What I wore today: 11/20/2014 (La Superbe)

I wasn't kidding when I said I could live in Madewell. Lately, I've been loving neutrals and tomboy silhouettes with French-girl feminine details, and Madewell covers all those bases beautifully. 

Neutrals are not only effortlessly cool looking, but they also make getting dressed in the morning so easy since everything goes with everything else. 

"La Superbe" sweatshirt – Madewell et Sézane

Colorblock Streetcar coat – Madewell

Skinny jeans – Gap

Brown leather"Cast & Crew" ankle boots – Jeffrey Campbell, Free People

Wooden collar necklace – Madewell

Dinosaur bone rib cage cuff bracelet – Noir Jewelry 

Mismatch ankle socks – Madewell

What I wore today: 11/11/2014 (Bien Fait)

 

When Ryan and I went to Mood while we were in New York (photos, video), I told him how occasionally I'll see the same textile used for wildly different products from different brands, and I like to imagine that Mood was the source for both. Two different designers, each living in New York and shopping at Mood, see the same textile and give it two separate lives, each as far reaching as the other. 

I once spotted a really lovely pattern I recognized from an Anthro top used on a Crosby record player.  These pants happen to share their fabric with an Anthro top as well. When I first saw the top, I loved the pattern, but I didn't really love the shape. I even thought that I would prefer the fabric as pants. Then, a few months later, there they were at Madewell. Thank you, Mood.

Everly ankle boots – Jeffrey Campbell, Urban Outfitters

"Delancey Slouch Trousers" – Madewell

Lace and leather shirt – Prabal Garung for Target

Necklace – J.Crew Factory

Belt – Madewell

What I wore today: 09/21/2013 (Fall Floral)

I love nothing more than a good sweater. The best ones add interest and warmth to an outfit with minimal effort. I just bought this lovely floral number at Anthro. The first day I wore it, I took a walk in the woods and got burs in it! I then spent the next half hour sitting in a bar (because that's where my walks in the woods lead to), drinking a lambic, and picking burs out of my sweater.

"Stitched Flora Cardigan" - Anthropologie

"Serif" Jeans - Pilcro and the Letterpress

Deep-V t-shirt - Americal Apparel

Mens leather belt - Obey, Urban Outfitters

Neon necklace - Madewell

Bag - Phillip Lim for Target

What I wore today: 09/16/2013 (Blush and Lace)

I've mentioned before that I can't get enough of classic gray sweatshirts. I especially love ones that have a bit of a twist or a surprising detail of some kind, and I really love when that detail involves lace. Something about gray sweatshirts and white lace just makes me swoon.

I picked up this cute Phillip Lim for Target bag yesterday. Even though highly-anticipated collections like his always sell out online immediately, I can usually count on finding good stuff if I go to a store (without waiting in lines or anything); that's the advantage of living in a not-super-fashion-aware city. This time, I couldn't make it to a store until two days after the collection debuted, but I went to a far-out suburban Target in the lamest part of town and, to my delight, they still had all the items I wanted to try on. Yay!

Gray sweatshirt with white lace detail - Anthropologie

Rose-colored jeans - Gap

"Everly" ankle boots - Jeffrey Campbell 

Cross-body bag - Phillip Lim for Target

What I wore today: 08/18/2013 (Petticoat Junction)

This dress has been in heavy rotation since I bought it years ago. (You can see it layered over a mint blouse here, under a blazer here, and styled simply waaaaaay back in the day here.) Last weekend, when I found myself turning to it once again, I wanted to do something new to mix it up a little, so I decided to layer my Carrie Bradshaw skirt underneath.

I love what a petticoat can do to an outfit in terms of adding texture and volume. And you don't have to own an official "petticoat" to get the look; you can just use a voluminous skirt or any skirt that has a built in petticoat. Simply layer the skirt under your top layer and voila!

Of course traditional petticoats are great too, and you can usually find them on eBay, in costume shops, and at flea markets. As a kid, I had a bright-orange flea-market petticoat that was my favorite piece in my dress-up chest. I wore it doubled over and safety-pinned at age six, and was still wearing it at age ten when it actually came closer to fitting me.

