i am super not the person who goes outside sun bathing in an attempt to brown my skin. (sidenote: i just typed skein instead of skin. i like what this says about my priorities) but i am the person who gets mildly grumpy when the sun bouncing off of my palest of flesh completely blinds viewers and creates blown out areas on pictures. what is happening to my feet?
that having been said, i have been trying to apply sun screen a lot more frequently this year. i can see where my first wrinkles will be, and i’m okay with that. but there’s no reason to speed that process along, am i right?
carlyn striped sweater, j. crew pants – target shoes
most of this outfit came from my very favorite clothing source: carlyn’s closet!
thrifty thursday (i should start doing these again!)
you probably caught onto this by now, but i really like these outfits! i feel totally comfortable, totally myself in these. my style is ever evolving, but i really feel like documenting it is helping me to define it, to feel more confident about trying new things, about figuring out what looks best on me. i feel more confident with color, and color relationships than i have before. i have always been more of a pants girl, but i like the way i look in skirts, and i’m slowly getting more comfortable wearing them.
this year i’m going to try to buy less. i’m trying to be especially mindful when it comes to buying things first hand. i’ve worked for multiple retailers that educate their employees on where their products come from, and learning that the wool for a sweater came from one continent, was shipped to another for fabrication, yet another for assembly doesn’t sit super great with me. not only is this sweater better traveled than i am by the time i purchase it, but is that really the best use of resources? the problem is that this high mindedness very directly fights my desire to spend less money, buy things that are a good deal. there are amazing companies out there that produce everything locally, with minimal environmental impact and maximum attention to their employees, but i can’t afford to outfit myself from their stock. so i’m trying to buy more clothing second hand, where it has far less impact. i’m trying to make better choices about what i buy first hand, adding to my wardrobe only items that i will literally wear out, and try to choose quality over quantity. trying being the key word here.
this is a subject i’ve wanted to broach here before. it’s something i think about a fair amount. but i know myself, and i know that a few times a year, i’ll end up at the mall, and i’ll see something really cute at a really good price, and i will buy it. so. i guess i’m hoping that by finally talking about it, i will hold myself more accountable. have any of you guys had this debate at all? do you know of any resources to help me in this quest of mine?
thrifted cream cardigan, plaid shirt, belt – j. crew green chinos – lands end sandals
i love this blouse. i’m not sure i’ve ever documented it before (awww, fail), but i’ve owned it for like eight years. i thrifted it wayyyy back in the day with a few other blouses that did not stand the test of time. but this blouse is one of my favorite saturated blues with just the teensiest bit of green, plaid, a-line, super comfortable and work appropriate. perfect!
what in your wardrobe has treated you this well?
thrifted old navy button down, ann taylor blazer, j crew skirt, ray ban wannabe sunglasses
not so thrifted j crew belt, target shoes, handmade necklace
i haven’t been great about grabbing documentation of my outfits recently. but it’s been so beautiful out, and i ended up being inadvertently fancy, i thought i’d better get some pics. i got excited when i realized that my major outfit elements were all thrifted, too! it’s harder to get thrifted shoes in, for some reason. there’s so much kitty hair on my black blazer…
i’m starting to feel an itch to do a remix…. anyone interested?
(and then i realized i’d somehow gotten my necklace tucked into my pocket?)
hand-me-overs target cardigan & jeans – thrifted old navy button down – handmade necklace – forever21 yellow sneaks
i mentioned that i’ve been making jewelry? i’ve been wearing it pretty much non-stop since i made it.
thrifted shawl – handmade sweater – hand-me-down pleated skirt – topshop green tights – target shoes
were you getting sick of outfit pictures in my kitchen? ‘cuz i kind of was. so this time they are in a pharmacy! which i would’ve felt weirder about, except we were like the only people there…
i thought i’d try the sweater tuck. i actually tried this with my grey sweater first, but it was too bulky, and this skirt is too fitted. so i swapped to my thinner sweater, and i really like it! this sweater has plenty of drape, so it has a slightly blouse-y effect.
coming soon to ifandany blog:
-the final outfits of this remix!
-including: the one that got away!
-knitting!
