Mostly Pants This Week: Part 1

After enjoying the experience of wearing skirts and dresses without tights, I remembered how annoying it is to have to shave your legs in the summer, and switched to pants.  (I have such very light colored hair on my arms and legs that it actually doesn't show up as a color -- not even blonde -- but instead is an almost white-gold that shimmers in the sunlight.  That sounds weird but it's the best way I can describe it.) In casual situations, I don't even think much about how recently I've shaved before wearing leg-bearing clothes, but I figure for work I'll try to avoid being noticeably furry, or shimmery, on my legs.

Red, Black, and White, A Classic Combination -- Monday, 6/16/14

I only wore a skirt on Monday (with my starting-to-shimmer legs) because I had originally put this outfit together as a possibility for the previous Friday, then decided to save it for the next week because it was dressy enough (by my standards) for a non-Friday workday.

Now that I have a white blazer, I wonder how I lived without one for so long.  I could pretty much wear it every day through the summer. Wear it with anything with white in the pattern for immediate outfit cohesion.

*Red drape-front blouse from Macy's (identical style to my aqua interview top)
Black skirt with white flowers (thrifted)
White knit blazer from Nordstrom
Light grey wedge flats
Ruby heart necklace (gift from my parents)

Braindead Simple -- Tuesday, 6/17/14

It doesn't get any easier than black pants, black shoes, and shirt with black in the pattern.  On a warm day, you don't even need a jacket or cardigan.  (This did not stop me from bringing my black 'travel' cardigan with me just in case -- see I'm becoming a Snow City-ite now and don't trust it will stay warm -- but I didn't wear it.)

Seafoam green 'chain' pattern shirt from Kohls
Black striped pants (thrifted)
*Black pointy-toed flats, BP Moveover, from Nordstrom
Black sparkly necklace from Kohls

Rainy June: Part 2

No Wet Leopards -- Thursday, 6/12/14

Yep, the rain continued, so I wore a pair of my weather-resistant Lands End shoes to work and carried my beloved grey leopard wedges in my bag.  (Although it was so warm in my office when I arrived that I ditched the socks almost immediately.  I don't think they start the [kind of pathetic] air conditioning until 8 a.m. so it's been pretty warm and quite muggy when I first get to work -- I usually arrive between 7:45 and 8:00.  Luckily it never got too warm for the scarf -- without it, the outfit would look pretty bland.)

Cream pullover sweater from Kohls (I think)
Dark grey pants (thrifted)
Grey leopard wedges
Grey/coral scarf from Target

An 88 Cents Well Spent -- Friday, 6/13/14

The day before Flag Day is an important holiday in our household.  I did not go full-on red, white, and blue in this outfit, but I did have the blue and white covered.

At some point in the day, I realized that I had gotten what appeared to be a light mustard stain on the light blue vest the last time I wore it -- it was not noticeable in the weak morning light of my not-very-well-light apartment, but it became obvious in the midday sun in my office.  So I took off the vest, mourned it slightly, brought it home a few hours later and threw it away.  I only got to wear the vest a couple of times but I am still quite pleased with my 88 cent purchase.  I don't think I would have otherwise considered the idea of wearing a sweater vest (let alone the t-shirt vest look I have tried and liked) if I hadn't stumbled upon this bargain.  It was worth more than 88 cents just as a proof of concept.  In Snow City, it's good to have as many layering options available as you can.  Even in June.

Navy/white striped knit shirt from Lands End
Light blue vest (thrifted, 88 cents)
Light blue flats from Nordstrom
Denim skirt (thrifted)
*Navy ponte blazer from Target

Rainy June: Part 1

We've had a rather astonishing amount of rain this spring.  It often (though not always) seems to be timed over the weekend, too.  But this doesn't mean we haven't had variety in our weather -- sometimes we get rain, sometimes we get thunderstorms.  All the time we get muggy weather.

