Halloween

Happy Halloween, Stylenation!  I'm generally pretty bad with Halloween costumes because I don't like buying things that I'll only wear once, and I just lack creativity in that area.  This year I thought about what I could dress up as while still basically dressing like myself, and Liz Lemon from 30 Rock came to mind.  Liz's style typically consists of jeans and sneakers, which I wear a lot more than this blog suggests.

I used this image as my guide.  So I guess technically this would be my first copy cat outfit.  I paired jeans, a t-shirt with a cami underneath, and a very old blazer (I had to dig it out of the basement, and I'm pretty sure the last time I wore it was while interviewing for my job in 2004!) with my Converse low-tops and an old pair of glasses.  My fella described the costume as "Anne with glasses and a blazer."  And that's pretty accurate.

I even have my own gold initial necklace, similar to Liz's.

Fella was similarly non-costumed, dressing up as Mark Zuckerberg.  We saw The Social Network last week and both kind of laughed that Zuckerberg's 2003 college student style was pretty much how Fella dresses to this day.  I guess once you find a style that works, why not stick with it?

Today we're headed to brunch with Fella's parents and then to Graceland Cemetery for a tour.  It sounds a little morbid, but Graceland is full of historical Chicago figures, and it's lead by the Chicago Architecture Foundation so it should be pretty interesting.  Have a nice Halloween, everyone!

T-Shirt: Old Navy

Cami: New York & Company

Blazer: New York & Company (circa 2004)

Jeans: Gap

Shoes: Converse (circa I can't remember)

Necklace: Urban Outfitters

Glasses: Armani (circa 2007)

Chips: Doritos turned Sabor de Soledad

Repeat

I was running a little late this morning, so excuse the crappy photo quality here.  Something must've been in front of my camera to cause the blur at the bottom, but I didn't notice that until I got to the office to upload my pictures (I know, what a productive use of company time and resources!).  Jude is looking especially eager, but it's because he knows it's time for his morning walk and breakfast.  

I had a hard time getting dressed this morning since I wore jeans yesterday, and wanted to wear them again today being casual Friday and all.  For as good as blogs are at making us really think about what to wear each day, sometimes they also seem to add pressure.  Are jeans and a sweater too boring?  Should I pair that with more exciting accessories?  

Speaking of accessories, I did add a navy scarf to this once I got to work.  It was really cold this morning (35!) so I was already wearing a scarf, gloves and ear warmers for my walk to the train, and I just kept the scarf.  Here's a shot of it, looking just lovely under the fluorescent lights of my office.

Does the blogosphere ever make you over-think your outfits?

I'm off to our office blood drive to earn some free cookies, and looking forward to the weekend.  I hope you all have a nice weekend!

Sweater: Target

Tank: Gap

Cami: New York & Company

Jeans: Gap

Shoes: Loft

Earrings: The Limited

Scarf: Hazel  Chicago

Glasses: Vera Wang

Monster Mash

I'm not too big on the dressing-up aspect of Halloween (although this year I finally have a good costume idea - exciting!) now that I'm a grown-up kind of sort of, but I always love a good party.  Today we're having a Halloween party at my office.  As annoyed as I've been by work as of late, there will be plenty of pumpkin decorating, sweets-eating and socializing, all of which is pretty fun.  I'm spending the rest of my day in meetings so it'll be a pretty easy day.  None are with anyone important, so I don't have to look too nice, so I decided to go casual today.

Are you planning to celebrate Halloween?  What do you wear for those rare easy work days?

Since these shoes haven't made an appearance here before, Jude suggested that I show a close-up.  They're a little bit more dark pink than red, which might be hard to tell in this light.  

Earring close-up (kind of):

Sweater: Loft

Jeans: Gap

Belt: Target

Shoes: Eddie Bauer (I know, can you believe it?)