-probably kitty pics?
i love my booooots! the people i talk to on a daily basis are getting sick of hearing about it, so i’ll tell you folks. they are so warm! so comfy! so cute! i hope to have these for many decades to come. i bought some boots about four years ago in the hopes that they would last me a long time… they started falling apart during year two. so i have been on the lookout for my (hopefully) forever boots for a few years, and when i saw these shearling lined darlings, i fell in love. i also love this outfit. it’s my favorite palette, and i’m warm* and comfy and i feel cute. oh, wait, that’s basically what i just said about my boots. well, it’s true. whatcha gonna do?
* for the record, i’ve got wool blend tights under the leggings which is the most amazing insulator. cold in the winter? skip the bunchy long johns, go for wool blend tights. free advice from me!
thrifted grey herringbone coat – target cardigan & leggings – forever21 button down & tote – j. crew super tall grey socks – l.l. bean bean boots – handmade london fog cowl (handmade by me), & sierpinski’s beanie (by chronographia)
let’s talk about this cowl for a minute, shall we?
london fog cowl <–ravelry project page
pattern: stockholm cowl, by the talented julie of knitted bliss
yarn: actually is from a thrifted j. crew sweater that i pulled apart for yarn. it’s 100% lambswool, pretty close to dk weight, nice and soft, but also quite crisp, which is something i llllove in a yarn. yay for recycled yarn!
needles: US size 9 (5.5mm)
notes: i used a cable cast-on, my go-to cast-on (how many times have i talked this up? have i converted you yet? it’s really stable, has quite a bit of elasticity, you don’t have to eyeball how much yarn it will take and then either end up three stitches short or having a flippin’ yard of yarn hanging out at the end.) and ez’s sewn bind-off (again, strong, flexible, provides an attractive complement to the cable cast-on). this was the knit that i carried around with me throughout our trip to england, and then for a month or so after returning. i love this cowl. but it was always intended for someone else (merry xmas, mimi!), and my other stockholm cowl got gifted away as well, sooo…. i might have to make a third? oh well. worse things have happened!
do you have any knitting techniques that you are as passionate about? what should i keep my mind open to when i get a chance?
old navy scarf handmade! my mysterious oceanic soul sweater target tshirt & little boys boat shoes pink thrifted jeans
i knew i had to wear my mysterious oceanic soul sweater to go to the coast! and it ended up being just right for a day that was fairly nice, but there was certainly a breeze coming off of the water!
handmade cowl! (blog post, ravelry page) target cardigan, tee shirt, ballet flats j. crew green tank, corduroys gifted purse
return of the double watches! just checking to make sure the black banded one is keeping proper time (it is!), cuz it was acting wonky for a bit. the nail polish is the one ness sent me! yay! i am very slowly getting better at painting my own nails. i would call this my first legitimately successful attempt! i really like the color. the day i painted them i would stop to admire them frequently throughout the day. ah, the little things.
can you believe that sky behind me? yeah, it started raining not too long after the pics were taken.
i think 4 & 19 are my favorites. i feel like all of the elements, proportions and colors are just right.
i put the tall wedges in to try to get rid of my conviction that i couldn’t wear them all day. because they aren’t uncomfortable. i just can’t move very quickly in them.
i think i’m getting better/more confident about incorporating color(s) into my outfits. i tend to stick to mostly neutrals with one color pop, and while that is still my comfort zone, i played with multiple colors a handful of times.
i usually select a few things that i always mean to wear, but rarely do, to see if i would wear them more by forcing them into the rotation. sometimes it works, and sometimes it illustrates why i never wear them. so now i can let go of the h & m skirt, see, because it’s gotten fair shakes at being incorporated, and it just didn’t make the cut, no matter how many things it might go with. so i’m sending it off to my cousin, who expressed interest in it when i was complaining about it.
i didn’t wear my gingham dress. i tried it on once or twice for various outfits, but i came to realize that it is just plain too short, unless worn with leggings (like i did here). anyways, long story short, it went to goodwill after a closet purge in the middle of this remix. another item that never made it in was my forever21 tank, which had a similar problem. i need to take up the straps a little bit before i can wear it.
what are your favorites?
ifandany 