Autumn Leaves

 Top: Keira Kimono Sleeve Top from Kiyonna via Gwynnie Bee (click link to get a free month & help me earn a free month)

Skirt: Enwrapture Vintage Silk Sari

Sandals: Dansko

Necklace & Earrings: Babil & Bijou

Photography: Me & Kate

It was only in the 50s on Monday when I wore this outfit to work, but I couldn't find any socks that I thought went with this already very colorful outfit. And shoes?! I just didn't have anything that would work...and I ran out of time...so sandals it was! I found these shoes online & I think if I owned them, they would have went nicely...with purple or red stockings? 

I really really LOVE red & orange together! It makes me happy. A friend told me once that orange is the color of fun. It's true. I am quite fond of this top, but it was a bit low cut for work. I need to get myself some tie tacks like Kate uses to make her outfits more work safe. The ruching, the kimono sleeves, & the v in back all made this a flattering top that I am considering buying. It is difficult to find cute shirts to wear with the 50+ sari wrap skirts I have & I thought this one was perfect. 

Kate is rocking an adorable shirt from Gwynnie Bee from NY Collection. I loved the red/black tiger stripes & the buckle on the side. 

Pumpkin Massacre

 Dress: Patricia Maxi Dress from Igigi via Gwynnie Bee (click link to get a free month & help me earn a free month)

Shirt: Angel Shirt from Love Your Peaches

Socks: Sock Dreams

Shoes: Liz Claiborne

Necklace & Earring: Age Before Beauty

Photography: Super Boo & Me

This is my least favorite outfit I've posted on here. I like my jewelry though, and the pumpkins. This dress was a bit tight on me despite it being in my usual Igigi size (26/28). I was also not a fan of the way the top fit, it shifted around a lot and the waist hit me in a weird spot...it was supposed to be an empire waistline and it hit me closer to my waist. The length was strange too. Not a hit for me. Kate wore this dress last week too and it was not great on her either. But...pumpkins!

We went to our friend's Angie & Toby's house on Saturday evening  for squash massacre & dinner. Here is what we created.

Experiments in Pattern Mixing

 Dress: Lane Bryant

Cardigan: Sunday Afternoon Bellini in Stripes from Kiyonna via Gwynnie Bee (click link to get a free month & help me earn a free month)

Leggings: Lace Trimmed Leggings from Roamans

Shoes: Liz Claiborne

Necklace: Babil & Bijou

Earring: Me

Photography: Super Boo

I wore my experiment in pattern mixing outfit to work and to get my hair cut. Yay! Hair cut! I always wait until I am desperate before finally calling to make an appointment. You would think I'd know by now that Gen's first available opening is going to be at least 2 weeks out. I called that same week for an appointment with my doctor and she had 1 available slot left the next day. I'm not sure what my point is, except that I was *not* desperate to get in to see my doctor. 

Waaaay back in high school, I didn't follow any fashion rules. I wore a lot of vintage & thrift store clothing and I had my own style of throwing things together...nothing had to match. But as I got older & fatter, I put more fashion rules in place for myself. I suspect it had more to do with the fat than the age. I never stopped wanting to look good, but clothes were no longer fun. When I look at other fashion blogs...I notice unique accessories & pattern mixing are what catches my eye the most. But still I have this voice in my head telling me fat chicks can't pattern mix without looking ridiculous. And that's just silly. So, that is how my experiment in pattern mixing came to be...

Lady in Red

 Dress: Whimsey Wrap Dress from Kiyonna via Gwynnie Bee (click link to get a free month & help me earn a free month)

Shoes: Ariat

Necklace: Vintage

Earring: Babil & Bijou

Photography: Super Boo & Me

I wore this dress to work and then to a play with Super Boo. I felt confident & sexy in this red wrap dress. Isn't it a gorgeous shade of red?! The first dress I got from Gwynnie Bee was this same dress from Kiyonna, but in black with white polka dots...I loved it so much I bought it. Kate & I were both going to buy it, but she changed her mind and bought it in red instead. Now I want it in red too!

Heritage Tavern

 Dress: Lucia Wrap Dress from Kiyonna via Gwynnie Bee (click link for a free month)

Socks: Extraordinary Vertical Striped Cotton from Sock Dreams

Shoes: Dansko

Jewelry: Vintage

Photography: Kate, Super Boo, & Me

First socks of the season. I'm not a big fan of wearing shoes...I'd go barefoot all the time if I could. Second best is sandals, so I always hold out for as long as possible...well, that's not true...I know someone who says it's sandal season until there is snow sticking on the ground...I don't wait quite that long. And once real shoe season begins, I have my Sock Dreams addiction. 

I adore wrap dresses, but this is my first with a cutout neckline. I liked the look, but felt it was too loose across my chest when sitting down. I am only a C cup, so I don't have the flesh up top needed to stretch this bit of fabric. Otherwise, I was in love with this dress and plan on wearing it to work tomorrow before sending it back. 

I wore this fabulous dress to have dinner for the first time at Heritage Tavern with Kate & Super Boo last Wednesday evening. I feel so spoiled. I had 2 of the best meals of my life in one week! The 3 of us decided to split a bunch of things and most were delightfully delicious. I started off with this scrumptious drink, the Paramore (modeled here by the lovely Kate), which was made with Luxardo Bitter, St. Germain, Deaths Door Gin, & lemon. 

Although many of the things we ate were divine, these deviled eggs stole the show & I can't even tell you anything about them except there were 3 different kinds and if you order a dozen, that includes some truffled eggs as well...I have been craving more of these since taking the last bite.

Edited to add- A horrible selfie of me in the work bathroom of how I wore this dress to work on Monday. Same kind of socks from Sock Dreams, but in oranges instead of reds and a harvest orange cardigan from Avenue. 

Work Outfits on a Windy Day

 Dress: Convertible Skirt/Dress from Kiyonna via Gwynnie Bee (click link to get a free month)

Cardigan: Lane Bryant

Sandals: Dansko

Necklace: Babil & Bijou

Earring: Me

Kate's Dress: Eloquii via Gwynnie Bee

Photography: Kate & Me

Monday work outfits worn by girlies after work at Law Park on the shore of Lake Monona on a windy day. I nearly sent this convertible dress back to Gwynnie Bee without wearing it, but after trying it with a shirt underneath (Kate's suggestion & how she's worn hers), decided I liked it with this cardigan on top. It was incredibly comfortable & flowed nicely without being clingy. I also liked that it was black & tan stripes, rather than black & white, as I have a rather strong loathing of white. It will never be a nice day for a white wedding for me.

The Girlie glowing in the sunlight. Kate's review of this dress:
Based on the size chart, I went a size up from what I usually wear, and it fit well. This is a very nicely made fully lined dress that I found very comfortable. I thought it worked well on my hourglass figure, and allowed just the right amount of cleavage to be work-appropriate but still cute. The arm holes were actually cut in such a way that they didn't show my bra, which was a nice touch. I liked the length as well- it hit me just above the knee. I wore it for a long walk on the weekend and then wore it to work on Monday. Despite enjoying wearing it, I think I would have liked it a bit more in moderate Summer weather when I could have gone without a sweater over it.

This will be the last post with photos taken from this iPhone, as new ones arrived this week. Here is a picture of my new BookBook along with my sad old one. I LOVE LOVE LOVE my BookBook...both gifts from Super Boo. 

Sephora Outing with The Girlie

 Dress: Peacock Maxi Dress from earnestzone on ebay

Cardigan: Avenue

Sandals: Born

Necklace & Earring: Babil & Bijou

Bracelet: Vintage

Kate's Dress: NY Collection via Gwynnie Bee

Kate's Boots: Dansko

Photography: Me & Kate

I had so much fun getting makeovers with Angie a few weeks back, that I convinced the girlie we had to do it together too. Unfortunately, I had the same makeup girl Angie had last time and I was not pleased with my look. She tried, but nothing was quite right and I didn't like any of the products she used. She gave me FUCHSIA (uneven) shiny lips (I took it off immediately). Kate had an awesome woman (Be'/Bea'?) that did a fantastic job on her make-up! Doesn't she look adorable??! 

This time Kate got to buy ALL THE THINGS, and I just got some skin care and a FABULOUS matte lip pencil by Bite Beauty in Toast. I have never heard of that brand before (everything they make is for lips), but that is what Bea' used on Kate (Cashmere Lip Cream in Rioja) & I nearly bought that same product in Sherry (vibrant reddish orange), until Kate pointed out this much more autumn-y orange pencil in Toast. The last time I had my make-up done, the woman used Peter Thomas Roth Un-Wrinkle Peel Pads on me & after reading the reviews, I wanted to try them...then I spotted this whole kit...so we'll see if it un-wrinkles me. The Caudalie skin care set was free with my Sephora points. 

On our way home we stopped along the Yahara River to take photos because Kate had admired the crabapple tree here on her walk the day before. It was a lovely autumn Sunday. I bought this dress on ebay back in May, but this was the first time I'd worn it. As much as I love the peacock colors, they are a bit cool for me & I liked being able to wear this orange cardigan with it to warm it up. I need a haircut (appointment made for next Thursday...the soonest Gen could get me in).

Kate looking incredibly cute & mod in her geometric dress, freshly cut hair, & brand new boots. After our makeovers, we ventured a few stores down in the dreaded maul where Kate tried on 2 pairs of boots and walked out with these lovely numbers from Dansko.

In the evening Kate, Super Boo, & I went to forequarter for their special Duck, Duck, Goose Dinner with cookbook author, Hank Shaw. It was beyond amazing and definitely among the top 10 meals of my life. Every dish we shared was a delicious delight. Pictured above is the duck confit with roast tomatillo puree, masa cake, ground cherry smoked pepper jam, corn nuts, pepitas, & sweet pepper corn salad. The perfect ending to a wonderful day. 

2 Girlies, 1 Dress

 Dress: Madison Dress from Igigi via Gwynnie Bee (click link to get a free month)

Sandals: Dansko

Kate's Shoes: Buttonbush by Earth

Kate's Stockings: Target

Jewelry: Vintage

Photography: Super Boo

Kate & I both got this dress from Gwynnie Bee at the same time...so we thought it would be fun to take pictures! Also, since we live in Madison and this is the Madison dress, we had to take pictures outside our lovely capitol building. 

Kate wore this dress to work on Wednesday, I just wore it to pick her up from work and do this photo shoot. Kate had to wear a camisole under it for work because WOW! cleavage. We both had a difficult time with sitting down because, well, here is Kate's review of it...

I really love the fabric and colors, and it was fun to wear for a day, but I can't imagine wearing it frequently. This dress is extremely low-cut and I can't use my usual trick of holding it closed with a tie tack because of the connecting bit at the top of the neckline. I was worried it would look odd with a cami, but that actually worked fine with it. However, the skirt just did not have enough overlap and every time I sat down it pulled apart and I had to make sure to really keep my legs together. I also didn't find the way it hung on me to be particularly flattering. I have an hourglass shape and am actually rather short-waisted, but the waist on this dress hit just above my natural waist at the bottom of my rib cage and hung straight down, which hid the smallest part of my waist and even hid my hips and butt some, so it made my bottom half look straight up and down rather than curvy. 

We both really wanted to love this dress. I thought the colors were flattering on both of us, but sadly, the fact that it doesn't stay closed when I sit down would prevent me from buying this dress.

So, even though we both liked, but did not love this dress...it was fun having pictures taken of us both wearing it. Super Boo was an incredibly patient photographer & we'll probably do it again with other matching dresses. 

Just Another Manic Monday

 Dress: Darcie Dress from Igigi via Gwynnie Bee (click to get a free month)

Sandals: Born Crown

Necklace: Babil & Bijou

Earring: etXarte

Photography: Super Boo

This is what I wore to work on Monday. I love the mix of colors on this skirt & the shape of the neckline. This is yet another dress I wasn't sure I would like, but really do. How much longer can I wear sandals? Through October, I hope. Then out come my collection of socks from Sock Dreams. 

A Dreaded Sunny Day, So I Meet You At The Cemetery Gates...

 Dress: Brenna Ballet Dress from Kiyonna via Gwynnie Bee (click on link for a free month)

Cardigan: Lane Bryant

Sandals: Born Crown

Necklace: Babil & Bijou

Earring: etXarte

Photography: Kate 

Who lets me dress myself? I thought I looked pretty, but bright...Kate immediately hated the color combination. I'm not sure what I'm disliking about these photos, but I wouldn't wear this outfit again. This is one really great thing about having a blog. I get to look at a lot of pictures of myself & I see entirely different things then when I look in the mirror. 

This dress by Kiyonna is incredibly comfortable and soft (I could't stop feeling it!), but too big. I would get it in the next size down (4) and wear it with a leopard cardigan.

Sandals

I wore this outfit on Sunday to The Talking Spirits Cemetery Tour XV. This is something Kate & I used to do every year, but we haven't been since the tour was in the single digits. It is put on by the Wisconsin Veterans Museum & concentrates on a specific war each year, this one was the Civil War. The guide stops at various gravestones to talk about the people buried there and at some of the sites there are actors that portray interesting people from that era and they tell us their stories. 

