All's Fair

Back to the grind after my nice long weekend!

After work today, I'm headed off to a job fair that a local company is holding. Having done my research on them, I know they have a very casual environment, so I don't want to stick out like a sore thumb in a suit and heels.
Hence, boots, a dress and a jacket. Minimal accessories (earrings and a ring only) aside from the belt. It's still a bit too warm for tights and I didn't want to look like an old lady in nylons (this company is very "young" in outlook).

Practicing my HR pose:

"Why yes, I'd love to work for your company!"

Would you hire me or pass me over, solely based on this outfit? Keeping in mind that this is for an IT-based company, every day is Casual, very laid-back environment. What would you do differently?

Edit: Hey, all, thanks so much for the feedback! I do appreciate it. I did forget to mention in the original post that I had to walk about 1.5 km to get to the job fair, so that's why I went with the low boots - purely functional (and funky).

Also, it was interesting to see how other women dressed for this. It was a mix of jeans/sneakers/hoodies/backpacks and way overdressed (suits and very high heels). I seemed to have made a good impression and many people commented on the bright green of my ensemble. I deliberately chose this dress because of the colour and the ruffles (which, you may recall, I refer to as "lettuce") - it's all about making a memorable impression, right?

Dress (Taylor, consignment), suit jacket (Jacob, consignment), boots (Aldo, consignment), belt (Gap).

A Whole Lotta Bigass

The first thing my boss said to me today was, "Wow, that's a bigass flower!" Then I realized that I'd worn three bigass things today. Good thing I wore a suit to keep it all under control:
I think the conservative cut of the suit anchors all the funky stuff and keeps it office-appropriate. If I'd had a big meeting or something, I could easily have stripped off some of the bigass items and looked very buttoned-down.

This is more how I felt today:

Dude...let's not get all stressed.

I had enough layers on to choke a horse (if a horse would choke on layers...yeah):

Peach cami (I tell ya, that 80s peach is going to come back!), brown shirt, plaid vest and the jacket (and the jacket and vest are both lined).

There's the bigass bracelet, which is actually a necklace that I wrapped around my wrist a bunch of times. The bigass flower, of course (inspired by Kari's purchase while in my city!).

The stuff: And the last bigass item is...the shoes! Woot, I love these babies!

Isn't this a gorgeous flower?

So pretty - the colour is not quite as peachy as it looks. It has a lot of pink and rose in the centre.

Suit (Jacob, consignment), vest (Vero Moda), blouse (Esprit), cami (Esprit), shoes (Qupid), necklace worn as bracelet and earrings (Aldo Accessories), flower (Roberta's Hats).

Red and Yellow and Orange - Oh My!

My lovely mother-in-law and I went shopping while we visited them - it's a tradition we do together. We hit all the thrift stores and the consignment stores. She always wants to buy me something and sometimes I let her...especially when I can't buy any new shoes or clothes!

I built my outfit today around the shoes. Colour!
Inigo interferes again - he was very lovey tonight.

My groovy vintage top, my yellow cardi for work and where the heck are the shoes??

Oh, there they are! These were $20 at Liquidation World. They say they are leather, but I am suspect. Anyway, they are an orangey-salmony-coral colour and I love them!

The stuff:

They look very pink there, but trust me, they are more orange. That's also my new gold filigree cuff (worn over the weekend as well).

Cardigan (no label, consignment), vintage top (Style Rite, vintage), suit pants (Studio Max), shoes (Valley Lane, gift), cuff (The Bay), earrings (Plum).

It's All About the Shoes

I am so tired. How can I be this tired when it's only Wednesday? L and I painted our place every day of the long weekend. Many coats of paint. And we just got home from dragon boat practice - the first big race is on Saturday!

All that whining aside, I have just been waiting for the right moment to unveil my new shoes:
Erm, please ignore the salt water on my legs (Monsieur Splashy-Pants was behind me today) and the hat-head.

