a few days worth

I have finally braved the world of skinny jeans. These are actually more the legging type of skinny jeans. They have been making me happy on the weekends and casual days. The top image is a talbot's 100% cashmere sweater I scored at the Talbot's outlet for $30 (originally $198). My cowboy boots are from a consignment shop about a year ago (I think about $30).


I am loving these new to me grey and black striped pants that came into my life via Goodwill for only $3.79. Wearing them with a simple black top and magenta cardigan. Not that exciting but made me happy with the new to me pants.

last day of class!

Last day of lecture for the semester! Hooray! Since teaching evaluations are done today, I decided to ditch my standard dress. Read once that people have a more favorable opinion of people in color. First time wearing this dress that I picked up on a Kohl's clearance rack for under $12. By itself it is sort of shapeless, but a thick belt fixed that up! And it has pockets, which is great for teaching as I have somewhere to put my office keys. the grey tights are so old, I can't even begin to tell you where they are from. I love that this dress gives me another excuse to wear the purple heels I picked up this fall. The black cardi is because my classroom is always FREEZING cold. I do love that in December in NC I can wear heels and not boots to work. Don't get me wrong, love my boots, but it is nice to get more wear out of my heels. After I took the pictures, I decided something was missing, so I added a pink and purple beaded bracelet, that feels very belly dancer like.

Cheap and chic!

I've been waiting for the right weather to break out this outfit. The skirt is from the Talbot's outlet. My aunt talked me into it, and I am glad she did. It is 100% silk and was only $5. The sweater is Ann Taylor and was obtained at Goodwill for $3.79. I guess the boots are the most expensive part at a whopping $20 from Marshall's.

Back at it

I'm back from Thanksgiving break. It is a rainy day here in Charlotte. So I mixed the grey and black with a punch of color. I don't teach today, so I am dressed fairly casual. I look a tad like a court jester, but I'm okay with that.

saturday night fun

Chose to wear this sweater dress last night for a girls night out of dinner and martinis. I'm still trying to decide if I can wear it to work, or if it is too short for that. But in the meantime, I am getting some weekend wear out of it.

I feel like I look a little top heavy in this outfit. Not sure why....just looks like my hips and waist are the same size. Maybe not the best look, but hey it was Friday. Jeans are White House Black Market from Ebay over a year ago. The cardigan sweater was a Goodwill find....not sure the brand since the tag was cut out. I layered a turquoise tank and pink tee under the cardigan. both were probably some random clearance rack.

professorial

Feeling very professorial in today's ensemble. The skirt is Talbots, on clearance last winter. I have a matching jacket, but never seem to wear them together. The sweater is Jones of NY, obtained from Goodwill for under $4. I used a random scarf I had around the waist as a belt of sorts.

These boots are a new purchase.....I've been needing some taller brown boots to wear with skirts, and these were a steal at Marshalls for $19.99.
I got this necklace years ago from a friend and I have never worn it. but after reading so many fashion blogs lately, I am trying to branch out and accessorize more (never been a big accessory person). The box it came in was Coldwater Creek.......so I think that is where it is from, as that particular friend loves that store.

yay Fall

It is a mucky, drizzly, overcast day here, and I LOVE it as it feels like Fall. Today I went a little more "fun" than professional, but I don't teach today. I have office hours and a few meetings with students, but somehow I put the dress requirements for that in a different category than when lecturing. Turtleneck sweater is from Forever 21 for $5 on clearance. the skirt was an ebay find. It's actually a kids size skirt, thus a little short even for 5'1" me, but somehow I have convinced myself that with tights the length is okay. The skirt is a plush, which is just fun. I used to have a tan and black corduroy zebra print pencil skirt, but that was 50 pounds ago. That skirt was one of the last of my "fat clothes" to get sent to consignment as I kept hoping to figure out a way to tailor it. Thus I was super excited to find this replacement skirt on ebay.....every girl needs a zebra print skirt, right?

$10 dress

I LOVE the Talbot`s outlet in Charlotte. This dress originally retailed for $149, and I got it for $10! The print might be a little big for me, but how could I pass up a black and white wrap dress with pockets!!! The cardigan is Target clearance and probably about 10 years old. The shoes are Payless.

I'm still having trouble adjusting to the weather down here in NC. It's mid-November and I still waiting to be able to comfortably wear my long sleeved sweaters! Since the high will be near 75 today, I decided to stop pretending it is Fall, and just wear a pair of capris. I have a date tonight, so I might change clothes after work....will have to see. The capris were fall clearance at Macy's for under $4! The shoes are what I have referred to for years as my "geeky chic" shoes from Payless. The cardigan is from Talbot's, I bought it in August using a birthday giftcard. Even on clearance it was about $42....more than I would normally spend....but since I was using a birthday giftcard, I gave myself license to spend a little more since I loved it so much.

New to me

Today is all about "new to me" clothes. The cream, wrap top was a Goodwill find, as was the green and gold tweed jacket. The jeans I have had for over a year, but I got them from E-Bay (White House Black Market brand). The cream cami was a clearance rack find awhile ago.....all in all, I think this full outfit was under $20!

Cashmere makes even a Thursday better

I'm sporting a new cashmere sweater, courtesy of an excellent sale at Kohl's. I was originally going to wear my plain back pants, but at the last minute switched to my black cords. (Living on the edge, eh?) I rarely buy a sweater anymore unless it is cashmere or wool. I like being able to wear a thin but warm layer. The green and turquoise argyle, as well as the v-neck are a change from my normal style.

gray dress for an overcast day

It is a rainy, rainy day here at the remnants of Tropical storm Ida make there way across NC. I struggled this morning to find anything that I wanted to wear. I have more than enough fabulous clothes, so not sure why it was such a struggle. I finally ended up with my black and gray sweater dress, gray tights, and my knee high black boots. I bought this dress last fall at H & M, when I weighed about 15 pounds more.....so it no longer fits as well as it used to. But I am in no hurry to get rid of it. A co-worker today said I looked like Peter pan today.....I so don't see that!

