Thrifting Queen

It's quite warm here today (well….by Winnipeg standards anyway) and we're finally reaching a "plus" temperature. Time to wear a skirt with nude hose!

Today's outfit started with my cobalt knit pencil skirt and nude hose. I then added my ivory and black dalmation print front wrap, hi-lo blouse. I love the print top with the colourful skirt. For footwear I decided to play up the cobalt colour and went with my cobalt/purple suede booties. I went with my black/white handbag and a ring for accessories.

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

Blouse: Dorothy Perkins Petite
Skirt: Cleo Petite
Hose: Hue
Booties: Aerosoles
Handbag: Danier Leather (thrifted)

P.S. I'm going through a bad spot of negative body imaging right now thanks to my endocrine imbalance being completely out of control. Stress tends to affect my levels and as a result, despite watching every little bit I eat and going to the gym regularly again, I continue to put weight on. Some of my clothes aren't fitting as well as they did previously so it's making it harder to choose items and outfits that not only physically fit but also make me feel good. Don't you just sometimes feel like your own body is the enemy? Oh well….I know eventually everything will get back on track. Just having one of those moments, you know?

Today's outfit is fairly casual - a pair of cream narrow wale bootcut cords and a hi-lo mixed media camo-esque pullover. I like the pairing of the forest green of the sleeves and back of the pullover with the cream cords, and how the cords pull out the white tones in the camo print.

I've chosen my Petty python booties for footwear to keep the leg line in the same tone and my large cream handbag. Jewelry is my silver wedding band and cream leather and metal bracelet.

So what do you think? As always, all comments/suggestions welcome.

Pullover: Dex
Cords: Jones New York (thrifted)
Boots: Sam Edelman
Handbag: Danier Leather
Bracelet: thrifted

I mentioned last week about ordering a pastel blue Anne Klein suit (new, from eBay) as an inexpensive way to try the pastel trend. Angie has mentioned before that she felt light blue might work for me and it's a colour I've been curious about. I don't remember ever owning anything pastel.

The suit arrived today and I popped it on with my foxy tee and a pair of heels without any specific styling. It's got some wrinkles/folds in it from the packaging and shipping so please try and look past that. 

The colour is a lovely light blue although photographs a tiny bit more lilac due to my wall colour. The fabric is lovely and substantial. The pieces would work well together as a proper suit and as separates with other items - i.e. the blazer with white jeans, pencil skirts, etc and the trousers with my laser cut hole white sweater, white leather jacket, etc.

I love the colour. I love the fit. The jacket looks slightly big from the back when undone but I don't mind that look at all - more BF style. 

Unless anyone sees anything glaringly wrong - and please speak up if you do - this is a keep for me. I will also try some proper stylings on the weekend when I have time if that helps.

After reading Angie's brilliant post this morning on how to dress an apple shape, I got to thinking about dresses. I don't really wear my dresses much anymore (other than my black sheath dress). I find it hard with my particular shape and high waist to get the top half and the bottom half of the dress to fit properly, the waist to be in the correct spot and for my tummy to not be accentuated.

I have had this Eileen Fisher dress in and out of my cart too many times to count. It comes in petite and is a fairly substantial jersey. I personally love this kind of cowl neckline as it elongates my neck and flatters my upper chest and collarbones, one of my favorite body parts. I think it would work well to hide wobbly tummy bits and if I added one of my structured toppers to it, would give me that structure and shape I crave.

Do you think this dress could work on my body shape?

ETA - I also like that it tapers a bit at the bottom so that there isn't too much fabric around the legs.

I love that my new job has some leeway in terms of dress code - although blue denim jeans are a no-no, coloured denim that can pass more as actual "pants" are acceptable. This has allowed me to wear my burgundy and black skinny jeans and will also allow me to wear white jeans.

Today's outfit started with my black skinnies to which I added my foxy silk-blend graphic tee. This was the most expensive t-shirt I have ever purchased but worth every penny - the quality is fabulous, the drape exactly what I was looking for and I always feel good in it. What more can you ask for? I have added a black leather belt and semi tucked the tee.

Then to dress up the tee to make it more work appropriate, I topped it with my black leather blazer. 

For footwear, I went with my red booties which I haven't worn a lot lately. I love the pop of red plus they bookend my red specs perfectly. I went with a bit more red and some pattern with my red/animal print clutch. No jewelry other than my gold wedding ring and a gold/silver ring on my other hand.

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

P.S. I forgot to scrunch the sleeves of the blazer for the pics but will be wearing them scrunched a bit IRL.

Blazer & belt: Danier Leather
Tee: Olsen Europe
Jeans: Attitude by Jay Manuel
Boots: Sam Edelman
Clutch: Material Girl

In my head, this outfit looked good but I'm not sure it does IRL. 

I started with my grey micro glen plaid check trousers - I liked these when I bought them and technically they are a very good fit, but suddenly I'm less sure. They feel a bit sloppy - is it just because I'm not used to this silhouette on myself? or do they look too big?

I then chose my navy sparkly hi-lo pullover, which I still love. But I'm not sure if the volume of the top works with the volume of the trousers, even though volume-on-volume is trending.

Footwear is my black patent booties and my handbag, a vintage navy leather number. For jewelry I went with a chunky metal cuff and silver ring, to try and edge my bit of edge.

Ok…give it to me straight ladies…does this outfit work or not? What tweaks would you suggest? As always, all comment/suggestions welcome.

Pullover: Laura Petite
Trousers: Express Editors
Booties: Ara
Handbag & cuff: thrifted

ETA: Based on suggestions below, I have changed to adding a belt and semi tucking the top. Better?

Angie mentioned that cropped and boxy jackets were trending for spring and I'm hoping my old houndstooth jacket fits that style. The jacket was my starting point for today's outfit.

I popped the jacket over top my trusty asymmetrical ruched tank (I think the CPW is so low on this tank by now that it owes me money - lol!) and black knit pencil skirt. I added sheer black hose (it's not too cold today) and then my little bit of edge to the outfit comes from my Doc Marcie boots. I added an oversized black and white watch and silver wedding band for jewelry and finished off the outfit with my red quilted handbag, red lipstick and red specs.

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

Jacket: Manikin Petite
Tank: Attitude by Jay Manuel
Skirt: Cleo Petite
Hose: Hue
Boots: Doc Martens
Watch: Calvin Klein (thrifted)
Handbag: Nine West (thrifted)

Heading out for a day of coffee and shopping with my MIL - it's her 81st birthday on Wednesday (and will very likely be her last) so I told her this morning I was all hers for the day and we could do anything she wanted. So we're starting at Starbucks for coffee (she loves Starbucks because she thinks it's cool to drink "fancy" coffee - lol!), then we're going to get her nails done, then off to The Bay for some shopping and then we're finishing up with a pint of Guinness at the best Irish pub in town. 

So comfort was key for my choices today - I started with my favourite jeans - the TR Camerons and added an a bright coloured argyle pullover in turquoise, white and citron. I decided to leave the pullover untucked for a change. For footwear I went with my cream leather insulated mid calf boots and chose my large cream handbag. When I head out the door, all will be topped with my citron short puffer.

I'm also wearing the second pair of my new glasses - these are even larger and geekier than the red pair. They are DKNY are a burgundy-purple colour combined with clear. I fully understand these won't be to everyone's liking but I adore the retro-geek vibe of these.

Hope you're all having a stellar weekend so far - catch ya later :)

I'm debuting two new things today - a drapey hi-lo black and white graphic tee and my red Coach specs.

First to the outfit - I found this drapey tee last night, ripped off the tags and joined Team Wear this morning. It's nice and soft, the hem length is perfect for me and I thought it would be a cute piece for layering under jackets for a bit of whimsy. It's difficult to tell in the photos but the pic is of a Victoria-era dancer.

I paired the tee with my ponte knit dress style trousers - these things are crazy comfy and cozy for the cold weather. And the best part is they don't sag and bag by the end of the day.

I topped the tee with my white leather jacket and chose my black patent booties for footwear. These booties are been tremendous workhorses for me. My cobalt/cream/black quilted handbag and a silver ring are my accessories. And of course, my red lipstick.

I'm also wearing my new red glasses that came in yesterday. They are an oversize geek-chic kind of look with red eye portions and then the arm are clear (difficult to tell in the photos). I totally love these glasses and wow - is it ever nice to be able to read again!

So what do you think of the outfit and the glasses ladies? As always, all comments/suggestions welcome.

Jacket & handbag: Danier Leather
Tee: Smart Set 
Trousers: Laura Petite
Booties: Ara

In my recent post about buying a pastel suit for spring summer (http://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/spring-lists) there were some comments about this being a different color palette for me and whether or not an item like this has any staying power in my wardrobe. These were wonderful questions and comments and really got me thinking.

For me, the pastel suit represents something new and fun, an experiment really. I'm not spending big bucks on this and honestly, will probably only wear it for spring and summer this year (provided it fits). And I think that's ok - for me, not everything I buy needs to have a longevity factor.

So over to you - do you choose items to try out and experiment knowing full well you won't be wearing them for any length of time? Or do you choose your clothes looking for staying power? Or is it a little bit of both - the camp I think I fall into.