This is the t-shirt I got in the Swap-O-Rama (it's actually one of Ruth's, how 'bout that?), and I didn't know what to wear with it, because it's a weird colour. Sort of bluey-greeny-grey-y? Anyway, I got these shoes a couple of weeks ago (Hilary Radley, new to me, $33, yessiree) and when I put them in the closet, I noticed, "Hey, these sort of match that t-shirt! Sweet!"

Note: the colours in the above picture are more acurate than in the picture below.

The stuff:
Nice details on the shoes - I love the little sparkly buckle and all the nice folds (real leather...ooooh). Added just the plain black suit skirt (it has shadow polka dots), the cami with black sequins and my old Fairweather circa 2001 choker. I felt very polished and elegant all day.

Top (RW & Co., swapped, Ruth's), cami (Esprit), skirt (Jacob, consignment), shoes (Hilary Radley, consignment), choker (Fairweather), crystal stud earrings.

What Do You Mean, It's 29 Degrees Out?

Unless I'm going to be outside, I don't really factor the weather into my wardrobe planning for work days.
Hence the sweater, lined pencil skirt, lined wool-blend jacket. Hey, at least I'm not wearing nylons!

I based my oufit around the fabulous shoes. Since I turned my ankle last night - did I mention I'm a klutz? - I wanted to wear low heels. The shoes are trimmed in a grassy green, with brown and black zebra, and the sparkly decoration.

See?
The green is much more green than this - the top photo is more accurate. I photograph my accessories on top of a shelf about 3 feet closer to the den's window, and it's amazing how the light leaches the colour out of things. For example, the burgundy shoes I wore yesterday look bright red in the "stuff" shot (Alison, you called it - they ARE burgundy).

That's my new Fossil ring up there (complete with bandaid, because it's too big) - click to enlarge. I waited for that to get marked down for ages - it started out around $45, and I got it for around $5. It's a knuckle buster, for sure, but I love the brown metal and the dome shape of it. The earrings are vintage clip-ons, and the necklace is one of my Grandma J's vintage pieces from the 50s.

Suit jacket (Kenzie), sweater (INC, thrifted), skirt (Kensie), belt (Plum), shoes (Hale Bob), necklace (Lisner, Grandma J's, 1950s), earrings (vintage), ring (Fossil).

Red and Blue Suit - And Checking In Halfway Through My Wardrobe Challenge

When I arrived at work and went to change into this outfit, I realized...the pants are tight. Just a week bit tight, but it serves to remind me to stay on track and watch what I eat and to exercise more. Still, not the kind of thing you want to be reminded of on a Monday. Blech.
However, I love the look of these shoes, and I do like this suit a lot (but I don't wear it much). This is the new red top I got at the swap last week.

The stuff:

Blue, blue, blue cheap shoes...They pop nicely against the red, don't they? They look good, but they are crap quality. I have major Dr. Scholl's in them.

So, I hit the halfway mark of my 2009 Wardrobe Challenge on June 30th, and I was feeling pretty good about it...until this week.

I'm feeling frustrated by not being able to have gorgeous trendy shoes. I want pretty summer dresses. I want nice light skirts. These are the hardest things to find second-hand, and I am really jonesing bad for a shopping trip! I expressed this to L today, and what a dear, he offered to take me shopping and "cheat on your resolution."

Well, that pulled me up short. I have my "gift loophole" (having a bit of a lawyerly bent, I love loopholes), so he could have taken me shopping and bought me new pretties as gifts. But that defeats the spirit of the challenge, if not the letter. I can't do it - but just wait for me to milk the gift aspect when my birthday comes around (gift cards will count as gifts)!

I have a huge admiration for Jane at workthatwardrobe, as she nears the final days of her own "no buy" challenge (hers is much more strict than mine!). Another 5 1/2 months to go...and summer is the hardest part.

