Time Flies...

We got a cat.
The Dad came home.
Halloweened!

Pictures are stacking up!

Jacket, Alfani, gift from my mom!; pants, New York and Company; tee, J. Crew.

The Woman in the Gray Flannel Dress

I made a spontaneous purchase of this dress last week at Pink, in Saranac Lake.  I loved the silhouette, and the size. A medium.  And not just any medium.  A boutique medium.  I really  look forward to styling the dress all winter.  Layers!

Dress, Tulle, Pink, $58; cardi, Victoria's Secret; tights and necklace, Target; boots, Madden Girl.

Corduroy Road

The phrase corduroy road always reminds me of my grandmother.  And this gorgeous cape, sewn by a dear friend, reminds me of her too.  She would have loved the fabric.

My girl loved it too.  In fact, I had the tweedy side out first, and she asked "Mom, why is your scarf thing on inside out?"  The joys of reversibility!

So I flipped it, and let the compliments roll in, all day long.

Boots, Madden Girl; skirt, Victoria's Secret; cape, sewn by the lovely Laura.

Cloudy

If you don't live near here, you might have seen sun sometime in the last week.  We have not.

I should have worn colors in preparation for grey days to come.

This outfit was an attempt to grab some sunshine.

It may have worked.  The forecast calls for a week of sun.  I will believe it when I see it.

Waist High

I love a good ol' high waisted trouser.  Hit me at the smallest part of my torso? Check.  Expand below the waist band to make room for dinner? Check. No potential for unsolicited underwear viewing? Check. This pant prepares me for everything (and here's where I transition oh so smoothly and cleverly) including the Girl Scouts award dinner.

I was not a scout.  But I see now what a cool organization they are and if Eva ever requests membership, I will encourage her.  And this dinner...other than making me feel like an underachiever is just great.

And I got to catch up with a friend I never see, even better!

Trousers, Anthropologie; Sweater, Loft.

Pink Tops and Blue Skies

There is nothing so nice as these falls days with cool breezes, hot sun, and blue sky.  And pink and blue just work together!  And throw in denim, too...

 This outfit was for yesterdays all afternoon training, which was followed by a Board meeting.  And I am really realizing that I have got a bottoms problem.  I can not POSSIBLY be the size that is one down from this one...but yet...Clearly, my pants are too big.  Aaargh.

Pants, JCrew; cardi, Lands End Canvas; blouse, Loft.

My second adventure in pink and blue was the corn maze! A perennial fall favorite...my girl is really getting into to it, but the little guy is just too big to carry and too small to keep up (both with his legs and interest.) Nevermind, we had a great rocktop rest and photo op.

Jeans, Lands' End; sandals, NAOT; tee, Planned Parenthood, baby!

Bus Stop

New routines, new rituals...we now incorporate the bus stop each morning and I realized it is perfect outfit timing...good light, no mess behind me, and a handy photographer!  But also two hams who want to be included...one still in pjs.

Can I just say this, though? Lived here almost 8 years and am feeling pretty right in saying there is no one in a wheelchair on that section of road.  Perhaps the sign is there because the road to the park is there...But maybe an actual crosswalk might be better?

Linens and things (like weather)

I can not exaggerate the difference in my dressing when I am blogging and when I am not.  I just make an effort.  (Well, duh, hello blog name!)

 Case in point: Earrings! Belt!

For those of you who don't live five minutes from the North Pole (not the real one), we are entering the confusing time of year for dressing.  Even if you follow the weather report as closely as I do (see previously mentioned need for a new roof), you still might get a surprise as you go about your day.  Today, I was perfectly dressed for the cool morning, and overheating by noon.  Not to complain, in a month, it could be snowing.

return

Oh, hello there.

Let me give this another try.  So much going on, so little time to blog.  And summer.  And rain.  And the blues.  So let me start with that:  the blues.

I finally ironed, and seeing all the clothes to be done mounded up in the living room, I remembered that I do have a few things to wear.

I am on a shopping hiatus because we need a new roof and covering the house is more important than covering my body.  So you will be seeing some old favorites in coming weeks, at least until we get all the estimates and I know how painful this home improvement project will be!

Pants, J Crew; tank, TJ Maxx; necklace, from book club pal Lori!

The Ends of the Earth

This is me, recreating my feeling like I was about to fall off the end of the earth today:

 I had another marathon driving day today, on top of yesterday's half-marathon drive.  There are only so many ways to go west from here, but I tried parts of all of them.

