Spin-Attack

"Dramatic Coral Music"--Wednesday, 4/19/17

Somehow it seems like my spring sartorial style this year features a lot of pencil skirt + tights + ankle boots in the same color.  It's definitely a flexible building block for work outfits.  Here it's as simple as adding a scarf in the colors of the blazer and skirt.

Coral blazer (JNY), $4.95/wear
Dark grey skirt (Walmart), $0.92/wear
Grey short-sleeved T (Kohls), $0.32/wear
Grey/coral tree scarf (Target), $0.86/wear
Grey tights + grey ankle boots by Seychelles, $4.24/wear

Outfit total: $11.29/wear

"Blue Bird"--Thursday, 4/20/17

This time I upped my ante by wearing not only the navy skirt + tights + ankle boots combo, but also a white t-shirt just like last week.  But with a different-colored cardigan and a different navy/pink scarf, it doesn't look like a near-repeat.  (Also, if it's not clear, I LOVE these slightly longer pencil skirts from Walmart.  My JCP pencil skirts come in great colors, but the length is a bit shorter than ideal.)

Navy skirt (Walmart), $2.50/wear
White long-sleeved V neck T (Lands End), $1.00/wear
Light blue cardigan (Lands End), $4.37/wear
Navy tights + navy ankle boots by Seychelles, $5.60/wear
Navy/burgundy/blue birds scarf (Kohls), $1.37/wear

Outfit total: $14.84/wear

"Clod Stomping Leopard Print"--Friday, 4/21/17

And now to round of the week with flared jeans and boots, which has a kind of semi-country look to it, not a go-to silhouette for me.  But I'm in more solid Sally territory with the leopard print and the long scarf, right?

Light magenta short-sleeved T (Walmart), $2.50/wear
Grey leopard blazer (thrifted, Macy's), $0.63/wear
Flared jeans (thrifted, Lane Bryant), $0.11/wear
Bright pink scarf (Target), $1.09/wear
Grey ankle boots by Seychelles, $4.12/wear

Outfit total: $8.45/wear

And here's some bunny goodness in the classic form of the Broken Polish Loaf.

In other news...I also hate these goddamn tops.

Have you considered quitting social media?  Some pros and cons.

Breaking--this just in--being president of the United States is hard!  But maybe watching Trump learn this the tough way could have a sliver of a silver lining?

This post was brought to you by Spinarak, a Pokemon my mom was born to hate.  It's like the unholy offspring of a spider and a tick.

Speaking of which, I recently watched the New Girl episode "Spiderhunt," which of course made me think of my mom.  She would be down for this activity.

Good Eeveening

Catching up on more outfits from last week...

"Pleated Leopard"--Saturday, 4/15/17

An easy outfit for playing Pokemon Go and lounging (though I did wear my brown all weather mocs for the Pokemon portion of the day; these shoes are definitely not up to the kinds of mileage we put in on weekend Pokemon outings).  I love this scarf--I need to find more excuses to wear it.

"Navy, Pink, and Kind of Pink-ish"--Monday, 4/17/17

In my wardrobe spreadsheet, and thus in my mind, this is a "navy/pink floral scarf," but as you can see, it's got more coral shades than true pink.  I thought the combination still worked, but it wasn't quite the absolutely perfect tonal match that I had planned.  I wore it to work with my navy polka dot trench, though, and that helped.

"Fuck You, Off Site 7:30 a.m. Meeting"--Tuesday, 4/18/17

OK, that name doesn't really have much bearing on the outfit itself, but that was my mood upon donning these garments and driving across town to the meeting.  It was raining oppressively, so pants and shiny leather shoes that can stand up to a certain amount of wet were the order of the day.  Pair that with what is probably my most comfy top and a bright scarf, and drink a cup of caffeinated green tea, and I was cheered up just enough to not actively scowl or curse at anyone in that goddamn early meeting.

You know what else is cheery-making?  A castor mini rex loaf.

In related news...OK, so even your outfit/caffeine/rabbit photos can't get you in that great a mood for work?  Well, take heart, supposedly, being grumpy at work is good for you.

This post is brought to you by Eevee, who I think of as a fox-bunny.  You see it, right?  (In the Pokemon universe, they've definitely twigged to the idea that adding a dash of bun to any creature immediately cute-ifies it.)

