Thursday, March 25, 2010

Gettin' Crafty

Yesterday was the absolute worst day. I had a crazed driver tailgate me for blocks then screech past me on a residential street, weaving all over the place. Then some woman in the parking lot of Walgreen's nearly ran over my kid and then came screaming at me to watch out for my kid and then threatened to hit me. "You're lucky you're holding that baby," she screamed. Oh, and we attempted to get a splinter out of the kid's hand, only to traumatize the hell out of her (many traumatizing experiences that day). Finally, we went to get our taxes done, and the news was what you call Not Good.

But at least I looked kind of cute.

Tax Man

I found this skirt (size L) at Savers for $5 a while back. I cut the top third off, folded down the top edge over a length of elastic, and voila! a skirt that fits me. I especially love the little metal studs along the navy strips:

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Seriously: how could I not try to make a skirt with that detail work?

My husband hates these, so therefore I want to wear them on the daily:



Top: secondhand Bitten by SJP, $5
Cardigan: Thrifted at Arc Value Village, $2
Skirt: Thrifted at Savers, $5
Shoes: Thrifted in Wisconsin, $5
Accessories: Vintage and/or thrifted

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Lazy Days

The whole oversized clothes thing is hard for me to get into. Like I said in the previous post, too many episodes of WNTW. But recently, I have seen so many big girls rocking the hell out of it that I figured it was time to give it a try. When trying out a new look, I like to make use of my local thrift store so the financial impact of any misstep is minimal. ;)

Thrifty Business

The bonus here was that the this shirt is "iron free", as am I (well, really we DO have an iron, but I never use it)*. So it's perfect for momming it up in the front yard or down at the neighborhood cafe/playground/"aquarium". It's hard to tell, but the shirt is not white, but a very pale pink.

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Shirt: Thrifted in the men's department at Savers
Leggings: Thrifted at Salvation Army
Shoes: Thrifted at Savers

Total outfit cost: approx. $20. Nina Garcia would approve (maybe not, but whatever).


*Funnily, I can now see that "iron free" doesn't mean wrinkle free. Heh.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Closet Case

So, I started reading Nina Garcia's most recent book, The Style Strategy: A Less-is-More Approach to Staying Chic and Shopping Smart. It's a bit of fluff, and there isn't much in it I don't already know from Tim Gunn and countless episodes of What Not to Wear. And while I've become increasingly impatient with people whose idea of tightening one's belt means spending $100 on a new bag instead of $1000, I do appreciate her emphasis on showing restraint in both style sensibility and spending. She highlights a number of style innovations that arose from necessity, and even embraces consignment shopping. She has a somewhat narrow sense of what's stylish, but she is no snob when it comes to labels, at least.

One of the great things about me reading this book right now is that she's really into cleaning out the unnecessary junk from your closet and taking stock of what you have and what you need. So I started a little spring cleaning project, one that was long overdue. Observe:

Before

That, my friends, is not pretty, and it's no way to show your clothes a bit of respect. That is what grad school and full-time mommery do to you, especially if you are already inclined toward slatternly behavior.

So I did some culling and tossing and donating (and hopefully a little selling!), and now it looks like this:

After

Best makeover I have ever had.

Oh, and it turns out the closet is now perfect for peekaboo:

Closet perfect for peekaboo

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Francophilia and other style influences.

I have been reading a lot of fatshion blogs in the past year, and I derive so much inspiration from what I see there. While some of the more popular ones are also some of my favorites (and you can find them all in the links at the right), I've been influenced quite a bit by the French Le Blog de Big Beauty. Big Beauty, aka Stephanie Zwicky, a French comedienne, model, and now designer (please please please sell the line in the US?!) has expertly translated the classic "put together"--but not too put together--look I always associate with French style. And she rocks the nautical like nobody's business. Some of my favorite nautical looks of hers are here and here.

I am under no illusion that I am pulling that off here, but it just happened that both top and bottom of this outfit was French in origin and reminded me of some of Stephanie's looks. The pants are from the same label that is producing her clothing line. The shoes are a much more vibrant sort of fuchsia pink than they look here. The lighting has been a challenge here lately with all the gray weather.

