Daily Outfit - Kate - 8/19/10

YAY MOM!



I'd have never been daring enough to pick it up on my own, but when when it's given to me? HECK YES!

My mom has always had great taste in clothes for me, actually. Even when I was in the ennui-soaked throes of teenagerdom, I'd often defer to her suggestions. I remember one time in particular when I was about 16, Mom went to Chicago and visited Forever 21 and H&M (this was before they had those in KC) and bought me back such wonderment as I'd never seen before - frilly skirts, a little pink tank top that I *still* wear, and the cutest jacket! How many teenagers are so lucky (and moreover, how many teenagers *realize* it?)?

So what I'm getting at is, Mom's taste has come through for me again. This may be my new favorite top.



It's frilly and flowy and comfy and airy and comfy and sexy.



I love how it looks with this thrifted belt. And, probably, with all my other belts :-D



Top: Wal-Mart. $3. Clearance. (I KNOW!!!!)
Belt: thrifted in Sarasota
Jeanskirt: Old Navy
Earrings: mom
Bracelet: booth at Red Barn, circa 2007
Shoes: heckifiknow

Daily Outfit - Kate - 7/29/10

Carrying on with the whole "procrastinating on laundry" theme, today's outfit is titled:

I HATE THIS TOP.



This top always makes me feel like my arms are freakishly huuuuuuuuuuuuuuge! Like I should be a sideshow act - "Come one! Come all! Come see the lady with massively disproportionate upper arms!"

And then I tell myself that it's not me, it's the shirt. And then I eat another Dove chocolate.

Stupid shirt. Forcing me to eat chocolate.

Stupid shirt: Sears, 2008
Skirt: thrifted, originally The Limited
Shoes: Macy's? 2008
Belt: Urban Outfitters, early spring 2010
Earrings: Mom
Ring: MacroSun

Daily Outfit - Jen - 7/2/10

I am reeeaaady for this long weekend. ON THE REALS.

Have a happy 4th!

Cardigan: Newport News
Dress: Old Navy
Belt: J. Crew
Wedges: Target

Daily Outfit - Jen - 6/29/10

Despite the fact that I made the last minute decision to change into these jeans out of the dress that I'd originally planned to wear, I was pretty pumped about my outfit, today. I mean, not insanely excited or inspired or anything, but I was wearing a new fancy belt and getting my hair done during lunch. What's not to be excited about?

Then, I came out of my hair appointment to find that it was pouring rain, and I walked (Hey. Re-breaking my foot is kind of a paranoia, now.) to my car, went back to work, and wasn't particularly pumped anymore.

There's always tomorrow?





Cardigan: Tulle
Tank: Loft
Belt: J. Crew
Jeans: Martin + Osa
Wedges: Target

Dogs: Sebastian & Dimitri

Daily Outfit - Kate - 6/22/10

ONE WORD, KATE:



PROPORTION.

Seriously. Or else change your name to Stumpy McStumperson.

On a completely different note, though - how cute is this fake Obi belt?



AKA a scarf that I got on clearance at Old Navy or something probably, a long long time ago.



Stumpy McStumperson is sorry she looked like a bum on Tuesday :-(

Shirt: Sears, 2008
Skirt: Old Navy
Belt/scarf: who knows?
Flats: Born, 2008
Necklace: no freaking idea
Earrings: your mom. Err...my mom.

Daily Outfit - Kate - 6/10/10 and 6/16/10

I'm a cheat.



These pictures are totally from last Thursday, when I took Macbeth to the vet and that ran long so I ended up taking a personal day from work. So since nobody "real" saw the outfit, it made another appearance today.



Promise you won't tattle on me?



I think I'm slowly coming 'round on this whole headband thing, too.



Dress: Converse for Target
Scarf as Belt: vintage; thrifted
Shoes: Dillard's, eons ago
Earrings: MOMMOMMOMMOMMOMMOMMOM

Daily Outfit - Kate - 5/3/10

Sometimes I feel as though my outfits have a mind of their own. Take today, for example. No matter how hard I tried to resist, this sweater *insisted* on being belted:



Even though today I felt sooooooo icky and bloated and chocolate craving-y (you know what that means) and really wanted to feel like I was wearing my bathrobe. But then the belt went on. Then my comfy jersey skirt replaced itself with the pencil one seen above. Then my sensible low maryjanes turned into my insensible sky-high ones.

Darn you, outfit! Don't I get a say in anything?



What's that? Just the jewelry? Oh, Ok. I'll take what I can get! :-D

Sweater: Filene's Basement in Chicago, Feb. 2010
Tee: GAP outlet, summer 2008
Skirt: Sears, summer 2008
Shoes: ummmm...Macy's? Summer 2008
Belt: Urban Outfitters, winter 2009/2010
Earrings: MOM!
Bracelet: ME! :-)

Daily Outfit - Kate - 3/29/10

I've no idea *what* I was thinking when I bought this dress-shirt thing.