I Pre-Furret

"Blazing Blush"--Wednesday, 4/12/17

The black skirt with a white pattern reminded me of an embroidered skirt that I haven't worn in a long time.  But when I went to get it out of the closet, I realized that I'd rather wear my black and white space dye skirt...pretty much any time.  So the embroidered skirt went into the donation pile, even though embroidery continues to be very trendy.  Anyway, I paired the preferred skirt with a light pink blazer and my burgundy peplum top to play off the color combinations in this inspiration photo.

From pennypincherfashion.com

I admit, this made for a kind of incoherent outfit with the sleek professional blazer and the casual knit skirt.

Light pink blazer (thrifted, Kasper), $2.25/wear
Black space dye skirt (Old Navy), $1.00/wear
Burgundy peplum sweater (Loft), $8.72/wear
Black tights + maroon ankle boots by Dolce Vita, $5.86/wear
Orange/pink/green Moroccan scarf (Charming Charlie), $1.75/wear
Gold tassel necklace (Kohls), $0.80/wear

Outfit total: $20.38/wear

But these maroon ankle boots are so kick ass that they make up for a lot (...or they make the outfit even weirder...or both).  The scarf also helps on the sartorial obfuscation front.

The Sartorial Obfuscation Front: dedicated to "sewing" confusion since 2016!


In other news...Emails!  No, you haven't traveled back to the time people were ignoring Donald Trump's behavior to focus on Hillary's emails.  But if someone sent you an email about that a few months ago that you haven't yet responded to, there's no need to apologize for the delayed response.

But if you do want to apologize, here are some examples to follow.

A few weeks ago, I responded to a bunch of emails from Tam (and yeah, I implicitly apologized for the delayed response by saying I felt like a dick.)  In the end, I decided to characterize her getting a bunch of responses like a few weeks after sending the emails as: "Just pretend it's the 19th century and I am living overseas and a bunch of letters to you got piled up on the same boat, I guess."

So fundamentally this post is about emails and time travel, it turns out.  And the color pink.  And bunnies!  Because: BUNNIES!  They're wondrous cuteness is not just for Easter.

This post was brought to you by Furret, an animal that begins life as a lagomorph and then evolves into...well...a furry ferret creature that can "slickly squirm through narrow spaces."

Pika-Choose

Yeah, I have been a lousy blogger lately.  Mostly because I've been splitting my time between Pokemon Go and headaches (stupid pollen), but also because I've been running out of steam.  But I am going to push on through the end of this year's style challenge on April 30, and then re-think where I want to go with this blog next.

In the meantime, here's a quick overview of last week's work outfits.

Monday: I LOVE this white leopard blouse + tipped blazer combo, and it goes nicely with any solid, bold-colored pencil skirt or pants.

Add a sparkly necklace and it's even better.

Tuesday: Yet more pink and grey.  I won't stop with this lovely pink sweater (well, I won't stop until it gets to warm for it, which I think might be happening right now).

Wednesday gets it own blog post later.  Stay tuned.

Thursday:  What you wear to a meeting across town that starts at 7:30 a.m. in the pouring, fucking rain.  A wet, sad face plus puffins.  And shoes that are not made from suede leather.

Friday:  Wheeeee, ready for the weekend!  But first, must go to work...wearing this denim trousers + leopard smoking slippers + bright pink/blue striped scarf combo for like the third time in the last few months.

Your articles du jour...

Half of Americans think women should be required by law to take their husband's name.  WTH, people.  Please excuse me while I go catch up with "The Handmaid's Tale" on Hulu.

BUT New York City just banned bosses from asking this sensitive question.  Valuable to all candidates, but especially women, who often have a too-low salary history for the work they've been doing.

This post was brought to you by Pikachu.  If you aren't familiar with Pikachu...well...how did you fit under that rock anyway?  Welcome to the world!  It's cute out here!

Feel My Poliwrath

"Four Shades of Grey"--Thursday, 4/6/17

This casual January-in-Florida outfit inspired to boldly mix various shades of grey with white bottoms.

