Showing posts with label lane bryant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lane bryant. Show all posts

Monday, May 17, 2010

Dress Your Best: Neck...

Day 4 outfit for the Dress Your Best Challenge:

5-13-10-collage

Top: Burlington Coat Factory
Jacket: Nordstrom Rack
Pants: Lane Bryant
Shoes: Etienne Aigner via Rack Room Shoes
Earrings: Claire's
Bangle: Claire's?
Necklace: bought from a friend
Cami (unseen): Old Navy

Closeup:
5-13-10-full

For many people, wearing a turtleneck or other top with a high neckline means that none of their actual neck is shown. Oftentimes, it creates the illusion that the person's chin rests directly on their clavicle.
I love that I am able to wear high-necked tops and still have some of my actual neck able to be seen. There is something a bout a long neck that makes me feel a little more graceful. Dare I say swanlike.

Ironically, the day I decided to celebrate my neck was the day it decided to fail me. I have suffered on and off for a few years from muscle spasms in my back that make it extremely painful to turn or tilt my head to the left. Thankfully at this point I know fairly well how to treat it myself, but of course, on the day I decided to dress for my neck, it decided to pay me back by being stiff and painful.

No worries, neck.
I still love you, and I will nurse you back to health.

Friday, April 23, 2010

Chapter One Says to Love Her, Love Her With All Your Heart...

On the Metro on the ride home yesterday, I ended up having front-row seats to an impromptu doo-wop concert. Normally I just like to read my book on the ride home, and any noise above a whisper would receive a slightly snarky glance from me, but these gentlemen were actually quite good, and it was just the thing I needed to lift my rainy-day-blah mood.

4-21-10-collage

Purple Top: Charlotte Russe
Black Tee: Sears
Charcoal Gray Pants: Lane Bryant
Shoes: Aldo, thrifted
Ring: Laila Rowe
Necklace: made by a friend

Closeup:
4-21-10-full

(It's kinda hard to tell in these pictures, but the top is really a beautifully rich purple, and while it was a darker outfit, it didn't quite look to depressing in person!)

Because it was so ick outside yesterday, outdoor shots just weren't gonna happen. I figured there was no better time to try out some of Kasmira's advice on how to get better photos indoors. I haven't perfected things just yet, but my pictures turned out remarkably brighter!

I made a point to take some pictures before adjusting my settings per her advice so you can compare:

4-21-10-full-yellow

At least you can see the fun hats I bought dear fiance and myself. He gets the monkey, I'm the bumble-bee!

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Stay Fabulous or Get Slapped Friday...

As most of you probably already know, Erin over at Work With What You've Got has instituted a new holiday entitled "Stay Fabulous or Get Slapped Friday." The rules are pretty simple:
(1) Stay Fabulous.
(2) If rule #1 is broken, get slapped.

This is what I wore while hoping not to get slapped:

3-26-10-collage

Striped Turtleneck: Target
Sweater: H&M
Pants: Lane Bryant
Shoes: American Eagle for Payless
Flower: H&M
Earrings: Gift from fiance

I have been coveting the stripes I've seen on other bloggers for WEEK now, and I'm excited to have landed myself an awesome striped turtleneck! Of course, the weather is finally supposed to turn warm on us, so I will have to pack this baby away soon until fall/winter, but maybe I'll have one or two more chances to wear it before its too late. (I haven't yet crossed "Long Sleeved Striped Top" off the Want List on my sidebar because I still want one that isn't a turtleneck. Still hunting...)

Have you ever seen an outfit on another blogger and totally fallen in love with it and filed it in the back of your brain... then one day, you get dressed, totally NOT imitating another outfit, only to realize that your outfit is completely inspired by the one you loved? (Did that thought totally not make sense to you?)
While there are several differences between the two, I think my outfit today was utterly inspired by Hillary's outfit from a few months ago.
True, the sweaters are different colors, and hers is a cardi whereas mine is a pull-over, but I remember loving that she had the striped peeking out past her sweater sleeves. And since I don't have a striped scarf to tie bow-style around my neck, I added my striped flower as an extra stripey pop (and they also mirror the flowers that are part of her cardi).
Still love that outfit, Hillary!

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Flower Power...

I wore this button-up open for most of the day and just wasn't feeling the outfit, despite receiving a few compliments on it. It wasn't until almost the end of the workday before it dawned on me to actually button up the shirt, thus giving me a waist, and I liked the outfit much more after that!

3-15-10-collage

Floral Button-up: Old Navy
Purple Knit Top: Charlotte Russe?
Gray Pants: Lane Bryant
Purple Heels: Vera Wang for Kohl's
Earrings: NY&Co
Green Cami: (seen through purple knit top IRL, but not in photo: Kohl's

I really liked these pants when I bought them, but nowadays, I'm thinking they are too big in the pooch region. I sure don't need any help looking larger there! These may end up in the giveaway pile, especially now that warm weather is coming and I won't need to be wearing pants for much longer!

::begin shameless plug::
I am hoping to get more readership for this here lil blog of mine. So if you read me and would care to put my blog on your blogroll, I'd be muchly indebted. Thanky kindly.
::end shameless plug::

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

The First Post After the Prolonged Absence...

OK all, I have been a bad blogger since I moved, but in my own defense (1) we got hit by the snowiest winter in DC-area history (which doesn't seem to be quite finished yet!), (2) we moved -- and the room where the computer lives now is totally freezing, so it's tougher to motivate myself to go down there, (3) my commute is a little longer now (and I have been extremely busy these last few weeks outside of work too) so there's less free time when I get home...
I could go on, but I sense that you're not here for excuses, you're here for photos.
At least there, I can help you out! See, while I may not have posted during the hiatus, I did at least remember to snap photos during a few of those days.
So prepare for a seriously long post, full of lots of outfit piccies!!



2-16-10-full
Top: NY&Co
Vest: H&M
Capris: Torrid
Boots: Ros Hommerson
Necklace and Bracelet: Claire's
Earrings: a stand in the mall

Remember how I told you that the outfit I ended up wearing on Go Red for Women day wasn't the one I planned on wearing? Well ladies and germs, *this* is the outfit I had planned on wearing -- only I didn't end up wearing it until last week on Tuesday. Better late than never, right?

(no detail shots for this one, I'm afraid, as I just completely forgot!)



2-17-10-collage
Black Cardi: NY&Co
Top: Forever 21, altered
Pants: Lane Bryant
Shoes: thrifted
Necklace and Earrings: gift from fiance
Bangles: thrifted

This outfit was worn on Wednesday of last week.
I was following Kimberly's Inspiration Calendar, which that day called for "Black and Tan." I apparently have a severe lack of tan in my closet, so I opted for cream instead. I love the pattern on this top, but the straps make it extremely work inappropriate. It sadly had never dawned on me before to wear it under a cardi, thus rendering the straps irrelevant. I was super-happy to be able to get more use out of this top, since I bought it against my better judgment and put extra money into it by having it altered (when I bought it, it was about a FOOT longer in the back than in the front -- WHY F21??)
In the end, I really loved this look.



2-17-10-dance-collage
Tshirt: 2 Skinnee J's concert
Dance Pants: Champion
Dance Sneakers (not pictured): Capezio

As some of you may recall reading, I am a member of a dance team. I have been a dancer since I was 2 1/2 years old. I grew up doing mostly jazz, but throughout my life I have also done tap, ballet, poms, modern, hip-hop...you name it! I blame college (and thus quitting dance for 4+ years) for the huge change in my body.
A year ago, a friend asked me to audition for an adult hip-hop team run by another gal we knew. We expected it to be fairly basic -- after all, we are OLD now -- but no such luck! We are pushed pretty hard each week, and this team is serious! And just to make it that much tougher, our coach has us perform with the high school gals. But so far, we have competed twice, and won first place twice. Yay!
Anywho, this is the kind of getup I wear to practice -- baggy tshirt, dance pants, dance sneakers. Nothing exciting, but I figured it would be fun to show you something other than a work outfit!

(bonus points to anyone who has heard of and loves 2 Skinnee J's as much as i do!)



