BBCA 5 - Friend Friday: Fall

Cardigan: J Crew
Shirt: Target
Cami: Target
Pants: Lauren Conrad via Kohl's
Scarf: vintage, thrifted
Shoes: Steve Madden
Earrings: Turkey

So this week for the visual Friend Friday, we're linking up our quintessential fall looks over at 260 Days, No Repeats. Of course, it's also the last day of my BBCA week, so my fall look also has a touch of pink.


I have to say that at this point, I consider myself an expert in fall looks. I've mentioned before that I live in the land of eternal fall, so I've built a lot of outfits around boots, cardigans, and scarves. To me, fall is about classic silhouettes, mixed neutrals, and piled layers.


I really like the simple white button up, navy chinos, and cognac flats, but I like them better with the purple cami, chartreuse cardigan, and patterned scarf. I love the pops of color peeking out, especially when all those pops serve to keep me warm.


Feel free to ignore my award winning under eye circles, mmkay? Let's talk about this scarf. How pretty are those pink and green and turquoise swirls? So pretty. Also, it keeps my ears warm and hides my crazy hair - both are bonuses in my world.

BBCA 4 - Belting

Shirt: Ralph Lauren, thrifted
Dress, worn as skirt: Target
Pumps: Zara
Belt worn as belt: Target
Belt worn as headband: Etsy (although the vendor is no longer around)
Earrings: Turkey

Apparently the way for me to get BBCA done is by tying stuff around my head, and I'm cool with that as long as you're cool with that. Actually, even if you're not, most of my pink is in accessory form, so this is how it's going to be.


Anyway, this outfit. I've seen a lot of midi skirts on the Internet - apparently it's the new thing this fall. I've had this dress for something like six years and it's terribly stretched out (and faded, though you can't tell in these pictures) to the point that it's a bit midi in length. I've been playing with the idea of wearing it as a skirt for a while, but I hadn't quite worked out all the kinks yet.


Anyway, it just happened to be hanging next to this top which I thrifted (for $1!) while we were back in the States in September. I keep meaning to ask my sewing teacher to help me take it in, but I'm way more interested in learning to draft patterns and make new stuff, so I haven't yet. I figure I can figure this out on my own when I'm reunited with sewing machine in December. I guess pairing two ill-fitting, loose pieces shouldn't be natural, but the color combo was hard for me to resist.


It took a bit of creative tucking, folding and belting, but I think I made it work. It's the silhouette I was hoping to recreate, and the crazy high green pumps keep me from being overwhelmed by the length of the skirt. That said, one of my students asked me why I was dressed like a pilgrim, so maybe the heels didn't mitigate the frump factor. Or the pilgrims had some hot fashion sense.


Oh, and just as long as we're on the topic of pilgrims, I think it's time for confessions of a closet nerd. When I was in second grade, I was a pilgrim for Halloween. I had a long, grey dress, an apron, and a bonnet. I thought it was the most amazing costume EVER and I may have worn it in third grade, too. I guess I've always been a fan of Puritanical dressing....


Less Puritanical, however, is the belt around my head.

Classics

Shirt: Target
Jeans: 7 for all Mankind (thrifted)
Booties: Aldo
Earrings: Turkey

This is an outfit I've been dreaming of wearing for the longest. Is it earth shatteringly creative? Nope. Is it new and exciting? Also no. Is it classic? Yes.


For some reason, it's the classics that give me a hard time. Good jeans are hard to find for me - somewhere between my waist and my booty, and my thighs, it all makes me crazy and I give up. But these worked out. Are they my most comfortable jeans? No; they're a little too low rise for that. But they do work.


And then we've got the white button-up. Y'all know these are not made for women larger than a B cup, right? But B and I wandered into Target while we were in the States and I found this shirt on the clearance rack. The second button buttoned, so it was a go. It's still a bit loose elsewhere, especially tied this way, but I think that's fixable.


So, while this might be as classic as they come, it wasn't the most effortless look. Am I the only one who has the hardest time ever finding jeans and button ups? Someone let me know I'm not alone....

Not my favorite

Shirt: Gap
Dress (worn as skirt): Ann Taylor
Socks: Target
Boots: Nine West
Belt: Target
Earrings: Target

You win some, you lose some. I wanted to like this outfit more; maybe it's the hair that's throwing it off. Either that, or the fit of this shirt.


So, I'm ambivalent. But, it's done, it's worn, and it's on the Internet. Let's not do this again, Frances, okay? Okay.


The end.

Mix it Up

Blue and white striped oxford: J Crew Factory Store
Brown skirt: New York & Co. (remixed)
Blue cami (invisible in these shots): Target (remixed)
Nude pumps: Nine West (remixed)
Gold chandelier earrings: Kohl's (remixed)
Silver and turquoise bracelet: Chaps (remixed)
Headband: Scunci (remixed)

I got this shirt during my last trip to VA and I loved it, but it's been a bit hard to style. It's billed as a boyfriend shirt, which means it's cut a bit loosely. My original plan was to tuck it into a pencil skirt, but it was too voluminous for that to work out well. I wore it with skinny jeans around the house the other day, but I wasn't head over heels with that look - I'd thought maybe I could belt it, but that didn't quite work, either.


The face I'm making here pretty much sums up my ambivalence about all the ways I've tried to wear this shirt. While I think that this is the most successful of the combinations, I still feel that it's not quite where I want it. Give me a couple more days, and I think I'll figure it out. In the meantime, any and all suggestions are welcome....


One thing I am thankful for is the way this outfit looks quite professional even though I am also super comfy. This was pretty great since I had an unexpected meeting with a parent after school.

Also, I enjoyed the gold/silver mix:

I figure it's okay because A, these items are so far away from one another and B, I already mix black and brown, which I'm sure is a greater fashion sin.

Also, shout out to my mom for giving me this bracelet which I've already worn so many times I've lost count. How do you know me so well?!



Oh, and a few of my thrifting finds are up on the etsy shop.
For example, there's this fabulous polka dot top:


And this slinky top:


Be on the look out for these fine finds:
This very Nice tunic (pronounced the French way, of course)


and this party tee: