Monthly Archives: March 2009

Baudelaire Knee Socks

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I realize that there hasn’t been much knitting posted lately.  Part of that is due to my shift over to a focus on style in this blog.  Part of it is also a change in the way I knit.  I love knitting, but now I think I savor it more.  Instead of constantly churning out mulitple projects at a time, I now work more slowly on only one or two projects.  I swatch carefully, I measure frequently to make sure the fit is right, I rip out and start over whenever there is an imperfection.  So I’m making less overall, but the things I’m making end up being much better quality.  Anyhow, may I introduce my Baudelaires?

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I don’t currently own any knee-high boots, but I plan to purchase a few pairs before next winter.  With that in mind, I need some knee-high socks.  I had plenty of this lovely kool-aid dyed superwash sock yarn (of an unknown brand), so I decided to make said knee-highs.    I’m very happy with how they look, and I think they’ll get plenty of use keeping my toes warm.  For those interested, the pattern is from Knitty.  To make them knee socks, I just increased during the pearl sections on the sides when I reached my calves.

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I love the lace motif on these socks, combined with cute little cables on the sides.  They look very feminine, yet still keep my calves nice and warm.

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Etsy Love: Clutches

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With my (hopeful)  plans to travel to Chicago this summer, I’ve been really craving a stylish clutch.  They are so perfect for travel – you can keep all of your necessities in it and carry it with you if you go out to dinner.  But if you’re running around (shopping!) you can just toss your clutch in a stylish tote, and you’ve still got everything with you.  In the airport, you can keep your clutch in your purse, along with a magazine to get you through the flight.  Or maybe I’m over-romanticizing travel.

Anyway, I think a clutch would be really practical to own, and these are some of the lovely ones I found on Etsy.

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Patchwork Fold-over Clutch in Forest Green

Morelle

 

purple

Butter Soft Purple Leather Wristlet Clutch

The Leather Store

 

vigga

Nine Pocket Vigga Travel Clutch

Valhalla Brooklyn

 

cha-cha

Heart Wristlet in Brown Leather

Cha Cha

 

west-end

West End Clutch

London Purple

Daily Outfit: Comfy in class

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Friday I had a lecture from 10 – 4, so I wanted to make sure that I dressed in comfortable clothes.  My go-to ensemble for things like this is a jersey dress with flats.  Comfortable and put together.  Layer a belted cardigan over that, and you’re ready for even the most frigid Florida air conditioner.  Not to mention the fact that this style is seriously flattering on me.
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I got this necklace way, way back, in my high school days.  One of my neighbors was having one of those home jewelry sale things, and I bought it.  Which is funny, because I really didn’t wear a lot of dressy jewelry back then.  Somehow, I’ve managed to hold onto it over the years.  Truely, pearls are a classic, timeless item to have.

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That purse is an oil-cloth tote that I got from a thrift store and re-covered with polka dot canvas.  It is able to hold everything I need for a long day in class.  And it lets me continue the polka-dot them of the bracelet.  I like how the necklace gently echoes this as well.

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Dress: American Rag (via Revolve)
Blue Cami: Old Navy
Cardigan: Ann Taylor Loft
Belt: Vintage (via Sherry’s Yesterdaze)
Shoes: Clarks Rime
Bangle: Thrifted
Necklace: ??
Purse: Thrifted and re-covered

Budgeting Lessons Learned in March

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  • Always take a calculator with you when you shop.  It’s amazing how a quick trip to Target can turn into a $90 expenditure.  Adding up prices on your calculator as you add them to your cart helps you reconsider whether you really need the item.
  • If you go over budget, keep writing down what you spend.  The worst thing you can do is decide that sense you’ve already broken your budget, you’re entitled to a spending free-for-all (which is what happened to me in January).
  • Carry a notebook to write down cash purchases or hold onto receipts and tally them at the end of the day.  Small cash purchases can add up very quickly and it’s the easiest area to cheat in.
  • Buy quality items that will get lots of use and fill your needs now.  Yes, I could get a great deal on sweaters and knee-high boots right now, but I wouldn’t get to wear them until October.  At this point, it’s better for me to buy for the season I’m currently in.  When I have a better set of staples and a fuller wardrobe, then it will be time to buy off season.
  • Never punish yourself for buying something that you love.  And don’t beat yourself up if you fail.  Just forgive yourself and start from scratch next month.
  • I’ve found that with this budget, I have a bad tendency to overspend the first few weeks of the month, control myself and barely spend anything the last few weeks, then go crazy again when the new month starts.  I have to work on controlling that.
  • Just because something is on sale or you have a coupon doesn’t mean you have to buy it.  Point in case: LOFT’s Out with the old, save on the new sale.  Yes, I love the idea of it and I think it was a wonderful promotion.  But did I really need to get a new pair of black pants?  Yes, they are lovely, flattering and made of cotton/spandex so they don’t violate my polyester rule.  And yes, I got fifteen dollars off of them.  But, with my limited budget, did I really need them now?  I’m not so sure.
  • Beware of going into a store “just to look around”.
  • Learn to play with the toys you have.  Take advantage of what’s already in your closet.  Challenge yourself to work with what you’ve got.  If you’re crafty, spend your free time sewing or knitting new outfits (with fabric and yarn you already paid for) instead of going out and spending more money you don’t have.
  • Record everything:  your budget will suffer if you cheat.  I didn’t record that $70 I had to pay in taxes.  I didn’t record spending money on new glasses.  Yes, these weren’t typical purchases, but they are still taking money out of the total I have available.  Not recording them is only fooling me into thinking I have more than I do