Updating this previously-written post to add: In fact, we've had so much rain that the state has experienced a lot of flooding and an emergency-thingy has been declared.  The river in Coldville, the city I work in, is currently 6" --- hah, edited to correct this to 6 feet --- above flood level.  Much of the island in Snow City where the president is giving a speech tomorrow is underwater, judging by the photos a co-worker took earlier this week.  A couple evenings ago, Robert and I walked down to the river near our apartment, and then along the pedestrian trail to the falls on the river.  It was an impressive sight (sorry, no photos - I purposely left my camera/phone behind so I would focus on the experience and not trying to get good photos).  The river was running fast and churning, there was a lot of quite large debris (e.g., big tree limbs with birds sitting on them, happy to float down the river at speed).  And there were a lot of people out and about, on foot, on bikes, playing with remote controlled ufo-looking flying machines with cameras installed on them (very, very cool), walking dogs...walking cats!  Yes, we saw a woman with a cat on a leash and a man with a cat on a leash inside a little red wagon.  (It looked like an older cat that perhaps gets too tired for the whole walk and gets to ride part of the way home.)  And perhaps the very best part: about 9 p.m., we were passing through the little playground a couple blocks from our apartment, and eagle-eyed Robert spotted a (wild) bunny heading toward a plant "island" in the playground!  Unlike an eagle, Robert did not swoop down to attack said rabbit.  He just pointed the bun out to me and we watched that rabbit for several minutes while Robert verbalized the rabbit's thoughts -- "Oh my god, the humans see me!  What?  This never happens!"  He tried freezing in place but that didn't work -- "The humans are still watching me!"  After a while, he hopped among some plants and disappeared from our view.  "Whew, finally got away from those observant humans."  I spent the rest of the night in a bunny-bliss fog of wonder and delight.

Let's play a bit of catch-up with June outfit posts.

Thrifted Rafaella -- Monday, 6/9/14

I had an offsite meeting (to which I rode with someone else, thankfully, because I would never have figured out the confusing parking situation and which unmarked building the meeting was in) so I dressed in the most standard business casual outfit there is -- black pants, black cardigan, top with black in it.  Oh, and shoes that could handle wet conditions because it was raining.  (Yep, I'm definitely getting my money's worth out of my beige trenchcoat this spring.)

*Black and white top (thrifted, Rafaella)
Black 5-pocket pants (thrifted, Rafaella)
Black 'travel' cardigan (thrifted)
Black flats by LifeStrides
Black sparkly necklace from Kohls

Major Polka Dots -- Tuesday, 6/10/14

I've mentioned before that pencil skirts are usually not my friend, but this one from Target continues to work for me.  It feels strange to wear a shirt without a jacket or cardigan over it, but it is definitely warm enough in my office to go without a topper now.  It is a testament to my paleness that I can use a pair of shoes in a color inbetween light grey and beige and it functions pretty well as a "nude" shoe.

Blue knot-front shirt from TravelSmith
Navy polka dot skirt from Target
*Light grey wedge flats by BCBGGeneration
Double-strand pearl necklace from Macy's

Golden Bookending -- Wednesday, 6/11/14

Since falling in love with the BP Moveover flats from Nordstrom, I've bought them in several colors.  I was excited to try them in gold to do some hair-shoe bookending, and that this thrifted silk skirt has a bit of gold in the pattern made it a no-brainer option.  It actually took me a while to figure out a top to wear with the skirt -- I have plenty of pink and maroon, and a few cream, options, but finding something that wasn't too long for the somewhat full skirt was more challenging than I thought.  I'm not completely sold on the sweater I settled on (it has a somewhat boxy fit), but it was okay (and I wore it with the cardigan much of the day) -- and hey, it has a gold metallic embellishment at the front, so it continues the whole golden theme.

*Maroon/cream skirt (thrifted)
*Cream short-sleeved sweater (thrifted)
Maroon cardigan (old--perhaps the oldest thing I have in my closet)
*Gold BP Moveover flats from Nordstrom

All Necklaces: Part 2

Beige and Pink and Black Floral Redux -- Thursday, 6/5/14

This time, it's a graphic T shirt that combines these features of Tuesday's outfit.  And I loved the subtlety of wearing leopard print flats with a necklace made by RB of stone beads with a natural "leopard"-looking pattern to them.  (I love animal print, so have to beware of Leopard Overload, but I thought the combination of a leopard printed shoe and a semi-leopard-looking bead necklace was not too much.)

Pink/beige shrug (thrifted)
Brown floral T shirt from Eddie Bauer
Black skirt from REI
*Leopard flats from Nordstrom
"Leopard" bead necklace by RB

Modern Pieces -- 6/6/14

My wardrobe and the outfits I make from it tend toward the classic (or even fashion orthogonal at times) but I think this ensemble has a more modern vibe.  Also stripes!

Red mixed-media top from Nordstrom
Black ankle pants (thrifted)
*Black and white striped knit blazer from Nordstrom
Ruby heart necklace (gift from my parents)
Black and red patterned flats from Nordstrom

All Necklaces: Part 1

Another hallmark of this new spring/summer season, wearing necklaces instead of scarves. 

