Aida ~

A week of outfits from earlier this month, the week before the OC meetup. The temperatures had cooled down enough to prevent my beloved shorts+boots combos, but not enough to warrant a coat; I was happily able to sneak in one more BF jean look before it's too cold for them, too.

Although I don't really wear proper pink much, I do really like to wear blush. I managed a bit of blush pink in every outfit for this week except one in honor of BCAM, whether that was via my blush moto or my blush purse (and also wore the blush moto all the following weekend down in OC). On to the outfits!

1. Saturday; worn for a quick run to the grocery for weekend rations. Easy and quick outfit, hooray for the power of a good topper and having fab pieces in one's wardrobe!
2. Monday; worn to the salon for a hair refresher, and to do some returns so I'd have money to play with in OC at the end of the week ;) Inspired by this outfit on Pinterest in response to MaryK's challenge, though I must've been in a darker mood heh. Felt super in this!
3. Bonus photos of updated 'do. I had her cut in even messier layers than the initial cut because I far more enjoy styling it messily than neatly. You can see them better in photo #5, it's all quite scraggly in front now :}
4. Tuesday; worn to work. After the very dark outfit on Monday, I wanted something bright and cheerful. I know many people don't like to pair orange with black, but I love the color combo; I usually make sure to add in a big dose of white/cream, and sometimes an additional color (especially cobalt!). I've been really feeling this neither-here-nor-there cropped sweater length lately, maybe a nod to the 90s resurgence?
5. Wednesday; worn to work. Wearing this sweater dress my favorite way, with flared jeans. Was feeling minimal and decided to forgo a belt or necklace or scarf, and just do dangly earrings which get lost in my hair anyway. Also, some new retro-styled sunnies I picked up at LOFT which I'd been eyeing for a while (I got the tortoiseshell!); they're also in outfit #4.
6. Thursday; worn to work. Felt like playing with textures, so I pulled out my seldom worn lace layering top and added in faux fur, chunky knit, denim, leather, and snakeskin (whew!). Too much? I also quite liked the look of matching the purse and moto together. This outfit feels slightly different for me, but I very much enjoyed wearing it.

Comments, critiques, thoughts and questions welcome!

I had a blast shopping with everyone down in OC, and as I told several of the ladies I actually enjoyed helping them finding pieces they needed much more than shopping for myself. Still, I came away with a great haul and was pleased that everything I purchased was on my list for fall. None of this is up for return, so hopefully you all like these items as much as I do :D

1. TOPS. Cobalt blouse (Zara), floral sheer blouse (Topshop/Nordstrom), black/cobalt striped sweater (Marshalls), tan/cream/navy striped sweater (JCrew).
2. JACKETS. Black military (gift from Una), bright coral blazer (H&M). There was also an amazing black leather jacket at Zara that I can't get out of my head, but perhaps it was a wee bit small (I totally forgot to snap photos). I'm keeping my eye on it, and if it goes on sale I will probably snag it.
3. BOOTS. Olive flat foldover lace up boots by Steve Madden (Nordstrom Rack).
4. ACCESSORIES pt1. Costume jewelry (Forever 21), two-tone snake belt (Marshalls), vintage dark brown leather belt (swap meet), black and white silky scarf (H&M, the photo isn't blurry, it's just a crazy print!).
5. ACCESSORIES pt2. Taupe leather clutch with metallic pressed print (Lola 76, bought directly from the designer), pewter slouchy bag (Marshalls, planning to stud this cutie), sheer leopard tights (Marshalls).
6. The lovely ring JulieJohn made!

As one of the few NOT on Team Wear, I have surprised myself by wearing a lot of these items this past week. I've already worn the cobalt blouse, black military blazer, boots, both belts, half of the jewelry, and the clutch! Clearly I did well :)

Well I'm sure you've seen me in these by now, but here's what I wore for the OC Shoptoberfest meetup weekend! I tried to sneak in my outfits photos in the mornings before breakfast, all rush rush and hush hush (of course everyone still noticed ^^). Shopping loot thread can be found here.

