Amiable's Blog

I love the Neutral Spring Drape ensemble, and realized that I had enough drapey topper items in my wardrobe to try it several ways and try to get back in to taking daily pictures.

So, while many of these didn't really work well, it's good for me to see that, and I figure I may as well share.

#1 skinny black jeans (rolled to show ankle), gray tunic, lemming leather jacket, ankle-strap ballet flats.  I think this one is a success.

#2 drapey stripes under drapey vest, skinny jeans and flat oxfords.  I'm not sure whether this one works.

#3 same as #2, but without vest.  Better?

#4 cream poncho over long sleeved stripes and skinny jeans.  Not working for me - not sure if I need to style the poncho differently or toss it - suggestions?

#5 I realized that a drapey topper could be a scarf, so I wore it with a cream sweater, skinny jeans and boots.  I think this one works too.

#6 black sweater with drapey gray ruffled vest.  I don't think this is my style - it felt off all day.  I think the vest needs to be purged.

#7 drapey tan vest over grey and flared jeans.  Silver shoes.  I think the shoes are too light to go well, and though I like the color mix, I don't really feel like this was a success.

Looks like it's time to step up my getting-dressed game again.  Which is perfect, because my closet needs editing :)

Which of these drapey toppers deserve a place in my closet?  I think the lemming jacket still does, and maybe the black vest in #2.  

What do you think of the stripey top?  Are any other toppers keepers? 

My plaid shirts this year haven't gotten a lot of wear - I'm pickier about fit than ever, and there's something a tad wrong with each of them.

However, I still like them, and the "plaid flannel" vibe.  So I jumped on the opportunity to sport this ensemble.

The Shirt is a creamy white with a sour green and brown woven in, so I paired it with white jeans and brown boots.  I'm hoping that my hair bookends the look well enough.  (And for extra warmth, I'm trying out layering a sweater over it).

I think this plaid shirt is a bit short in the body for me (it's a men's small, I think), right?

This year, white feels festive (particularly when combined with purple).  But pictures have been pretty difficult to get.

Here's what I wore Christmas eve to church and dessert (it was still a casual affair):  Cream-out with silver shoes and jewelry and a purple coat.  (Jewelry included both a necklace and earrings, but were added after I took the outdoor pic).

Today (for one side's extended family Christmas) I'm wearing white jeans with an eggplant sweater, gray boots and my caffeine molecule earrings that my husband gave me for Christmas.  Pardon the awkward pose in #3.  I'm too lazy to retake the pic....

All comments welcome!  I felt festive in both outfits :)

I'm still lurking around here most days - just not taking time to take, crop and upload photos :(

I have a free moment this evening, and I thought I'd drop by and wish you all a Happy Holidays, and share a few of the things I've been wearing, since I actually copied the contents of my camera on to my hard drive today :)

So here's a whole bunch.

#1 cape and printed jeans
#2 pleated skirt with biker jacket
#3-4 lumberjack vest with two pants styles and new Danskos!
#5 citron and gray sweater that is a very happy sweater for me this winter.
#6-7 cozy sweaterdress with coat (coat is purple, but looks black in photo).  I tried to make it more festive with a sparkly scarf and jewelry.
#8 tunic sweater and leggings - felt great when sick.
#9 trying out the turtleneck under a plaid shirt ensemble - I think I need a turtleneck with a tighter cowl.
#10 sparkly sweater and floaty split skirt (in the wind) dressed down with a jean jacket.
#11 shiny silver/taupe vest over black (vest is reversible - I wore the taupe side out)
#12 eggplant, burgundy and grey.  
#13 burgundy with citron - didn't realize that the sweater stuck to my underlayer so badly until I saw this photo.  Wonder if I was like this all day.  This color combo was inspired by merwoman, and really made me happy.
#14 mixed blues and greens (teal cardigan over huntergreen sweater and paisley print blue/greens jeans)

Many of these photos feature my new Dansko books.  They have a cutout, and I'm finding it way too fun to wear wild socks with them.  Sometimes I even coordinate my socks to my outfit.  They are almost as comfy as my Dansko clogs, and I can wear and walk in them for a full 16 hour day, so they are winners!  I'm hoping that the not-so-fuddy-duddy shoes up my style a bit :)

Merry Christmas to you all!

As I slowly get settled in the new house (it feels like a palace!), and work toward getting some semblance of a life back, I'm still getting dressed most days (unbelievable, I know).  

And in my busy absence I missed signing up for the Secret Santa :(

I've mostly given myself permission to get dressed without much planning or forethought, but my wardrobe is in a happy place where most things that don't fit or flatter have been purged, and I have lots of clothes that I like.

Still, that doesn't make for great outfits every time or anything.  

Nevertheless, here's a few that I've liked this fall.

#1 - caramel sweater, white jeans, cognac accents.  I love this sweater but have a hard time styling it.  I think this combo works okay, right?

#2 post-apocalyptic attempt.  I don't have many drapey black items, but I did manage to pair black skinnies with moto boots, a multimedia black tee and a drapey black sweater.  I was suprised how much I liked it.  

I lightened the picture to show texture.

#3 A denim "dress" over leggins.  I think this is too short to be a dress on me, and am not sure the proportions worked even with the boots.  I did get compliments on it.

#4 My current favorite flares, with a sweater that I didn't straighten out before the picture.

#5 poncho with jeans.  I lightened the picture to show texture.

#6 a summer top brought in to fall with an undershirt and jeans.  It continues to be a workhorse for me.

#7 another poncho outfit - this time with moto skinnies rather than flares.