A Different Take on Beige -- Tuesday, 6/3/14

Oh cotton skirts, how I have missed you!  I could probably build a wardrobe of 100 cotton skirts from thrift stores so I actually am trying to be pickier at this point about buying a skirt that fits and that I like and is $5 -- I mean, it's so easy just to take them all.  I think this one is a great spring/summer skirt for work because (a) it's knee length, (b) it's comfortable, and (c) combines two neutrals (beige and black) with two light colors (pink and blue) so it's easy to match with other things.  (And like many but by no means all cotton skirts, it's lined so I don't have to supply my own slip, which is a dealbreaker for me.)  In this case, it was a no-brainer to finally try out this very lightweight waist-tie cardigan.  I like that I have a lot of beige (which I feel is a very seasonally-appropriate neutral) without being last-season-Skyler-White about it.

*Beige waist-tied cardigan (thrifted)
Black knit top (thrifted)
Black/pink/beige floral skirt (thrifted)
Beige/black captoe flats from Zappos
Pink necklace from Outfit Additions

Nope, Not Wearing It With Black -- Wednesday, 6/4/14

This top is black and white with smaller squares of grey and blue.  It would have been so easy to wear it with black -- and I have no doubt whatsoever that this will happen -- but I decided to try bringing out the grey and blue instead.  I like that all of the pieces are of the same kind of stretchy, drapey fabric; that definitely added an extra level of cohesion to this whole thing.  (And a nice contrast to the mega-cotton festival on Tuesday.)

*Grey stretchy skirt from Target -- it's a little too short when worn at the waist so I had to pull it down a couple of inches; fortunately the stretchy fabric was comfortable enough to do this
*Black/white/grey/blue geometric pattern top from Kohls
Cobalt blue cardigan from Lands End
Blue pointy-toed flats from Nordstrom (LOVE LOVE LOVE this style)
Blue sparkly necklace from Kohls

In Which Robert Demonstrates His Genius Once Again But in an Unexpected Domain

UPDATE: I really thought I had posted this and a couple other pre-written posts already.  Oops. 

------

I really had my act together on Sunday (6/1) and put my entire week's worth of outfits together.  With the advent of the warmer weather, I was excited to move on to skirts and dresses worn without tights, huzzah.

Target has a good selection of comfy knit dresses, at good prices, that are very appropriate for the casual to business casual workplace, except they are often just too damn short.  I have a couple that I bought in the fall/winter that work with tights but that I'm not comfortable with wearing to work in bare legs.  I know opinions vary on this subject, but I really think that more than a couple inches above the knee is just too short on anyone who works in a professional environment.  I recently saw a post about dressing for summer associates in law firms that linked to this poll about skirt lengths, and I am firmly in the C is probably OK but any shorter is not (unless you wear opaque tights) camp.  And unlike the "lots of commenters [who] noted that the more fit a woman is, the shorter a skirt she can get away with," I think this applies to everyone: Ally McBeal, Camryn Manheim's character on The Practice, whoever.  There are a couple of outfit bloggers I read sometimes who post their way above the knee skirts (like E in the photo accompanying the poll) that they wear to their jobs as lawyers and other professionals and I'm just like, Are you fucking serious?

The idea that Target sells dresses too short to be appropriate for work is not surprising except that these dresses are often specifically (for lack of a better word) targeted toward women with professional office jobs.  And it's definitely not just Target, either.  For example, I have a nice pleated skirt from Loft that I was terribly disappointed to realize this week is too short to wear without tights to work.

I was talking to Robert about this issue, and wondering why I have this problem with some, though not all, skirts/dresses but not pants.  Yes, some garments are intended to be shorter than others, and some brands might systematically be cut shorter than others (I find that Lands End does well at making dresses that are a bit longer, like the coral red one in my previous post), but my experience seemed not to line up with these factors in the ways I would expect.

And Robert made the brilliant (but duh, in-retrospect-obvious) observation:  My body is unusually long between the waist and the top of my legs.  (Sometimes people call this being "long-waisted," but that's not what I'm talking about here though I might have a bit of this, too -- long-waisted means having a lot of length between the shoulders and the natural waist, not between the natural waist and the top of the legs.  I do not know if there is a term for my disproportionality.  Long-abdomened?)  My legs themselves are normal for my height and my knees are in a normal place on my legs.  So my long "abdomen" and regular length thighs means I am longer between the natural waist and the knees than most women my height, and since I'm a bit taller than the average woman (even the "average" woman most manufacturers use as their standard at 5'7") to begin with, it means I have an atypically long waist-to-knee length to cover.

