Ugly Boots, Cute Scarf

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We've been having a rough. snowy winter in New York which means that I've been stuck wearing ugly shoes fairly often. I bought these hiking boots a decade ago when my family went on a cruise to Alaska and since then they've basically functioned as ugly, but sufficient winter boots. On the upside they keep my feet nice and dry so I try and focus on that and make the best out of a bad shoe situation. After all I'm wearing a purple scarf with elephants on it, how bad can the outfit be?

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Skirt - Torrid, seen before several times.
T-Shirt - Dorothy Perkins
Cardi - Banana Republic
Tights - Old Navy
Earrings - Mexico
Hiking boots -EMS
Socks - Dad
Scarf - In the pound bin at Spittlefields Market


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And finally I have to give you a close-up of my eyeliner, which is the first time in my life I saw a makeup product reviewed in a magazine and then actually went out and bought it. I don't normally wear eye makeup because I'm too blind to apply it unless I'm wearing contacts and I don't normally wear contacts. I do however wear contacts in snow or rain because those make my glasses fog up making it impossible to see. It was snowing, so I wore contacts and was able to wear my new liquid gold eyeliner from Bobbi Brown. How fun is it!

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Photo credit goes to Miss. A.

Sequins Aren't Just for Saturday

I'm trying not to reserve sparkly clothes just for special occasions so yesterday I wore both sequins and feathers to the office and (at least in my mind) felt like I was still understated, restrained and office appropriate. I think it's because the vast majority of my outfit was black and though the urge to add more color was huge, I managed to resist. What do you think?

A lot of what I'm wearing was brand new. I love when I'm getting dressed and I cut off a clothing tag. Yesterday I got to do that twice.

Top - Evans

Skirt - Forever 21

Tights - Old Navy

Booties - Marks and Spencer

Earrings - Primark

Necklace - Spittlefields Market

Even though I hadn't thought I had a reason to dress up, turns out that I did. Illinois' state Senate voted to repeal the death penalty! It was a big day of celebration in my office and it turns out we had a reason for sparkles after all!

Photo credit goes to the delightful Miss A.

Goodbye 2010, Don Draper is Here to Kick You Out the Door

I hate New Year's. Actually I think despise is a more accurate term. A fact I find fairly ironic since I'm always happy to dress up, and yet New Years Eve - a night made for sequins and dancing and drunken kissing (three of my favorite things) has never been my cup of tea.

But 2010 was a terrible year for me. I mean it was really, really not good, perhaps the worst year of my adult life and I was ready to say goodbye, slam the door on 2010 and start 2011 surrounded by people I love. So I sucked it up, put on an outfit and headed to Manhattan for a party. And in the end I'm really glad I did.

My friends threw a Mad Men party and we were instructed to dress the part. I have never seen a single episode, but I live in the United States so I'm well aware of the characters and the fashion and the clothes. I had a million things to choose from, but in the end I decided to channel Peggy (in full disclosure I kept forgetting her name and calling her the dowdy one). This was a wise move since everyone else used Joan or Betty as inspiration. I was the lone Peggy inspired lady.

I think I did a pretty good job channeling Peggy.

I'm wearing a polka dot dress that I got at Fat Fancy on my recent trip to Portland, with a red DKNY pencil skirt over it. The skirt was a hand-me-down from JLR and I think when I don't have a dress underneath it fits better. The scarf around my neck and my fur shrug are courtesy of my Grandmother. My tights are from Old Navy, my shoes are Sam Edelman and my glasses are an old pair from college which are of course way hipper now than they were when I wore them a decade ago. Candy cigarettes are courtesy of Economy Candy, a store definitely worth checking out the next time you are on the Lower East Side.

Our hosts for the evening went all out with amazing details and almost everyone in attendance was dressed in some amazing outfit. Here is A working the bar. Funnily enough his normal hair worked out just fine for a Mad Men themed party.

Others worked very hard to get their Mad Men hair just right.

I hope 2011 is a wonderful, magical, happy year for all of us. Also I hope all of you had as lovely a night as I did and that you also didn't suffer a 2 day hangover as a result. This is the last shot of the night as I stumbled my way home.

All the amazing, higher quality photos are courtesy of Dr. B and Miss. A. Thank you!