How I wore it: teaching (black and) blues

Holy cow, I can't believe September is ending. Woah, man. I will admit, for the first time in my life, I'm looking forward to cooler temperatures. With nine pairs of boots on rotation, I'm ready to start wearin'. However, with temperatures hovering today in the (very humid) high 70s, it was hard to remind myself that fall is (supposedly) here. It looks like my prayers will be answered a little too quickly, though, as temperatures will be allegedly dropping in the next few days. Sigh. See? Grass is always greener.

Anyways, as today was tutoring day, I had to leave my home. While I enjoyed the chance to prance about Boston yesterday, today was cloudy, grey, and SUPER-WINDY. I still have a childish fear of storms, so the idea of going out before a potentially huge thunderstorm (which didn't end up happening) was a little scary, but I pulled it together like a trooper. By going back to an old favorite color:

Sorry for the graininess, folks. If I made the picture any smaller, I would've looked like even more of a column of black than I do as it is.

So there you have it: black tunic, black skinny jeans, blue boots. I was insanely pleased with this look, though I can't really say why. It just felt so simple and right. Although I think I wear more color than I ever imagined (at least judging by my posts' labels), I'm a classic New York dresser (read: wear a lot of black) at heart sometimes.

(Also? For some reason I've been kind of on an anti-blue Fryes kick for the past few weeks, but I'm over it after looking at this picture: I LOVE THESE BOOTS!)

I played around with my hair today, though. After trying my hand at Heidi braids the other day, I decided to wear a single braid today. I used to have insanely long hair, especially in my first year or so of graduate school (after which, I cut it all off à la Mia Farrow after a disappointing love affair). Anyway, I often would braid my hair, especially when I was wearing my glasses (which I didn't like in those days) and wanted to look put together, but not severe. I can safely say that I haven't done it since then, mostly because my hair hasn't been long enough. Anyway. I also wanted to break up the black column, so I thought I'd wear my colorful headband and ornate jewelry:

There you have it. The hairband, of course, blew off in the wind while I was walking to my husband's office after the lesson. I retrieved it and stuck it in my purse, where it spent the rest of the evening. Although my husband loved the braid (which he'd never seen me do before), I will admit to being relieved upon coming home and just yanking the whole thing back into a high bun. I'm a creature of habit.

The title of this post is also apt because I'm a little over tutoring. Don't get me wrong: I love getting my weekly salary! But the last time I tutored or taught someone so young, I was still a teenager in high school, so I was still relatively close to that age. Then I went to graduate school and became a teaching assistant and eventually a lecturer and got used to teaching college students. I've been a middle school teacher (which I quit), but I prefer teaching at least high school and up. I'm such a colossal nerdwad that it's helpful for me to have students at least mature enough to know what I'm saying. At the same time it's probably really good for me to have to explain what a "verb" is without just saying "okay, so let's look at the verb." At the same time, today I made a really kick-ass worksheet, so at least I'm having fun!

And, I hope, my student is learning something, too.

Black tunic: American Apparel
Black jeans: Bulldog by Urban Outfitter
Blue boots: Frye Veronica slouches, via www.zappos.com
Hairband: CVS, remixed
Ring: from a jewelry store in Hamburg, gifted by my husband
Earrings: gift from my mother-in-law

How I wore it: research and booties

I'm supposed to send a draft of a translation to my advisor by the end of the week, so today I headed off to the Boston Public Library in order to get some references footnoted and bibliographied. After that, I was to pick up my husband at his office and then go for Thai food for dinner (which I'd been craving since Greece). It was yummy.

The weather is still summery in the New England area, at least where I am. The high was 82 degrees and the sun shone all day. So I knew I wanted to wear a lightweight dress, but I wanted to make some concession to autumn; I decided to do it the way I did last week: wear my short little booties (*shudder*). I really like the juxtaposition between summery dress and wintery shoes - I think it makes transitioning into the fall that much easier:

Because I was going to be out during the evening and in case of library-chills, I packed a cardigan, but I didn't really end up needing it, although I wore it while I was out and during the last few minutes at the library, as I can prove:

Magical.

In short, not much to blab about here: it was a fun day (nice to actually get out of the house!) and I liked my outfit - I felt like a rock n' roll nerd, which I think is my usual aesthetic...