Feeling a little country on a Monday

Today's outfit was all about trying to squeeze some more use out of a summer skirt, since our high temps were going to be in the low 70s today. I got a lot of compliments on this outfit today. I also wore my hair au-natural (i.e. no blow drying or flat ironing) which is rare for me, and made everyone at work think I had done something "special" with my hair.

Catching up......

I've been so busy that while I have taken pictures, I haven't had time to upload them. So today will be the last week or so of outfits. I will start with last Thursday 10/29/09 (as Wednesday (10/28) I had a proposal due and thus barely managed to put clean clothes on).
This is a LOT of color for me.....but I was even brave enough to top it with a turquoise cardigan.



Friday (10/30) was pretty boring, so will skip that and move on to early November. Monday started slow and pretty normal for me, although at least it wasn't black!


Tuesday I was dressed up a little more, but back in my black comfort zone.


Wednesday, I broke out a little mid-week pink and my cat woman boots. the pinkish sweater is new to me....Goodwill for $4.10....it is Banana Republic and 100% Merino wool.




Thursday I wore a new sweater dress ($14.99 at TJ Maxx). I threw a tan corduroy jacket over it and was a happy camper. Plus the dress perfectly matches a pair of burgundy velvet mary janes I have had for probably 8-10 years, but have never worn much....I think they will get a lot of wear with this dress!



Friday, 10/6/09, was a very fall look. Yellow t-shirt, pumpkin sweater, brown tweed jacket, jeans, and burgundy boots.



This week i will try to be back on track with posting....thus will put today's outfit in it's own post!

Black is Back

I keep trying to add color, but black is such a default for me. Simple black turtleneck, tights and knee high boots today with a black and cream geometric skirt.

Today I am sporting my typical black and gray. I really should try and add more color to my life. Just wasn't going to happen on an overcast Monday.

Goodwill find!

I'be just got to say the Goodwills in the Charlotte area are FABULOUS! You have to be in the right mood to treasure hunt, but I am finding lots of name brand items in virtually new condition....I've even found some things with the tags still on! I am not a brand whore....I will wear something from Target if I like it, but in general clothes from Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, and Talbots just appeal to me. This weekend I explored a Goodwill close to Lake Norman, which is a huge lake that the rich have huge homes on. I scored a couple Ann Taylor tops and sweaters. But the ultimate score was a olive green wrap Ralph Lauren sweater. The tag says it is 100% linen, which is interesting, I don't think I have ever owned a linen sweater before. I wore the new sweater today with just jeans and white t-shirt underneath. I didn't post a picture from Friday, as my outfit wasn't very exciting (just jeans, fitted purple tee, and my cream cashmere cardigan). But I make up for Friday with my new Ralph Lauren sweater for $3.79!

Purpley Thursday

My purple pumps finally arrived!!!!!!! The first time they came in black rather than purple so I had to have them sent back and re-ordered. These shoes are comfy and cute and oh-so geeky chic! I am so into purple recently, so these will go with several things in my wardrobe. The shoes are from Aldo and were on clearance for just under $40. The dress was an Ann Taylor loft clearance for about $18,and the cardigan was a Goodwill find for $3.79. The dress is sleeveless, but the color pallet will allow me to wear it multiple seasons with a jacket or sweater over it. And it has POCKETS! I love anything with pockets....nice to have somewhere to throw my office keys when lecturing.

an old standby

My office is freezing, so I always try to bring a sweater to work. Today's sweater is an old favorite of mine. It is one of the few items to survive the weight loss. Despite my throwing it in the dryer (a wool sweater) to shrink it, it is still slightly bigger than I would like, but I love it too much to part with it. It is one of those pieces of clothing that seems to epitomize me fashion wise. I have started checking out some of the other fashion blogs on here....wow my fashion sense is pretty boring and conservative in comparison! The blue shirt is a new Ann Taylor Loft purchase (under $12). I added the black ribbon to give the waist for definition, as the shirts ran small in the chest area and I had to go up a size to get it over the girls.

Tuesday blues

Today, I just did not have cute in me. So I went for the old standby of some gray pants and a black top. Boring, I know. I am wearing burgundy boots to try and add a little more interest.

Adding a little color

I have a bad habit of equating work appropriate clothes with the color black. It may be partially due to my former fat days, and thinking black is slimming. But I am trying to make an effort to change that. So today I put on a bright turquoise sweater. Now I am wearing in with black boots, black tights, a black skirt, and a black blazer. But at least it is some color. And the skirt has turquoise, green, and white polka dots. The picture today does not show the blazer, as I had to pick it up from the tailor (was getting sleeves shortened), and thus didn't have it at home when I took the picture.

Welcome to Da's geequey chique fashion world!

I decided that I need to start keeping a visual record of what I wear each day. I know, I know.....sort of pathetic. But I have had way too many professors in my education that would wear the same thing over and over again. I will NOT be that professor. Plus, I have occasionally gotten comments from students on teaching evaluations about certain outfits not being attractive. I guess I would rather hear that from random strangers in a blog setting than from my students. Plus some days I just feel cute and want to share my fashion decision with friends, and this will be any easy way. I am also hoping that seeing all the clothes I have will curb some of my shopping habits. Of course, I decided to start this today, on a random Friday, but do not have a picture of today's outfit. But I do have pictures of my outfits on Wednesday (orange sweater) and Thursday (dress and cardigan), so I will post them below.