Look! Free Coffee

Today I was an observer for my workplace's candidate interview process.  To ensure fairness - that all applicants are treated equally, I sat in on the interviews.  This is a month-long process; I can see how it can get very gruelling asking the same questions over and over.  

I have on my usual workplace "uniform": skirt, top, jacket.  I went for total black and white which I think is one of my winter stand-by colour combinations (the other is brown).

The jacket is a casual faux suede with eye-catching white stitching and gold buttons.  It's also a very dark black.

It was rainy and since I also had some client meetings, I didn't want to wear my army boots, so went with Franco Sarto double-zip booties.  Whoever invented the double-zip shoe - kudos.  Soo easy to put on.

And why do I have such a silly grin?

Well, our coffee supplier decided to toss out their packaged coffee today - yes, toss out.  They were introducing a new seasonal blend, so out with the old, in with the new.  Such a waste.

I stepped in and volunteered to take it home.  There was quite a bit so I sent round a note for co-workers to help themselves.  Even so, there was a lot leftover -- quite the haul for a thrifty person like me!

today i wore:

flower shirt ... jacob

scarf ... ?

jacket ... st john

skirt ... jessica

tights ... dollar store

booties ... franco sarto

That Paisley Shirt Again

Do you like to match your clothes to your bag?  I certainly do; so today was another brown day so as not to have to change my purse.

I think all the items in today's outfit have been seen before.  I have on my Wanko jacket again.

It has become a favourite; it's a knit jacket, so is curve hugging and the best part is that it fits easily under my coats.

I also wore that paisley shirt from Spain over a reddish/burgundy t-shirt.

It was quite cold yesterday so today I wore a longer skirt and my big-mistake tights. 

You can't see them because I also wore knee-high socks over them but here is a pic:  They are from the dollar store - can you tell? 

Actually, I think the dollar store got them at a liquidator's or something because the price stickers were stuck on (instead of printed on) and the tights had a manufacturer's name and address.

Surely this was a production line mistake?  Why would they make tights with a mismatched print?  and a big seam down the side of the leg?

I'm glad they only cost $1 and not the suggested retail price of $15 which was on the package.  Now I'll know to check the pattern before buying.

today i wore:

reddish t-shirt ... old navy

paisley shirt ... ? ... mercadillo, spain

brown jacket ... wanko

long skirt ... london fog

tights ... dollar store

knee highs ... secret

booties ... pera mela

Curvy Purple Sweater

When my brother was little, one of his favourite colours was purple; today, it is one of my favourite colours.  It's been getting colder, and I've been wanting to wear this sweater for a while, so today was a good day.

What caught my eye in addition to the colour was the curviness of the lines.  The shawl collar also has scalloped lettuce trim edges.

It's really soft too and light.  There's just one giant button in the middle to hold it closed.

I like how it opens up to highlight the waist area - although I didn't have any special belt or anything to show.  I teamed it with the grey skirt so as not to look overly dark.

I also really like the sleeves - they are super long and stick out from my coat sleeves, which I think looks more modern than when they don't.

today i wore:

l/s t-shirt ... kenneth cole

curvy sweater ...striking

grey skirt ... kenneth cole

nubby tights ... calvin klein

shoes ... privo?

+ "silk feeling polyester" scarf !

Wanko ?!?

Today is Take Your Kid to Work day, so my younger son accompanied me to work.  The company arranged some activities and then for part of the day he followed or job-shadowed me.

I wore this WANKO jacket - don't you just love the name?  But mostly open for most of the day.

What does my son think of my work?  Boring.


I missed yesterday's post due to being super busy but here are some pics:

As you can see, I'm trying out Melanie's "bra" look - it was purely by accident as I wanted to wear the tube skirt up - to avoid the thickness around the waist.

Again, apologies for the photos - but at least I (just now) think I've figured out why - we'll know tomorrow.

today i wore:

pyramid top ... fancy lady

scarf ... ?

jacket ... wanko

skirt ... reitmans

bamboo tights ... ?

yesterday i wore:

t-shirt ... joe fresh

"bra top" ... mango

tube skirt ... jessica

drapey cardigan ... lsw

tights ... dollar store

Peplum It !

Today I was unsure how to wear a top.  It was not as loose and floppy as it looked on the hanger - poor visualization? or weight gain?  not sure.

My original idea was to wear it solo like this:

But I had pictured it to be looser and more drapey.  Instead it was tighter and form-fitting.  That would've been fine, but we all know how I hate that long-body look - at least on myself.  So I peplumed it by adding a belt and pulling the top up a bit:

It still felt a little body-conscious, so I added a jacket:

And of course ended up with my usual work uniform ... aaargh!

