Lean, Mean Halloween Queen

Top: k Club, Kohl's; Skirt: Xhilaration, Target; Shoes: Betseyville, Macy's; Bag: Worthington, JCPenney; Belt: Marshalls

Trick-or-Treat Trio Brooch Barrette

Top: TJ Maxx; Skirt: Wild Fable, Target; Shoes: ShoeDazzle, Zulily; Bag: Sleepyville Critters, Zulily; Belt: Belt is Cool, Amazon

 

Cool Ghoul Necklace

Top: Nine West, Kohl's; Skirt: Tinseltown, Kohl's; Boots: UNIONBAY, Kohl's; Bag: Nordstrom; Belt: Belt is Cool, Amazon

Halloween Queen Necklace

Orange, black, purple, and green make for a spooky style scene.  Because when it comes to Halloween, I go for glam over gory.  And also, if I'm counting Mr. Alien in the trick-or-treat trio, then the intergalactic.  Speaking of which, if there are little green men (and women!) out there, then do they dress up as us when they demand candy?  Or do they skip the costumes altogether and emulate us by bullying people into relinquishing their Reese's Pieces?

And we say they're the mean ones.

Gulp Fiction: Orange Crush Rush

Hat: Steve Madden, Macy's; Gloves: Calvin Klein, Macy's

Top: Amazon

Boots: UNIONBAY, Kohl's

Skirt: Celebrity Pink, Macy's

Bag: Dolls Kill

Coat: Jou Jou, Macy's

Shorts: Nine West, Kohl's

Traffic Stop Barrette Brooch

Coat: Wild Fable, Target

Shoes: Nine West, Kohl's' Bag: Nine West, Marshalls

Coat: Nine West, Kohl's

Leggings: Derek Heart, Boscov's

Top: Wild Fable, Target

Bag: Worthington, JCPenney

Earmuffs: Betsey Johnson for Trolls, Macy's; Gloves: Thinsulate, JCPenney

I've got a crush on you, orange.
What can I say?
You light up my world
And brighten my day.

Whether a super sweet soda
Or unspoiled fruit,
You say no to scurvy
And yes to Lloyd's suit.

(Er, tux. But you knew that. Because you get me.)

You make Monday morning

Like lunch at Club Med

And blow through the cobwebs

Wintering in my head.

That's why I love you

And squeeze 'til it hurts

And wrap you around me

In tights, shorts, and skirts.

Thanks for your sunshine,

Your bold, tangy bite,

Your blind optimism,

And -- this is the biggie --your fighting the fight.

And so goes my ode to Florida's finest.  Because autumn may be outfitted in apples, but winter's winners come wrapped in rind.  And February is oranges' Oscar season. Do I hear Best Imitation of a Grapefruit for Tatum Temple? Or Craziest Cannonball for Natasha Navel?  Or maybe even Best Appearance of a Citrus in a Soundtrack for Honeybell Helen? I'm looking at you, "Orange Crush."  Which is a song that's anything but escapist once you Google the meaning of its lyrics.  But I guess that makes it an example of taking oranges and making juice -- if by juice you mean the truth serum of social awareness.  Which I do.

So anyway, thanks, oranges.  For all of that and for adding a splash to today's outfits.  Because whether you come in a pair of lace tights or unseasonable shorts or a clutch that borders on carrot, you've got the goods.  

And the vitamin twee.  

Boots Blues and Other Shoes: Patent Leather to Leather-like Plastic

 Blooming Boot Necklace

Sweater: Wild Fable, Target

Skirt: Hollister, Marshalls

Boots: 2 Lips Too, Zulily

Bag: Betsey Johnson, Macy's

Barrette: The Tote Trove

From top, clockwise: Apt. 9, Kohl's; Union Bay, Kohl's; Simply Vera, Kohl's; Apt. 9, Kohl's

From top, clockwise: 2 Lips Too, JCPenney; 2 Lips Too, Zulily; Penny Loves Kenny, Amazon; Penney Loves Kenny, Amazon

If you've been reading this blog long enough, then you know that I don't like winter.  That said . . . I love boots.  I love them with skirts, denim and otherwise, and I love them with dresses and jeans.  And not just because they're comfy and hide my gnarly, unpainted toenails.  There's just something irreverent (ironic?) and fun about making a fashion statement with something that was originally intended to block out the snow and muck out horse stalls.  Lately, I'm into ones that are western.  And because I'm a contemplative, avid collector kind of girl, I decided to photograph two groups of my favorite boots -- one featuring four pairs of citified kicks and another showing four pairs for camping out -- or should I say glamping out? -- at the ranch.