2-18-10-collage
Top: Nordstrom Rack
Skirt: thrifted
Olive Green Tights: We Love Colors
Shoes: thrifted
Necklace very old, JC Penney's?
Earrings: Claire's

As you know, we just moved about a month ago. My favorite part? Finding out the there is a Nordstrom Rack just minutes from our new house! I have already dragged dear fiance there twice, and this top was one of the items I scored there.
It's tough to tell in these pictures (I still need to find a place to take some outdoor photos at the new house!) but these tights are actually an olive green. I was unsure about pairing the green tights with the teal shoes, but since both colors are in the top and the rest of the outfit is grounded with black, I felt ok with it. and I love it! (This outfit was worn last week on Thursday.)



2-22-10-collage
Navy Dress: swapped
Floral Shirt: thrifted
Burgundy Tights: We Love Colors
Shoes: NickelsSoft, swapped
Earrings: Laila Rowe

I had a really great outfit that I wore last week on Friday, but alas, I got no pictures of it. Perhaps I shall recreate it, just for posting purposes.
The reason that I was unable to snap a photo for you was because I left straight from work to go to Atlantic City with my dance team (for the second competition, discussed above). We were there for the whole weekend, only to return Sunday night with another practice! So alas, no outfit shots for you until Monday (aka yesterday).

I was feeling really tired and lazy Sunday night, so I didn't feel like picking out my outfit. I charged dear fiance with this task -- surprisingly, I think he is actually the more "fashionable" one of the two of us, so I really like getting his opinion on my outfits!
The first thing he pulled out was this top, which I'm not sure I've ever actually worn. I got it on a thrifting trip and wasn't completely sure about it, but it was cheap so a grabbed it. I half expected him to pull it out only to crack a joke about it, but it turns out he really liked it and wanted to style the outfit around it.
I helped him out a little by pointing out items I thought might work with it, but he made the final choices. The only thing I added was a pair of tights, but I let him choose which ones I wore. Hand-down burgundy, he told me.

Personally, I would have liked to have added a belt, since I think the outfit needs some definition at the waist, but overall, I think he did a good job!

Have you ever let your significant other pick out your outfit for you?



2-23-10-collage
Turtleneck: H&M
Pants: thrifted
Shoes: thrifted
Necklace and Earrings: Laila Rowe

Finally, we come to today. I normally don't have time to take outfit photos in the morning but (1) I was running early this morning and (2) I knew I was going to whip up this post at work today, so I decided to sneak today's pictures in so I wouldn't end up a day behind.

This isn't the most exciting outfit, in fact color-wise, it is all neutrals. But there are some details in the outfit that I think make it not-so-boring.
(1) The pants have a windowpane pattern on them that isn't showing up in the photos.
(2) I mixed my brown-toned neutrals by mixing chocolate, khaki, and orange-brown all in the same outfit. I think this makes for a richer color palette.
(3) The necklace. I am absolutely in love with it. While the necklace itself really does just come off as silver, there are little hints for pale green, aqua blue, and milky white going on in there. Not enough IMHO to constitute actual color, but enough to lighten up the dark sweater and break up the great expanse of brown.

This idea of wearing a non-boring all-neutral outfit is something that Rose has been talking about over on her blog.



*whew!*
well, there you have it -- all caught up!
On my honor, I will try never again to let so much time go by without regular updates!

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

A Day Late and a Dollar Short...

I worked from home yesterday because dear fiance dislocated his finger at soccer practice on Sunday, and it took him until yesterday to realize that it might be a good idea to have it checked out by a doctor. Since I was already home, we decided to head over to our new leasing agency and actually sign our lease.
That said, I wasn't really wearing anything blog-worthy.

Yesterday's inspiration calendar called for Color Combo: Coral and Gray. Since today's theme called for Denim Shirt & Skirt and my office frowns upon denim, I decided to go with yesterday's theme instead.

1-27-10-collage

Gray Top: H&M
Coral Cardi: Old Navy
Charcoal Pants: Lane Bryant
Shoes: Steve Madden
Earrings: Claire's
Belt NY&Co

I swear, the cardi and belt match more in real life.
I love wearing these earrings with this gray top because they both have that lace-esque detailing that reflect so well on one another.I love the detailing on the top of this gray top, but often find myself tugging and smoothing out the bottom. I am wondering if maybe I need a little spray starch to give it a little more *umph* so it doesn't get so wrinkly when I wear it.

May not post for a few days, due to moving. Hopefully it won't be too long before our internet us up and running!