keep or return? Love Fire pants

    My shopping ban on clothes is officially over! It was very instructive to not buy new clothes for a few months. Here are some things I learned:

• my needs are really wants
• I own a lot of clothes, but usually wear the same things over (and over)
• my closet needs some serious purging
• With some creativity, I can shop my closet for theme/special events (pajama night, storytelling presentation), save money, and look good   :)
• There are some items that I don't own that would add a lot of versatility to my wardrobe

   Up until recently I thought pants, skirts, and any other bottom had to come in a neutral. Black was preferred, although navy, brown or charcoal gray were within the realm of possibility.
  Then I started seeing folks rocking colored pants everywhere. The girl sitting next to me in my database searching class with bright purple skinnies. Courtney of I Can Be Many Things with her fantastic hot pink pants. And on and on ...
   Colored pants moved to the top of my shopping list. I tried on a bunch of colored pants at Nordstrom Rack this weekend, and picked up these green Love Fire pants. They had other brands available, but I noticed that this one seemed to fit the best.

    I'm undecided about the color. They had red Love Fire pants as well, but they weren't in my size. Somehow I always pictured myself jumping into the color pool with a splash and buying red, purple or something bright. I'm also not sure about what colors to wear with this green, but I kind of like the way it looks with my animal-print scarf.

   I'm also not sure about all the creasing, but maybe that's because they're made of a lighter material? It could also be because the hem needs shortening and the excess fabric is creeping up my legs.
   What do you think -- keep or return?

Try-it-out Tuesday: the complexity of apple pie

        After looking at my posts, I've realized that I'm a little like Sally in the movie "When Harry Met Sally." My thought process when getting dressed seems to run like this: I like this shirt, but it's too girly; I'm going to toughen it up with a shirt jacket. This print is too big or overwhelming, so I'm going to cover up part of it by tucking it in or layering something over it. I'm not sure whether this reflects creativity or if it really means I should just buy clothes that don't need fussing with (???!?)
      Today's challenge: my purple shirt from Goodwill. Love the deep purple, lavender, mint and blue print that reminds me of horseshoes. Don't love that it's extremely shiny polyester (I guess I really do have a thing for the 1970s). I bet that's why it was marked down to $2.50. I figured it would be fun to put together an outfit that makes the shirt look a little more contemporary for Try-it-out Tuesday.

         I ended up taking the necklace off because due to the black cord, it looked like it was floating in the middle of my chest.
        The black sweater, INC petite pants, and earrings (can't see 'em) were previously loved by my mom, friend's aunty and sister, respectively. 
        While sitting in last night's class and listening to the professor explain exactly what he wants for the term paper due on Monday, I realized that I am going to be spending most of the holiday weekend cursing at databases, catching up on a mountain of readings that I need to evaluate, and other similarly fun activities. : P But I hope you have a more relaxing weekend ahead.
        Happy Tuesday!