Day 138: Thanksgiving week

 I bought this tank top a few weeks ago, and while I normally would've stuck it under the bed until next spring, the project means I wear it now.  I'm really excited to wear it when the weather gets warm: the print is pretty and I love the colors, and the criss-crossed back is fun and classy.  I can foresee plenty of opportunities for wearing it with a blazer at work or with some jeans for play. In these days of particular gratitude, I am thankful for clearance racks!

Sweater, boots and bag: Old Navy

Tank: Anthropologie

Skirt: Goodwill

Necklace: Gift from Dave

Tights: ??

Day 137: Winery Finery

Ever since some nonstick cooking spray fell out of the cabinet and onto my right foot two weeks ago, it's been pretty painful to wear heels. If it keeps up for much longer, I'll have to go to a doctor about it, but I'm hoping this foot/toe injury will heal itself.  In the meantime, I'm only wearing heels to sit at my desk and am focusing on sneakers, boots, and flats the rest of the time.

On Sunday, Dave and I went with my parents and our nephew Josh to the Renault Winery for brunch.  I wore the dress that I wore as a bridesmaid in my sister-in-law's wedding.  It was a little dressy for a brunch buffet, but I'm definitely keeping it and don't have a whole lot of fancy dress-wearing occasions planned yet for this holiday season.  The day of Rebecca's wedding, I started to iron the sash belt on this dress, and I melted a hole right through it! Luckily, with a sewing kit from the front desk, I was able to cut out the burned parts and stitch the rest of it back together with room to spare so it still ties in the back. You can't even tell what happened!

Dress: Anthropologie

Tights: Gift from Dave or Mom (I don't like buying them for myself)

Flats: Candie's via Famous Footwear

Bracelet: Gift from Rebecca

Day 131: Power Monday

I spent some time this weekend putting my clothes back where they belong, so now instead of being organized by what I have and haven't worn, I no longer have any clothes in duffles in the bottom of my closet. I have one dwindling stack of shirts and several dresses to go, and I am excited to think about what I might wear on the first day after I've worn everything I have! Is there anything you'd like to see again or worn in a different way?

Not sure why it has taken so long to wear this shirt; you can see the same shirt in white on Day 35. 

Tank: American Eagle

Red shirt: Anthropologie

Blazer: Marshall's

Skirt and shoes: Old Navy

Black tights: ??

Bag: Liz Claiborne, from Mom

Earrings: Gift from Kelly, from Ethiopia

Day 130: A perfect fall day

Sunday was a full day of exploring Philadelphia and the surrounding areas. Dave and I woke up early and went for a run down to South Philly. Our first stop was Federal Donuts, a new shop that is very exciting for us donut-lovers. They were warm and fresh, and the Indian Spice one was tasty and not so bad for us as far as donuts go. Then we headed to the Italian Market before going back home to change and get ready for the rest of our day. I based my outfit around this purple ruffled tank top that is so hard to wear because it never looked good in the summer with shorts because of its high neckline, but the ruffles also mean it doesn't work well with cardigans. The cardigan and vest provided just the right amount of warmth to make the outfit work okay, but this shirt's days are numbered.  We stopped at Ikea to pick up a few things on our way, and then drove to Terrain for shopping and brunch with Stephanie and Dave. While they were finishing up, my Dave took my outfit photos:

Steph and Dave headed home, but Dave and I ran some errands and then went for a big walk at one of my favorite places, Winterthur.  Then after a stop at the Total Wine, we headed home at 6:30, when it already felt like 11 pm. We had neither the patience nor the ingredients to make dinner, so we took our Jose Garces gift card and treated ourselves by rounding out the day at Amada for some of the best food this city has to offer.

Tank and vest: Old Navy

Cardigan: Gap

Skirt: Anthropologie

Boots: Gift from Mom, Marshall's

Bag: Target
Earrings: Three Sirens boutique

Day 120: Same skirts, rotating shirts

Yesterday I had a few friends over, and I was tempted to scoop up all of the shirts out of my "unworn" drawer and give them away. With the exception of my sweaters, since it hasn't been that cold for too long, I'm pretty sure that if I haven't worn a shirt yet, I am not that interested in wearing it. But I promise that I'll wear everything, and I anticipate that I will have caught up on my whole existing wardrobe by the end of the year. I do want to remind you that I haven't been photographing every single outfit I wear, but I've posted at least one picture for every day since I started on July 6.  For instance, I didn't take a picture of my "Good Game, Let's Go Eat" shirt that I wore for game night last night. But you can know that it was awesome anyway.

 Top: Gap, Betsy's

Black tank with lace underneath top: ??

Cardigan: LOFT

Skirt: Anthropologie

Boots: Old Navy

Necklace: From Kelly B.

Day 106: Fully clothed lady

I'm definitely a bargain hunter and never buy anything full price. But if I saw this top on sale at Anthropologie, I would consider buying it if it were about $40 or less. I really do love this shirt. Instead, it was at Target, and on sale for $18. Even though it sounds crazy, that seemed like so much for a sale price of a shirt at Target, so I almost considered putting it back. I'm glad I didn't! The jacket is my original Anthropologie piece. Margaret gave it to me for Christmas about 8 years ago, and it has come a long way since then. This is what I was wearing when I met the Barenaked Ladies in 2003.  That story used to be my favorite thing to talk about, but you guys might not even know that I interviewed them for the newspaper when I was in high school. Then I got free tickets to see them perform with Gavin DeGraw and I met them backstage! Fun times.