Daily Outfit: Pop o' green

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Alright, I realize that St Patrick’s Day was last week, but I think it’s still okay to have an Irish themed title again.  After all, I think I have Irish somewhere back there in my heritage (after the Polish, German, Seminole Indian and English ancestry).  Anyhow, for this outfit, I decided to use the neutrals of black and white with a lovely pop of color in my lime purse.  I freaking love this purse.

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You may remember getting a teaser of this amazing $8 thrift store dress a few weeks ago.  I realize this shot isn’t showing you all of the dress, but it’s still a bit more.  I need to do a few alterations to the bodice before you get to see all of it, because right now it shows a good bit of my bra, which is not exactly the look I’m going for.

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My attempts at getting out of my jewelry rut have been going well so far.  Most days I end up wearing 2/3 of my favorite, sterling silver pieces, combined with something colorful, or in today’s case, just not plain sterling silver.  It’s been hard some days, because it’s so easy to default back to what I’m comfortable with, but I think I’ve been getting a bit more creative with more jewelry each day.  I might buy one or two colorful numbers when my April budget kicks in, which could really spice up my jewelry routine.

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This picture is just to let you see the pretty, floucy layer that makes this dress oh-so-twirlable.  It also lets me mention how much I love my hair cut.

Dress: R & M Richards (thrifted)
Bolero: Ann Taylor Loft
Purse: Easy Spirit Outlet
Shoes: Naturalizer Outlet
Pearls: Coryell Design
Bangles: Jill Popowich
Earrings: Sara Westermark

Daily Outfit: Brighten up the day

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Yesterday, I was feeling not so great.  Between allergies and school-related stress, I felt rundown and tired.  Trying to get dressed in the morning was seriously difficult.  The first outfit I put together (not this one) made me feel even worse about myself because it was not flattering me at all.

Finally, I decided that I wanted to have lots of color in my outfit, but still feel really comfortable.  Thus, this chic yet slouchy ensemble came together.

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I just got that lovely grass green cardigan a few days ago at Ann Taylor Loft (they’re on sale right now!). This shade of green seems to be one of the few colors this season that really works well for me, so I’ll probably be getting more of it. That purple necklace is a vintage number that I inherited from my grandmother. I think the way it pulls this outfit together is proof that I really do need more colorful necklaces.  I also got some new prescription sunglasses the other day, and I’m really happy with them.  Not ultra-trendy movie-star big, but still big and round enough to make me feel pretty chic.

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Cardigan: Ann Taylor Loft
Tee: Target
Pants: Banana Republic Outlet
Shoes: Naturalizer
Purse: Morelle Oyster
Necklace: Vintage
Earrings: Sara Westermark
Bangles: Jill Popowich
Sunglasses: Ray Ban

What I'm lovin': Bright and beautiful colors

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I want color
I want color – by SimpleElegance1 on Polyvore.com

I’m feeling a bit under the weather this week, with a stuffy nose and slightly sore throat.  Nothing too bad, just enough to make me not want to get out of bed.  After looking in my closet this morning and trying to figure out what to wear, I began feeling even more depressed.  It is fully Spring now, yet my closet has so little color.  There’s plenty of black, brown, navy, gray.  But what about blue, green, red, purple?  What about lemon and peach and turquoise and lilac?\

I’ve gone over budget both in January and this month, mostly due to clothes/shoes shopping.  And yet every morning, I still find it difficult to put together an outfit that flatters and isn’t an exact repeat of something I wore the week before.  I’ve been purchasing new items, yet it seems that they may not be the right ones for me right now, because I’m still very unsatisfied with my wardrobe.

