Lumberjack in the City

Ah, the joys of "borrowed" clothing. Since we ended up sleeping over at my mom's last night, I raided my little sister's closet this morning. She is on vacation, so I guess I stole the shirt, scarf and Uggs... thanks, Jess.

Today I am wearing:

-plaid flannel shirt, F21

-grey skirt, Chace (yup, same as yesterday)

-grey patterned tights

-brown Uggs

-plaid flannel scarf, I am guessing purchased from a street vendor since it has no name on the label

-blue fuzzy beret, H&M

I would very much like to keep this shirt. My birthday is coming up... in May...think about it, Jess. I added the scarf for an additional warm layer and to amp up the plaidness going on in the rest of the outfit. I quite like the idea of repeating a pattern in different scales. Here is the shirt alone:

Cute, comfy, and easy (sorry, I couldn't think of another c!)

What you don't see here is the warm sweater I stole from my mother for another layer, or the second pair of tights underneath the grey ones. This is my first day doing the double layer, because it is just that cold here in NY. I like the warmth, but it does feel awfully constricting to have two layers of spandex condensing your innards.

Today I wore a shirt, sweater, scarf, skirt, 2 layers of tights, Uggs, a down coat, gloves and a hat and was still chilly! How are you all keeping warm?

Making a Statement

Whew! A day packed with meetings... most of them interesting. Dinner with my sister at my mother's house, and a sleepover! We're off to watch Terminator 4.

 

Today I am wearing:

-flowered tee, Bulldog

-grey sweater, Gap

-grey skirt, Chace

-silver tights, Me Moi

-metallic belt, Gap

-grey patent loafers, Calvin Klein

-blue statement necklace, ? from Lohemann's

-diamond bezel necklace, gift from Dad

-grey hat, Anthropologie

A bit of a random hodgepodge of items going on here, but I think it all worked out. I love the pattern on this shirt, which I practically wore every single day this summer after purchasing it and the striped  one on sale for $15 (total.) I have been into billowy shirts and fitted waists recently, and I decided to try it out, and was really happy with the result. After putting it on, I realized that the color worked really well with my statement necklace:

  

I added the belt and shoes, and voila! Grey, blue, and lots of metallic. I especially like the tights, which add a great texture and shine.

 

Sunday Styles

 

Pictures from Sunday turned out pretty poorly, so I'll make it quick.

I was wearing:

-brown sweater, still stolen from sister's friend

-camel corduroy skirt, H&M

-brown tights, H&M

-red moccasin boots, vintage

-patterned scarf, Target

-diamond bezel necklace, gift from Dad

I wanted to mix up the sweater a bit, so I layered the scarf underneath as a shirt (with some overhang at the top.) Even on casual Sunday, these boots make me feel snazzy.

I Love the '80s

Nothing says love like buying your husband a sweater and then stealing it. Today, I'm dressing as I would have had I been alive for more than 4 years of the '80s.

Today I am wearing:

-grey and yellow striped sweater, Calvin Klein

-black cotton pencil skirt, American Apparel

-grey sweater tights, Anne Klein

-blue/grey boots (scrunched down), vintage

-creme and gold belt, came with a Tahari dress

-grey beret, Anthropologie

-green and silver earrings, Ayala Bar

I don't know why I love this sweater so much. Maybe the neon yellow stripes amidst a sea of grey? I always try to push my husband to wear it, and I finally got fed up on Saturday night and stole it for myself. I wore it out to pizza unbelted, and felt quite sloppy, so I attempted to make it a bit more me today with the belt and blousing. The scrunchy boots added to the '80s aesthetic for me. Too bad I need to wear a hat, or I'd have teased my hair in an homage to mall rats everywhere.

Since my office is freezing, I threw this scarf into my bag on my out the door. And the glass ring you see in the pictures below. I think I have half my wardrobe shoved into my poor handbag , as well as my makeup, which I applied on the train. Nothing like saving those extra minutes at home.

Wedding Style Flashback

After over a year and a half of marriage, we finally went through our proofs last week and chose the photos for our wedding album (which unfortunately do not exist digitally. Hence the non-pro photos that will be featured in this post.) Did I mention that my middle name is procrastination? It was nice to relive the day through images, especially since a considerable amount of time has passed. Definitely a bittersweet experience to see the photos of my father, who died 3 months ago.

Here is a bit of that day in snapshots:

 

For an explanation of Jewish wedding rituals, check this article. In the picture immediately above, we are dancing while wearing traditional Bukharian robes, since my husband's family hails from Central Asia.

Finding a modest wedding dress can be a challenge. I found it particularly difficult since I had in mind a very specific idea of how I wanted to look: sleek, classic, like a vintage movie star. There are a number of companies that cater to Orthodox Jews seeking gowns with sleeves and high necklines, but nearly every dress I found had layers and layers of crinoline. When I asked about something a little more streamlined, one of the consultants in a store asked "But don't you want to look like a princess on your wedding day?" To which I responded : "Definitely not." It was then that I knew I needed to look elsewhere.

I ended up purchasing my dress at the Macy's Bridal Salon, which carries the Demetrios line. This is the Demetrios Ultra Sophisticates #1337, which had the bare bones of what I was looking for- lace, tiers, fitted- but looked like this originally:

As you can see, some major changes needed to happen before this baby was going to walk me down the aisle. Here is the sketch of the custom gown we created from this dress:

I was incredibly satisfied by how it turned out after the additions and alterations:

We're hopefully going to get the digital version of the pictures we've chosen for the album, and when/if we do I'll be sure to post a few for y'all. Thanks for indulging me in my trip down memory lane!

On Christmas Day

While most of the world was asleep, I was working on Christmas morning. Thankfully we were supplied with bagels and mimosas for our trouble!

 

I was wearing:

-grey sweatshirt dress, Anthropologie

-white tee, Rebecca Beeson

-navy tights

-brown boots, Studio Polini

-silver belt, H&M

-silver hammered necklace, Hodaya

Definitely a day for comfort. Even though the overall look is a bit sloppy, this dress is so soft and comfortable that I keep it in the rotation. I last wore this dress in October, styled a bit differently:

Walker in the City

On Friday, I went with a long-sleeved layer underneath and this ridiculous belt, which is the silver spangly equivalent of a utility belt. As you can see, it has two little compartments (in which I invariably find a bit of money. Last time it was a $20, Friday it was 50 cents. Talk about a recession.)

I also whipped out my Chanukkah  gift from my mother-in-law over the weekend. This is definitely a more orgnized and  stylish solution than the million little jewelry cases in which I had been storing my earrings, etc in before! In general, I am a huge sucker for anything mirrored. Thanks to her, and to my sneaky little husband who noted what I admired in Urban and told her to purchase it for me.

Mirror, Mirror Jewelbox

How do you store your accessories? I'm always looking for new solutions, especially for my many hats and scarves. Any good ideas?

Dotted and Striped

Experiments in pattern mixing: stripes and polka dots. I'm wearing this at work, where I just met with a fascinating artist interested in doing a performance piece on radicals in lower Manhattan.

Today I am wearing:

-creme and black striped sweater, H&M

-white button down, Banana Republic

-blue and black polka dot skirt, T by Tahari

-black tights

-brown boots, Studio Polini

-black belt, H&M

-blue beret, H&M

I wish I had more patterns in my closet, especially skirts. If only I could mix with reckless abandon...Today was my pretty conservative attempt with the stripes and dots, which were the first patterns that jumped out at me this morning. This is something that I will try to work on in the future, because I really like the personal touch it provides to an outfit. In with quirky and unique, out with boring!

 

The rest of the outfit is pretty typically me: sweater, button down, skirt, belt. This lineup keeps me professional but comfortable, and the layers definitely come in handy in December. Speaking of layering-- does anyone have under-skirt suggestions? I tried double tights this morning was too hot. I'd like something along the lines of a warmer slip.

 A very merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate, and a happy day off to the rest of you!

Tribal Peacock

Work and then off to dinner at the in-laws.

Today I am wearing:

-black sweater, Kelsi

-tribal printed tunic shirt, F21

-black sweater skirt, DKNY

-black tights, H&M

-brown boots, Studio Polini

-necklace, H&M

-pink silk/wool scarf, gift from Dad from Italy

-black wool beret, Target

I woke up late and for some reason decided to wear the shirt I have owned for over a year but have never worn because I can't figure out how to style it. Always a bad idea to try something difficult when short on time, but somehow I pulled this outfit together quickly. I love the fun tribal/peacock pattern (can't decide which it more closely resembles) and the billowiness, but I had a problem layering underneath: it is completely sheer, and every shirt I tried under didn't quite work. I solved that problem today by putting a simple A-shirt under and layering a sweater over for coverage and warmth.

I added the scarf for yet another layer in the keep-warm arsenal, and the boots to more easily navigate the now ice-covered streets and sidewalks of NY. Take that, 21 degree weather!

And I had to include this little snapshot of winter sun reflecting onto the warm wood here at the museum. Working in such a beautiful place definitely cheers my spirits.