Top: Target

Jacket: Gift from Margaret, Anthropologie

Skirt: J. Crew

Boots: Gift from Mom, Kenneth Cole via Marshalls

Day 83: Dancing in Ivy

A few friends are coming over to my place after work today, and I thought that this dress would be perfect for hostessing.  My sister-in-law, Rebecca, lent the dress to me, and I love it! I'm glad it works with this cardigan, because the embroidery has a cold-weather feel to me, but it's strapless and sleeveless, so it isn't exactly a Christmas time dress. It's still warm outside, and it's sure to be warm in my apartment tonight even though Dave took care of all of the cooking last night. 

You can't see the lace detailing on this cardigan, but it's there, and this is the dress I wore for the chillier parts of my wedding on April 10, 2010!

 Dress: Rebecca's, from Anthropologie

Cardigan: H&M

Shoes: Payless
Lindsay necklace: Gift from Mom

Ruby earrings: Bridesmaid gift from Denise

Bag: Target

Sunglasses: Kohl's

Day 76: Black and green

This is about as close to camouflage as I will ever wear. No camo capris for me! Like I've said before, I really only know how to wear black shirts with jeans, but I mixed it up a little bit today for your sake.  When I checked the weather this morning, it said it was 63 and sunny, when in fact it is warmer and rainier than that.  So this outfit was poorly planned for the weather, but I threw on a leafy velour jacket that got me through some similar weather in England and Ireland in 2007.

Top: Express

Skirt: Anthropologie

Shoes: Banana Republic Outlet

Bag: Target

Scarf and earrings: From Mom

Day 68: Payless Peril

Something is wrong with these shoes. They used to be a nice navy blue suede-type shoe, but now the material is wearing away and the shoes are sticky all over the outside. I guess the adhesive that made the outer layer stick to the shoe is working its way to the front in an effort to destroy my shoes.  I really need to stop buying cheap shoes. I wear them too often for that to be a wise financial decision. Where do you buy most of your shoes?  

 Dress: Anthropologie

Heels: Payless

Bag: Target

Rose earrings: from Mom

Day 63: Should I wear this today?

Doesn't it seem like only certain people can pull off this mixing prints trend? I understand the basics of keeping the pieces in the same color family and having a common thread, but when would I ever take the risk? How about when I have a top like this geometric-print one, which I've only ever worn with black pants and a black tank top? I think the colors work, but I was nervous about it this morning, and packed an extra black cardigan just in case I felt like I couldn't go through with this.  What do you think? Would you wear this outfit?

 Cardigan: Express

Camisole: Kohl's

Skirt: Anthropologie

Heels: Nine West

Bag: Old Navy

Black earrings: From Mom

Day 26: A New Month of Outfits

My sister-in-law Rebecca and I had a successful clothing swap yesterday. She mainly wanted conservative and work-appropriate attire, so I gave her a number of blue button-ups. I'll get them back in a few months and will wear them then, but for now, take a look at this shirt she lent me. Perfect for brightening up a sleepy Monday and going to Buddakan for edamame ravioli lunch with Lizzie, who is visiting from Boston!

Top: Anthropologie (Rebecca's)
White camisole underneath: Kohl's
Black Pants: The Limited via TJ Maxx
Black heels: Nine West via Macy's
Also wearing: Ring from J. Karma and gifted earrings

 

Day 14: Dressed to chill

Another heat wave is starting, and I was sweating before I even left the house.

I'm sure that the readership of this blog is going to skyrocket now that my interview has aired on NBC and I was quoted in the Metro. There is a purse-stealer on the loose, which means I've stopped carrying my purse, and I have now informed Philadelphia of my precautions. Now I'm focusing on clothes with pockets, so I can just carry my phone, lipstick, keys, and mace with me.  Nothing to steal here, folks.

Top: Gap. Very infrequently worn.

Skirt: Anthro. It has pockets!

Headband: In the Village salon

Earrings: Gift from Jen C.

Sandals: Old Navy

Cardigan for the office: Ann Taylor

Day 7: Floral tank

Today looked like this: work-->gym-->pool-->Triumph Brewing Company with Courtney and Jeff. Each of those elements required different attire, and this is what I wore to the bar. Shirt is Anthro, shorts are J. Crew. Can you see the earrings?

July 12, 2011: Day 7

I had one rule for myself today: Do not tuck a shirt into a skirt.

You've seen enough of that lately.

My neighborhood is cute and provides an easy backdrop.

Shirt: Apt 9 from Kohl's, circa 2008
Pants: Anthropologie. Not sure of the brand, but the inside of the waistband says, "With clothes, the new are the best, with friends the old are better." Thanks for editorializing, pants.
Shoes: Payless
Also wearing coin pearl earrings from Dave and a skinny brown headband from my mom.

July 7, 2011: Day 2

My sister Betsy visited last night and picked this dress out of my closet for me to wear today. I'm glad she was there to help, because I wouldn't know whether to start with the clothes I already wear all the time, or the clothes that I might not get around to within the year. This Anthropologie dress is one that I wear often because of how easy it is. Just the dress and a pair of navy heels, and I'm ready to publish some journals.

My husband Dave has apologized for not being a professional photographer. Or even someone who likes taking pictures.