Just Call Me Johnny Cash

Contrary to what I post on my blog, in my real wardrobe life, I'm like the Black Widow. All black, all the time. It's the root cause as to why my blog posts on outfits are few and far between --- because I'm usually in black --- and its the reason that I'm thinking about creating a strategic plan just for my wardrobe choices. Because how many black dresses does a girl really need? Someone needs to do a gap analysis on my closet. Tell me what I'm missing and then remind me why I shouldn't buy anymore black dresses. But Lord knows I just can't help it.

Secondly, everyone knows, black doesn't photograph well. It looks boring. It can come out grey. Or it can be like my sorry photos: out of focus, blurry, and down and out crummy.

[Please to excuse my blurry and crummy photos.]

My rule of thumb has been that if I wear a black dress, I pass on the outfit post because a black dress is no fun and I've had no good luck with photographing them. Today, I had to make an exception to that rule, because this dress, ladies, was worth the trouble. At $80 on the 40% off sale rack, I won't go into how long I've been stalking this dress. In my work world, the black shirt dress can do no wrong. & this one hid 95% of all my bumps I would want camoflouged and can keep it business during the day or make it fabilis at night.

[Using my Jedi Mind Tricks, you will ignore my dirty mirror. Pretty please.]

It's an Ann Taylor shirt dress, lined, and with sleeves that roll up three-quarter style. It has a draped assymetrical cumberbund across the waist. It does not wrap, button funny, or have odd buttons running down the front of the skirt. In essence, it is my perfect black shirt dress. & take it from me, ladies. I am the Queen of the Black Shirtdress. I have millions. But this little pretty, it's my favorite. This week. He he.

Changing the subject, I thought I'd photograph some of the orchids blooming in my mom's yard. How gorgeous are these??

Purple dendrobiums, you complete me!

♥

Dusty Rose Spectator Pumps: You Finally Belong to Me!

I have to show off my Fall 2008 Spectator Pumps in Dusty Rose I got off of eBay for under $10, still new. Ladies, you have no idea how baaaadddddly I wanted these shoes when they first came out. & I stalked them on eBay season after season, thinking of their dusty pink perfection. You could almost call them neutral. Couldn't you? Or is that a stretch?

♥

The sequin cardigan from last fall, with some bling-eriffic necklaces.

Paired with a simple back skirt from Ann Taylor. Their tropical weight wool? Perfect.

Fashion Night Out in Honolulu, plus New to My Closet

First, I'm going to apologize for being MIA. With going back to school, my Little Guy and his myriad of activities that I am primary chauffeur for, and oh yeah, that little thing called work, I've been a little bit preoccupied. But I'm here and I've got a bunch of posts lined up that will keep me present in the blogosphere for the next couple of weeks.

First up, Fashion Night Out was a couple of weeks ago and moi, being of a fashion-minded nature, had to attend. Between some lovely champagne bubbly at Club Monaco (love that store), great deals at J.Crew, and an excellent cause at hand, Fashion Night Out was a hit and I can't wait to attend next year!

Live models in the window at Louis Vuitton. Ugh, to be tall and thin and modeling such gorgeous bags!

Hubs trying his best Zoolander impression, whilst carrying my purchases and keeping our Little Guy busy. You gotta love a man who can multi-task like that!

A copy of the flier that acted as our map. It outlined every activity, deal and highlight of the night.

My purchase of the night at J.Crew. A great dress that was on the sale rack. I went right by it at first, thinking I didn't need a dress like that. I had just told myself earlier that day that I needed to stock up on basics, not fabilis pieces. (hmmm... writing that down just now, it didn't sound as great as it did in my head when I originally had the thought. Not the best wardrobe strategy.)

Well, with a simple black eyelet dress in hand, I strolled around the rest of J.Crew looking for pieces that would go with this dress instead of the one I had in my hand. At that point, I knew it was meant to be mine, so I put the other dress back and grabbed this one instead.

With some help from the CS, I found the most perfectly destroyed leather belt. Why oh why, ladies, do we covet things that look this old and ugly. My saving grace is that it was on sale. But I find myself reaching for it over and over since I've bought it, so, perhaps it wasn't a crazy purchase after all.

Paired with a cardi from Tar-jhay, my Fashion Night Out purchase makes its debut.

♥

Girls Night Out in Sequiny, Sparkly, Bling-Encrusted Shorts

It may just be me and my obsesh with J.Crew that has me seeing no issue with wearing sparkly, sequiny shorts to dinner and a movie with the girls. Either it's that, or the whole fashion world now tolerates the bling-bling while the sun is still out.

I have not problem with them. They are NOT J.Crew because though I thought the sequined bloomers were amongst the few and far between, cult-worthy items in the Fall roll-out so far, I missed the boat pretty quick on them. Talk about a quick sell-out! But instead, I made my way into the dark recesses of Charlotte Russe --- a place I swore off when I turned 30 last year. All the way in the back, on a random circular rack that the J.Snob in me thought you would never, ever see in J.Crew, I found a pair of black, sequined shorts for under $25. I am in fear of washing them.

