Thrifting Queen

My new Doc Martens arrived while I was at work and I couldn't wait to show you. So here they are with my outfit from today. These are the Doc Casey boots and are my replacements for the Marcie's. This is not a K/R post cause I am in LOVE! These are exactly what I was hoping for - and the bonus is that they are a little wider in the toe box from the Marcie's so are even more comfortable.

:)

It's a Canadian holiday today so I'm home drinking a cup of coffee and reading the new Elle magazine - does it get any better than that?

Came across this page with a stunning culottes outfit and had to share since it relates to Angie's blog post today.

What does a gal do when her guys are out fishing and she has some rare time to herself? She plays dress up in her fall closet of course! Only a true Fabber would be trying on booties and sweaters when it's a hot and humid summer day :) I wanted to show you the two items I purchased a month ago for fall. I found both new with tags from my favourite eBay seller and am so pleased with both.

First up in pics 1 - 4 are the Eileen Fisher faux wrap jersey trousers http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/ei.....nt/3583834. They need hemming so I have simply tucked them under for the purpose of these pics - so please ignore the excessive ankle scrunch. These are incredibly comfortable and will be my fall/winter slouchy trousers. And of course, black details do not show up in photos unfortunately. They have an elastic waist and so I will not be tucking into them, but at the same time want to keep the tops from being too long and obscuring the wrap/cross over detail. I like the idea of pairing the flowy trousers with a blazer or leather jacket in particular.

Second are the Eileen Fisher charcoal waxed skinnies http://www.eileenfisher.com/Ei.....ite+Skinny (also available at Nordstrom) in pics 5 - 8. I like how they aren't calf sucking and are ridiculously comfortable. Again, they need hemming so I have just cuffed them quickly there. I like the pairing of my EF drapey cardigan with them.

None of these outfits is particularly stellar and my hair and make up aren't done but I'm having fun playing with these new items. Any of these look like possible outfits for real? Any suggestions how else to style these?

The Calvin Klein jacket in pic #5 is an older item - I'm thinking of reintroducing it to my closet. It was temporarily in my probation pile but I'm kinda digging the longer length again. Keep or purge?

And finally - it is my 28th wedding anniversary in a couple of weeks and a mysterious box arrived in the mail yesterday. Hubby quickly squirrelled it away. However this morning before leaving with DS to go fishing handed me the box and confessed he couldn't keep it a secret and this was my anniversary gift and he'd like to give it to me now. It contained the most gorgeous true navy vintage Coach leather handbag. I love this particular style of Coach bag and have seen it in black and cognac but never in navy. I've wanted a true navy quality leather handbag for a while now. My savvy eBay man has apparently been searching for a bit and finally found this one. I'm in love - with the handbag sure, but more importantly, with that man of mine :) Oh yes…and the zebra print scarf is also a gift from DH, from Danier Leather.

I'm curious if you think this style and shape of dress could work on a petite apple? It is Eileen Fisher petite so that actual sizing would work for me. It's a soft merino wool so would have some decent drape to it. I like that it's a hi-lo hemline. It's the non tapering at the hemline (like a sheath dress or pencil skirt) that makes me wonder.

Not buying - just wondering.

Thanks :)

So I no sooner posted a question regarding the Pikolinos boots from NAS http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....ots-for-me and now I have to retract it. In addition to bunions, I have developed what I believed to be plantar fasciitis. I had made an appointment to go on my lunch break today to a podiatrist to determine if that in indeed the case. And it is.

He was pleased that I have my Birkenstocks with the 4 degree hard footbed and wants me to wear them in the house at all times during the next couple of weeks - no more bare feet on my hard floor until the heel pain starts to subside.

He also recommends as footwear brands that will provide the strong arch support I need, as well as good heel "cupping" and room for the bunions:

• New Balance (for running) - I currently wear Asics and/or Saucony. 
• Naot
• Aravon
• Earthies
• Taos

He also said absolutely no heels over 1 - 1.5 inches and limited wearing of pointy toes. Unfortunately it looks like years (decades really) of wearing ill fitting too high heeled shoes have taken their toll on my poor peds. I may get custom orthotics made but we didn't have time to get into that discussion today.

Luckily the booties/boots I have for fall/winter are all quite comfortable although I will need to try them again to double check on the arch support. And I guess I'll be wearing my Naot Mary-Jane style pumps more often.

In terms of finding a boot to replace my Doc Marcies and perhaps even my Ara patent booties (they have pointy toes), these are now my local options from Canadian Footwear and fit the criteria I've been given. What do you think of any of these with skirts and dresses?

