Excursion

Spencer is becoming quite the handsome dog, is he not? He's also more than twice the size he was when we brought him home. At about 8 months, he now weighs 65 pounds and is a couple inches taller than Georgie. Since his knee injury is still a problem and we can't yet have surgery performed on it (and would rather avoid it entirely if we can), he's now having regular sessions of therapeutic swimming in a heated pool. Seriously, if I had wanted children, they would've turned out to be the most spoiled assholes the world has ever known. It's a good thing for everyone that my nurturing impulses are focused on dogs.

A couple of weekends ago I went on a shopping excursion with a friend of mine who's also Mark's ex-girlfriend (yeah, you read that right). We ostensibly went shopping specifically to find her an outfit for her birthday party, but along the way I made a few purchases of my own. You know how it is.

This coral cardigan and teal pants were two of the spoils from our excursion. My friend and I spotted the pants right away, but in bright orange. When we got over to the rack however, I found that the teal pair was a lot prettier. They're a micro-corduroy fabric with a good amount of stretch, and are crazy comfortable. I've already worn them a few times and they've proven to fit in really well with my quick-conversion, walking to work dressing strategy.

Cardigan, pants: Anthropologie
Top: Express, a gift
Shoes: Fly London

Adjusting

I'm still adjusting to dressing for my new gig; not so much for the workplace itself, but for the outdoor climate and the amount of walking I now do. In general I'm dressing in a more relaxed way than I was at my previous job, in part because working downtown gives me loads of options for lunchtime, and if I'm going to walk to them I want to be comfortable. But the other thing I've discovered is that I can easily walk to work, which takes just 10 minutes longer than riding the bus (my nearby bus routes aren't the speediest, and driving isn't really an option). My trip is 3 miles each way, so I get some welcome exercise, but consequently I have to create outfits with breathable fabric (to avoid sweating with my backpack on) and shoes that are either easily swapped once I get to work, or are comfortable enough for miles of walking. This is a challenge, because I'm not the sort of gal who will throw on sneakers with anything and swap them once I get to work -- the walking shoes have to look reasonable too.

This was not a 'walk to work' outfit, though it maybe could have been with some minor modifications. It was definitely before I got my latest haircut though, and you can really see my color growing out, as well as how long the back was getting (hence the recent post about Janet). Thankfully I've gotten it cut since then.

I've got a post in the works that will show you some of what I see on my walks to and from work. Believe me, it's a walk that I'm very grateful to be able to make! Working in the city is truly a dream come true.

Top: Forever 21
Skirt: LA Made
Shoes: Born

Dubious

I hope all my friends here in the States had a fun Labor Day weekend. It was a little bittersweet knowing that the man was burning and we weren't there, but I had a great weekend nonetheless. I spent the last few days up in rural Oregon with my family, where we were joined by Jess as well as her mom. The weather was gorgeous, and we had a lot of laughs and drank a lot of wine. A few days in the country is definitely a lot more relaxing than Burning Man, that's for sure.

This outfit was my first attempt at wearing these flats with tights. Not being a flats sort of gal, I wasn't even sure if they could be worn this way. I think the outfit turned out alright overall, but I'm still a bit dubious about the tights/flats combo. It felt a little strange somehow, I think because I'm not used to seeing so much of the tights pattern stretched out horizontally; with heels, the tights make a longer, straighter line when I look down at my feet.

What do you think? Do you wear flats with hosiery?

Shirt: Target
Capelet: Forever 21
Belt: Red Dress Shoppe
Skirt: Anthropologie
Tights: Sock Dreams
Shoes: Born

Reworked

As I mentioned in my last outfit post, boots are in heavier rotation this summer than normal. This pair in particular has been hauled out quite a bit, mainly because they're mid-calf height and therefore don't have quite as wintry a look as some of my taller pairs. Because of the hardware, they also add quite a bit of visual interest to an outfit without too much effort on my part, a quality I'm especially appreciative of at the moment.

This outfit was reworked from an older one. I really liked the military jacket with the teal skirt, but in looking back at the original outfit I thought the addition of the gray skirt underneath was unnecessary. I therefore decided to try a simpler version, eliminating both the layered skirt and the hardware-heavy belt.

This gorgeous necklace by Wendy Brandes is also getting a ton of use lately. On the days when I'm feeling less creative, I can throw on some jeans, flats and a t-shirt and tell myself that I'm simply letting the necklace be the star of the outfit. I always feel put together when I have it on.

Do you have any special items in your wardrobe that you deploy when you don't have the energy to build an entire outfit creatively?





Jacket: Thrifted
Necklace: Wendy Brandes
Skirt: LA Made
Boots: All Black
Leggings: Audrey Cantwell

Introducing Libby Smith

I'd like to introduce you to my new friend, Libby Smith. Libby is one of the beautiful new shoe styles from John Fluevog, and she captivated me when I wandered into the Haight Street store a couple of weekends ago. Libby fills the wardrobe gap of "green, low-heeled boots" that I had been trying to fill for ages, and she's got just the sort of Victorian vibe to compliment so many of my current styling tendencies. I was particularly smitten with her navy blue buttons, which compliment the 2-tone olive green leather so beautifully. Libby, you are a most welcome addition to my wardrobe.

I slapped this outfit together in the morning before work, and in retrospect I feel like the tights were a bit much given the busy print of the shirt. But the weather was still chilly, and lacey olive tights were the best I could come up with on short notice. Whatevs; I never worry too much about such things because I never repeat outfits anyway. I had a reason to wear the new shoes, and that was good enough for me. However, I have mentally added non-patterned olive tights to my shopping list for the next time I place an order with Sock Dreams.

Vest: Steam Trunk
Shirt: La Redoute
Skirt: Noa Noa
Tights: Biella
Shoes: John Fluevog