K is for Knitwear

I was all set to wear a sweater dress and leggings for today's knit outfit, when two fortuitous things happened yesterday: 1) Some work I was having done on the house got pushed forward, forcing me to take the day off work, and 2) I finished converting a pair of regular old sweat pants into some trendy jogger pants. Sweats are knitwear, and the only time I can get away with wearing them is when I'm not at work, so I simply had to do it!

If you haven't been living under a rock, you're probably already aware that athleisure is the fashion wave of the present, and jogger pants are leading the charge. However, if you know me at all, you have probably guessed correctly that athleisure has basically passed me by. I take every opportunity to get dressed up, so going out in my gym or lounge clothes is completely foreign to me. Occasionally I'll duck my head shamefully into the grocery store to grab a few things after a workout, but when I'm dressing to be seen, I am not wearing sweatpants! In other words, I had no idea how to style my new joggers!

A quick search of Lookbook revealed that most fashionable women are wearing their joggers with crop tops, big baggy T-shirts, and leather or denim jackets. Well, I wasn't going to bust out a crop top for winter, but I did happen to have a reasonably baggy T-shirt.

I purchased this royal fox tee in New Orleans, designed by a local artist under the line Cocoally. I got it at a hefty discount because the tee was a misprint, with the colors slightly washed out and, I noticed later, a black ink smudge right under the fox's nose! To help distract people from this flaw, as well as to give my waist some definition, I tied the shirt in a knot above my hip. There—I achieved the crop top look and the baggy-tee look in one! A T-shirt is a knit, so so far I'm two for two.

In lieu of a denim or leather jacket, I opted for my white jacket (but only for keeping warm outside—I don't think it's really strengthens the outfit), which also happens to be a sweatshirt knit—three for three!

For the shoes, I was stumped. I actually do have a couple pairs of shoes that are covered with a knit material, but neither of them looked good with my outfit. If I'd had my druthers, I would have proudly finished off this look with a pair of platform sneakers, but alas, I have none in my collection. Finally, I decided that since I had an overall athletic vibe going, I might as well wear the only pair of sneakers I have that have any knit fabric in them. Check them out—the mesh overlay is a knit! Four for four!

Purple didn't really go with any of the other hues in the outfit, but it didn't really clash either, and purple is the color of royalty, so at least it sort of fit the theme of the T-shirt!

Later, I'll post the step-by-step of how I created my joggers from a pair of old straight-leg sweats.

J is for Jeggings

 
This isn't the first time I've worn jeggings for my blog, but it is the first time I've made them the centerpiece of my outfit, so I think it's high time for a discussion on what jeggings really are.

The word jeggings is a portmanteau of jeans and leggings, so you can expect any pants referred to by such a name to have some combination of the qualities of both. In my book, the most authentic jeggings are the ones that are made of a stretch knit like leggings but are printed to look like denim.

I don't actually have any pants that meet that description, though, so how could I say I've worn jeggings for my blog? Well, I do have a number of pants that are made of a stretch knit just like leggings, but the fabric is slightly heavier. They also have a functioning zipper fly and pockets, so their construction resembles that of jeans. I call those jeggings as well. I've already worn those in many combinations on this blog, including once or twice at work, so they are really old hat (old pants?) by now.

The only thing I haven't worn at work, that could possibly be novel enough to warrant a whole post in my alphabet challenge, would be jeggings that actually look like jeans. Fortunately, I recently acquired a pair of pants that almost fit the bill. If you wanted to be a stickler, you'd probably classify them as skinny jeans, because they are made of real heavy denim fabric. However, they have so much spandex in them that they cling to my thighs like a second skin. They have so much spandex, in fact, that the fly at the top is only decorative—you actually just pull them on and off like leggings! They must be jeggings!

Wearing jeans to the office is not a novel concept for me, but I try to do it sparingly and only with my most sophisticated dark washes. The "dirty," slightly weathered look of these pants, makes them much more of a workplace risk!

So how did I mitigate it? By wearing a button-down blouse (button-down blouses are my very definition of stuffy and "professional") that was long enough to completely cover my Spandex-encased derriere. I was sorely tempted to do a repeat of my lazy yesterday (still not feeling my best) and just wear the comfiest shoes I could get away with, but when you're rocking such casual jeggings, you really have to keep your shoe game on point. In this case, the point was literal, since I chose my pointed-toe pink stilettos, which just happen to match the shade of pink in the blouse. 

When choosing shoes, pointed toes (of a not-too-extreme length) will give you more of a professional edge than round ones.

I also kept my jewelry minimal (well, as minimal as my gaudy wardrobe will afford) and sophisticated. I once heard from a career expert that the best earrings for a job interview are large studs. Whether that is true or not (I doubted it at the time, because they were not at all stylish and reminded me of what a grandmother would wear to church), I took it to heart for this outfit, forgoing my usual dramatic dangles for some sparkly grey studs that could easily be covered by my hair.

What do you think? Can pointed toes, a long button-down blouse, and oversized stud earrings make you look professional in spite of your grungy jeggings? Looking in the mirror, I have to say no. It's a good thing I work in a casual office!

I is for Ill

 

After a 4-day interruption, I restarted my fashion challenge in really impotent form.

Thursday through Sunday, I was on a trip to Florida. I literally spent hours in the car trying to come up with intricate outfit options for the letter I. Every one of my travel buddies offered their ideas, but nothing would work within the limitations of my wardrobe (What!? My wardrobe? Limited? I'm really floored by this revelation). Ironically, I was saved by an icky infection.

All during my vacation, I was aware that a head cold was incipient (travel illness strikes again!), and by the time Monday rolled around, I was undeniably incapacitated. I stayed home instead of returning to work. I thought this extra day of idling around in my un-alphabetic pajamas would give me the ideal opportunity to invent something really inspired, but all my ingenuity was for nought!

As evening waned and my cough increased, I had an insight: If indeed I was going to drag myself into work tomorrow, I was inevitably going to be one miserable soul. Did I have any obligation to make my day even more intolerable by struggling to find something clever to wear? I decided my comfort was more important, so the ideal outfit would be one that accommodated my illness.

That turned out to be my softest, loosest, coziest pair of slacks; an extra-long and stretchy sweater so I could move freely and be spared the inconvenience of constantly adjusting my hem (short-sleeved in case of feverish overheating), another sweater to go over that (in case of feverish chills); and a pair of easy-on, easy-off, low-heeled boots. I forwent any kind of embellishment such as jewelry or makeup, making my outfit the closest thing to pajamas I could probably get away with wearing at the office. So there you have it: what an Unfashionista wears when she's ill!

The connection to the letter I is iffy at best, but I've tried to make up for it by interspersing as many interesting I-words throughout this post as I could imagine. Please don't be irate at me—I'm infirm!

H is for Hippie

I have a pretty sizeable collection of hippie/gypsy-inspired bohemian clothes, so I decided I could not pass up my chance to wear as many of them as possible for the letter H.

I started with my raggedy blue skirt that came straight from Jayli, a site dedicated to hippie clothes. The skirt came with an "attached shawl" that never fit right, so since I removed it, I have been able to wear it as a head wrap, which is a very hippie thing to do with one's hair anyway.

For my shirt, I went with a gold velvet with a very deep sequined V-neck. Bell sleeves are a common fixture on hippie clothes, so, while the plastic sequins may not be top at any tree-hugger's list, the shirt's overall shape matches the theme.

Plain brown flats were the only suitable footwear for this outfit (except maybe some leather sandals, but November said no).

Sweater Weather

I'll actually be visiting Florida for the next couple of days and, not wishing to complicate my packing any further, I will not be attempting to dress for the alphabet while on this trip, so, we interrupt this Fashion Challenge for an update on the state of my wardrobe.

Last Saturday, the temperature plummeted from a balmy 71° at around 1pm to 40-something and windy within an hour or two. It was the most miserable and drastic temperature shift I've ever experienced, made even more depressing by the fact that the forecast for the foreseeable future was cold, cold, cold! [Sometimes I wonder if this is a fashion blog or a weather blog!]

