The Shrug

Until last week, when I purchased the shrug that I wore today, I thought that a shrug was an item of clothing consisting of sleeves and a back.  So when I saw the shrug that I wore today, which had, not only sleeves and a back, but also a front, I asked what it was called.  When I was told that it was a shrug, I said, "But I thought that a shrug only had sleeves and a back".  "No," the answer came back, "A shrug can have a front."  As I may have said before, I am no fashionista.  So I now know better what a shrug is.

Today marks the third consecutive day of wearing purchases from the One of a Kind Show and Sale.  This definitely has to be a record!  Today's One of a Kind Show and Sale item is ... the shrug.  I am truly amazed at how warm the shrug kept me.  And I can see how versatile an item it could be.  Maybe, just maybe, I will have to get another one ... when I return to the One of a Kind Show and Sale later this week.

As an aside, has anyone noticed that I am wearing that "little grey dress" again with two different "sweaters"?

I am wearing a vintage Zara dress, a shrug by Paper People Clothing with a vintage silver pin, a vintage Zara wool wrap with a large safety pin, un-sweatpants by Roots and a vintage LLBean raincoat.  My boots are vintage Hunter.

A Quarter Century (Or Just Wait Until Tomorrow)

When I went to bed last night, I still had no clue what I was going to wear today.  I was supposed to have taken some time, during TV viewing time last night, to figure out what to wear today, but I got too caught up in the new Sherlock series to give clothes any thought.  And, then, I just fell asleep.  When I woke up this morning, I realized that I hadn't yet come up with an outfit for the day.  Yikes!  For reasons that I can't explain, almost immediately thereafter, the outfit that I did end up wearing popped into my head (how lucky am I!).  I tried to think of what else I could wear -- I like to have some options, particularly with "spontaneous styling", in case one or more of the options don't work out  -- but I couldn't think of anything and I kept coming back to the one outfit.  Eventually, I gave up trying to think of alternatives and just went with the one outfit.  I am soooo lucky that the outfit worked out!

Yesterday, I wore one of the many things that I purchased at the One of a Kind Show and Sale -- the vest by Precocious.  Today, I wore another of the many things that I purchased at the One of a Kind Show and Sale -- the cardigan by Precocious.  I honestly can't remember a time when I started wearing One of Kind Show and Sale purchases so soon after their purchase.  What is going on here?  Maybe the haircut is responsible for this odd behaviour!

I don't usually like to throw away the present by wishing for the future to arrive.  I usually like to enjoy the present.  But since I am writing this in my pyjamas -- today's "dressing up" over and done with -- I don't think that it is throwing away the present to say that I am looking forward to wearing the outfits that I have planned for the next couple of days.

I am wearing a vintage flannel shirt restyled by Urban Renewal from Urban Outfitters with an old fabric belt as a bow, a sweater dress by H&M, a cardigan by Precocious, knit leggings by H&M, a vintage Full Circle jacket and vintage H&M mitts.  My socks are old from an off-price store and my boots are by Fluevog.

Fringe Benefits No Longer

Yesterday, I decided to "cut off" my fringe.  It just occurred to me that it is odd to say that I no longer have bangs, a fringe,  because, of course, with short hair styles, there is always a fringe, of one length or another.  I guess that I don't consider having a short, short fringe as having a fringe.  For me, a fringe isn't a fringe unless it can cover, entirely, one's forehead, and maybe even one's eyes.  So, now that my forehead is exposed (not to mention my eyes), I consider myself as not having a fringe.  What an incredibly long-winded way of saying that I got a haircut!

I must have been in a "shortening" mood yesterday.  Not only did I get my hair cut shorter, I also shortened a skirt.  It's a skirt that I have had for a while.  I don't think that I ever felt "at home" in it.  Yesterday, when I put the skirt on and decided that, because I still didn't feel "at home" in it, it was time to let it go, I wondered whether I might like the skirt more if it were shorter.  So, having nothing to lose -- if I hated the skirt shortened, I wasn't losing a skirt that I wanted to keep anyways -- I shortened the skirt.  When I put on the shortened skirt, I finally felt "at home" in it.  Here is what the skirt looked before it was shortened.

Not bad, I guess.  But as I said, I never felt "at home" in the skirt.

Friday and this weekend presented the first "cold" days leading up to this Winter (by "cold", I mean below zero degrees celsius).  So, on Saturday, I dug out one of my lighter Winter jackets.  I know that some people have already brought out their heavy duty Canada Goose parkas.  But I couldn't do that just yet.  I like to transition into the Winter, as far as Winter coats, jackets and parkas go.  As I see it, if I brought out the Canada Goose parka (or an HBC blanket coat) to deal with temperatures just short of ten degrees below zero celsius, what would I have to wear to deal with temperatures around thirty to forty degrees below zero celsius?