(I've also no idea why I was making another gooney face there. Such are the mysteries of the world.)

I mean, it's (the dress-shirt) is scandalously short as a dress, but definitely too long to be a shirt or tunic. I'm not a huge fan of the scoopneck, there's no waist shaping, and did I mention it's SHORT? But I liked the color, and it was $3. So it came home with me many months ago, and has been hanging neglected in my closet ever since.

UNTIL! Today. When I wore it. With a modesty skirt underneath (hey will you help me turn 'modesty skirt' into a "thing"? Please?) and my new UO belt and one of my favorite cotton scarves, it's not *horrible.* Right?



Dress: Old Navy, summer 2009
Skirt: thrifted, originally The Limited
Tights: Old Navy, 2008ish maybe?
Shoes: Softspots "Bronte", summer 2009
Belt: Urban Outfitters, winter 2009/2010
Earrings: MUMSIE WUMSIE
Scarf: Target, summer 2009

Daily Outfit - Kate - 3/22/10

Help me, girlies.

This is what I wore today:


Accessories and meeeee:


Not so great, is it?

Only thing is, I can't quite put my finger on it. I partially think it's a case of "throw together a bunch of random pieces that I all love individually"-itis, but that's not quite it, either. I think the main problem - please I'd love your input on this - is that I have about 3 or 4 outfits all trying to happen at once.

I *love* this shirt, and it's the first time I've worn it since I thrifted it a couple months ago. I've styled it about a billiion different ways in my mind, so I think when I got dressed this morning I forgot which way I was shooting for *today*. Shirt + belt? CUTE. Shirt + necklace? CUTE. Shirt + earrings? CUTE. Shirt + skirt? meh. Shirt + shoes? OK whatever. Shirt + belt + necklace + earrings + skirt + shoes? FAIL.

So how could I have fixed this? For the winning Shirt + belt + necklace combination, I think I should've worn my burgundy tulip skirt, and maybe my patterned brown tights instead of these (saggy itchy gross) ones. Shoes can stay just because they're my only brown comfy heels.

Or I could've worn another necklace - one of my silver/gunmetal ones - and smaller earrings. And I could've stacked on a bunch of bracelets, and worn my denim pencil skirt and black tights and grey maryjanes, and no belt. That would've worked too.

OR I could've worn the shirt with my new skinny green belt and my simple brown skirt and some new blue tights that you haven't seen yet and my blue copper necklace and the earrings pictured and I could get some other brown heels (maybe some that are dressier/less clunky looking?). Or green flats, if I had any.

*OR* I could've worn the shirt with that awesome new teal skirt, and worn a red scarf like a wrap belt and worn no tights and some black flats (which I don't yet own, but that's neither here nor there).

There are lots of awesome things I could've done with this outfit (err...shirt) and I tried to do them all at once and failed. Lesson learned.

Just goes to show - I have a *long* way to go.



Shirt: thrifted, originally Benetton
Belt: Urban Outfitters ($9.99 on clearance!)
Skirt: thrifted, originally George
Tights: old and icky
Shoes: Softspots "Bronte", summer (?) 2009
Earrings and necklace: mom

The Goods

A full post about my awesome day with Diana is over here on my other blog, but I thought I'd save the spoils from that trip for this blog.

We went to the SPARCC Treasure Chest, which was one of those shops with a lot of NWT, boutique brands. Almost everything was in great shape, so it was less "is this item wearable?" and more "do I like this item?". Great shop and great experience. I found:

Brown BCBG dress in a super-soft cotton knit:

If anybody's keeping count, that'd be my 4th brown BCBG dress. Not on purpose, but not NOT on purpose, either.

I'm holding out the side of the skirt to show that it's actually relatively full; it's fun and swingy and casual on. I can tell already it'll be a great summer staple!

Pleated lattice skirt:

NWT (a brand I don't recognize). This was one of my official Finds of the Day. Isn't it adorable?

Check out the details of that floral embellishment:

Unbearably cute.

Finally, this little shirt:

Not the most exciting thing ever, but it'll be great for weekends, and the fit is just right. I love the covered button detailing, too:


From there we moved on to the Mustard Seed Thrift Shop, which really was the epitome of Old Lady Florida-ness - it was insanely awesome. Diana and I found lots of things to laugh at, and lots of things to try on and buy. Behold:

The *perfect* winter-to-spring corduroy skirt:

It's Talbot's, not a brand that I've *ever* considered before, but there's no arguing with cute! (tell that to Jeff).

Check out the beaded accents on the flowers:



Vintage square scarf:


I love this thing. Perfect for spring :-)


I also got a great little pea green belt, but neglected to photograph it (and didn't realize until after it got dark out).

