My version of a Foxy Halloween

Socks, Dress, and Cardigan: Savers
Shoes: Boden
Masks: Made by ME!

Happy Halloween, everyone! Brian and I, for the past few years, have been living out our favorite children’s books in costume form. This year we were Mr. and Mrs. Fox from Fantastic Mr Fox (both a book by Roald Dahl and reprised in a recent movie by Wes Anderson)! While it was fun finding the actual outfits (Brian’s from his closet, mine from Savers), the best was making the masks. It was lots of fun, even if it did take me three hours!

Lots of women dress up all foxy-like for their big night out on Halloween. Now I guess I can add my name to that list… but, of course, in a much more literal sense of the word.

This year we went to Madison, WI for Halloween to visit and meet up with good friends. Kate and Lucas went all out in decorating their home and yard, and hosted us and a number of other friends at a party on Saturday night. We also carved pumpkins and put the finishing touches on our costumes Saturday afternoon.

Sophie was Minnie Mouse, and Kate and Lucas were Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf. All in all, a very festive weekend! Hope you’re having a great Halloween and meet lots of friendly little ghouls and ghosts tonight!

The best purple of all

From Al: I saw these photos on Alison‘s flickr stream and fell in LOVE with the colors and the outfit. It was time for another update! Welcome back, Alison!

Dress: ModCloth (www.modcloth.com)
Tights: Eddie Bauer outlet
Scarf: gift from my grandma
Long sleeved shirt: Penney’s. About a decade ago.
Boots: Famous Footwear

Jeez, give a girl a shining moment on a style blog and it goes directly to her head! She does a crazy thing like going out to buy tights. Tights, I tell you, with the intention of making my summer dresses push into the colder temperatures. With the intention of pairing them with boots. With the intention of creating outfits. Holy hannah.

 

I’m a 365er and I’m in my second year. So, what that means, sans code, is that since January 2010 I have taken at least one photo a day. It’s a lot of photos. (To be completely honest, I took Jan-Mar 2011 off because I wasn’t sure I wanted to head into year two, but I missed it, and missed it bad. So technically year two is running from April through the end of March. More than you cared to know, I’m sure.) I don’t do a whole lot of self portraits because they always feel so self indulgent, so me-focused, so awkward. But with this infinitely thought out outfit and the courage from some dear online friends across the globe, I headed over to the bike path near our home, set up the tripod, and took to snapping. I do really love this dress, and an excuse to push it past August is well worth a day in tights for me.

 

 

Plaid + posies

Top (plaid): J. Crew
Scarf: UO
Blazer: Thrifted?
Jeans: Swapped with a friend
Flats: Boden

 I don’t actually know if the flowers in this scarf are posies, but I DO know that I like alliteration–so good enough for me! This is a fun pattern play today, happening almost by accident as I ran out the door on a chilly October morning; I like how the blues and purples in the patterns play off each other. Paired with a smart wool blazer, my flares, and a pair of flat loafers, I was happy with my choice for a casually comfy office outfit–good for a Friday in October! Happy weekend!

Adventures in Thriftland

Dress: Thrifted (vintage?)
Tights: Target
Belt: Target
Shoes: Thrifted

From Al: You all remember Rachel, right? Well, since my life is getting more and more busy–and because she just so durn cute!–you might be hearing more from Rachel and other friends around here. If you’re interested in contributing to this little fashion blog–give me a holler.

Rachel says: I found this dress the same day that Alison found her beautiful bright red dress (how fabulous does she look in it, right?). On the hanger, I thought it looked like a horrible polyester mess from the the early 80′s, but when I tried it on I was converted.While I still think the pattern is a bit 80′s crazy, the jewel tone blues and purples are some of my favorites wear, and the fit is almost perfect, which is one of my favorite things about vintage clothing. What a novel concept for fit to be considered in garment construction.

This pair of shoes is one of my favorites (found on my first thrifting trip with Alison), but they are ripping at the seams. For awhile I refused to wear them in an attempt at preservation, but eventually I decided that if the inevitable end is in sight, I’m going to wear them out with flair!

