Wednesday, September 16, 2009

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?!

2 comments:

  1. Well, in your defense, no one should ever get rid of jewelry!

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  2. Branda, I'm so with you on this. I love vintage jewelry, and I have boxes of clip-on earrings and doorknocker earrings from the late eighties and early nineties. And pins! Can't wait for those to come around again. If they don't, I'll wear them in the nursing home when I'm 106!

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