Swing and a Miss - And Special Guest Shoes!

Announcement: I've added a bunch of links on the right side to some posts about me (because I'm full of myself that way, haha); things like my weight loss, or my closet, in case you're interested. They're posts I like.

Anyway. I really thought this outfit would look okay. But when I put it on at work (see, I don't try on my clothes the night before, I just pick out outfits and cross my fingers), I was all, "Ugh, this doesn't work. Dang."

I tried - what do you think?:
I got my hair cut after work, which is why I'm doing the "check it out" pose. I think a belt would have been better for waist definition. This skirt is just so pouffy.

The stuff:

The fab Fluevogs make another appearance.

Special Guest Shoe from Ruth!

Oh, those are so wild. Here's what she has to say (and yes, she instructed me to put the hyperlink in):

My second pair of Irregular Choices -- These are the first shoes I saw when I walked into the Schuh store. Oh MY. I adore purple and I love the iridescent glow of these shoes. Unfortunately, I was having nail issues and had to take them off half way through the day and put on my flats.

Speaking of flats, I noticed when in London that the majority of women were wearing flats--either ballet flats or boots, but always nice ones. Probably because everyone walks/takes the tube. The only time I saw someone in trainers was at the gym. Mind the gap, ladies, especially in heels!

Check out the sole detail:

Aw, a teddy bear!

Cardigan (no label, consignment), cami (InWear), skirt (no label, thifted), shoes (Fluevog), necklace (Le Chateau), rhinestone stud earrings.

Sunshine on My Face - and a Special Guest Shoe

Finally, I feel like spring is here! I'm gravitating towards all my lighter clothes, both in colour and texture. I'm going to have to clean out the closet soon and pull out all my summer shoes from storage.

Today's outfit:
I can still feel the sun on my face. Ah....

Londyn, you probably recognize this blouse - we have the same one. It's such a light silk, I can only wear it when it's really warm out.

Unfortunately, the A/C in my office was on full blast all afternoon, so I wore my jacket:

Not nearly as fun!

The stuff:

Love the shoes - my first wear of them in months. Ah, all that glorious colour! Yellow!

Today's Special Guest Shoe is brought to us by Princess Nicole, whom Ruth and I work with. We all bond over shoes, and you can bet there were plenty of "oooh"s when she came home from holidays last year with these babies:

Oooooh....aaaahhhh! Blackberries are lousy cameras, sorry. Here's what Princess Nicole has to say about these: "I bought these shoes in downtown Dublin at my favorite European shoe store: Schuh. I fell in love immediately with the gold brocade effect, the family of swans and most importantly, the "glass heel"- so reminiscent of Cinderella! I can't help but feel decadent when I wear these shoes…"

Of course, they are Irregular Choice (again). Why do I not have a pair of them??

Detail of the swan family and the "glass heel":

Fit for a princess!

Blouse (Nine West), jacket (RW & Co.), skirt (Le Chateau), belt (Plum), shoes (Qupid).

Leg Tattoos and A Shiny Top - And Another Guest Shoe

For those of you who can't see detail in my pictures, I am sorry - the lighting in my house is not the greatest and when I use the flash on my camera, I hate the way it looks (all glare-y). If you haven't noticed, my "stuff" background is nearly always one of the articles of clothing (yesterday's was the skirt some of you couldn't see very well in the full shot).

Anyway, on to today:
I wanted to wear this vintage top again, and because it's pretty shiny and colourful, I kept with nice ol' neutral black. But of course, a girl's got to have fun, so I wore these "leg tattoo" nylons:

They go right up the sides of both legs. Fun!

Stuff:

Vintage flexible gold cuff (filched from Mom's jewelry box around 1984), and my Avon filigree earrings. The JLo shoes keep everything grounded in 2009.

Special Guest Shoe courtesy of Ruth again: the Green Suede IC Cortesan Floral from Irregular Choice:

Very Emerald City. Ruth says, "Irregular Choice, probably my favourite shoe brand. Yes, even over Fluevog, but by a very slim margin. Someone has actually put some thought into these shoes. Some imagination!

