.  That’s right, folks, I’m totally sticking it to The Man today.  You’re witnessing antibiotic-induced rebellion at it’s finest. 

Happy Friday, Everyone!  And have a wonderful weekend!

Gracey

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Sucking It Up

My sinus infection and I tried very, very hard not to come to work today.  And we would have succeeded too, if not for those meddling kids.  Well, those kids, and the 8-hour conference call I had scheduled.  So, I sucked it up and put on some clothes:


Sans scarf

As I was going to be trapped in my cubicle all day, I dressed purely for comfort.  I layered a cowl-neck sweater-dress thing-y (Kersh, v. old) over a dolman-sleeved tunic (Gap) and leggings (Macys, v. old).  I added a pop of turquoise with a bracelet (vintage via Lil’ Gypsy), black wedge booties (Nine West “Peekaboo” via Piperlime) and an infinity scarf (Steve Madden via Macys).

Happy Thursday, All!  Please forgive the wrinkles.

Gracey

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

When in Doubt, Stripes

So, my sartorial struggles continued today.  But, then I remembered, when in doubt, stripes:



And you know what?  It worked.  This outfit may not be anything to write home about; it’s just a striped sweater (American Eagle) over a black-skirted two-fer dress (Target), navy tights (Target) and black riding boots (Vince Camuto “Fantastic” via Nordstrom).  But, unlike the last two days, I’m comfortable in it, both physically and mentally, so let’s consider this a win, shall we?

And remember, folks, when in doubt, stripes.  Or polka dots.  Polka dots are good in a pinch as well.

Happy Wednesday, Everyone!

Gracey

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

It’s the Boots

Something is off about this outfit, which, yes, once again, I didn’t realize until I saw the pictures.  And I never thought I’d say this, but it’s the boots:



They’re wrong for this.  Yes, they’re right for 90% of my outfits, but they’re wrong for this outfit.

At least I think it’s the boots.  I mean, I like everything else about this outfit.  I like the butterscotch sweater (thrifted) combined with the mauve skirt (vintage, thrifted) and the grey tights (Hue via Macy’s).  And of course I love the polka dot (!) bow tie (silk, thrifted).  But, I’m not sure the boots are right.

I think I’ll wear this outfit again next week, provided our not-too-cold-and-surprisingly-not-rainy weather holds, with different shoes and we’ll see if it is, indeed, the boots.  Or, if I'm just being hard on myself because this cold is kicking my heinie and I've lost all perspective.

Happy Tuesday, Everyone!  Maintain perspective!

Gracey