Suit (Vero Moda), red top (Le Chateau, swap), shoes (Anne Michelle, consignment), necklace (don't recall).

Suits Me Fine

After I picked up this fab suit in a consignment store for $45 the other day, I felt like wearing it for my first day back to work after my holiday:
Inigo loved it. He's actually in a sunny spot, but I've had to draw the curtain so that I don't have glarey sections in my picture. Aw, so cute.

The suit is black with tone-on-tone micro polka dots! I love polka dots.

The belt is one of my new obi style belts that I got this last weekend. I have been looking for one of these for ages! It's by local clothing company Smoking Lily (blog here). They are known for using lots of natural fibres (the belt is silk) like cotton and hemp, recycled fabrics, and all the designs are one-of-a-kind and hand silk-screened. I have a groovy bug scarf by them. The design on this belt is gold monkeys and trees, and black map fragments of Clayquot Sound. One side is magenta; the other side is plain gunmetal grey silk.

My fab shoes went perfectly!

My accessory stuff:

The earrings are vintage, bought by me over 10 years ago.

That's my dad's ring. He had two rings he wore all the time: this one and a dragon one which I'll have to get a photo of it next time my brother wears it. When Dad was in a coma, my mom said she wanted us kids to have his rings. The dragon is bigger and fit my brother (although I like it a lot more, style-wise), and this one is mine. Dad had a heart attack and never came out of the coma; we took him off life support after a week and his body finally died. I think of my dad when I wear this ring - it's like he's with me.

The ring is 10K gold and is from the late 50s/early 60s - the jewelry store that made it is still in existence in my town. I don't know what the stone is.

Maybe our resident jeweler knows: Lain? It's not amethyst. The back of the stone is open and unpainted (like rhinestones have gold or silver painted on the backs). It's quite hard (no scratches even though I used to wear it every day). I was told at one time that it was Alexandrite, but that seems to be pretty rare. It is deep pink in artificial light (like the above pic), but in natural sunlight it is almost a bright blue with a purple tint. It totally changes colour.

Tina asked me to show what pieces I get rid of when I get new-to-me clothes - I have the "One In, One Out" rule in effect. This is going bye-bye:

It's the World's Loudest Suit (also worn here)! Much as I love the look of it, it is so loud when I wear it that...I never wear it. I am now even at jackets, but getting rid of the pants gives me a further pant credit. I still have a credit in skirts, even with the new black skirt suit.

Suit (Jacob, consignment), cami (RW & Co.), obi belt (Smoking Lily, consignment), shoes (Poetic License, gift from L), earrings (vintage), ring (Dad's, vintage).

Wendy B - Owned!

I have been having fun going through my closet and looking for the warm weather clothes. I got so used to wearing sweaters - this feels like a real treat.
Of course, I was okay until the A/C came on and then I was glad to have picked up this lovely cashmere cardigan a couple of weekends ago:

It's the colour of a Siamese cat. And gee, look who's on the label:

Not "our" Wendy B, of course, but isn't that hilarious? Naturally, her name would be on quality goods, though. This was consignment for $24.99.

The stuff:

The shoes are new-to-me and are actually brand new Chinese Laundry! They even still had the Winners label stuck to the bottom! And only $16.99 - steal! It's totally worth it to troll second-hand and consignment stores for little gems like these. I love the tortoise shell.

The necklace is new and I haven't worn it before - it's a little bit overkill with the pearls, but since when am I subtle? Ha! I think not. The earrings are from my wedding - I think it's time to get some new pearl studs (really bigass ones).

Cardigan (Wendy B, consignment), blouse (I.N.C., consignment), suit skirt (Kenzie), shoes (Chinese Laundry, consignment), necklace (Aldo Accessories), earrings (c. 1996?).

Yellow and Grey - and Five of My Least Favourite Things

Firstly, I have to give a big thank you to my friend Elaine for giving me this lovely dress! What a sweet thing to do.
Secondly, mental note to self: do not wear the polka dot bra under this. The lining is not opaque.

Thirdly, I really like yellow and grey together! Woot! Here's some yellow and grey stuff:

That big bangle is a real gem.

Fourthly, Tessa Scoffs tagged me with one of those award-type thingies. I like being singled out, and I like to talk about myself, but I'm terribly lazy and don't want to pick favourites out of the blogs that I browse (at least not until it's time for Major Awards again, heh heh), so if you feel like participating, please do. Fill your boots!

Five of My Least Favourite Things (in no particular order):

1. Parsnips. Mutant carrots. Horrid alien white roots. Yucky taste. Don't even try to convince me otherwise.

2. Cleaning. My mom taught me that there are more important things in life than having a spotless house. She taught me that you can pay other people to do it, for one (ha!). I do periodic massive cleans (and I get right into the details, dusting with a paintbrush even) but eh, *shrug*, I really just don't like it. Thank god for dishwashers.

3. Intolerance. I am really a "live and let live" kind of person. As long as what you do doesn't harm other people, I have no problem with it. One of the worst feelings in the world is finding out someone you know is closed-minded or intolerant of others' beliefs/habits/sexuality/gender...you name it. I try to live by the Golden Rule and be a good person - I'm not religious or political and I don't want to get into all that on this blog, but wouldn't the world be a little better if we were just a little kinder?

4. Babies. Now, now, settle down - I am not a baby hater! They are lovely...for other people. Or when they are old enough to wipe their own bums and speak coherently. Then I like them. Other people's kids are great. For me...not so much.

5. Bad Spelling/Punctuation/Grammar. Especially in a newspaper, book or magazine, or advertisement or other professional publication. Hire a proofreader! I deal with written correspondence daily - emails, letters, legal documents - and I am appalled by the horrid lack of regard for the language. I'm not out to change the world; I recognize that language is fluid. But at least try to make sense. Gah!*

*Ummm...and I also recognize that I am as fallible as the next person and sometimes make minor errors. I'm talking about the really horrid stuff, like "Ladie's Fashions" in a store window, not typos.

Suit jacket (Max Studio), Dress (Jacob, gift from Elaine), shoes (Fioni, thrifted), earrings (don't remember), bangle (thrifted), flower (Roberta's Hats).

Odd Molly Skirt and Suit Jacket

It feels kind of weird to be wearing a different skirt! I'd actually planned this outfit last week, before I found out about Jane's challenge, so I just carried it over to this week.
My lovely silk Odd Molly skirt again, but with a suit jacket this time. I had fun playing with the patterns in this outfit: the double pattern of the skirt (the "border" is the skirt lining peeking out), the pinstripe in the fitted shirt, and the red and blue pinstripe in the jacket.

The stuff:
A note about my pictures, since it's been mentioned a few times: I'm sorry that they're dark and that sometimes it's hard to see the colours. This is the brightest room in my condo and I'm using the den's central light, plus a desk lamp aimed at me. I hate how the flash on the camera washes everything out, so I don't use it. You should be able to click on the picture to make it bigger, and I always try to use one of the clothing pieces as my "background" so that you can see texture.

As we just had Daylight Savings (or whatever the Spring equivalent is), the light will be brighter here in the den going forward, but I take my pictures mostly in the evening when I'm home from work, and sometimes it's dark outside. And yes, I have a cheap camera.

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I'm not feeling very well tonight...it's come upon me all sudden-like (plague, I'm sure). Forgive me if I sound cranky.

Suit jacket (Vero Moda), blouse (Vero Moda), skirt (Odd Molly, consignment), shoes (Bleka), necklace (don't remember), earrings (Gracie Rose).

Wardrobe Challenge - 1 Skirt, 3 Ways - Day #1

I do love a challenge! This is Jane of Workthatwardrobe's latest challenge: to wear one skirt three different ways. I didn't see her post about the 2 week span until this morning, and I'd already gone and planned all three outfits last night...so I will be doing all three this week!

I'm going with my current favourite skirt: the Heather skirt (named after my generous co-worker who gave it to me, bless her heart). Reason: it's a neutral (brown with a thin black pencil stripe and fine texture) and it's a classic shape (pencil skirt).

Easy to match stuff with it:
That pose makes it look like I have no bum. Ha! Oh well.

I wanted to play up the black pinstripe in the skirt and mix black and brown, then pop them both with a bright colour: blue. Add a funky neckace, brown fishnets and my fab Fluevog Listen Up! Ivanna shoes, and I'm ready to go.

The stuff:

I felt very professional yet still chic and a bit edgy for work.

Suit jacket (Max Studio), top (Oxmo), skirt (Suzy Shier, gift from Heather), belt (Bianca Nygard), shoes (Fluevogs), necklace (Plum), crystal stud earrings).

Feeling Brown...

Some people feel blue...I am feeling brown. It's Monday, I hate Mondays, and things just didn't go well for me today. Couldn't walk due to rain at noon. People frustrated me. I feel frumpy.
I bought these cool leopard trouser socks, so I built the outfit around them (sorry it's dark...light is not good in this room in the winter), just black with brown and copper accents. It felt very Audrey in the morning, but as the day went on, it felt....un-Audrey. You know?

The legwear:

The full set of Grandma J's copper jewelry. The cuff is Renoir, and the necklace and earrings are unmarked. I love this set. It's likely from the 50s.

Shout out to the lovely Mervat who has bestowed a Major Award on me. I wish I'd worn something different to the ceremony! If you wish to participate and pass this Major Award along, by all means, please do.

So. I've been feeling fat-tastic lately.

As you may or may not know, I lost 60 pounds a couple of years ago. I've been maintaining it for nearly 2 years, but I gained a few pounds over Christmas and I just can't seem to shake them. I've been giving in to way too many temptations. Stress, listening to that little "you'll be fat again one day" voice in the back of my head and fear that yes, I will be fat again one day...those all compel me to overeat. And overdrink - let's not fool ourselves, here: wine is also a culprit, not to mention that whole "lowers your resistance" thing.

I probably have PMS, but this week, I gained 2 pounds. Now, I'm still 2 pounds under my goal weight (I still go to my WW meetings every week), but I've been maintaining at 8-10 pounds under, and I'm so scared that it's going to just keep creeping up and up and up. That feeling of inevitability.

I know I need to just calm the heck down and take it one day at a time. Stay on track, write down what I eat, eat unprocessed foods, drink lots of water and keep on exercising. And it will come off. I know it will.

It will.

But I just wanted to say...just because I don't talk about it doesn't mean that fear isn't with me every day. It isn't easy and weight loss is never "done".

Hope your Monday was more fab than mine!

Sweater (no label, consignment), suit pants (Focus 2000), hose (eh, I never remember the labels), shoes (Wild Diva), cuff (Renoir, Grandma J), necklace & clip-on earrings (no marks, Grandma J).

Meeting Attire - Mrs. Business

I knew I had a 3+ hour meeting scheduled today with a couple of lawyers from another office. Since they've never met me before in person, I wanted to show a bit of personality but still look very professional and corporate.

Heh, this is my interpretation of business:
Black dress pants, tweedy jacket, pretty satin blouse, and cami. The jacket is new-to-me, picked up on my consignment shop with Mom a few weeks ago. It has purple satin lining!

My kickass shoes:

Are those not the most kickasstastic of shoes? Of course they are. They are my beloved Fluevog "Listen Up, Harlow" shoes, which I have had for about 3 years. They are super comfortable and tres chic.

The necklace is vintage (no marks, though) smoked crystals - a gift from L about 8 years ago.

Bonus picture! An Othello spotting in the corner of the photo pre-cropping:

Mr. Crankypants wants his dinner.