#8 Black, white and cognac (the jeans are black).  This was an ensemble a while back now, and I still love wearing it.

#9 Sub the jacket in #8 for a beige vest that I don't think it terribly unflattering on me.

#10 Cobalt and olive.  I had forgotten this combo until assembling pics tonight.  I need to repeat this outfit.

#11 Another one I need to repeat - flares with a gray/green sweatshirt.  

#12 A different pair of flares - these ones dark with studs down the leg.  Paired with a blush and burgundy striped sweater that might be too big to be flattering?

#13 A way to wear a warm sweater when it's not really cold yet: with rolled boyfriend jeans and sandals.  It worked well with our current mild fall weather.

#14 An attempt at a new silhouette for chilly weather - a long drapey sweater over skinnies.  It's comfy, but I'm not convinced that it's at all flattering.  (I have this sweater in both cobalt and purple, and they are very warm and cozy, but I feel like they're a bit too big. I may pass them on).

I'm enjoying trying out a variety of silhouettes this fall, but feel like I'm mostly staying true to myself with how I dress too.  So that makes me happy :)

All comments, especially suggestions for improvement, are very welcome.

I took a sanity day off yesterday, and met up with WordLily (Hannah) to hit several GoodWill stores.

We had a blast, and completely forgot to take a picture to prove to you all that we were together.

When I saw these trousers, I pointed them out to her, telling her that her husband would approve.  We agreed that I should really try them on. The rest may as well be history.  They came home with me, and I had to wear them right away.  

I've decided that they're "retro futurism", and thus fit with current trends. We had a lot of laughs about how if I paired these with anything other than solid black (or maybe white), it would go gaudy so very quickly.  We also agreed that these don't exactly make one's hips and thighs look smaller.  I'm fine with that.

My kids said "Wow Mom, those pants are sooo cool!", and "I wish I had pants like that".

So what do you think - should  I wear these out of the house?  I have to admit, the happiness factor is pretty high :)

I'm really copying others on this second day of the Seasons and Nature Challenge.  I loved the pairing of olive and blue based on this photo that several of you have already done, and decided to just copy it.

This is my "down to nature" look - unkempt hair, no belt (which I really do need), and barefoot.  But it's how I spent the day, and it's a "nature" challenge, so it fits, right?

(I also reversed the top and bottom of the photo, to be suitable for the warm weather and the clothes that I know where they are....)

This is a pretty lateral interpretation, I know.  But I love the photo of the poppy field, and the nostalgia that poppies invoke.  I didn't realize until I googled it that to associate poppies with "remembering" was an Australian thing.  I have no idea where I got it.  Here's the Google statement:

The Red Poppy has special significance for Australians. Worn on Remembrance Day (11 November) each year, the red poppies were among the first to flower in the devastated battlefields of northern France and Belgium in the First World War.

Anyway, because of Poppies and Rememberance, I decided to wear  a shirt that has special significance to me.  I spent the summer of 1999 in Cameroon, West Africa.  I lived with some missionaries just outside a small village for seven weeks.  During that time, the town tailor made this shirt for me as a gift (Actually, I think a different merchant ordered the shirt for me from him, as a gift).  I've kept it since, and even though I rarely wear it, it brings back special memories, and I enjoy keeping it.

So today, for the poppies, I paired my Cameroon shirt with gray jeans that used to be skinnies on me but are now more boy-friend fitting.  And my happiness factor is high!

Thanks Diane for terrific inspiration!

July is over, and my summer wardrobe is serving me well.   I started the month with a few wardrobe holes, and last week (I think?), I spent a day goodwilling with a couple of friends with these holes in mind.  I'm pleased to say that I think I plugged them.  I even found a few nice surprieses :)    

My wardrobe holes were:  
- casual skirt
- casual summer dress (for when it's too hot to wear clothes)
- casual summer top
- replacement jean shorts in a light wash
- olive bottoms 

I found them all, and will take pics as I wear them to show you (that's my August challenge).

Here's the couple that I've worn so far.
#1 - Olive bottoms and casual skirt, check.  And I got to try out the olive with cobalt ensemble (and I loved it).  This may be my new favorite summer outfit.  (Posing with my daughter after her gymnastics class).

#2 Another casual skirt (this one with built in shorts, which I love), and a stripey tee that I picked up with it.

#3 A fun tube skirt that came home with me. (#4 shows it with the addition of a white jean jacket that also found it's way home with me, but that didn't really go well with this outfit).

#5 replacement jean shorts.  Are they too long?  They replace the shorts in #6, which have become painting shorts.

And, you can see in each photo my new fitbit.  Sigh.  I love the data, and it's on my project list to de-uglify it. For right now, it's just an ugly non-accessory.

Oh, and #7, the top that got away.  I tried it on and loved it, but my friend hated it.  I almost got it anyway but decided that it wasn't a need and that my impressions of it might be off.  Both friends loved the top in #2, so I got it instead. but as I edit my pics, I'm kinda wishing I'd gotten the top in #7, or maybe both, instead.  Oh well :)  The fish that got away was always the best one, right?  :)  

Anything I should change or ditch?

The casual skirt I wore yesterday was wrinkly, and not the perfect shape for me, I thought.

So I tried a different casual skirt today.  How does this one work?  It's gray, which for some reason I find hard to pair with other colors - maybe because most of my tops are blue, and this gray plus blue looks like a police uniform to me....

It feels just fine - it's cool enough on a pretty warm day.  I'm just not sure how many things I have to wear it with.