January 26, 2015 by gn0mel0ver

A Mountain Of A Mystery Maxi

You know how I am always buying clothes… Wait. Let me finish. You know how I am always buying clothes… without knowing what their clothing name means?

It happened again.

With the Nanda Maxi Dress (now sold out).

I bought it because it had an amazing Suzani pattern on it. The colors. The flow. I loved everything about it.

Except the price. I finally picked it up for around 80% off.

I paired it with my cardigan I picked up last year for $20 at Anthropologie.
I think the back of it is so pretty.

Names. We were talking about names.

So, I typed in “Nanda” into Google. You will never guess what popped up.

The first thing that popped up was an acronym. NANDA stood for “North America Nursing Diagnosis Association.”

Um, I am pretty sure that is not the vision Anthropologie meant for people to have when naming their maxi dress. Besides, I imagine if they were going to name a dress after a nurse’s association, it would be white.

I increased my search.

Anthropologie tends to name things after two things. Yep. Two things. Regions. And birds. I typed in “Nanda Region.” And I found it. It is a mountain in India called Nanda Devi. The highest mountain in India to be exact.

Of course it is.

Do you look up the names of your clothes? Or is that just me? I like to think they are like meeting new friends and people. Once I know their name. Their real name. The meaning. I can figure out a little more about them. Give them a deeper character.

Give them a deeper meaning. Than just clothes.

Whoa! That’s a little too deep.

Let’s go back to keeping our heads in the clouds. I know a certain mountain that would be perfect for the task.

January 23, 2015 by gn0mel0ver

From India To Me

I love to shop Etsy for one of a kind pieces. I especially love embroidered pieces. But I am not picky. I’ll know it when I see it.

And I saw it.

But it was sold out, so I contacted Lisa from Madame Hall on Etsy to see if she would be making any more of the dresses I had seen on her site in a size medium. She did not have any but she sent me a few pictures of this dress laying flat.

And, of course, I loved it.

I bought it (with the help of a gift card from the sweetest lady ever. Thank you B!) and anxiously awaited its arrival.

It came in the coolest package about two weeks later. She sewed the package up with my address on the cloth. Inside of the initial package, the dress was wrapped in another gorgeous embroidered simple cloth bag. And she even sent me a beautiful embroidered scarf as a gift. Truly exceptional service. I would not hesitate to order from her again and to recommend her shop to others.

I was not planning on pairing it with brown boots. In fact, I was going to wear it with my black fringed booties. But the snow would have ruined those. I did need to quickly grab a slip for underneath this because of the length. It is almost more of a tunic than a dress but because it is made from wool, I would only wear this with tights and leggings in the wintertime any way.

The bright cheerful colors just make me so happy.

I feel like this dress was meant to be mine. Or I was meant for it. It only needed to find me half way across the world. From India to me.

Do you buy clothing items from Etsy? Do you ever feel a personal connection to an item of clothing? Does it speak to you?

Mine does.

I’m not gonna tell you what it says.

All right.

Just this once. I’ll spill the beans. Or beads as it were…

With a shimmer. A glimmer. A whisper, it breathes, “OHHHHHH YEAAAAAAHHHHHH.”

Or maybe that’s just me.

January 15, 2015 by gn0mel0ver

Zig Zags and Plaid

“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.

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).

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

“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.”

I turned around and looked at it in the mirror.

“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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

January 9, 2015 by gn0mel0ver

Maroon Foggy Fire In The Snow

I took five outfit photos the day it snowed at my house this year. It had not snowed in years and it was too good of a photo opportunity to pass up.

Eck, I am such a blogger.

This outfit ended up being my favorite.

This is surprising to me for several reasons.

Mostly because I hate. Yes, hate. The color maroon.

I don’t know where this hatred came from. But it is there and alive ~~and well~~. And I just learned that marsala is the 2015 color of the year! Which is pretty much a fanciful way of saying “maroon.”

Oi.

Maybe the fashion gurus are on to something. Perhaps it is the name. When I purchased this Free People Embroidered Fable Dress two years ago, this color was called Mulberry. I like that name. Let’s think of some more.

Foggy Fire.

Lusting From Afar Red.

Sunset Sangria.

Yes, I like all of those.

I get more offers to buy this dress than any other item in my closet. The color is discontinued, but honestly, I love the grey color they have in it right now, too. The sweater is an old Anthropologie item I purchased from a sweet reader last winter. They had a a similar sweater this year that is now on sale. I loved that one when I reviewed it and would have picked it up if I did not all ready own and love mine.

What is your least favorite color to wear? Mine actually isn’t maroon. It is brown. I guess I like cheery colors. But now that I can rename the offenders, I am liking their sultry offerings. Perhaps 2015 is the year I change my ways.

Or perhaps not.

It’s too maroon to tell.

Gnome Lover

Stumbling through life while still having fun

styled

A Mountain Of A Mystery Maxi

From India To Me

Zig Zags and Plaid

Maroon Foggy Fire In The Snow