Ah ah ah, You Better Learn Your Lesson Yourself

I went to Target with $48 on a gift card. We went to a Target across town, because Nathan was shopping for 45s at the used bookstore over there (he has a DJ gig on Halloween at the Lakewood Lounge, come see him and Marjorie spin!). This was the most well stocked Target ladies department I have ever seen. I could have dressed in clothes off the racks for a solid month and loved everything. In the end I came away with this dress and sweater combo…



Oh my. I love it. It’s girly and lacy and beautiful, but it feels like pajamas. I know it lacks a wait, but sometimes I am OK with that. I know my waist is there, I don’t need to define it as long as you can see my legs.



Comfort wise, it was like wearing pajamas, but I also felt super dressed up. Dressed up and comfy? That is pretty much always my goal!



Sweater, Dress, Socks and Boots, all Target
Bag, Lucky “stash” bag

Don’t You Hear The Laughter On The Way Down?

I am not 100% sure how I feel about what I am wearing today. Part of that is due to lack of planning. How often do you plan your outfits? Do you try them on or just lay them out? I do both, but I prefer when I have time to try them on. Because sometimes it doesn’t look right when you get it all together. Like today, I planned an outfit last night and did not try it on. When I got it all on today it was TOO MUCH. And I had about 5 minutes to change, resulting in an outfit I don’t love just yet. I might when I see the pictures, you know how it is.

I go through phases, sometimes I don’t plan at all for months, but for a while now, I have been planning 2-3 outfits ahead of time for a 5 day period. That seems to be working most of the time. I like to have a couple days open, because some of my best outfits come together when I am low on time, like this…



I put this together in about five minutes and I loved it. The proportions on it are great.



I have trouble styling that nylon jacket, but I’ve managed a couple of pretty good parings lately. I got it when it was the “Deal of the Day” on Target.com, and I think I paid all of $15 for it, shipped. Nice, huh? But hard to style. I am up for the challenge though!



Jacket, Target.com
Blouse, Liberty of London for Target
Denin Leggings, ANA at JCPenny
Boots, Matisse via Zappos

Cause I Can't Get Enough Of You, And Every Little Thing You Do

When I first saw this dress, it was too expensive for me. I was broke. But I wanted it. I loved it. I thought about it later. I did that thing where I looked it up online, just to see it again. I once even said to Nathan “Oh Nathan, this dress would be so pretty on me”, which sounds pretty vain, but was more a testament to the dress than me. But I moved on…



Haha, no I didn’t. But I did get it on clearance which was thrilling, because I wanted it so badly and because, well, clearance is always exciting!



The clearance rack had black, grey and this nude in my size. And of course my instinct was to get them all, but I talked myself down to one. I already have a grey dress in a similar, ethereal style. And black is not a challenge. So I went with the nude. I was really proud of myself for getting just the one, because one dress on clearance is a bargain. 3 dresses on clearance would have been over spending. (For me, I’m not here to say what is overspending for you! Xoxo)



I wore this to Toastmasters and got some compliments from the older-than-me crowd, which always makes me feel pleased as punch, because my style, I feel skews a bit young. (So does a lot of yours, even those of you much older than me! I like us that way!)



I think this dress has LOTS of styling possibilities and I can’t wait to explore!

Jacket, Forever XXI
Dress, Target clearance rack
Boots, Target (last year but they brought them back this year)
Bag, Grandmama Bea, Liz Claiborne
Earrings, Haute Hardware at Etsy

I’ll Be Gone, In A Day Or Two

This outfit was really just an excuse to wear these vintage pumps Jessica G gave me. I knew I wanted to keep it simple so that the focus could be on the fabulous patchwork detail of the shoe.





They are tremendous and I love them. However, I broke a heel tip straight in two before I got through the day. That makes a total of 4 pairs I know of off the top of my head that need to have tips replaced, and I know it’s not expensive, but I’m not looking forward to the combined cost. The alternative is not being able to wear them anymore, and nothing is more frustrating than something you can’t wear because you have been too lazy or cheap (or legitimately broke!) to have it repaired, so I am planning a trip to the cobbler this week!



I kept everything else really simple. I don’t think it translates as nice as it was in pictures, but the green of this jacket was just beautiful against the purple of this top. So much so that I didn’t even care about the difference in styles. I just went with it!




Jacket, Blouse, and Denim leggings, Target
Earrings, self made
Bag, Grandmama Bea, Liz Claiborne
Shoes, vintage, Jessica G’s Grandmother

Brand New Clothes And A Big Fat Place On Your Rock And Roll TV

I. Love. This. Outfit.



I know that the Some People are all worked up and upset over the return of 90s fashions, but not me. I’m totally down with floral, flannel and clogs. I wore this on a Saturday with knee high black socks and clogs, but for work I felt tights more appropriate.



I got this dress at a thrift store a while back and it was floor length. I was like “Look, Nathan, we can hem it.” He said “I don’t think that is going to be as easy as you think it is.” But you know I had to try. The thing is…I can’t sew.

I mean, at all. I no longer remember how many times I broke a machine in college. It was eventually suggested that maybe I costume shows using rented pieces, or thrifted. Maybe not so much with the sewing when I was costuming…



But still. I wasn’t GOING to sew, see I was going to use Stitch Witch. And I did. And well, I sort of miscalculated, and now it’s more of a long top, or a tunic than a dress, but I did do it. So not AS easy as I thought, true. But it is shorter, and the hem is straight, and it did hold. So there’s that. So I threw on a lace skirt, a little number I refer to as my “Kyla” skirt, and if you take a look at her blog I think you might be able to figure out why…



Overall I’m happy with the outcome. I prefer the additional layer of the lace aesthetically anyway. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Flannel, thrifted by Nathan
Dress, thrifted and shortened by me
Skirt, Target
Tights, Target
Clogs, White Mountain via Amazon.com
Bag, Nordstrom Rack
Necklace, Wendy Brandes Jewelry