Dear Erika... (and friends)

Last week my blog friend Erika posted about gym fashion  and the comments were almost better than the post. Seriously funny and if you're a female who works out, go read it and laugh. It has spurred me on to ask my internet friends for some help in the workout gear department. 

I mostly like to work out in shorts and have one pair of capris that I like, which I picked up at Old Navy years ago. They are fitted, but aren't too tight, probably because of years of wear! I would like to add a few other pairs of capris into my wardrobe for cold days, but can't seem to find a pair I like. Even if you haven't tried on a pair of workout capris lately, surely you've at least seen ladies prancing around the stores doing their grocery shopping and realize that those suckers are TIGHT. Like, accentuate every single curve or ripple or cellulite spot hiding in those pants. (Though I will say they're typically black pants, so at least the cellulite looks thinner!) 

Now, when I'm going to work out class, I'm working out with our church members, so I'm slightly more aware of what I'm wearing and try to not wear anything that would cause people to raise some eyebrows. Are there any workout capris that you can actually work out in but yet aren't too tight for the youth minister's wife?  You should know I am not hard core enough to want to spend big bucks on pants, so I'm looking for like Old Navy, Target, etc. so they won't break the budget.  (Unless these pants don't exist at those places. Then I might have a problem!) 

So to my gym fashionistas out there, can you point me to some good capris? My workout gear thanks you!

In closing, let me share this awesome story that happened at our workout class last week. The new year has brought several new members to our class. I am considered a youngin' in the class and we've had even more older folks join. Thursday as we were getting started to start the exercises, our instructor ran to start the music (which we don't normally have) and then came back to make this announcement: "Let me be crude for a moment.... the purpose of the music is two fold: one, because I like it, and two, to cover up your toots!" Y'all. I am still laughing about it. And it is so true! Apparently once you get to a certain age and you start jumping around, you just can't keep it in! 

Diggin' Deep Animal Style

{have you done your part to stop SOPA? do your part now!}

On to another week of diggin' to the depths of my closet! I have to admit, getting ready in the morning seems to take a little bit longer and a little more effort. I am still tempted to go to my "easy" outfits. And, let's be honest, I wore my denim shirt this week. It's certainly easy and it's not a piece that's seen the depths of my closet. {Check out previous WIWW to see it practically every single week!} I did at least pair it up with some new {old} items, so that counts, right?

shirt: walmart
skirt: loft (dd item)
belt: express
shoes: clarks via dillards (dd item)

I'll tell you up front, even as I put this outfit together, I knew there was no way I was going to get rid of any of these pieces. Loft is my favorite store and I will take some major holes and a falling apart item before I'll part with it! And with the shoes, I got this for Christmas either last year or the year before and just love them. The problem is that I got in the habit of wearing flats during travel season and I haven't really transitioned back yet. So, everything about this outfit is still a keeper in my book. I felt very put together in it and will definitely reach for these D.D. items more often!

shirt: walmart
skirt: loft
tights: ??
shoes: gianni bini via dillards

I actually planned on wearing this shirt with a bright colored skirt for a more fun look today, but it was just a no go. I ended up throwing this together last minute and... I think I'm in love. For real. I love the look of dark tights into dark shoes. {you can make fun of me and call them panty hose if you want. tomato/tohmahto. I'm not really a fan of the sheer panty hose, but give me some big thick tights and I could wear them every day!} It's hard to put my finger on exactly what it was, but I just felt very chic and put together in this outfit. You are sure to see more of it in the coming days!

So there's my outfits for this week! Did anyone else take the challenge and pull out some items from your closet that haven't seen the light of day in a while? And, are they tights or panty hose to you? :)



I'm linking up with The Pleated Poppy for What I Wore Wednesday!

Diggin' Deep

I have a problem y'all.

Over the holiday I spent a good portion of one of my days cleaning out and organizing my closet. {If I were a good blogger I would show you a before and after. I'm too prideful to show you that it still isn't all that great. Sorry.} Despite my efforts to get my closet in shape, it because very obvious that my unorganized closet stems from one source: I have way too many clothes.

For real.

I'm actually slightly embarrassed by the problem. I was talking to my friend Leslie {who house sat for us over the holiday} about it and she said, "Well, I hung some clothes up in there and I noticed you certainly have a lot of options!" Bless her heart. She's too good of a Southern woman to say, "Yes, yes woman, you certainly have too many clothes. PURGE."

