Dark Grey and Ruffles

When I was in school, the home ec teacher used to always wear light grey - head to toe grey with light grey hose and slightly darker shoes.  Even her hair was that silver grey colour.  She always looked sophisticated and put together.

I didn't really like the colour back then, it looked old and fuddy-duddy.  But now, I like it - all shades of grey. 

So today's outfit is mostly grey, but dark grey.  Before blogging, I would probably have worn the black blouse with black skirt and jacket but now I am (gasp!) venturing out to mix black and grey - I know shocking. But I think it looks okay.

I love the blouse and am on the lookout for more of this style - with ruffly stuff in the front.  I hope it never goes out of style.  I suppose if it does, I can always say that I'm wearing ruffles due to the Spanish influences in my life?

I always wear the same 3 strand bead necklace with this blouse - I like how the print picks up the round bead design.  The only thing which I'm not crazy about is that the blouse is sleeveless.  This limits me to wearing it with the jacket at work.

Although, now that I think about it, this style would look weird in a short sleeve and long sleeves would be too dressy looking.

Today I wore:

black sequin tank ... winners

black and white ruffle blouse ... ricki's

dark grey jacket ... jessica

grey knit skirt ... kenneth cole

tights ... calcedonia

shoes ... privo?

bracelet ... gift from mom

Today's post links to: what i wore wednesday

Totally Pink

Today I wanted to wear something a little less business-like since we were going for a nice lunch at work.  We have another retiree and a bunch of us went out to celebrate.

The weather is still holding up, so I hauled out my tiered Ann Taylor Loft skirt.  I've been wanting to wear it all summer and thought I had better do it now before it rains.

I wore it without tights and so it felt a bit cold; it also felt a little too unconfined for work - I'm accustomed to slightly tighter clothing for work.

We went to Black + Blue which is a steak house, but trying to be healthier, I had the Hunter Pasta, a yummy concoction of shaved pork, pinenuts, mushrooms, tomato and garlic on a bed of fettucini.  There was a big bunch of what I think was arugula on top as a giant-sized edible garnish.  Not sure why it was called Hunter since it is more of a Gatherer dish.

today i wore:

fuschia t-shirt ... gap

peachy-pink cardigan ... george

sparkly scarf ... ? 

tiered skirt ... ann taylor loft

red slip-ons ... bare traps

Today, I'm linking to:

• Ruby Tuesday

Spanish Inspiration

Today's outfit has Spanish elements.  My mom sent me a couple of fabulous scarves from Spain so it inspired me to style up something Spain like.

I'm not overly pleased with the outfit.  It has all the elements - there are ruffles, polka-dots, floppy sleeves - I even wore a flower on the back of my head.  But it felt weird when I first put it on, and now that I see the pics, it looks weird too. 

The ruffled skirt is a soft cottony one that I got for $5 from the defunct True Value Vintage.  The label says:

a 1 of a kind article by 

zachary's smile

new york city

which when I google it, seems to be a vintage store in NYC. 

But, the main reason I tried this look was the scarf.  It's from Tentazioni of Barcelona.   It's a perfect width and length and has a very Spanish, polka-dotty print.  It's also a nice light weight, very versatile and a great addition to my wardrobe.  I can't wait to try it with other stuff.

Here is another look at my attempt at Spanish-ifying my look.

I am so glad I listened to Big J and had a jacket on in the office for most of the day!

Where is Pelican Cove?

When I was in a green-buying mood, in addition to the flippy skirt, I also got another one which is a little straighter, a little shorter but still has a bit of a ruffle.

The tag says Pelican Cove; there are lots of Pelican Coves around the world but I think this used to be a jeans brand a long time ago.   This is the skirt which every time I look at it, think: I could make something like that.  Not including the ruffle, it is just a straight tube with some elastic at the waist - I think.

I wore it with a t-shirt and looked quite long-bodied so tied a scarf around my waist to break up the dark expanse of green. 

Add some accessories and we're off!  This is my Dollar Store necklace with another one from a liquidator's.  I'm very surprised that it's usually the Dollar Store items which get the compliments.