I am wearing a vintage flannel shirt restyled by Urban Renewal from Urban Outfitters with a vintage brooch, a sweater vest by Precocious, a vintage cardigan from Urban Outfitter, a vintage H&M cord skirt altered by me, a vintage JCrew skinny patent belt, leggings by H&M, a vintage Full Circle winter jacket and vintage H&M mitts.  My socks are old from an off-price store and my boots are by Fluevog. I am carrying a vintage H&M handbag.

Exhausted

Finally, it arrived.  The day of my (first) visit to this year's Christmas One of a Kind Show and Sale.  My good friend and I "opened" the show and "closed" it.  This may be the first time (in all the years that we have been going to the show) that we did this.  Right now, I am exhausted from all the walking that my good friend and I did, and all the shopping that I did.  Too exhausted, in fact, to tell all about the goodies that I walked away with.  But I don't need to talk about them, because I suspect that the goodies will be showing themselves soon enough!

I am wearing a vintage flannel shirt restyled from Urban Outfitters with a vintage silver pin, a sweater jumper dress by Zara, a wool cardigan by H&M, old leggings by Lululemon, a vintage H&M coat, a vintage H&M scarf and vintage H&M gloves.  My socks are old by Hue and my boots are by Fluevog.  I am carrying a vintage H&M handbag.

Textured (And Disappointed)

I am not really sure what possessed me to wear the outfit that I wore today.  Right now, I can't even remember whether I had planned to wear today's outfit (read "whether I had given it any amount of thought") or whether the idea to wear today's outfit just came to me.  I don't exactly dislike it, I just don't exactly love it. Something that sticks out for me (in a good way) about the outfit:  its textures, in the jacket, the skirt and the tights.

Today, for the first time this Fall/Winter, I had a "I hate this coat with this outfit" day.  Up until today, things were really going well with my outerwear challenge.  However, I am not going to dwell on today's disappointment.  Tomorrow is a new day.  And I will just keep working at picking out the "right" outerwear.

I am wearing an old blouse from H&M with an old silver pin, an old skirt from H&M and an old jacket by April Cornell.  My tights are old by Hue and my boots are by Fluevog.

Vintage? Really?

So, yesterday, I was perusing the latest edition of H&M's magazine when I happened across the words "vintage H&M", in reference to some jewellery that a model was wearing in one of the editorials.  Vintage H&M? Really? Has H&M been around long enough for some of its stuff to be labelled vintage?  Or, is it that H&M just doesn't want to use the word "old" to describe its "not current" stuff?  If that's the case, I will repeat a question that I asked some time ago, phrased differently:  How young does something have to be before it can't be called "vintage"?  Last season?  One year?

When I first put together the outfit that I wore today, it featured different booties, likely because that was in the "pre-new blue Fluevog boots" days.  I did put the different booties on this morning and was more or less ready to go when I spotted the new blue Fluevog boots, seductively staring at me from their spot on the floor in the foyer.  I then realized that there was some blue in the skirt that I was wearing and, well, that was that, the other booties were off my feet and the new blue Fluevog boots on my feet in a flash.  I did say that I was shameless when it came to the new blue Fluevog boots.

Including tonight, there are three more sleeps until I go to this year's Christmas One of a Kind Show.  I have been incredibly good, I think, not mentioning it every single day for the past month (at least).  I am soooo excited.  I have no idea what to expect and, yet, that is what makes the prospect of going to the show exciting.

I am wearing an old Lands End jersey blouse with an old silver pin, an old wool cardigan from LLBean, a plaid skirt from Old Navy, an old duffle coat from Old Navy, an old scarf and old gloves by Kenneth Cole Reaction.  My tights are old (from I don't know where) and my boots are by Fluevog.

Please Santa, Stay A Little Longer

There was a ten degree difference in the temperature between yesterday and today.  They (the people on the radio station that I wake up to) said that this was due to Santa dropping by for a visit yesterday.  He brought with him some cold from the North Pole when he came and then took it away with him when he left.  I guess carrying the cold with him helps him (not to mention his entourage, reindeer and all) to acclimate to all the different places he has to visit on his "tour".  Oh Santa, could you not have stayed a little longer?  I really liked your cold!

Today, I wore one of my favourite Winter coats.  I do not dislike the colour of the coat, but it isn't the colour that makes it a favourite.  It is its boxy shape, its dropped shoulders and, yes, its colour, all combined, that make it a favourite.  The coat comes from H&M (no surprises there) and was first introduced in a Spring version (yes, I have that version).  The Winter version followed, first in the bright turquoise then in a much more subdued black.  I bought it when it was only available in the bright turquoise.  It may come as a surprise, given my proclivity for buying one in every colour, that I didn't also buy the black version, but I didn't.  Somehow the black version just didn't do it for me like the bright turquoise one did.

I am wearing an old jersey blouse from Lands End with an old silver pin, an old knit dress from H&M, an old sweater vest from H&M, old leggings from Lululemon, an old coat from H&M, an old scarf and old gloves by Nine West.  My socks are old by Hue and my boots are by Fluevog.

