February 13, 2015 by gn0mel0ver

Monarch Magic Metamorphosis

First, I know this pattern resembles a Tiger Butterfly more than a Monarch. I must have been a little loopy when I first typed this up, because here I am now editing it before it goes up in a few hours and I am wondering what I was thinking with the title. Who can really say?

I have found in the last year that a swing style dress is my favorite.

The Sarita Swing Dress is beautiful. I do wish it was one inch longer but otherwise it is perfect. It is made from silk which is a rare thing to find nowadays. My grandma used to keep silk worms in her house so we could watch how they worked. She also would occasionally raise a butterfly through the stages. Green and yellow were her favorite colors. She would have loved this dress.

I paired the dress with my Simply Livly Turquoise Necklace and a wooden turquoise ring. I also wore my favorite Chie Mihara booties with it. They were one of my favorite sale scores last year. Her shoes are amazing.

I think that every girl dreams of a fantasy world. It is kind of what is thrown on us as children. Castles, princesses, animals, pink and flowers. Butterflies fall right into this.

Now, I do not know for certain that this dress is based on a butterfly. It seems obvious to me that it is. But I also frequently mix up the words, “prescription and subscription” so I am absolutely no good mental evaluator.

I looked up the name of the dress, “Sarita.” It means “flowing” in Sanskrit according to the website, behind the name. It is subtle. But, oh, the missed name opportunities this dress had.

It has the most lovely crochet lace edged lining. The dress is short, but in all of my pictures (including spinning), I did not encounter one wardrobe snafu.

It is perfect for a windy day. The sleeves flutter magnificently. I honestly felt like a butterfly in this dress. Groan. I can imagine someone quoting that and I realize how lame that sounds, but it is true.

This dress might not have the right name, but it does not matter.

It simply made me happy. When I wore it I smiled. It felt like a metamorphosis was taking place. And that is all that matters to me.

December 9, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

Blue Moon

After the unfortunate outfit mishap with my previous outfit I had originally planned on wearing on my date night with my husband (post and explanation here), I had to go home and swiftly change.

I knew I had to pull out the big guns. ~~Oh, wait, I all ready did that. Groan.~~ And so I quickly changed into my husband’s favorite dress. Well, one of them.

This Anthropologie Arched Careena Dress from a few years ago is always the solution to my husband’s heart (I have seen this being sold on eBay. This dress came in three colors and is very forgiving in sizes. I am usually a size six or eight and I purchased this in a twelve because it was the only size available once it hit clearance at my store many years ago. I do not think it runs small. I just think it is an easy dress to size up or down in).

It is the prettiest blue. It is feminine. It is flattering. It nips in at the waist and then flares out. Plus, it has ruffles, which usually isn’t such a guy magnet. But in this case, it works.

Besides I would have to try really, really hard to flash or moon someone in this.

I assume.

I think it was best that I didn’t try. Besides, my shoes were all ready on due to the previous outfit encounter, so I could not manage a reenactment of my shame.

I want to talk about my agate necklace really quick. I forgot to mention the green agate necklace I wore in the previous post. Both necklaces are by Leila Jewelry and I had stalked them for almost a year at Nordstrom Rack until one fateful day during their 30% off clearance sale a few weeks ago, I decided to run into the store hoping beyond hope that there would be a chance that they had finally been discounted and they would still be available. It was truly my lucky day. They still had three of the four I had been watching (the fourth one having sold was the most amazing hot pink) and they had indeed gone on sale. I so very happily scooped up all three for around $17 each. Retail price was $148 each (they are gold plated).

It was a once in a blue moon kind of score.

I paired the dress with my Anthropologie Vegan Leather Jacket (previously worn here and here). My daughter has been borrowing this jacket a lot this season. In fact, she has been borrowing most of my outer wear. She is very petite, so my cardigans and this jacket are the only things we can share. I actually love sharing my clothes with her. I love lending out items. It seems like it would go against my hoarder’s heart, but it makes me happy to share. They are just clothes. And I like the joy I see on my daughter’s face when she wears some of the items.

It is fun.

And fun is the best.

In fact, I once lent this dress to a dear friend and now any time I wear it, I also think of her and smile. Clothes are good for making memories. They are even better at holding on to them.

Do you lend your clothes out? I do to close friends and relatives. There are a few item exceptions. My pieces from Etsy and my Kantha dresses. Do you have a date night dress that you reach for again and again?

I do not mind wearing this one over and over.

I like it.

My husband likes it.

In fact… We are over the moon.

*this post was edited using VSCOCAM’s C1 filter at level 3.

December 8, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

“…The Little Dog Laughed…”

I put this outfit on to go on a date with my husband this past weekend. I picked it out especially for him, because he usually likes short skirts and I thought he would like the cute dog pattern. It was a slight departure from my usual baggy style. I was excited to show him my outfit. But the moment he saw this, his face scrunched up and it took on the look of severe inner contemplation. I suddenly felt very self conscience.

“What’s wrong? You don’t like this?” I asked.

He didn’t answer at first, just kind of studied my outfit.

“It’s really short,” he finally mustered.

Okay. He is sounding kind of mean. He is actually the nicest guy in the world. In fact just the other day, I saw him smiling and asked him, “Why are you so happy?” And he said, “How could I not be happy? I’m married to you.” For real.

So, I need to tell the real story about his reaction. It was not his fault. The poor guy was in shock. You see, I am leaving out a kind of important part. The first time he actually saw this, I was sitting on the ottoman in the living room putting on my shoes.

He was behind me on the couch.

When I stood up, I did not bother to do so in a ladylike manner. So, I kind of, sort of… All right… I completely mooned him. On accident, of course.

And I definitely would be more careful in public.

Well, hopefully.

But the deed was done. I knew I would be pulling on the skirt all night in order to not have any sort of repeat of offenses. And I wanted to enjoy my night and not worry about a possible wardrobe malfunction.

So, I changed… After we went down the street and took pictures of this outfit, of course. It would have been a shame to not have any evidence of my crime.

After I changed, my husband looked confused. “I really liked that outfit. Why aren’t you wearing it?”

This made me giggle.

I will post what I actually ended up wearing later this week, but I still like this outfit. Have you ever changed because of an outfit malfunction? Do you like fun patterns as much as I do? I like the dogs or coyotes or wolves that parade across the shirt. I like how some of them are running away, while others appear to ~~not~~ be howling… At the moon.

I am sorry to say that everything I am wearing is sold out. The shirt is Anthropologie’s Ismay Buttondown (similar here), the skirt was from Anthropologie last year (similar here), the boots are Chie Miharas (similar here and here). I will talk more about agate necklaces tomorrow. Mine is by Leila Jewelry, the link is not (similar here).

*this post was edited using the VSCO Cam App C1 filter at level 3.

July 31, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

Bohemian Black Lace

I never quite understood the allure of a little black dress until I bought this one.

What is it about wearing black that makes one feel different?

I hardly ever wear black, because I like a lot of color in my wardrobe.

I am thinking that was a poor decision.

Because what was preventing me from just adding a pop of color? I received this beaded necklace for my birthday. I love it paired with the black lace.

This Free People Lorettas Dress was a steal with my birthday discount combined with the sale price. Unfortunately, I snagged the last one (see title of post). I think this one is very similar.

I forgot my gnome, so I made one with some rocks and twigs.

But who’s looking at the gnome?

Because, those shoes?!

They were the best sale popback I have ever scored at Anthropologie (they were more than 75% off). They are Chie Mihara’s Corridor Booties. I am in love.

My husband said to me, “Um, I think that dress is see-through.”

To which I smiled. Because, yes, it is see-through, but it came with a beige slip underneath that you cannot really see because it kind of matches my skin tone.

I didn’t tell him that, though. Gotta keep him on his toes.

He eventually figured it out. Just like I have now figured out I need more black clothes in my wardrobe.

Do you own a lot of black clothing? Do you have a little black dress?

Because I loved the feeling this dress gave me, I now own five.

P.S. * I shared this on The Pleated Poppy!

Gnome Lover

Stumbling through life while still having fun

chie

Monarch Magic Metamorphosis

Blue Moon

“…The Little Dog Laughed…”

Bohemian Black Lace