Same Dress, Different Day(s)

Camel dress on day two.   

I love camel with black.  Throw in a little leopard for pattern and it may be, for me, outfit perfection. 

The  middle look exemplifies what a difference a shoe makes.  The cognac flat breaks up the leg line from knee to foot.  Not good, IMHO for a short-legged, curvy girl.  (I'm not sure why I appear shorter in the middle picture, the pumps are less than an inch high.) Swamping out the flats for a pair of black pumps adds a touch of height and elongates my leg.

The short faux leather jacket in the second outfit adds a bit of edge.

Outfit Details:  Left: Dress, Jacket, Belt, Scarf, Tights - Talbots (dress is sold out online, other pieces are old).
Middle:  Jacket - Lord & Taylor similar; Scarf - gift; Shoes - Michael Kors via Nordstrom.
Right: Pumps (old).

So which one gets your vote? 

January is for Savings

 

I admit it, I'm a sucker for a bargain, I'm that person that a marketer loves, give me a discount and I'm on alert.  And markdowns on markdowns hook me every time. 

Like the lemmings (or maybe salmon, I'm not a fish person, but love a simile or metaphor) I will swim upstream for a great deal.  With each day providing an offer for additional percentages off sale and clearance merchandise, it's the perfect time to replenish, stock up, or replace. 

On a hunt to put some camel, one of those perfect neutrals in my wardrobe, I snagged this dress on major discount.  It's ponte, long-sleeved, what's not to love?  The camel is an extraordinary animal, capable of living in extreme tropical temperatures without water.  I expect this dress to have that same staying power and usefulness in my wardrobe -- only smell a great deal better.

To make the decision to keep or return, I put this dress to the test with existing wardrobe pieces.  I styled it a number of ways, here's two.

Outfit Details:  Left: Dress - Talbots, this one appears sold out online (similar); Jacket, belt, scarf - Talbots (old); Tights - Hue; Booties - Munro via Nordstrom.  Want these.
Right: Same dress, Jacket, belt, scarf  (old) - Talbots. 

If there are Bargains, It Must be January

Today I note that it's STILL January, a balmy 8 degrees this morning and our 10-day forecast looks as if I've been relocated to maybe Minneapolis.  Nothing against Minnesota or Minneapolis--I've some lovely friends there--but I'm suspicious of a city where the buildings are all connected by skyways and it isn't because of the hot and humid summers.

We all know that January is bargain bonanza month.  Likes Sirens the discounts lure you to spend the six cents you have left after Christmas. 

But I have been looking for several things--a new, heavier sewing machine, a new coat, wool or cashmere sweaters, items in camel, cobalt or gray. 

Last week at Lord & Taylor clearance items were an additional 50 percent off and there was a coupon for an additional 20.  (There's always a coupon at Lord & Taylor.)  I scored five items, all at about 70 percent off their original retail.  (Math isn't my strong suit, so I can't provide exact percentages--I need Math Head for that and he's at work.)

One of the L&T scored items was this cashmere, black-watch plaid sweater.  It's shorter length allows it to work with a tucked or untucked shirt or blouse or long tee.  Additional pluses were that it is warm without being heavy (now that I don't go to an 85 degree office daily, I get lots of wear from these warmer sweaters and on a day like today I feel as if I could wear two) and I'm a sucker for the pattern.

Outfit Details:  Sweater - Lord & Taylor (it's on the boxy side and runs large, I'm wearing a Large Petite); Shirt (old) - JJill (this one is similar, but they have quite a selection); Cords - Talbots (old); Shoes - Michael Kors via Nordstrom.

Happy Friday, scored any bargains lately?

Blue on Blue

I love most shades of blue and cobalt is one of my favorite shades. 

Got this tee on major mark-down.  This camel sweater does a nice job breaking up the monochromatic look of the shirt and pants.  The scarf serves to warm my neck while adding some visual interest and pattern. 

Yesterday winter made a big entrance in my neck of the woods.  Today our temps are in the minus numbers and we've got eight inches of snow. What's happening in your neck of the woods?

Outfit details:   Talbots -  Sweater- similar; tee; pants- similar and on major sale; scarf - loving this similar one;  necklace  - similar; belt - here's a cute similar one;  Shoes - Cole Hahn via Nordstrom. 

Two Shades of Gray

 

 

 

Black is my go to color during the winter months.  I never seem to have enough, have to prevent myself sometimes from purchasing more of the same, but  love how it always looks polished even on the most casual of days.  You never know who you might run into when you're out and about.  Black always provides me that pulled together feeling.  This new scarf reminded me how much I like gray with black and serves the dual purpose of keeping my neck warm while adding the perfect amount of pattern punch.

 

Happy Friday, make it a great day.

 

 

 

Outfit Details - Clothing - All Talbots - No Close Cashmere Cardigan, Gray Tee, Straight leg Cords -previous seasons; Scarf, Belt - December;  Shoes - Cole Hahn (old); Necklace - Chicos (old).

Oh Happy Day!

 

 

Today is one of the three happiest days of my life, so it called for a celebratory saturated color indicative of joy and girls--pink.

It's the first day of the 34th year that our lovely, talented, too-wonderful-for-words daughter has been here.

So to visually demonstrate my joy, I've paired my black with the deep-toned pink color I so love.  Magenta to me, this season at Talbot's it was Deep Sherry.  Regardless of it's name,  it's a color that brightens my day when the weather doesn't, brings a smile to my face and just says, "happy,"-- just like the girl whose birthday it is.   

Happy birthday darling Meg!

Outfit:  All Talbots, previous seasons or years.  Sweater is recent, but appears to be sold out.   

Happy Hump Day! What's your happy color?

Old Items, New Twist

I've been feeling a little less than fashion inspired during this after the holiday welcome to crummy January weather period.  So when a fellow fashionista posted some inspiration photos over the weekend intending to use them as her week's outfit inspiration, I had an "ahah" moment. 

Today's inspiration was an animal print coat paired with black and red.  It was a beautiful, yet simple outfit.  Just for fun I did a 'wear to work' outfit and my real outfit.  The color/print combination easily adapts to office or casual.  I added the scarf because I don't wear turtlenecks as a rule (I have that awful extra flesh bit hanging below my chin--ewww), so I often wear a scarf, even at home, to keep my neck warm. 

Outfit details - Left --  Coat - Banana Republic (fall); Sweater - Ann Taylor (fall); Tee - Talbots (old); Slacks - Talbots (very, very old); Shoes - Ellen Tracy via Lord & Taylor (old); Handbag - Michael Kors via Nordstrom.

Right -- Changed out dress pants for Cords - Talbots; Leopard flats - Talbots; Scarf - Talbots.

I didn't include links as none of the pieces were new.  You can find the original pictures on Facebook on Shop Your Closet.  How are your dressing during these often dreary winter days?