1. Friday; worn for the flight down (6.5 hours total time) + awesome potluck at the hotel. Debut of red plaid skinnies, they were SUPER comfortable to wear on the plane! Looking forward to wearing them more this fall/winter. I also was wearing the blush moto on the plane when cold, but didn't get a photo of that.
2. Bonus early group shot at the hotel (several ladies joined later), with our "Happy Birthday Greg!" sign. Left to right: JulieJohn, Mochi, Rae, Kari, Alaskagirl, MaryK, Aida.
3. Saturday; worn to the Huntington swap meet, shopping/lunch (OC Mart Mix and Metro Pointe), and dinner (Karl's brewpub). Since this day was half outside and half inside, I opted for more skin since I much prefer to be cold than hot when the weather is warm. It doesn't show very well but this blouse is navy and the shorts/shoes are black. Since the outfit was so dark I couldn't resist adding my neon necklace :)
4. Bonus group shot at lunch. Left to right: Mochi (front), Alaskagirl (back), Marley, MaryK, Kari, Sylvie, Aida, Isabel (MA), Rae, Vicki, JulieJohn.
5. Sunday; worn for a FULL day of shopping at the giant South Coast mall, and later to dinner (PF Changs). This day was fully indoors, so I wanted something a little warmer. I was worried my hubby's jeans would be difficult to wear for shopping (due to needing to adjust the roll), but they ended up being just fine. I'm not usually on Team Wear, but liked this belt I'd bought at the swap the previous day much better than the tan one I'd brought with me. Una's photo of me and Rae shows this outfit quite well, too!
6. Monday; worn for a half-day of drinks and food with Isabel + flight home (6.5 hours total time). Can't see it too well in the photo, but my blouse here is a sheer blush and almost exactly the same shade as the leather jacket. My husband liked this outfit best of the group, so I wanted to wear it when he'd be picking me up from the airport.

Comments, critiques, thoughts and questions welcome!

I finally got my hard drive recovered and so here are the outfits I wrote about last week! Do they look like you'd pictured? :)

1. Monday: worn to work. Had to take advantage of the last day I could wear shorts, so decided to go with pumps instead of my usual boots for fall. Road testing the daytime clutch thing with one of my small totes. I really enjoyed it!
2. Tuesday: worn to work. New scarf with burgundy, leopard, and plaid (!!). Wanted to try another fall outfit with my slouchy white skinnies; I think I am just going to continue wearing them all season because I can picture soooo many good winter looks with them!
3. Wednesday: worn to work. I was touched by Angie's sentiment in waiting to wear her blush moto until October in honor of BCAM and decided that I would debut mine as well. I will also try to wear this a couple times a week this month (which is a lot of repetition for me). Paired with navy and black, and a great silk scarf with a fireworks-like print I got at the YLF swap back in the spring.
4. Thursday: worn to the salon, work, then out for dinner with friends. I enjoyed pairing cranberry with orange and cognac early last spring and made a note to wear it again this fall. I know the proportions here won't be everyone's cuppa tea but I like them, weird as they are.
5. Friday: worn to work then date night with hubby. A fall variation of an outfit I wore in warmer weather (don't think I posted it, picture all the black bits swapped with white for that other one). Serious Arm Party and pattern mix and color mix action going on :)
6. Bonus: amusing visual evidence of leg lengthening/shortening in action. Same heel heights in both, and both pants sit at about the same place on my hips. Good stuff!

Comments, critiques, thoughts and questions welcome!

... Is it possible? Is it all in the cuts of the clothing, the accessories, the attitude of the wearer? Or is black an essential element to the vibe? Would love to hear thoughts on this!

... my computer died!! I'll spare you the geeky details, but I spent two days reviving it and got it working yesterday, only to have it die worse today (hardware failures). *sigh* It's both my work and personal machine, and I'd already been planning to upgrade this Xmas when the cool touch hybrid laptops come out but this timing is the WORST. I'm going to try and borrow another laptop because I have tons of work imminently due, and in the meantime will use my phone to check in on the forum -_-

So, I guess I'll be painting you a word picture of my week since you've seen very nearly everything before. Time to get those imaginations going!

Monday - brown striped v-neck oversized sweater semi-tucked into rust-orange paper bag shorts, bright cobalt suede low cone heels, rose gold oversized watch, long gold dangly earrings. For outside I added my camel and cream polka dot tasseled scarf, oversized aviators, and slouchy navy mini hobo.

Tuesday - taupe fitted long sleeve tee with new oversized silk square scarf muffler style (burgundy plaid and b/w leo print), white slouchy skinnies tucked into tall taupe heeled boots, rose gold oversized watch. For outside I added my cropped faded denim jacket, oversized aviators, and pewter slouchy safari purse.

Wednesday - navy fitted turtleneck tee tucked into vintage wash baggy flared jeans, black western belt with silver studs, charcoal shoeties, black oversized silk square scarf muffler style (firework print), blush moto (same as Angie's), rose gold oversized watch, brass and black doorknocker earrings. Holding my navy mini hobo as faux clutch.

Thursday - cranberry turtleneck sweater tucked into hubby's faded Levis (my BF jeans) with chunky messy rolled hems, vintage cognac belt, leopard pumps, rose gold oversized watch, long gold dangly earrings. For outside I added my gray shrunken cropped blazer, oversized aviators, and pewter slouchy safari purse.

Friday - violet/white ikat cardigan done up over long black tank, emerald skinny jeans, black patent loafers, silver hoops, black watch with a black/silver multi strand chain necklace wrapped like a bracelet on one arm, 2 chains and 3 pearl bracelets on the other arm. For outside I added my black and white polka dot fringed scarf, oversized aviators, and pewter slouchy safari purse.

Can you picture these? :)
EDIT: If I wasn't on my phone I'd link all these items for you, my appologies!