Taking these pics got me thinking about Black Heels to Tractor Wheels, which I read awhile ago.  It's Food Network chef Ree Drummond's autobiography, and in it she describes her transformation from country club princess to home on the range homemaker and the style evolution that came with it.  Before she met her husband, she worked in an office and dressed up every day.  She used to love lining up and polishing her collection of black high-heeled pumps.  (Of course, as a vegetarian, she also used to love pasta primavera, but that's a whole other facet of her transformation tale.)  Then she hooked up with her hubby, who she refers to as the Marlboro Man, and moved out to his isolated cattle ranch, where she morphed into the peasant blouse-wearing, steak-scarfing prairie princess (because I still have to get princess in there) that foodies and philistines alike know and love today.

I could relate because back in the day my own style had a harder edge.  (Also because I live next to an empty lot that kind of looks like a ranch.)  I didn't like wearing anything that looked provincial, and that included all things western.  But sometime between then and now I became more eclectic, and country-fried flair emerged as one of the key elements of my look.  Probably because it's homey and warm and, in the right hands, more crazy colorful than the raddest rave getup.  Also, because felt, which I use a lot in my accessories, has that same soft-yet-crunchy aesthetic.  Anyway, my favorite western accessory is (obvi) boots.  Because they show where you're going, and they show where you've been.  And because when you're on a ranch, literal, figurative, or otherwise, it's important to wear something that shows the cows who's heading the herd.  Even if that something is a pair of boots made of plastic instead of rawhide.

They won't know the difference.  They're cows.

P. S.  I don't know what the "otherwise" is.

Romancing the Tone: A Love Affair with Shoes

Top: Material Girl, Macy's

Skirt (a dress!): Macy's

Boots: Union Bay, Kohl's

Bag: Worthington, JCPenney

When you're feeling less than thrilled with life, read a romance novel.  Fun and frothy, they are the reading woman's rom coms, complete with meet-cutes, beautiful people, and predictably happy endings.  On the flip side, if you're on top of the world, then these confections can seem kind of hollow.  But they've got me through a hard time or two, and sometimes I even learn something.

Case in point, last winter I was putting away a pair of UNIONBAY boots I'd scored for 70% off at the after Christmas sale at Kohl's and noticed that the box had the Seattle skyline on it in the lower left-hand corner.  (I could tell because of the Space Needle.)  

And I thought, huh, I guess Union Bay is a real place, and that it's in Seattle.  Then I remembered that the romance author I'd been reading sets a lot of her books in Seattle, and that she references Union Bay.  And I was like, mind blown.

Who says you can't add a wrinkle to the old brain from hanging with happily ever after?  And also, from bargain basement shoe shopping?

In keeping with the, ahem, heart of the matter, I unearthed this bubble pendant that I embellished last Valentine's Day.

Unlike the other pendants that came in the Target Dollar Spot four-pack, it was gray to their more traditionally cheerful reds and pinks.  But to me, that made it even more appealing, the perfect canvas for a neon rainbowed, 1980s-inspired design.  Still, it was kind of subtle all on its own (and you know I don't do subtle), so I paired it with my oldy but goody Rubik's Cube-esque squares-within-a-square pendant for the purposes of this post.

Both necklaces now dangle as decor in my craft room, which I dare say is almost finished after months of poking and prodding.  And shopping.  More on that (relatively) soon.   

That said, sometimes sunshine is only a creative project or department store or book store (or, yes, Amazon.com) away.

Lovers' tales and footwear sales: kind of brings a whole new meaning to kinky boots.

If You Finish Your Salad . . .

Fabulous Felt Salad Barrette

Top: Alloy

Skirt: Boscov's

Shoes: Chinese Laundry, Marshalls
Bag: Journeys

Belt: Apt. 9, Kohl's

 Fabulous Felt Ice Cream Sundae Barrette

Top: JCPenney

Tee: JCPenney

Jeans: UNIONBAY, Kohl's

Shoes: Guess, DSW

Bag: Uniquely Different, Etsy

Fabulous Felt Celestial Barrette

Blouse: Alloy

Tee: Kohl's

Skirt: Boscov's

Shoes: Charles Albert, Alloy

Bag: Journeys

. . . then you can have some ice cream before turning in for the night.  Or so says today's accessory story.  All things considered, not a very bad deal.  

Parade of Pants

Red corduroys (pictured in first two shots): So, Kohl's
Shrimp jeans: Barefeet Shoes
Pink jeans (pictured in first two shots): Arizona Jeans, JCPenney
Mustard jeans: So, Kohl's
Yellow jeans: City Streets, JCPenney
Bright yellow jeans: City Streets, JCPenney
Chartreuse jeans: Marshalls
Jungle green jeans: City Streets, JCPenney
Acid wash green jeans: Macy's
Sky blue jeans: UNIONBAY, Kohl's
Turquoise acid wash jeans: City Streets, JCPenney
Purple acid wash jeans: City Streets, JCPenney
Dark purple jeans: So, Kohl's

Originally, I was planning to call this post "Stand Up for Pants."  But now that I have the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on in the background, I thought it only fitting that I give a nod to the holiday with something more festive.

My favorite pants anecdote dates back to when I was about eight and went on a weekend camping trip with my dad and sister and the rest of the fathers and daughters in the Indian Princesses, the Girl-Scouts-type-club we were in.  I'd mistakenly (not intentionally, as some people jokingly suggested) forgotten my bag back in Jersey and had nothing to wear.  My dad had no choice but to take me to the nearest Kmart (Kmarts were big back then) for some essentials to get me through the next couple of days.  He let me pick out whatever I wanted, and I chose a pink-and-white baseball-style tee shirt emblazoned with Mickey and Minnie and a pair of shiny turquoise spandex leggings, or as they were known at the time, "dance pants."  My cousin had a pair, and I'd always wanted them.  That gorgeous sky blue!  That iridescent sheen!  The way they so perfectly accented an oversized, tied-at-the-side tee shirt!  Those pants were - and this must be said, cheesiness be darned - my blue heaven.

In the last two or three years I've begun to step up my pants collection with colorful skinny jeans.  Unlike flares or boot-cuts, they don't scrape the floor, but rather bunch up at the ankles in a (at least to this short blogger) fetchingly messy, no-hem-needed way.  Yet it's the ripe rainbow hues that really reeled me in.  I like to think that their spirit was sparked by those dance pants.  So thanks, Dad, for giving me that first taste of fashion freedom.        

Secret Garden Treasures

 Pink Pearl Garden Necklace

Cardigan: Merona, Target

Tank: Gap

Jeans: Candie's, Kohl's

Shoes: Material Girl, Macy's

Bag: Candie's, Kohl's

 Blue Pearl Garden Necklace

Top: Wet Seal

Jeans: UNIONBAY, Kohl's

Shoes: Ami Clubwear

Bag: Marshalls

Rainbow Rocks Necklace

Dress: Macy's

Shoes: Guess, DSW

Bag: Candie's, Kohl's

Pink necklace: B Fabulous

Fabulous Felt Blue Garden Necklace

Dress: JCPenney

Shoes: Not Rated, DSW

Bag: Old Navy

These Pink Pearl Garden and Blue Pearl Garden necklaces have a secret - a secret compartment, that is.  They're lockets!  I didn't realize this until after I'd nabbed the pendants off of a Michaels clearance rack, but when I did, I thought, "that's nifty!"  Not to mention handy for keeping favorite photographs or trinkets or, heck, even M&Ms close.

Speaking of the unexpected, this (surprise! surprise!) Rainbow Rocks Necklace is a product of some leftover pearls and rhinestones.  Somewhere between retro and princess, it has that kind of rescued-from-the junk-box feel.  As well it should, originating from the bottom of my supply heap.  Which is far preferable to originating from the depths of some musty estate sale according to this princess.

And last but not least, we have the Fabulous Felt Blue Garden Necklace (garden names grew rampant in this post), which was inspired by the out-for-a-walk-to-pick-flowers sundress with which it's pictured.  I got it for $12 online from JCPenney, beguiled as much by its simple, old-fashioned charm as by its price tag.  As I mentioned in a past post, I've decided to give the department store a second chance despite its coupon ban.  Me and JCP, we have history.  Which is precisely why I purchased two more creation-launching pieces this past weekend.  But more on that (much) later.