Thrifting Queen

Angie included this blazer in her recent Fab Toppers blog post and I had to chuckle because I had tried the blazer on about a week ago and loved it. But I had some concerns regarding styling it.

But I couldn't get the blazer out of my mind...c'mon ladies...you KNOW how that is...I kept thinking about it and finally went back and they had two left, my size and one smaller, for 50% off. I grabbed it and pretty much ran to the check out.

Here are a couple of quick stylings - one with with my black BR sheath dress, one with my tweed-ish Jessica trousers and a black cowl neck tank and one with my slouchy jeans and a plain white tee (ideally a v-neck tee would be better but I don't have one in white - yet). The last two pics are showing the blazer done up for fit.

It borders on too big but IMO, in a good way. It's almost a slouchy boyfriend kind of fit and I like that. I did try on the one smaller which I could not do up, which isn't a total deal breaker regarding blazers, but it just didn't hang the same - that nice "easy" kind of fit.

Anyway...over to you...what do you think?

BTW both hubby and MIL think it's fantastic.

P.S. Please excuse the "I was just shoveling snow" hair and lack of make up.

I am sooooooo glad it's the end of the week!

The colours I'm wearing today make me very happy - I really do prefer bright, happy colours. I started today's outfit with my simple dark wash trouser jeans. I haven't worn these in a while and I always feel good in them - I think the fit is quite flattering. I've paired the jeans with an old striped Gap tee and then topped that with my VC cobalt asymmetrical jacket that DH got me for an early Christmas present. The knit of this jacket is so incredibly soft and cozy, it can't help but warm you up on a cold day. Plus I'm kind of wrapped in love for extra warmth (sorry....I know that was kind of corny - lol!)

On my feet I have my cobalt/purple suede booties and my handbag is my black/cream leather satchel. Jewelry is limited to my silver Haida wedding band.

What do you think? Does it all work together? As always, all comments/suggestions welcome.

P.S. - Gain thinks the outfit needed a pop of orange - lol!

Jacket: Vince Camuto
Tee: Gap
Jeans: Reitmans
Booties: Aerosoles
Handbag: Danier Leather (thrifted)

I have been noticing the last couple of months that wearing certain colours not only look better on me but make me FEEL better and affect my mood. And other colours make me feel "blah".

Today's outfit for example, consists of different tones of brown and cognac. There is nothing technically wrong with this outfit and I like the fit of everything and how it works together...BUT I don't feel happy in these colours.

Right now the colours I enjoy wearing are blues, red, purple, green, grey, black and white - stronger colours that work with my hair and skin tone. I'm no longer loving earth tones on me. I think this had a lot to do with my dislike of the pumpkin skirt this week - no longer loving that particular shade. Because I am relatively fair/pale, I feel like I have to WEAR colour to HAVE colour, if that makes any sense.

Therefore, I've decided to begin working on changing my wardrobe to consist of a few colours that work well together and make me feel good when wearing them - my neutrals (the bulk and basics of my wardrobe) will be black, navy, grey, and white and will include pops of red, purple, cobalt and bright green.

I currently have several pieces in my wardrobe I haven't reached for this fall/winter and they are all in these earthy tones. I will keep my espresso trousers, portobello mushroom skirt and possibly my brown lace skirt because I really like the fit of these and can pair them with coloured tops. Other than that, the rest is going off to charity.

I have also been feeling that my wardrobe is actually too big (did I just say that???) - there are items I'm not wearing and then feel guilty about not wearing, while at the same time there are favourite pieces I'm reaching for again and again. I need to sort through that and pare things down.

I'm excited about this discovery and am looking forwarding to putting together a more cohesive wardrobe.

What about you? Have you been noticing colours lately and how they affect your mood at all?

Have I mentioned it's CRAZY cold here? With the windchill, our temperature is -38C this morning!

Today's outfit started with my espresso brown trousers, to which I added my brown/grey/cream animal print tee. Over top of that is my cognac faux leather jacket. I wear this jacket (and it's sister dark blue one) as blazers in my office all day and like the less structured look they bring to an outfit as opposed to a crisp blazer.

A simple brown leather belt and brown leather booties complete the outfit. The Fossil handbag finishes off my cognac-brown tonal outfit.

What do you think? Too much of the same colour throughout? Proportions work ok? As always, all comments/suggestions welcome.

Jacket: Revolutions
Tee: Nygard
Trousers: Esprit
Belt: thrifted
Handbag: Fossil
Boots: Naturalizer

I've been enjoying the lively discussion on IK's thread about colouring grey hair (http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....appearance). In that thread I was mentioned among others as someone who wears the natural look well (thank you ladies!).

Out of curiousity (and because I have a bit of time today) I'd be curious to know what you would think if I were to decide to colour my hair? would I automatically look younger? would it change my style? For the record, before the grey started to creep in, my natural hair colour is pitch black but I used to colour it a dark auburn.

BTW - I am NOT thinking of colouring my hair. This is a hypothetical situation only.

Yesterday's outfit (the first attempt with the skirt http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....and-animal) didn't work for me and I felt extremely frumpy in it.