Earrings: New York & Company

Authority

Today, I'm going for a little more convention/authoritative than usual. Mostly because I gave a test on Monday, and so far they've not been doing so well. I want to up the conventional factor for a few class periods, so they'll be more likely to accept their grades when I return them. I hate that I have to do this as part of an elaborate ruse (as opposed to just wanting to wear a buttondown shirt today) but I found that sometimes it helps. (Sometimes it does not).
I had a meeting on Monday with the nice senior faculty member who observed me and she said that my casual "hipster" professorial style (I think this referred to the fact I called former presidents and military leaders "dudes") worked well in the classroom, I should up the authority at least sometimes. She's right, and I am probably naive about these things. I also think that students can mumble and groan but they still have pretty positive view of the class (made friends, learned a thing or two, watched the professor walk into the podium). But it's good to keep in mind.
Finally, I really have to make Buster's neutering appointment. He is looking so big lately. I made a joke about unneutered cat testicles to my new landlord yesterday (the old, crazy one left all four of her cats behind, even though she claimed she'd take them to Mississippi), and luckily, she laughed and told me I was funny. But it could have been offensive. So note to self- don't make testicle jokes to people you barely know in the future. Lesson from Tuesday.

Shirt: H&M
Skirt: H&M
Tights: Uniqlo
Shoes: Me Too, via DSW

Fall Back

I know, I know, Daylight Saving Time doesn't end for another couple of weeks, so it's a little early to fall back.  But that's not the kind of fall-back I'm talking about.  I'm talking about a fall-back outfit.  I mentioned before that a black dress was perfect to fall back on when I either a) don't know what to wear or b) just don't feel like throwing anything together.  Another one of my favorite fall-back options is the black skirt/black cardigan/colored tank combo.  The tank is a dark purple, so the whole outfit is pretty dark and thus not the norm for me, but dark is okay sometimes.  The only downside to a fall-back outfit is that it's kind of boring, so I don't really have much to write about it.

So in other news, how was your weekend and how is your week shaping up?

Skirt & Cardigan: Target

Tank: Gap

Necklace: New York & Company

Shoes: Tsubo

My inner Janet Wood

Today is exam day, which means I wanted to both put the students at ease and show them I mean business. I was going to go with my grey slacks (my grown up pants) but I didn't like the way the fit (future shopping list- pants that fit). I know a belt is a good option when things are a tad big, but I was into the mood for a bunching waistband. I pulled this out of the darkest reach of my closet. Sure, wearing a late 70s/early 80s secretary dress isn't on anyone's fall "must-have" list, but since I have Janet Wood (brunette from Three's Company) hair, why not her dress? Also, since I will be sitting most of the day, I thought the three inch oxford heels could come and play. I may regret this on the subway tonight, but for now, they're just fun.
Buster has lately been so excited with outfit pictures, it seems that I really should take more. He kind of squeals with happiness when I set up the camera/stool for the outfit shots. Really, I just think he loves the attention.
Have a lovely Monday!

Dress: Not Just Vintage (Brooklyn)
Cardigan: Limited (via a swap)
Shoes: Tarhari (via eBay)
Tights: Target
Belt: Thrifted

Day Off

Happy Friday, Stylenation!  Jude had a vet appointment this afternoon, so my fella and I decided to both take the whole day off.  The way things have been going for me at work lately, I definitely needed a day off, and fella hasn't been off since July, so he was more than overdue.  First, we went to Hot Doug's for lunch.  Hot Doug's is pretty well-known here in Chicago, and I've never been there and not had to wait at least half an hour in line.  I had hoped that going during the week would be better, but apparently lots of people are off on Fridays, so we still had to wait.  But it was well worth the wait for some chicken sausage, andouille, ribeye sausage and duck-fat fries (thank goodness I had my annual cholesterol test earlier this week instead of, say, tomorrow).  We just got back from the vet, and we're headed to our neighborhood theater to see The Social Network in a little bit.  I love days off.

Jude's best photo-crash yet

Having said that lots of people seem to be off work today, I should note that my neighbor is off.  I didn't realize he was home until I saw him looking out his back window after I snapped these pictures.  Woops.  He knows I have a food blog, so maybe it's not too weird that I'm taking self-portraits.  Right?

There's nothing too exciting about this outfit - just a casual outfit, perfect for running around town.  But keep in mind, prior to joining Stylenation, I probably would've gone with jeans, a t-shirt, my gym shoes and a hoodie.  When I started contributing to this blog way back in February, I think I noted that while I have no problem dressing for the office, casual wear is a little tricky for me.  So I think I've finally gotten a good handle on that.  But come to think of it, I'd probably wear this to work on a casual Friday too.  I'm wearing this sweater with my Gap long & lean jeans and an adorable twill pea coat that I picked up at Target earlier this fall.  

