Posing, Clapping, Shoes and the Conga

So, do y'all know Jen?  She blogs over at Librarian For Life and Style and is a fellow Portland blogger and is funny and smart and smiley.  Well, I had the opportunity to meet up with her the other day and it was fabulous.

We had lunch and talked about blogging, Kate's hair, our hair, Dubai, clapping and smiling.  And, afterwards, we took some photos because we're professionals, damnit.  Okay, well, Jen is; I actually forgot my camera.  Happily for me, Jen is also super nice and was kind enough to take some pictures of both of us.

Here is what I wore:

Little known fact (unless you follow me on Twitter), I wear house-dresses all the time.  Everywhere.  Not just in the house.  In fact, I'm wearing one as I write this.  True story, morning glory.  I also laugh a lot while walking.  (That one is less true, but still valid).

And here is what Jen and I did during our photo shoot...

We posed:

We clapped:

I believe I was demonstrating my "Paula Abdul" method of clapping.

We pondered our footwear:

And we conga'd:

So, you know, the usual things you do when meeting another blogger.

For Jen's take on our meeting, be sure to visit her here.

Thank you, Jen, for meeting up with me.  And thank you to Jen's Sam for taking our photos!

Happy Wednesday, All!

Gracey

P.S. We didn't really do the conga, but that photo makes me think of doing the conga back in Cuba before the revolution so I went with it.

P.P.S. I was not actually in Cuba before the revolution.

Literary Stylings Link Party Reminder

Hello Dearest Reader Friends!

Well, it's getting to be that time again; time to send the kiddos (or your goldfish, whatever, no judgement here) back to school and link up to the Fashion for Giants Literary Stylings Link Party.  Per usual, the party will be held the first Tuesday of the month, which is next Tuesday, and will be open for linking all week long.  You can find more deets here.

This month was a pretty slow reading month for me.  I moved and read a fairly long book this month so I only have three to choose from.

This month, I read The Godmother, by Carrie Adams:

image via www.goodreads.com

I read Valeria's Last Stand, by Marc Fitten:

image via www.indiebound.org

And I'm finishing up Alias Grace, by Margaret Atwood:

image via www.goodreads.com

Out of the three of these, Alias Grace is my favorite and therefore the one I thought I'd be inspired by outfit-wise.  There are actually quite a few references to clothes in the book that I could have used but, as much as I love this book (it's one of my favorite Atwood books, I think) I just wasn't inspired by it for this challenge.

Of the other two books, The Godmother was the better of the two but that's not saying much.  I selected it to act as a sort of literary sorbet; I needed something light and refreshing before tackling Atwood, Schindler's Ark, Irene Nemirovsky and Caroline Moorehead.  And it definitely worked in that capacity.  But, I wouldn't recommend it and it didn't inspire me for this challenge either.

Valeria's Last Stand was my least favorite read of the month.  It was muddy, poorly written and all of the characters were assholes.  And, it just happens to be the book that inspired my look for next Tuesday.  So, yeah, once again, that has happened.

But, enough about me.  This is about reminding you that we're linking up next Tuesday and I do hope you all can come!

Happy Tuesday, Everyone!

Gracey

Fully On Board

I love pleats and I love peach and coral together so obviously I'm fully on board with this look:

I also love pairing my lace necklace with more lace.  So, once again, 100% on board:

And finally, I love remembering to link to up Visible Monday's over at Not Dead Yet Style.  Done and done.

Happy Monday, All!

Gracey

Amazing, Fabulous, Perfect

I received this amazing, fabulous, perfect skirt as a gift from the amazing, fabulous, perfect Dawn at Suitcase Vignettes and, more recently, the Etsy shop, Tea Stained Lace:

It is one of the coolest vintage pieces I've ever seen, much less had the pleasure to own and I can't thank Dawn enough for sending it my way.

Here is a close up of the print on the skirt:

I have no idea what is being portrayed on this skirt, but I love the dark and moody colors and the little bits of red.  

Little bits of red that I picked up with my shiny red belt:

Seriously.  Love.

Happy Friday, All!

Gracey

Citron and Gray

Citron and gray is one of those color combinations I really love:

And of course, citron and gray with turquoise is even better:

Blouse: Old Navy (similar, plus available)  Skirt: Gap  Sandals: Ella Moss (similar)  Belt: Old Navy (similar)

In other news, I continue to be thrilled by the presence of pockets in my clothes:

Thrilled, y'all.

