Wrapped Up

I'm afraid I don't have much to say about this outfit. I wanted to wear more holiday shades of red or green, but I really don't have that much in my closet! So I slid down from red into pink and threw on this easy, comfy self-tied wrap. My favorite and best-fitting tweed skirt was an easy choice, and I decided to go with these now rarely-worn black boots. My those toes are pointy, though...

Wrap - Velvet (via Filene's Basement) / White cami - Banana Republic / Tweed pencil skirt - Lane Bryant /
Boots - Nine West / Handbag - Furla (via Filene's Basement)

Layered chain necklace - Lane Bryant / Ring - TJ Maxx / Earrings - Maurices

Christmas Green

Since I got decked out in Christmas red last week, I couldn't let Christmas green feel left out. This great forest green sweater, complete with lovely button details on the neck and cuffs, has languished in the my closet far too long anyway. For some reason, I only wore it with jeans; I'd never thought to wear it with a pencil skirt! I find this completely shocking... Maybe it's time for me to start a pencil skirt challenge, something like "365 Days of Pencil Skirts." I'd wear nothing but one of my many and pair it with something new every day. No repeats. Hmm...2012 resolution? I mean, I practically wear pencil skirts at least half of the year already...

Sweater - Banana Republic (Fall '09) / Pencil skirt - Simply Be / Grey pumps - Apt. 9 (Kohl's)

But seriously, this is a perfect Christmas green. I have lots of grass or kelly green sweaters and tops in my closet, which I did toy with wearing as well, but the deeper cozy hue of this one hits the spot. Belting it helps keep my proportions in check, and the heathered grey skirt makes an unexpected but happy pairing. The tonal snakeskin skinny belt creates even more wonderful texture, and a deep green ring and filigree earrings bring it all together.

Snakeskin belt - The Limited / Ring - H&M / Earrings - Maurices (?) /
Nail polish - "Designer...de Better!" (O.P.I. Muppets Collection)

Truthfully, I was kind of bored with the outfit before stumbling upon all the accessories. It never fails to surprise me what accessories can do for an outfit.

Handbag - Furla (via Filene's Basement)

Cold Snap

And just like that, it's winter. The trench coat has been replaced by the winter coat, snow flakes have been rumored, and outdoor pictures no longer seem practical.

Mustard cardigan - Cable & Gauge (via TJ Maxx) / Lace top - LOFT / Tweed skirt - Lane Bryant

I won't wax poetic about that because I'm truly not ready. Let me just get past Thanksgiving, okay? Really, let me just get through this week! I'm doing pretty well with my outfit list, though. Surprisingly, this outfit had plunged to the bottom of the list, but I thought I'd nudge it back up a few notches and wear it sooner than later. When I first conceived of it, I hadn't chosen what accessories I'd wear, so it remained a somewhat drab combination of darker colors. Don't get me wrong - I love the mix of patterns between the lace of the top and the tweed of the skirt, but I knew I needed something more.

Ring & Earrings - Banana Republic / Necklace - Le Mode Accessories

Purple. Purple is always the answer. My low-heeled purple-textured pumps are a great complement to the yellow (and are much easier for all the running around I had to do), and this colorful tiered beaded necklace offers just the right punch of color at the neckline. I never thought I'd wear such a bold statement necklace when I already had enough embellishment in the top, but this is just another example of how I'm learning to expand my layering skills!

Heels - Nine West

Handbag - Furla (via Filene's Basement)

Happy Friday, everyone! (And happy day of 11s!) I'm working all weekend, but I'll get through. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

For the Love of Purple

Please forgive me; I had a pretty busy day at work today and got home too late (and with no energy) to take pictures. So I bring you another outfit from the "never-got-around-to-posting" archives! You know, my original draft for this post (dating back from April) suggested that I wasn't terribly in love with this outfit at the time, but fast forward six months later I actually quite like it. Probably because it features purple and is yet another variation on cardigans paired with pencil skirts - a favorite formula of mine, without a doubt. Plus, I really like the colors in the outfit paired with the long-ago springtime foliage behind me.

Cardigan - LOFT / Purple shell - LOFT / Tweed pencil skirt - Lane Bryant / Purple skinny belt - The Limited /
Grey faux suede pumps - Apt. 9 (Kohl's)

Now that it's tweed season again, I may experiment with yet another variation. (Shocking, I know.) I would also change the styling by wearing a wider belt at the waist or wearing the skinny belt over the sweater instead. Hot damn, I just can't wait to wear all my pencil skirts again!

Ring - Banana Republic (eBayed) / Necklace - The Limited / Earrings - The Limited

Flower Power

Just a couple more long days and late nights of performances before spring break! I don't automatically have vacation time like the student population, but it is certainly going to be much quieter, and I'll have lots of opportunities to relax as a result. It's comforting that the days of my evening work attire - and the pressure to impress - are numbered! Even if temporarily...

Peach cardigan - The Limited / Printed top - The Limited / Tweed pencil skirt - Lane Bryant / Handbag - Tano "Minilisa" in Blue Marine / Grey faux-suede pumps - Apt. 9 (Kohl's)

I kept coming back to the idea of pattern mixing with this tweed pencil skirt, which I did so delightfully in this outfit. (Seriously, so much of me just has wanted to re-wear that outfit in its entirety!) Instead, I chose a similarly colored patterned top and an equally vibrant cardigan to get the same silhouette and overall feel. And given that spring isn't quite yet here (almost! almost!), the wintry tweed balances out the springy (even summery) peach cardigan in the same way it did the bright teal one in the original.

