Day 4 of 30 Whales & Skulls

I have had this Libertine for Target skirt forever! I love it but it is a cream background so it can be hard to mix. I used the navy cardigan to bridge it with a white & navy striped shirt.

Navy cardigan: Jcrew sale XS

Striped navy shirt: AE 0

Skirt: Libertine for Target 1

Tights: Target M/L

Boots: Steve Madden

Belt: ?

Trying to do the tied-belt thing. I think I might just buy really big belts and tie them up like I have seen you all do. This one needs to have its buckle removed. I was tucking it in all day!

I wish I had more of the stuff from this collection!  I don't know if you can see it but the skirt has a big kick-pleat in the front which I love!

I tried this with brown boots but they just weren't working. I kept staring at the boots in the mirror. I stuck to black.  Regular-length boots make you feel so exposed after wearing OTKs a few days a week!

This outfit kept me in a good mood today. I love skirts with big pockets. They just add humor. I hope you are all having a great week! Thank you for the follows! :)

Day 3 of 30 Popsicle girl

This is a boring outfit, sorry. It was so cold when I left to work this morning I thought my face would fall off. But as of this afternoon we are now back into the double digits!!!  So many layers of tights...I will wear a much more celebratory outfit tomorrow, promise.

Turtle: JCrew $159 XS

Skirt: Ann Taylor Loft 0P '04

Tights: WalMart $5

Boots: Steve Madden $49.50

I didn't even plan on having a black turtleneck sweater in my lineup. It was in my alternates, because I thought it was kind of lame. I still think it's lame, but today it was necessary!

Hmm I haven't worn this skirt since last winter. It is a little big for a petite. Usually petite skirts are too short on me, but this one sits around my hips. I probably should have it taken in a little to fit better, but that might tweak the length. I know ATLoft makes 00Ps now but I haven't tried them yet.

Standing in a certain way makes it look like I have a butt.

Too bad I can't stand like this all day. Alterations pile.

You only get side pics today because all my front-facing ones were crazy amounts of blurry. However, I am looking at cameras every day. $$$

The walk from my commuter lot parking space is a little over half a mile from my building. So in reality, the walking part of my commute consisted of

my beloved PugsGear mittens, bought at a Tesoro gas station (Thor & 2nd) in Spokane for $10 in '06.

Bonfire snowboarding jacket '06

The sunglasses in this pic are creeping me out, but they are part of the package to keep the wind from my stinging eyes!

Union Bay wind-proof, slippery semi-snowboarding pants (flannel lined!) '00

Hey at least these my pants were OVER these in this outfit :)

Hunter boots 7.5

I tromped from my car through Siberia in this getup and then changed into my boots and skirt when I got to work. I have a long black coat I could have worn, but I didn't want any 30mph gusts of wind flapping up my front or around my knees. I hate being cold! I also don't trust myself in heels on ice and prefer not to ruin my shoes with salt and road chemicals.

I guess I have reached that age where you don't care how ridiculous you look in negative temperatures...that is, as long as no one can recognize me.

Day 2 of 30 Things with tags on them

I have had this skirt (Target) and this Zac Posen for Target scarf for a thousand years (ok maybe 1) and have never worn either.I put this skirt in my remix because I need to either use it or lose it.

Scarves can be tricky, slippery little beasts. I clipped this on with an office supply binder clip--couldn't find safety pins--and it has stayed pretty well. My cardigan and the scarf's print hides the clip.

How it started

Sleeveless shirt: Ann Taylor ('03) $19

Cardigan: JCrew ('09) $29

Skirt: Target ('08) $18

Scarf: Zac Posen for Target ('09) $12 clearance

Tights: Target $3.50

Boots: Steve Madden $49.50

 By the time I left the house...

Oh well I know how these things work. You kind of have to let scarves do their own thing (within reason). I actually liked this better. I left it like this and it has stayed pretty well throughout the day, with minor adjustments.

It does have a great safety-pin print, although I kind of wish there were more going on around the edges, which tends to be what you see most of in scarves. The edges are still pretty white.

I am proud of myself for wearing two things I have had in my closet for eons yet never worn!

This is the back/side, but the cardigan covers a lot of it. I just folded the scarf four times across --it's a big scarf: probably 5'x5'-- and made a "log" and pinned it at my waist. The edges came out naturally.

I am working my way in to remixing with skirts and shirts of color....I will at least once this week!

Time to keep photographing my pieces for 30 for 30 so I can make my menu! I am loving everyone's outfits!

Thank you for the follows!!