Monkey Paws

I think that I can say, with a great deal of certainty, that I like, no love, sweater dresses.  Maybe it's because they are incredibly comfortable.  Maybe it's because they are incredibly warm (Winter is definitely in the air).  Maybe it's because they are incredibly comfortable and warm.  Really, I don't care why I love sweater dresses.  It's enough for me that I do.

I am not sure why I thought of the phrase "monkey paws" when I put on the cardigan that I wore today (and certainly when I looked at the photos of me wearing the cardigan).  I didn't think of actual monkey paws, just the phrase "monkey paws" ...  and an old Agatha Christie Miss Marple movie, in which a character describes the hands of someone as "monkey paws".  I am not really sure why I am telling this tale.  Clothes do bring to mind (at least to my mind) some strange things sometimes.  On a less bizarre note, I am still loving one of last year's favourite coats.

I am wearing an old sweater dress and cardigan from Zara, old leggings and knit shorts from Lululemon, an old coat from H&M and old gloves by Kenneth Cole Reaction.  I have no idea where I purchased my belt (it is that old). My socks are old by Hue and my boots are by Fluevog.

Nothing Good Can Come Of It

I read yesterday that JCrew may be coming to town, perhaps as early as next year.  Why is it that I think that JCrew coming to town may actually stop me from shopping JCrew.  Part of the attraction of JCrew (for me at least) is that I can only purchase it online.   Having easy access to JCrew may render it, dare I say it, less attractive.  No sense spending too much time thinking about this.  Let's just see what happens.

Lanvin for H&M.  Other than when I was at university and had to line up to sign up for courses (I don't think that anyone lines up for courses anymore), I don't think that I have ever lined up to get something.  I walked by the line-up at one of the H&Ms downtown and, for a nanosecond, thought about lining up to check out the merchandise, but no sooner had I thought about lining up than I knew that I would not line up.  I guess I can't line up for an unknown.

So instead of lining up to see if there might be something from the Lanvin for H&M collection that I might want, I went to some of my other favourite stores, where I hit paydirt.

I am wearing an old dress by Zara with an old silver pin, an old cardigan by Jacob, old leggings and old knit shorts by Lululemon, an old coat from H&M and old gloves by Nine West.  My socks are old, from an off-price store, and my boots are by Fluevog.

Should I Or Shouldn't I?

Do you ever have dressing days like this?  You wake up and are pretty certain about what you are going to wear that day.  In the midst of getting ready, your eye catches the beginnings of another outfit.  All of a sudden you wonder, "Hmm.  Maybe I should wear that instead."  Then you start teeter tottering between the one outfit and the other.  It turns out to be a 50/50 chance that you will choose one outfit over the other.  Today, I picked the first outfit that I thought about wearing.

I am really working on my outerwear problem, you know, the problem I have of picking outerwear that I believe suits what I am wearing underneath the outerwear.  The approach that I took to the problem was to include the outerwear in my planning.  Whereas previously I would put together an outfit stopping short of the outerwear and leaving outerwear to chance, now, I have started to put together outfits including the outerwear.  So far, so good.  But there is a lot of outerwear weather left to get through.

I am wearing a vintage blouse restyled from Urban Outfitters with an old scarf as a bow, an old wool jumper dress from an off-price store, an old cardigan from Banana Republic, an old coat from H&M and old gloves by Nine West.  My tights are old and my boots are by Fluevog.

Wicked

A while ago, I wrote about two items of clothing from JCrew that I was coveting.  One of these was a black jacket with white piping.  The second was a grey shawl collar grandpa cardigan with contrast tipping.  The jacket I gave up coveting almost immediately, when I found a lower priced alternative.  The cardigan I forgot about until recently, when it showed up on a blogger whose blog I read.  Then I started coveting it again.  Lucky for me, shortly thereafter, the cardigan went on sale and I decided to make one my own.  Almost immediately thereafter, the cardigan popped up on another blog that I read.  Popular cardigan obviously!  Last night, the cardigan arrived.  Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling all that great last night, so I couldn't be quite as overjoyed at its arrival as, in good health, I would have been.  All the same, it was removed from its packaging and, because I was feeling cold and in need of a cosy sweater at the time, I put it on ... and kept it on all night long.  My first thought on the cardigan was how thick it was.  "This is really nice," I thought.  It was very comforting, I must say, especially since I was feeling crummy.

I was still feeling crummy when I woke up this morning and every inch of me just wanted to stay in bed.  But I couldn't stay in bed, so up I got.  I should probably have worn something a bit more comfortable, but my head was hurting too much and I was feeling too foggy to do anything other than reach for what I had planned (some days ago) on wearing today.

A rare occurrence:  I am wearing head to toe old H&M.  Mostly.  The exceptions are my scarf, my gloves, which are old by Nine West, and my boots, which are by Fluevog.