It turned out okay in the end - but what this outfit did show me is that I do not have a scarf for this colour combination!  So I had to resort to black.

today i wore

green top ... hiatus

black t-shirt ... joe fresh

jacket ... jessica

grey skirt ... kenneth cole

tights ... calvin klein

boots ... spanish army boots

Little Old Lady Vest

I've had this vest for yonks but am always hesitant to wear it because it looks like something a little old lady would wear.  But, I love the subtle colour variations and just hate having something in the closet which sits there so hauled it out for today.

It seems to look less little old lady like with a skirt and this time I wore it with brown, so that might be the trick.

I had lots of layers and even wore a sweater-jacket over the whole thing, but our unseasonably warm weather allowed me to go sweater-less the whole day.

It's also been a while since I put my hair up (it's been in a ponytail for weeks), so today I switched back; it feels better - no hair on the neck.

today i wore:

shirt ... ann taylor

l/s tee ... kenneth cole

vest ... nygard

scarf ... tentazioni

skirt ... reitmans

bamboo tights ... ??

booties ... from spain

Houndstooth and Oxfords

The hvac is back to normal, so I ventured out in a skirt again.  Just to be on the safe side I wore my houndstooth sweater-jacket which is thick and cozy.

Terri's Plaidurday post in which she wore her oxfords reminded me of mine so the shoe question was solved.  I was a little hesitant due to the heels, but went for it anyway.  

My doubts were not entirely unfounded - I did a lot of standing in the afternoon. 
It was meet the teachers day at school, so I took half a day off.  It was more organized this year; we didn't have to book appointment times.  The teachers were all seated in alphabetical order at desks around the room and the parents queued up by the ones they wanted to talk to.  It was great because you could look around to see which teachers had a long lineup and go visit with another in the meantime.

I'm always impressed with the teachers' passion for their students and the subjects they teach.

As it gets darker and wetter out, I'm looking for indoor places for the photos. Today I'm trying out a "take the photo on the stairs" pic - but am not entirely pleased.  But you can see that at least our home has corners of sunny mediterranean yellow even if it is cold and miserable outside.

today i wore:

turquoise t-shirt ... kenneth cole

houndstooth cardigan ... ?

scarf ... from the mercadillo

tube waist skirt ... jessica

tights ... secret

oxfords ... naturalizer

Basic Black with Colour

Today's outfit consists of mainly basic black.  I had a lot of meetings and you can never tell with meeting rooms whether it's going to be too cold or too hot.

Better to be prepared for either situation.  The solution of course was lots of layers.  I wanted something that I could sit in all day but be able to easily adjust the temperature by removing a jacket if need be.

I did not actually wear the boots all day.  I switched at work to my Monk shoes - there's a photo in this post.

I'm not sure if I like this a-line style of skirt; it seems to require something other than a jacket on top - perhaps something more feminine.

In the end, it looked a little too tame, so I added my multi-colour paisley scarf.  There was quite a mixture of textures and patterns by the time it was all put together.

today i wore:

flower shirt ... jacob

pullover ... george

scarf ... ?

jacket ... lady hathaway

skirt ... della spiga

shoes (not shown) ... docs

School-Marm

It's down to about 8 degrees (43 Fahrenheit or 281 Kelvin) in the mornings now, which means more layers. 

Today's outfit felt very school-marmish - perhaps because of the button up collar and scarf.

I've been wanting to wear burgundy for a while, but it just hasn't felt like autumn.  But now that our temperatures are low, I decided to go for it - sunny days or not.

This sweater is from at least 5 years ago, when absolutely no-one wore burgundy.  But I've always liked the colour, so actually have lots of stuff that I can use again, now that it's in vogue.  It actually looks like a purply colour in the pictures, but that's just the camera.

I wore it over a shirt which has velcro closures - can anything be sillier?  Great for super-heroes who need a quick costume change, but absolutely useless for women who want their blouses to stay done up throughout the day.

Today I wore:

velcro shirt ... zara woman

sweater ... old navy

scarf ... ??

skirt ... kenneth cole

jacket ... jessica

tights ... cK

shoes ... ??

It's Official

So it's official; we are all laid off, effective March 31, 2013.  They held meeting after meeting today with all the managers and employees.  It was a little anti-climactic; no histrionics, no agitated employees, nothing to indicate that over 100 people are losing their livelihood.

I had intended to wear something memorable for today - but in the end decided that warmth and comfort would be more important, and so instead reached for an old stand-by.

