Day One: Forgot the Shoes

For someone who really likes to plan her clothes ahead of time, I didn't do such a great job on Tuesday. It wasn't a big day as activities go--a meeting with Bengal's teacher, and a trip to Wal-Mart, of course. Writing all morning. A good day for something casual and comfy, but that says I can dress myself like a grownup and take my child's education seriously. (Meetings with new teachers are always hard.)

I had great hopes of working out this morning, but after I put on my brand new Danskin shorts, workout top, hoodie and brand new socks, I realized I'd forgotten to buy tennis shoes. Nice. Living room salsa dancing or Wii Active isn't easy in bare feet. This is what I had to wear:


Not very useful. But at least I was dressed!

When it came to getting cleaned up for the afternoon, I had a pretty good idea about what to wear. Normally I'd go for a casual cotton dress or a pair of DKNY bermudas and a Lucky Brand tee. (I don't drop names to drop them--it's just explanatory to give you an idea.) But it's not the dress, skirt or shorts that are significant. It's the accessories. I have a few pieces of jewelry that I really love to wear--pieces that pull many different kinds of outfits together.

I think jewelry is going to be a BIG challenge for this project. As of yesterday, I'd only bought a couple pairs of silver earrings and a serviceable Timex. (But I LOVE the indiglo thing--wish it were on every watch.)

Here's the outfit:



Please forgive the over-the-door photography. I'm still working it out.

What I like about this outfit is the colors. They're very like other things in my closet that I bought in the spring. They're vibrant. Relevant (well, as relevant as clothes can be). I'm not much into tucking shirts in. That's been out of fashion for a long while, now. I think it's because so many of us need to lose ten or more pounds and that tummy fat is a nightmare! But this definitely looked right tucked in, the skirt (skort) worn at the hips, the belt tied. Wore it with the above flip-flops and the faux-leather brown tote you'll see a LOT of. (I bought one brown bag, one black.)

Price: (Both pieces on clearance) Faded Glory Brand Shirt--$5, "George" Skort--$3 Total outfit, without watch: $45.

There was another, similarly-colored shirt I bought in the junior department (L.E.I. Brand.) It had a brown embroidered design on the back and brown edging at the armholes, neck and just below the smocking on the shirt's ruffled bottom. I bought another in peach. Unfortunately, it's actually made for twelve-year-old girls! The smocking would hit some skinny thing right at the hips above her skinny tights. Me--not so flattering. That whole tummy thing came right into play. *sigh*

For jewelry, I settled for the watch and silver hoop earrings.

Here's the jewelry I would've preferred to wear:



The necklace is one of my very favorites. I bought it at the only local store where one could get fairly hip, handmade jewelry. It's closed now (of course). The brushed gold hoops are from Talbot's; the other earrings I've had since, hm, 1990, maybe?

Have I mentioned I hold onto things a looooooong time?!