We also stopped briefly into an antique shop right down the road, where I found something to fill a wardrobe hole - pins/brooches:

I think I can make that look really mod, or really fancy and feminine. And for $5, I'm not out a lot of money if I discover that brooches just aren't my thing.

I had a fantastic time with Diana, and LOVED getting to meet a blogfriend in person!


Please click over to KateOhKatie to read about the rest of our adventure(including a newfound crafty passion :-)).

Daily Outfit - Kate - 3/15/10

There's absolutely nothing exciting about this outfit. I was running late so just grabbed a bunch of pieces I liked, and threw them on together. Moreover, I'm pretty sure I've worn something *very* similar to this recently.



Oh, well. It works, right?



Gosh, I love that necklace.

Shirt: Target, 2008
Belt: Target, winter 2010
Skirt: thrifted, originally F21
Tights: F21
Shoes: Naturalizer, winter 2009/2010
Necklace: mumsie
Earrings: MOM!

Daily Outfits - Kate - 3/5/10 and 3/8/10

It's another twofer today, because apparently - as I learned on Friday - pictures won't just blog themselves. I KNOW, right?


Wanna know what's more exciting than that outfit? The baby gate in the background. Because it's not currently braced in the doorway; it's been leaning against that wall since Friday. BECAUSE ROXIE IS HOUSEBROKEN!!!!!! And after only a year and a half.... :-{ But still! Housebroken!

Anyway, I felt really comfortable and happy in Friday's outfit. Nice cozy cardigan, comfy cotton tank (with embellishment! And not completely boring!) and my omnipresent 518's and Ariat boots. I'm gonna call this look "country casual" and if it were up to me I'd wear this every day that I *don't* wear skirts. Oh, wait. I do. And then I wear the boots with a skirt.



There you can see some of the detail on my tank, and also my awesome necklace. That's made from a Fitz's bottlecap, and I got it from a seller at Green With Indie last year. Fitz's is one of my favorite things about St. Louis :-)

Cardigan: Target, winter 2009/2010
Tank: GAP, umm...2008?
Jeans: Levis 518's
Boots: Ariat
Necklace: artist at Green With Indie, spring 2009
Earrings: Mumsie

Aaaaannnnd....today. An outfit that I planned before I got out of bed, and was honestly half the reason I even GOT out of bed. It's so 90's-licious; I love it!


I feel like an extra straight out of Empire Records! Sorta punky edgy, sorta sweet, REALLY 90's.


Even the necklace - which is too long on its own, so I wear it doubled up with the extra length as a choker - reminds me of the 90's. And I'm also realizing how the choker style is actually a little bit flattering, isn't it?

Cardigan: Francesca's Colections, 2009
Cami: Old Navy
Skirt: garage sale, Abercrombie & Fitch vintage 90's
Tights: Target
Belt: Target
Boots: 704b, via DSW
Necklace: Forever 21
Earrings: Mi madre

Daily Outfit - Jen - 3/4/10

Oooooooooh, Kaaaatttteee! What's that around my waist? It's all for you, baby. I felt soooooo cute, today. I had no less than 3 people compliment my outfit. I also had no more than 3 people compliment my outfit, BUT YOU GET MY POINT.

And now, for your viewing pleasure, our honest attempt at cute and fun photos:

We should win an award.

Cardigan: Newport News

Dress: Old Navy (clearance!)

Belt: Urban Outfitters circa the college years

Tights: HUE via Nordstrom Rack

Boots: Aldo

Daily Outfit - Kate - 3/1/10

I wrote a haiku about today's outfit. Wanna hear it? Good.

I love LLBean.
It is Monday, which yeah - sucks.
Pink boots are so cute.

TAH DAH!!!!!


And also? My skirt really fits. I promise. In fact, it's a bit large through the hips. So I put my hands in my pockets to try and make it fitted-er (shut up that's a word) and I guess I overcompensated.



Shirt: LLBean
Skirt: LLBean
Tights: Hellmart
Belt: thrifted
Boots: Lucchese, via Zappos
Necklace: made by Mom; stone from Urban Arts & Crafts.

Daily Outfit - Kate - 2/25/10

If I were a better outfit-maker, I'd have incorporated more purple (besides just the corduroy skirt) into this ensemble. Unfortunately, 4 days of insomnia has taken its toll on me, so let's just thank [deity] that I remembered to put a skirt on over my slip, eh?


Hey, I already said I was exhausted. So I won't apologize for the slumpy shoulders and goony expression. MY EYES ARE OPEN. WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT?!



I love this bib-style shirt. It gives that "Oh hai, boobs!" effect for those of us who aren't naturally blessed ;-)


<3

Shirt: Nordstrom Rack
Layering tee: Target
Skirt: GAP
Tights: Hellmart
Boots: LLBean
Belt: Target
Earrings: mamma mia