Plaid Pants and Dinner Out

Today was another nice weather day, so I decided to wear green. Green for growth, and a reminder of change.

I got these new pants at Dots the other night, and I also wanted to wear them.
They replace these pants, which were a little too wide, light-coloured and also unflatteringly had a habit of wedging up my butt (sorry, for the indelicate image, hee). I like the darker plaid and the slightly slimmer leg on these much better. They were $29.99 with 30% off.

In the theme of "keeping busy", tonight we were supposed to go for dinner with another couple, but sickness forced them to cancel at the last minute. However, we still had the reservation, so we're headed out shortly for Thai food. Yummm....my favourite!

We're going to walk to the restaurant so that L can have a beer with dinner, and my pants are too long to wear with walkin' shoes, so I changed the bottom half:
A nice thick brown ultrasuede skirt and my brown low boots. Perfect!

The stuff:

The shoes don't match but they go. That necklace is my other gift from the company (from the Visa gift card I won).

A close-up:

I love the green enamel.

The other side is turquoise with a bird:

Pretty!

Sweater (Max Studio), cami (Esprit), pants (no label), shoes (Fire Trap, consignment), necklace (Lavishy), skirt (Liz Claiborne, thrifted), boots (Miz Mooz).

I See Stars

Aw, I have a tough time with skinny pants. First I tried to do them with a jacket (not so much), then I followed everyone's suggestions and did flats/kitten heels and a long tunic (better), but it didn't feel like me.

And even though today's outfit feels more like me, I feel self-conscious about my thighs:
Sheila! Stop covering them up! You don't have thick thighs - you have strong thighs! Thighs that got you through a marathon. Thighs that get you through 300 stairs a day! Thighs that have power!

And still, I feel silly about it, and I know I don't have gigantic thighs...

I don't wanna look at the camera...look at my shoes instead. See my pretty shoes? My nice boyfriend jacket, my lovely green shirt? Anything but the thighs.

But NO. I will not listen to that voice in my head. I will not hide my so-called "worst" feature. For I am...

Wonder Woman! And I will not deny that!

[intermission while I collect myself...la la la...doo de doo]

The stuff:

My JLos are nearly 3 years old now - when I bought them, this was an outrageous style! Now you see it everywhere.

That's all gold jewelry, by the way. The lighting in this room is going wonky now that the sun's going down earlier (booo).

A close-up:

Both the ring and the star bracelet were purchased in museums - you can find some amazing stuff in museum gift shops!

Jacket (Banana Republic, thrifted), silk top (Jacob, consignment), pants (Kensie), shoes (JLo), gold hoops (gift from L), gold chain worn as bracelet (Grandma J's, 70s vintage), star bracelet (Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC), ring (The Louvre, Paris).

Back to School - Oxford Comma

I did say I would participate in the Fashionable Academics "Back to School Conference," but I felt guilty because I'm not going back to school in any way, shape or form. I haven't been a student in over 10 years!

However, this doesn't stop me from playing with a student-y academic theme this week:
I kind of threw everything but the kitchen sink into this. I'm not sure if it works, but I liked it.

I liked the mash-up of the menswear items (velvet vest, button-down, L's bright red tie) and the girlier things (brooch, necklace, bracelet), especially these shoes:

They're the ones I got in Paris in May, and I've only worn them once.

A shot of all the chestal business:

The necklace is a double-strand. I hooked one of the strands through the pin on the cross brooch to evoke a watch-fob and chain sort of vibe.

The stuff:

Funky shoes, eh? I liked all the different patterns and textures in this: the window-pane plaid pants, the deep black velvet vest, the grey striped shirt, the spotted and striped tie, and all the swirly patterns in the jewelry.

A close-up:

The little cross brooch is the other thing of Grandma W's that I took (from her memorial table). It's missing a little seed pearl, but I like the bright blue stone. It's not top-of-the-line quality, but it's a solid little piece and I love it.

Vest (Surrey Classics, consignment), shirt (Club Monaco, consignment), pants (Esprit), shoes (Belle Women), tie (L's, Tommy Hillfiger), necklace (Plum), bracelet (St. Paul's Cathedral), brooch (Grandma W's).

Sheer Monday

Today was definitely a Monday. I felt blah, grouchy, unmotivated and wanted it to be the weekend again! I was certainly dressed to suit my mood:
A whole lotta slate blue. Since I rarely wear pants (meh, just don't like them), this outfit is a bit of a switcheroo for me: first the dull colours, then the pants...what's next? A white button down? What have you done with Sheila, pants-wearing doppleganger?

The sheer blouse is new - I've been keeping my eye out for a nice classic one (that isn't black) for a while, so when I spotted this in the thrift store on the weekend for a measly $6.50, I pounced.

