Mellow Yellow

I told you I'd wear this Anthropologie super-score of a blazer again soon, and this time - as promised - it's an almost exact dupe of the catalog image. Cuz I love it.

Tartan Boucle Blazer - Anthropologie / Thermal tee - Anthropologie / Flare denim - Lane Bryant

That fabulous yellow handbag - the perfect pop of color against all the oranges, reds, greys and blues of the plaid - was an obvious missing piece of the puzzle, and much to my chagrin, I do not (yet) own one. Neither yellow camisole nor yellow necklace provided the right balance, either. But wait! An unseasonable 50 degree day not only let me take pictures back outside, but made sporting these fantastically uncomfortable yellow lizard-embossed open toes possible! Thank goodness my NYE pedicure was still intact... I think I love the look even more than with the handbag!

Yellow peep-toes - Nine West

Who am I kidding. I still want a yellow handbag.

Necklace - Anthropologie / Earrings - Banana Republic / Ring - Ruche

Mad About Plaid

The sale room at Anthropologie is a magical place. I walked passed this jacket a few times during my last Anthro trip in Milwaukee's Third Ward, strangely attracted to its rather loud bouclé plaid. I mean, at first I was even slightly repulsed by it, but I just kept coming back to it, each time more charmed by it. As I do with anything that catches my eye, I checked the size (it was the only one), then the price. (Is it even worth it?) A 12, a size smaller than my usual, and $70. But wait! Sale items are 50% off - it's $35!!! That did it, I had to at least try it on. As I suspected, the jacket was much too snug in the arms and across the chest, but I really started to love the look of it on it me. The plaid may have been intense, but it had a wonderful color palette, great cut, and pretty flawless construction. Yes, I needed this - if only my size! I was actually wearing the same thermal tee, skinnies and boots at the time, and it was clear that, had it fit, I would have walked straight to the cash wrap just as I was...

Tartan Boucle Blazer - Anthropologie / Thermal tee - Anthropologie / Dark skinnies - Gap /
Boots - Coconuts "Walker" via DSW (gifted)

But what the heck, I would give hope a chance and ask if other stores might have a 14. With customer serivce not to be outdone - the Friday before Christmas, mind you - the sales associate spent at least 15 minutes on the phone, finally hunting down the jacket in the NYC Times Square store, of all places. (Seriously, her patience and perseverance on my behalf was incredible.) Triumph! The jacket was mine!! For $35 freaking dollars!!!

Earrings & ring - Banana Republic / Necklace - Anthropologie

Later that night, I happened to be perusing my old pins on Pinterest and found - much to my amazement - this very pin from the Anthropologie cataloge. What the what!? "Pretty much want everything here," I noted. It seems I had been lusting after this jacket the whole time! Though I obviously love the jacket with skinnies and boots, I have every intention to style it as Anthro-imagined for next time. (This may be next week, incidentally.)

It seems my subconscious shops just as much as I do.

Handbag  - Furla (via Filene's Basement)

A Perfect Mix

I've been plotting this outfit for a while now. I've had the skirt since the fall and the wrap sweater since last winter, and the minute I saw them together I was struck by how complementary they were. If the first rule of pattern mixing is to make sure prints are in the same color palette, these two pieces - with their shared oranges, golds, greys and blues - perfectly comply.

Piece-A-Plenty cardigan - Anthropologie / Plaid pencil skirt - Lane Bryant / Cream cami - Anthropologie /
Handbag - Tano / Blue faux-suede heels - Payless / Necklace & Earrings - LOFT / Ring - Banana Republic

It was just a matter of throwing on a camisole and wearing accessories that got out of the way (blues were my preference) and I had an outfit. I feel very (and unintentionally) pro-Illini, too.

Exposed

So I survived Nutcracker weekend. I came out of it much better than I expected, so that's good, but I also went into it with much less holiday cheer than I usually do. I'm not really sure why, but I'm just not feeling the holidays yet, despite all my best efforts with Christmas decor, watching The Holiday almost every other night (as I write this, as a matter of fact), playing nothing but "Swinging Christmas Radio" on Pandora at work, and already having all my Christmas shopping complete. It's weird, but perhaps I can blame the fact that it hasn't snowed yet? Maybe that's the last piece of the puzzle - a blanket of snow to quiet the earth and brighten the night sky, bringing only the warmest thoughts to us inside. <Sigh>

Decidedly without snow, the big holiday weekend at work has come and gone, and with it a weekend I relish getting all fancy. Last year I wore two of my all-time favorite outfits (both with pencil skirts of course): this one and this one. I felt I had a lot to live up to this year - both of those outfits included beautifully unique tops and special accessories that spoke for themselves. I did plan to wear some other favorite pieces of mine, and of course my preferred silhouette, so I think I did okay. =) I'll post the outfits from the rest of the weekend tomorrow and Wednesday, of course...

Craftmanship Capelet - Anthropologie (gifted) / Cream tee - LOFT / Grey pencil skirt - Talbots /
Burgundy pumps - Charles by Charles David (via Zappos) / Handbag - Furla

This plaid capelet, purchased last year on a birthday shopping spree, is one of my least worn but definitely prized pieces in my wardrobe. I've never been able to figure out how else to wear it other than with skinnies and boots; though, it's certainly a great wear to wear it! When in doubt, pair with pencil skirt, duh. (If anyone's keeping track, maybe it's time to rename the blog to that?)