This is totally compatible with the pattern I have observed: That dresses (which usually have waists that hit at the natural waist) and skirts that sit at the natural waist are often going to be a bit too short (because I am longer than most women, even most women my height).  The skirts I have that are looser in the waist and thus are worn down some on my hips are more likely to be long enough (because they do not have to cover the entire waist to knee length). 

All this is to say, Man, getting dresses and skirts to fit for the bare-leg season is tougher than I thought it would/should be, but it makes more sense to me now.

A Longer Target Dress -- Monday, 6/2/14

In any event, I was happy to discover that this dress from Target is long enough for me to wear to work sans tights.  (I can't remember if I've worn it at all/on the blog before.)

Green striped dress from Target
Black knit cardigan (old)
Multistrand stone necklace from Outfit Additions
Black flats from LifeStrides

I was not happy that this funky, very useful necklace fell apart on me this weekend, however!  I lost two of the three strands.  I have collected as many of the beads and stones as Robert and I could pick out of the carpet, but I don't know if I will be able/willing to try to restring them.  I also haven't decided whether I want to try getting a refund/exchange for my necklace from the seller.  I really like their stuff, and was considering putting in another order with them, but now I'm feeling gun shy.  I probably should give them the chance to show excellent customer service and not lose my business forever, but I'm feeling meh about it right now.

A Shocker

A job with a state agency that I applied for on January 31 has been filled.  Good to know, guys.

The Transition to Summer: Part 2

"You Look Like Summer" -- Thurs., 5/29/14

That's what one of my colleagues said when she saw this outfit.  I was really, really pleased with this combination.  I know red, white, and blue has a fourth of July feel to it, but it didn't lessen my enjoyment of this outfit at all.  (Perhaps it helps that the red is more coral than true red.)  I also am fond of the juxtaposition of a necklace and a scarf -- somehow in my mind, pearls go with a scarf really well.  I had put the pearls on originally to have in case it got too warm for the scarf (which it didn't, so I wore it all day) but I liked having the scarf tied low enough for the pearls to peek out above it.  (I am also happy at how much mileage I'm getting out of the pearls I bought myself from Robert for my birthday.  Way to go, Robert!)

* Coral red long-sleeved ponte dress from Lands End (I love it)
Black and white polka dot scarf from Target
Red and blue striped flats from Zappos
Double strand pearls

Just Another Denim Friday -- Fri., 5/30/14

I'm not sure why the Bangles song with that title did not catch on in the popular imagination as much as their Manic Monday one, but who can judge these things.  (Full disclosure: I thought that song was by Cyndi Lauper and then, rightfully, started to doubt my memory.  Google to the rescue.)

I am super happy with the lightweight knit blazers I bought from Nordstrom at their Memorial Day sale.  They are cooler than all but the lightest cardigans, and feel soft and comfy, while adding a bit more (relaxed) structure to an outfit.  The two sparkly necklaces I bought from Kohls have also been really useful purchases.  I'm glad I listened to my inner magpie and went for them. 

*White knit blazer from Nordstrom
Denim skirt (thrifted)
Dotted Boden shirt (thrifted)
Blue pointed-toe flats from Nordstrom
Blue sparkly necklace from Kohls

Note: We have now entered the period in which the kind of bad lighting in my hallway means my bare legs look kind of shockingly pink sometimes.  No question, my legs are pink-ish, but I think the color in the red dress photo is more accurate.  I suppose I should be happy that they look pink and not as white as the blazer in that last photo.

The Transition to Summer: Part 1

Not Working on a Monday -- Mon., 5/26/14

While other people, in warm southern climes, were celebrating Memorial Day with picnics, swimming, etc., I was chilling out (emphasis on chill -- in cool weather, sitting in my comfy chair right next to the AC vent when the AC is set on max gets quite brr) at home.

I don't habitually photograph my weekend outfits.  I pretty much wear at least one of my two rabbit t-shirts (Alice and the March Hare or Watership Down) every weekend, and the other day (or this blissful weekend, days) wear a different knit shirt, jeans, and a sweater or jacket.  I decided to give two thrift store finds their debut here.  It's hard to tell from my crummy photo, but the jacket is olive green with a light purple and grey pattern.