Speaking of pouncing, see the ears in the above photo? Someone's digging for carpet mice!
I kick back the edge of the carpet so that it doesn't show in the pictures, and Inigo loves to dig in the folds.

The stuff:

I've only worn the shoes once since I got them (here) - they're really more of a fall/winter/early spring shoe than a summer shoe, but I liked them with the pants. You can see the nice windowpane plaid on the pants there and bluey shade of the blouse.

A close-up:

My ring from Scotland, my ear-cuff, and my Shi Studio pendant.

Blouse (Express, thrifted), cami (RW & Co.), pants (Esprit), shoes (Max Studio, consignment), belt (Nygard), pendant (Shi Studios).

Worky-Work, Busy Bee!

I've hit a dilemma: most of my tights are toast. Runs in them, big snags where they've rubbed on boots, big holes where I've put my fingers through them. But do I really want to buy a bunch more tights now? Maybe just some black ones...there aren't many left in the stores.

Anyway, this dilemma led me to wear pants today:
I know! I never wear pants. I don't really like them much. I do like these ones, though - of course, they are from Esprit, source of the best-fitting pants for me.

Preppy is not one of my usual looks, so I threw on the heavy chain necklace, and the bigass belt:

And my green shoes!

The stuff:

The shoes are more green in daylight - they never quite photograph well. And who's that over by the earrings? It's Johnny Big Hands!

Okay, so he's not actually 1" tall - I measured and he's 1 3/8" tall:

Blurry, sorry.

If you're interested, click here for some figures that I've painted (and a few earlier ones that I like) since I started doing this blog (there are a few pages if you click through, including shots of our painting area, which is on my right when I'm on the computer). You can see the process and how much work goes into them. I've painted about 2,500 in the last 13 years or so - my painting has slowed down a lot in the last 5 years. I used to paint about one a week. We have display cases of them all over the house.

What can I say, I'm a geek!

Vest (Esprit), shirt (Pink Martini, consignment), pants (Esprit), shoes (Hilary Radley, consignment), necklace (Nine West, gift from Cindy), belt (Plum).

Autumn Leaves - and a Fitness Aha! Moment

I love this time of year: all the leaves are yellow and orange and red, the air is crisp, and it smells so good.

Inspired by all of Nature's loveliness, I dressed myself in fall colours today:
There's something about when I wear pants that makes me want to pose like one of Charlie's Angels. I got this jacket in a thrift store last spring and it's been too warm to wear it until now (it's a thick wool).

Check out the Equestrian Knee-Hi Boot Socks (so they are called by Sox Trot - wow, there are some fab patterns!):

It almost makes me wish the pants were cropped. L's reaction to them was, "Uh....no. Those are a joke, right? You didn't actually wear those?" Ha!

The stuff:

My awesome shoes, and a close-up of the groovy patterns on the knee-highs.

The jewelry: A reproduction Viking pendant, and some mixed amber and bronze-y things.

My "aha!" fitness moment today:

I have pathetic upper body strength, especially since I had to stop going to aikido. I find weights dull, gyms claustrophobic, and I'm lazy as heck. Knowing that the mighty push-up is the "goddess" of upper body workouts, I thought, "There must be a way that I can use this to get stronger arms."

So here's what I'm going to do: I drink a lot of water. I mean a LOT, easily over 2 liters a day (about 2/3 of it in the form of herbal teas). So...I pee a lot. My idea is to do 10 push-ups off either my desk at work or the countertop at home...every time I go to the bathroom.

Push-ups on the floor...I'm not strong enough. Against the wall - too easy! But doing them off a mid-height surface? Yeah, that's just about right - and I can feel it after 10. And it only takes about 20 seconds to do 10.

I can't commit to a half-hour workout, but 20 seconds a pop? Sure!

And you know what? I did SIXTY (60) push-ups today! If I can keep this up for a week, or a month or a couple of months, I bet I'll have great upper body strength! I will do them for a week and post a picture of my arms and shoulders next Tuesday.

I think it's brilliant. Let's see how long I last.

Jacket (Lux, thrifted), top (Planet), pants (Mac & Jac), knee highs (Sox Trot), shoes (Luichiny), pendant (gift from L), necklace and earrings (Plum).

Patterns for Peace

The rain turned to sun today, and my mood elevated with it...but I'm still really happy that tomorrow's Friday. It has just been One Of Those Weeks, you know?

I deliberately wore something I knew would make me feel groovy:
Chunky mod shoes, plaid pants and my funky green shirt. I am actually saying, "Peace, baby" as the camera clicked.

The stuff:

Yup, that's some stuff. Nothing terribly exciting...worn the belt, necklace and earrings a bunch of times before. Second wear of my Value Village shoes. When I was younger we called it "Valloo Vill-ahj" (French accent, like "Tar-jay" for Target), or referred to it as the "VV Boutique." Ha, I'd forgotten all about that.

