Category: style

Paisley, Brown & Cobalt

What I Wore: Bookstore Browsing

J Crew cobalt Lady Day coat; LOFT paisley skirt
Skirt, LOFT (via eBay); sweater, J. Crew Factory; scarf and boots, Winners; coat, J. Crew (via Kijiji); bag, MbMJ (via consignment)

With the never-ending-winter-we-shall-not-speak-of-again, I routinely run out of warm places to take the kids every day. And take them out I must, because my son starts climbing walls around 2 pm every afternoon. So, Chapters it is; they have a train set, and crayons, and occasionally a doll house – all excellent things in Luka-land. Anyway, I wore this. Because … I just get tired of jeans, you know? And this skirt has an elastic waist, and it’s washable poly, and with one of my omni-present J. Crew Factory sweaters, it’s just easy. Easy and done.

I like the colours going on here, and pat on the back for not throwing black into the mix (see “easy”, above). But I hate these boots. Hate ’em with a fiery fire. They’re fine, I guess, but that reddish brown colour goes with absolutely nothing in my wardrobe. I use them as my stand-ins for cognac boots (which I still don’t have, sigh), but they. do. NOT. work.

And looky here … snow.

J. Crew Lady Day cobalt coat; LOFT paisley skirt
I look … thrilled.

Let’s talk about the skirt for a second: total impulse buy on eBay. The print got me, again. The fit is … weird. There is that elastic waist, which is great, but the poly lining is oddly tight … and there is a random little slit on one side … and the skirt puckers strangely in the front creating a visual pooch. Honestly, I have no idea what’s going on with this skirt. I wouldn’t have bought it if I had tried it on first. Chalk another one up to the risks of buying on eBay. Fortunately, I like the print and overall style enough to try to make this work … and it’s gonna take some work. When will I ever learn not to be seduced by a print? Don’t answer that, purely rhetorical question.

Variations on a Theme

What I Wore: Mall Trip-ing

blue collar red lipstick; mommy chic
Jeans, Cleo (via consignment); t-shirt, Old Navy; blazer, Talula (via Kijiji); belt, Tommy Hilfiger

If my love of florals didn’t betray me before, let me dispel any doubts right now: I’m not really a rock ‘n roll kind of chick. I mean, I would like to be; they seem to have a lot of fun, and be pretty cool all around. Sadly, I’m the opposite of cool. I’m a mom. (That was a joke. A mom joke. Specifically (a) a joke about being a mom, and (b) the kind of joke a mom would make. Ok, I stop now.)

But!

If I was to try being a little bit rock ‘n roll, this is what I’d wear. Complete with authentic bedhead. I know, the t-shirt could stand to be a little less, um, “minivan majority” but I can’t help it – it’s the only thing that passes for a graphic tee in my closet right now.

With all that said, I’ve worn some variation of this outfit plenty before, which must mean that I secretly quite like it, despite always feeling like it’s one of those phoned-it-in outfits. Hope you (secretly or not) like it too.

Blue + Pink … Again

What I Wore: March 21

blue collar red lipstick, what i wore
Sweater and belt, J. Crew Factory; skirt, Land’s End; shirt, Old Navy; coat, consignment; boots, Target; bag, MbMJ (via consignment)

Spring equinox, my butt! See that fresh snow on the driveway? What’s up with that, Mother Nature?

Continuing my months-long tradition of refusing to dress for the weather, I wore this. I swear it’s at least 47% cuter without the coat on, but I have my endurance limits and taking this photo outside sans coat was not in cards. Sorry, peeps! I‘m also thinking, though, that the outfit would also have been at least 15% better if I’d worn a plain blue chambray shirt, instead of this pink one; or maybe just a tee-shirt. Sometimes I over-think things.

The black skirt I’m wearing is from Land’s End; I used to think they sold “old lady clothes” but they actually have a lot of cute stuff, especially basics. Or maybe I’ve moved closer to “old lady” territory. Either way, the quality is good (on par or better than J. Crew, based on my admittedly limited experience) and the prices are also reasonable, especially on sale. Shipping is free if you spend $50+. And you can always get some cash back if you use eBates to order. Back to my skirt, for a second; I ordered it before buying my J. Crew Factory black mini, because I wasn’t convinced the latter would fit me well. While I like the Land’s End version (and the quality is great), I actually ended up preferring the cut of the J. Crew skirt (less poofy, lower waist). I hate having two near identical pieces in my closet, but at least we’re talking about a wardrobe staple and not, say, sequinned floral palazzo pants. Because you know something like that would not be out of the realm of possible for me.