From herdaileystyle.com

I think that despite having at least four shades of grey in my outfit, they are still a closer match than the heather grey sweater and taupe-grey boots in her photo--they are all at least shades of cool grey.  Still, it's a bit of stretch for me to put all these somewhat different greys together.  At least I have that big pop of white to distract the eye.

Grey pullover sweater (thrifted, Laura Scott), $1.05/wear
White skirt (Walmart), $1.20/wear
Grey tights + grey ankle boots by Seychelles, $4.52/wear
Grey/black/red birds scarf (gift)

Outfit total: $6.77/wear

And a scarf so I can recognize myself in the mirror.

"Burgundy Bird Friday"--Friday, 4/7/17

Now mixing up different shades of burgundy?  That's a whole other thing I'm quite happy to do.  This would have looked magnificent with my white skirt too, but for Friday, it's gotta be denim, right?

Burgundy/mint birds blouse (Loft), $6.25/wear
Burgundy blazer (JNY), $3.89/wear
Denim trousers (thrifted, Boden), $0.87/wear
Grey ribbon flats by Louise et Cie, $2.94/wear
Grey planet necklace (Macy's), $3.13/wear

On the birds/pop of white theme, it's hard to beat the Great Egret.

In other news...On Friday I decided that other people in my department aren't allowed to go on vacation anymore, even if it is "Spring Break" for people who work directly with students.  And since nobody with any authority to make all the decisions that needed to be made were at work, my opinion clearly carried the day.

This post is brought to you by Poliwrath, whose unflagging strength matches my endless annoyance.
 

"Poliwrath's highly developed, brawny muscles never grow fatigued, no matter how much it exercises.  It is so tirelessly strong, this Pokemon can swim back and forth across the ocean without effort."--Pokedex

The Sentret Cannot Hold

Another crazy Pokemon Go filled weekend.  I got my first sunburn in probably years today (a mild one, on the arms and the back of my neck) after taking off my jacket almost immediately this morning because it was so freaking humid.  Even though it was under 60 F, I had to dump the lightweight cotton jacket and get down to a short-sleeved T-shirt because I was getting light-headed from being overly warm.  We walked about 8 miles yesterday, and today I hit the 5 mile mark on my Fitbit while looking for enzymes to have with my dinner.  So that was fun.

In less fun news, Robert also did our taxes--but it's good to have that out of the way.  (Doing the taxes and sending in the forms right away is no longer so appealing now that we end up having to send them money every year.)

Warning: I am NOT looking forward to the work week ahead.  So there is likely to be a return to the grumps coming up tomorrow.

"Burgundy Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit"--Tuesday 4/4/17

I could not resist sharing the photo of another blogger wearing this rabbit blouse (...which I bought because I saw it on a round-up post featuring her recent purchases).  She called hers "rabbit rabbit," not realizing that you need to say "rabbit rabbit rabbit" for the good luck to kick in.  Well, maybe she got 2/3 of the luck she would have gotten with the full saying.

From styleontarget.com

Because Katie detests pink, of course I had to wear my rabbit blouse with that hated shade.  (OK, that wasn't the actual reason, but it seems fitting somehow.)

Cream/dark green rabbit blouse (Loft), $3.31/wear
Burgundy skirt (Nordstrom), $1.88/wear
Grey tights + Grey ankle boots by Seychelles, $4.67/wear
Magenta scarf (JCP), $0.80/wear

Outfit total: $10.66/wear

It wasn't until I saw the photos that I realized I accidentally wore the bright pink scarf instead of the (darker) magenta one for the photo shoot.  Well, I did get it right on the day I wore this to work!

I was pleasantly surprised to read last month that Katie used to have a bunny collection (rabbit figurines).  Naturally I have a bunny collection right now!  In addition to the many other rabbit objects in my apartment, I have a small collection of rabbit figurines in a short bookcase in the living room, with the bunnies positioned so that they are under cover, which is a clear rabbit preference.  The two white ones (left and center) I got from my grandmother's house after she died--I hadn't realized she had a little rabbit collection, too, which is now part of mine.

"Preppy Colors, Not Preppy Silhouette"--Wednesday, 4/5/17

In this June 2015 outfit post, Jen wears her favorite color combination in a "classic preppy" way. 

