Aida ~

Rain has returned -- I'm making my usual extra effort to wear contrasting, colorful, bright and/or cheerful outfits while the weather is gloomy. Been quite wet and windy, but not the usual constant rainfall we get this time of year (at least not during the day); and it's been a bit warm so my cream trench was more than enough for outerwear the past few days.

#2/3 10.28 - Wednesday I went with a graphic black and white because I felt like wearing these equestrian-seamed, extra cozy and thick leggings. Paired with a dropped-waist cotton dress, black patent pumps (would've preferred black pointy flats if I had them), pink rock studs, and a white cuff. A little extra bling (holo clutch) and color (turquoise scarf) for outerwear, and finished with peachy-nude lip gloss.
  Newer: dress, earrings, sunnies
  Older: leggings, pumps, cuff, trench, scarf, clutch

#4/5 10.29 - Yesterday I was in the mood for a little navy+olive+cream. I have a new fringed navy sweater which I keep threatening to wear with these mossy pants, but for an extra gloomy and dark day I wanted a little more cheer so instead chose a floral navy sweater. Paired with my favorite cream booties (one of my oldest wardrobe pieces, pre-YLF even, a la Angie's post today), and tucked the top for a crisper feel. Cherry pink lip gloss and double-mascara to add extra life to my face (I find navy tough to wear), black and white chevron earrings for some pattern mix (and to pick up on the booties/coat), and a little twist on the color palette for outerwear subbing in teal for navy. As always my camera seems to be sucking out the warmth of these pants; the richer mossy green in the Finds stock photo is accurate.
  Newer: pants
  Older: sweater, booties, earrings, trench, scarf, clutch

#6/7 10.30 - Today I'm wearing a lovely sheer watercolor floral blouse from Sharan/Firecracker, one of her creations (she also graciously gifted me a pair of silvery coated charcoal jeans). Paired with slouchy white jeans, slouchy tall boots, and giant gold hoops for a soft 70s vibe. I'm very ready to pass on these slouchy white jeans in favor of a more fitted pair but will likely wait for spring to replace them. Chose orangey accessories (sunnies, clutch) for outerwear to keep with the 70s feel, and finished with plum lip gloss for a little extra autumn dark.
  Newer: blouse
  Older: jeans, boots, earrings, trench, clutch, sunnies

Comments, critiques, thoughts and questions welcome!

Some recent black and gray work outfits! (Meantime, gloomy weather has returned so I'm back to more contrasting/colorful/bright/cheerful looks ^^)

#2 10.21 [work] - My favorite high-waisted pants, experimenting with how the lyocell fabric feels in cooler weather (result: just fine! surprisingly warm, actually). Worn with fully tucked sweater for maximum high-waistedness; skinny glitter belt and charcoal wool pumps for added texture; b/w hoops and white clutch to add a little extra lightness; cherry pink lipgloss to keep from being too washed out. Loved this, going to keep it in my pocket as a future holiday party option.
  Newer: pants, sunnies
  Older: sweater, belt, pumps, earrings, clutch

#3 10.20 [hair dresser, work] - Hadn't been planning for the hairdresser and booked the appointment last minute while half dressed. I had soooo little time to get ready and decided to just take the easy route and popped this new sweatshirt dress over the pants and shoes I had already put on. Very voluminous and super comfy. White clutch to pick up on the footwear, my biggest sunnies because I felt too hectic and big sunnies cure all, and a swipe of plum lipgloss.
  Newer: dress, flats
  Older: pants, earrings, clutch, sunnies

#4 10.24 [Sharan's for wardrobe editing!] - Really enjoyed wearing the sweatshirt dress outfit, so went with a weekend-style variation on it (swapped pants for leggings, and flats for booties). Bonus that this dress made me think of Sharan when I spotted it! I had a great time :D
  Newer: dress, sunnies
  Older: leggings, booties, earrings, clutch

#5 10.27 [work, sis's birthday dinner w/family] - A casual outfit for a casual birthday dinner for my sister following work (variation of an outfit worn earlier this month). Chose these satin checked flats because we both have a pair and yesterday was the last dry day for a while. It's not too visible in these photos, but when styled this way the ends of my hair are suuuuper wispy which has a very soft and pretty effect that I really liked against the dark outfit. Finished with a peachy nude lipstick and holo clutch because, well, holo. My sis was super cute as always, wearing a dark denim shirt with black skinny jeans and light purple sneaks.
  Newer: jacket, jeans, earrings, sunnies
  Older: flats, clutch

Comments, critiques, thoughts and questions welcome!

