Wardrobe Enhancement

I love jeans!  They're my favorite part of my wardrobe!  I wear them in the winter with pull-over sweaters.  And, I wear them or denim shorts in the summer with short sleeved tops.  I have started wearing some skirts in the summer.  But, I've been trying to stretch beyond that and add some new things and more style to my wardrobe.  I've been watching episodes of "What Not to Wear" and learning a lot.  I love that show!  One of the biggest things I've taken from that show is to try things I wouldn't normally try.  

My daughter and I played around with that idea a few weeks ago.  We went to Macy's and picked clothes for each other.  We tried to think outside of what the other would normally wear.  We got a big dressing room and put together outfits for one another.  We had a ton of fun and found some styles we really liked that we never would have considered before.  Unfortunately, we didn't find anything we HAD to have that day and most of the things we liked were not on sale and were beyond our budget.  But, we'll definitely be shopping differently after that.

We were on a mission that weekend to find some things.  One thing I've been looking for is a nice, thick, warm sweater.  They're all so thin these days and I hadn't found any I liked until I found this...

I think Penelope likes it too!  My daughter fell in love and bought one for herself too.

It's thick, warm, comfy and I love the neutral colors, the designs and the style.
It's not a standard cardigan...it's much more up to date, stylish and fun.

It looks great with another find from that weekend.  Boots!

My daughter and I scored on these all leather boots!  She got brown ones and I got black.

They're flat, comfy, and I like the buckle details on them (top and at the ankle).

They look great with my black skinny jeans, a rust colored top, and my new sweater.

On a really cold night, it looks good with one of my chunky hand knit cowls too.

I also bought a pair of tan pants/jeans...a color I never would have gotten in the past.

I like colored pants on other people but always felt weird when I put them on.

After our little "What Not to Wear" experiment, I think I've changed my mind.
I even considered some red ones but they didn't have my size.

I'm on the lookout for some skirts and dresses that I can wear with tights and my new boots.

It's a look I've liked for a long time.  I'm determined now to find it and be brave enough to wear it.

This isn't much but clothes shopping is hard.  Especially with a tight budget.

But, another thing I learned from the show is that to look good you have to put in the effort/work.

It's not terrible that it takes so much time...it's just part of the process.

Knowing that makes it less frustrating and a lot more fun!

Feelin' Fancy

I've been working on trying to find new clothes to update and spruce up my wardrobe.  It's not an easy task.  I often shop for hours and leave with nothing.  So many of the styles in the stores are awful!  The prints, the looks, the colors...ugly!  And, often, when I do find something, they don't have it in my size.  I'm remaining hopeful though.  I keep believing that somewhere out there is a store that has things I'll love, in my size, and in my budget.  It may be unrealistic but it's my only hope!

I have a special event coming up...my daughter will be performing at the Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles.  Very exciting!  But...what to wear?!  I'm a casual, jeans kind of girl.  I have very little in the way of fancy, special event type of clothing.  And, my one pair of fancy shoes died at the last event.  The heal broke on one of them.  Not bad, considering I had them for over 12 years.  That meant I needed clothes AND shoes!

I couldn't let the difficulty I have with finding clothes and shoes get to me.  I was on a mission and I had a deadline!  Believe it or not....I got lucky!  I hit our local Ross store at just the right time...they must have just gotten a new shipment of dresses.  I found about a dozen possibilities to try on and ended up bringing two of them home.  One is perfect for the upcoming night at the symphony.  It's a nice little black dress.  The color is perfect for a night time event.  The length is just right...the bottom of my knee.  And, it's comfortable.  Oh...and, it was only $15! 

Next...shoes!  I'm amazed that I had luck with that too!  It's a miracle!  It's also a little weird...I bought heels!  I haven't done that in soooo long!  But, they fit perfect and they're sooooo cute!  Luckily, I won't have to walk or stand very much so they should be fine. 

This outfit is very different from what I wear day to day.  I'm going to be feelin' quite fancy tomorrow night!

My daughter recently hit the jackpot too.  Being a harpist means she's always on the lookout for gowns to perform in.  They need to be both beautiful and affordable.  And, for orchestra, they also need to be black, long and have 3/4 length sleeves!  That's not easy!  We went shopping a couple of weeks ago to see if we could find something for this special event.  We popped into a David's Bridal store to see if they had something.  Well, they not only had something...they had several possibilities and they were on the clearance rack.  Three dresses went with her to the fitting room.  Two of them looked great!  Then, the sales lady told us that not only were they on clearance but the sale would take another 40% off!  What?!  Really?!  We bought two!  So, she'll be feelin' quite fancy tomorrow night too. 

I love the luck we've had with these fancy clothes....now...if I could just find some great new jeans and cute tops to go with them!  Oh...and some new casual shoes!