WIW: simply classic

This week was a torture! We are delivering a project at work and things did not go well so I had to work on weekend and very long hours. I am so happy it is Friday and that I have vacation next week! we decided not to go anywhere but use this week to finish our deck before the snow comes...but still, it means no work stress!!!
So this week I had no energy to dress so simple classic outfits to the rescue.

#1 Saturday at work. I decided to see if I can style that knit blazer better. what do you think?
Gibson knit riding blazer
Burgundy sweater - Reitmans
Paige bootcut jeans
Vincee Camuto leo slippers

#2-3 What can be simpler that a shirt, skinny trousers and a leather jacket?
Asymmetric leather jacket - Danier
Martin skinny trousers
Vince Camuto slippers (again!)
BB button down
Danier silver tote

#4 Maybe the last time I wore my blush khakis this summer? Tried them with that troublesome for me knit jacket. See, I am demoing Angie's faux-tuck here!
Gibson knit riding blazer
Gap blush khakis
BB striped sweater
trotters tweed wedges
nude clutch from Portugal

#5-6
Another simple classic to the rescue! I think it was my favorite of the week.
Red Halogen skirt - NAS
BB purple mini stripe shirt
"Monty cousin" tote
Ron Hommerson slingbacks

#7 I was at the end of my strength today and did not even have energy to think about an outfit. FFBO of a summer dress and denim jaket were just the ticket!
Cleo dress
Old Navy white denim jacket
Silver Isaac Mizrahi flats
Red Chromia bag

That was my week. Next week is The Deck week so I don't expect I will have much to show....

Have a beautiful weekend!

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This Zara order made me cry...

I already lamented about my first Zara order yesterday when none of the four tops was a keeper.
Today I got my second order for which I hoped without hope for a miracle...but it did not happen.
I have been looking for a long (over the knee) wool winter coat for years without success. I was so happy when I spotted this coat at Zara which met all my criteria so I ordered it.
This coat is so beautiful it made dizzy when I pulled it out of the box. The wool fabric is soft and nice, the color is incredible shade of dark blue (not navy but more of indigo) and the length is great...but IT IS TOO SMALL! It is tight in the hips and cut to high under arms and in the shoulders. XL would fit me perfectly but this coat does not come in XL!
It is not often that items of clothing makes me cry...actually I don't remember a single case of it - but I am literally weeping now. This was my dream coat - in color, quality, length and style - and for a minute I believed my quest is over...but it was not meant to be.
Oh Zara! I am forgiving you that your trousers, skirts and dresses would never hit my curvy bottom. I am forgiving you that 80% of your tops do not come in my size. But I will never forgive you that you broke my heart and ruined my style life by not extending this coat model into size XL.
Now I am going to pour myself some cognac and mourn the death of a dream...

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Do I need more trousers in my life? (Keep / Return)

...because I ordered two more from Banana Republic.
They were available in size 14 only which is one size up for me. I ordered them anyway thinking that my mom can alter them if I like them. Imagine my horror when they came and they fit even if in a relaxed way. I only hope that it is BR changed its sizing and I didn't change mine!:-) They are both Martin fit (which is my best fit from BR) and straight leg.
 #1-3 Martin navy lightweight trousers
Angie, look - these are NAVY! :-) I would let the hems down a bit if I keep them. As far as you can see the fit in those pictures - are they OK? I also ordered a navy blazer in a hope to make a suit.

#4-5  Martin plaid trousers
I wanted to have patterned trousers for SOOO long! I do have a couple of micro checks or houndtooth but nothing like this. I think they are fun but maybe I am kidding myself and I look like a clown in them? Also I think the fit is good but again - am I kidding myself? There are 2 " of hem I can let down as well so length is not an issue.

So what do you think: keep or return? If keep then should I taper legs on any or on both?

Thanks!

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What do we think of this metallic peplum blazer?

Monogram collection in Banana Republic. Does it look interesting or like a knight armor?

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WIW: looks like the fall is here!

It seems we moved from high summer to deep fall in a span of a single week: it started with 30C and ended with 13C including a major thunderstorm in between!
I was trying to get more wear out of my summer clothing this week because in Canada you can never tell how soon the summer ends! Now looking at all pictures together I think I had a theme of strong graphic b/w pattern going for the most of the week

pic 1 Volume on volume
Trying to squeeze last wears out of my white wide leg trousers: both fabrication and low hems make them warm season trousers only for me. I think volume on volume is not everybody's cup of tea but I quite liked this.
White Editor trousers - Express
Striped blouse - Suzy Shier
Bone slingbacks - Ros Hommerson
Silver tote - Danier

pic 2 Bold and bright
Another summer piece I am trying to get more wear of - my new striped VC skirt. This time I wore it with a bright silk shirt. It has hi-low hem and I wanted to wear it untucked but unfortunately I realized that the front ends were quite wrinkled from the previous semi-tuck - and no time to iron. I decided to tie the ends in front to save the day!
Orange silk blouse - Hilary Radley via Costco
Striped Vince Camuto skirt
Nude cage sandals - Franco Sarto
Nude clutch from Portugal

pic 3 Cool  swirls
Another scorching day so unlined cotton skirt and a silk "sweatshirt" felt just right. After the eye searing orange of the day before calm dark blue felt just right.
Swirl skirt - Winners
Silk "sweatshirt" - Le Chateau
Silver slipper flats - Isaac Mizrahi
Red Chromia satchel - Winners

pic 4 Ink and polka dots
I feel it was a skirt week as I am wearing third skirt in a row. This shirt is one of the few ink blue items I have. Unfortunately it is also summer only piece because the sleeves are 3/4 and the fabric is really thin but I love the color!
Polka dot skirt via consignment
Ink blue shirt - Le Chateau
Nude Fidji pumps
Nude clutch from Portugal

pic 5 Red booties!
Today was really cold so I decided to debut my NAS Munro booties - and happily pulled out my white leather jacket as well!
White leather jacket - Danier
Striped sweater - Banana Republic
BF jeans  - Kut
Munro booties - NAS
"Monty cousin" tote - Winners

As usual all comments and suggestions are welcome. Unfortunately I have to work this weekend so it may be a "post and run" for a while :-(
I hope at least all of you have a nice and restful weekend!

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Play with me: why it does not work and why it does?

My recent post on neutrals in my closet made me think: is the wrong color a main culprit when I find it hard to style an item or is there something else?

This Gibson blazer was the first "longer" blazer I bough 2 years ago which is the right direction for me according to Angie. I had to select between black and grey and decided that as I already have one black blazer AND black is not my favorite color I should get grey (that was 2 years ago when black and I were not friends yet).
So here it is 2 years later and edging towards an orphanhood...I just seldom feel fab wearing it and more often than not put it back.
It is knit and this maybe a factor. On one hand it is very comfortable and knit quality is great. On the other hand maybe it is not crisp enough for me?
Another factor is the sleeve length. On one hand it has this "scrunched sleeve" built in and they do not slide down. On the other hand it is hard to wear long sleeve tops under it because sleeves conflict with each other.
...but comfort aside most of these outfits I am not proud of as well. There are 2 of them out of this lot which felt right but the rest were "meh".
So here is the Game:
1. Which outfits  I felt good in?
2. Why it worked in those cases and did not work in the rest? Is this the color hard to style for me or something else?
3. Is there a hope for this blazer for me? Which parameters I need to keep in mind while trying to style it to get it right?

The game is on: anybody is in? :-)

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Capsules, colors and my inventory (a long novel)

Lately the forum was swamped with capsule and color posts. Sneaky Angie, how she is making us think and ponder and take the inventory of our closets...Isn't it amazing how thought provocative these posts are!
Anyway I got bitten by the same bug. I don't think I will do a capsule post, not yet anyway but I am beginning to think in terms of capsules (new thing for me) - at least for the colors.

Some time ago I posted color palette question (aka not having one) and a lot of you (and Angie) told me that I don't need to worry about this because my closet is pretty heavily mix-and-match(able). However I keep returning to this color dilemma again and again in my head. The main reason is that I think it will make it easier for me to shop but also I really like the thought of signature neutrals and colors. Just find it very appealing somehow so I guess I need this exercise!  

So phase one for me is to take a stock of which colors are represented in my closet right now and I was quickly done the inventory using my wardrobe spreadsheet (less time consuming than pulling everything out and less messy too!). For clarity sake I considered patterns as a color either covering the larger area or having the biggest impact and I counted everything including footwear and coats.
Well, it was eye opening for me for sure, see for yourselves:

Neutrals:
Most heavily represented neutrals were white / cream and black (pic 1).  This did not come as a surprise because I like the graphic drama of black and white. They are pretty much equally represented. It is also interesting that I have more black for cool season but more white for the warm one. However the surprise was in the number of them: combined they represent whooping 38% of my total wardrobe! I guess we can safely say that black and white are my signature neutrals, no? :-)
That was easy but determining other "signature" neutrals was not as easy. This is what I have:
Navy / ink   - 4
Light grey   - 8
Mid grey     - 10
Dark grey    - 3
Brown (including tan, camel and cognac) - 7
Taupe          - 7

If I combine all greys together they are coming pretty close to black / white count so it looks like grey is my other signature color, right? On the other hand it is not very flattering on me and I have trouble styling some of my grey items (especially mid grey). See pic 2
In comparison dark saturated navy and especially ink blue are much more flattering on me but I have just a few items of this color. Pic 3 to illustrate :-)
Brown is a complicated color for me. It usually looks good and for a pure flattery beats black every time...but I find harder and harder to incorporate it into my outfits. Maybe it is because my hair is not brown as before but a much darker almost black shade now? Or maybe it just lacks drama I can get with white and black? I still love my dark brown leather blazer though and will no part with it! (pic 4)
Taupe is a strange animal, a hybrid between grey and brown. I am not even sure the things I consider taupe are really taupe (pic 5 - both jacket and booties).
So I cannot really go by sheer number of items in each color I currently own to determine which ones should be my other "signature" neutrals. I guess I can use your help here :-)
If you are still reading my novel you deserve a medal! I would appreciate your opinion  - which neutrals you see as "mine"?
Thanks a lot!

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WIW - getting back to normal!

Our deck construction is still ongoing and my work is as crazy as ever but at least my house guests have departed and we have already moved our younger son to college so life is much less hectic now. Enough so that I can get back to taking outfit pictures on a daily basis and posting my weekly posts again!:-) Missed you all!!!
Sorry for not the best pictures: I am still trying to find a good spot for picture taking indoors when days are so much shorter now. I think my living room (3-4) is better than the office, don't you think? Or maybe orange color is more flattering for me than the pale blue? :-)
pic 1
Tried to layer the mesh taupe sweater over a lavender shirt this time with white on the bottom. I think it looks better layered over a white shirt like here but oh well! Debut of my VC leo flats, hopefully it was not too much with the red bag here when the rest is neutral or pastel...
               White Kut BF jeans - Nordstrom
               VC Signature slipper flats - NAS
               Lavender shirt - BR
               Taupe mesh sweater  - Madewell
               Red satchel - Chromia (Winners)
               Cream snake skin textured belt - Winners
pic 2
No rain in the forecast so tried to squeeze my wide leg white Editors in once more! Completely non-creative and simple outfit here but featuring my latest find - a silver leather belt with silver grommets from a discount store for $5! 
              White Editors trousers - Express
              Patterned silk blend shirt - Cleo
              Nude cage sandals - Franco Sarto
              Silver tote - Danier

pic 3 - 4
Skirt day! This striped tee becomes one of my favorites pretty fast! I even find that I can wear a couple of almost orphan blazers with it and like the look. You cannot see it well here but the stripes in the tee are silver and there are thin silver stripes I the skirt as well - and a silver tote to boot! :-)
It is also the first day I pulled my booties out because it was really chilly in the morning. I wanted to wear my new red Munro booties but somehow I did not feel them with the faded denim here so these went out instead.
               Midi skirt - Spanners via consignment
               Striped sweater tee - Brooks Brothers
               Denim moto jacket - Gap
               Leo print booties - David Tate
               Silver tote - Danier

pic 5
I wanted to wear my white cotton blazer while I can (this is a purely warm weather item for me due to the fabric weight) so I designed the rest of the outfit around it.
                White blazer - Melanie Lane
                Black sequin tee - Winners
                Kut BF jeans - last year NAS
                Nude pumps - Fidji
                Red satchel - Chromia (Winners)

Thanks for looking and as always I appreciate any suggestions and feedback.
Have a great weekend!!!

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