What's your perfect day off?

Sweater: Loft

Jeans: Gap

Shoes: Puma, via 6pm.com

Jacket: Target

Brooch: Etsy

Bag: Kohl's (circa 2008)

Say yes to polyester

Please excuse the Muppet face*. I was battling hormone raging pre-pubescent kitty this morning and I was probably try not to laugh as that white tried to teach me a lesson. This red skirt is in response to Sal who asked about our "happy" pieces. I am not in a bad mood today, but I thought I should wear the skirt that always makes me pretty cheerful. I picked it up for $7 in the "vintage" section at the Ragstock in Uptown Minneapolis back in 2004. It wrinkles easily, the wrap style isn't entirely secure, and the buttons look very cheap, but I love it so much anyway. It's basically indestructible.
I realize that in the past, when I've worn this cardigan, the outfit shots suggest that this is a grey cardigan, but it's actually striped!

Stripe cardigan: LOFT (consignment)
Button up shirt: JCrew (interview top from 2007)
Skirt: Ragstock/secondhand
Shoes: Naturalizer
Tights: Uniqlo

*(A term I stole from my buddy Koo, referring to the silly look one sometimes makes in a full on shot)

Remixed

This outfit might look pretty familiar.  In fact, it looks a lot like this.  I really liked the navy/pink combo the first time I put it together.  I've been dying to wear these patterned tights for a while, and they gave me a good excuse to bring the navy/pink ensemble back.  To switch it up a little, I swapped out the wide belt from the original outfit with a smaller, dressier belt.  I also traded the big, long necklace for a delicate necklace with a single pearl.  It's amazing how a few details can totally change an outfit, isn't it?

Jude's been doing all kinds of photo-crashing lately, and today's post is no exception.  Although now I'm wishing I had some veggie props to add to this outfit too.  I have 3 giant spaghetti squashes from my co-worker's Wisconsin farm that would look lovely.  And be delicious.  Maybe they'll work their way in to some pictures, just so I can be more like Rad.

How do you change up your favorite outfits?  And more importantly, do you have any tasty spaghetti squash recipes?

Dress, pink cardigan, tights and belt: Target (wow, I did not realize that until I started listing everything!)

Shoes: Tsubo

Necklace: The Limited

Bracelet: New York & Company

Watch: Anne Klein, gifted

Veggie gal

I wore this outfit to work my shift at my Community Supported Agriculture over in Crown Heights. Let me tell how much I like local organic local veggies- a whole lot. They are pretty exciting. Especially since the local grocery stores have produce that smells like industrial cleaning fluid. Since August, I've been drinking green smoothies (my ma got me a Blendtec years ago, and now we're drinking them almost daily). When I can't drink them (lazy, no organic kale), I get a $4 veggie juice from this dude who runs a juice/smoothie cart on 58th St. Sometimes, it's so awesome to live/work in NY.
This is my idea of joining "team color" by the way. Buster approves. Just so you know.
Hope you had a lovely Tuesday.

Turtleneck: Uniqlo
Denim dress: Talbots, thrifted
Boots: Palladium
Belt: Presence (Chicago)
Tights: Target

Color on color

Good Monday evening, Stylenation!  How was your weekend?  Mine was pretty good, which I think made work today even more annoying than usual.  Mondays are so hard to get into sometimes.  It was cold and gloomy out when I woke up this morning, so I armed myself with bright colors to make it through the day.  This purple sweater actually has some pink thread in it (it's kind of heathered, but it's hard to see in the pictures), so my bright pink scarf seemed like an obvious choice to pair with it.  But thinking back, I think before I ever started reading blogs or even knew Stylenation existed, I never would have thought to bold colors together.  It sounds silly now, but I probably would've gone with a neutral, or at least a scarf with some purple in it.  But after pondering if I'm on Team Neutrals or Team Bright Colors, thanks to E-Jo's post, and seeing so much color all over the blogosphere, I decided to move a little closer to Team Bright Colors.

What do you think of pairing colors with each other?  And do you ever use something like brightly colored clothes to help brighten up a day?

Sweater: The Limited

Pants: New York & Company

Pink Scarf: Target

Brooch: Etsy

Earrings: The Limited

Note how Jude pairs his bright green collar with his blue harness.  I should've been taking cues from him all along.  Also note his pink pig toy, in support of BBCA .

Weekend, New Boots

This is what I'll be wearing today to teach about American foreign policy. I had a busy and productive weekend, which included going to a fun clothing swap with Jesse.anne.o over in Crown Heights. I got this shirt, a couple jackets, and a new purse (from Jesse's stash). And some of my less worn clothes found new homes.

This is the new pair of boots that I've been lusting over (Blokey has given me the green light to buy a pair). The Born Gilmore:
The leather looks kind of shiny, but the soles are rubber, and I have a decent history of fitting into Born boots. They're pricey ($255), but I had to break up with the $300 Charles David Regiment after reading the fine print, and seeing that they had artificial soles. Come one, Italian made shoes! If Napoleon would not traipse around Europe in man made soles, and I won't either.
The thing about these Borns is that Zappos sells this beautiful color only. I can get them cheaper on Nordstrom's site, but there's only a funkier, distressed darker brown and black. Although comments suggests that it's a very dark brown, which interests me. They are 35% off on the Nordy's site, so I'm going to have a make a decision soon between color and price.
Hope everyone had a lovely weekend. I'm off to the train!

Shirt: Loft, swapped
Cardigan: Uniqlo
Shirt: Uniqlo
Tights: Uniqlo
Boots: Palladium

Boot Envy

Happy Friday, Stylenation!  I'm back in pink today.  The real highlight of this outfit for me is the scarf (Style Underdog, did you remember your scarf today?).  I bought it at Jule, an Ohio-based accessory store that really needs to expand to Chicago, while visiting my family last fall.  They had a 2-for-1 deal going, so my mom has a very similar one (the color palette is blue), which I think is pretty cool.  And it's so pretty, even Jude can't take his eyes off of it.

I have something to confess: I have some serious boot envy.  I've been admiring all kinds of beautiful and sassy boots while walking around town and even in my office.  Just this morning I saw a nice pair of cognac leather knee-high boots with a slight heel.  And on Wednesday, when a random girl that works on my floor who I've never met or even seen before stopped me to ask about these shoes, I couldn't stop checking out her grey suede boots.  And there's no escape online.  I'm getting all kinds of boot inspiration from A-Dubs, Sal, Gina, and Sheila, to name a few.  And there's all the boot porn, like Rad's, D-Med's and KellyBean's.  This morning, I saw Kristen's new boots and just couldn't take it any more.

There's just one problem - I have a near impossible time finding boots that actually fit my calves.  The issue used to be that they were a little too pudgy for most boots, so I've been doing 3 days/week of cardio and strength training, plus a ton of walking, in hopes that my calves would get smaller.  They have, but they're evidently still too big for most boots because they might actually be getting muscular.  However, I saw these boots on sale at Piperlime, noted that they are wide-shaft and simply had to have them.  Or at least try them on.

They are pretty basic, but that's what I'm looking for.  Just something nice to wear with all of my skirts and dresses this winter.  And Naturalizer is usually pretty comfy, so that's a plus.

Knee-high boots are something that I always admire and want, but can never seem to make work for me.  Do you have anything like that?  How do you get around it?

Sweater: Loft

Scarf: Jule

Jeans: Gap

Shoes: Privo

Earrings: Hazel

Headband: Enjoy, an Urban General Store

Edited to add scarf close-up

Shorts to work

I'm going into the office today not for any teaching related things, but for an informal, department research colloquium. It's Friday, which is a day when almost no one comes in, so I figured tights under shorts was OK. Folks will be wearing jeans and it's casual, and the research talks we've had have been super relaxed, so I'll just add the welcoming atmosphere. Evidently, some of my colleagues sort of like my "youthful" dressing. I may have mentioned here before, but they called me and Blokey "hipsters" once. Since I don't fit this in my mind, I've decided this is just because Blokey has David Cassidy hair and we live in not yet gentrified Brooklyn).
I had to grab this recalcitrant kitten because he has lately been fascinated with my camera strap. I had to go above my 3 pictures because he ruined 2 of them. Buster also expressed that my money should go to boots, not to neutering, because he likes his balls. While it is very generous of him, we are ignoring his preferences.
The boots have remained on my mental back burner, and I may consider them as a reward, if I can get my rewrites for this silly project off my desk today.
Have a lovely weekend!

