Top: Macy’s
Jeans: Gap
Flats: Boden
Scarf: Otavalo Market, Ecuador

 It’s always the best day when your shirt matches the car in the background. I planned that, guys. Srsly.

I discovered how silly I am when I first organized this outfit with corduroys, took the pictures with Mandi, went home, uploaded them to my computer, decided I HATED THOSE PANTS, decided I should stick it out anyway, edited the photos, showed them to Brian, decided again I HATE THOSE PANTS, decided to stick it out anyway, decided not to after all, changed into the pants pictured (do you recognize them?), and made Brian take new photos. This is the life of an insecure fashion blogger, friends. Good thing I liked the shirt!

Boots: Mukluks. Yup.
Mittens and Skirt: J. Crew
Shirt: Gap (Men’s)

It is SO FLIPPING COLD in Minneapolis right now that just LOOKING out the window makes me shiver. So no, these photos are not from today. And my outfit for today will likely be taken indoors, so as not to freeze off my fingernails.

But the cold does give me a good opportunity to break out the Mukluks and the long underwear (which yes, I am wearing today) and the turtleneck sweater just to show all you warm-weather folks what true endurance is all about: it is about below-zero temperatures in the shortest of days, about sleeping with a hot water bottle and wool socks and extra blankets and still not feeling warm enough, about scraping ice from the windshield, arriving at your destination before the car has even warmed up (or coordinating the time you leave the house so as to perfectly minimize the minutes spent waiting for the bus), and about not having to wear blush because the wind provides you with flush enough. And after all that, STILL loving where you live.

Doesn’t that make you want to move to Minnesota?! Tomorrow when I’m in a better mood, I’ll tell you all about the wonderful winter things we do here in the North Star State, like having art galleries in ice houses. But for now, I’m going to go ahead and throw myself a pity party tonight.

Hat: J. Crew (gift)
Silk top: J. Crew (also a gift!)
Pants: Target
Puffy coat: Marc Jacobs via Opitz, 2009
Booties/Wellies: Thrifted

And friends… we’re back! Mandi has talked me into a Winter 30-for-30. This time around, we have a new camera, a new season, and a whole new  wardrobe (okay, you might recognize some a lot of pieces). Expect snow, pragmatic Midwestern outfits for below-zero temperatures, indoor photos, and gratuitous shots of my cat. It’s going to be awesome.

Also in the works? I have a few long-awaited guest posts coming up, including one from my boss, entitled: “How to make change at the state capitol by dressing like a non-profit lobbyist” (or something to that effect) in which you may learn more about what I DO in life (aside from chronicling my daily outfits 60/365 days of the year).

And of course, I have to tell you which 30 items I have chosen to wear over and over again in the coldest of Minnesota seasons. Yes, it’s gearing up to be a thrilling month! Hold on to your sleds!

I thrifted this scarf a few weeks ago and wanted to put together just the right outfit for it. Leopard for me is totally new territory, so I of course wanted to pull it off (at least for the first time) in a way that felt subtle and classy, but still pushing my own boundaries a little bit. In the end, I really liked the result of colors that were subdued and neutral against a pattern that is pretty loud.  What do you think? Cool cat or trashy kitten?

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.

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.

 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!

]]> http://cinchthatwaist.wordpress.com/2011/10/21/plaid-posies/feed/ 0 Alison Killeen IMG_9543 IMG_9555 IMG_9546 http://cinchthatwaist.wordpress.com/2011/10/20/adventures-in-thriftland/ http://cinchthatwaist.wordpress.com/2011/10/20/adventures-in-thriftland/#comments Thu, 20 Oct 2011 21:11:54 +0000 Alison http://cinchthatwaist.wordpress.com/?p=495 Continue reading →]]> 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.

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!

 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?)