Shirt (Nicole Benisti for Point Zero), vest (Le Chateau, gift from Ruth), pants (Vero Moda), belt (Plum), shoes (Unlisted, thrifted), earrings and necklace (don't recall).

Rhinestones at Work

Today's outfit was built around the necklace. I haven't had it that long - maybe a couple of years? - but I can't remember where I got it. Was it a gift? It's not Mom's...maybe I bought it? Honestly, I don't know. But I know I've never worn it.

It's not like you can wear rhinestones every day (well, I guess I could, but then people might think I'm even more eccentric - and many already think that!), so I kept the rest of the outfit down to a dull roar.
I usually test out my whacky poses in my closet mirror to see how they look. I was feeling very James Bond.

I love these wide-legged plaid pants. As you may have noticed, I'm really not a pants gal. And this jacket is my new favourite. I just love the cut. Quality!

The stuff:

The shoes are not as orange as they look there, and the blouse is not that greyish.

Jacket (Club Monaco, consignment), blouse (Tristan), cami (Plum), trousers (Vero Moda), shoes (Luichiny), necklace (?, vintage).

Black and Coral, but It's All About the Quads

I had two things I had to factor in when planning today's outfit: I had to go to the dentist and my quad muscle is still sore.

For the dentist, pants. Nothing like being tipped upside down in a skirt. As it turns out, my clothing was the last thing on my mind as I sat through an hour of scaling (go to the dentist more frequently than me, kids) on only one quadrant of my mouth. See, quadrant, get it?
And my sore quad muscle on my right leg meant I dug out the "sensible" shoes. Of course, sensible for me is different than sensible for most people. For me, it means NOT a four-inch heel. Just a three-inch. Not so bad. And I did wear my Vans for walking anywhere further than desk to copy room.

Stuff:

Haven't worn these shoes for a while. I've been procrastinating (me?? no!) cleaning out the closet and hauling out my summer shoes, and have just been digging them out willy-nilly. I got these in NYC with Mom 2 years ago. *smile*

Anyway, I have two more dentist appointments next week. Excuse me while I go self-medicate with some wine.

Almost Friday!

Wrap t-shirt (InWear), grey cami (RW & Co.), striped pants (Calvin Klein, consignment), bracelet (silent auction), earrings (The Cobbler), shoes (Unisa).

"Spring, Please!" Week - "You're Wearing Pants!"

I did a little thrift store shopping with my friend, Nat, on Sunday, and happily spent an hour yesterday putting together outfits for the week. Since it seemed like I had a theme going colour-wise, I thought I'd make this a Theme Week: "Spring, Please!"

Spring weather is taking its sweet time on getting here this year. It's hard to be appreciative of the few blossoms when it's raining.

Green and brown are nice and earthy, right? The whole "growing things"?
The sweater is new-to-me, found in a thrift shop for $9.50 (it's a silk blend, oooh). The "You're Wearing Pants" part of today's title is from the reaction of my office-mate, Bonnie, when she saw my outift. I guess I don't wear pants very often, haha.

I felt very long-legged today. I also like that the vest holds everything in nicely in the waist; I love when vests are in style.

The stuff:
My favourite "pumpkin pie" shoes (click here for a better picture of them). The green of the sweater is more acurate in the top photo.

Sweater (I.N.C., thrifted), vest (Vero Moda), pants (Mac & Jac), belt (Plum), necklace (Plum), gold hoop earrings, shoes (Unlisted).

Brown, Purple and Denim

Brown plaid wide-legged trousers (Vero Moda, The Bay), violet cashmere sleeveless mock turtleneck sweater (consignment), denim jacket (Ann Taylor Loft, NYC), gold leather T-strap shoes (Aerosoles, NYC), wood elastic cuff & wood "frame" earrings (Oscar & Libby's).

As I had to go to my surgeon today for my post-op examination, I wanted to wear pants (easy to slip down). These are one of my favourite pairs: they're washable, they fit really well, they're super comfortable and they were not expensive (around $35, regular price, although I'm pretty sure they were on an extra 30% off).

The Vero Moda line is European sizing, which I am just starting to figure out. Usually, I wear a 36 or 38 (a size 4 or 6 in Canada - Euro sizing is a bit smaller), but the pants are a 28. Go figure. I think that might correspond to my waist size - that would be stunning, a size number that actually has meaning, instead of the arbitrary North American numbers. What is a 6 anyway? 6 what? Inches? Feet? Pounds? It's just a stupid number.

I love these shoes. I got them in NYC with Mom last spring (I can't believe it's almost a year since we were there!). They are super comfy and have a great 1920s retro vibe to them. I usually wear them with pants, as they make my legs look a little on the short side due to the T-strap. A close up: