I had so much fun in this outfit when I wore it to the AIGA/NY Winter Bash that I decided to wear it again to celebrate New Year’s Eve!
I believe I was officially the sparkliest person in my hometown of Starkville, Mississippi on this particular evening, and while my outfit may have temporarily blinded some unsuspecting party-goers, it was really my insides that felt like they’d been coated with glitter. Surrounded by my mom, stepdad, sister, brother-in-law, three of my best friends since childhood and their fellas (one all the way from where he’s currently stationed in South Korea), I spent the evening beaming. It was a pretty decent way to start 2012, which I predict will go down in the books as “The Year of The Sparkle.”
- green sequin shirt - $55 (+$9 shipping) Etsy: BambieJonesVintage
- pink tule skirt - $18 East Village Buffalo Exchange
- embellishments - $12 Guvnor’s and Downtown Brooklyn Goodwill
- red tights and silver Rockette shoes - in my closet 5+ years
- TOTAL - $94
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LOOK OUT! Cat wearing giant plaid pants alert! (Giant as in the size of the plaid, not the size of the pants, although by cat standards, I guess these pants would be kinda large.)
Of course I love mixing super bright colors, but lately I’m deriving great satisfaction from mixing textures and patterns as well. Finding things that seem like they shouldn’t go together and putting them together anyway is oddly thrilling.
There’s geometry to it: the angular embroidery of this top next to the stripes of the sweater and plaid of the pants. I think it works, and the best part is, that’s all that really matters! Yeehaw.
- cat hat - gift from friends at MailChimp
- striped cardigan - $22 Side Show in Hudson, NY
- embroidered button-down shirt - $18 Side Show in Hudson, NY
- plaid pants - $22 Side Show in Hudson, NY
- two-tone cowboy boots - $22 Side Show in Hudson, NY
- TOTAL - $107
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After the craziness of what was South By Southwest, I’m back to publishing my Week’s Worth of Undies outfits…
While at TEDActive, wearing only what I found in Palm Springs thrift stores, a fellow attendee asked…
Is this your style or is this what you happened to find here?
Kinda both. We all know no matter where I am I’d dress colorfully, so I’d say 70% of what I ended up wearing could have been the same if I’d been home in Brooklyn. But it was the other 30% that really got me excited: pastel hues and floral prints I might not normally wear, tons of “leisure wear” (hello elastic waistbands and oversized casual blazers), and the mother load of tennis skirts! While I decided to forego anything short and pleated, I did work hard to integrate what I decided to call mature-lady-in-a-western-oasis authenticity into my outfits.
Nothing-New Insight #4
Embrace your inner child! Sometimes people tell me I look like I’m playing dress up, or that I remind them of their seven-year-old. I smile and say thank you. There’s lots of evidence to support the position that maintaing a childlike perspective is a key to creative thinking.
- red cowboy hat - $3 Palm Desert As Good As New
- floral blouse - $6 Moreno Valley Goodwill
- iridescent sequin tank - $5 Palm Desert Revivals
- magenta blazer - $6 Palm Desert Revivals
- green jeans - $8 Rancho Mirage Collector’s Corner
- brown riding boots - $10 Rancho Mirage Collector’s Corner
- TOTAL - $38
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He’s honest, humble and kind; he looks out for his friends and sticks up for the little guy. You could have blue fur, yellow feathers or giant gold teeth, and Kermit is still going to give you the benefit of the doubt. Oh yeah, and he believes in the power of rainbows.
Here’s how to make a Kermit outfit:
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I couldn’t pass up this rainbow top when I spotted it at my friend Amy’s Brooklyn Flea booth. But I couldn’t find the right bottom to coordinate with it. That is until my mom took a trip up to the attic and came down with my original Girl Scout skirt. I almost passed out when I realized it still fits (thanks in part to the smart elastic panels hidden in the waist). I had a love/hate relationship with this uniform in Junior High and High School. While my inner costume wearer dug putting it on, I dreaded being the nerdy girl who wore it. It’s fun to embrace it now as an adult who’s comfortable with herself, nerdiness and all. And who remembered Bill Blass designed for the Girl Scouts? In his infinite wisdom, he added the functionality of pockets. Sweet!
- button-down blouse - $10.00, Jelly Roll at Brooklyn Flea
- espadrille sandals - $2.00 (unworn!), Starkville Salvation Army Thrift
- fabric belt - hand-me-down from my mom
- skirt - from the attic, Bill Blass for Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. (c. 1991)
- Know Your Poodle paperback - $1.00, Starkville Salvation Army Thrift
- TOTAL - $13.00 with book, $12.00 without
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