From honestlymodern.com

I'm a fan of this color combination, too, so pairing my bright pink dress and dark blue (almost navy) cardigan with navy tights was a natural choice.  (I don't know/remember where she lives that tights in June is a thing--maybe she was really behind on posting outfits and wore them in May?)  Add a long flowing scarf in a lovely pattern that includes both colors and we're done.  (I did wear pearl earrings to keep a bit more of the original outfit vibe going.)

Bright pink dress (Target), $4.67/wear
Dark blue boyfriend cardigan (thrifted, Laura Scott), $0.75/wear
Navy tights + Navy ankle boots by Seychelles, $6.09/wear
Navy/pink floral scarf (Kohls), $2.23/wear

Outfit total: $13.74/wear

Oh, I forgot!  I also wore my new navy polka dot trench coat with the pink/navy outfit.  The trench coat + scarf combination was the bomb.com.  This is one I got at Goodwill and only had to do a bit of mending (sewing a button on and fixing a gap in the seam) for it to be good as new.

This post is brought to you by Sentret and Yeats' most famous (and recently appropriate) poem, "The Second Coming."

"When Sentret sleeps, it does so while another stands guard.  The sentry wakes the others at the first sign of danger.  When this Pokemon becomes separated from its pack, it becomes incapable of sleep due to fear."--Pokedex

Feeling Krabby, As Usual

"Blue Monday"--Monday, 4/3/17

Oh, Monday, how do I hate you?  Let me count the ways...or not.  Because my list is no different from any person with a typical M-F full-time office job.  But this past Monday was definitely one of the tough ones.

Today's inspiration photo puts a light blue dress with black and white blazer, black tights, and black ankle boots.

From bureauofchic.com

I thought her rather minimalist combination was very chic, but I feel more me with a long scarf that pattern mixes with my outfit.  So there you go.

Light blue dress (Kohls), $3.33/wear
Black and white striped/polka dot blazer (thrifted, Jessica London), $1.67/wear
Black tights + black ankle boots by Sam Edelman, $1.70/wear
White/blue/green paisley scarf (Target), $0.67/wear

Outfit total: $7.37/wear

Hearing about this whole human "Monday" concept, this Polish is incredulous.  Why do we do it to ourselves?

In other news...Some older articles I've been sitting on, to take your mind of current political news.

(1) Lies you've been told about making a living

(2) Everyone likes flex time but we punish women who use it


(3) A diet rich in fruit and vegetables outweighs the risk of pesticides (hat tip: Tam)

This post was brought to you by Krabby and all Mondays that are harder than they seem like they should be.  Glad that today's Friday.  Hello weekend!

A Young Lady's Illustrated Grimer

"Barbie Ostrich"--Sunday, 4/2/17

Lately my weekend outfits haven't been making it to the blog, but I had to photograph this one because of the cute matchy-matchy blazer + 1 pink ostrich.  I admit that because of a long Pokemon Go walk (we walked to the science museum, the "Pokemon Go" park, and then all around downtown) I didn't wear the boots and blazer all day, but I changed into them when we got home.  It's really starting to get too warm on the weekend for tights and boots (what?) so I might not be wearing a weekend outfit like this one again for a while.

Grey ostrich graphic T (Kohls), $1.72/wear
Bright pink velvet blazer (thrifted, Old Navy), $1.17/wear
Denim skirt (thrifted, Levi's), $0.42/wear
Grey sweater tights + tall grey boots by LifeStride, $5.00/wear
Grey planet necklace (Macy's), $3.57/wear

Outfit total: $11.88/wear

This impossibly soft-looking grey mini rex is also a bit of an explorer, investigating the cage in great detail.  Although I of course have a special love of castor (Kate) and black and white broken (Leo) mini rexes, the grey ones are so, so lovely.

In other news...Language-loving readers, I think you will enjoy this article about a scholar who is collecting "untranslatable" positive emotion words from around the world.  Now I know what one of the feelings my nephew inspires is called: gigil.  I definitely experience natsukashii from time to time.  I would like to consider myself fairly pihentagyú.  How about you?  Do any of these words/feelings resonate with you?

This post is brought to you by Grimer and Neal Stephenson's The Diamond Age.  I haven't been reading a lot lately (too much Pokemon Go and Netflix), and thinking about how much I liked that book, I realize that it's been a while since I deeply enjoyed reading a book.  I think it's probably good that I'm taking a bit of a break right now.