Forgive the boob-tastic shot. I'm trying to convince Amalía to get in the picture with me. It didn't work.

Blue dress: Ann Taylor Loft, remixed

Grey booties: Aldo, remixed

Charcoal sweater (barely seen): Gap, remixed

Hairxperiment

This morning, my husband realized that he'd left his computer in his office last night, so instead of going to the gym, I went with him into the city to retrieve his laptop. A couple of hours later, since I already had (very light) make-up on, I thought that it was the perfect time to experiment with something I'd been itching to try out for a while: Heidi braids.

Some of my favorite bloggers - Julie, Gertie, and Rebecca [today, even!] - have been spotted wearing their hair in this classic, yet adorable style. Having read and re-read a few tutorials recently, I decided to try my hand at it. You guys, it's as easy as everyone says. Just braid your hair into two braids and pin up. Even I can do it. See?

Please excuse the crappy photo quality and my sickly face. I guess...I need a little color?

I definitely need more practice: the top of my head is bristling with visible and spiny hairpins - 

- and the back of my head could've used some, oh, I don't know ... combing?

But overall, I was very pleased with the ease of this hairstyle. It creates a very cool and unexpected profile shot of one:

I just don't know if it's an option that I will go for often. I tend to like a little more volume up high (which is why I usually tie my hair into such a high knot), so that's definitely an issue. At the same time, it's nice to have a new option, especially now, when I'm feeling as if I'm in a bit of a hairstyle rut. I can definitely see myself breaking out the Heidi braids for a fun occasion, especially if I style them a little better. 

Anybody have other cool hairdo options that they swear by and that I should try?

The most pissed-off beloved Swiss literary heroine out there

2 legit! 2 legit 2 quit!

(I want you all to know that I finally did get my pizza last night. They still couldn't deliver, so we ran out and got it in the cold and rain, but we had it, finally. Mmmmm, pizza...)

Anyway, last week was an unsuccessful blogger's dream. The good people of CSN Stores, purveyors of everything from handbags to furniture to bed sets, contacted me and asked me if I would be interested in collaborating with them. After making sure that no one was playing a cruel trick on me, I answered affirmatively (and enthusiastically) and we settled upon me reviewing a product from one of their many stores.

Now I just have to choose what. I'm torn between two pairs of shoes: both grey flats. I've been wanting grey non-boot shoes for about a year now and now I finally have the opportunity to get a pair to review.

Do I go classic and cheaper?

This one? [Image from www.csnstores.com]

Or something a little more gaudy, more my color, and more me?

Or this one? [Image also from www.csnstores.com]

It's gonna be a (not so) hard choice. 

... God knows, I might end up buying something completely different. Wallet, anyone?

Anyway, you can imagine what a legitimate blogger I feel like at the moment! I'll keep you all posted with what I end up going with and how it works out for me. Yay!

How I wore it: super-hero date night! Or, how Fate kicked my butt

Last week, upon coming home from our delightful barbecue, my husband and I spontaneously decided to make yesterday (Saturday) our date night. Since we're young, in love, busy, living together, and not rolling in dough, we don't really do dates. We tried last year when we were both working full-time, but it degenerated into falling asleep in front of the TV on Friday nights.

Anyway, we'd seen the ad for 'The Girl who Played with Fire' at a local movie theatre, which was timely, because we'd just watched 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' the night before (I've read all of the Stieg Larsson books, he's read none, but loved the movie. I was watching it for the second time, so, yeah, I liked it, too). Great. We were so ready to go on a date. We decided that we'd go to the movies and order pizza from a local-ish place that has gluten-free pizza dough and delivers. All week, we'd keep randomly bursting out with "I can't wait till date night!"

So with such a big build-up, I had to figure out something awesome to wear, right? Totally. I knew that I wanted my yellow Fluevogs to be part of the date night. They're bright, noteworthy, colorful, and totally appropriate for a movie theatre overrun by cool Arlington/Cambridge locals. Since I'd had such luck wearing them with a colorful dress the first time, I thought it would be nice to be all brightly-colored this time, too. I started realizing that I wanted to dress like a super-hero.

On Friday night, I started planning the event. I found out, to my dismay, that the theatre had stopped playing the Swedish movie the night before. BOOOOOOOOO. Fine, we thought, disappointedly, we'll just catch it On Demand some night and go see 'The Town' - we wanted to see that, too, and a lot of it was filmed in our former neighborhood in Boston. Okay. Minor misstep.