Petticoats are also a great solution for skirts that are a touch too short for the occasion. Let a bit of petticoat sticking out add an inch or two to the perceived hem-length of your dress and you are good to go.

With a petticoat, a pink rosebud print, and maiden braids, this outfit is pretty girly. I added my Jeffrey Campbell ankle boots to rough up the look just a touch (and because I cannot stop wearing them).

Black and pink rosebud-print open-back dress - Urban Outfitters

Pink tutu skirt - Target

Everly openwork ankle boots - Jeffrey Campbell

Green leather belt - Anthropologie

Metallic rose pouch clutch - Marc by Marc Jacobs for Target

Gold arrow necklace - Etsy

What I wore today: 08/09/2013 (Leather Pops)

I so love a pop of leather that sometimes I may overdo it a little, turning what used to be a "pop" into an overwhelming statement. And sometimes that statement might be interpreted as "I am a dominatrix," though I doubt it since dominatrixes (dominatri?) usually don't wear leather baseball caps that they bought from their shoe repair guy. And least not that I know of.

Other notable things about this outfit: This is Day Two of trying to take badass self-portriats for outfit posts. See Day One here. Also, these Jeffrey Cambell "Everly" ankle boots are new and they might just be my new God. They are so comfortable and stylish and exactly the right height to wear with AG "Stevie Ankle" jeans, of which I have two beloved pairs (the plum ones seen here and the polkadot ones seen here).

Seriously, these boots are so perfect, I might name my first born after them...

"Well, Everly, when I was 25, I fell in love with a pair of boots."
"The ones you've worn literally ever day for as long as I can remember?"
"Those are the ones. They are your namesake. One day they will be yours. But not until you pry them off my cold, dead feet."
"You are a very strange person."
"I know. My mother was strange too, and, one day, I became her. One day, you will become me."
"That is the most terrifying thing I've ever heard. I thought you agreed to stop telling me scary stories before bed. I hate you. I'm running away."

Yeah, I'm gonna be a great mom.

Leather peplum top - Urban Outfitters

Plum AG "Stevie Ankle" Jeans - Anthropologie 

"Everly" cutout black leather ankle boots - Jeffrey Campbell, Urban Outfitters

Leather baseball cap - Clarence Shoe Repair

Studded-bottom bag - eBay

What I wore today: 11/04/2012 (Black and Tan)

Truth time: Approximately 30 seconds after taking these photos, I tripped on my flatforms and, in my (thankfully successful) efforts to save my camera, ended up skinning the ever-loving-beJESUS out of both my knees and completely ruining these tights. They are now both shredded and bloodstained. They have been put to rest with highest honors.

So, the truth is that, for most of the day, I wore different, much less cute, tights. But I still had to share my intentioned outfit for the day. I like the idea of taking a simple black-and-tan color palette and executing it throughout my outfit (belt, shoes, tights). The tights, a favorite, will be replaced, mark my words. I can't live in a world without punctuation tights!

"They look like your legs are cursing," was Ryan's reaction when he first saw them. Ohhhhhhhh, how I want them back!

For now, though, my legs are cursing out loud and uncensored. I seriously wrecked my knees. Ouch. 

 

Patent leather flatforms - Jeffrey Campbell, Free People
Punctuation tights - American Apparel 
1990s black velvet mini dress - thrifted
Leopard print horsehair belt - Anthropologie
"Sparked Agate Collar" Peter-Pan-collar necklace - Anthrpologie
Studded-bottom bag - eBay

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What I wore today: 09/06/2012 (Dark Tones)

I wore this outfit to go out to dinner with Ryan and then to see Ruby Sparks. It incorporates some of my favorite trends -- colored denim, a peplum, polkadots, flatforms -- but it doesn't feel overly trendy to me; just casual and comfortable.

I'm not normally drawn to deeper shades (I like brights and pastels), but lately, especially with the approach of fall, I've been into dark, bruised, broody colors.

See more bloggers wearing oxblood here.

What shades are you loving for fall?

 

Jeans - cropped "Stevies" by AG for Anthropologie
Flatforms - Jeffrey Campbell, Urban Outfitters
Bag - eBay
Peplum top - H&M
Sunnies - Prada

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