Still, I managed to remain in presentable shape, there and back.

 

In preparation for my hair appointment tomorrow (just a trim!  promise!) I have been hiding my dry and scraggly ends in various braids this week.  Today, a bun made from 2 braids.

Dress, Dress Barn.

R and R'ed

What a weekend!  We did it all, the whole Adirondack experience--hiking, swimming in the river, eating, eating, eating, horse show, parade, Ausable Club fireworks.  Happy Independence Day!

I was sooo relaxed all weekend, in large part due to the presence of my mom. And my better half and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary, long distance.

I was still feeling relaxed this morning, so I decided to skip the shower and adopt the Heidi braids I have long admired on Julie of Orchid Grey.

I was a little concerned when my mom assured me that they didn't look at all costumey.  On the assumption that they must have looked costumey to make her think to say they didn't!  Great logic, right?  So, costumey or not?  And if so, does it matter?

Tee, J Crew; pants, Victoria's Secret; necklace, Target.

Politics Make Strange Bedfellows

Professional, polished, and tall.  Those were my outfit requirements today.  After work I attended a fundraiser for my Congressman, the awesomely pro-choice (woohoo!) Bill Owens.  Hence the polished and professional.  I was going with my boss, who will never be tall, so one of us has to have enough physical stature to allow us to find each other in a crowd.

I know a lot of people, and let me tell you, I did not know more than 5 out of 50 people there.  Business owners, pretty much to a one. I did have a long conversation about asphalt, paving, and the roads of the Adirondacks with one man...I'm not shy, though, and I made that conversation as much fun as I could.

Dress, London Times; cardi, J. Crew; shoes Madden Girl.

Wrap It Up

Wrap skirts always call to mind my mom, in the 70s.  I think this is because one of my earliest memories is identifying my mom by her skirt after church one Sunday, and grasping onto her leg.  You know how this ends, of course.  It was some other wrap-skirted woman.  Oops.

But my mom is a really classy lady, and I can pretty much guarantee that HER wrap skirt never caught the wind outside the dry cleaners and flew up and open, exposing HER (thankfully clean and not thong) underwear to all of the (thankfully empty) street.

Also?  If I don't cut my hair soon, a vain old woman is going to climb up it to get into the tour where she holds me captive.

Tee, Gap; wrap skirt, Tibet Asian; wedges, Nine West.

Who Wore It Best?

Welcome to '"Who Wore It Best," a new feature here at Ef for Effort.  Two divas, one dress.

A solid, but unsurprising effort.  I believe this model is actually repeating a summer 2010 outfit, with just change of jewels.  Comfy, work appropriate, but not spectacular.  A solid B.

Wow.  The look of the summer.  What it lacks in age appropriateness, it makes up for in pure sass.  Maxi dress, with a deep V for evening. Extra credit for pose.  A++

Glimpse of Sun

This weather is killing me.  I was grateful for the sunshine today, but really?  On MONDAY??  You had all weekend, Mother Nature!

Oh well.  This is my new favorite top.  I really hesitated to buy it, because it is so...bohemian.  Almost costumey.  But I figured, hey, what's $16.99? And what a good $16.99 it was.  Compliments, compliments, compliments!

Blouse, Logix from TJ Maxx, $16.99; cuff, Target; Minnie Pant, J Crew.

The Long of It

I gave in.  Seeing some many women looking comfy AND pretty in maxi dresses finally convinced me.  So I bought a dress I could nap in (I know because I have.)

This is not a usual color for me, but I liked the softness of the whole look.  I plan on experimenting mixing pastels and brights.  Maybe green, since these pictures show how well that color works with the lavender!

Dress, TJ Maxx, $24; cardigan, J. Crew Outlet; sandals, Naot, five years ago, $100.

Bejeweled

For the past couple of weeks, coworkers have been returning to the office with little baubles from a new resale shop on the next block.  I stopped in yesterday at lunch and found just what I have been looking for: a long gold pendant necklace.  For $7.  I built this outfit around my new jewels.

I liked the different proportions of this outfit, especially the wide legs.

But when I looked at the pictures I realized something:  either I have a body dismorphic disorder and really am bigger than I think I am, or I need to rethink my size when buying clothes.  I have had not appetite lately, and find that my clothes are hanging a little loose...a good thing, but not flattering. For further evidence, see two pairs of khakis.

