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!