But look at the sparkle, ladies!! Just look! It is a subtle sparkle on a relaxed short. I couldn't ask for more. & for under $25. Needless to say I wore them with a $3 Charlotte Russe tee, a $6 Charlotte Russe trendy owl necklace, and an old J.Crew cotton long cardi I've had for a while. The whole outfit may not last long, but that is the beauty of spending $34 on an outfit --- it's OK... but I hope the shorts last me just a hint longer than this season. I really do like them!

Girls Night Out was a lovely, Thai dinner followed by a movie - Eat, Pray Love. Can't get more girly than that. My gal pal said she loved the sequins and wished she knew I had dressed up. I wanted to tell her that Jenna Lyons practically wears this stuff to breakfast!

Ahi Summer Rolls

Tom Yum Khung Soup, sticky rice in a basket, and a glass of Pinot Noir.

To finish - Iced Thai Coffee. ♥

J.Crew Carly Dress: Polite Summer Ruffles

Ladies, my Little Guy is on vacay with the grandparents. So here I am, a mommy who suddenly has quite a bit of free time. Do I go to the gym? No. Yoga? No. I blog, peeps. Thought I would show you a few snaps of the J.Crew Carly dress I bought a while ago -- FP, damnit. It's now since been marked down to $59.99 in Final Sale and was an additional 20% off a few days ago. Quite a deal. If you don't mind drying it flat.

I'm going to say right now, this is a very comfy, flattering dress. The sleeves don't cut you off at the fattest point on my arm. Instead, I find them a very nice length. The ruffles are, goodness me, wonderful at hiding what you don't want others to see. A year ago, I put myself on a ruffle-ban when I had just had it up to *here* with J.Crew's ruffle-addictions. But either I've mellowed out on my ruffle outlook or ruffles out of cotton are exempt from the ban. Haven't figured which one it is yet. Did I also mention the shift shape is very cute? Me likey very much.

A quick focus on the shoes, which is new to my closet and happily living amongst new brothers and sisters here.

They are Saks Fifth Avenue, happily picked up on Clearance with an additional 50% off from the Off Fifth Outlet. I believe my final price was about $75. When I posted last month about the few pairs of shoes I brought with me initially to Hawaii, I was lacking a cute wedge/platform heel for summer. & I've refused to settle for something that wasn't perfectly what I had in mind. I wanted something that was comfy, interesting, could be worn casually or used to dress something basic up. & I wanted a color that would work with lights and darks. Oh, and I needed the darn thing to cover my foot. This was no easy mission to find, but I'm happy to say I was very pleased to see these.

These sandals are very, very comfy and I love the heel -- totally different than anything I already have. I love how it covers quite a bit of my foot. & the back is very flattering. & did I mention the quality is great? All in all, a very good buy.

Ok, now back to the Carly dress. One thing about this dress that works for me is the length. I'm about 5'4" and I never find dresses that hit at a flattering point like this one. If you're taller, this may not be your bag - you may need something a little longer. For me, this is a great casual length. Not something I'd wear to work - the cupcake factor of the ruffles coupled with the length wouldn't go over well in my work "casual but conservative" environment. But for a Saturday of lunch or shopping, this is such a great summer buy. In my opinion, it is the ultimate white summer one-piece. Another love? Do not be afraid of the VPLs, ladies. The ruffles ensure that your derrier is covered and safe. :0)

But buyer beware: Ruffles have a downside. When this baby comes out of the washer, be prepared to lay flat or hang, and tame those things. I can't imagine putting this thing in the dryer. I actually fear Hubs being *nice* one day and doing this exact thing. The ruffles would be out of control. & we can't have that, Ladies. We need polite ruffles.

Anyone buy this dress? I tried styling it with a belt but it hasn't worked for me. The belt seems to get lost in the ruffles and then I get befuddled. & befuddled by ruffles? No.... we can't have that.

What a Great Friday!

Feeling flirty and funky on an easy Friday at the office before Independence Day weekend, I opted for the newest -- and few and far between -- J.Crew box that hit my doorstep yesterday. I had ordered the Schuyler dress in white cotton, the Rose Vines blazer and a few other pieces that tickled my fancy one evening. Feeling very good that I had indeed NOT gone on a J.Crack rampage recently, I thought the purchase to be sane and reasonable.

I was feeling a little Miami Vice with the blazer sleeves rolled up. That is, if Don Johnson were to venture into grey rose vines prints. I still plan to have the sleeves hemmed to "bracelet length." I really liked how the jacket felt - very light, crisp and summery. I can see reaching for this over the summer.

At some point I wasn't sure about the blazer and the dress. I have to say I really like the blazer and will keep it, just didn't feel that I liked the combination.

I decided at the last minute to also try the Schuyler dress with my Joe's Jeans denim jacket. I love this jacket, ladies. It has been my go-to over the last month or so. Don't know when Jean Jackets came back but I'm so feeling the vibe. I do like the dress. Makes me feel very crisp and simple. I kept touching the cotton on the skirt because it felt so nice and soft. I would have to say this is more friendly to the girls who are on the smaller side up top. The v-neck is pretty low and if you're shy about your girls being out, this one may need to be passed on.

Completed the look with the J.Crew Serengeti Heels (not shown), but could have easily been worn with flip-flops. The look felt young, summery, and very fresh. & beyond all that, comfy.

Have a wonderful 4th of July!