closet orphans and optical illusions

     Calvin Klein cowl-neck striped top, Macy's

denim pencil skirt, Old Navy

earrings, Thai market in Seattle, gift from sis

       About two weeks ago, I signed up for Go Chic or Go Home and started the process of photographing my clothing to upload to my account. As I did so, I realized with dismay that while I've taken steps toward finding my style and expanding beyond jeans and a tee, many of the things I own are underused - what I call "closet orphans."
       It was a bit distressing the more I thought about it. All those nice things that aren't in the regular rotation - do they represent money and closet space wasted? Should I knuckle down and stop buying cocktail dresses on deep clearance and only get sensible things that are suitable for both work and the weekend?

 
      With that in mind, I decided to wear one of my closet orphans - this striped top - with this recently rediscovered pencil skirt. (I know the skirt appeared on the blog this week, but it's also going steady with the washing machine - promise!) While I love stripes, this top is tricky to style. I like that it's drapey, but being short-waisted, I end up with a lot of fabric bunched around my middle, which is not the most flattering fit. I played around with wearing it untucked, half-tucked (first photo), and fully tucked (second photo). It might look better with pants instead of a skirt, and a blazer might be a good addition to counteract all that drapey fabric.

  
  P.S.: Sis gave me these earrings for Christmas, saying that she thought they were "my style." She was right, and they're my new favorites. 
   What lovely thing(s) do you have lurking in your closet unworn? Or, how do you make sure that you wear everything in your closet?

Try-it-out Tuesday: lace {at last}

JJ Basics cardigan, hand-me-down

Hollister "Pacific" lace tee, $15.90  (here)

denim pencil skirt, Old Navy

necklace, Forever 21

      Let it be officially noted that I usually dread entering stores like Hollister and Abercrombie & Fitch. The overwhelming miasma of perfume/cologne, the dim lighting, the weird store layout so there's dead ends everywhere you go, the masses of tourists dropping $200 at a time on piles of logo tees ... ugh. 

     But, I did brave the store to get the Mr. two buttondowns, one of which I gave him for Christmas. They were too small, so I headed back into the store to return them. Since I had to squeeze past the tourists anyways, I decided to take a look at the sale section. And lo and behold, there were two cute tops in the sale section. I've been wanting something with lace for a long time, so I was excited to find this.

 

Deep thoughts? Or wondering how much candy I ate today?

     While I love both denim and pencil skirts, I have hardly worn this skirt. When I bought it, I was concerned that it was too fitted in the back for work (because who wants a bunch of fourth-graders ogling their rear? Not me.) But I decided to take a few side shots to see how it looked, and I think that while you can see my shape, it's not distracting (ha!) or inappropriate.

 

  One thing I don't like about this top is that it has a ruffle at the front hem. But I do like that its cut accommodates layering a very light cap-sleeve tee underneath (below).

 Stem turquoise tee, Nordstrom Rack

Beach by INC linen shorts, Macy's

 

That dratted ruffle in the front

     Do you have a lot of lace in your closet? (I'll confess that I've always found lace itchy and thus avoided it, but this top is comfy).  And how would you style this top? 

Try-it-out (Thursday): all thumbs & imaginary travels

     I can't figure out why I'm having such a hard time getting Try-it-out Tuesday photographed and posted by, well, Tuesday. Perhaps it's that school's over and I'm just not leaving the house much? Perhaps the real time-suck has been Youtube how-to hairstyling videos? Recently I've spent some time watching these videos then trying to (futilely) re-create these styles with my own hair.

Rafaella silk shirt, thrifted from Goodwill for $4.99

 denim pencil skirt, Old Navy

Dansko Sakura sandals, Nordstrom Rack

broken and randomly re-knotted necklace, Forever 21

beaded wrap bracelet, Macy's, very old

         My hair is quite long and I'm not planning to cut it for another month.  Initially, I thought it would be fun to find some cute new ways to wear it. I've figured out that: a) I have exponentially more hair than most of the folks posting these tutorials, which means more hair to fumble around with, and b) I have no patience for braiding my hair. Which means this very simple twisted ponytail is a big deal around here (it's OK if you're laughing). ;)

    After wearing this all day, I realized what a great outfit it would be for traveling stylishly. Lightweight crinkled silk shirt = easy to wash and wear as well as cool for hot days. Dark-wash denim pencil skirt = feminine but still comfortable. Chunky-heeled sandals = cool and perfect for walking tours. Add in some inexpensive jewelry and you've got an outfit.

     Sadly, the only traveling I'll be doing this summer will be courtesy of some riveting books borrowed from the public library. I'm not complaining - it's a great way to spend some much-coveted free time. :)