I'm Still Alive!

Still alive, still kicking. What started as a bit of a break for Christmas turned into a bit of a break for some messy personal stuff. I'm not doing so hot at the moment, which makes the fun of fashion blogging dim a bit. With any luck, I'll be excited and back soon. Hope your holidays were great, and that you're feeling and looking your best.

After Work Surprise and Family Visit.

Is it wrong that I'm excited to be sick at home today because I might actually catch up on my blog reading? Sad.

Just have a few outfits to post. A week or so ago I had a really hard day at work, so Matt planned a surprise for when I got home. He didn't tell me how to dress, only that "kind of nice" was appropriate. I basically just changed my shoes when I got home from work:

These shoes always get compliments, but hurt within five minutes. They're Steve Madden's knockoff of the Sex and the City movie shoe. Oh, and for the curious- Matt ended up taking me to the Riff Trax Christmas special. Hilarious.

This last weekend, my family came to visit me. We went out to eat, then my mother, sister and I went to the Nutcracker. The brother and sister crashed at my place while the folks got a room at their favorite local hotel.

The next day, Jeff and Kelly and I went shopping. Kelly and I traded hats for the day, making me look something like Amelia Earhart and she like a lumberjack. Observe.

These photos demonstrate a few things:

1. My siblings are too impatient to stop and take non-blurry photos, even if you ask nicely.

2. My sister, though lovely in person, likes to make weird faces in pictures.

3. My brother dresses quite snazzily, but has no interest in holding still to take a photo. You must snap them while he's talking to you.

4. My siblings utterly destroy my apartment when they come to visit.

Adventures at the Museum.

On Thursday, Matt and I went to the museum. It really helped cheer me up.

I've only been to the Nelson-Atkins once before, and I was so fascinated by the European Renaissance art that I spent my entire visit in about three rooms. I had seen a few things that really stuck with me, and was thrilled to learn this time that I was allowed to take photos so long as I didn't use flash.

I didn't bother trying to take many photos of the full pieces, as it doesn't make a very nice picture:

 

So instead, I took snippets. Huge post ahead.

Can you imagine these shoes as closed-toed, high heel, knee-high boots? I could wear them with my red vintage dress, like this:

Yes, I am finding fashion ideas in a religious moral painting. Bad?

I take less blurry photos than...

... Matt does.

She is supposed to be a modern-day Persephone...

... who has killer shoes.

Here is where I totally geeked out:

This was done by John Singer Sargent, who also painted the scandalous Madame X portrait. I've been reading a fantastic book about him and Madame X (Amelie Gatreau) and have gotten a bit obsessed with the subject. I went a bit nuts when I looked over at the plate and realized I was admiring his work. See, now I'm torn, because I want to push you to read the book but don't want to seem like I'm shoe-horning in an Amazon link. Ah well.

The book truly is fantastic. It talks about Sargent's path as an artist and Amelie's as a famous beauty, and the racy portrait he painted of her (with a dangling shoulder strap!!!!) that shocked Paris. It destroyed her reputation, and nearly ended his career.

A Gasp of Air.

Work is kicking my ass this week. It's all I can do to keep up with my favorite blogs at the moment. I definitely have some photos to post and things to get excited about, whenever I do get some time.

Speaking of excited, how are we feeling about the new Amazon linking feature? I personally love the  potential to make a little money on a blog without dousing it in ugly, largely unrelated ads. Plus, I'm always linking something or other on Amazon, and can see myself buying things I see on other people's blogs if they were to link. It's a pretty clever idea.

I've been wearing a lot of uninspired remixes- today I threw on a blazer because I wanted to look put together at work. I'm having my annual review with my old and new bosses at the end of the day. I'm nervous about it.

 Not really like this at all- my office isn't pretty, and my bosses aren't evil.

As you may have gathered, I've been a bit stressed and down lately. Luckily, I'm never too busy at work to take a quick peek at ModCloth, and that always cheers me up. I asked for several ModCloth items for Christmas, which usually means I get a giftcard. Here's a few things that would make my list today, were my gift card from a very, very generous Santa:

 

Eighth Wonder of the World Booties

Memphis Belle Bomber

Sweet Pota-toe Heels

Classic Make and Model Bag

Jealous of Fame Stole

The stole reminds me of one more thing that I'm coveting at the moment- muffs (try Googling that, though- I dare you).

 

This one on Etsy has me all mushy inside. It's fake fur, and even has pockets inside! As soon as the Christmas money lockdown has subsided, this little guy is getting snapped up. Both this muff and a good pair of dark, skinny jeans are on my splurge list come January. The muff reminds me of the one I had for my American Girl Samantha doll growing up. I am beyond excited for it.

What do you think? It is too weird for you to consider using it every day?

The Shortlist.