And it's not like I haven't tried to purge. I really have. Part of the problem comes from the fact that I haven't really changed sizes in several years. Things that I bought several years ago still fit and I still like the items, so I can't bring myself to get rid of them. Plus, I know that I do have some pieces that I bought {or my mom bought for me!} that were more expensive, so knowing how much they cost almost makes it seem unbearable to get rid of them.

Here I sit with a closet packed full of wonderful clothes, yet if I really took a closer look at it, I'm probably only wearing about 1/4 of what I own. Leslie suggested I try Kendi's 30 for 30 challenge, but I told her I really need the opposite, I need to stay away from the same pieces I wear every week!

So, I'm doing just that and creating a challenge for myself:

It's really a simple challenge: every week I'm trying to wear 2 or 3 outfits using pieces that I haven't worn in a while to see if I still like the items and truly want to keep them in my closet.  I've got two outfits that I'm about to show you and it's amazing how actually putting the pieces on and wearing them in public totally changed how I felt about the items as compared to when I just see them on the hanger.

Take this first outfit: {the skirt is the main item I haven't worn in a while}

I bought my jean jacket to be more fitted for t-shirt and tanks. It's really not made to be worn with a sweater. So I already felt slightly "puffy" and self conscious when I was wearing it, but I knew I needed to wear this skirt to start the challenge. So, I'm rocking the skirt all day thinking it's a decent outfit and then we get home to take pictures. Oh. My. Goodness. It was only in SEEING the photos of this skirt that I realize that this was just bad. I've got hips and the skirts just hits at the wrong length so that it makes me look wider and doesn't flatter my curves at all. Honestly, I didn't want to post these photos at all, but this is the reason I'm digging into my closet. I've held onto this skirt because I know I paid a good amount for it at a boutique in my hometown, but now I know that it's just not for me.  To the consignment store it goes! Because I actually wore it out, I know that it's just not right for my body type and I have no qualms about getting rid of it. Diggin' Deep Success #1.

Outfit number two: {the shirt and blazer are DD items}

This blazer certainly doesn't photograph well, but I promise it's polka dotted and not psychedelic like the pictures make it look! I bought this Gap Outlet many a year ago {as, our town hasn't had a Gap Outlet since probably 2007} when blazers were first starting to make a comeback. Honestly, I probably doubted my decision from the moment I brought it home, but I've carried it with me for many years. I have great visions of it being a fun twist on the professional blazer, but the problem is that it's not as fitted for a woman as it should be. So unless I wear it with a belt on the outside, I end up with just a boxy figure.  While I felt comfortable in the outfit and do feel like the blazer looked good on me, I don't think that I will wear it enough to justify keeping it.

As far as the shirt goes, I can't believe this, but it's actually almost TEN years old. {I know, that alone should probably be reason enough to get rid of it.} I wore it to my senior awards ceremony, wow! This is another piece that I know my mom spent a great deal of money on, plus a cowl/turtle neck is a really flattering look for me. So, despite the fact that I haven't worn it in ages, I still hung on to it. I do feel like it looked good under this jacket, but once I put it back on I realize that it's just a tad bit too short for me.

So, on my first Diggin' Deep attempt, I've found 3 pieces of clothing that I've always thought I couldn't get rid of that I'm actually going to be able to take to the consignment store. Thus allowing me to free up some closet space and I'll be making money off of it! Sounds like a win-win situation to me!

What's your closet like? Do you keep it nice, organized with room to spare or are you full to the brim like me? Maybe you'll consider joining me for Diggin' Deep next week :)

Linking up with The Pleated Poppy for WIWW

WIWW #36

I remember two years ago when I purchased my first piece of mustard yellow clothing. It was a 3/4 sleeve shirt and as I stared at it in the dressing room, thinking that it was such a horrible color on my skin tone but I loved it all the same, that it was an okay purchase to make because it would be a good layering piece.

Now, I leave my house late at night because Target had a super cool mustard yellow striped shirt on sale and I had to make sure they didn't sell out before I had a chance to get it. My, how times change!







shirt: target $5 {little boys section}
vest, pants, flower necklace: loft
shoes: gianni bini
other sparkly necklace: kohls

I wish pictures did these pants justice. They're actually a really cool jade green color, but sadly, I can only get them to appear black in pictures. Be prepared to see a lot more of this shirt over the coming weeks. An even though it slightly made me feel like Where's Waldo in stripes, I love it all the same!





shirt: old navy
sweater: francesca's
skirt: kohl's
boots: nine west via dsw
infinity scarf: gift from mom

You know that rule that says that after you get ready in the morning, you should take one accessory off before you leave the house? I totally knew that I should take the scarf off this morning. But it was so warm and cozy so I decided to just go with it. Sometimes rules are made to be broken, huh?

Check out The Pleated Poppy for more What I Wore Wednesdays and Momma Go Round for Real Momma, Real Style!

WIWW #35

The prodigal WIWW daughter has returned home!

Life has slowed down a teeny bit and I'm so glad to be back for WIWW! My life just seemed a little emptier when I wasn't participating and I'm sure you all missed me. {no need to let me know otherwise!}

Here's what I have for this week:

Thanksgiving meal with my family:



sweater: loft
denim shirt: walmart
skirt: kohls
boots: nine west via dsw

I hope you life this outfit. Because it is probably the most comfortable thing to wear, so you will probably be seeing it for the next 8 wiww posts :)

Sunday - Church, Lunch With Friends







other than my jacket and my boots, I'm a walking Loft ad :)
jacket: Klassy Kids, Ruidoso, NM

Monday - Back to Work, {wah wah wahhhh}





I felt like a cute outfit was needed to beat the back to work blues!

denim shirt and belt: walmart
cardi: target
skirt and headband: loft

Tuesday - Work





shirt and cardi: target
pants: j.crew
shoes: gianni bini via dillards
purse: Kate Landry from dillards on major sale black friday!

Y'all. I loved this out. I walked out of the house and was ready to start my own twitter hash tag: #GoBoldOrGoHome. In my mind, I was rockin' all day long. And then, after lunch, I walked through the Sub {Student Union Building at the college I work for} to get a coke and a lot of the students were staring. And in my mind I was like, "psshh, they wish they could have pants this cool." And then people kept looking and finally it hit me. My outfit was not only #GoBigOrGoHome, but it was also #HelloPrimaryColors!

Yeah, it kinda deflated my Go Big bubble :)

Don't forget to check out The Pleated Poppy for more What I Wore Wednesdays!

My last WIWW link up. 

Dear Abby - 9

dear abby,
I was always taught that you couldn't wear brown and black together. For example, if you wear a black skirt, you shouldn't wear brown shoes with it. Is this true, because I've seen several breaking this "rule" recently. So is the "rule" I was taught wrong or are people just breaking this "rule"?

C.C.


Great question C.C! Black and brown has become a new trend that I've been seeing more and more of.  It seems like in the past few years, people have thrown the this common rule out of the window and created a whole new one!

Black and brown are both neutrals and are super easy to pair with almost any color, including each other! Here are some of my favorite, go to outfits that actually combine black and brown together.






And here are some examples of combining the colors that I pulled off of Pinterest:

Source: anntaylor.com via C on Pinterest

Source: thehighheeledhostess.com via Megan on Pinterest

Source: kansascouture.com via Lindsay on Pinterest

{side note: why are they only gorgeous, tiny people pinned for fashion on pinterest? that needs to change!}

If you're thinking about breaking the old rule and creating a new one, here are some tips for wearing black and brown together:

1. Make it obvious! If you wear black from head to toe with black toned jewelry and only wear brown shoes, well then, it will probably look like you got dressed in the dark and grabbed the wrong shoe! {Laugh all you want, but I've had coworkers show up in 2 different shoes because of this!} If I'm going to wear black and brown together, I try to wear gold jewelry to tie it together. To me, gold is a really easy accessory that makes the colors flow together.  Leopard print is another easy way to make the two match, as it has both colors in it.  If you wear a black dress, try to include several accessories in brown so that it's known you meant to wear them together.

2. Start out small. If you think you're going to be self conscious wearing the colors, try wearing an outfit with the two colors for a short amount of time: on a date night, to church, grocery shopping one morning. It's better to ease yourself into the combination, rather than wearing it for a full day and worrying about what rule people believe about the colors!

3. Throw the rules out and fake it till you make it! Here's what you need to remember: wearing black and brown together is totally acceptable. So take your favorite pieces in these colors, create a fabulous outfit and wear it knowing you're rockin' it! Believing you look awesome will increase your confidence, thus increasing how great the outfit looks on you!

Thanks for a great question C.C.!

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have a dear abby question? send me an email at abbyneinast{at}gmail dot com to have it answered!

WIWW #34

If an outfit is worn but no WIWW picture was taken, does the outfit even exist?

I feel like that's my current wiww life! I promise I'm still putting effort into my daily outfits, the pictures just ain't happenin' right now.  Here's what I do have: {please forgive the horrible lighting on both!}

Monday - Work, 8 Hours in the car





dress: francesca's
tights: tj maxx
shoes: gianni bini via dillards
necklace: kohl's

yes. 8 hours in the car. {miserable!} so I was trying for an outfit that would still look presentable at a work dinner after 4 hours in the car for the drive down, but would be comfortable enough to travel in on the way home. I definitely think I achieved that with this outfit. I felt really put together and I think this satin material is virtually indestructible when it comes to getting wrinkles :)

Tuesday, Work, 8 hours in the car hangover :)





maxi dress: beall's, clearance, gift from mom
denim shirt: walmart
belt: old navt
shoes: dillards

After dragging in at 1:30 a.m. last night, I was able to sleep in a little and go into work late. My only objective when getting dressed was to look presentable in the most comfortable way possible. So, I went with this maxi dress! This outfit is a good example of how to transition your summer maxi dresses into fall/winter wear. As a shorter, curvier girl, I was a little self conscious about wearing such bold stripes on my bottom half, but I think the heels helped elongate my legs. I got several compliments, so we'll pretend it works and they weren't just flattering me :)

On a random side note, I think I like this dress so much because it reminds me of Mondo from Project Runway last season. Dude is quirky as all get out {such a nice way to say weird, huh? :)} but I did love the bold patterns he used!

Check out the pleated poppy to see more wiww and women fighting against the sweatpants!
{last week's wiww.}

WIWW #33 - Colored Skirts Edition

Last week was my final full week of traveling for work this semester, so I wasn't able to take that many pictures. I tried to go extra cute for the two pictures I did take for you this week though :)





shirt: walmart
skirt & tights: f21
boots: dsw
peacock pin: loft

this skirt has ribbons that ties in the back. I'm so cool that I wore the skirt all day and didn't realize until I was leaving work that the ribbons weren't through the belt loops like they should have been :)





cardigan: oldnavy
polka dot shirt: francesca's
skirt: j. crew
shoes: clarks brand via dillards

meet my new skirt! I bought this a while back but have waited to wear it. I really need to get it hemmed just a tiny bit to look better with my height, but I was tired of it look pretty in my closet. I feel like it's more of a turquoise than the bright blue it comes off as in these pictures. I hope you like it, because you'll be seeing a lot of it in the coming weeks! What color do you suggest wearing it with?

That's all I have! Hope you have lots of great outfits this week!

check out the pleated poppy for more wiww!
special thanks to kathleen for tips for wearing this hairstyle!
{last week's wiww}

WIWW #32

Y'all, right now I am so tired I'm not sure I can form coherent sentences. It was a long day with a lot of walking and talking for college fairs, so be kind if this doesn't make any sense, ok?

I took a look back at some of my previous WIWW yesterday and thought, "dang, those were cute outfits! I need to wear that again," followed by "dang, I want to be tan again!" I am thankful for signs of fall, but tan skin sure is a perk of summer time. Which do you like more - the summer tan or fall boots?

Here are my outfits:

Work




shirt: loft
skirt and coat: f21
boots: dsw

I have to admit, I randomly paired this shirt with this skirt and only put the coat on because I was cold, but I ended up loving this outfit! The color blocking is very simple, yet felt dramatic. You better believe I will wear this outfit again, plus it makes me want to play around with color more!

I also saw that Kendi just got these boots, which makes me feel even cooler :)

Murder Mystery Party:



shirt: walmart
skirt: old navy
flames, blue blaze and head piece: handmade

We had a MMP on Friday night with our Sunday school class and I can't resist throwing this picture in. It was a blast to get all dressed up, plus we were the crazies who went to Starbucks like this :) Wouldn't you know we ran into several people that we knew? It was great!

Homecoming Weekend for my Alma Mater - Sorority Alumni Breakfast





cardigan, top and peacock pin: loft
jeans: gap
shoes: yellow box brand

This is easy to throw on and can be dressed up or down. Y'all will probably get tired of my peacock pin, but I'm not sure I know how to accessorize without it :)

Work




dress: the hen shack, a super cute boutique in abilene!
tank: old navy
necklace: gift from mom, from fredericksburg, tx
boots: dsw

I had a groupon for The Hen Shack that was about to expire, so I *had* to go shopping this weekend and picked up this dress for $6. (what you pay for the groupon doesn't count in the cost... right?)

Hope you are having a great week. Let me know if you stop by so I can check out your outfits!

visit lindsey at the pleated poppy for more wiww
last week's wiww