a thrifty winter

I need another sweater like I need a hole in my head.  But sweaters seem to be one of the most easily thrifted items.  When I found this winter white, angora blend sweater from J Crew at the Salvation Army for $3.99 it begged me to come home with me.  I love it with jeans.  But I am looking forward to pairing it with my plethora of black and white shirts this winter.

end semester...end already!

My grad class has their "final" today.  They are actually just turning in a final Op Ed piece and then we are headed to the bar.  I am still being thrown by this overcast yet in the 60s weather in December.  I don't love today's outfit, but I feel comfy and me in it. 

The sweater is Jones of NY via Goodwill, and the skirt is Boden via Ebay.  Notice my pop of color with my knee high burgundy socks?  yeah, that was not intentional....just they were the top pair of knee high socks in the drawer, and I am so end of semester worn down that I didn't want to exert brain power thinking about which socks would look best.

December? Really?

I can just not get used to living in the South.  It is December and temps will be in the 60s today.  I am a cold and snow, sweater wearing sort of girl, so this weather throws me.

Today's dress (Gap), cardigan (Ann Taylor Loft), and belt are all thrifted from Goodwill.  This dress is sleeveless, and I think it will make a good year round dress.  In the Spring, I think I will pair it will a pink cardigan, as I love grey and pink together, but that color combo feels wrong in December.

so many options

Today is Everybody Everywear: Sequins and Sparkle.  I had so many options for this one, although many are not work appropriate.  Bur since we are in finals week, I figured a little sequins and jeans was ok for work.

hem length

In originally hemmed these pants to go with my black loafers.

But a little extra weight means the pants are sitting more on my waist then hips....so a tad shorter now.  I might need to let the hem out a bit, because when I tried to pair these pants with my new grey booties it was high-water flood looking.

Needless to say, i am sticking with the black loafers today.

take two

I was feeling all proud of my very academic outfit this morning highlighting corduroy and argyle.....and then my doggie decided she needed some loving just as I was taking a sip of a full cup of coffee.  Coffee stains resulted, and I had to make an outfit change.  I have worn this skirt before, but never posted it on the blog.  The skirt is from Anthropologie via Ebay.  I kept seeing this skirt on Ebay and would then talk myself out of bidding on it.  But then every time someone else won the bid on it, I would feel regret.  So finally after months of patience, when one popped up on Ebay in my size I bid and won.

This cardigan from the Talbot's outlet does wicked cool things to my eye color, so gotta love that.

Dark and gloom

This is what I wore last Thursday.  I was not feeling great, and thus cashmere, comfy boots and a black color palette suited me perfectly.

under the weather

I don`t feel great today.  I am dragging.  And thus I am not wearing heels even though I teach today.  Doesn't happen very often, but I am just not feeling it today.  We will get close to 70 today, which is hard to dress for when it is so Fall like in overcast skies and leaves on the ground.  Thus a thrifted corduroy skirt, and a cashmere sweater seems like the way to go (with a tee underneath in case I need to shed the sweater).

classic fall

It is a beautiful Fall day here, and thus I dressed for that.  Nothing says fall quite like rich tones and tweed.

These shoes don't get much wear because they are winter/fall colors but are peep toe.  I am not a fan of tights with peep toe shoes, so there are not many days when the weather is warm enough for peep toes but the season is still fall/winter.  I last wore them here.

Friday uniform of choice

I've got to admit I love jeans on Fridays.  These jeans are a nice wide leg, although they look less flattering in this picture then they do in the mirror.  Maybe it was because I snapped this photo at night after a long day?

These jeans are from the Talbot's Outlet.  The shoes/booties were a hand-me-down from my aunt, and are perfect with pants/jeans in the colder seasons.

it's that time again....

It's that time in the semester when we do peer teaching evaluations.  For some reason when I have the older tenured males in my department doing my evaluation, I tend to think way to hard about what to wear that day.  I don't even want to discuss how many outfits I tried on this morning before settling on this one.

This camera angle makes the front of the skirt look shorter than the back.  I promise it is not, but I don't have time to re-shoot this picture.

Hump Day Happiness

Sometimes the thing to get thru the mid week hump is a super comfy sweater dress, over black leggings with super comfy boots.  Pure happiness.

Colored Tights

Today is Everybody Everywhere: Colored Tights.  I don't do colored tights very often, and usually they are layered under some sort of lace or fishnet tight.

I have gotten several comments from faculty and students about the purple today.... not sure they were compliments per say, but I can appreciate that purple tights are not everyone's cup of tea,

classic but not boring

I can't seem to get far away from classic looks lately.  It doesn't get more classic than a black sheath dress (Old Navy via Goodwill), a cashmere sweater (Talbots Outlet), and a pearl necklace (no idea where this is from....fake pearls because real pearls are wrong length for this neckline).  And the bow shoes are just fun.

animal print love

I am such a fan of animal prints.  This wrap dress from Goodwill makes me happy.  It is some designer name, but I forgot who and I am too lazy to go look at the tag while I type this  (I did look up the brand when the dress first came home with me).  I wore this to work last Thursday.

sweater + dress = fall comfyness

I love sweaters.  I love dresses.  So it is no surprise I LOVE sweater dresses.  And just in case the sweater dress wasn't enough coziness, I threw my black cashmere boyfriend cardigan over the top.

November 1st

This is what I wore on November 1st:

The dress is Ann Taylor, the turtleneck sweater is Talbots, and both came to me via Goodwill.

October Purchases

I thought it might be a good idea to start keeping track of monthly clothing purchases.  So this is what I bought in October: 1 dress, 1 skirt, 1 sweater, 1 pair of tights, 2 belts, 2 pairs of shoes, and a pair of jeans.

The dress is Gap and I got it at Goodwill for $4.99.  I think this will be a good year round dress as I think it will play nice with cardigans and boots, or flipflops and sunglasses.

This skirt is from White House Black Market (one of my favorite stores) and I found it at the Salvation Army for $3.99.  There was a slight spot, which a trip to the dry cleaners removed.  At the price I found it, I was will to dry a trip to the cleaners.

I found these fun grey and purple plaid tights at the Salvation Army (new in package) for 99 cents.

I picked up two belts this month.  The top one is a reversible floral belt I got the last day of a consignment sale for 99 cents (half-off, yay!).  The bottom copperish-gold belt I got at teh Salvation Army for $1.99.

The cream shoes came from the same Consignment sale at the floral belt and were a whopping $2.  I have already worn them here.  The red and white shoes came from the Salvation Army and were the right color tag to be half off, so they came out to be $3.50.

Another consignment sale steal was this sweet cardigan for $3.  Yes it is a very girly and very pink, but at $3 how could I resist, even if it is just weekend wear?

These jeans are White House Black Market.  I love their jeans, and found these at Goodwill for $4.99.  They are regular length (I usually buy short) so they are pretty much only wearable with my highest heeled boots.  I love the back flap pockets, they help my non-existent butt look existent.

So grand total:

Dress: $4.99

Skirt $3.99

Belt: $0.99

Belt: $1.99

Tights: $0.99

Shoes: $2.00

Shoes: $3.50

Cardigan: $3.00

Jeans: $4.99

Total: $26.44 plus tax

Happy Halloween!

Rather than a costume, decided to just wear a festive fall colors ensemble.  But my doggie fully dressed up.

Quientessential

I have decided that cardigans are my preferred uniform of choice.  I wear then year round, as most places, including my office have the air conditioning way too high in summer.  In the business casual world, cardigans to a woman are like khaki pants to a man.....you can't go wrong with one.

This outfit was quickly thrown together so that I could take my doggie out for her morning walk and potty break.  (Although I threw on different shoes for the walk.)  It is pretty much a quintessential outfit for me....classic skirt, top, cardigan and heels.  It is not only the pieces combined but the brands and how I purchased them that makes it quintessentially me.  The skirt is Banana Republic purchased at Goodwill for $3.79.  The top is Ann Taylor purchased at Goodwill for $3.79.  The sweater is 100% cashmere from the Talbot's Outlet purchased with a birthday giftcard (Don't remember exact price but under $35).  The shoes were picked up on clearnace at a Famous Footwear in 2003 for $7.50.  So not only are these pieces from my favorite stores, but out of pocket this whole outfit cost me under $15!

old stand by

Some days I just want an easy peasey comfy dress with a cardigan on top.  I can never go wrong with this combo.  I picked up this dress at Target in 2010, and I LOVE it. 

See how I have worn this dress before: here, here, and here.  The cardigan is from a clothing swap.

the love of consignment

I not only love thrift stores but also consignment stores.  When I lived in Calgary I had one two blocks away from me that I visited regularly.  In Charlotte I haven't been making it to consignment stores very often, as they seem so expensive compared to Goodwill.  But I do enjoy the occasional consignment sales (empty stores will be turned into a consignment superstore for a weekend).  Usually the last day of those consignment sales are 50% off.  Picked up these shoes recently at one of those sales on the last day for $2.  Yup, $2....take that Goodwill.

I also love to visit thrift and consignment stores when in different cities.  I picked up this skirt at a consignment store over the summer when in Boulder, CO.  I don't remember what I paid for it.

Stepford wife....front and back

I don't know what it is this semester that keeps bringing out the Stepford wife in me.  Today it even included fake pearls.

I got this skirt at the Talbot's outlet this summer, but I needed some colder weather before I would be wearing this wool skirt.  The tights were a gift from one of my aunts.  I still lecture old school style and write on the chalkboard, so the students spend a lot of time seeing my backside.  Thus when buying clothes I spend a large amount of time asking "how does my backside look in this?".  I think this skirt does my back half justice.