... Then came Saturday morning. It was 79 degrees when I woke up. I spent some hours in the afternoon with some friends and former students at the place I used to work (it was their yearly sports day) and while we were out, it got up to 87 degrees. When I came home, I was covered in sweat (and so was my dress!). When 5:30 rolled around, the temperature was still in the 80s.

Okay, so no boots. Fine. BOOO. But it's okay, because I own slightly less bright yellowish flats! I can still wear my super-hero outfit! So I did:

POW! For this outfit, I wanted clean, almost exaggerated, lines and lots of geometry. I wore a busy top with lots of black circles, my simple (and ridiculously wrinkled) red skirt, and my grey leather belt (for the first time! I have definition of waist! I wish it were a teensy bit longer, but I love it and am so excited to wear it out more). Nothing left to the imagination, exaggerated silhouette: KABOOM! I wore something chunky on each wrist to kind of simulate cool Power Cuffs, like something that Wonder Woman would wear.

I posed like Wonder Woman. I wistfully wondered if the ladies at In Professorial Fashion would like me.   [Side note: I've finally gotten around to reading their blog and I love it and you should read it too and it makes me want to get back into hard-core academia. Sigh.]

Back to my outfit: wouldn't the boots have been better? Oh, well. I wore my yellow flats for yet another pop, this time of color, rather than of shape. I wore my very cool black geometric earrings that I've worn a million times, yet never highlighted here:

Cool, right? They're made of ebony and were gift from a friend of mine who was visiting another friend of ours who lived in Senegal at the time. I love them because they're so basic in shape and color, yet manage to be totally noticeable at the same time. You can imagine that they go with almost everything I wear.

All right. Back to date night. I was ready to roll for bank robberies and gluten-free pizza. We saw the movie. We decided to be geniuses and call the pizza place from the theatre so that it would come to our home only minutes after we got there. They informed us that the deliverers' cars broke down, so there was no delivery: BO - wait, couldn't we go get it? We sure could, we were informed. So then I started ordering: THEY WEREN'T SERVING GLUTEN-FREE PIZZA THAT NIGHT. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. That was what I had most wanted out of date night!

So we started walking home glumly. We walked by a Greek restaurant that has won a bunch of awards and, though I was in no mood (originally) for Greek food, we went inside (I poutily) and ate. And ate. And ate. Okay, so that part was good.

So the long and the short of it? I had a lovely evening, although I didn't get to wear the shoes I wanted, didn't get to see the movie I wanted, and didn't get to eat the dinner I wanted. No real lesson, here, folks. Sometimes Fate wants to kick you in the ass. You gotta roll with the punches.

The date ended quite traditionally, too. We fell asleep in front of the TV. Ah, young love.

Black earrings: gift from Senegal
Polka-dot tube top: Express, remixed
Grey leather belt: gift (giveaway prize!) from the Elizabeth Kelly store
Red skirt: Dickie's, from a boutique in Philadelphia, remixed
Mustard-y flats: Nine West by way of DSW, remixed

How I wore it: back to work

Guys, I missed you all so much! My last post was on Monday - it also happened to be the last day I wore real clothes and make-up. Thank God for having to leave the house for money [tutoring] today! But putting on make-up, lord - I was practically poking myself in the eye with my eyeliner today. Maybe there was something to be said for having to dress up like a lady every day last school year...

I really wanted to wear my new boots today. I had originally planned to wear a dress today, but, as you know, my body's been going through some changes since my early/mid-twenties and, frankly, the dress I had in mind made me look pregnant. I'm not dwelling on it, though.

Yup, out of my head.

So I went with the tried-and-true tunic-tucked-into-skirt look. No looking pregnant with that, but I could've used a little waist-definition. The skirt, for some reason, is a little big on me and everything sort of just ... fell on me. Unfortunately, the skirt's belt loops are too small to accommodate my two belts. Yes, I only own two belts. So no defining of the waist, alas.

Whatever... I'm wearing my new boots!