*Olive/purple/grey jacket (thrifted)
*Lavender knit top with ribbon detail (thrifted)
Dark jeans from Kohls
Grey Skechers (an old standby)

The lavender shirt is very nice (it's an elbow-length, "nice" knit shirt, which is useful for work) but I was disappointed that it faded in a splotchy manner after washing it.  (I washed it once after buying it, and it was fine, but one more wash was a cycle too far.)  So unfortunately it is now relegated to the sleepwear pile.  Oh well, it was only like $4 at Goodwill so it's no big deal, and purple is a useful color to match my pajamas.

A Farewell to Tights -- Tues., 5/27/14

The end of May (after Memorial Day even!) seems awfully late in the season to still be wearing tights, but that's life in Fargo, WI.*

*RB's term for the place where I live, which happens to be a major metropolitan area, thank you very much.  Tam has used her google maps fu to determine that Fargo, WI is an actual place, and I am convinced that her academic career will take her there, a convenient 3.5 hour drive from the big-ass city I live in.

But unless something goes unexpectedly wonky with the weather, this is the last tights outfit of the season!  (On the occasional cooler days, I can always wear pants with socks, so there's no need to have tights in the rotation at this point.)  It seemed appropriate to go out with a classic leopard and black combination.

Black pullover sweater
Leopard skirt
Black tights
Black flats by LifeStrides
Black scarf

A Great Black Pencil Skirt -- Wed., 5/28/14

My figure doesn't lend itself to wearing a pencil skirt, but I got lucky to find this one at Goodwill in one size up from my normal size.  Even though it's too big in the waist (fixable, but I haven't bothered because it's not noticeable unless I tuck something in, which rarely happens), it fits well (in a slightly relaxed way) elsewhere and gives a pencil silhouette without the sexy-secretary quality of a body con fit.  Put it together with a blouse in black and another color and it's easy-peasy outfit time.

And look Ma, no tights!

*Black and aqua knit blouse (thrifted)
*Black pencil skirt (thrifted)
Aqua cardigan from Macy's
Black wedges (thrifted)
Chunky aqua statement necklace from Kohls

A Delightful Quandry

I started reading a book at lunch (Dark Places by Gillian Flynn) that's so interesting* that I'm not sure whether I want to keep reading it this evening or watch Downtown Abbey.  I'm a winner either way.

*The narrator/protagonist is definitely not very likeable and does a lot from the get-go to lose whatever sympathy you might otherwise have had for her going in (which isn't a deal breaker for me but is something a lot of people dislike), but I am impressed with how well drawn situations, places, and characters are.  The visuals are superb, much better than I'm used to even in really well-written books.  For example, a character starts to high-five someone and then stops, leaving his arm suspended in the air in a Heil Hitler salute (I'm too lazy to track down the wording from the book, sorry).  I love that.  I cannot speak at all to the plot because I've really only just started reading it, but I'm enjoying the book a lot so far.

Still More New Clothes: Part 2

Channeling Final Season Skyler White -- Thursday, 5/23/14

Robert and I finished watching the last half-season of Breaking Bad in the last couple weeks, and I was struck by how Skyler White was portrayed wearing the most blah and conservative cream/beige neutrals on every episode (such a far cry from the happy blues she wore early in the show).  So of course the top half of this outfit reminds me strongly of her signature colors, though the dark bottom half is not consistent with her character.

I actually wasn't really that happy with this outfit, and perhaps the Skyler White resemblance is part of that.  I mean, it's not accidental that they chose such lifeless colors for her in that final season, and I don't really groove on lifeless.  I liked it better with the ivory scarf I wore to work, but as expected, it was too warm to continue wearing it after I got into the office.

By the way -- although I cannot say with certainty that the final episode of Breaking Bad is the absolutely #1 Most Satisfying Final TV Episode I've Ever Seen, I can't easily think of anything that beats it.  (Of shows I've watched recently, Fringe is also competitive in this category.)  Anyway, kudos to writers, cast, and crew for finishing this show off so very, very well.  I was kind of ambivalent about the program for the first season, but they really rewarded me for the time I spent with it over the five seasons.

*Beige t-shirt with embellished neckline, thrifted
Cream lace-front cardigan from Nordstrom
Brown and beige striped pants, thrifted
Brown flats by Frye

Wearing the Ultimate Ankle Pants -- Friday, 5/24/14

Some time ago (months? a year?) I read in several places about a brand of skinny(ish) ankle pants recommended for women with pear-shaped figures, but I was just not willing to spend a minimum of $150-$200 for a pair of Eileen Fisher pants, given that I wasn't all that sold on the skinny ankle pants idea in the first place.  So I was very pleased indeed to find a pair of these pants at Goodwill for $15, and a spring Friday seemed just right for their debut -- warm enough to go without socks, cool enough to test the cascading cardigan with skinny pants idea my sister had suggested.