Today I was supposed to go to the Chief's football game with my rabid fan boyfriend. My week has been so hectic that I told him I needed a break- a day to lay around and relax. He was happy to go with a buddy, and I'm still happily in my pajamas, watching DVR'ed episodes of Launch My Line and catching up on Blogland.

I've had four or five things I've wanted to post about in the last week or so, but rather than dump them on you all at once, or space them out in any logical fashion, here's a bullet list.

1. I am getting unreasonably obsessed with that furry hat. You know, this one. I'm assuming by now everyone and their mother is getting sick of it, but I think it's completely weird and adorable, and I've wanted one for at least a year. I'm probably going on a hat hunt today once shower and pants time happens for me.

2. Launch My Line is kind of a weird show. I don't have much to add to Fashion Me Fabulous's reviews. I love to watch fashion shows, but it seems needlessly structured and too full of drama. Tons of arbitrary rules, tons of divas. Are you watching this with me?

3. A few days ago I bought my sister a Christmas present so cool, I broke my flimsy clothing shopping ban (see hat, above) that I got myself some too. Hers are black, mine are this cool heathered gray. I intend to experiment with them today.

Foot Traffic Super Long Cable Knit Leg Warmers - about $12

4. For all those readers constantly flooding my inbox with the question: What would you look like if you had a moustache? Well, you're in luck. Last week, I went to a moustache party. Dramatic pose:

CitiSoles.

When I was in college, I was definitely a party girl. Not THAT girl, mind you, but I did feel remiss if I didn't go out drinking and dancing at least once a week. I'm not the type to pass up an opportunity to get dressed up and be around lots of people.

Of course, there were always obstacles. My best friend lived near the bar scene, but it was a bit of a walk. There were no coat rooms at our bars, so we would park a car near the bar area and use it as a place to store our coats (never, ever driving afterwards- just a using it as a closet we could walk back and forth to). Also, walking a few blocks to the bars, a night of dancing, a few blocks back to her apartment... heels were a bit killer.

Eventually, I developed a system. I would bring a big enough purse for my heels, and drop in a pair of flip flops in a plastic bag. At 1 in the morning, drunk, foot comfort trumps fashion. I would switch them out, putting the heels into the plastic bag to save my purse from inevitable bar funk.

I wish I had known about CitiSoles! I just read about them over at Cafe Fashionista about a month ago and bought them for the afore-mentioned best friend. They're ballet flats that come in a small carrying case. When you're aching, you just bust them out, slip them on, and their little case pulls out to become a tote bag for your heels. Genius.

After Christmas, when my bank account recovers, I'll have to buy a pair and tell you how it goes.

My Vintage Dresses.

Watching other bloggers successfully shortening their vintage dresses into cute, quirky statement pieces has been making me itch to turn scissors on my own little collection. I have a local source where I routinely pick up cute little vintage dresses for around $8, but I struggle with how to minimize their dowdiness. I'm slapping my forehead that I never considered shortening them!

I'm currently debating whether to take them to a professional tailor or to make puppy eyes at my sewing-whiz mother, but first I wanted to ask for some advice- how high do I go? Also on the list- get a less blurry camera!

This one looks great with a belt.

This grey one probably won't get cut. It's too damn cute. The waist cinches in pretty tight, you just can't see it under the flap. Reminds me of dresses my mom's mom wears.

This one actually might get purged. It's one of my favorites, and it's been hanging as decoration in my apartment for months. I was really surprised when I tried it on for this photo and it nearly strangled me. It is tiny on top.

This last one I just bought today. I love it even at the length it's at. Seven dollars, can you imagine?

Any advice on where is best to shorten these? A few I might take just above the knee, and one or two I thought about making very short.

Getting Sucked In.

So... I may or may not have been a bit weak-willed and caved in to ModCloth. Basically, two of the three things I was making eyes at a few weeks ago managed to make it into my shopping cart, and thus my hands/feet. Oops.

In my defense, the clutch will help satisfy my craving for the YSL mail clutch I wanted so desperately, for a fraction of the price. And the flats are really cute and comfortable. I wore them both out tonight to a one-man show and I kind of don't want to take the shoes off now that I'm home and it's pajama and movie time.

The blue button-up was actually arranged like a wrap dress and then belted within an inch of its life. When I came home and loosened the belt, it fell this way and I thought it was much nicer. As usual, this outfit would have benefited greatly from having 10-15 more minutes to plan it out. Instead, items were grabbed and told to love each other.

I realize that if I want to someday be an awesome blogger I'm going to have to start taking photos outside (not as pleasant when one has no backyard or other private area) and get a camera that doesn't blur if you breathe when taking photos. Or, you know, splurge the $20 and get a tripod. Some day, kids.

Post-Turkey.

Like many of you, I took a break over the holidays, and like a few of you, it wasn't really planned. I had a vague idea to write something here and there, and blew it off. What can I say? I'm a rebel.