Pic 1 and 2 are Aravon
Pic 3 is Naot

P.S. On the bright side, my wonky knee is getting better and better and he felt there should be no problem with me continuing to work on my running training provided I have the right shoes and I follow his instructions re: footwear so that it doesn't get any worse.

I've been thinking a fair bit about what makes me feel good in an outfit and conversely, what makes me feel yucky in an outfit.

Below are the 7 outfits that have made me feel the best in the last two months and I'd be interested to know what you see as the common denominator. To my eyes and IMHO, the reasons these outfits worked and felt good is because the individual items of clothing fit properly. There are no elements overwhelming my frame.

I think this might be why I really do not feel good and again, IMHO, look good in wide legged drapey trousers and anything with too much fabric. I have an odd little body to fit and having excess fabric, especially around the hips and thighs, just makes me feel yucky.

I'm narrowing down purchases I want to make and have taken drapey white trousers off my spring/summer shopping list based on how I feel in my grey wide legged trousers.

Anyway....would love your thoughts :)

Hubby and DS bought me these trousers for my birthday and I love the colors and pattern, as well as the fit in the waist...BUT...I find them too big from the hips on down and because of the nature of the fabric, they do not drape softly but rather "bunch" and fold. Then when you add in a bit of bagging at the end of the day, I end up feeling quite sloppy in them.

I'm thinking of taking them to Wonder Woman and having her take them in all the way from the hips on down as well as shorten them, to make them more of a slim fit ankle trouser which I can then wear with my black pointy toe kitten heels.

What do you think? Do you have other suggestions on how to tailor these to make them work better?

(I'm actually finding this to become a more common fit issue for me with trousers - my butt and thighs are slimming down quicker than my waist so in order to have trousers fit my waist, they are too big elsewhere.)

I arrived home from work today to find a box on the dining room table from my guys (hubby and DS). They totally surprised me with these two items.

First is a gorgeous pair of Lord & Taylor black and cobalt slightly slouchy trousers. My hubby knows how much I like my plaid L&D trousers so snuck a look at the size tag and bought these. The fit is perfect and the colors are brilliant for my wardrobe.

Second is a crisp white shirt - normally not something I like, but I love the large collar, longer length and best of all, the twist knot in the front. It makes the shirt interesting on its own and it looks fab with a jacket over top.

And in an envelope, was a generous Danier leather gift card.

Do my sweet men know me or what!? I feel completely spoiled and loved. Such wonderful items to spruce up my winter-into-spring wardrobe and make me feel a better about my current body issues. I'm very lucky :)

No time to model these for you now but will put together some outfits soon to show you.

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.

Not long ago I posted that I didn't like myself in skinnies and found them to be unflattering. Well lo and behold, last week I came across these Attitude by Jay Manuel dark burgundy skinnies, fell in love with the rich colour, tried them on and brought them home! I love the colour and the fit and feel they can work in my wardrobe both for casual wear and for work. The skinnies aren't a keep or return as they are staying.

I just spent an hour playing in my closet with some very quick stylings and I was right - these will be very versatile and I'm surprised at how well the colour works. Can I trouble you to look at these stylings and let me know what works and what doesn't? If there is something that doesn't, are there components of the outfit that work but one of the items needs swapping out? Plus I would love any and all suggestions on what else to pair with these. 

BTW please excuse the complete lack of make up or hair styling. I literally took these about an hour after getting out of bed and just having had a cup of coffee. Haven't even brushed my teeth yet…

#1 - with black booties, silk shell and leather blazer
#2 - same outfit without the blazer
#3 - same outfit but with navy Lanai blazer instead
#4 - with denim shirt
#5 - with cream silk blouse, sand wedge booties and fur vest (this looked better in my head and is a fail)
#6 & #7 - with my emerald green cashmere sweater (thanks Astrid for the great colour combo inspiration!)
#8 - with a simple cream chunky knit and sand wedge booties
#9 - with gold drapey sweater, animal print belt and booties
#10 & #11 - with animal print tank, Spiegel leather jacket and black booties
#12 & #13 - with black tank, black booties and charcoal drapey Eileen Fisher cardigan (time to break this sweater out!)
#14 - with animal print tank and purple leather jacket (although the purple is a different shade, can they work together as tonal?)
#15 & #16 - with animal print tank, python booties and white leather jacket
#17 - with black booties and blush Zara blazer
#18 & #19 - with tall black leather boots and cream/black striped sweater