Seel of Approval

"Stripey Friday, Happy Days"--Friday, 3/31/17

Lisa showed us 3 different ways to wear a lightweight striped dress across the seasons.  I glommed onto her "After" (i.e., late fall/winter) version as inspiration for bringing my aqua striped sleeveless dress out of the summer weekend mode into casual Friday spring mode.  Because that makes total sense.

From respecttheshoes.blogspot.com

The important components were striped knit dress, solid professional-looking blazer, patterned scarf, tights, and boots (not pictured).  That's pretty straightforward for me to do.  But where's the casual Friday in that?  Substitute a denim jacket and it's all good.

Aqua striped sleeveless knit dress (Old Navy), $5.00/wear
Blue denim jacket (Liz Claiborne/JCP), $2.94/wear
White/blue/yellow floral scarf (Target), $1.50/wear
Navy tights
Navy ankle boots by Seychelles, $6.36/wear

Outfit total: $15.80/wear

This outfit formula is Respect the Shoes tested, Empirical Question approved.


This rabbit also approves.  Because: STRIPES.

In other news...Angie outdid herself this year with this completely adorable April Fool's fashion post.

This post is brought to you by Seel.  Sticking out his tongue is just his way of saying he approves of me, right?

You know what is totally weird?  So as you know, I sometimes work on the outfit portions of these blog posts in advance, and while I've let that slide lately in my Pokemon Go obsessed state, this is one I'd started writing a loooong time ago when I first put this outfit on my list, complete with the EQ/rabbit approval statements.  But while I was finding the draft post in my blog list, I was deciding which Pokemon to feature and decided on Seel because he's blue.  And on my running list of Pokemon puns (yes, I have one #noshame), of course Seel is "Seel of Approval."  So I opened the post, gave it the title, and started reading what Previous Sally had written before.  And DAMN I'm good.

Or possibly I have more fully developed my temporal super powers and am now reverse inspiring my own writings. 

We'll Always Have Paras

After a weekend split 50/50 between playing Pokemon Go and sitting in my comfy chair watching a stream of New Girl episodes as a distraction from being sick, it was really hard to go to work this morning, even drinking a glass of caffeinated iced tea almost immediately upon waking up.  It also was definitely NOT the easy introduction to Spring Break week that I'd hoped.  Oh well, it will get better from here, right?  RIGHT?

Meanwhile, I'll continue playing catch up...

"Vest Week #4: Long Quilted Dress"--Thursday, 3/30/17

This is a combination I've not tried before--a dress with a quilted vest.  I used the reverse side of my zebra vest because it's longer than my plain black dress for a slightly different look from Wednesday's more moderate length vest.  I admit that I'm not 100% sold on the look.  I think there was something ever so slightly weird about the matching red arms and upper legs against all that black.  But I was tickled by the way the two-tone flats worked with the grey/black scarf, so overall, it was a perfectly fine outfit.  Another plus: it was extremely comfortable.

Coral red dress (Lands End), $5.40/wear
Black quilted vest [reverse of zebra vest] (thrifted), $0.84/wear
Grey/black/red birds scarf (gift)
Black tights + black suede captoe flats (thrifted, Skyler), $0.70/wear

Outfit total: $6.94/wear

Of course, it's hard to mix grey and black to match the classic chic of a Champagne d'argent rabbit.

Looking effortlessly fabulous since the mid-1600s

In other news...After a hard day, it was fun to revisit this wonderful video in which Maru "tries on" various wigs (sent by Robert).  A nice demonstration of how you get a box-loving cat to test out different (yarn) hairstyles.  Mom, I will be curious about your reaction to this--does it disturb your dressed-up-pets sensibilities?

Today's post was brought to you by Paras, which is not French and does not date to the 17th century.  I didn't realize until reading the description below that it is named for the parasitic mushrooms it grows on its back.  That's...well, creepy, actually.  But she's cute!  In the spirit of Maru's hair-do video, I'm going to choose to think of those bumps as a Princess Leia hair style.  (When I told Robert that I wanted to see Maru in a Princess Leia hairdo, he said, "Of course for you it's all about the buns."  Can't say he's wrong.)