Gone Fishin'

I recently completed a very large writing project, so lately I've been filling my now utterly empty brain with very interesting questions. One such question was posed by Caroline a few months ago: "What colors would pair well with orange?" Although I don't have a ton of orange, I like wearing it, but I have a long list of colors I won't wear orange with. I won't wear it with black, because I think it looks to halloweeny. I won't wear it with brown, because I think it looks to drab. I won't wear it with blue, because I think it looks like I'm on a collegiate sports team. 

I think green works great, though. Maybe not hunter green, because I think it looks a little huntery... but lime green has managed to escape my taboo list. And the assistant at our local pharmacy agreed, complimenting me on my bold color combo not once but twice -- once when I dropped a prescription off in the morning, and again when I picked it up in the afternoon. So green it is!

I wore this to run errands, think deep thoughts, and NOT write for the first time in months. It was awesome! I'll miss the cold, empty library soon, but I'm enjoying a few days off.

shirt: J.Crew outlet | shorts: Banana Republic outlet | belt: American Eagle [ancient... we're talking high school] | bag: J.Crew outlet | shoes: Franco Sarto via DSW | sunglasses: LOFT | earrings: Target 

Simple

I have always avoided maxi dresses because of my height. I was worried they'd overwhelm me, making me look even shorter, and besides they were always too long. But they just look so comfortable and easy that I decided to try one. I figured that an unadorned solid black dress would be simple enough that it wouldn't make me look even shorter. This dress is a petite -- ordered online from Old Navy -- so it's not too long. Since it's so simple, I can style it many different ways, and since its so easy and comfortable I probably will! 

I wore this for a marathon formatting session on Microsoft Word. Blerg. At least I was comfortable.

dress: Old Navy [exact] | cardigan: Target | necklace: Fossil [thrifted] | sunglasses: LOFT | purse: Francesca | sandals: Franco Sarto via DSW

A Striped Shirt to Solve All Your Problems

Exhausted from a weekend car trip, I decided wear a striped tee. Audrey from Putting Me Together has insisted on multiple occasions that a striped t-shirt can solve all your problems (or at least make it look like you tried even when you didn't) and bloggers everywhere seem to concur. This outfit was comfortable and not horrible, but looking at the pictures I think that this shirt makes me look a little top-heavy. I'm going to try it a few more times, perhaps with a necklace to break up the one-two punch of horizontal stripes and a boatneck, perhaps when I haven't spent the entire weekend eating french fries and sitting in a car. So not quite the panacea I was hoping for, but fine for a Monday.

I wore this to write, in a library and then in a cafe.

shirt: Ann Taylor factory | skirt: LOFT | shoes: Target

Thrifting!

The point of this whole blogging enterprise is to help me build a wardrobe that makes sense, so that I can get dressed, even look professional and put together, without tearing my hair out every morning. A big part of that is getting rid of stuff that is hindering rather than helping. Stuff that doesn't fit right, stuff that I can't quite make work, stuff that doesn't make me feel like me. So I recently sold some clothes at the local consignment shop and donated what they wouldn't take. I got rid of shirts, sweaters, and dresses that are in colors I don't wear very often -- blues & purples -- as well as some duplicates -- I probably don't need three navy wrap dresses. 

In order to reward myself for this heroic closet cleaning exercise, I got some new clothes! They were from the shop where I consigned my stuff, so the net cost was about eleven bucks. And I'm thrilled with what I got in exchange, especially these tomato red pants that are a cotton replica of my tomato red wool pants. I love the wool version for winter, and I can always find some way to wear them, so I have no doubts that the cotton version will get lots of play this spring and summer.

I wore this out to lunch with my husband and his mom and then parking myself on the couch to work on revisions.

jean jacket: Target [same] | tee: Banana Republic | belt: Gap | pants: JC Penny [thrifted] | scarf: who knows! [thrifted] | bag: Gap | shoes: Clarks

On Taking Care of Our Things

As my mother puts it, I'm hard on my clothes. I'm constantly scuffing my shoes, staining my shirts, and stepping on my hems. I'd like to get better at not ruining my clothes, but in the meanwhile I'm working on fixing things that I damage. This bag is a case in point. The last time I used this bag, I was on a research trip to London... that was over two years ago, before I'd written the first word of my dissertation. One of the handles broke, I was stuck using my cruddy backpack for the rest of the trip, and it has spent the past two years in my closet. After a few months in the trunk of my car, I finally brought it to the local cobbler. Two days and eight bucks later, it's back in business! I'm using it now to tote around my now totally complete dissertation draft. Why did it take the same amount of time to pay someone a small sum of money to perform a basic repair as it did to research and write a 250+ page dissertation? I have no idea, but I feel like now I'm ready to conquer the world!

I wore this for a day of working in the library and running errands on an unseasonably cool May day.

bag: J.Crew [old] | shirt: Banana Republic [exact] | jeans: Gap | belt: American Eagle | flats: gift | necklace: Anthropologie 

School's Out for Summer

I wore this for the last day of classes, and it was a fan favorite (at least according to my students, and that was before I told them we could have class outside and gave them ice cream sandwiches). I'm never sure what to do when my students compliment my clothes. On one hand, I choose my teaching looks with an eye toward looking both professional and hip (or, hip for a 30-something nerd) so that my students will think I'm cool. On the other, I want them to respect me because I'm smart and interesting, not because of my looks. Plus, there's something not quite right about having that much attention on my body. But on this occasion, since I felt this outfit to be plenty professional, and since it was the last day of school, I decided not to worry about it.

shirt: J.Crew outlet [in other colors] | pants: J.Crew outlet | bag: J.Crew outlet | shoes: Guess via T.J. Maxx | jewelry: gifts

Look Familiar?

I started reading fashion blogs one marvelously lazy weekend a few months ago, and after wasting spending more time than I'd like to admit stalking following some of my favorites I thought I'd try my hand. Apparently, it is more difficult than it looks. That is why my car, rather than a beautiful blossoming tree, is the backdrop of this picture. It is also why I'm wearing a grand total of four and a half different pieces of clothing in the three posts I've managed so far. But let's just say it's because I'm crafting a distinctive personal style.

I wore this for a morning of writing and an afternoon of purging my closet. I'm feeling pretty pleased with myself.

jean jacket: Target [exact, but mine's normal, not acid wash] | sweater: Loft | pants: J.Crew [exact] | scarf: Loft | shoes: Nine West | purse: Gap [in an awesome print]

90s Hair

First, I got a haircut. Then, I got dressed in my favorite black blazer, which has shoulder pads, with a white tee and jeans. Then I saw myself in the mirror, and realized I was channeling mid-1990s New York. I couldn't be more pleased.

I wore this for a morning of writing and a wonderful lunch with a friend talking about writing.

blazer: J.Crew [exact] | t-shirt: Gap [exact] | jeans: Gap [exact] | flats: Target (old) | necklace: Ten Thousand Villages [exact] | purse: Francesca [similar]

Flight

I wore the outfit on a cross-country flight to a conference. I wanted to look pulled together on the flight but I also wanted to be comfortable. This blazer, striped shirt, and red scarf did the trick. This new Fossil bag carried all my gear.

blazer: J.Crew [exact] | sweater: Loft | scarf: Loft | jeans: J.Crew Factory | bag: Fossil [in other colors] | loafers: Clarks