Bringing back the 90s, one loafer at a time

We had a blast over at YLF last week, gabbing about the 90s, and the resurgence of 90s trends. My most beloved 90s items were low, chunky-heeled loafers with square toes. And although I've ditched most of my black-rutting clothing items from that era, I never parted with the loafers. So, with Angie's blessing, I challenged myself to try them in an outfit, before the weather gets too cold -- an extension of the Shop Your Closet, closet orphan challenge.



These chestnut-colored loafers are from a former fab label, Patrick Cox Wannabe.

And these black, pilgrim-esque loafers from Gucci are the ones I chose to wear today:


A girlfriend and I were obsessed with Gucci loafers at the time. I saved for months and months to buy these. And I still have them, 15 years later. Another testament to quality over quantity (note to self!).



On another note, thought I'd do a "what I wore" for a wedding we went to yesterday. This Marc Jacobs dress was a sale purchase last winter, and I paired it with opaque tights, and in the spirit of the 90s, platform pumps with square toes (yes they are vintage 90s). Not sure if I love how opaque I am from the knees down, and would love to hear what you think. These shoes are from the heyday of Joan and David, when they had a very luxe line. Again, pricey at the time, and again - worth saving.



Detail of neckline:


It's an interesting experience to go vintage shopping in your own closet! Another benefit of age, LOL. Hope you all had a good weekend!

Closet Orphan Challenge

Kristen over at www.lowfatdressing.blogspot.com issued a challenge this week to SYCers. The challenge? Pull one orphaned item of clothing from the back of your closet each day, and wear it in a new way.

My first instinct was to duck my head or look distractedly out the window. No, no, tempting as that was, I instead raised my hand and volunteered.

Here's my first attempt. The closet orphan du jour is the wine-colored blouse. It's got puffy sleeves and a ruffled placket and banded waist. I bought it two years ago, wore it quite a bit, and then ... well, let's just say I'm not sure if I wore it at all last fall. Usually I wore it with bootcut jeans and a black moto jacket. Today, I tried to breathe new life into the blouse by pairing it with olive green skinny cargoes, bronze Me Too wedges, and a black moto vest. Not sure what I thought. It is a pretty dark outfit ... a denim vest would have been fab too. I tried it with my Hinge denim vest, but that vest was too light and summery looking.



And now, a bonus What I Wore, to teach Sunday School to 15 little kids who looked up at me expectantly and called me "Mrs. T."! Dress by Max Studio, Mary Jane pumps from Clarks. I LOVE this dress with capital
L-O-V-E.

What I Wore: Weekend Edition

Confession: without new items to perk me up, I've gotten really lazy in the style department. So I did another "what I wore" this weekend to keep me on the straight and narrow. I am really loving the combination of grey and yellow, which has been around for a couple of years now.



JCrew cashmere shawl collar cardi, JCrew ruffled tank, JCrew grey and gold and pearl necklace, David Kahn skinnies (well, two seasons ago they were skinnies ... now they are merely straight legs in comparison with how skinny skinnies have become!), Clarks grey Mary Jane pumps with brown trim, mustard handbag, Club Monaco.

Then, I added a scarf - because it was only 65 degrees!



Yesterday, my husband I and were working on the budget (we got some software especially for this torturous purpose), and while the good news was that I spent nothing on clothes this month, the bad news is that I more than made up for it in home furnishings. Ugh! And I still need a rug for the master bedroom ... and for the living room ... and there's that sofa we don't have ... it never ends!

Fashion Friday - and a Room Redecorating Project

Hi Everyone!
Here's what I'm wearing today. It's an outfit I posted on YLF two years ago, with a white ruffled shirt and a lightweight wool cowlneck over it - both from Club Monaco. Add a pair of David Kahn bootcuts and a LAMB handbag and I'm good to go. Neutral? Yes. The only color is cobalt, on the handbag. I've been in a neutral mood lately!

In other news, I've completed the Guest Room Project, which took on epic proportions as I moved my husband's home office into my (ahem, our) office space on the main floor. It's a small bedroom, and it was trying to be both a guest room and a home office - a room serving two purposes never works! Lesson learned.

Room before, as it was being disassembled:




Room after:



MUCH more girly and romantic than any other room in our house! Is this is what happens when you live with three males?

Have a good weekend, everyone. SYC Week 8 starts Monday!

My New Normal

It's been 43 days on Shop Your Closet, and I've made the shift. There's supposedly some period of time - is it three weeks, is it four days? - to create a new habit. Well, my old habit went out the door pretty quickly and my new habit became reality faster than I thought possible. Shopping was such a habit! Just the fact of always looking for something. Only in retrospect do I realize how time-consuming it was. When SYC ends, this is a lesson I will not forget.

What Shop Your Closet has done for me so far (and I still have a LONG way to go to Dec. 31) is to free up huge amounts of time and energy. I made space in my life and have been amazed at what has stepped in! It's almost like these things were waiting outside the closet door, patiently, for me to clear out the clutter so they could come in and live with me. They are richer than any shopping experience. They are ideas for books I'm working on, job opportunities, amazing novels, home projects that are making our house feel wonderful, and friendships. So many wonderful things have rushed in to take shopping's place. My only regret is that shopping kept these gifts at bay for so long.

When SYC started, I imagined five months of constant struggle to avoid buying this item, or that. SYC hasn't been like that at all. I do miss shopping, and the fun of running around the mall with a friend, seeing what's new. But I don't miss buying. I haven't seen one piece that would make me leave SYC. I also haven't looked at shopping websites or gone into stores that might tempt me, and in this case, ignorance is definitely bliss. Maybe it's because, compared to others, I have much more in my closet already, and so many things that could be tempting would actually be duplicates.

SYC came at the right time in my life, when I was absolutely READY. It hasn't been a sacrifice - it's a gift.

What I Wore ... Labor Day Edition

Happy relaxing Monday morning to you all.

Before I pop over to check out the new www.youlookfab.com, here's what I wore to go to the farmer's market on Saturday. There was a chill in the air, and the first honeycrisp apples from Michigan were in!



The skinny cargoes are from Banana Republic and are YEARS old. I mean, probably four or five years old. I've always loved them. The gods of fashion trends smiled at me this season by suddenly deeming them "in." I paired them with a grey long-sleeved t-shirt from Lands' End, a Levi's denim jacket, and the famous NAS scarf. You'll notice I am NOT carrying a matching lime-green LAMB handbag :) Actually I brought out an old Coach hobo that has brass rivets - just the right style to match my Frye harness boots.

Happy Labor Day!

Redirecting My Inner Two-Year-Old

One month into Shop Your Closet and I'm hitting a wall. My inner two-year-old has thrown herself on the floor and is kicking her legs in the air, screaming and red-faced with rage.

I need to redirect her so she doesn't draw all over the walls with a big black Sharpie.

On the flip side, the "nothing from a bag or box" eating shift (because it is NOT a diet) is working. Each day, usually in the afternoon, I find myself opening pantry and refrigerator doors and staring inside, itching for something, anything. That's when I ask myself "are you really hungry, or are you bored, or tired, or thirsty?" and listen to the answer. So far I have walked away. That moment is not easy.

The wonderful thing so far, about the eating, is how much room there is for actual meals, and for good food, when you aren't eating junk. It's so freeing. Yesterday, I made a batch of cookies from scratch and ate one guilt-free. Now, *that* was a moment.

Excuse me, now, while I go put my inner two-year-old in a time out. When her two minutes are done, maybe she can have a cookie.