I've been sporting variations of denim-on-denim a good long while now, usually opting for a "lite" version where there's color contrast in some way between the denim items. Less "lite" feels fresh so when I recently bought this Tencel-blend denim swing blouse, I knew that I would most enjoy pairing it with more blue denim. Happily it works with ALL of my blue denim, and I quite like the more retro pairings with my ultra faded cropped straights and faded blue flares; have yet to try with kick crops (still need to get those hemmed) but I'm sure that'll be fun too.

For today, though, I went with a contrasting style in a very similar wash and paired with shredded BF jeans and "shifted up" proportions -- BIG roll, peek of skin, low contrast gray booties (still looking for higher-shaft ankle boots). Silver holo clutch to keep with the low contrast and add some sparkle, rusty orange lipstick for a shot of autumnal color, and dainty silver jewelry for a touch of extra refinement. Very fond of the echoing vertical lines from the back view, with the blouse buttons and boot zippers ^^

  Newer: blouse, rings, earrings
  Older: jeans, boots, rings, clutch, sunnies
  Nails: Essie 'Sew Psyched', a grayed olive

Comments, critiques, thoughts and questions welcome!

After work tonight my husband and I are headed to the annual Can Can Cabaret Halloween production at the Triple Door in Seattle. There is a huge range of dressiness, from casual to dressy to costumed. Hubby is planning to dress a step below smart-casual (fitted button-down tucked into belted dark blue jeans with nice boots), so I'm going smart-casual (new soft blouse tucked into waxed black jeans with pumps (#1); I feel like I have to dress a step up from him to have the same effective dressiness because whenever I match his dressiness level I always feel under dressed). For work I'm debombshelling a bit by untucking the blouse and swapping the plum evening lip gloss for a peachy-nude (#2).

I've discovered through my time here at YLF that I have a totally different style persona for event dressing: still urban but more bombshell, dialing up the glam even more, and more conventionally flattering and pretty (this is what my husband likes). Since I don't actually have much actual need for "event dress", I keep a small list of items from my wardrobe that fit those desires (as well as holes that need filling) and pull together outfits from there. For a while I struggled with not feeling "special" in event outfits that were composed of my "normal" clothes. But then I realized that in normal work or weekend wear, these pieces often won't get paired together or styled in the event way and THAT'S what should make these event outfits feel special. I'm not 100% there yet but certainly getting closer. This outfit, when tucked, totally hits the mark for me!

Anyone else do something similar for event wear? How do you deal with the idea of feeling special in these outfits that aren't composed of dedicated "event" pieces?

  Newer: blouse, jeans (gift from Una), earrings
  Older: pumps, clutch, sunnies
  Nails: Essie 'Sew Psyched', a grayed olive

Comments, critiques, thoughts and questions welcome!

I really enjoyed the visuals in Angie's post on mid-calf boots this morning. In addition to these new cognac boots I have one other black mid-calf boot (also slouchy), in previous seasons worn with skinnies or with shorter skirts. Today I went a totally different direction, both from the post and how I'd previously worn mid-calf boots, and tried pairing with slouchy pants. I think it turned out fun, and am pleased to have an option which tones down the "flower pot" effect of these boots for whenever the mood hits.

Didn't want a fully slouchy look, though it did rather end up that way, so I chose my sleeveless turtleneck (which I've now worn every week since purchasing!) and popped a tonal jacket overtop. Pink lipstick and earrings for a little girlish touch, and black clutch because I liked having that little extra black element both with (cami) and without (clutch) the topper. I do prefer the look sans topper because it's got more structure that way. Luckily it's one of those in-between temperature sort of days so I've really only needed the jacket while out walking and in the evening.

  Newer: sweater, pants, boots, earrings, sunnies
  Older: clutch, jacket

Comments, critiques, thoughts and questions welcome!

I was very taken with the olive+orange+white ensemble that Angie posted in late August, especially since orange and white are my favorite colors to wear. Having been off olive for several years now it was not something I could sport. Until now! This fall I have, cautiously, added two olive pieces: these tencel joggers and a semi-sheer woven tunic. Both are on the very green end of the spectrum (my photos incorrectly show the olive as quite dull, the stock photo is better) and neither are at all military inspired. So I am hopeful that's enough to keep them from being orphaned.

