Rhyming With Orange

Ever wondered what rhymes with orange?

I answer that question and no others over at Animated Cardigan today. Come by and visit!

Gracey

SIA: Woman of Substance

Today, I am linking up to Salazar's blog, 14 Shades of Grey, for this week's SIA Challenge.  As soon as I saw the piece Salazar chose, I knew I had to participate:

Woman of Substance - Octavio Ocampo

In spite of all the blue in the piece, I was drawn most to the combination of cream, green and orange-y yellows.  So, those are the colors I used in my outfit:

For this outfit, I paired my green, knit pencil skirt (vintage via Vintage by the Pound) with a cream blouse (LOFT), yellow sandals (Franco Sarto via Nordstrom Rack) and a yellow necklace (LOFT).  I also added a leopard belt because, well, I'm sure the artist meant to put of leopard in the inspiration piece.  Probably.



All in all, I loved the inspiration piece and I love my resultant outfit:

To see everyone else's inspired looks, please stop by 14 Shades of Grey and take a peek.

Happy Tuesday, All!

Gracey

Literary Stylings Reminder

Hello Lovelies!

I just want to remind everyone that next Tuesday is the next Literary Stylings Link Party.  Unfamiliar with this party but want to know more?  You can read about the rules, such as they are, here.

The quick and dirty version though is that we all wear outfits inspired by a book you've recently read or are currently reading.  Last month I had just finished Auntie Mame and my outfit was based on Mame's character.  This month I've read several very different books and I'm not sure yet which will inspire me for next Tuesday's look.

I read The Bling Ring, by Nancy Jo Sales:

Image via www.vanityfair.com

I read The Enemy, by Charlie Higson:

Image via www.readingteen.net

I read Your Mouth is Lovely, by Nancy Richler:

Image via www.goodreads.com

And I just finished City of Dark Magic, by Magnus Flight:

Image via www.goodreads.com

I probably won't do The Bling Ring, because I don't have a blue velour Juicy Couture sweat suit, nor do I want one.  The Enemy is a YA novel about zombies and the most prominent clothing item mentioned in that book was, interestingly enough, also a velour sweat suit, this time in white.  Also, a no go.  And Your Mouth is Lovely depressed the heck out of me so I don't really want to channel anything from that book, so, I think it will probably be City of Dark Magic.

I hope to see you all on Tuesday, August 6th and hopefully I'll be in something dark.  And magical.

Happy Monday, All!

Gracey

The Yellow

I really liked this outfit and I think it's the yellow:

Dress: Thrifted (similar)   Scarf: Nordstrom (similar)   Sandals: Ella Moss via Piperlime (similar color)   Cuff: Street vendor (similar)

It's one of those things that may not make sense originally, but I think it works.  I mean, I love yellow with gray and with turquoise so adding a bit to an outfit that's predominately gray and turquoise really does make sense.  Also, my friend Ferge hates the yellow (it confuses her) so I'm pretty sure it was the right choice.

That's right, folks.  There's a tip for getting dressed in the morning: wear what your friends hate.

Happy  Friday, Everyone!

Gracey

Summer Maxi

People swear that maxi skirts and dresses still keep you cool in hot weather.  I was skeptical (so much fabric!) but, I thought I'd give it a try today:

I paired my black maxi (Target (similar, tall available)) with a black and white striped tee (Old Navy (similar)) and brightly colored sandals (Ella Moss via Piperlime (similar color)).

I also added a braided belt (thrifted) and a vintage squash blossom necklace:

Via Lil' Gypsy Vintage (similar here)

And, I have to admit, wearing a maxi was pretty okay for most of the day.  Right up until I got on my bike to ride home.  Riding a bike in a maxi skirt is never great.  Riding a bike in a maxi skirt in 90+ weather is even less great. But, I will say that the maxi was a great choice for the air conditioned office; my legs often get chilled and they didn't at all today.

So, the final verdict?  Maxi's are pretty great for summer, as long as you're not trying to ride a bike in them:

Happy Wednesday, All!

Gracey

DIY: Put a Tassel on It

I loved the “global chic” trend this summer and especially loved all the tasseled sandals on the market as the result of the trend.  I did not, however, want to buy a new pair of sandals that I knew I wouldn’t get much use out of.  As much as I love “global chic” it’s not exactly my daily aesthetic and I didn’t think the cost-per-wear would be low enough to justify new sandals.  Instead, I decided to put a tassel on some sandals I already own… leading to my very first DIY!

 

I’m going to show you how to turn these:

 

 

Into these:

First, you need some sandals.  I chose my Jeffery Campbell pair because they already have a sort of casual/boho feel to them.  And the t-strap is the perfect place to put some tassels:

 

For tassels, I purchased some faux-leather ones on Etsy at Bohemian Findings for less than $5.00.  I was able to message the vendor requesting two of each color and specifying the colors I wanted.  In addition to tassels, you will also need small (3/4” or 7/8”) gold-tone safety pins:

 

 You will need three tassels and four safety pins per shoe.
 

Step 1 – Put one safety pin on each tassel.

 

 

Step 2 – Attach the first tassel to the sandal.

Step 3 – Attach the rest of the tassels to the shoe.


As you can see, instead of attaching my tassels to a buckle, I attached them to a cross-strap so they’d hang where I wanted them.  But, you can certainly attach them to a buckle or other hardware.

 

Step 4 – Repeat on the other shoe.

 

Step 5 (Optional) – Once all three tassels are on, attach the fourth pin crosswise, so they’re grouped together.

 

 

Step 6 – You’re done.  Wear your newly tasseled shoes as you see fit.

I wore mine with all-white for yesterday's Two Birds' Inspiration Monday.

 

Note: I chose to put my tassels on the front of my shoes, but they’d look equally cute hanging from the ankle.

 

And there you have it, my very first DIY.  As you can see, it’s both cheap and easy! 

 

Happy Tuesday, All!

 

Gracey

Inspiration Monday: Olivia Palermo

Today, I’m joining up with Two Birds and countless others for Inspiration Monday.  Our inspiration today is Olivia Palermo:

 

 

I have to admit that I don’t really understand who she is or why she’s famous.  Is she famous?  I don’t think she has a sex tape, so probably not.  Anyway, what I do know about her is that she can definitely dress.  She always looks on trend without looking like she’s a slave to trends.  Take the above outfit as an example; she’s doing the “global chic” thing, but she’s doing it her way.

 

And here I am, doing it my way:

 

 

 I almost didn’t participate today because I don’t have a white dress (not for lack of trying though; I just canNOT find one I like).  And then I remembered that I have a white skirt (Ann Taylor) and a white shirt (Gap) so I wore those in lieu of a dress. 

 

I finished the look with some layered necklaces and some self-tasseled sandals (Jeffrey Campbell via Nordstrom):

 

 

 

I STILL want a white dress, dammit, but I think this’ll do in a pinch.

 

Happy Monday, All!

 

Gracey