I'm really missing my camera, though. These pictures, taken with the wonderful light from my south-facing windows, came out over-exposed with Bob's iPhone, when I know they'd have been perfect with my camera. Boo hiss. Ironically, the best shots with the iPhone have been at night! (I shall keep that in mind nevertheless.) As a result, I've decided to purchase a refurbished model of the same camera from B&H as soon as my paycheck allows. After much research, it's the cheapest and probably the most reliable/comfortable option right now. And the one that will prevent Bob and I from killing each other the soonest... =)

Ring - H&M /.Necklace - Banana Republic (eBayed) / Earrings - The Limited

And hey, let it snow!

Glen's Plaid

I loves me a pencil skirt. But you knew that. =)

Basic solids are all well and fine, but when I can find an interesting but subtle pattern, such as this glen plaid accented with orange, I be one happy girl. And I bet you guess that I'm over the moon about the length, too!

Printed top - Lane Bryant / Glen plaid pencil skirt - Lane Bryant / Heels - Payless

I tell ya, Lane Bryant is just knocking it out of the park with pencil skirts this year. (This lace print one is next on my must-have-will-get list.) I owe that somewhat to the trend for longer hemlines and the pencil skirt in general. (When have pencil skirts not been on trend again?) I'm mostly so very thankful for this because I used to have some slammin' Banana Republic pencil skirts from a few years ago - great lengths, patterns, and usual Banana Republic details. But, alas, I've not been able to fit my derriere into them for some time. Of all the items I've "grown" out of, those pencil skirts were the biggest tragedy. So, I'm ever-so-thankful to Lane Bryant and even Talbots who've made fabulous pencil skirts as available to plus sized ladies as anyone else.

Handbag - Urban Outfitters

The top is one I had flagged after this post to wear with a pencil skirt, a thought that had crazily not occurred to me before. So when I was looking to debut this skirt in a fun and somewhat dressed-down way, I knew this would be the perfect pairing. I might go with it untucked for my next wearing, however.

Ring - Banana Republic / Necklace - Urban Outfitters / Earrings - The Limited

Have a happy Friday, everyone!

The Caped Crusader

Finally another Anthropologie birthday spree post! Behold - the capelet of my dreams!

Craftmanship Capelet - Anthropologie (gifted!) / Cream Cotton Slub Tee - LOFT /
Dark Skinnies - Gap / Boots - Ciao Bella (DSW)

This not actually my first wearing of this fantastic piece of clothing. I wore it the first week in January - pretty much as soon as I had an opportunity to do so. But, alas, I was still in a holiday funk and wasn't back to blogging yet. All this meant to me was that I could wear it again for the sake of the blog!!

This was the one item on my wishlist that I simply had to have. When Bob announced his birthday gift to me would be a mini shopping day at Anthropologie, I knew that this must come home with me. Sadly, the store didn't have it (I think few stores did), but you betta believe I ordered that puppy as soon as I could. In fact, I think I was ordering it from Bob's iPhone while he was buying his celebrated L.L. Bean boots (the next stop after Anthropologie)...

Handbag - Tano "Minilisa" in Blue Marine

When I finally received my package after a frustrating shipping snafu (which Anthropologie remedied and then some), I was in complete awe with how gorgeous of an item it was. So nicely constructed, perfectly tailored, richly colored, and it fits like a dream. I couldn't be happier with it! I just have to figured out other ways I can wear it...

Ideas?

Necklace - Banana Republic (eBayed)

New Do!

I love the smell of freshly processed hair. Is that weird? Well, I do. Heaven. My cut and highlight was needed, as was the nap I think I had in the shampoo chair. The cut is more or less my "usual" - an angled asymmetrical bob with super short layers in the back. I keep thinking I'd love to have long hair again, but as is the case with most of us who've gone short, the growing out period is much too tedious to stick with. 

My color changes with the seasons. I tend to go darker in the cooler months and lighter in the warmer months. The highlights here are wonderfully subtle; my stylist went with a few reds and darker low lights. There are even a few very dark patches underneath the top layers, which isn't immediately noticeable, but gives a nice effect when it peeks through. This color is actually pretty damn close to my natural color, too, something I've wanted for some time now. 

I've been going to my stylist, Jake, for years now. He's fantastic, so I pretty much let him do whatever he wants to my hair, and in return we talk about the wildest stuff. He also cuts my BF's hair, so we end about talking about him too. Today, we talked about my blog...cuz he reads it. I find that hilarious. And terribly flattering!

I'm continually surprised when my friends talk to me about this little side project of mine. Of course, when I'm posting links to new posts daily on Facebook, that's bound to happen! I do greatly appreciate all of you, my readers - old friends, new friends, future friends, whether you comment or not. Thanks for reading. =))

I will say just one thing about the outfit. My jeans are - dare I say it - jeggings. Yes, folks, it can be done! A curvy girl can not only rock skinny jeans, but jeggings too! I'm actually really pleased with these LB jeggings, even though the elastic waist band makes me think of my grandmother's jean collection... Aside from that minor detail, they are wonderfully flattering, without making my legs look like sausages. Thanks to the lycra, too, all the loose bits and bobbles are sucked in, and even my butt looked pretty damn amazing. The color is a nice true dark denim, and the contrast stitching makes them look just like jeans. The length is good too - I'm 5'8" (ish) and these (in average) hit me just at my ankle, so they didn't bunch up at all in my boots. In terms of sizing, I'm generally a size 14 in LB jeans, sometimes bigger depending on the style. I had no problems with that size in these, and there's still plenty of give for those icky days. Now I just need to figure out what else to wear with them...

Slanted plaid blouse - Odille (Anthropologie) - Cream cami - LOFT /  Jeggings - Lane Bryant / Boots - Ciao Bella (via DSW) / Grape "Boogie Bucket" - Tano