And very happy I am with them, too! I didn't walk too much in them, but I did do some hard-core grocery-shopping, so that should count for something. I was comfortable the whole time, although I will admit to some foot-pinching by the end. I really think it's because, frankly, I'm not used to wearing slim, enclosed shoes yet. I was wearing sandals all summer, letting all my toes hang loose, turning my foot into a camel's hoof. With wearing slim-cut boots, my poor toes are all cramped, forgetting that this is the norm rather than the exception. I'm sure the next time I wear (the new) boots, I'll feel fine.

Anyway, this was a very neutrals-heavy outfit: I really wanted the boots to be the center of attention and I think I did a good job with that.

What would my choral director (not to mention my mother!) say about my posture here?! 


Grey tunic: American Apparel, remixed
Beige skirt: Gap outlet, remixed
Champagne boots: Steve by Steve Madden
Big green earrings: H&M

How I wore it: la honte

Hey, all!

Two outfit posts today, as I have one from yesterday and one from today! Isn't not working grand? It's easy to say now, at night, watching TV after spending HOURS poring over a manuscript. LEISURE!

Anyway, yesterday I went to an outdoor barbecue to celebrate a dear friend's upcoming 30th birthday. We went to high school together and she ended up in the Boston area before I did, so she's someone I was happy to reconnect with when we got here. Aaaaaaanyway. The weather was pretty nice yesterday, so I wanted to look nice. Ish. I had plans of what to wear, but, as always happens when you're running late on a Sunday afternoon, it didn't go so well. So I jammed on a safe choice. Oh, well:

Black and red, whoop-dee-doo. I have to admit something, guys. I had a really bad body day yesterday morning. You know what I mean? When the stars and the hormones and the constant eating of Reese's Pieces don't align properly and you kind of feel like a lard? I mean, hypothetically? And then you put on a skirt that's tight anyway and all the shirts you want to wear with it look funky? And then you just feel awful about yourself so you put on a t-shirt that isn't too flattering anyway and you feel like ass for the rest of the day and you feel like your ass can be seen from space? Yeah, that's how I felt yesterday until I got to the party and was distracted by hamburgers and cute babies.

Of course, once I saw myself soberly in a mirror and saw my picture later, I saw that I don't look as bad as I feared. It's always good to remember that: even if you feel like you mysteriously might have gained ten pounds straight to your thighs, that's... probably not the case. Anyway... it was not pleasant, how I felt yesterday, but I got over it in a more timely manner than I tend to. Am I...learning something from taking outfit shots of myself? Huh.

So today, after the gym and much manuscript perusal later, I decided to, um, go out. I had decided last night that I was going to try on the boots that I got a crush on on Saturday. So I wanted to make sure that  I was wearing an outfit that I liked so that the boots would shine in the best possible light. Here's how I looked pre-boot-checking out:

Meet my living room! Anyway, although the weather was lovely, I wanted to wear some sort of boot-like contraption, so I went with my grey Aldo booties.

... Aaaaaaaand here's how I looked when I came home:

Oh, shame! So, yes, I bought the boots with my husband's debit card (and transferred $30 into his account because I'm super honest). To be quite honest, I still dithered in the store, but I decided to go for it. Seeing them on in the photograph, I like them way more than before. So I'm very happy with my purchase, although I'm having a lot of guilt.

So I've come to a decision: I'm officially putting myself on a shopping ban. I will be avoiding clothes and frivolous book purchases (hey, libraries) for the near future: shall we say till Thanksgiving at least? My tutoring money will be used for groceries. My credit card will only be used for Amalía-related expenses and, if those aren't too hefty, music purchases.

All right? I pinky-swear!

Do we have a deal?

Sunday's outfit 
Black t-shirt: H&M, remixed
Red skirt: Dickie's brand, from Guacamole, a store in Philadelphia
Buffalo plaid flats: American Eagle from Payless


Monday's outfit
Black dress: Gap, remixed
Polka-dot modesty top: Express, remixed
Grey booties: Aldo, remixed
[New boots: Steven by Steve Madden]

Get thee behind me, Steve Madden!