Now as much as I like this dress (and vintage dresses in general), I sometime wonder how wearable the style is for regular life. I have been debating hemming this dress a couple inches and perhaps altering the neckline a bit. What do you think, to hem or not to hem?

Lady in red

Dress, Belt, and Jewelry: Via’s Vintage
Shoes: Kenneth Cole (circa 2008?)
Glasses: Warby Parker Sinclair

Weddings are so fun–they’re beautiful and festive, you get to see old friends, and maybe best of all? You get to dress up to go to them! For a wedding of an old friend this past Saturday, I decked myself all out in a vintage outfit (minus the shoes) of bright, bright red for Fall (and for fun!). I found this dress at a local vintage shop, Via’s Vintage, and after mulling it over for 24 hours, I went back and made the purchase! I was so excited to wear it I even dyed my hair a darker shade of brown. I usually do it for winter anyway, but the timing underscores just how silly and excited I was about this outfit. 

Mandi was a bridesmaid in the wedding, and looked absolutely stunning in her bridesmaid dress. Can you believe that gorgeous purple dress was from Target? They were about the thriftiest–and some of the cutest–bridesmaids dresses I’ve seen. Kudos to the thoughtful and thrifty bride, Katie!

I also wore my not-so-new-anymore Warby Parker frames to the wedding (which I do almost every day), and discovered that another of the bridesmaids, Megan, also owns a pair of WPs! She looked so cute I had to include a pic of her, too, dancing with her hubs. We bonded over our mutual love of thrifty frames. (Right Meg? )And yes–the reception was hoppin! I soon lost my Warby Parkers for complimentary silly sunnies and rocked out the dance floor (and later, the bar) in those beauts. It was so fun to see old friends all decked out in their party clothes. So, in that spirit–I have a few more photos to share.

Many thanks to Katie and Ross for their fantastic wedding, and may you find many years of happiness and companionship in one another! Mazel tov!

Chicago is delicious

Top: Target
Cardi: Swapped
Jeans: Gap Outlet
Boots: Corso Como
Scarf: UO

 Brian and I went to Chicago a few weekends ago to meet up with a good friend we hadn’t seen in a while. We were going to run a race with her, and instead, we ended up eating our way through the city. Not a bad switch, I’d say!

Our first stop was at Hot Doug’s, where I had a hot and spicy chicken sausage with pesto aioli and mozzarella (not in the photo below). Who knew hot dogs could be so gourmet? And to top it all off, the fries were cooked in duck fat. DUCK FAT, my friends! You can’t get much better than that.

For the trip, I packed a fall palette of blues and greys, of which I then forgot to take any photos, except for this one outfit. It didn’t help that we spent the (very cold, very windy) weekend pretty much hopping from restaurant to restaurant, so I actually didn’t much want many pictures taken of me and my very satisfied belly.

We stayed with a great couple through AirBNB in Bucktown. We ate (and drank) at, among other places, at BigStar, the Map Room, and Ipsento Coffee. At Ipsento, Brian got a delicious latte with the flavors of coconut and cayenne. I stuck with the nutella latte. Yum.

Conclusion: Chicago is delicious! I wouldn’t mind going back in a heartbeat. (And psst–can you spot the Sears tower in this final pic?)

 

 

Just another day in…

Tee: Heartbreaker
Cardi: Gap Outlet
Jeans: Target (swapped)
Scarf: A market in Ecuador
Oxfords: Thrifed

Ever had one of those weeks where you just can’t keep up? Uffda! Friends, this is one of those weeks, so I’m pulling some backlogged photos from an outfit I never posted. It feels especially weird since when we took these pictures, it was probably in the upper 50s, and today in Minneapolis? Mid-80s. Just another day in paradise the Upper Midwest.

This outfit: very simple, not too interesting, but I was pulling these flares out of the closet from way back in the day. They’re coming back, right? Even if they’re worn out and frayed in the back of the cuffs? Ah ha, I thought so.