Outside Perspectives

Happy Wednesday, Stylenation!  No wardrobe do-overs today, but I did kind of phone in my pink for Blogging for Breast Cancer Awareness.  It's been a bit of a challenge to wear pink all the time, and I really started missing other colors, like green.  But there's my pink brooch (which has been getting a lot of wear lately) and there's pink in my necklace.  See?

Something odd happened at work today that I wanted to share and get your much wiser opinions on.  I think I've mentioned that my company has a casual dress code - meaning I could wear jeans everyday if I wanted to.  I choose not to because I like dressing up for work, and jeans just aren't as comfortable to me as skirts and dress pants are.  That said, I do still wear jeans on Fridays because I like the idea of Casual Friday.  No one has ever really said anything to me about it, and the only comments I usually hear about my appearance are things like "I like that necklace" or "That color looks nice on you," and so forth (with the exception of my co-worker seeking advice). Today I was in a meeting where the topic of whether or not the new company that bought is us going to re-instate our dress code.  Honestly, I think that there are more pressing matters right now - will we still have jobs, will our benefits change next year, etc. But the people in my meeting couldn't stop harping on how awful it would be if we had a dress code again, and then noted in a very snooty and resentful tone that I always dress up anyway so obviously I'd support it (honestly, I could care less).  Now I'm not one to put too much stock in what other people think about me, but for some reason this bothers me.  I wish I could describe exactly what they said and why it bugs me, but it's been a long day and a lot has happened since my meeting.  They sounded like they have a problem with my choice to dress nicely, which, frankly, isn't their business.  But I had never considered that people would react in a negative way to the way I dress.  Or at all, really.

Have other people reacted to your clothing and/or sense of style in a way you didn't expect?  Am I just thinking too much about this?

Fortunately, I came home to a playful Jude, who always knows how to make me feel better

Fella joined in the fun too, and then asked if he and Jude were ruining my pictures.  Actually, they did a good job of not obstructing my outfit too much :)

Cardigan & Tee: Loft

Pants: New York & Company

Brooch: Etsy

Necklace: New York & Company

Shoes: Loft

Fella's entire ensemble: Likely Target

Get away from me, Boot Porn

Today, my evening class is being observed by a very nice and encouraging colleague. I'm a little nervous, but I'm mostly nervous about whether I will speak too fast. Here's hoping that this won't make me speak faster. This skirt is too big in the waist, but I hiked it up with a thrifted belt and now it's at the perfect length for me (with tights, of course). I was thinking about fun tights, but maybe on a non-observation day.

Now, onto real news:
After reading the champagne tastes post of D-Med over at In Professorial Fashion, and reading the comments where by Sal directed us all down the dark path of the lace up boots section of Endless.com, I've fallen under a lustful spell.
So true.
So these Charles David Regiment boots, a mere 300 clams, are beautiful and perfect. I think. They are brown, but dark enough to wear with black and grey for me "all neutrals, all the time" ensembles. They look like they can be waterproofed. There's a 1" heel, to help me with my stumpification concerns. And there's cute detailing.
The retail gods (whom I've been silencing during GAAD, but GAAD does allow shoe purchases) were smiling when I saw the very last pair in 8 1/2 for a mere $240 at 6pm.com. Just one left, the pop up box told me. OK, I threw them in the cart, I went to check out, and boom, there weren't any left.
Amazon has them with free shipping for $300. I haven't bought a thing in about 3 months now. I could really use "go everywhere boots." In brown. I already have sporty black motorcycle-y ones, so I don't NEED the CDs, but they don't go with everything the way the sleek military ones would.
I don't really have loads of money sitting around, and poor little Buster needs to get neutered soon (why does it cost so much to do this in NYC?), so it would be a bit of a budget stretch.
What would you do, Style Nation? Is this the sort of thing best left to lusty dreams? Or, like the illustrious D-Med, should I see if my dreams can come true?

Skirt: H&M (old)
Cardigan: H&M (last fall)
Shirt: Loft (last fall)
Tights: Target
Shoes: Ecco, thrifted
Belt: Thrifted

Do-Over, or What a Difference a Belt Makes

This is what I wore to work today...

