Showing posts with label nordstrom rack. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nordstrom rack. Show all posts

Thursday, May 12, 2011

I'm a Pixie, I'm a Paper Doll, I'm a Cartoon...

Welcome to another edition of the Paper Doll Project, hosted by Suze of Miss Vinyl Ahoy!

Paper Doll Project

As you may remember, I participated in the first round of this fun project back in March. I had so much fun with the first go-around that I was excited when Suze announced round two! I signed up immediately!

This time around, I was paired up with the awesome Betsy of Miss B Gets Dressed. Betsy has a great sense of style -- comfy, cozy, and really chic all at the same time. Plus she is really talented and does the most amazing sketches! (This is in no way a shameless plug for her to do a sketch of one of my outfits -- only it totally is.)
I was really excited to see what outfit Betsy put together for me, and the gal did not disappoint! Check it out for yourself:

Collage

Dress: H&M
Blazer: Sashimi via Nordstrom Rask
Shoes: Michael Shannon via Off Broadway Shoe Warehouse
Necklace: NY&Co?
Sunnies: Plato's Closet
Earrings: gift
Belt: TJ Maxx

Closeup:
Full

You've seen me wear this dress several times on the blog, but I had never thought to pair it with this blazer. I really like how the pairing makes the dress a little less flowy and a little more businessy. I also really like how she chose my bright orange wedding shoes to go with this outfit. It added a pop of brightness to an otherwise darker outfit, and I really like how well the orange played off of the coral color in the dress. They don't match, but they go. And yet another detail I like about this outfit is how the texture of the necklace mirrors the pattern on the dress.

If you'd like to see how I styled Betsy, check out her Paper Doll Post. I totally want to steal every piece of that outfit, and possibly some other items in her closet too.

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.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Na-na-na-na, Hey-hey, Goodbye...

I would apologize for cutting my feet off in the full-body shot, but sadly, my shoes bit the dust when I took them off to travel home, and I had to wear my comfy traveling shoes (aka, tennies) to take the photos. Side Note: I usually try to somewhat match my traveling shoes to my outfit, just in case.

4-27-10-collage

Top: Sweet Pea via Nordstrom Rack
Pants: Old Navy
Jacket: don't recall the brand, thrifted
Earrings: gift
Shoes: very old, via Payless?

Closeup:
4-27-10-full

I loved this top when I found it at Nordstrom Rack. The colors are very "me" and I love the stretchiness of it -- it will fit through weight fluctuation, but it isn't lycra or spandex or some other material that looks cheap. I love the detailing at the bustline. It is work appropriate, but special enough to wear out for dinner or drinks. I hadn't heard of the brand Sweet Pea when I purchased this top, but being that I'm not a brand snob, that didn't matter much to me. However, I receive daily emails from Rue La La, and imagine my surprise when they featured Sweet Pea. It seems I managed to get me a schmancy brand without even knowing it!

Sadly, in the last 2 weeks, I have lost 2 pairs of jeans. My jeans wardrobe was already sadly tiny, at only 4 pairs (2 casual, 2 trouser style), and it was my 2 casual pairs that bit the dust. What's a girl to do? I've been trying to curtail extra spending, but this was an emergency.
Dear fiance and I hurried to the mall last night (jeans-shopping has never been a hobby of mine, so I like to bring him along for feedback and emotional support). I found many, many pairs to try on -- after all, we gals really do need to try on many pairs to find just one that will work, right?
Magically, I managed to find not one, but THREE pairs that all had promise! The dilemma: save money, or buy up the whole lot?
The solution presented itself like an angel in the light with a choir singing in the background: my darling dear fiance offered to purchase one pair for me, and then reminded me that I still had gift cards left over from Christmas and my Bday. One pair from him and one pair "from Nana" left me just one pair to purchase for myself!
In the end, I've not got a lovely pair of Calvin Kleins, and rockin pair of DKNYs, and a practical pair of Levis.
Ahhh... what won't we do for the perfect pair of denim?

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Mixing high and Low...

I wore this outfit on Monday, and I must admit, I felt rather smart in it.

3-22-10-collage

Top: swapped
Jacket: Nordstrom Rack
Pants: Marshall's
Shoes: NickelsSoft, thrifted
Earrings: Claire's
Necklace: Laila Rowe
Bracelet: Tiffany

I love the idea of mixing high-end and low-end pieces in one outfit.
I don't recall the brand of this jacket offhand, but I bought it at Nordstrom Rack, and it is definitely something I couldn't have afforded if I would have had to pay full price for it. Likewise, this Tiffany bracelet was a gift from my parents for my 30th birthday. (Every girl needs a little piece of Tiffany, dontcha think?)
However, the pants were purchased at discount retailer Marshall's, the shoes were thrifted, and the top was free via a clothing swap.

This is of of those outfits that proves that you don't have to pay an arm and a leg to feel like a million bucks.

PS: Let me introduce you to Raul Duke. Some people have children, some people have "fur babies," and some people, such as my fiance and myself, have these adorable little monsters waiting for us at home:

3-22-10-raul

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!