Tube UnFolded

Usually we have motivational speakers or business leaders at our employee meetings; today we had an improv comic.  It was just the thing to cheer us up. He had us in fits of laughter.  Afterwards, we had a socializer - normally I don't attend, but as we are wrapping up business, I decided to give it a try.  Good idea - there were wonderful appies and we all traded job-hunting tips. 

I tried something new with my tube-waist skirt today.  Normally I wear it folded over but today I pulled the tube waist all the way up and did not cover it up. 

I wore it with my ruffly tank over top  and it almost looks like a dress. 

I've been wearing low heels for a while now - being a little hesitant to try a higher heel due to the bone thing. 

So, today it was the Spanish army boots.  They are really great boots for wet weather.  You can step in a puddle and they'll keep your feet dry.  Even the tongue is connected to the boot so there are no actual  openings except at the top.

today i wore:

t-shirt ... ?

ruffly tank ... hamilton

cardigan ... foglie rosse

tube waist skirt ... jessica

cable tights ... dollar store

spanish army boots

Bubbly Top Again

Well, it's been a long week; a few more co-workers have quit and I expect that there will be more resignations in the next few weeks.  But at least the weather is giving us a break.

Dressing was a bit of a rush this morning.  I slept through about half an hour of radio talk show so there was only time for a quick shower and jeans.  I contemplated wearing a longer pair, but had a lot of to and fro-ing today so opted for something shorter so I wouldn't have to wear heels.

Plus, I had a doctor's appointment in the afternoon - the podiatrist.  So, happy day, sort of.  It turns out I have two broken bones in my foot which might be the source of the pain.  We will probably know by next week what remedies I'll have.  So at least I don't have arthritis, diabetes or gout or anything serious like that.

Today I wore:

bubbly top ... fancy lady

cardigan ... foglie rosse

scarf ... ???

jeans ... gasoline

boots ... from spain

All this for $50 !

Yes, that's right.  Today's outfit cost $50. Retail.

Most weekends, I'll wear jeans, a top and a scarf; but, this weekend, a bunch of us were going for a surprise birthday lunch for a co-worker who has been off work due to illness.  So needless to say, I didn't want to look like a slob.  It being Saturday, I still wore jeans of course.

We went to Kingsway Sushi which is part of the Top Gun restaurant group.  As expected for a large group and all-you-can-eat, many of the tasty items which we ordered never arrived.  I think what may have happened is that since we had 2 tables, the food went to the other table.  I distinctly heard people at the other table say "What is this? ..."

My new invisible step stool ...

But, conversation was flowing and we had a good mix of family and friends at our table.  There was lots of yummy stuff which I had never tried before like teriyaki chicken roll, something crunchy and yummy inside sushi rice and wrapped with salmon, oyster motoyaki (oyster baked in a sinfully delicious, very rich egglike sauce), and all sorts of cooked and uncooked foods.

We topped it all off with mango pudding and birthday cake.  These photos were taken after, thus the stuffed look.

So back to my outfit of $50.  It's true, retail prices, everything bought on sale.

Today, I wore:

shortie jacket ... jessica ... $8 at sears

necktie ... ? ... $1 at dollar store

collared tee ... ? ... $3 at a liquidators

ruffle tanks ... hamilton ... $9 at winners

jeans ... kenneth cole ... $14 at costco

shoes ... reflexan laufkomfort ... $14 at army & navy

Here's a closeup of the shoes:

I really like the colour - goes great with jeans.  And they are a clog, slip-on style which I love for pants.

Big Disk

It's amazing how the clothing we wear is so attuned to how we feel, what we see and of course the weather.  I've been feeling cold even indoors so decided to go with my taupe cardi again.

I wore it with one of those stretchy tops that look like they are made of little pyramids all joined together.  These tops start off tiny - about the size of a three-year-old's shirt.  This one, although new, was quite stretched out so it was only $3; I've never worn it much previously perhaps because I usually tried it with all dark colours and it just did not work.

I think the taupe cardi lightens it up though, so it looks okay.  I also wore a new to me necklace that I found on the weekend.  It was $5 which seemed a bit steep, but I liked the big disk thing - it reminds me of a jade necklace except that the colour's all wrong.  I really should try waiting for the 50% off sales for these impulse buys, but then they wouldn't really be impulse buys would they? 

It wasn't warm enough to doff the cardi until I got home, but here is what it looks like without the sweater.

I was off to visit clients again, so finished with some sturdy shoes.

Three Necklaces

Aarrgh! It's cold again, or at least in the morning.

The plan was to wear all creamy ivory colours today, but the day started out grey and threatening.  So I switched in taupe in order to be able to wear a cardi and dark shoes.

The skirt is one I got a few years ago for $7 at Winners (the Canadian TJ Maxx).  Anything under $9 for a new skirt is a pretty good price methinks.

Not sure if this look is a bit too busy in the front but I like the self-belt on the skirt - it covers all sorts of unsightly bulges.

And if you have to take off your sweater, there is still something of interest to catch the eye.  The tee was only $3 at the liquidators and I always regret not buying all the colours.  They had red, pink and black also.  It's just a standard collared tee with some gathering at the front plaquet, but is soft comfy and great for when you want something other than a crew neck.

Not sure if I went overboard on the necklaces - three this time, but I think it looks okay:

And they all kind of match, colour-wise anyway don't you think?

Taupe, Red and a Safety Pin

The weather outside is still autumnal so another fall outfit today (in June!). This cardigan is another buy from the Spanish market.  I had been looking for a long time for something in this colour, and when I spotted it, instantly got it without thought to price.   

It's a very neutral taupe colour which goes with everything.  I am trying to introduce more contrasts into my wardrobe so wore it with my orangey-red French shirt instead of a taupey coloured top.  The scarf is also from the market and doesn't really go, but doesn't clash either:

I would've normally worn lighter-coloured tights, but the ones I had were a bit too light for the weather so I subbed in a pair that had a pattern with some lighter coloured lines.

It was the first time I wore the cardigan and when I took off the tags, noticed that the safety pin was very unusual:

Have you seen anything like it? Here it is open:

It may not be anything special, but I like uncommon things, so will probably keep it - at least for a while, pack-rat that I am.

What's In a Name?

Have you ever thought about how (or if) your name affects your personality, your character or your outlook on life? 

I was observing today that a majority of the women in positions of authority in my department have names which start with a K sound!  Whether the name starts with a C or a K, the sound is the hard explosive K.  (Caitlin vs Cynthia) Very strange.  

So I started thinking,  do our names affect how we interact with others?  Are Barbies, Suzies and Vickys friendlier or more fun than Barbaras, Susans and Victorias?  Are the Decimas and Perseidas of the world destined to be statisticians or research scientists?  

What do you think?  Do you think your name has made you what you are?

Big J thinks I usually dress conservatively and sometimes a little weirdly, and I wonder if it's because my name is more serious and not as common?   I hope today's outfit is just conservative and not weird.

After yesterday's fiasco, even though it was a sunshiney day, I wore long-sleeves and a good thing too - it was still quite cold.  This is the altered skirt again. The shirt is a bit big on me, but it was a gift and it has some nice lol-embroidery around the neck.