Women of a certain age

Every now and then I'll hear someone make a comment like, "Women over thirty shouldn't wear mini skirts." I hate it when people say that, because I'm almost thirty, and I love my legs and plan on wearing mini skirts until the day I think my legs look bad. (Which may be never - I might still be rocking mini skirts at 80.) It bothers me when people try to create fashion rules based on age. Obviously certain situations call for clothing restraint (I never have and never will wear a mini skirt to a job interview or church), but other than that, I say wear whatever the heck makes you happy, no matter what age you are.

Striped blouse: Forever 21

Hot pink skirt: Zara

White wedges: Sam Edelman (Kendall wedges) from Piperlime

Sunglasses: Oscar de la Renta from TJ Maxx

Earrings: free from my aunt (probably from the 90's!)

Necklace: Urban Outfitters

White bracelet: H&M

Polka dot pattern mixing

The last time I wore this dress was almost exactly a year ago (in this post). Obviously I'm not great at wearing all my clothes on a regular basis. I really shouldn't have neglected this piece, though, because it has such a fun pattern, plus that magic ingredient that every woman loves in a dress - pockets. I decided to go for a bit of a retro look with the white collared blouse and white wedges, and I borrowed the idea of pattern mixing with the belt from the last time I wore this dress.

When I was putting together this outfit I had on a layered pearl necklace that I tucked under the collar. Josh took one look at it and said, "You should take that off. It makes your outfit too busy." Every year when Project Runway returns, he goes all Tim Gunn on me for a few months and styles my outfits. I kind of love it. It took a lot of convincing to get him to watch that show with me, but now he loves all the drama, and it's taught him enough about fashion that quite often he knows what looks good better than I do.

We discovered this park yesterday and used it for these outfit photos. It's right in the middle of the city, but in this photo it looks like it's far out in the country....

Red polka dot dress: possibly vintage

White blouse: free from my aunt

White wedges: Sam Edelman (Kendall wedges) from Piperlime

Belt: thrifted

Red watch: thrifted from Village Merchants

Four years

Every year around this time, Josh and I have a conversation that goes something like this:

Me: Hey, I think today might be our anniversary.

Josh: Cool.

Me: Wait, maybe it's tomorrow. What day were we married?
Josh: The 18th. No, the 19th.

Me: Maybe we should just ask my mom.

I actually have a fantastic memory for dates, but for some reason our wedding anniversary stumps me every year. But I definitely know it was yesterday, because my mom brought us flowers :) I wore this outfit to go on a short evening walk, and then eat pasta at home while watching Burn Notice. Yes, we do know how to live it up.

Yeesh, look at that vein on my hand. It's all I can see when I look at this photo now...

Gray dress: Anthropologie

White wedges: Sam Edelman (Kendall wedges) from Piperlime

Black necklace: Urban Outfitters

White bracelet: H&M

Ring: free from my aunt

Life in black and white

Back in high school, I happened to mention to my friends once that my legs were my favorite feature. For months afterwards, they gave me no end of grief on the matter, in that lovingly mean way that only friends can manage. All the guys would whistle and jokingly say, "Wow look at those sexy legs!" whenever I would show up at a party, and all the girls just laughed because I thought my legs were my best feature, not, say, my eyes or my smile (which were apparently the more normal responses). I've moved past that now - while I appreciate my legs for all they do for me (walking, running, working, looking decent in shorts), I have other features that I like much better (like my eyes). I'd love to know - what do you think your best feature is?

For all my love of bright colors, sometimes I feel the coolest in black and white. It's such a timeless combination. Plus, this hat makes any outfit about ten times cooler.

White blouse: free from my aunt

Black and white shorts: Loft

Black blazer: Fred Meyer

White wedges: Sam Edelman (Kendall wedges) from Piperlime

Black hat: gift from my aunt

Black necklace: Urban Outfitters

Black bracelet: free from my mom

White bracelet: H&M

A rainy day Prince Charming

While we were taking these photos the sky started to darken, so we finished up quickly and walked to the nearest Starbucks as it started to rain. Josh and I shared a coffee, and then, because the rain hadn't let up, we started to walk the half mile home. After two blocks, though, I realized my white wedges were turning yellow! Ahhh! I dashed under a nearby awning, and Josh offered to walk the rest of the way home, get the car, and drive back to pick me up. As a staunch feminist I usually hate the idea of being rescued in any way, but when it comes to my shoes I will take the assistance of any available Prince Charming.

Lesson learned here: don't wear white leather shoes in the rain. (Other lessons to be learned: Always carry a pair of flats in your purse; don't live in a state that rains more than half the year if you want to frequently wear white leather shoes; get a husband who will go out of his way to protect your shoes.)

Black lace top: Quincy top from StyleMint

Black cardigan: gift from my aunt, from Macy's

Gray skirt: thrifted

White wedges: Sam Edelman (Kendall wedges) from Piperlime

Purse: thrifted from Salvation Army

Hair clip: gift from a friend

Pearl necklace: gift from a friend

Black flower bracelet: from my mom

Gray bracelet: made by me

Vivid hues

I don't mean to brag, but here in Portland we've been having superb weather lately. The temperatures have been ascending into the 70's and 80's, the skies have been clear, and the evenings are slightly warm and full of beautiful, soft light. Some days I spend hours outside, wandering around the streets and taking photos of the flowers. (Like the photo at the very bottom - I took that yesterday in Northwest Portland.)

I loved this outfit - color-blocking is still one of my favorite things to do with my clothes. It always surprises me how much attention these vivid hues draw when I walk outside. In the fashion blogging world this color combination would be considered fun but not out of place; but Portland, which is known for its weirdness, is not known for having people dress in neon colors. So even though the cut of this outfit was tame, the colors were unusual for the streets of Portland.

At first I liked this photo, but now I'm starting to think I look bug-eyed in it. Oh well, I'm keeping it because it's the only one that shows my purse.

 

Purple top: thrifted from Crossroads Trading Co.

Pink pleated skirt: H&M

White wedges: Sam Edelman (Kendall wedges) from Piperlime

White purse: free from my aunt

White pearl necklace: gift from a friend

Silver bracelet: won in a giveaway

White bracelet: H&M