So here’s my new challenge for myself: during the month of April, I am not allowed to buy anything black, brown or navy.  Everything needs to have color or at least be a lighter neutral like khaki or gray.  Of course, I’m open to exceptions if I try on something and it looks totally freakin’ awesome on me, and happens to be black, brown or navy.  But right now I think that I really, really need to focus on brightening up my wardrobe.  I need more flowy and flattering skirts and dresses.  I need more bright and colorful blouses and layering pieces.  And I need some non-dowdy jackets that aren’t black or brown.  With this in mind, hopefully I can be a bit smarter with my shopping this month.

Daily Outfit: Almost worked

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Today’s outfit didn’t work out as I’d originally hoped, but I’ve decided to post it anyway, mostly because I think I’ve learned some lessons from it.

Note: This was one of two pictures that actually came out making this outfit look somewhat flattering.  And when only two out of ten angles looks good on you, the outfit probably doesn’t work.

almost

Top: Avon?
Cami: Old Navy
Skirt: Ann Taylor Loft
Shoes: Clarks Navan
Purse: Morelle Oyster
Pearls: Coryell Design
Bangles: Jill Popowich

Lesson Number One: Beware of tops that are flowy around the waist area.  One of my biggest outfit fears is looking pregnant, maybe because I really don’t want to have children for a long time.  While this top looks okay from this angle, from just about every other angle it made me look either pregnant or much thicker than I actually am.  Pair this with the fact that I’m feeling a little more self-conscious about my body lately since I gained a few pounds, and I felt like crap.

Lesson Number Two: Don’t wear clothes that are the wrong size.  See that cute little skirt.  It’s actually a size ten, even though I normally wear a twelve.  Which means that the lining ends up being skin tight, and the skirt bunches in weird ways and is not so flattering.  Pairing this skirt with this top made things  even worse, because from certain angles it visually added a good 15 to 20 pounds.

So while I liked this idea originally in theory, I really didn’t like it in execution.  And please don’t think that I’m bashing my body here.  While I do want to get more in shape, I am happy overall with my size and my body.  I just want to wear clothes that flatter it instead of clothes that don’t work for it.

Thus, the skirt is going into the “for consignment” area of my closet, as will the top.  I love that vibrant blue, but I don’t love looking preggo.

I ended up deciding to wear my favorite flattering dress today, because it always makes me feel good.  I didn’t take any pictures, because it’s extremely similar to this recent outfit, just with my light grey minimalist cardigan, my fav black Morelle Oyster, and my brand new Clarks Navans.  There’s nothing like new shoes and a pretty dress to brighten up your day.

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Sewing Lessons I've Learned

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(photo by me)
Mostly these are sewing lessons that I have either learned over time, or discovered from working through Sew U.
  • Paper patterns can be ironed on low heat to get the wrinkles out of them
  • Transferring patterns to poster paper helps to preserve them and makes it easier to keep reusing a pattern.
  • Store your patterns on hangers in your closet.  Or get a wardrobe rack like this.
  • Always thread an extra bobbin when you start a project
  • Change needles before each sewing session
  • Use ballpoint needles for knit fabrics!
  • Use tailor’s chalk to label all your fabric pieces
  • Press, press and press when sewing!  Your iron is your friend.
  • Measure twice, cut once.  Taking your time will save frustration later.
  • Use quality fabrics.  Don’t settle for the cheap stuff.
  • Read the instruction manuals for your sewing machine(s).
  • Be a perfectionist.  Keep trying until you get it right
  • Don’t beat yourself up when something doesn’t work.  With each failed project, you learn more and your skills improve.
  • Measure yourself and compare you measurements to your pattern.  It may need adjusting (and usually does).

What I'm lovin': Anthropologie

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Despite the fact that I’ve known of the Tampa Anthropologie store for almost a year, I didn’t actually visit the store until just a few weeks ago.  This was my first time ever in Anthropologie, and I was amazed.  It felt like everything had been designed just for me.  All of the style were exactly what I craved, all of the items in the store resonated with me.  I walked slowly through the store in awe, gazing longingly at the beautiful housewares, coveting the gorgeous bags and shoes.  And oh, the dresses!  Yes, everything was expensive.   But I wanted it all.  Seriously.  I think this will become my new place to go when I have a good chunk of money to spend on clothes.  The fabrics were all quality, the designs spectacular, and the sale prices were decent.  And it resonates with me, and that is something I find very important when buying clothes.

anthro

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