So, guys, I have a problem. A stupid problem. But a problem, nonetheless. Once I bought my grey Frye boots, I decided that I had reached the Holy Grail of boot needs. A really good pair of tall boots in grey leather were the last boots I needed. And for six months, that proved true. Then I fell in love with my yellow Fluevogs and here we are, but that's kind of different, no? Anyway... let's list the boots that I own:

• black leather boots with a small heel: these are my "fancy" boots that I can wear with office clothes and whatnot [not caught on the blog yet]
• brown suede boots with a fringe: fun! Don't really have a niche yet [not caught on the blog yet]
• blue leather Fryes: you know them well
• grey slouchy suede boots: love 'em dearly, but they're not much longer for this earth
• dark grey Aldo booties: still hate that word
• the Greek boots: adore them still, love everything about them (this is key)
• yellow Fluevogs: mmmmmmmm...
• grey Fryes: probably my favorites?

So there you are. Those are eight pairs of boots that I own and rotate pretty often. Eight. I only have, like, four pairs of serviceable flats. One pair of heels. Eight pairs of boots, people. That's...a lot. So what's my problem? 

I want more. 

Yesterday my husband and I went for a walk and we happened to enter a clothes store that specializes in boots. I fell in love with a pair of Steve Madden boots that I've yearned for for a couple of years now.

photo from zappos.com

So I developed a crush in two seconds flat, tried them on, and...it was okay, but not mind-blowing, you know? But I also didn't really like my outfit so maybe it wasn't working with the colors? Anyway, my husband very logically pointed out that they were great, but they weren't special, and, plus, didn't I already have a pair of boots in that exact same color [the Athenian ones]? I do, yes, but I liked that these were tall. Anyway, I wasn't totally convinced, and for $130, I need to be totally convinced. So I left them in the store.

Now I have non-buyer's remorse. This is a phenomenon that always hits me. I try something on that I like a lot (but don't love) and I leave it in the store and then I proceed to obsess about it for days. So guess what happened today. 

Anyway, I had finally convinced myself that I didn't need new boots. Plus, trying not to shop for clothes, remember? I have books and a cat to take care of! Then today my husband made a ridiculous statement. He informed me that at our Greek wedding, I was standing on his right. I reminded him that I had been standing on his left. He scoffed, laughed in my face, and bet me $100 that I was wrong. Now, my friends, I only bet when I'm absolutely sure, so I took that bet. 

Here's the result of that bet:

You probably can't see that clearly, but the person in the bridal gown is clearly standing on the left of the groom (the person on my left has grey hair and is not my husband). So there you go. 

Now my husband owes me $100. And I could use those $100 to buy me boots. And they would then only cost me $30. And I don't need to be totally convinced for $30.

So...what do I do? 

How I wore it: a night of Art

Some of my neighbors in Cambridge own a Russian-themed art gallery and they had an opening reception for a Russian sculptress. My husband and I had been excited to go for weeks and we invited a friend to come along. As soon as I knew that we were going, I knew it was an excuse to wear my new Fluevog yellow boots:

Yay! I was so excited to pair these new, sunshine-y boots with my bright new Calvin Klein dress. I was a little nervous originally about putting such bright colors together, but I loved the way it all looked in the end.

After the gallery reception, we went to get gluten-free pizza and then to a party. The boots held up admirably for a long night of standing and walking around. I will admit to a fair amount of foot-achiness by the end of the night, but I think that had to do more with the fact that I rarely wear heels than with any issues with the shoe itself. I solved the potential "too tight for my calves" problem by just wearing tights, over which the boots zipped easily.

Anyway, what more to say? I felt colorful and fresh and was complimented on both my boots and my earrings at the party, so... a good night!

Red dress: Calvin Klein, by way of TJ Maxx, remised
Grey tights: Gap, remixed
Yellow boots: John Fluevog 

How I wore it: semi-professional life

After a surprisingly leisurely morning and afternoon (I was supposed to have dissertated some more, but ended up going for a run quite late after Amalía's first vet check-up), I headed to downtown Boston for my new regular gig: I'm going to be tutoring a little girl in Spanish; she's a student from the school at which I worked last year. It'll be nice to take a quick breath away from my Ph.D. work (although this week has been more about long sighs away...), interact with a student, and hang out with a cute little kid - it'll also be nice to have an excuse to get out of the house and wear something cute: yay for mascara!

Anyway, eager to be seen in pants by her family for the first time, I decided on my favorite grey jeans with a trusty red shirt and ... hey, hey, matching time! Red shoes, too:

The look was simple and classic for me. When I asked my husband for his expert style analysis, he said "You look like a very chic academic taking time off to do some tutoring." Well, okay. I didn't realize I was going for quite so literal a look, but that's what you get for asking a jet-lagged male to opine about your outfit.

Today I débuted my grey Greek handbag. It is indeed as enormous as I predicted and held two big books, legal pad, Filofax, wallet, cell phone, Moleskine, pen, make-up case, and allergy meds for my husband with room to spare. I wanted to show it off hanging oh-so-jauntily from my forearm like a sullen Fashion Babe:

Do I look blasé enough? God, that thing is huge. I've always wanted a big purse like that, dripping with handles, so I'm very psyched about it. I hope no one finds out that I bought it for €48!

Red top: from Tony's, a boutique in Philadelphia's Old City, remixed
Grey jeans: Bulldog by Urban Outfitters, remixed
Red wedges: CL by Laundry, by way of DSW, remixed
Grey bag: from a boutique (Dressing Room?) on Adrianou Street(?) in Monastiraki, Athens

How I wore it: too bad, so sad

Yesterday I took the day "off." I didn't go to the gym, I didn't work on my dissertation - I just spent time with my home-returned husband. Since he has crazy jet lag and has Tuesdays off, there was a lot of napping involved on his end. However, we did go out to run some errands and I decided to dress up for the fact. I had long been thinking about how to transition my striped maxi dress into the fall; since the dress is long and not particularly summer-themed, I thought it would be a cinch. I imagined cardigans and boots (shock!) and I decided to try it out as early as yesterday. Most of the time my boots (since I go for slouchy) look terrible with ankle/floor-length hems, as it creates an ugly, chunky line for the eye, but I've discovered that, with narrow enough boots, the look is much cooler. So, of course, I chose my Greek boots! I also decided to enter the world of belting...well, enough hesitating - here it is:

I. Loved. This look. I felt slim, elegant, fashion-forward, and - with my long dress and my tall hair - surprisingly regal. When I went into my husband's office to announce that I was ready and that I had done some new things with my look, he cringed at me. He fucking winced. He hated my outfit. This is how I felt about it:

But I did not change. When we left the house, I made a disparaging remark about how he didn't like my outfit, to which he replied, "Nope. Not at all." Which, of course, led to a discussion about how he was free to have and state his opinions, but he could do it in a slightly nicer way. The only aspect he liked about the outfit is how the dress went with the jewelry (the set he bought me for my name day); ironically, that's the only part of the outfit that I didn't like, as I didn't think the jewelry went well with the  tobacco-colored leather belt and boots. His argument was that nothing "went." Let me start off by saying that Greeks (or, at least, my husband's immediate family) are obsessed with matching things. Since I love being all matchy-matchy with my jewelry (and yesterday I did match my belt, boots, and bag to each other - Tom and Lorenzo would HATE me!), usually this doesn't affect me, but the fact that his eye didn't register the deliberate anomalies and pairings of my outfit in a positive way, well, that was perplexing.

I have to admit that I was stymied by my husband's animosity toward my outfit. He's usually so into my clothes (he's the one that suggested I start a blog) and he has such a good eye that I thought that I must look awful if he hated my outfit. I almost, after our "discussion," went back into the apartment to change, but then realized that it was highly unlikely that a resident of Cambridge would yell "Hey, lady! Your outfit sucks!" on the streets to me. And, indeed, it didn't happen. I just told him that his sneakers were stupid (ahh, young love) and went on with the errands and walk, where my only enemies were the weather. At first, walking in a shady park and once it started pouring, I was glad for the extra layer that the cardigan provided (although worried about my beloved boots); however, once the rain stopped and we trudged back to our home lugging many groceries and 28 pounds of cat litter, I was a little warm.

Whatever. Y'all don't know the adversaries I had to face for fashion yesterday. You just don't know.

In other news, I'm in a really good mood right now despite yesterday's hardships: it's my dad's birthday, I made some delicious almond-pear bread (yes, I know!), and three books that I ordered on Saturday arrived this morning: Patrick Olivelle's translations of the Dharmasutras and the law code of Manu, as well as Barbara Stoler Miller's translation of Bhartrhari's Satakatraya! Remember when I told you guys I was a Sanskritist? Yeah, I wasn't lying.

Well, I'm off to geek out! What are your plans for the day?

