This was a morning when I was fresh out of ideas. I knew I needed boots because of the snow, and then I threw on a bunch of comfy layers. The blazer-y jacket helps workify it a little.
I would like to note that this tee was an item I checked off my Want But Can’t Find list. I had been dying for a rockerish tee that 1. had some color in it and 2. didn’t involve a band logo. I was psyched when I found this one on extreme sale at Zara!
This is my favorite kid of outfit: generally classic with a serious bite. The blouse/sweater vest/pencil skirt/loafer combo is nothing new; but add in mixed prints, bleach stains, and studs and you’ve got yourself something to look twice at.
Yes, that’s pony hair AND studs.
Are you one of those girls who sees an outfit and then you are inspired to replicate it with your own pieces? Jill is good at this, but I am not. I’ll see an item that reminds me of something I own and haven’t worn in a while, but that’s usually the extent of my thought bubble. However, I came across this picture on StreetPeeper:
and I fell in love with the girl on the left’s outfit. Upon further inspection, that might even be my exact Forever skirt. I had planned on saving my version for a nighttime look, but the weather has made boots a necessity and skirt looks are in high demand. So I decided to school-ify it.
Now, I don’t recommend busting out this outfit at your day job unless they are already used to you wearing *interesting* getups. I was originally wary of wearing a leather skirt to school, but no one batted an eyelash the first time, so Game On.
Jill’s quest to kill me with hypothermia continues. But how beautiful is this blue wall we accidentally found?
Good lord, it was cold and windy. Can you tell? These pics are not top notch because we just tried to take a bunch as quickly as possible. Also, I am not suffering from some kind of leg disease: those are pale peach tights with gold studs. Next time, I’ll expose more of them (shorter boots) so you can tell what’s really going on.
These heels were PRETTY AMBITIOUS for a school day. I made it through without busting out my backup chanclas, but you better believe these are not making a second appearance during the work week.
I bought this little shift dress probably 2 years ago from TJ Maxx or Nordstrom Rack or one of those for what I remember to be a killer price. I intended to wear it as a hot weather school dress – I like how the extended shoulder looks like they could pass for “sleeves” – but black, thick, lined fabric is not exactly conducive with zero air conditioning.
With the slightly warmer temperatures (like, in the 40s) we saw, I was on the hunt for a skirt in my closet. I rediscovered this dress towards the back of my closet and decided to give it a new life as a layering piece. I originally tried it on with my J. Crew Snowcat blouse (AGAIN. I know.), but the sleeves were a little too voluminous. This pink top has much slimmer sleeves for a sleeker look. I added sheer stockings and my favorite wedges, and figured the beading was all the jewelry I needed (plus some small geometric earrings you can’t even see).
This turtleneck always makes me think of Deee-Lite. But now that I’ve rewatched the video for the purpose of this blog, it turns out she doesn’t wear stripes at all! Though, the video features a lot of black/white stripe furniture… ahhh memory is such a funny thing.
Mom bought me this skirt (which came with the glitter belt!) to go with the blazers she also gave me. I kind of froze when it came to getting dressed for work, since I haven’t been in a school mindset for two weeks. Several variations of this look were strewn across the room that morning, and this is what I ended up with. Very simple, but also pretty quirky and fun all at once.
So, for starters, my hair is in a messy side bun that, apparently, got EXTRA messy as the day went on. Also, this photo shoot was fairly traumatic (kicked out of our usual spot, whistled at by creepers in the new spot, and freezing wind). At least we got some nice sunshine.
These are gold jeans, which have been surprisingly versatile, but they just look like chinos unless they are in the right light (as you can tell in the photos). Our students’ uniform is tan chinos, black shoes, and they can wear a plain black sweater over their school polo (among a few other shoe/top options). From behind, I was mistaken several times for a student; once even getting yelled at for entering the Teacher’s Lounge! But I suppose there are worse insults than being able to pass for a teenager.
This is the most professional I’ve looked in a while. I recently redid my closet, which is pretty huge, but only consisted of one long hanging bar. The new set up involves multiple hanging bars and several shelves, which has gone a long way in getting my stuff organized.
Part of the organization process involveD rediscovering pieces I’d forgotten about, including this vest. I had a gift certificate to Daffy’s, which was closing soon and only exists on the East Coast. So, in a semi panic in the Philadelphia store, I ended up with this vest (and, oddly enough, a Rachel Roy Chicago Bulls shirt). I probably would not have bought this with “real money”, but I’m so glad I did. It’s very clearly professional looking, but an interesting piece at the same time. And I have half a mind to wear it alone with jeans the next time I’m feeling extra saucy.
Here is an outfit that started off pretty boring, and escalated quickly. I wanted to wear this new denim shirt with some color, so I pulled out these green/teal pants. Then I remembered I had this necklace, which jazzed the whole look up. I had planned on wearing the shirt buttoned all the way up with the necklace in the collar like a bow tie, but then I found out it we were taking the staff picture that morning, and decided the Ironic Arsenio Hall look wouldn’t exactly stand the test of time. I wore the shirt and necklace “the normal way” and tossed a black blazer over it to make the whole look read more “professional”.
I tried a few bracelets, but settled instead on this neutral-but-killer stack of rings. And I was tempted to reach for my usual plain black flats, but I liked how the green picked up a little of the glitter in these shoes (plus, the glitter filled in as a quasi-print in an otherwise collection of solids).
Mr. Trousers was vehemently opposed to the skirt length on this little number, positing that it was inappropriate for school. I initially took his heed to heart, changing into the cotton leggings I had originally laid out the night before. But the leggings seemed even more vulgar, so I went with my gut on this one. The skirt reaches the tips of my fingers, making it technically compliant with my own High School Handbook of yore. But beyond RULES, I felt that my skin being completely covered (in predominantly baggy fabric) overruled the length of the skirt. Ain’t nothing sexy about what’s going on here.
All Mouth and Trousers 