I have a funny feeling I've worn this exact outfit before but couldn't find it in the posts - time to fix my labels.  So perhaps that's why I reached for it again - in times of upheaval, we cling to the tried and true.

One good thing though is that at least due to a refashion of sorts, the buttons are now on the top of the collar instead of sewn on the other side.

I also had on a sparkly t-shirt which you can barely see:

What better way to handle the layoff blues than some retail therapy?  More on that in another post.  Did you know that Canadians spend about $300 / month  on impulse purchases?  That's over $3000 / year.  If you started saving that $300 at twenty, in ten years, by age thirty you could have a sizeable downpayment on a house!

Today I wore:

t-shirt ... kenneth cole

jacket ... sasta

skirt ... kenneth cole

scarf ... fabric remnant

tights ... dollar store

shoes ... payless

  

Ruffle, Lace and Stripes

Ugh.  We went to Costco after work to pick up milk - the chocolate milk is almost $2 less than at our local super-market.  To avoid a huge bill we have recently been buying only if something is a staple or on sale.  So today we got cereal and chicken, both on sale. 

The ugh part is that there were all sorts of food demos - I tried deli cuts on bread, havarti cheese, barbecue sauce on a chunk of hot dog, kettle corn, bear paw cookies etc etc.  By the time we were done I was sampled out, and in no mood for dinner.

Why don't they ever have sliced watermelon, or blueberries to sample?

Today's outfit is my New Year's skirt with a multi-fabric lace top, my witchy tights and a ruffle jacket.  I am not sure about the tights - a solid colour would've probably been better.

The scarf was a gwp - one year I was buying a long coat and my mom took me to a little store downtown.  They had exactly the coat I was looking for (I still wear it to this day) and when we bought it, my mom asked if there was a gift with purchase and lo and behold I was allowed to pick out a scarf!

Today I wore:

tuxedo tank ... old navy

lace top ... merona

skirt ... della spiga

tights ... CK?

shoes ... privo?

jacket ... tradition

scarf ... ? gift with purchase

A Peasant in St Tropez

So I've decided to check the weather for the next day the night before.  It's all because yesterday was quite cold and so today I wore lots - only to have it turn out relatively warm and sunny.

For some reason, I hauled out this old Carole Little skirt this morning.  I just had the urge to wear something longer.  It is one of those "sets" which comes with a top, but the top looks quite 90's.

 

 
The skirt has a bit of khaki in it and my original plan was to wear it with a blazer - I thought it looked okay, but Big J thought blazer and hippy skirt looked strange together.

It's the St Tropez line and has all the mix of prints elements which are characteristic of Carole Little's earlier stuff. 

The skirt is quite full and I found myself swishing it with my left hand as I walked about the office.  I'm not sure why, but I love going upstairs when wearing a long skirt - something about having to hold the skirt as you ascend reminds me of period movies.

I also decided to put my hair up again - you can just see the flower ornament which by chance matched the skirt.

Finally these cute booties are by Enzo Angiolini.  I love the height, not overly high, but I don't wear them much. I also like the dippy cut at the side - it almost looks like you can fold the tops down.

So anyway back to checking the weather - the whole day I felt rather like a Russian peasant: long skirt, thick tights, I also had a sweater. 

Real Russian peasant girls
source: http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/empire/ethnic.html

I see now that actual Russian peasants are much more colourful, and serious, and wear aprons.

Today I wore:

v-neck t-shirt ... segments

scarf ... ?

skirt ... carole little for st tropez

cable tights ... dollar store

booties ... enzo angiolini

hair ornament ... dollar store

Snakes and Ruffles

I had no idea what to wear today, but wanted to wear non-black tights since it's been so warm.

In the end I had to resort to panty-hose because the tights were in the wash.  Microfibre has spoiled me, I'm no longer accustomed to the saggy-ness of panty-hose.  I like the sheerness though.

I've been wanting to wear this bracelet for a while - It's from Big J and is leather strips with silver beads.  It doesn't really go, but sometimes a girl can't wait.

We were all just told in a department meeting that we would be getting our layoff notices on October 1st.  No-one was surprised.  Our department has dwindled from a high of 45 staff down to today's 16 as people find jobs elsewhere.  Others are sticking around for the severance package.  At least we got DQ ice-cream at the department meeting.

Today I wore:

black tuxedo tank ... old navy

black ruffle t-shirt ... joe fresh

snake print skirt ... george

panty-hose ... secret

snake cardigan ... jones ny?

maryjanes ... from spain

leather/silver bracelet ... Big J

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