Black cardigan: Ann Taylor Loft, remixed
Belt: Urban Outfitters
Striped maxi dress: Gap, remixed
Boots: a store on Ermou Street, Athens, remixed
Necklace and earrings: gift from my husband from Sparta, remixed

How I wore it: Lady in Red, part the second

Last night, late, my husband came home from a ten-day trip abroad for musical stuff. I decided to go pick him up at the airport. I pretty much knew the moment I bought it, that I was probably going to wear my new red Calvin Klein dress. It's my newest article of clothing, after all, and I wanted to show it off in a venue where it would be appreciated. As I said in the original post, I really visualize this dress with contrasting stockings, so I wore my tried and true black stockings (they were my lifesavers during the school year, but, alas have gotten hole-y) and a bright shoe in another contrasting color:

It was a big success, if I say so myself. My husband thought I looked beautiful, and I felt fresh and pretty on my long subway ride to the airport. Have y'all noticed how I've been tending to gravitate toward red a lot? One of my "fancy" summer outfits is my red halter dress. Although I wear so much black and grey and understated colors, red is obviously my go-to color for when I want to look as if I made an extra effort. I always maintained that, apart from grey and black (which I was informed by a student years ago were "shades" and not colors), green was my favorite color. However, if we just judge by my wardrobe, red is obviously near and dear to my heart as my favorite bright color to wear. Huh. You learn something new every day!

Anyways, I'm totally in love with my new red purchase and am already planning to wear it again (gasp - THIS WEEK!). I was so happy with my choices last night that they inspired me to show how excited I was to welcome home my long-gone beloved:

Love, people. It doesn't get purer than this.

Red dress: Calvin Klein, by way of TJ Maxx
Black stockings: Hue
Mustard-y flats: Nine West, by way of DSW, remixed

How I wore it: neutral weekend

The weather in New England has become cool and a little bit grey. I think it's safe to say that fall is arriving, however much it pains me to admit it. I mean, I'm excited to wear boots (boooooooooots) again [I even wore my least boot-like boots today!], but...well, it's hard to not just prance about in a sundress.

Yesterday I ventured out in leggings for the first time since, oh, 1995 or so. Remember the leggings I bought way back in June? I cut out the tags yesterday and PUT THEM ON. I was planning on just hosting some friends and their baby, so I thought they would be crawling-around-on-the-floor-after-toddler-and-cat friendly. Because I am a healthy, vibrant woman with an ass, I put on my grey tunic as well (nothing I ever wear with my leggings will ever not cover my bum). Because I really wanted to balance out the whole look, I dreamed of wearing my grey Fryes with them, but the weather did crawl up to the low 70s, so I just put on colorful flats for when I went to the supermarket to prepare for my friends. However, we ended up going out shopping to IKEA and stuff, so I was seen in them for much of the day. I wore a long sweater over the whole shebang for modesty's (and warmth's!) sake:

So there you go. I'm wearing leggings out and I'm no longer an adolescent. You can't see it almost at all in this photo, but the leggings have a cute little zipper detail in the back. Anyway, despite the whole "GAH, THERE'RE MY LEGS!" freak-out I was prone to having each time I saw my reflection in glass, I was sinfully comfortable all day long. I have a feeling this will be my go-to uniform for staying at home and working on my dissertation.

Today dawned even cooler, but I had a date with my brother, sister-in-law, and energetic niece. I decided to pull on my faithful black skinny jeans for the first time since, oh, I don't know - spring? I was in a real rut this morning, though, so I just pulled on the grey tunic again (which you can't really see that I'm wearing above, I realize). I then finished the whole look with my grey booties. I was extremely uninspired, though, so I didn't feel that cute in the ensemble, but it was a tried and true outfit choice that made me feel very me:

And I'll be honest. However short they are, it was nice to be able to pull on boots again.

I truthfully think that the reason I felt so uninspired today was because tomorrow I want to look super-cute for my husband's home-coming from a ten-day-long trip and since I'm revving myself up so much for that (dress! Tights! Contacts!), anything I would wear today would feel anticlimactic with the exception of a ball gown or wedding dress (and, yes, I have been obsessively watching "Say Yes to the Dress" on TLC, why?).

However, it was nice to go back to a muted palette. As much as I've loved stepping back from black and grey (and, let's be honest - I did wear a fair amount of both colors over the summer) in the recent past, they are my two absolute favorite colors/neutrals and, hey, it was nice to have them on my body again.