With all the peachy tones, including my somewhat bulky bib necklace (a really tricky piece to wear), I added some pops of contrasting color with my turquoise ring and my blue Tano.

Necklace  LOFT / Ring - The Limited / Earrings - The Limited

Bottom line? I'm all too antsy to break out my spring attire!

Variations on a Theme

This outfit is not at all what I had first planned on wearing tonight, but I'm pretty thrilled with it!

Cardigan - LOFT / Spotted ruffle tiered shell - LOFT / Tweed pencil skirt - Lane Bryant /
Nude heels - Nine West (via Endless.com)

When I was picking out my work-wear for the evening, I initially wanted to keep it low-key and easy with a pants-jacket-embellished top ensemble. It was relatively boring, sure, but - thanks to cleaning all afternoon (and the effects of PMS) - I didn't have much energy or desire to put something else together. Once I had it on, though, I knew I could do better - perhaps a variation of my colorful cardigan-pencil ensem! So I thumbed through my (many) cardigans, and I pulled out this bright teal one to get me started.

I liked the idea of pairing this otherwise colorful cardi (heralding spring?) with this dark tweed skirt (last seen here) to give a more wintry, but still cheerful, feel. Where the top was concerned, I didn't want to wear just a simple camisole, so I dug around my closet for an embellished or even printed top to try a little pattern mixing again. My initial preference was stripes, but then I spied this dot-print shell, last seen here. I hesitated at first, thinking it was too much of a pattern mix considering how large the dots were. I scoured my belt collection to find one in grey or cream to help break up the two prints a bit more, but I just didn't have one that could sit at my hips. So, I convinced myself to just run with it. I mean, it's better than whatever else I was going to wear! (Which might be tomorrow's outfit, FYI...)

When Bob saw me, he ooohed a bit, commenting how "Mad-Menny" it made me look. (This is a good thing, of course.) He even approved of the pattern mixing! NOW I was sold. =)

The shoes had a moment of indecision. I went back and forth between these on-trend nude heels and a pair of grey faux-suede pumps. Bob voted for the grey pumps for obvious reasons, but I liked the look of the nude heels, pulling out the cream tones in the top, and really extending the line of my leg (as all nude heels so fabulously do). They're not great for being on my feet all night, but beauty is pain, people!

Handbag - Tano "Twiggy"

In the end, I adore the color palette, and I especially like the visual interest of the tiered ruffles. I might still try to find a belt for future (springtime?) wearings, but this particular pattern mixture is really growing on me!

Earrings - LOFT / Necklace - LOFT - Multi-colored stone ring - Banana  Republic

I leave you with this: When I arrived at work, my house managers were pretty excited that I was wearing ruffles. (My house managers are currently all fashion-conscious women.) Apparently we all were! This outfit was fated...

Black and Blue All Over

Last night was the first time in a long time that I went to a performance and was able to enjoy it. As part of a four-part concert cycle, the School of Music's quartet in-residence performed four of the Shostakovich quartets; the rest (there are 15) will be performed at 3 other concerts throughout the season. Now, I realize this might not mean anything to many of you, and that's totally okay, but I can't tell you the last time I was able to take full advantage of my comp tickets at one of the many exhilarating performances that we hold. If I'm in the building, I always feel like I'm working, or at least should be. But I've finally come to a point that I can let things go a little bit, and knowing that, even though it was going to be an important performance, it wasn't going to be full house or even a terribly busy night, so I knew I could confidently hand over the reigns to my more than competent staff. More importantly, however, this concert made me start thinking about music again, about the importance of making and talking about music, about the fact that maybe I do want to write my dissertation. It won't be on this composer, of course, but I feel like I have things to say, and that they will be worth saying. I still love this new career path I'm on, and I do want to continue to explore it, but I think I do want to write the damn thing after all - for me.

As for my outfit, I wish I could say I wore it all day, but I didn't. I more or less slummed it in the earlier part of the day, knowing I would find something better to wear to the evening's concert. I won't lie - this outfit was something of an accident (or a stroke of genius), but I'm thrilled with how it all came together. I can't tell you how much I love the tweed pencil skirt juxtaposed with the edginess of the tee and jacket. My BF said it was a little too incongruous, but that's exactly I why I think it's so fabulous! What an unexpectedly delightful way to wear tweed!

Black cropped jacket - Maurice's / Blue screen tee - Lane Bryant / Tweed Pencil skirt - Lane Bryant / Boots - Nine West (via Zappos) / FURLA!!! / White belt - LOFT?

The tee has actually hung in my closet since the summer. I didn't want to return it, but I was having serious trouble finding the right outfit for it. I wanted to be able to wear it with something other than jeans, and it is now long past white pant season. Even so, all those options just seemed too boring. I wanted to try to mix patterns, but I didn't know how or with what. So, it wasn't until I brushed past this top while digging through my closet, and then eyed the skirt hanging there too (one I hadn't worn yet, either) that the lightning bolt struck. Right away I knew my black boots would be involved, that I'd wear one of the zillion black jackets I owned - preferably one with lots of details - and that I'd throw on a belt to break up the pattern and define my waist under the jacket. Done and done.

Gunmetal earrings - The Limited / Hammered metal disc ring - The Limited / Sterling silver loop necklace - Kohl's

I think Shostakovich would have been totally all over this look. An edgy look for a bunch of edgy quartets.