I got several compliments on this shoes and tights combo today.

too short?

I convinced myself in the mirror that this dress wasn't too short to teach in.  However the pictures have me rethinking that assessment.  In fact, I can't promise I will wear this out the door to work.  I did however, wear this to the dentist this morning.

What do you think....too short for work?

conference wear

I am at a 3 day conference in California at Lake Arrowhead.  So here are my conference looks for the first 2 days.  This first one I traveled in, so pretty proud of traveling many hours in a pencil skirt and still managing to look put together after being up for 20+ hours.

My talk was today, at 8:40pm on day 2 of the conference.  This is a fairly casual conference, so I didn't feel the need for a suit.

casual friday with puppy

Sometimes, ok a lot of the time, I sneak my dog with me into work on Fridays.  She is the perfect accessory for a casual outfit.

yay Red!

 I am all about the red today.  It felt like the right fall feel.  The skirt is J Crew via Goodwill.  The t-shirt is Ann Taylor via Goodwill.  The cardigan is from the Talbots Outlet store.

not sure what season

I love fall!  But I hate these warm falls down here.  It will be in the 70s today which to me is still "warm weather" but it is October and the trees are starting to change, so I feel like I need a warm color pallet, which doesn't go with my warm weather clothing.  This was the best I could do.....it seems off season, but it is too warm to commit to any sweater other than a cardigan.

hello Fall!

Fall is my favorite season.  And one of the downsides of living in NC is that it takes forever to feel like fall.  But temps will start to drop tonight and tomorrow should be nice a crisp and cool this weekend.  In honor of that, I busted out an outfit that feels perfect for the summer to fall transition.

The denim pencil skirt and cardigan are from the Talbots outlet.  The striped tee was on clearance at Walmart for $3 (that's cheaper than Goodwill!).  The boots are from Target and have proven to be a workhorse in my closet.

Black, white, and grey

Why mess with something that works?  Black, white and grey is my color pallet of choice.  It is easy-peasy, and was the way to go yesterday.

After I took this picture I added a black flower and white flower pins to the cardigan for a tad more whimsey.  I got the skirt at White House Black Market in 2008 and love, love, love it.

can't go wrong

You, or rather I, can't go wrong with a black and white floral.....whether it is skirt, blouse, cardigan, or dress I always feel like me in a black and white floral print.

Today I get to talk to 140 high school guidance counselors coming to campus to learn about different degree programs at my university.  Does this fit the bill of what they expect a college professor to dress like?  Who knows.....but I for one love it enough that I could care less.

Pumpkin's Purple-Plum Pick

This morning I let my little doggie (Pumpkin) pick my outfit.  I held up 2 dresses and asked her "which one?", and she seemed certain about this purple/plum dress. 

I then gave her a choice of two cardigans and she picked this one.  She even picked it twice when i switched which hand they were in.  I guess she likes cotton over cashmere....silly doggie.  I didn't let her pick my shoes, as the forecasted rain made my purple suede ballet flats a no-go.  Plus she pretty much dislikes all of my shoes except for the ones I wear to the dog park and the ones I wear for running.....she has learned those shoes mean fun, and most other shoes mean I am leaving the house soon.

Last week

I managed to get outfit pictures snapped on two days last week.  However, I did not manage to post them.  So I am playing a little catch-up today.

Wednesday was a rainy mess with temps all over the place (hence the boots and layering).  I don't teach on Wednesdays, but I was going out to dinner with a visiting speaker, so I wanted to look somewhat more put together than my typical Wednesday.  The skirt is an Anthropologie find at Goodwill, which I had shortened a few inches.  The lace top is a Banana Republic find at Goodwill.  The navy cardigan is from the Talbots outlet, and the boots are from Target.

The fo-wrap leopard print dress that I got at Ross 2 years ago for about $12 is one of those items that makes me feel fabulous every time I wear it.  I threw it on Thursday for teaching.

double pet appearance

Both my turtle and dog make an appearance today.  Snapped this quick picture before heading to work (hence doggie in crate).

I picked up this cardigan on saturday during my first visit to the Buffalo Exchange with my friend Cynthia of Be Fabulous Daily.  It is originally from Ann Taylor.

Keeping with a theme....

This is what I wore to teach in this past Thursday.  Is this fall going to be my fall of Stepford wife dressing?  Feels that way.  Or maybe it is just because the last 2 outfits I had time to snap a picture of look that way.

The skirt (which has pockets!) was purchased at the Talbot's Outlet using my birthday month discount.  The top is Banana Republic via Goodwill. T%he shoes were clearance at Marshall's last spring.  Since my dog snuck into the last OOTD picture, I decided my turtle deserved to sneak into this shot.