Outfit: April 4, 2011

This is a weird day. It's raining and warm, and at one point, we had lightening. I am not used to this sixty some-odd degree weather. I couldn't figure out how to not wear five layers of sweaters and a big fuzzy Russian hat. So basically, I wore the almost identical outfit from last week BUT I am wearing one of my other eight pairs of black trousers and blue flats. And a necklace. Wow. Aren't I freakin' creative. OH! I almost forgot. I rolled up the pants a little to give them a warmish summery fun loving sort of feel. (Translation: they are too long with flats and I don't want them dragging on the wet ground.)

I did buy a fun dress at a vintage store on Friday on super sale. Let's all high five that! Said dress will appearing in a post near you very soon!

The Outfit
Blouse/tunic thing: Merona
Black trousers: Merona
Blue shoes: xhiliration
Seriously, Target? Please sponsor a wardrobe, I mean, outfit for me.
Necklace: All That Glitters
EVEN MY UNDERWEAR IS FROM TARGET!

Where: Work, lunch with friend, Co-Op

Outfit: April 4, 2011

So this outfit is a remix in every sense of the word - you've seen all these pieces in the past few weeks, just not all together. But I'm still sick today and so I reached for old, comfortable favorites. Taking my photo every day has made me realize there are some real workhorses in my wardrobe - this brown cardigan is certainly one of them! And these boots, which really need to go to the cobbler for new heels - but I can't spare them from the rotation until it warms up.

Brown cardigan: Target
Purple jersey dress: Target
Brown leggings: Old Navy
Harness boots: White Mountain
Scarf: TJ Maxx
Wings ring: Payless

Where: Tons of errands, work at home, hopefully a pre-birthday pedicure and then dinner at my aunt's.

The Outfit: April Fool's Day

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I would like to fool myself into thinking I'm not all that frumpy today but the evidence proves otherwise. I should have pulled the jacket down so it didn't bunch up around the, you guessed it, my boobages. Honestly, they don't look that large and in charge in real life but like I said, the pictures indicate otherwise. I am feeling blah today as it is April and still snowing. I realize I live in the snow belt, so to speak, but still. I want to kick Mother Nature. I'll refrain from violence for the time being.

The Outfit.
Black swing jacket: Motherhood Maternity (again no, I'm not pregnant but I really do like swing jackets and this is the only one I have)
Olive green shirt: Merona
Curvy Jeans: Gap
Shoes: Mossimo
Bad attitude: Frumptastic

Where: Work, Indian restaurant.

Here is well dressed man:

Outfit: March 31, 2011 - Sparkle Edition

First, let me say that Frumptastic made me do it.

Second, I have a miserable head cold and headache, and putting on sequins this morning was about the last thing I wanted to do. This is actually the second sequined outfit I put on; the first involved a sequin t-shirt and cord blazer, and just wasn't cutting it.

Third, I only had time to take one shot this morning. I'm not thrilled with the rumpling going on on my right shoulder, but what can you do?

I am all for sequins during the day. If it was a little warmer, I probably would have broken out my sequined flats as well. Today was a little trying - see above, re: headache - but any other day I would have found this pretty fun. Even if I do feel a little like a bumblebee in these wide horizontal stripes. I bought this shirt a few years ago but rarely wear it due to its awkward length... Over skinny jeans seems to be the right combo.

Roll-neck long-sleeve t-shirt: Mudd/Kohl's
Striped sequin tunic: H&M
Skinny jeans: Gap
Boots: Target
"Invisible" rhinestone necklace: bridesmaid gift from Frumptastic
Big black ring: Overstock.com

Where: Swim class, mattress shopping, lunch out, work at home, crazy amounts of laundry... who knows what else?

Outfit: March 31, 2011 - The Sparkle Edition

Recently I have been devouring numerous independent fashion blogs. Some of them are listed in our Inspiration links. It made me realize that I need to take some more risks and not be scared just because I am unhappy with my size and shape. Sally McGraw coincidentally had a great post today regarding one's happiness, health, and size. I think I might need to bookmark it as a reminder.

So today is all about SPARKLES! I am not seeing any clients today so I can be a little more daring in my outfit. Originally I wanted to wear a Banana Republic jean jacket but it was too short and did not look quite right. And it wouldn't button over my ample boobage. There I go again talking about my boobage! Hello, Post-Breastfeeding Boobage! You scare me a little! So instead I pulled out a slightly dressier cardigan to go over it. I think it works.

And speaking of size and happiness. I purchased these cords from Old Navy back in December when I was about 12 pounds heavier and nothing in my closet fit. They are now too big and when I wear a belt with them, it looks like I am wearing an adult diaper. Not that there is anything wrong with adult diapers. There are days where I might benefit from one after carrying a large baby. HIYOOOOO! I took off the belt for the photos and now I have to walk around holding on to my belt loop so I don't lose my trousers. Pants around ankles at work: not very professional.

The last picture is an "outtake" so to speak and yes, it does show my face in it but not totally. It made me laugh because it looks like I am doing the Robot which I totally am not. Maybe.

Sparkle Outfit:
Black scarf: Pashmina knockoff
Black cardigan: Miu Miu
Sequin sweater: The Limited
Tank: Banana republic
Pink cords: Old Navy
Boots: Nine West

Where: Work, maybe to the cafe downstairs but probably not. Oh, and the hair dresser to get my hair did. I am thinking growing it out but having chunky bangs. Wish me luck!

Outfit: March 30, 2011

Now that the weather is sunny, we can venture outside for our photography sessions. It is a brisk 39 degrees here but drop another 20 degrees because I am on the top of the parking garage and it is extra windy and cold. What I do for fashion.

Today we used the Hipstamatic App on my iPhone and I think it gives the photo an edge. The added bonus is that it hides the mystery stain on my pants. That is what you get for having a toddler! At least I know it is not spit up. Snot, possibly; spit up, no.

I bought the shirt this weekend at Target. I think where I failed in this outfit is not wearing it with more tailored pants. I think it would look better with either skinny pants or leggings. I do not know if I am ready to make that step yet as I am still wide waist deep in my weight loss struggle. That's a whole other story. Additionally, I need to shorten a lot of my pants. I've been putting it off for ages now and looking at this photo makes me realize that it needs to be done sooner rather than later. Did you know if you are 5 foot four and under that you are considered petite by Old Navy sizing?

Next weekend my friend is visiting and we decided to do a little thrift store shopping to see if we can come up with any fun places to spice up our wardrobes. I think I am ready to take more risks. I love the 1950's and 1960's style - think Mad Men and Joan - but nothing in my wardrobe fits the bill. I figure if I start looking and perhaps keep my eye on ModCloth, I can make my wardrobe evolve.

The outfit:
Grey Tunic: Merona
Pants: Banana Republic
Shoes: AE from Payless
Necklace: Superhero Designs
Watch: Swatch
Jade beaded bracelet: purchased in Taiwan

Where: Work, paper shredding facility, cobbler, co-op

Outfit: March 30, 2011

It's Wednesday, which is usually Action Day in our house. So no matter how wistfully I look at my dresses on a Wednesday, it has to be jeans. No question. This morning found me crawling in and out of a giant pit of foam blocks, desperately searching for my dignity... I'm thinking a dress wouldn't have cut it.

Blue wrap sweater: Ann Taylor
Brown tank: Old Navy
Jeans: Calvin Klein bootcut
Harness boots: White Mountain
Metallic brown scarf: can't remember

Where: Gymnastics class, furniture workshop, lunch out with family, dentist, playing outside in the mud, work at home.

Outfit: March 29, 2011

I've never worn rust with grey before. Huh. Other than that, I have very little to say about this outfit... I still have a little bit of toddler-birthday-festivity-hangover (despite not having one solitary drop of alcohol - although come to think of it, that may have helped!). So I was going for comfort. I also rarely wear these jeans without a long top... but the cardigan is long in most areas so I figured I was safe!

Flyaway cardigan: Max Studio
Rust v-neck t-shirt: Kohl's
Grey skinny jeans: Old Navy
Boots: Target
Necklace: Zinnia

Where: Waiting for repairman, pediatrician, lunch out, work at home, game night!

Outfit: March 29, 2011

Although it is a beautiful sunny day, the temperatures are hovering in the high 20's or low 30's. However, that did not prevent me from picking a springy color to brighten up my mood and outfit. I purchased this sweater and the pants at Target this weekend. I've been wanting a few shirts and sweaters with embellishments on them but I've been hesitant about making the jump. I found a happy medium: a sweater in a fun spring color and the embellishments (is that really the right word) are the same color. And no rhinestones were killed to make this sweater. I feel quiet comfortable in it and I think matched with simple black pants tones it down for me. It's not like I am THAT conservative by any stretch of the imagination when it comes to fashion but I worry about wearing anything that isn't mostly tailored and not froofy. Foofy? Fluffy? I think I now have eight pairs of black pants. Excessive? Perfect? Who cares?

Sweater: Target
Camisole: Elle (Kohls)
Pants: Target
Shoes: Target
(Despite the fact that my outfit is almost entirely made up of Target clothing, this post is not paid by Target although I would be happy to accept clothing, belts, appliances and some of their cute funky furniture if they wish to send it to me.)

Where: work, picking up the little man (my child, not my husband), home. I need to remember to change out of this outfit before dinner or else it will be ruined! Ruined I say!

Outfit: March 28, 2011

Today is my little man's birthday! And while it is not a costume party, today I am dressed as Pimp Yeti. I am not sure how I feel about the shirt-tucked-in look. Now I'm wishing I'd photographed it with the shirt untucked as well.

I found this shaggy, lined brown shrug for a whopping 98% off of its original price. And, having recently been inspired by a post at Blue Collar Catwalk, I grabbed it. I am working on trying to figure out how to style it. I figured I'd ease into things with a same-color shirt. But I'm imagining some much more dramatic pairings for the future!

Shaggy shrug: Anne Klein
V-neck t-shirt: Kohl's
Belt: thrifted
Jeans: Levi's "Curve ID" bootcut
Harness boots: White Mountain
Pimp medallion: Shopthelook.net
Giant gold ring: Shopthelook.net

Where: Birthday stuff! Work at home, family party. Also: recovering from yesterday's "kid" birthday party.

Outfit: March 28, 2011

I apologize for my absence last week but believe it or not, work freaking got in the way. Not only did it get in the way of me posting, it got in the way of me not dressing so frumptastically. You would think that being interviewed on television would make me more aware of wearing the best colors for me and actually putting on enough makeup so I didn't look like I lived under a rock. Oh no, let's find a nice bland color to go with your washed out complexion! WHEEE!!

I have a confession. I really wanted to wear another suit which looks better on me but my closet was so packed tight and in such bad condition, I could not find it. Believe me, I am hanging me head in shame which is kind of hard to do while typing and looking at the computer monitor.

So, what did I do about said disorganization? In the effort of getting our house ready to sell in a month (fingers, toes, legs, and arms crossed - again, hard to type with all that crossing), I cleaned out my closet! And guess what!? My beautiful dark charcoal grey suit dress was crumpled on the floor in a corner. Way to take care of your wardrobe, Frumptastic. Now my closet is all nice and neat and organized. AND, while I was in Target, I bought a few items to spice up my wardrobe.

Now to the outfit:

Black sweater: Motherhood Maternity (No, I am not pregnant, I just like the sweater and I'm fat)
Grey pants: Banana Republic (these are a fave I found lovingly crumpled on the closet floor)
Metallic Shoes: Mossimo (does anyone else have to buy ballet flats in a larger size than other shoes?)
Necklace: All That Glitters (I am thinking I need to make a run there for some more fun accessories)

Where: Work, perhaps the cobbler to pick up my husband's belt, not to Arby's where I want some chicken tenders)

Outfit: March 26, 2011

Grey wool dress: J.Crew, on supersale and then altered
Wrap cardigan: boutique in Providence
Boots: Tsubo Kampot
Argyle tights: Goodwill (new not used, used tights would be kind of weird)
Necklace: Baked Beads
Bracelet: a gift, Tiffany

Where: Memorial service for a friend.

Outfit #2: March 25, 2011

This is actually a pretty plain outfit, but it elicited a compliment from my husband, so I'll take that as good!

Metallic cowlneck sweater: Ann Taylor LOFT
Pinstripe pants: Old Navy from many years ago, back when their quality was better
Pointy boots: Rockport
Silver belt: TJ Maxx
Bracelet: gift, Tiffany

Where: Date night! Whee!

Outfit: March 25, 2011

Oh, look who is back! It's Frumptastic being especially frumpy. Somebody needs a full mirror for the mornings so she can see that she might look pregnant when she is not actually pregnant. Yay! I wanted to go with a somewhat business on top party on the bottom look but I sort of failed. The sweater vest is cut too low and has an empire waist going on. It ends up looking misshapen and unbalanced. Sort of like my boobages. This weekend I intend to do a closet clean out as we are getting out house prepared for selling. I am hoping that I can weed out my clothes and perhaps find some treasures hidden in the depth of my closet. We shall see.

Black sweater vest: Old Navy
White button down shirt: Teeej purchase
Long and lean jeans (more like wide ass on me): Gap
Clogs (shocker): Dansko
Necklace: Superhero Designs

Where: work, lunch with friend, picking up the little man at the early learning center (that's a snobby way of saying daycare), dinner with friends.

Outfit: March 25, 2011

Do you ever have one of those days when things are just... not right? Nothing fits, my hair's a disaster, my skin looks awful. One of those days. Anyhow, I had a completely different outfit on this morning but it was just too cold. I needed something comfy... I needed something cashmere. (I love the pattern of this scarf but have not yet successfully figured out how to wear it. I only had it on a few hours today before I felt too Rydell High and took it off.)

Asymmetric cashmere sweater: Alfani/Macy's from a zillion years ago
Navy jeans: Lauren Conrad
Grey flannel loafers: Nicole from ages ago
Scarf: Vera Bradley
Bracelet: a gift, Tiffany

Where: Music class, groceries, work at home.

You may get another outfit post tonight - it's date night! Let's see if I can find something to wear that breaks me out of this blah mood.

Outfit: March 24, 2011

I wore this cardigan/vest pretty much nonstop around the holidays - I can't believe winter almost ended without me posting it here! It comes with a bathrobe-esque belt that I've never liked. So I started out today wearing this belt over it instead, then just ditched the belt altogether, which was much more realistic for my day's activities anyhow.

Faux-fur-trim vest: Macy's
Striped shirt: Kohl's
Jeans: Calvin Klein bootcut
Harness boots: White Mountain
"Vintage" butterfly bracelet: Forever 21 (bought it last year, but this is my first time wearing it, and man it's heavy!)

Where: Veterinarian, work at home, washing one extremely muddy dog, unspeakable amounts of laundry.

Outfit: March 23, 2011

This is a rather boring color palette but I couldn't resist wearing this scarf since it's exactly the same colors as the shirt. And this is my all-time favorite t-shirt. I ordered it online and once it arrived I went back to get more, but they were gone. Now I'm on an eternal quest to find it again.
Interesting by-product of this daily photo thing: I'm becoming much more aware of what is actually flattering on me, versus what I thought was flattering on me. Not always the same thing.

Striped drape-neck shirt: Gap
Ivy-print scarf: Lands End Canvas
Jeans: Calvin Klein bootcut
Harness boots: Target
Studded grey bracelet: Baked Beads

Today I needed to be dressed for action. Where: Work at home, gymnastics class, errands, more work at home, and pizza/arcade tonight.

Outfit: March 22, 2011

New mini-resolution: Don't just save the "fancier" clothes for special occasions. I would say my wardrobe is divided roughly 60/40 between everyday clothes and "fancier" clothes. That means I'm waiting to wear 40% of my clothes on maybe 5% of my days. Besides, who says you can't wear sequins to the library?
On another note, I'm still not loving these jeans. I dragged them out of my "seldom worn" pile recently - they're purportedly "slimming" but I actually think they add bulk and look suspiciously like mom jeans. My regular jeans are more slimming. These may go into the next Goodwill box.

Sequin-trim cardigan: Kohls
Red tank sweater: Gap from a zillion years ago
Jeans: Levi's 512
Harness boots: Target
Necklace: Kohls (I adore this necklace, it goes with everything I own. I'd link to it here but I don't think they make it anymore.)

Where: Storytime at the library, errands, work at home, farmshare pickup and dinner at my parents' house.

Outfit: March 21, 2011

We had such a gorgeous weekend that I was all excited for spring to arrive. This is what I put on this morning. Did this outfit last in this incarnation? No, it did not. Right after I took this photo, it started snowing. So the shoes got swapped and the cardigan got buttoned and the scarf got tied up around my neck. Someday winter will end.

Striped t-shirt: Costco
Cardigan: Target
Jeans: Levi's 512 (supposedly "slimming" but I am skeptical)
Shoes: Target
Scarf: Forever 21
Circle bracelet: sammoon.com

Where: Working at home, unpacking, laundry, cleaning, general catching-up.

Weekend outfits

So! I was on the road this weekend with my family. For the first time (ever), instead of just tossing some items in a bag and figuring it out later, I planned and packed outfits. I have been reading a lot about packing a capsule wardrobe and this was my first attempt. I started by picking one item that I would wear every day - in this case, the boots. They set the black-and-grey based color scheme for the weekend.

Friday's outfit:
Blue three-quarter-sleeve t-shirt: Old Navy
Sweater tunic: Old Navy
Leggings: Old Navy
Boots: Target
Studded grey bracelet: Baked Beads

This was apparently a very Old-Navy-heavy day. Where: music class, packing, a long car ride, unpacking at a hotel, dinner at family's house.

Saturday's outfit:
Polka-dot blouse: JC Penney
Camisole: Costco
Cardigan: Old Navy
Skinny jeans: Gap
Double-loop necklace: Kohl's
Boots: Target
Big black ring: Overstock.com
Zebra-print belt (too bad you can't see it!): thrifted

I actually wore this most of the day with this yellow scarf. Where: awake at an ungodly hour, breakfast and swimming in the hotel, shopping, lunch, nap, dinner with family again.

Sunday's outfit:
Black cowlneck tunic: Macy's
Grey skinny jeans: Old Navy
Boots: Target
Bracelet: gift, Tiffany

This outfit took a beating before I got a chance to photograph it. Please excuse the baggy knees and dust! I also wore the yellow scarf with this outfit much of the day. Where: again awake at an ungodly hour, breakfast in hotel, re-packing, errands, long drive home with stops for lunch and shopping, then two hours of playing in the muddy backyard. Time for an early bedtime, I think!

So, there it is, my first attempt at a capsule wardrobe! Actually I quite liked it. I liked already knowing every day (when it was hectic get-ready time) what I was going to wear. And I packed lighter than I ever had before, but felt good about how I looked each day. Definitely going to do this again!