Kasmira's Messy Bun

If you have longish hair, and have not tried Kasmira’s "messy bun" yet, get over there and check it out.

I have had these SAD, anemic, pitiful, skinny buns for YEARS, and with Kasmira’s technique, I get HUGE, wonderful, messy, glorious buns!~ And it is SO EASY!

YAY!~

Denim Jacket Failboat

I didn’t love this outfit. I didn’t hate it either. I just didn’t love it. I think I might have loved it on someone else, but it just wasn’t very “me”.



And I am 98% sure it was the jacket.



I don’t like denim jackets, really. I only have this because all the books tell me you “should” have a denim jacket. I also don’t love the light wash on it.

I do like random neon lights in my pictures though!



And this necklace Lara over at Fashionate made me.



And my favorite “Love Erin Designs” bird earrings.



And I love the skirt.



I will try this outfit again really soon, but with a different topper. I think I might like it that way.

Jacket - Bitten by Sarah Jessica Parker
Skirt- Target
Tights, Target
Boots, Matisse
Bag- Steven by Steve Madden
Earrings, Love Erin Designs at Etsy
Necklace, handmade by Lara

Chiffon and Leather

I’ve made it know before, but I am SUCH a fan of a tough little fitted leather jacket and a floaty sweet dress.







I think they are such a great contrast. In keeping with things I normally wear another way, I normally wear this dress with my Temperly military jacket, which I also think looks really good with the dress, but NEW WAYS are what will keep my wardrobe fresh.

I love these little Payless booties, they are much more comfortable than they look!



And I just really liked the way this shot came out. I used it for my 365 blog that day.



Jacket, Bona Drag
Dress, Go International house collection at Target
Tights, Target
Booties, Payless

Alexander McQueeeeeeeeeeen

I saw this jacket a few months ago in an online preview and made a note to myself that this was the thing I wanted from this collection (I allow myself one piece from each Go! Or designer collection, which is a LOT less than I used to buy). It is perfection. It’s great with jeans and rocks up a dress.

Or an office outfit.



Unfortunately the light was dying and I didn’t get a great pic of it.



So I borrowed these from Target.com





I ordered it the DAY it went up on the site, before lunch. I guessed on the size. I went to the store on my lunch (I’m lucky, the one in my area actually got the line) and they had a medium and an x-small and I tried those on. I felt like the medium (which was the size I ordered) was too big, but the x-small was too small. So I thought I needed a small. I went back to the office, logged back on…SOLD OUT. By 1 PM. And so I stuck with the medium. And you know what? I was wrong. It fits just fine. Lesson learned? Alexander McQueen is a popular man.

I’ve been wearing this chunky bracelet combo everywhere lately.





The gold beads are an old modified Old Navy necklace and the chains are self made bracelet using just cheap-o Michael’s base metal chains I got for pretty cheap.

It doesn’t get better than Payless booties that held up for a couple years.



The red is coming off the back of the heel a bit, so I can really only wear them with pants, but for throwaway shoes, I’m impressed with how well they’ve lasted. And the kitten heel is perfect for my old lady feet.

I got these earrings at Target, and they were fine, but I replaced the wire across the top and the hook, just to give it a more handmade feel. Because I’m crazy like that.




Jacket, Alexander McQueen for Target
Pants, Walmart
Boots, Payless
bracelets, self made
earrings, Target, modified by me

Bunny Love

I still love this dress.



It’s just really flattering, the bunny print is fun, and it’s appropriate for work OR play.


*I am wearing The Plum Tights of Controversy*

I normally wear it with a blazer from the same collection, or my baby biker jacket. And what’s funny is that I was trying to branch out so as to not bore you AND practice mixing and matching, and yet it seems I’ve never worn the blazer + bunny dress combo on the blog!~
But this is the blazer:


(I think I must have worn that blazer a lot right before I started the blog. I think of it as an overused piece, but have featured it all of one time.)

and my biker jacket…


But since I’m trying to spin things, I wore it with the little black and white dotted H&M jacket.



Jacket, H&M, secondhand
Dress, Erin Fetherston for Target
Obi Belt, Fosuism Boutique at Etsy
Tights, Target
Tee, Walmart
Boots, Arturo Chang
Bag, Steven by Steve Madden

ETA Bunny Print for Sal:

Captain Tight Pants*

I would just like to say…if I had been wearing this out fit OUT I would have worn the harness with it. But as it is, the pants are a little over the top tight, and I didn’t feel like I could really get away with too tight pants, AND a sexy harness type thing at the office.

