Daily Outfits - Kate - 2/6/10 and 2/8/10

First I'll take care of a bit of backlog.

Modelled in our fabulous hotel room, this is what I tromped around in on Saturday in Chicago:

Yup, that's my new scarf! I didn't realize 'till after I bought it how well it'd work with the rest of my outfit.

I knew I'd be running around all day, in a bunch of different places and spending a fair amount of time outside, so I went for COMFORT. Those LLBean boots are one of my most comfortable pairs of shoes, and even so my feet were KILLING me by the end of the day. But I think the outfit was a success - it took me from shopping on Michigan Avenue, to a show at Second City, and everywhere in between :-)


That's a pretty good indication of the "vibe" of my outfit, I think. Casual and comfy, yet put together (is there any easier way to instantly look put together than throwing on a scarf? I don't think so...)

Sadness, though - at some point in the day I lost one of my earrings :-( I had them both at about 4:00 in the afternoon, but by the time we left the restaurant after dinner it was gone. So was my 3-day CTA pass. Luckily, Mom can make me a new earring. She can't make a CTA pass.


Cardigan: Francesca's Collections
green tank: Anthropologie
Jeanskirt: Old Navy
Tights: Target
Boots: LLBean
Scarf: Filene's Basement
Necklace (not visible) and earrings: Mom-made
Belt: thrifted

And here's today. I was exhausted and crabby and not wanting to be at work, so I rolled out an old favorite:

Not much to say there; the photo is horrible I know. But the outfit was comfy and cozy and just what I needed, on this day when I just wanted to stay in bed. I also just noticed how it's another green tee + white sweater combo. Oh well. None of my co-workers were in Chicago (nor were there Chicagoans in my office, for that matter)

Skirt: Forever 21, a billion years ago
Tee: thrifted, originally Target
Cardigan: Apostrophe by Sears, circa 2001-ish
Tights: Target
Boots: LLBean
Necklace: Mom's creation, with thrifted pendant
Earrings: Mom

The spoils

Here we go - my finds from this weekend's adventure! If you're interested in non-shopping Chicago stuff, I'll be posting a more detailed run-down on KateOhKatie later (probably tonight). I'll change that hyperlink to the specific post, once I get it up.

So anyway...

All things considered, I really reined myself in pretty well. I wasn't even tempted to go into the "mall shops" on Michigan Ave. because, well, I can find everything there in my local mall. Time was limited, y'know? That said, I LOVE the 4-story GAP and if I'd had more time I definitely would've popped in. I also tried to stick to the loosely-set goals I set in my letter to Jen. We'll see how well I did...


What you see there are (in case you can't tell) bags from Loopy Yarns (knitterly goodness :-)), Filene's Basement, Nordstrom Rack, and Macy's (aka Marshall Field's ::grumblegrumble::).

I found that the Filene's on State had a lot better selection than the one on Michigan; interesting since it was a smaller store. I got...

A super-cute (brightly colored!) scarf, $14.99 - 25% off:


Purple and black tights, for super cheap. (Yes not the most exciting purchase ever but I'm being thorough :-P) $9.99/2 pr:


Flowy cardi (some brand I'd never heard of and can't remember, and for $19.99 I don't care :-P):

I can't wait to wear it belted! And open! And with jeans! And my pencil skirt! <3 :-)

Calvin Klein, cute cotton work shirt (LOVE the print!), clearane for $14:



Nordstrom Rack, where I came thisclose to buying a super cute pair of multicolored maryjanes, but they were a 37 and I really need a 36 so I left them behind to be someone else's treasure. But I didn't go completely emptyhanded:

BCBG casual dress; will be perfect with cowboy boots (either pair :-D) and bold accessories:


Another brand I can't remember (wasn't anything spectacular). I LOVE this shirt because of the fun girly details, AND it's perfectly fitted in both the waist and bust. Y'all know how rare that is :-)

Also that's like my 4th plaid shirt. I really like them, apparently.

For lunch on Sunday we went to the food court thingy in Macy's/Marshall Field's. And I was NOT going to shop (see rant about "mall stores" above). But then Jeff was in line for Starbucks and that's right by the shoe clearance racks and then I wandered off and you know that never goes well...

Nine West patent leather shoeties! $28! YESsssssssssssssssss!!! Definitely the score of the weekend :-) I can't wait to wear them with, like, everything. EVERYTHING.

All in all, I think I did a pretty good job sticking to my goals. And I also didn't spend that much money - <$100 altogether. Now where's that self-restraint when I need it? :-P

Walking into a deathtrap

Jeff and I are going to Chicago this weekend so he can commune with other public interest law students, and I'm going to have most of the day on Saturday free for shopping, browsing, perusing, what-have-you.

Thanks to my previous visits to the city, and this great post on The Glamorous Grad Student I'm not completely unprepared for the ::sigh:: task at hand (:-P). I'll hopefully be spending some time in Lincoln Park with Jeff on Sunday, and while I know he doesn't want to spend all our time thrifting, I may have to try and drag him into a couple of the shops Tenisha mentions :-)

Other than that? Fluevog, just to daydream and drool. Filene's Basement because I heart it hard and I once got a CUTE dress there for only $3.49 and it was one of the greatest moments of my life. And any other shops (except Macy's, because I'm still mad at them about the whole Marshall Field's thing) that may catch my fancy.

Can anyone offer further recommendations for must-visit shops (thrift or otherwise)? Gotta be easily attainable via train or bus, and preferably not too far from the downtown/Lincoln Park area. Or any other general "Yay Chicago" sentiments/tips are welcome, too.

PS>More information about our other plans for the weekend are on KateOhKatie, for the interested.

<3