Saturday's outfit:
Charcoal cardigan: Gap, remixed
Grey tunic: American Apparel, remixed
Grey leggings: Gap
Mustard-y flats: Nine West by way of DSW, remixed


Sunday's outfit:
Grey tunic (AGAIN): American Apparel, remixed
Black jeans: Bulldog by Urban Outfitter, remixed
Grey booties: Aldo, remixed

How I wore it: faux first day of school

I haven't really been very exciting on the outfits front. My husband is out of town for ten days on a business trip and I've been working and/or hanging out with friends in a low-key way. My parents came to town today for a three-day stay, so I decided to dress up for them:

How exciting, right? You've seen almost all the elements of this outfit a hundred times before, as I wore this skirt often for work last spring. I actually visualized the outfit differently today, with neutral accents - sedate shoes, understated jewelry - very clean lines... but as the weather was much warmer than I anticipated, I decided to take advantage of what will probably be one of my last opportunities to wear sandals. Once the turquoise sandals became part of the outfit, I had to go all OCD and match my jewelry. I also wore my new watch...

With the exception of just throwing on a dress, this is the first time I've ever worn an actual work outfit for a casual day [of course, at my job last year, sandals were verboten]. I used to always style this skirt with a black tank top or tube top or halter top and black sandals. Despite many of the bad things about my former job's dress code, it did definitely give me the impetus to push my own comfort zone a little. I used to hate wearing anything white, but once this job rolled around, I went right out and bought a couple of white t-shirts. Between that and tucking in and a bright shoe, hey - I learned something along the way! [How very Doogie Howser of me, no?]

In other news, this is my first non-first-day-of-school since...wow...ever, maybe. After thirteen years of schooling, I went on to four years of college and five years of graduate school (although I wasn't doing anything but being ABD during my fifth year, I still went onto campus enough to qualify it counting as an academic year); I then started working at a school in New York - although I quit that job mid-year, I definitely was there for the first day of school. Then came last year. Wow. It really is my first year of not having a "first day of school." I have to admit, seeing the first-day conference sponsored by the Fashionable Academics, I was a little envious about not dazzling people with my post-summer sartorial choices. Oh, well. Maybe I'll get to do so next year, with my Ph.D. in hand!!

White t-shirt: H&M, remixed
Striped skirt: Gap, remixed
Turquoise sandals - Athens Nine West, remixed
Turquoise pendant: Macy's, remixed
Turquoise earrings: Banana Republic, remixed
White watch: Esprit

Boots breaks resolution: no one shocked!

The other day, I read about how La Historiadora de la Moda went shopping at TJ Maxx. I promptly forgot all about my resolution to shop less for clothes and fell in love with her belt. Now, having gone to TJ Maxx only once in my life and having one about ten minutes' walk from my home, I went yesterday in order to copy her and find a similar belt and see if they were selling dresses that would cost less than groceries. I did find the same belt that she did, but in maroon: I loved it, but they didn't have it in my size. Good thing, too, because I would've hesitated in buying this:

That is a Calvin Klein dress for which I paid $49.99. As soon as I saw it on the rack, I grabbed it in order to try it on because Calvin Klein, for some reason, is very flattering on my body. I love his bras (TMI!) and I love the purple dress I already own. I was also attracted by the exposed zipper at the pockets (see above) and at the back:

Mmmm. When I tried it on, I gasped. Although it might not look like that on the hanger, the fit is pure retro: the top/bodice is super-fitted and the skirt is flared, hitting right above the knees (shocking for me!). I feel like Zooey Deschanel in it. And, hey, let's be honest - isn't that why I try to channel?

I didn't even feel bad about shopping. It was a treat that I could afford, in a color that I gravitate to a lot that happens to look good on me, and it's a well-made dress that can be worn year-round. I think that it will look adorable with black stockings and a bright shoe. Maybe even with the new boots? I'm not a huge fan of primary-color-terrorism, but I think that the cuteness of all the elements will transcend the risk of being called Froot Loops (this really happened to my best friend on the streets of Harlem, while she was wearing, I believe, a red dress, yellow shoes, and a green coat).

Anyway, I have a manuscript to get back to and a curled-up cat lying on my desk to attend to...