Rough and Tumble

Everyone, meet my new boots. They are tall, rugged, and studly. Just like me.


Sweater, The Limited. Skirt, vintage, thrifted, shortened, and embellished. Boots, Vince Camuto. Tights (they are mustard yellow), Hue. Bag, Mossimo. Bangles, thrifted, vintage, and Garden of the Gods gift shop.

No, really, I am a rough and tumble sort of girl. But I'll admit that the "tall" descriptor doesn't apply. I'm of totally average height. That's why my boots need at least a couple of inches of heel.


Photos by Beefy Muchacho

Catching Up

I returned from Orlando to discover that Fall had fallen.


Blouse, borrowed. Skirt, USMC service uniform (embellished with lace trim). Bag Vieta. Shoes, BCBGeneration. Earrings, Epcot Mexico. Tassel, Epcot Morocco. Arrowhead pendants, thrifted. Sunglasses, Xhilaration.

I also came home to many, many unread posts in my Google Reader. Among the news I missed: today was Everybody Everywear Do It Yourself day. I was happy to realize that I had serendipitously worn something I “did myself.” This olive skirt was once a part of my USMC service uniform. I added some lace trim at the waist and hem and pressed it into civilian service.



Happy fall and happy EBEW DIY day!





Photos by Beefy Muchacho

Safety Pink

It would have been dangerous for me to wear this outfit as I walked through the forest during hunting season. To prevent an accidental shooting, I added neon pink earrings.


Dress and bag, Mossimo. Shirt, Jones New York (thrifted). Obi belt, Sugadaminka. Shoes, Fioni. Tights, Hue. Earrings, Target (spraypainted by me). Bracelets, Forever 21, Garden of the Gods gift shop, and Hot Topic.



Photos by Beefy Muchacho

Truthfully, there’s no hunting allowed in Burnett Woods. And I didn’t go any further than the gazebo. But I loved the pop of pink offered by my newly spraypainted earrings.


Before and after

It All Makes Sense Now

Commuting to and from work, I wore my peach ballet flats. The rest of my color choices didn’t really make sense until I got to work and slipped on these floral peep-toes.


Jacket, Charlotte Russe (dyed). Dress, Merona (shortened). Blouse, Charlotte Russe. Shoes, Nine West. Purse, Simply Vera. Earrings, Night Owl Crafts. Bracelets, vintage, Claire’s, and Mixit.



Here are all of the outfits, so far, that didn’t quite “go” until I added these shoes:


Mostly, it seems I use these shoes as a way to tie in my vintage coral and turquoise earrings.

Repeat Wearings

I brought five pairs of shoes to Boston (including the pair I wore on the plane), but I made my clothes do double duty. For the flight home on Saturday morning, I wore the same dress I flew out in on Wednesday evening.


Checked tunic and belt, Wet Seal. Flowered dress, swapped and shortened. Bag, H&M. Shoes, Lela Rose for Payless. Necklace, The Bead Factory. Watch, Vivani (gift). Bangles, thrifted, Deb, and the Garden of the Gods gift shop.

To create a variety of outfits out of one suitcase, you might think it makes better sense to take fewer shoes and more clothing. However, I find that my feet are happiest if I can at least switch between two pairs of shoes each day. (That doesn’t really explain 5 pairs of shoes in 4 days, but one pair was for the plane and the other for the gym.) I like to have a selection of footwear and use creative layering to get more mileage out of my limited number of garments.



Photos by Beefy Muchacho

My capsule wardrobe for the past four days:


Not pictured: my giant purple wrap, the ballet flats I wore on the flights, and the leggings I slipped on under my dress on Wednesday evening.
And those lime pumps never left the office.

Hillary

Business travel can be so, well, businessy. I often don’t see more of my travel destinations than the airport, hotel, and a restaurant or two. After a few years of trips like that, I resolved to start adding at least one personal element to each trip.

When I visited Minneapolis last December, I met up with the Cheap Chick. I was in Seattle in April and spent time with two old friends. In June, following a meeting in Atlanta, Beefy met me and we saw Rock City, Stone Mountain, and the Georgia Aquarium. When a business trip to Boston was planned, I knew exactly what my “something extra” would be: meeting Hillary of by hillary.


Jacket, Dex (swap). Dress, London Times (shortened hand-me-down). Belt, H&M. Scarf, thrifted. Boots, Miz Mooz. Bag, Mossimo. Cuff, Pangaea. Earrings, Julie’s Inspiration. Brooches, swapped, vintage, and self-made.

I was a leeeeetle excited to meet Hillary (and her husband, Dave).



I’ve been reading Hillary’s blog for years, after first “meeting” her through Wardrobe Remix. After following a blog for so long, you get a good sense of a person’s personality. Hillary was just as sweet and quirky in person as she is on her blog. It was so wonderful to add all the elements of her in-person presence to her written self. The best way I can describe meshing the on-line and real-life Hillarys is that it was like Hillary squared. And she was utterly delightful.

She brought me a cupcake and dressed in a quintessential Hillary manner. We talked about cats and makeup and blogging and photography and living in Boston. I wish I had asked to see her collection of Hello Kitty charms…but I think that’s the only topic we missed.


Photo by Dave
Hillary, it was so great to meet you! Next time, I’ll bring you a can of Cincinnati’s Skyline chili.

Dirty Water

Usually, on business trips, I’m stuck taking my outfit photos in my room, with varying degrees of success. Today marks the first time I ventured outside, alone, armed with a tripod and remote, to take my outfit photo in a strange city.


Blazer, Forever 21 (embellished). Dress, London Times (shortened hand-me-down). Scarf, thrifted. Shoes, Two Lips. Bag, Mossimo. Cuff, Pangaea. Earrings, Julie’s Inspiration.

Behind me is part of the Boston skyline, shrouded in low clouds.


I’m on the roof of the Wang YMCA of Chinatown. I had the whole thing to myself, so I really wasn’t quite as daring as I’ve made myself out to be.