Let's Shine Up Them Shoes !!!

This will be my second round of participation in Sheila's Shoe Shine Saturday. One of my biggest dilemnas this weekend was picking out which shoes to give some lovin' to. (I know, life is rough, huh?) But I conquered that dragon. Here they are:

These are Simply Vera by Vera Wang. I got them at Kohl's. I don't wear them too much, because they are kinda loud. Seriously, when do I think something is loud. It was a pretty popular style, and I have seen them on other bloggers. Despite the high spike heel, they are pretty comfy, probably because the black band over the instep is elastic. There's also a hidden platform, which helps with the heel height. I chose to wear them with a fairly neutral outfit.

The dress is made by Adrienne Vittadini. It's a thick, substantial knit, so there is no show through from undergarments, and any ripples and bulges are nicely smoothed over. The sides of the dress are plain flat knit, and the center panel is textured. Here's a closeup of that texture.

In the first closeup, I thought the texture looked like an arthropod abdomen. It was gross, so I deleted that one. One of my co-workers more accurately described it armadillo stomach. But you can see it here. The dress came with a thin leather belt that wraps around twice, but I decided to wear a wider elastic belt for some reason.I am also wearing the Baby Phat leather jacket that I wore last week. At church yesterday, I saw a lady wearing a similar dress, with a cowl neck scarf. It looked great, so I attempted to copy her. I used an oblong scarf, and twisted it around so the knot is in the back. Here's how that turned out:

As you can see from my Michelin Tire Man neck, I was looking down at the camera. I don't really have 6 neck rolls. Yet. And for my jewels du jour

I have 5 of my RJ Graziano bangles, and my Swarovski Nirvana in Black Diamond. My nail polish is by Ulta, and it's called Set the Nude. Two coats gave good coverage.

I have never worn this dress with this jacket before. I like it. It's comfy and elegant, and I will most likely try it again. Both of these pieces turned out to be good purchases. Sometimes when I feel like something is too expensive, but buy it anyway, I disappoint myself. But other times, I realize that you usually get what you pay for. This dress is in it for the long haul. So check out www.sheilaephemera.blogpsot.com for more bitchin' shoes.

A Weekend of Wearing Stuff

It's not often that I have a weekend crammed with plans. I actually prefer a lot of down time. But this weekend, I am busy. What I do like is planning out the costumes I will wear for each activity. Let's start with work on Friday. After spending a long week slaving under hot lights (har de har), all I want is comfort. And this outfit delivers.

The pants are a black jacquard, and are by Fendi. I got them at a consignment shop down in San Diego, when I was visiting my mom when she lived there. The top is the one I got at the Assistance League on Memorial weekend. Here's a closeup of the pattern on the pants.

It's squares. Some are shiny, and some are matte. These slacks are a workhorse - they always look good, and always look brand new. I guess that's what quality fabric does for clothes. With them, I am wearing a pair of Calvin Klein shoes that also have a dual texture thing going on. They are all suede, with the exception of the straps, which are patent.

One unusual accessory for today is my purse. It's actually a World War 2 ammo bag. It also just so happens to perfectly fit the crossbody bag trend that is so big right now. It has a flap that covers the front, and when you open the flap, there are long holders for the rounds of ammo. Looky looky.

I am continuing the military theme with my necklace. Even though I got it at JCP, it has a medieval conqueror theme going on. It is another workhorse that I wear often, to cover up the bones.

As for my arms, on the left, I have an enamel Anne Klein watch and a tanzanite wide band. I wonder if Calvin and Anne are related? A quick Google search ought to give me the answer. But for the time being, here's the watch. I rarely wear watches - with cell phones, they're somewhat obsolete, and just for looks.

I liked the look of the white enamel with all the black. On my right, I have another tanzanite ring that is a blossom shape, with cubic zirconia clear stones. The leather bracelet was a souvenir from Baltimore. When I was there, I was walking around the Inner Harbor. My shoes, even though they were a comfort brand, and made of elastic, gave me blisters. So I went into a little tchotsky shop to get low cut socks. And I saw this bracelet, so I got it too. Socks are a pretty crappy souvenir, if you ask me. And I have worn this inexpensive little thing a million times. 5 bucks well spent.

This evening, I have a cocktail event for one of my professional organizations at the House of Blues in Dowtown Disneyland. That's about 20 minutes away from Huntington Beach. These kinds of affairs can stump me. On the one hand, there will be a lot of accomplished people there. so there are usually a lot of suits. On the other hand, I rarely get let out of my cage, so I want to look festive. I chose to wear this lace dress that is a really nice shade of grey-blue. I have worn it several times, the last to a honorary dinner for my mother in law. There were politicians and people from church there, and they complimented me, so I suppose that means it was appropriate. I got it at Macy's, and it is made by Alfani. I had no choice except to take this crappy bathroom selfie. It shows the general idea, and you can see the lace in closeups later.

It didn't come with the belt. I saw this belt at one of those little strip mall stores, and I bought it for another outfit. I figured it would fall apart after one or two wearings. Wrong!! It has stood the test of time. Another 5 bucks well spent.

For jewelry, I chose a statement necklace that I got from EBay. It's costume. I think the stones are glass. But it's pretty. I wore only one arm's worth of jewelry, because this look has a lot going on. and it's a good thing, because I had to park in the overflow lot (the Simba lot), and walk a long way through crowds of people. It stunk. Anyway, I have a bracelet of amythyst, agate, and silver, and a diamond solitaire with a wide Swarovski band.

For shoes, I went with Worthington low wedges in white/black reptile. Another good choice, becuase of the horrid parking situation that ended with me in the Simba lot.At least it was free - parking and boozing. My foot looks like it belongs on a cadaver with rigor mortis. I had to contort my foot after getting home, and this was the result.

On Saturday, we went to see our little grandson get an MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) belt in Irvine. He went from yellow to orange belts. He will be 5 next week.Once again, I wanted to look nice, and be comfy, because we were going to Costco afterwards for weekly grocery shopping. I wore mustard and white print shorts (5" inseam) that I got at Target a couple of years ago. I love print shorts and print pants. They add an element of style that is effortless. And they hide stains, and I usually spill something on myself on a regular basis.. On top, I wore a black chiffon peasant style top that I wear a lot. It matches everything. For accessories, I wore my black coral necklace, a black leather bracelet, and black flips. I look like a street urchin in this picture, especially since I am holding the pathetic Elli.

Next comes church on Sunday. I am not a regular attendee. I go occasionally with my mom because it makes her happy. Sometimes my attitude is the most inappropriate one imaginable, so I try to make sure the outside is at least non-offensive. It' supposed to heat up tomorrow, but there was a thick marine layer today, and the sun didn't shine all that much right at the beach. So I don't know what's going on weatherwise. I am going to try and wear this black dress with the ivory lace trim. I can always bring this ivory satin baseball style jacket that I have. I am going to wear my black/gold Vince Camuto shoes, and some delicate gold jewelry. I will have to switch purses, so I am going to use my black vintage Cartier purse with a gold panther on it.

UPDATE :LIFE INTERFERES WITH BLOGGING. When I got home from church, I was planning on having my husband take my picture. As I was walking up the driveway, I noticed that his ancient VW bus was leaking gas. So he had to take care of that situation, and I forgot all about the picture, due to worrying that my house would go up in a giant fireball. One new fuel line later, all is well.