Happy Wednesday, Reader Friends!

Gracey

Pretty Dress, Awkward Photos

My dress is pretty.  My photos are awkward:

In my defense, it started to rain when we were taking these which made me sort of hunch-y, but damn, yeah, that's awkward.

The dress really is pretty though, see?

 

 I love a bold floral and the bits of orange in this one make me very happy indeed.

Also making me happy?  The fact that aside from the bracelet (Nordstrom), everything in this outfit was thrifted (dress, shoes, belt) or gifted (necklace).

Happy Friday, All!

Gracey

Pink Stripes, Floral Pin

I wear my pink striped dress a lot during the summers.  And I usually pair it with equally summery shoes and accessories.  Today, however, I went a slightly darker route:

Dress: thrifted vintage  Belt: Gap  Sandals: thrifted

All so I could wear my black, lacquered floral pin:

Vintage, handpainted black lacquer brooch

Because, sometimes, all a girl wants is to wear pink stripes and a floral pin.

Happy Wednesday, All!

Gracey

Cobalt Midi

I know for some, the inclination in summer is to wear as little clothing as possible.  And, as the temperatures climb into the 90s here in Oregon, I definitely understand.  And others swear that maxis are good, especially for air conditioning and I understand that too.

But, personally, I’ve found myself drawn to full, swooshy midi-skirts, like this cobalt one:

 

Skirt: Thrifted vintage   Tee: Gap   Sandals: White Mountain via Macys

 

I think it’s the swooshy-ness (shut up, Microsoft, it is too a word) of the skirt that makes it so lovely for summer:

 

Or, it could be the pockets:

 

Because pockets are a gosh darned delight all year long. 

Whether it’s the swooshy-ness or the pockets or something else, I don’t know.  What I do know is that I love a good midi-skirt for the summer months.

What about you, Reader Friends?  What length are your summer hemlines?

Happy Thursday, All!

Gracey

Literary Stylings # 2: City of Dark Magic

Hello, and welcome to the second ever Literary Stylings Link Party and All-Around Good Time!  Today, I’m wearing a look inspired by the book City of Dark Magic, by Magnus Flyte:



Image via www.goodreads.com

As I've mentioned before, this wasn’t my favorite book that I read in July (it was, in fact, sort of terrible) but I was inspired by the descriptions of Prague at night:

Skirt: thrifted Ralph Lauren  Blouse: LOFT  Wedges: Matiko via Ideeli

 

And I tried to channel that in my look, what with the dark colors and the added sparkle of my accessories:



 

The photo above is supposed to be showing a close up of my accessories, but, mostly, I am just laughing my fool head off.  As I do.  I would, however, like to point out that I attached a rhinestone brooch to my necklace, a la Carrie at Petal by Petal and was super proud of myself.

Anyway, back to my outfit.  This is totally Prague at night, no? 

Dark.  Magical.  Yep.  Totally.

And now for your literary stylings!  Bloggers, you can link to your literature-inspired look here:

 

And, don’t forget, if you’re not a blogger, you can post your literature-inspired look on the Fashion for Giants Facebook page!

Happy Tuesday, All!

Gracey

 
P.S. For those curious about City of Dark Magic, it’s not very good at all.  It’s kind of all over the place and there are ridiculous amounts of ridiculous, gratuitous sex.  And not even good sex, just silly, pointless sex.  So much so that it ruins the book.  Not that the book was above being ruined otherwise; the copious sex scenes are not the only parts of the story that are poorly written.

Sewing Savant and Possible Psychic

I love this dress:

Love the print, love the fit, love it. 

I mean, look at this thing.  It’s amazing:

It's perfect for swishing about, dramatic walks down spiral staircases, Mama Mia! viewings and casual summer parties.  I'd just add a white blazer for cool nights and I'd be set.  You can see it with a blazer at Everything Just So where the lovely Jill has included my pic with other party pics.

The best thing about this dress though?  It's handmade.  I’m always yelling about how much I love handmade vintage and this dress is a prime example why; it looks like it was made for me.  It wasn’t, of course, unless… Unless my 70s toddler-self sewed it for my future-self, at which point I should probably go on the next season of Project Runway because I’m clearly a sewing savant and possibly psychic!  

Happy Thursday, Everyone!

Gracey