This was my favorite character this year, Benjamin Butts. He was a former slave and was 11 years old when slaves were freed. He ended up traveling with the soldiers for a year & when the troop disbanded, Major Butts asked the 12 year old Benjamin what would become of him & asked if he'd like to come home to live with him and his family in Richland Center, WI. He was separated from his parents and never knew what happened to them. When Benjamin was 17, he moved to Madison to look for work and ended up opening a barber shop on the capitol square where he cut the hair of politicians. His son went to the University of Wisconsin-Madison and was the first black football player on their team. 

Kate's friend, John, was taking photos (with this lovely lady assistant), so we got one done. Unfortunately, this unflattering shot was the best of the 3. I guess we need to practice our camera faces in the mirror or something...the assistant looked good in all 3 pictures. We LOVED the hats. I think next year we should have a crafternoon and make fancy Easter hats! 

Igigi Dress Lust

Igigi was having a contest on Instagram to win a $1000 gift card to their site *drool*. They are going to announce the winner tomorrow, but I could never be that lucky. They *did* feature one of my photos on their facebook and twitter, but it's probably totally random *sigh*. So I am going to do a little pretend shopping here (to further jinx myself). This is what I am currently lusting after on the Igigi site, roughly in order from MUST HAVE NOW! to REALLY WANT!

Neve Wrap Dress in Gold

I am in LOVE with this print! It reminds me of opulent wallpaper in a decadent Victorian sitting room. I have many options of jewelry that would compliment this lovely creation. This may be my favorite Igigi dress of all time. 

Carly Dress

I have gotten this dress from Gwynnie Bee twice now and the color is made for me! It is the perfect shade of coral with black polka dots, how cute is that?! It has a vintage feel that goes perfectly with my jewelry collection. I have worn it with an oversize flower necklace for summer, black cameos for autumn, & I can see wearing this in the winter with a black cardigan and loads of Miriam Haskell pearls. 

Neve Wrap Dress in Jade

Never has Igigi had so many dresses at once that I wish were in my closet. I love the color of this one. As a mock redhead, green is a fabulous color on me and I have some fun ideas for eye make-up with this dress. I am also quite fond of the pattern.

Mazie Dress

This purple is so rich, so regal. I just figured out why I like myriad Igigi dresses right now. They have many prints currently that are more "me" rather than the abstract prints they do a lot, some of which I am fond of, but I guess I tend to like prints that look like they could be a wallpaper pattern. I have a large purple ornate vintage necklace that would look amazing with this sexy neckline. I have only worn it once because I don't have much purple in my wardrobe and I originally bought the necklace as a gift for Kate, but it was too big for her taste. 

 Isadora Dress

Wouldn't this look fabulous with a red crinoline underneath it? It looks so 50s cocktail party to me. Unfortunately, they are out of nearly every size of this dress, but perhaps they will restock? Anyway, this is just pretend shopping for now. I'd love to have a custom red & black vintage floral necklace & earrings made by the wonderful Wendy Baker to compliment this dress. And red shoes.  

Amaryllis Dress

This dress is a dream...mocha & black...it would be a perfect New Year's Eve dress. I prefer long dresses for that holiday, but this one is so stunning & I have the most lovely burgundy Fluevogs that Super Boo got me as a gift years ago that he wonders why I've never worn. They've been waiting for this dress. Oh! And a burgundy vintage metal flower necklace that would complete the look. Oh. I may have to ask for this for Christmas. I hope they restock it in my size! 

 Darcie Dress

This just came in the mail from Gwynnie Bee today and the colors are such an amazingly beautiful & unusual combination. I am excited to go through my jewelry collection to find pieces to bring out the various colors. I will take photos over the weekend. 

 Francesca Dress in Black

I don't have a basic black dress in my wardrobe currently. How sad is that for a former goth girl? I have black with prints and black velvet, but I need a little black dress for obvious reasons. 

Bentley Wrap Dress

There is something about this dress. I think it's the color combination. Normally, I would say this is too many prints that have nothing to do with each other, but I'm drawn to it. 

So many dresses, so little money. But a girl can dream of winning, can't she? Also, I'd want to get a pretty frock for Kate too. I hope whoever wins posts pictures of their fabulous new wardrobe.