Again, purchased at Schuh in Southampton, England. Schuh is *amazing* …. This is no Aldo, ladies. Truly an orgasmic experience (am I allowed to say that?) surpassed only by the actual Irregular Choice shoe store in London. A whole store of Irregular Choice shoes -- and for men too (cobalt blue glitter OMG!) ...

These shoes are not only a fabulous iridescent colour, but extremely comfortable. I love the soles and I loved the box they came in so much I brought two home in my suitcase (yes, I have another pair of [possibly even more amazing] Irregular Choice shoes waiting in the wings) -- I use really good shoe boxes to store accessories etc in my closet and these are fab pull-out boxes with a reinforced finger hole (not the boring top-lid type). And they've got little robots on them :) Doesn't get much better than that."

She also notes that someone wrote on the box, "Sorry. I love you X."

Lurking in the corner of my picture was Othello:

He looks furious. I'd better feed him.

Cardigan (Vero Moda), top ("Style Rite Blouse Co.", vintage), skirt (Kensie), shoes (JLo), bracelet (Mom's, vintage), earrings (Avon).

Gods, Harlots (Guest Shoes!) and I Feel Pretty

Okay, don't say you weren't warned. Ahead lies pictures of me in pink, miniature gods and shoes so gorgeous I nearly rubbed them on my face (hey, they were new! they had that "new shoe" smell still!). It's a long post, I'm just sayin'.

Let's get started. This marks the first Special Guest Shoe! Ruth just got back from London and as well as buying me yesterday's leggings/tights, she managed to pick up a few things for herself. She wore these to work today, and I loved them so much:

Here's what Ruth has to say about them:

My new purple suede Harlots. "Hard Hearted Harlot" is written on the soles and they have little whips hanging off the sides. Harlot shoes aren't supposed to be comfortable so I won't mention the fact that these are fabulous to walk in. Purchased at Schuh in Southampton, England, where the Titanic sailed from on her way to New York. Rose could have worn these while reclining on the sofa …
Blurry pictures from Blackberries, notwithstanding, those are some shoes. Purple suede with red stitching and laces, lime lining (!), the wrapped heel, oh my goodness. I think I have the vapours.

I was surely in a girly mood today. Pink and everything.

How I transition into Spring: I stop wearing tights and hose and wear my boots with my summery lighter weight skirts. The cotton lining creeps up when I wear it with tights, but it works great with boots and bare legs when it's warmer out.

I love this skirt. It's dusty rose cotton under the brown netting with burgundy and pink embroidery on the hem and the wide waistband (I'm not showing the waistband because the skirt is about 2 sizes too big on me; it's sitting on my hips).

A shot of the chestal region for a nice look at my Grandma J's leaf necklace (50s) and the vintage mink brooch:

I love the feel of the necklace, and I petted the brooch all day.

The stuff:

I haven't worn these boots enough this winter. They're quite thin so they are really better suited for Fall and Spring. Grandma J's bracelet as well (also from the 50s).

And now, something rather different. I've finished another figure - it has been a long time! I had nearly forgotten that I painted!

Straight out of the box, with flash and unglued parts:

Sanded, glued, primered:

Just base skin colour:

A few colours and his skirt done:

I hate this stage - it seems so far to get to the end and all the details. I put in close to 4 hours work to get from the last picture to the end result. There was at least one painting session between this one and the next that I don't seem to have documented.

Ta-dah!

"I am a very silly-looking god. I hold my weapons poorly."

"And I am a god in an uncomfortable leotard."

He kind of looks like an extra from the "Rocky Horror Picture Show." I like her better, but I always like painting women more than men. These are supposed to be vaguely Egyptian. I don't know why I bought them, but they had me in the worst case of painter's block ever! I finished these on Monday, nine months after I started.

Oh, wait. They want to show you their bums.

See what I mean about the uncomfortable leotard? I did a good job on his skirt, though.

Sweater (no label, consignment), skirt (RW & Co.), boots (Roberto Vianni), necklace (Listner, vintage, Grandma J), bracelet (Trifari, vintage, Grandma J), brooch (vintage).