Hmmm...I am sensing a pattern here...and a reason to go shopping!

Or maybe I should just take waist up pictures.

Trousers, Anthropologie; tank, Ann Taylor outlet; cardigan, Victoria's Secret; necklace, Cache Elegant, downtown Plattsburgh.

Down on the Farm

Last night some generous folks hosted a party for my organization on their farm...what lovely evening it was...and what a hard time I had deciding what to wear!

As I have mentioned, this area of the world is really casual, so while a similar event in other locales would invite cocktail dresses and jewels, I was fairly sure we'd be seeing shorts and jeans.

I made a nod to denim with these trousers. And I felt right at home on this fancy farm.

Warm Up

It is about time.  2 days without rain, with heat!! This summer? A total bummer.  Especially for those of us with leaky roofs.  Ahem.

I warmed up this simple outfit with some gold toned accessories and a hint of tan on my arms (a remnant of that sun burn from a few posts back!)

At Attention

Sorry for the lack of posts.  I think my problem is having been through a whole year and now back to my beginning season - with not a lot of new items to mix, so I feel pretty bored with my wardrobe...any ideas for a cheap way to mix it up?

I really liked this outfit because even though the pants are cropped I still managed to feel about 6 feet tall.  Must be the shoes!

Tee and pants, J Crew; jacket, Victoria's Secret; shoes, Madden Girl

Happy Belated Bloggaversary!

I've been blogging my outfits for a year now!  Seems like less time than that, so I nearly missed it.  I've been a little quiet here lately as it was been a rough few weeks for me: sartorially and mentally.  All the rain here has me down!  But I whipped out the brights to celebrate a sunny day (and chose a soft fabric that didn't rub on my sunburn) and here you have me...feeling better.

In the last year I have embraced the dress, the belt and branched out into new color territory!  What will the next year bring?  Stay tuned!

Dress, Target; shoes, Nine West; belt, might be Carhartt, I got it at an army/navy type store years ago!

MuuMuu Magic

Behold, the beauty of this pattern:

 

How could I resist? When I saw this dress in my friend Aimee's (Aimee of Vint Condition) etsy store, Vint Condition Style, I fell in lurve.  I held my breath, hoping it would fit!  When I tried it on, it met all the qualifications:  I could get it over my body and the snaps at the wrists could snap.  It was mine.  But it had an elastic waist, which just hit me wrong.  Luckily, changing this is within my seamstress skills. With waist ripped the dress was revealed in its true muumuu glory - though either the maker or the previous owner darted it in the front and back of the top, which somehow keeps it down to pup tent shape!  So I belted!

 

Vintage Dress, $50, from Vint Condition Style, but free to me as my mother-in-law got me a gift certificate from the Planned Parenthood auction in October; sweater, J. Crew; belt, thrifted!

Ellie Mae Goes to Work

Well Clampett all to hell, I should have gotten a few more of these shirts because I love the way the fit.  Kind of perfectly.  Can't even get annoyed that J. Crew calls it the perfect shirt!

I am sooo not a gingham person, but I gave it ago because I loved the dark dark navy.  And while I was at the J. Crew outlet, I also grabbed this pair of denim trousers.  Or denimy.  Denimish?  

With these heels and the slim silhouette, I felt like a six foot tall Amazon all day.

Pants and Perfect Shirt, J. Crew Outlet, about $45 each; heels, Bass Outlet.

Blocked

So my careful reading of all the style bloggers and tweeters has led me to this conclusion.  Color blocking is also a trend, and it just means wearing several solid colors together.  Usually in simple shapes. Which may disqualify this outfit.

Is this too frou frou to count?

Skirt, Gap Outlet; Cardi, Target; tank, Ann Taylor Factory Store, $25ish.

Prepped: Summer Trend, Seersucker

As you all know, I am not a huge follower of trends and I tend to stick with more classic looks.  But this time, the two collided.  Not on purpose.  In fact, it was only after I added this thrifted jacket to wardrobe that I spotted seersucker spreads in several magazine and catalogs.

I have a great plan for the piece with shorts, inspired by the J. Crew May catalogue. And I am proud to have spent one digit on the jacket instead of 2 or 3!

Jacket, Talbots, thrifted, $5;  Minnie pant, J. Crew; tee, Lands' End Canvas. Wet spot on shirt, ponytail drip, free.