Nautical cotton sweater--vintage Pierre Cardin, thrifted for $6
Banded-bottom capris--Taillisime from La Redoute, via OneStopPlus. $25 with discounts.
Shoes--Henri Beguelin, thrifted for $8 (I looked these up and apparently they retail for $495! They are handcrafted in Italy)

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Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Plus-size Swimwear and Maternity Swimwear

I do a lot of swimming with my kiddo at the local Y. I have been making do with a couple of sub-par suits so far, always with the idea that some day I will invest in a really decent suit. So far that hasn't happened, but here are some that I have been looking at.

I gotta say, I hate that they don't use plus-size models for these suits, but I do adore the nautical preppiness of this suit (although I would probably wear it with a different bottom since I don't really care for the shorts). There's also this classic ruched style, which would be hot on a big girl. These two cute options are both from Woman Within, who has a $20 off $60 offer until March 15 with code WW42146. Be forewarned, though, that there is a lot of "slimming" rhetoric in their swimwear section. I find it offensive, but the stuff is cute, so what can ya do?


Junonia is an plus-size activewear store that sells some pretty hardcore athletic suits, like this one that comes in five colors.

Land's End has probably the biggest selection of plus-size suits, but I have had som ebad experiences with them. They run small, and anything with slimming panels and such are way too constricting for my taste. If you get that kind of suit, size up. Land's End does have this little number, though, which has interesting colors and breaks every "rule" there is about fat girls and swim suits, so of course I love it.

For the pregnant plus-size mamas out there, the options for swimwear (and for any maternity wear!) are slim pickings, but I dug up a few (pricey) options for you.

This two-piece halter suit goes up to a 3X. This one is as close to a classic black maillot that you'll find in plus maternity swimwear. These two both come from the site Maternity4Less, which has a better selection of plus-sized maternity clothes than I have seen most places. A lot of their suits go up to a 4X. Motherhood carries exactly three plus sized swimsuits, and they only go up to a 3X.

Depending on how you are shaped while pregnant, it might also be an option to just size up one or two sizes. If you don't get that basketball effect going on (I didn't really have that until the last few weeks maybe), the bubble belly construction of these suits might not be necessary. If you get one of these long-ish swim dresses and a brief or boyshort a size or two up from your usual, the extra fabric in these pieces will probably give you enough coverage. Or, hell, you could just go all out and get a bikini, but I wouldn't recommend it for the D-cup and up. Your breasts are so tender as it is while pregnant that I can't imagine bouncing around with an unsupportive bra on!

Where are YOU finding cute, quality swimwear these days?

More suits:


Tuesday, March 9, 2010

In Search of the Femmberjack

My friend Cynara introduced me to the concept of the Femmberjack, a sort of girly take on the grunge look. I kind of avoided the whole grunge thing the first time around (unless you count dating the scruffy boys who embraced the whole Seattle vibe), so I figured why not throw a little workshirt action in the mix this time around?
With Props to Pining_for_the_Moon
I acquired the shirt at a clothing swap (thanks, Leah!) ("Roebucks" brand), bought the skirt from an online sales post in Livejournal (it's originally Torrid), and thrifted the Gap denim jacket (below) at Savers. And I can't seem to stop wearing my boots. Hopefully it will warm up soon enough and I can put on more appropriate footwear.

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Friday, March 5, 2010

Flounce and Frippery

Wheeee, my new Eshakti dress is here!

Yellow Eshakti Dress 2

I am so happy with this dress. It seems as though the word frippery needs to be applied here, somehow. I don't love the fit of the bodice on this. The bust is a little too small and the torso is a little loose (which I am hiding with the belt), overall it's cute, the colors are more subdued than they look on the website, and I just love a flouncy skirt!

Leggings from American Apparel, denim jacket is thrifted, I made the scarf, and the navy blue cardi and navy blue beaded necklace you can't see are both thrifted.

Coming soon: pics of the tulle skirt I made, inspired by this one from Chan Luu:

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