My outfits have been a bit uninspired lately. I feel like I'm just wearing the same five things I love over and over. Which clearly means I need to purge a lot of clothes and start shopping, right? In that spirit, a few things I'm considering purchasing at the moment:

This badass cable knit shrug would keep me a bit covered, a bit warm, and it ties up at the neck!

$24.80 at F21

I always said I'd never get a watch that wasn't digital, as I am totally stumped when it comes to reading an analog clock (my first grade teacher would be crushed). Of course, I said that before I realized how much more stylish analog watches are...

$24.99 at ModCloth

While I've been craving legwarmers for myself, this is actually on the Maybe Buying It list as a Christmas gift for my little sister. I'll throw in a little something else to make me feel better about how inexpensive this gift really is.

$5.99 on Amazon

I'm still also on the lookout for a good dark skinny jean, as well as belts belts belts and the perfect cloche hat. All of these, however, get to wait until after Christmas. I still have a lot of presents to get! How's your Christmas shopping doing?

What I Wore All Weekend.

I walked away from the blogosphere for the weekend (deliberately Monday, unexpectedly Tuesday) and came back to mountains of updates. I've been adding a lot of badass bloggers to my follow list lately and still haven't had many posts to read every day. I guess everyone got motivated all at once, because it took me large chunks of my afternoon to catch back up.

This weekend was a blast. I spent almost every waking minute meeting Matt's family and old friends. This caused me to try and do a little bit of dressing up, with a lot of positive feedback. I ended up using a lot of the same pieces and mixing them up different ways. All of the photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Friday at work, feeling kind of lazy:

A borrowed, thrifted dress, my OTK boots and black tights. The belt is new from Target and I'm wearing it constantly.

Going out:

After work a good buddy, myself and the boyfriend went out. I wanted to wear something kind of sexy, but not my usual. I played around with this.

The wedding:

These photos are delightfully awkward because I made Matt step down the hall at the reception and take them. I love this outfit, but I think the skirt is awfully close in color to my skin.

Matt's Mom's place for an early Thanksgiving with his family:

I'm clearly adapting the same outfit from Friday night into Sunday daywear. I'm either lazy or a genius. Every time I wore this scarf I tried to do that elegant, casual thing where you drape it across the front and belt it. But this scarf is too long if you loop it once, too short if you loop it twice. I finally just gave up and threw it on.

Grabbing food on Monday, off work for the day:

I found out Monday that the hot water was shut off for a few hours due a mysterious disturbance in another apartment. Thus, I could not take a shower to step out to Panera and had to wear this hat. I never wear it normally because I feel like it makes me look like I want to be a painter or something. But it was kind of cute that day.

All-in-all, I think I've made some progress here. I feel like I'm not quite as clueless lately. My favorite outfit was the last one, of course, because it has so many of my favorite pieces going on. I'd be happy to share where I got any item that you're interested in.

Now, nap time- I just got off work and I'm beat. Hope you guys had a great weekend, and that this upcoming one is even better!

Why Clothes are Important.

I feel like I've spent a lot of time this week defending fashion. I've had debates with all manner of humans about this topic in the last seven days or so, and I'm always on fashion's side. I should have just sent them all this:

Why Clothes Are Important:

This is a bear with no fur. A bear. Can you even tell? Gross.
I rest my case.

This weekend I have:

• Girl night;
• Wedding (not mine, ha);
• The all-important K-State/Nebraska football game watching at my parent's house;
• Lunch with my dad;
• Matt's family's Thanksgiving; and
• Matt's big joint birthday.

I intend to wear a lot of clothes. With any luck, I will show you the cute ones.

Have a great weekend!

Damn You, ModCloth.

Where did people even shop before ModCloth? Did people shop? I imagine it was a far more gray, dreary world than our own.

Reasons I hate ModCloth today:

1. I just bought a dress yesterday, meaning I have to lay off buying anything for a bit. I'm trying to be good. But these little flats are perfect. They're sweet, neutral and simple. I don't own a single pair of ballet flats, because I rarely find a pair I really have to have. Also, the fact that ModCloth listed them a second time leads me to suspicions that they ran out of stock the first time around. Argh.

 2. Does ModCloth read my blog or something? I was just making come-hither eyes at that YSL Y-mail clutch a few weeks ago. How do they know?? This bag is a cute little wannabe and it's kinda killing me.

3. I have also been making eyes at this Betsey Johnson sweater since I spotted it online a week ago. Dinosaurs, really? Is there anything cooler?

None of these are out of my normal, semi-reasonable price range (except that sweater- ha), but I'm trying hard to be good and save a little money this month. But, let's face it- you should probably expect a guilty post within the week. After that, ModCloth and I may need to take a break and reevaluate our relationship...