Jacket (Jacob, consignment), blouse (Tristan), sequined cami (Esprit), suit pants (Studio Max), shoes (Fluevog), necklace (gift from L), crystal stud earrings.

Purple and Black

I felt like wearing purple today. This is one of my favourite blouses - I don't usually do ruffles as I don't really need extra emphasis on my chest, but I just love this blouse. The big belt is totally kick-ass too.

The shrug kept me nice and warm. Of course, I had to wear the Purple Ruth Shoes:
Pretty Pearlized Purple Shoes! They (and the shirt) are more purple than they look in that picture. My lovely husband got me that bracelet and earring set for Christmas last year.

And look what arrived at the office for me today from my favourite real estate broker:

A big basket! It was loaded with chocolate, cookies, cheeses, crackers, fruit (including a whole pineapple, kiwifruits, apples, pears, bananas and oranges), teas and coffees. What an amazing gift!

Shrug (Debut), blouse (Esprit), suit pants (Max Studio), belt (some tourist store in Times Square, NY), shoes (Bronx), jewelry (Fossil).

Casual Thursday - Faux Fur, Tweed and Denim

Brrr! More snow overnight meant I had to get out more of the warm stuff in my wardrobe. I'm starting to feel Christmassy!

I nearly wore the skirt to this suit, but decided at the last minute to do the jean skirt.
The Return of the Brown Belt from the first wardrobe challenge! It's necessary because I lost the middle button off the jacket and I can't find the spare one. I have a huge tin of my spare buttons (I even have the extra one for the Pink Jacket for you, Jane), so you'd think it would be there, but no. I guess I could sew on a funky one.

The soft, fuzzy collar kept me nice and warm all day.

I love this necklace but it's tricky to find things to wear with it.

Green wool/silk tweed jacket (Precis Petite), brown sweater (no label, consignment), jean skirt (Smart Set), tights (Hue), boots (Roberto Vianni), belt (Plum), necklace (Le Chateau), crystal stud earrings.

Shiny Green - and the Heather Skirt

This is the second wear for this patterned green shirt. The label (Point Zero) is kind of surfer-dude and jeanswear, so I was so thrilled to find something more classic, but still with a lot of funkiness to it. Paired it with the brown skirt and turtleneck for warmth:
Then my very sweet co-worker Heather came to my office and gave me a skirt she bought and never wore! And it fit perfectly! What a nice thing to do. I wore it all day.

Ooh! Look! A skirt!

Considering this is Suzy Shier (a teen-oriented store, kind of like Forever 21 in the US), it's a really good quality (lined). I love the herringbone texture.

A shot of the accessories:

My lovely faux croc pumps, gold earrings and my mom's vintage chain belt.

I "liberated" the belt from her in about 1983. It originally had gold chains hanging down in a U-shape between each set of square links, and gold chain tassels hanging in the centre of each U. I left the little bits there so that I would always remember what this belt originally looked like. I removed the U and tassels around 1988 because they severely limited the wearability of the belt. You can see a little bit of one of the U chains on the left near the square link, and one small link from a tassel left on the O-link centred between the square links (it looks like a mark on the O).

Blouse (Point Zero: Nicole Benisti), turtleneck (Kersh), suit skirt (Kensie), Heather skirt (Suzy Shier), shoes (Jessica Simpson), gold earrings, belt (vintage, Mom's).

Wardrobe Challenge Week - Day 2

Today's outfit:
I was pleased with this overall. I do love the greeny-turquoise of this sweater.

Today's outfit pieces:

Turquoise turtleneck sweater:

Brown plaid pants:

Brown suit jacket:

Gold shoes:Brown belt: Gold hoop earrings: Turquoise/red/brown/gold necklace:
Jacket (Kenzie), pants (Vero Moda), sweater (Smart Set), shoes (Aerosoles), belt (Plum), gold hoops (gift), necklace (Plum).