...but this is how I wish I would've worn it.  This dress has always looked a little off on me - the extremely high-waist always seems to suggest maternity wear to me (I know this style is popular and it looks very non-maternal on lots of figures, but on my shape, I think it just adds unnecessary volume).  But since it's comfortable and a basic like a LBD, I've held on to it.  Halfway to the train this morning it hit me that I should've belted the dress.  I definitely like it better with the belt.  What do you think, Stylenation?

Can you believe it's Monday night already?  Where did the weekend - let alone today - go?  I'm enjoying the quiet of my apartment while Jude and my fella are out running, and cooking dinner (grilled BBQ chicken salads, bread with honey chipotle butter and homemade pumpkin soup), so I thought I'd sit down and share a drink with you all (here's looking at you, SU).  Sure, a classier girl may have chosen wine, but what goes better with sparkly brooches than the Champagne of Beer?  I'm sure they go hand-in-hand, just like sequins and pink champagne (right Cynthia?).

Have a nice evening everyone!

Dress: Loft

Versatile Pink Cardigan: Target

Tank: New York & Company

Belt: New York & Company

Brooch: Etsy

Shoes: Tsubo

Beer: High Life

Glass: New Belgium Brewing, Fort Collins, CO

Transitioning

Transitioning, originally uploaded by Cohabitating_Closet.

It seems mild weather is back for now. I am no longer shivering in my apartment and I am glad I left a few summer dresses out from Sunday switchathon. The first time I realized I liked to pay with my clothes was 2 years ago, when I put together this outfit and I was like, "Hey, this isn't too bad." Big, smocky dresses may not be in fashion (are they?), but it makes me feel young and carefree. Even if my facial expression is not.
Also, I've been feeling a bit stumpy in my outfits lately. I realized this is because I've been sticking to conservative (at or just above the knee hemlines). I know this is what is considered "profesh" but I dislike the look of my leg line without a couple inches of thigh showing. This is too short for teaching, but I will be incorporating some of my shorter hemlines a bit more, to make myself feel more comfortable.
Also, because there may be wind, I am wearing itsy bike shorts under this tunic dress.

Dress: Mojoware, via Cliche
Tights: Target
Jacket: Levis
Shirt: Copper Key
Boots: Palladium

Jeans and T-Shirts

Happy Friday, Stylenation!  I just got a super-annoying and unreasonable work email, so I'm taking this opportunity to step back, take a break and do something fun before responding in hopes that I won't come across as biting this guy's head off... too much.  I just don't understand how some people can be so clueless, yet be in positions higher than mine.  But enough work ranting.

Today I'm showing 2 outfits from this week, I suppose to make up for the lack of a post on Wednesday.  The first is what I wore while working from home yesterday.  It's really only included to showcase my yellow flats, which I'm pretty sure are the official shoe of TCC.  I'm also sure Rad pulls these off much better.  The lighting on this picture is horrible because I'm on my back stoop (which needs to be cleaned off - woops) looking directly at the sun.  I wanted to take pictures in my back yard since it was gorgeous out yesterday, but my downstairs neighbor was home and cooking, and has a clear view of the backyard in her kitchen, and I feel a little odd posing for pictures with anyone around.  I should probably get over that.

In addition to the yellow shoes, I've also got another brooch/scarf combo going on, somewhat similar to Monday's.

Top: Loft

Jeans: Gap

Pink scarf: New York & Company (remixed)

Brooch: Etsy

Earrings: The Limited

Shoes: Dr. Scholl's

It's supposed to be 80 here today (though you'd never know by the chill in the air this morning), so I decided to give my denim skirt at least one more wear before putting away with my summer clothes.  I did throw on a cardigan when I left the house, but didn't have enough time to snap another picture.  This is a pretty plain outfit, but I think the long necklace livens it up just a touch.  Although the necklace is doing some serious boob highlighting, or emboobening.  But since I sit at my desk a majority of the day, I can usually deal with it.

What both outfits have in common - hence the title - is that they're essentially jeans and t-shirts.  But accessorized so that they're not totally plain and boring.  At least I hope not.

How do you dress up jeans and t-shirts?  

Pink t-shirt: Loft

Skirt: Old Navy

Necklace: New York & Company (remixed)

Shoes: Privo

Jude's been complaining that he hasn't seen enough blog action lately (he must've seen your comment, A-Dubs), so here he is:

Jude helps with the boob problem... by trying to eat my necklace