I've been thinking about why it felt that way and knew there was more to it than the disconnect between the individual items. I think Una hit the nail on the head when she said it wasn't as "saucy" as some of my outfits.

I seem to be shifting to a more modern, sleek style with moments of menswear inspiration - but I also like an element of cheekiness or sauciness in my outfits. I need to feel both streamlined and FUN.

The orange skirt is a difficult colour to work with, as I'm discovering and although I like a midi length on short me, I think the combination of the midi length plus the width of the skirt is what made me feel frumpy. I have other midi length dresses/skirts but they are narrower and more fitted so I feel sleeker.

I did try it on again when I got home from work with my knee high black boots, Doc Marcies and my black wedge booties and still didn't like it on me.

For now, the orange skirt is going into the "hold" pile and we'll see if it comes back out later on or ends up being purged altogether.

it is bitterly, bitterly cold here this week so the perfect time to wear the faux fur vest indoors. The other benefit of this vest, in addition to warmth, is the debomshelling factor it provides over the B44 dress.

I love this Bailey 44 tiered dress with its greys, navy and red and cream but I do feel a bit self conscious in it due to the body con fit so like to wear it with a topper to work. I will be cozy with my dark brown faux fur vest over top. I'm wearing my red booties and red quilted handbag for some colour and to bring out the red stripe in the dress. Jewelry is my gold wedding band and oversized gold watch.

I will be swapping the booties for my knee high Blondo Vergara boots and adding my red Land's End full length puffer on top of everything when I head out the door.

What do you think? Does it all work together and are the proportions ok? As always, all comments/suggestions welcome.

Vest: Jeanne Bekker
Dress: Bailey 44
Micro fishnets: Hue
Boots: Sam Edelman
Watch: thrifted

This looked WAAAAAAY better in my head and I think is an outfit fail, but no time to change so it's going to have to do for today.

I love the pairing of orange and black and it doesn't worry me at all that it makes some people think of Halloween. I also like the pairing of animal print with orange. So I combined these two "likes" and put together my pumpkin coloured skirt with my black asymmetrical tie top and my animal print Doc Danielle's. I then added my Fossil handbag to pull out the rich tones of the shoes, which also have a bit of black in them.

I think there's a disconnect between the shoes and the top though and that's what is throwing this outfit off course.

What do you think? Does this work or not work, and why? As always, all comments/suggestions welcome.

Top: Cleo Petite
Skirt: Winner's
Shoes: Doc Martens
Handbag: Fossil
Bangle: Michael Kors

ETA: Hated this outfit so much that while my car was running to warm up (It's -33 C this morning), I quickly ditched the skirt and just slipped on a pair of simple black trousers and my black Clarks shooties. Kristin took a quick pic so you could see. Nothing fancy but I feel better - and actually two people have told me this morning I look "slim" and "sleek".

I'm in for a super busy week at work so just letting y'all know, other than posting my WIW's, I'm not sure how much time I'll be able to give to the forum this week. I hope that's ok.

Today I'm pairing my two-tone purple/berry tipped sweater blazer with my grey glen plaid wide legged trousers. Underneath the sweater, I'm wearing a dark purple tank. For footwear, I'm wearing my trusty Clarks pumps and my handbag is my faux snakeskin clutch. Jewelry is my silver Haida wedding band and my silver Gucci watch.

Although I'm all over the slouchy trend at the moment, in actuality, these might be my favourite of all my trousers. I love the way they fit, the width of the legs and the way the trousers move when I walk. I feel equally comfortable and elegant in them, if that makes any sense.

What do you think of this outfit? Does it all work together? As always, all comments/suggestions welcome.

Sweater: Halogen
Tank: Gap
Trousers: Ricki's (thrifted)
Shoes: Clarks
Handbag: Sondra Roberts (thrifted)

I absolutely adored Suz's outfit yesterday (http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....f-for-elly) and knew I wanted to use it for my inspiration for Casual Friday, incorporating the Christmas present I received from my son.

He gave me this beautiful incredibly soft hi-low sweater in navy blue with silver lurex "sparkles" running throughout it. I love how this sweater feels on and just goes to show that not all acrylic blends are the same. This one has a very luxurious feel to it.

Based on Suz's outfit from yesterday, I've paired the sweater with my slouchy skinnies (the smaller of the two pair I have) and my Doc Marcie boots. Normally these jeans would not be cuffed at the bottom but I found the hem of these did not sit well on the Marcie's and in fact the boots pushed the legs of of the jeans up to the point where they were too baggy. I hope the cuff doesn't look ridiculous.

I've added a metal and crystal cuff and my olive/cobalt clutch for accessories, and my belt is a simple black leather with gunmetal buckle.

Happiness factor in this outfit? Off the charts!

What do you think? Does it work? proportions and fit ok? As always, all comments/suggestions welcome. Thanks for the inspiration Suz and thank you for the lovely gift iain!

Sweater: Laura Petite (gift)
Jeans: Canyon River Blues
Belt: Danier Leather
Boots: Doc Martens Marcie
Clutch: Trouve