My verdict?  They were comfortable, and they fit and looked just fine -- even when I wore them with the blouse but no cardigan in the heat of the afternoon.  I will keep wearing them.  I can't say that I would spend over $150 for a pair of pants like this, but fortunately, I don't have to.

Floral blouse from Lands End
Blue-green cascading cardigan from Coldwater Creek
Multistone necklace from Outfit Additions
*Black slightly-stretchy ankle pants, thrifted
Black flats by LifeStrides

Friday was also notable for a work-related reason.  I had put together an analysis as requested by a journalist working on an article about our organization, and I was not satisfied that the analysis really said anything useful, so I also put together a different analysis of the same data that I thought told a better story.  When I showed both of them to my boss, he agreed that the second analysis was better, and he sent both of them to the journalist -- as he put it, he thought we needed to provide the original requested analysis to show that we weren't trying to hide anything, but he thought that the journalist would find the second one more helpful and use it in the article.  On Friday, the article was published with the second ("my") analysis.  My boss sent me a really nice email to make sure I saw the article (it was one of the articles linked in the media round-up that gets sent to everyone in the organization about three times a week, so I had seen it) and he congratulated me that I'd been there less than two months and I was already published. It was interesting to consider how many academic papers I would have had to publish, in my alternative career as a grad student/professor/scholar, to get the same number of eyeballs on a data analysis that I did with that one article.  I mean, obviously the two things aren't fully comparable -- it wasn't my article, and I wasn't cited by name as the provider of the analysis -- but in terms of making an impact on readers, there's no question that getting my analysis into a newspaper/website meant getting my work in front of a much larger audience.

Still More New Clothes: Part 1

It's been great over the Memorial Day weekend to feel pretty much unmoved to shop the holiday sales.  I confess that I ordered a couple of knit blazers from Nordstrom, but I have been in the market for a white one for a while (I've tried a couple that haven't worked right) and they had a couple other really great-for-summer options that I have to try for the price.  But after all the Goodwill shopping I've been doing these past months, I still have an embarrassment of new-to-me, new-to-my-blog items to showcase in these outfit posts.

Thrifted Talbots -- Monday, 5/20/14

When I pulled this new skirt out of the closet, I laid it down on top of a drying rack that happened to have this sweater across the top.  Coral sweater, coral leaves on the skirt -- add brown boots, and it's done.  It was only later that I realized that the sweater and skirt were both originally from Talbots.

*Coral/pink/brown skirt, thrifted
Coral pullover sweater, thrifted
Brown leggings from Kohl's
Tall brown boots by Fitzwell
Orange lion necklace, thrifted

Thrifted Worthington -- Tuesday, 5/21/14

My accidental brand-matching outfit generation continued the next day with this simple pairing of Worthington (JC Penney brand) items put together using the "black pants worn with a top incorporating black and another color" formula.  (A warm day -- no jacket needed!)  The top is one of my 88c bargains from the Christmas thrifting outing with my mom and her sister (her sister, by the way, had thrifted an identical shirt for herself prior to this outing -- a favorite to purchase and a favorite to eventually replace?).

*Blue/black 88c flowy top, thrifted
Black striped pants, thrifted
Black buckle flats by Me Too
Light blue necklace from Jones New York

Silk: The Seasonless Fabric -- Wednesday, 5/22/14

Robert and I had shopped one weekend at the Goodwill boutique and it was mostly a bust.  They had some designer clothes I wasn't interested in; otherwise, it was nicer brands like you'd see at the normal Goodwill only with much higher prices.  I tried a few things on, but didn't find clothes that were worth the higher price.  (I make a point of shopping at the Goodwill in the higher-end suburb so I can buy e.g. a Banana Republic skirt for $5, not $20.)  But the trip was not a waste of time because in addition to the pendant I wore with the striped dress/floral jacket a while back, I also purchased a few scarves.  This green silk scarf made me really happy as something that I can wear year-round and match with these dark green pants.  I don't understand how silk works, but it seems to be cool enough to wear in the summer yet warm enough to wear in the winter. 

*White pullover sweater from Kohl's
Green pants from Kohl's
Black wedges, thrifted
*Green silk scarf, thrifted (Goodwill boutique)