I Call Bull

Dog, that is.

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It is surprisingly hard to find cute english bulldog clothes. And, yes. I realize that might be a weird thing to search for, but I like bulldogs. I like clothes. And ever the two shall meet.

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There are numerous french bulldog items. And pug items. But hardly ever english bulldogs. I wonder why that is. Whatever the reason, I usually scoop up the French Bulldog tees and give them love, any way. This French Bulldog shirt was no exception. My husband wants our next dog to be a French Bulldog. I want to stick with what we have, um, because have you seen our walls? They are covered in English Bulldog and Bichon paintings. It would seem weird not to continue the theme.

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But, I digress.

What I really want to talk about is the act of getting dressed.

I am not a fashion blog. Or a style blog. Or anything like that, regardless of what some might think. I know nothing about either of those things.

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I am simply a “getting dressed” blog.

As in, whoppee! I got dressed today! I can do this thing called life. Let’s be dressed together because whilst naked always sounds like fun it rarely ends up being so. Just ask my neighbors.

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Men and women used to dress for the day. They used to really dress. I am not quite sure when it stopped. To be frank, I don’t really care what anybody else wears. I would never judge. I just wish that it went both ways.

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For instance, I was at the grocery store later the day I wore this last week and the cashier said to me, “You’re all dressed up. Where are you going?” And I thought to myself, I’m wearing a dog t-shirt and a skirt. This should not be described as dressed up.

I started to feel defensive as other people turned to stare at the ridiculous girl who was dressed up.

“I just came back from a date,” I lied.

Well, I kind of lied. I had gone and seen a movie with my husband but we ate at Del Taco and went to the early bird seating. The whole “experience” cost less than $20. It was not exactly fancy, but again… dog t-shirt.

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Honestly, putting on happy clothes makes a huge difference in my day. I knew I wanted to pair this happy shirt with my skirt I had scored at the consignment store last year for $10 (similar skirt here. I previously wore the skirt in this post here with my bulldog). The Glimmered Horseshoe Necklace, boots and belt were past sale scores from Anthropologie. And the scarf is a few years old from H&M.

Are you one of the “dressed up” few? How does that make you feel?

Did you notice that I never, not once, mentioned the somewhat unfortunate placement of the bulldogs on this shirt? It is because I am growing up. I didn’t even snicker it at all.

Bull…

Zig Zags and Plaid

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“I don’t really think that goes together,” my husband bravely said when I tried on my new popback score of The Draped Plaid Top (sold out but similar here and similar plus size here) with my zig zag skirt from 2013.

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I was slightly disturbed by this because I had purchased the shirt with the sole intention of it going with this Waverly A-line Skirt (sold out, similar here).

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“Well, I like it. A lot,” voiced my daughter from her spot on the couch.

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“Thank you!” I exclaimed. “I like it, too!”

She studied it some more, “In fact, I don’t think that top would look good with anything else.”

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I turned around and looked at it in the mirror.

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“I don’t know.” I pondered. “I bet it would look amazing with a brown floral skirt.”

“Oh yeah!” My daughter agreed. “But you don’t own a brown floral skirt. I was just thinking of things that you all ready have.”

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I almost completely agree with her. I could still wear this top with a black, denim or cream skirt but it would not have that “special” factor one looks for in an outfit.

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I love this shirt and skirt together so much. I lived in my pajamas while my kids were on winter break and it was so nice to be able to dress up again.

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Since I have been dieting since January 1st, I have to feel good during the day or I will fail. I will eat until I feel bad about myself. Then I will feel bad about myself and eat. It is an endless cycle. Putting on something that gives me more confidence is kind of like a food barrier.

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Speaking of food, I wore this outfit out to lunch with my husband and the waitress was so complimentary about it. She yelled out the door at me, “Keep rockin’ your style! I love it!” Which is the sweetest thing to say ever. I will admit it put a bounce to my step as I skipped back to the car.

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I am trying really hard to wear what I all ready own this year. I have so many outfit ideas swimming around in this head of mine that I cannot wait to try. I love this skirt. I have previously worn it here and here. I like that the plaid top breathes new life into it.

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And I have a crutch. These boots. They were $50 almost four years ago at the flea market. The best $50 I ever spent. But since they go with everything, I tend to be lazy and pair them with an outfit without any thought to the other boots in my closet. And I have lots of other boots that I do not utilize enough.

But these are my favorite.

Plus they’re always out in plain sight so I don’t have to tear apart my closet looking for them.

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Do you have an outfit crutch? Are you trying to break the habit or are you okay with it? I think I am a little of both.

P.S. I shared this on The Pleated Poppy and Reasons To Dress.

Three Stripes You’re Out-fit

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I could not resist this Anthropologie Tartan Blanket Coat. I tried to. Oh, how I tried to, as I attested to in the review post I recently did.

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I was going to wait and have my husband gift it to me for Christmas. But I wanted to get as much use from it as I possibly could with this slight winter we have been having here.

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I cannot resist fun.

Ever.

It is my downfall.

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I don’t even want to tell you the temperature it was in Southern California on this day. I will say it was the coolest day we have had this fall, but my husband laughed at me when he saw me in this hat (sold out, similar hat here).

I need to protect my tresses. I only wash them every three to four days. This was day four. I had waved my hair (post about how I do that here) so it still looked okay. But a hat seemed like the logical solution for the roots and it is honestly the only hat that I own.

Also, I like a flowy top. I’m not pregnant. That ship has sailed. I just thought I should put that out there ’cause this top looks like I am trying to hide something.

Just hiding dirty hair here, folks.

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And look! I accidentally wore three different stripes on this day. That’s gotta mean something.

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I don’t know what. But somethin’.

I wore this to grab breakfast with a sweet friend.

She very politely said nothing about my odd dressing.

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I have worn this combo before. On Halloween to be exact. The striped dress is from Target (previously worn as a shirt). The purple top was an $8 popback from Anthropologie. These tights are my very favorite and less than $10 (also available in leggings). And the hat was a clearance find at Free People a few years ago.

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I will be wearing this tartan coat as often as I possibly can here. If it is less than seventy degrees, this is what I will be wearing. I would not wear this in the rain. I do think it might get ruined if it gets wet. It feels like felted wool. I imagine this would shrink. For fit purposes, this is the XS/S.

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Are you wearing a favorite coat this season? How do you decide whether to keep a splurge-worthy garment? Does it have to be practical or unique? My answer is always unique.

*I shared this on The Pleated Poppy and Reasons To Dress.

Fish Tartan

I try to not have two posts about clothes going up back to back, but I have been so ill for the last week, I have this one all ready to go. I apologize if you do not like outfit posts. Also, I may or may not post this weekend depending upon my medication kicking in or not. I do have other outfit posts ready to go, but I feel bad putting too many of those up in a row. I’ll just have to wait and see. Now on to the clothes…

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My husband took one look at my outfit. His forehead furrowed. His mouth set.

Finally after five minutes of inner contemplation, he turned to me and bravely said, “I don’t get it.”

“What don’t you get?”

“Your top and bottom half our country but the dress has nothing to do with that.”

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I just laughed.

Because I knew he would not be the only one who saw this outfit that way.

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I have really wanted to explore more with plaid this season. Wear it differently. Unexpectedly.

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And it does not get more unexpected than a dress filled with giant fish.

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The Anthropologie Indigo Shoal Dress was one of my absolute favorite buys a few years ago. It is actually my daughter’s favorite item in my closet. I dread the day she can fit into it, because I do not know that I will see it again.

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Nobody does flannel like Johnny Was (very similar flannel here). I love that they add embroidered details to their pieces (similar non-flannel shirt on sale here). Johnny Was sizing runs large. I get this question a lot, so I figured I would place it here. This is a small. I typically always wear a size small in this brand. I found my top at Nordstrom Rack either last year or the year before. Besides Johnny Was’s sale section on their site, and eBay, I think this is the best place to find the brand at a discount. I have said it before, but I adore that Johnny Was carries standard and plus sizes. Bravo to them! Last year they had an awesome Black Friday Sale that I hope they repeat this year.

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Do you ever pair two things together that nobody else around you understands? Are you wearing a lot of flannel this season? What about fish? Fish and flannel. Hmmmm. Maybe I’m on to somethin’… Or maybe it’s just the prescription drugs.

Please do not forget to enter My Anthropologie Necklace Giveaway. It ends soon!