Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Chairs, Brights and Neutrals aka Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday

Well, let's dive right in, shall we? I have a plethora of new thrift and consignment items (most of which are for cooler weather), so I'll be mixing in a bunch of my new-to-me stuff with my old new-to-me stuff this week!

I took in a couple of bags of my closet weedings and got $125 credit to spend at my fave consignment store - awesome!

First up: Monday! I have had my eye out for a red cardigan since I got rid of this one back in 2009 - they are hard to find! This one was $16. It has no label, but the colour is nice, it has no pills and it feels like a good nylon blend. Perfect! I know it will get a lot of wear.

The black top underneath is also new-to-me ($12). It has all the fabric gathered right at the bottom of the V-neckline and is very flattering. It's a little nicer than a plain black cami.

I put it with my grey chair skirt:
I last wore it here, in a similar colour-mix outfit. The red buttons on the chair skirt's pockets kind of limit what I can wear with it, though, and I didn't want to go all black.

The stuff:
Comfy Tsubos!

My cross necklace that L bought me many years ago:
I almost never wear it. I'm not religious, and I'm always worried I will offend someone by wearing a Christian symbol.

Cardigan (no label, consignment), top (Merona, consignment), skirt (Mia Hansen, thrifted), shoes (Tsubo), necklace (JS, gift from L).

In the package that I received from Megan last week, she generously included a pair of earrings. I built my Tuesday outfit around them. Put on your sunglasses, it's bright!
I had a LOT of comments on this from my co-workers, including one fellow who wanted to know why I dress up like I do for work, always in bright colours, always quite dressy. It was nice to be able to explain that, a) I work hard to keep my weight level, and I'm proud of how my body looks, so I like to show it in my clothes, b) it shows self-respect and confidence in who I am, and c) I'm artistic and this is how I like to express myself. He was genuinely interested, which was really a change from most people who just look away or go, "Whoa!"

I loved the mix of citrus-y orange and yellow together - and I think the emerald green helped ground it. I last wore this cardigan here, the silk blouse here and this is the same skirt I sent Megan.

Outside:
Look! Earrings!

The stuff:
Not too many more wears out of these shoes - September is just around the corner and that means rainy season on the West coast (it actually poured on Monday - I got soaked on the walk home).

I actually like to pack away my summery shoes. It makes them last longer and it's always so fun to pull them out again every Spring. I'm starting to look forward to wearing my boots again - you know I have a big collection!

Last, but certainly not least, these are the earrings Megan sent:
The inspiration that started it all! Thank you, hon!

Cardigan (Press), blouse (Jacob, consignment), skirt (BB Dakota, consignment), shoes (Portia), earrings (swap from Megan).

Today, I wanted to wear some neutrals after all that brightness:
Vizzini's looking at me - isn't he getting big? He kept jumping up and attacking the buttons on the dress (last worn here).

I also was thinking of these shoes, and how I wanted to get another wear out of them before summer is over (I first wore them here, third outfit, scroll down).

Outside shot:
It's a little hard to see in the pictures, but I twisted two skinny belts (a turquoise and a brown) together and wore them both at once. I felt very clever.

The stuff:
*ahem* Let's try that again with less cat (he took off with the necklace).

The stuff!
These shoes are super comfy. I liked the pops of red with the turquoise - one of my favourite colour combos!

Dress (Reitman's, consignment), turquoise belt (Nygard), brown belt, necklace and bracelet (Plum), shoes (Farylrobin, consignment).

15 comments:

  1. The conversation at work sounds very gratifying!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love the first outfit. Those little details like the chair are what make your outfits so interesting. As for the cross, well I've been considering doing some t-shirt surgery on an XL free t-shirt I got because I really like the cross print on the back (and the weird Cthulhu-esque symbol on the front).

    I adore the second outfit! Go you for taking inspiration and turning into such a fab oufit. I love the colors, I love the pieces. I wish it could cool down just a wee bit so I could wear my yellow skirt. I guess it's a good thing bright yellow is supposed to be trendy this cold season.

    The shirt dress is such a fabulous shape. And the kitten-photobomb is just adorable. I've got potentially good news on the cat front - my mom's newest acquisition may be having wee littles! I'm terribly excited. I'll be sure to share many pictures if we're right.

    ReplyDelete
  3. wow! that orange yellow and green outfit is gorgeous! wow!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sheila, you need to take yourself as inspiration! When I saw the chair skirt outfit, and you commented you the buttons held you back, I thought: "pair it with teal and accent with red!!"... and sure enough, you had a similar combination in your last outfit! Teal and red is my favourite right now... quite possibly because it's the colour scheme for the kitchen in the new place we are two days away from living in!!!!! EEEEEE!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. You are just so classy! Love it, mean it! And your response to the co-worker was right on, right on!

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a great answer to your coworker's question!! I'm going to write it down and cite you! If it's alright with you, ofcourse?

    The first combination is great, but I loove the colors in your second outfit!

    And a little question: How do you manage to walk and keep the heels of your shoes perfectly intact?? I always marvel at that! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  7. I like all your outfits here, but he second one with color blocking is FABULOUS!! What a cool look!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love the conversation with your co-worker - that could be a stand-alone post right there about body confidence! I adore the chair skirt, the twisty-belts, well, everything. Including Vizzini, the furry necklace-bandit.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Those reasons you give for "dressing up" are the best.

    Lifting our confidence is always a boost and, I have learned, how you appear affects how others treat you. When I'm dressed in an expensive suit, I get more respect than in casual clothes -- and that, in turn, affects how I feel about myself.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Barbara, yes, go ahead, I am flattered!

    I keep my heels intact because I walk to and from work in running shoes. My shoes rarely ever touch the sidewalk, unless it's walking to the bus stop.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Triple yes !
    I am looking at that skirt with the chair print and it reminds me of a necklace I just bought !!
    My fave of your 3 looks is the one inspired by the earrings given to you by Megan Mae. It's the personification of a beautiful woman in a beautiful day.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Love the orange, yellow and green! and of course, all the shoes~

    ReplyDelete
  13. Love the yellow, orange and green outfit! So fantastic! I love orange and yellow together, but green is such great "grounding". So much better than black. brown or gray. And I love all of your shoes so much<3

    ReplyDelete
  14. Cara, you're so right - I need to think outside the colours in that chair skirt!

    ReplyDelete
  15. That's so cool that your co-worker asked and was interested in your answer. I've picked up a couple of blog readers from my co-workers asking! :)

    Great yellow skirt. I can see you working it with some of your fab animal prints too.

    ReplyDelete

Comments are so incredibly special, and I love them and hug them and treasure them forever. Please feel free to tell me what you think!

I'm not currently able to respond to comments, but I will make every effort to answer questions. I do read every single one, and appreciate your comments.

Please note that comments containing affiliate links spam-y sites, spam comments and anything I deem inappropriate will be deleted.

Cheers,
Sheila