… that people like to see what their friends are wearing. I know I do. I know that when Josey posts a Sti.tch F.ix post, I hop right on over to check it out. When Chon puts up a “What Chon Wore” post, I’m all over it! I have a preschool mom friend who has such great fashion sense, that I stalk her FB page to see if she’s posting pics of anything that I should be considering. I think I get most excited about people’s fashion posts, simply because I have limited fashion sense and I need ideas. And I love seeing others pull off what I don’t think I can.
This morning at preschool drop-off, I was in my running clothes because I like to run my 5 miles with Bryson right after dropping Matthew off. The weather is perfect right now and I just can’t get enough of it! All the moms know I’m a runner, so they always ask where I’m headed, how far I plan to go, and how long it will take me. Most of the moms are dressed for the day, so I take in their attire and make mental notes for myself. Today, the friend I mentioned up above, was wearing a cute sleeveless dress. I thought to myself, “see, that makes perfect sense and you have something like that at home!” After my run, you can bet I showered and pulled out my dress – and I felt so good and so COMFORTABLE for the rest of the day. We went to the park for an hour and I felt great!
Kavu Eve Dress, size M. The PERFECT outdoors dress ever made!
Now that fall is around the corner (or is it here? I think it may be!), I took an inventory of what I have to wear. I’m sort of excited about changing things up and adding some more flattering pieces to my wardrobe, and I thought it wise to not only take note of what I have, but record it here for when I get the bug to buy more. I tend to buy too much of one thing (as you’ll see when you get to sweaters below…) and a place to come back to for some perspective is necessary.
I needed jeans that fit, and I’ve spent a small fortune on 3 pair in the last week. There is one more pair I’ll buy in a week once I can spend my Ga.p C.ash (redemption start 9/19 for those of you holding coupons!), and then I’ll have 5 pair of jeans that fit me correctly. Here is what I have so far:
Left to Right: Bana.ana Re.public Washed Indigo Skinny (size 28), Edd.ie Bau.er Slightly Curvy Bootcut (size 6 short), Ed.die Ba.uer Destroyed Boyfriend Slim (size 4)
Dear John Joyrich (size 27)
The jeans I’ll be getting, or so I plan to be getting, are the Ga.p Reso.lution Slim Straight jeans. They fit ridiculously well and I really liked them, especially for $70 (but they’ll be $35 with G.ap C.ash). In all honestly, I’m itching for a pair from BR, but their jeans are so damn expensive that I can’t justify buying 2 pair in a month. G.ap jeans are just fine, especially for a 5th pair to just finish up the weeks throughout fall, winter, and spring.
Ga.p slim straight jeans (size 28)
Ok – onto shoes. I have said this before, but I’ll say it again, I have horrible feet to fit and when I find something that fits, well, I buy them. I learned at a very early age that my shoe budget must be higher than the average gal because my size is usually only made by high-end shoe makers (my parents bought me fabulous shoes while I was under their roof because they both had impossible feet to fit – and they felt sorry for me and wanted me to have shoes that fit correctly). It turns out, I have quite a few pairs of boots (with one on the way – WHERE ARE THEY ALREADY??) which isn’t a bad thing. I have NO dressy shoes (but am constantly looking) and just a few pair of casual shoes. I need more in the realm of casual flats/slip-ons and definitely a pair of black strappies for dressy occasions.
Ecco Rise Tall Boot (size 42), Bass Tan Suede Boots (size 11), Ugg brown booties (size 11), Franco Sarto black booties (size 11)
My must-have boots 2 years ago – Sor.el Joan of Arctic
Chaco black, Chaco brown, and Keds
As you can see, I love my boots, and I need a few more lower profile shoes. I found some today that are $150 (of course they are) so I’ll skip them and head to D.SW this week to see what they have (and probably leave in tears, like I almost always do).
Coats. I love coats. I used to buy jackets like they were tops – I moved back from Chicago with tubs full of jackets and coats. It was pathetic. BUT – now that I’m smaller, I’ve gotten rid of almost everything and am left with just these three coats. I’d like to add a pea coat to the mix this year.
Ann Taylor cream coat (I love this coat!!!), North Face Men’s Summit coat (LOVE!), Eddie Bauer Micro Therm Storm Down (I hate this coat – it is not warm at all)
I don’t think I need anymore coats, even though I’d like one. I’m skipping it this year unless I find a great pea coat on a major sale.
For dresses, I have very few that fit. I have a formal skirt and top that are beautiful, but on the verge of being too big and I’m not sure the cost to alter them will be worth it. I have two casual dresses, one being the one I wore today, and the other being a gray one just like it (I buy in bulk – it’s ridiculous).
Kavu Eve Dress in gray (size M)
I have my eye on this dress at An.n Tay.lor, but the 6 seemed too big and they didn’t have a 4 to try on, so I’m waiting to see if they get one in. I am thinking of getting this for Hottie’s formal holiday party and dressing it up with some nice strappy shoes. We shall see…
For nicer tops, the types I’d wear out on date night, I have plenty. PLENTY. I bought a bunch while I was in KC in January and I regret one of them, just because it snags easily and I never wear it because of that. The last thing I need is more tops like these.
Hottie picked out the striped An.n Ta.ylor top and I do like it. It’s the wine colored top I don’t like – it’s just… cheap looking (and feeling) and snags if you look at it wrong.
I love the black dress top – worn with the leggings on the shelf there. The red top hasn’t been worn in 2 years – but I like it.
I love this sweater – it is so fun to wear! It has a tie neck in the back and it’s open in the back
My favorite date night outfit for fall – Dear John skinny jeans and that awesome gray sweater with tall or short black boots!
OK – so here is where it gets embarrassing. SWEATERS. I have always, ALWAYS, been a lover of sweaters. Wool sweaters, warm sweaters, thin sweaters, cotton sweaters, fair isle sweaters (I DO need a new one of these!), turtleneck sweaters, V-neck sweaters, etc. I have never been able to resist purchasing beautiful, warm, cozy sweaters. I think all of my spending money in college went to my sweater collection (I still have a few of those – do you remember when J Cr.ew did holiday sweaters every year???) and once I was making real money, it just got worse.
After getting thinner last fall, I was desperate for sweaters that fit and weren’t too big. G.ap had a killer sale and I bought heaps of them. HEAPS. Then BR put out the most delicious line of sweaters and I just had to have one. Then I found Nord.strom Rack and they had a couple of gorgeous sweaters that I could not leave behind. And then we went to Seattle and there were some fun, lighter weight sweaters that we bought in preparation for this fall (Hottie cannot resist buying me sweaters either, and the Seattle sweaters were all his idea). I have NO BUSINESS buying sweaters this year unless they are truly special – like a gorgeous fair isle sweater from Da.le of N.orway (hint, hint, Hottie!).
So I’m just going to stop justifying my obsession and put the inventory out there. Please don’t judge me.
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So that’s it! That is what I have for the fall and winter. I think I need tops of the non-sweater variety and a pair or two of casual flat shoes. Please weigh in though on what you think is missing, and if there’s something you see that you are thinking, “she cannot wear that!” please tell me. We’re all friends here!