3 Strand Dollar Store Necklace

Here's a closeup of the print on the skirt - I wish they'd lined up the print a bit more.  A quality designer item would have the prints lined up I'm sure.

I thought the pebbly-ness of the scarf matched the dragon scales on the skirt.

Black and White and Red

As some of you may know, Big J and I have been trying to stick to a healthy diet with more fibre than we usually get.  Apparently women need about 25 grams of fibre and men need 35. 

So we've been at it for about a couple of weeks now - eating lots of healthy fruit and veggies, legumes, whole wheat, brown rice.  The best part is the fruit and the worst is the lingering odour of fish - we're also trying to eat less meat.

If anyone has a good solution to getting rid of cooked fish smell let me know!  In the meantime, since it's summer, we're going to try to cook fish outside on the barbie.

I don't feel any different on this diet, more full perhaps -  I already ate fibre and fish regularly but hubby certainly feels better.

I haven't lost any additional poundage since May so will have to either step up the activity level or reduce the fuel intake.

But, I am losing size I think - see that red Liz Claiborne belt in the photo?  I can actually fasten it one hole smaller now.  (I didn't, but could if I wanted to).


Today's outfit is all black and white prints with the red belt for the colour pop.

The skirt is the same Esprit one I wore back in February.  This time I added a sleeveless ruffly top, the polka-dotty scarf from Spain and a red belt.

Can you see the plums in the tree?  They are the small orange ones and are almost ready; they'll be a tasty addition to the diet.  We bought 2 plum trees years ago and get a big crop of fruit - enough for friends and neighbours.  They are in different parts of the yard so the fruit is ready at different times - makes for a longer yield period.

Like many of my skirts, this one is a touch big - I don't like tightness around the waist so tend to move up a size sometimes, but the floaty-ness was great for today's muggy weather.

Black, Cream and Zebras

So after reading Patti of Not Dead Yet Style's Agonizers post yesterday, I decided who cares that everyone is going hoseless - I am more comfortable with hose.  I hauled out the nylons I bought that hot day of the thick tights.  I think I was the only one on the train in hosiery - everyone was bare-legged - except the men of course  :D

It's surprising what a thin layer of nylon will do in preventing friction.  I was much more comfortable and less self-conscious too.  Thank-you Patti for that wonderful post.

I really didn't know what to wear today so just went with a basic black and cream colour palette.  A ruffle tee and cream cardi over my pull on skirt.  I tossed a scarf over a necklace and was done.

The scarf is another one from the defunct True Value Vintage.  It has teeny tiny Fortuny pleats and a wild black and white print with mustard coloured zebras!

There was another pleated scarf in the store that same day in blue tones which I didn't buy and then when I went back the next day it was gone !  She who hesitates is lost.

The scarf was wound tighter around the neck during the day, but on the way home I undid it for some air.

Ruffled Denim Skirt

I'd completely forgotten about this skirt until today.  I found it while rummaging around in the closet for something to wear.  It's an Ann Taylor Loft skirt that I found several years ago.  

I must admit that I love Ann Taylor clothing.  All the items I have fit very well, no gaping, bagging or sagging.

What caught my eye on this skirt were all the details:

• a ruffle - but not just any ruffle - this one has stitched down pleats
• peak-a-boo trim
• lace

It was hot enough to go tightless - so you see actual legs for once.

Originally I was going to go beltless like this:

But it felt very long-bodied so not having an appropriately coloured belt, I added the scarf.

Which one do you like better? I'm trying out a poll. Thanks for participating!

Blast from the Past

Big J and I spent the evening watching Sevillanas, a documentary by Carlos Saura, and then we hopped around youtube looking for videos on flamenco and sevillanas.

As you probably know, I'm a fan of fashion from a by-gone era, and it struck me while watching the videos that some of our current fashion is inspired by traditional Spanish flamenco garb.

See any familiar themes?

Ruffles

Polka Dots
- the lady facing these 2 wore polka dots too!

Spanish Shawl

and finally all 3 in one outfit:

Feria de Sevilla

Now this is a look especially for Spain's April Fair, but you can see how the same elements are all still quite popular today.