I toned the whole thing down with a blazer as well. I know the pics are a bit fuzzy, but I promise. The pants are tight.



Honestly, they are really more of a denim legging.



They have an elastic waistband. When I first got them, this was a great source of amusement to me. As in my mind, only old ladies wear denim leggings with elastic waistbands.

They are so comfortable though. And I feel good in them. And you can’t see the waistband.





You can kind of see my take on Kasmira’s messy bun here. I haven’t mastered the art of getting it on the SIDE yet, and that’s my favorite part. But I’ve gotten a lot better at the teasing.




Blouse detail:


Blazer detail:


That blazer is one of my favorite second hand buys. I love that the subtle pattern keeps it from being plain black, but it’s also subtle enough to work with almost anything.

I wore this last Friday, and I am actually wearing the same thing today, but with my Matisse brown boots and my Bona Drag sweater. I’m flying home today for the birth of Baby Quinn ( http://introducingquinn.com/Blog/Blog.html ) and to help my sister. And MAYBE to go on a field trip to the zoo with my nephews kindergarten class. I hope.

*I hope some of you get this reference

Blazer H&M, thrifted
Blouse, Target
Denim leggings, Target
Boots, vintage
Bag, Steven by Steve Madden
Earrings, chainchainchained at etsy

Harness It

I’m going to skip a day ahead in the timeline of what I actually wore. I’ll go back to the previous outfit, but I’m just too excited about this one to wait.

A while back, back in the days when I was at my old job, and things were good, a Flickr Friend/ boutique owner made something new, and she posted pics on Flickr. I fell so in love with her new design we started talking about her making one for me. Then I lost my job, and some things got lost in the shuffle.

But the other day I wore an outfit and I thought “Oh this would be so awesome with that harness Angie made.” So I went back and found her etsy shop and ordered one.

It’s by iheartnorwegianwood.
iheartnorwegianwood.etsy.com





I. Love. It.


I’ve mostly seen the kids wear this creation with a little bit of edge. But I thought it might be fun to show how you can pair it with something really subdued as well, and end up with a great result.



I took some close ups for you…







I can’t wait to wear it a million different ways. It’s brilliant.

Skirt and top, Walmart
Elastic Harness, iheartnorwegianwood.etsy.com
Tights, Target
Boots, Arturo Chang

Old is New Again

Speaking of wearing things in a different way…I love this dress, but I tend to wear it with the same couple of things. My Alternative Apparel cardigan or a Temperly London for Target jacket I like. But the cardigan is in the hamper, and the jacket is in the dry cleaning bag. So I had to branch out.



That’s the only shot I got of the blazer open. I had a long day and I just wasn’t thinking. It looks like I am brushing my hair back but if you look closer you can see I’m on the phone. I was talking to Alannah. (I always try and remember to hold the phone away from my face because if I don’t, I break out.) But seriously...how long are my legs in this dress? What's not to love?



I felt really good in the outfit. I felt stylish.



I’m wearing my giant Cicada earrings again, and missing my old co-worker Lucinda, who hated them SO MUCH. She had a code. If she hated it, she told me it was “Interesting”. If you are reading this and you still see her, tell her I miss her face!





Jacket, Vintage
Turtle neck, Steve and Barry's
Dress, Urban Outfitters
Tights, Target
Boots, Matisse
Bag, Steven by Steve Madden
Earrings, Chain Chain Chained at etsy

Same Dress, Different Day

One of the things that I really struggle with in stretching my wardrobe is seeing pieces in a different light.

I enjoyed this dress so much on Thursday that I wore it again Sunday. I wore it without the jeans to church, but I added the jeans before I ran errands because it was so cold.




I’m not normally real big on jeans with a dress, but occasionally I find a combination that works for me.



I feel kind of bad for these boots. They are spectacular vintage boots from Neiman Marcus that I got at Good Will for 5 bucks. Or maybe Salvation Army. One or the other though.



But all you ever see is this:



Alannah got me this bag for my birthday. You can’t really see it, but the clasp is this ridiculous tunrlock thing more suited to a bank vault. It is AWESOME. And fun to play with. And the leather? Like BUTTER.



My 2nd favorite Haute Hardware piece…


And that’s that!~ I really want to focus on trying to mix it up and wear things a different way, I have been feeling sorry for myself because I can’t shop like I used to, and it’s just silly.

Blazer, Vintage
Cardigan, Alternative Apparel
Dress, Love Me Not at etsy
Jeans, Seven for all Mankind
Boots, Vintage Neiman Marcus
Bag, Steven by Steve Madden
Necklace, Haute Hardware