On the plus side, that meant I was finally able to bring my winter wardrobe out of hiding...and what a wardrobe it is! Over the summer and fall, my friend who frequently bequeaths me her old unwanted clothing really outdid herself with the number of sweaters...and this time, her sister got in the action too! Of course, I've done my own part in creating this glorious excess—three of the tops pictured below were purchased by Yours Truly. But regardless of the source, what this means is that I am starting the winter off on the right foot with 27 brand-new-to-me winter tops (not including the few that didn't suit me, which I am reserving for crafts projects or possible sale or donation)—that's enough to wear a new sweater every day for almost a month!

Not wanting to be pegged as a hoarder, I decided this was a great opportunity to rid myself of some of my older and less-loved winter wear. I picked out 10 sweaters and shirts to get the boot, for a net gain of only 17.

But that's not all. All during the spring, summer, and early fall, I was making a strong effort to stock up on winter-appropriate dresses. I ended up with 7 of these, plus a handful of skirts from various people and stores. I notice my new dress collection skews heavily towards dark red, which should be interesting, since I'm usually more of a bright-cool-color type of girl.

I have also added 4 pairs of new boots this fall (the brown pair featured in my Earth Tones outfit is one of them, but 2 of them remain unworn) but I'm too lazy to photograph them, and in any case, they are all just different varieties of dark neutral—in a couple of cases just slightly different replacements for pairs I already have.

So the final tally: 29 new garments and 2 new pairs of shoes ready to be worn, which might just be a new personal record (I never thought that would happen in winter!) To be fair, I didn't have anything to post for my seasonal switch last winter, so I guess I'm just catching up.

G is for Gold

Gold is not just a color, it's also a texture! A shiny, sparkly, shimmery texture that is entirely too flashy for work—especially when work involves a meeting with the boss of your boss! But I really wanted to sparkle on this day before the Thanksgiving holiday, so I decided to go for the gold—sparingly and tastefully, of course! 

I started with a pair of new boots I got for 10$ at Rugged Wearhouse. They're made with metallic thread and glitter for an extra load of sparkle, but I covered them almost all the way up with the legs of my long black pants. In the photo, they look mostly silver, but they were actually a light shade of gold.

On top, I wore a butter yellow sweater (yellow almost equals gold, right?).

What would a gold-themed look be without gold jewelry? I have tons of gold earrings, but instead I decided to go with my smallest pair of gold-colored crystal studs so as not to compete with the necklace. I've had the necklace for ages (like ever since I was a kid) but never worn it for real because it's not quite my style. I thought it would be the perfect accessory for this look because it was a hand-me-down from my Grandma (shout-out to my G-words!). 

One of the two gold rings (the one with the bow) probably came from my grandma as well...but now that I think about it, after a couple decades, I can't quite be sure where either piece of jewelry came from.

Oh well, for the sake of a good solid Letter-G day, I'm going to say definitively that I'm wearing Grandma's Gold.

F is for Florals

 

F is for florals...but not just any florals...fall florals!

I sang the praises of said motif as recently as 3 weeks ago, when I wore this very same blouse. Ordinarily I'd consider today far too soon for a repeat of such a statement-making piece, but for fall florals, which can only be worn about three months out of the year, I'll make an exception.

I tried to change up the look as much as possible for this iteration; I swapped pants for a skirt, brown for red, and boots for flats. I also found in my collection a very coordinating set of earrings, in their own muted shades of green and yellow.

I wore this outfit happily all morning, but when I went to take a bathroom break around 11 o'clock, I discovered to my horror that you could see my black bra right through the shirt! F for fashion fiasco!

I keep a backup stash of clothing at my desk, in case of accidents, spills, and the sudden need to go somewhere unexpected right after work. I don't keep a beige bra in this collection (though I probably should; this is the second time that I've had to dip into my stash and really wished it included a bra), but I do have a black top with a lace short sleeved overlay and a tank-style liner. In my moment of need, I decided to sacrifice the shirt and snip off the overlay so I could layer the liner under my blouse (it was too bulky to just wear the whole shirt underneath).

A second spin in the bathroom mirror revealed my look to be much more office-appropriate. F for Fast Fix!