Clothes that act my age

I have a tough time dressing for school. I loovve dresses, but I am small and it is hard to find ones that fit without:
a) being for a teen
b) looking really cheap looking (because it was made for a teen)
c) being really short on me (I'm 5'5")
c) having an unnaturally high waist

Plus, I already do have a naturally high waist, so that is hard enough to work with already. I have begun to embrace it lately. I will never forget being in 8th grade, at the height of Guess? jeans popularity, and some rude girl in my chemistry class saying something about my brand new jeans looking high-waisted. Sigh. I was so happy when Mariah Carey invented the low rise (albeit six years later).

One of my "teen" dresses, attempting to pass for 30+ (it's using its friend's fake)

Does it work with the boots and tights? That was one of the main reasons I wanted OTK boots this season--to provide more leg coverage with dresses (plus it's freezing and windy here). [It is so hard to know where to look/smile when taking one of these self-portraits in a mirror].

Yea I feel better about this dress! I always have to wear another cami under it AND a slip because F21 dresses have that notoriously bad lining that goes wherever it wants.I was thinking about using navy or blue tights with this outfit instead of black since the flowers are blue and gold. Might give it some more zip.

What I'm wearing:
Dress: F21 ($18)
Belt: a ribbon from another F21 dress
Cami: Rodarte for Target ($7 on sale)
Half slip: Macy's
Tights: Wal-Mart ($5)
Boots: Steve Madden

The older I get, the weirder I feel shopping in Juniors-like sections. Talbots makes some really great skirts, but they don't fit me. JCrew still needs tailoring. My favorite jeans this year came from Hollister, of all places. Really expensive lines fit better (of course they do!) and I have had the best luck with wrap dresses a la DvF. In the past, I have also had extremely good luck with the Target guest designer lines, particularly Richard Choi (all time fave pieces), Anna Sui, and Jason Saunders--but not so much with their more recent lines. I was psyched about Marc Jacobs, but a lot of the stuff looked really young.

Anyway, what I wanted this post to be about is wearing dresses, etc. and making them not look too "young." I don't want to look old and dumpy, for sure, but I also don't want to look like I am trying too hard or that I want to be the age of the students I am teaching (18-22). No thanks! I want to look my age, only good. I am attempting to balance shorter lengths with tights, high boots, and other layers.Without tights, this dress looks bare.

Too much skin! Not exactly skanky, but it just totally doesn't work. I am still figuring out the best methods to wear what I have. I will post both things I think works and those that fail--mainly to remind myself not to wear it again.
More experimenting to come.

OTK boots at O-30

I am going to try to pull off over the knee boots at 32. And I am a teacher of college-age students, so that will make it extra hard to:
a) not look like a Skankarella prostitute,
b) not like I am trying way too hard, and
c) not elicit sour looks from real faculty/advisers/chairs

What I do have working for me is that my West Texas town is at least five years ago, so anything post-Ugg is still "fresh."

I hope the ones I ordered aren't ugly in real life. They come Saturday. They are at a shipping facility in Dallas right now. I just checked. In my brain, I have them on as pants, wearing them with dresses. They will never be worn with skinny jeans. No. The ones that are coming have a 14" shaft/opening, which is what I have. Here's hoping. Wish: Please, please do not look cheap, even though I stingily bought you for $49 + gift card.

UPDATE: Oo they came later that night! Here they are:

What I'm wearing:

Dress: F21

Cardigan: Macy's cashmere from Xmas sale '09

Boots: Steve Madden

I thought they'd be a bit longer/taller. I am not sure why they are a bit loose in the back (not tight on your thighs at all) but my calf and thigh measurements are about the same. I wonder if they have to meet/exceed the hemline of your dress to look really great? I am pleased with them. I will need to play around this weekend and figure out how to wear them.

The front-facing pics are bit misleading on snugness. The tops are a bit baggy (14" tops), but when you sit down they are ok. Not sure. Hmm. To alter or not to alter...?


UPDATE 01/21:
A few days later, I am really pleased with this purchase and I think the boots have a lot of potential. They aren't 100% perfect (a little loose at the top) but reading other blogs and seeing other pictures of people wearing similar styles has been inspiring. I almost went with more expensive pairs, and I agonized about buying shoes I "didn't need" for several days. For $50 though, I am really pleased with this purchase.

I like that they are made of a suede-like material instead of leather (or worse: fake leather) which would have increased the hooker potential tenfold. The material doesn't make the boots shout at passerbys; the materials let the boots act as tights/pants in a way, which was my original goal! I am really happy with these! I will be experimenting with different outfits around the house this weekend. I think they need tights in most cases.