Today I am taking advantage of the soon-to-be-gone 70F weather and wearing a new sleeveless sweater the way I like it best: sleeveless! It doesn't really show in the photos, but it's actually cream in the body with white faux leather panels on the sides which give it a swingy shape. Pink lipstick for a little added girlishness, gray fringe bag and rose aviators directly inspired by the ensemble post, and gold leaf/arrow earrings to add to the boho-sporty vibe.

  Newer: sweater, pants, clutch, earrings, sunnies (whew!)
  Older: booties

It did end up feeling a lot cooler than 70F was feeling even just a few weeks ago, so while I liked the cheekier styling with the joggers pulled up (#1) I ended up actually wearing them left down at full length (#2).

Comments, critiques, thoughts and questions welcome!

We have some lingering nice weather, with a few rainy days mixed in, so I figured I'd better squeeze a few wears out of my favorite summery and transitional pieces while I can! I don't really change my colors up seasonally, but have definitely been in a particularly orange mood the past couple weeks.

10.05 (#2/3) - The tee and pants were a favorite combo in late summer. When it was hot I was pairing with gray ankle strap pumps and hair up for a sporty feel; fallified the outfit by swapping out the pumps for cognac boots and popping a rusty orange jacket overtop for the cooler morning/evening. Finished with sparkly blush earrings, plum lip gloss, and leo clutch.
  Newer: tee, pants, boots, sunnies
  Older: jacket, clutch

10.06 (#4/5) - Last week I wore this new sweater with white and light gray, today I went opposite and paired with black. I still need to spend some time experimenting to find which jackets and tops work with this sweater, but for now I will enjoy it on its own which is how I prefer it most. Finished with pearls and plum lip gloss -- then went for maximum orange with the peachy sunnies and tan/neon clutch.
  Newer: sweater
  Older: pants, shoes, clutch, sunnies

Comments, critiques, thoughts and questions welcome!

Haven't seen any of these in person. The first two are petite (I think both also come in regular too). The third is regular but could be hemmed if you're not super petite, and look interesting because they're trousers and not denim.

Ok try not to be too alarmed buuuuut one of my wildcard style goals for this fall/winter is to, very cautiously, play with wearing more black again after years of actively focusing to minimize it (!). This outfit has plenty of texture, shade variation, and lightness in it to keep me feeling happy -- not sure how well it'll work once I have to cover up more skin though, we'll see. I bought the jacket and jeans (both NAS) specifically to pair together (but of course will wear with other stuff too), and particularly as a weekend fallback outfit. I expect to wear it many times, just changing out footwear as the weather deems necessary.

Another goal is to go back to a more tailored look, which will take a few seasons. I don't plan to remove all slouchiness as I still really enjoy it, I just want to streamline and add more structure. In the interim the plan is to bring fitted/tailored pieces to my wardrobe a little at a time, and slowly transition away from wearing All Slouch All The Time (started a wee bit this past spring/summer). I have to say that this outfit feels soooo different to wear after years of slouch! It's taking some getting used to (I feel a little "exposed" even though objectively I know it's not), but it is refreshing to change things up.

  Newer: jacket, jeans, clutch, sunnies
  Older: lacy camisole, shoes, jewelry

Comments, critiques, thoughts and questions welcome!

I've had a sleeveless turtleneck sweater on my fall list for a couple years now, and was happy to see some great options on Angie's recent post on tunic sweater vests. Particularly this orange one from Banana Republic which I snapped up this past weekend during the Seattle meetup. I was instantly smitten with the saturated-yet-still-rusty shade of orange along with the ridiculously dramatic cowl and hem. I'd like to wear it with with my flares but I still need to get them rehemmed, and I will also layer when it cools. For today I paired with white (skinnies, earrings) and gray (boots, bag, camisole, sunnies); and a swipe of pinky lip gloss. Light, bright, and orange = super happy me!

  Newer: sweater, clutch
  Older: lacy camisole, jeans, boots, sunnies, jewelry

Comments, critiques, thoughts and questions welcome.

UPDATE: My husband scored some last minute tickets to the circus! Had only a few minutes after work so I grabbed my rusty jacket and was tickled at how close of a match it was to the new sweater. Will definitely pair again. It was a fun time ^^ Also, this illustrates nicely why I like taking my photos outdoors ;)