I Went on a Date with 17 Men at Once

Also known as "speed dating." But we'll get to that later. For now, let's look at the week that was...

Monday:

I was lazy here, and the outfit suffered. It needed a belt, for one thing, and possibly better accessorizing. I liked the fun floral addition on the shoes, though.

Tuesday:

A maxi skirt on a TUESDAY?! Yeah, now that every Friday is a jeans day, there will be no more "Maxi Dress Fridays." I considered making a different day a regular "Maxi" day, but decided it was time to simply allow the maxi dresses and skirts back into normal rotation. On this day, I paired my black maxi skirt with a new cream blouse with black trim from Target. (Find it here.) A little pop of color with the red flats helps vary the look.

Wednesday:

Bringing back the same floral flats from Monday, this time with white skinnies and a maternity blouse from Target. Simple, classy, cool.

Thursday:

... I forgot to take pics on Thursday. I wore my burgundy skinnies, a cream-colored 3/4-sleeve sweater, my tan boots, and gold necklaces. It worked fine.

Friday:

Epic fail on my part. Remember when I talked about the right way to wear a t-shirt and jeans? Yeah, I didn't do it right here. I should have rolled my sleeves, I should have tucked in the shirt, and I should have worn different shoes, because the jeans are too long with the flips. Awkward.

Well, just goes to remind everyone that I'm not perfect. In case anyone forgot.

So about that whole "dating 17 men" thing. A friend invited me to a speed dating event that his church was putting on as a fundraiser for a mission trip. I was like, "Um, sure," mostly because it just feels like speed dating is the kind of thing that every single adult female should try once. Like a "bucket list" kind of thing.

What did I wear? This:

(Yes, my sweater has a hole. So sue me.)

I knew this event was probably going to be almost entirely (it turned out to be entirely) populated by Asians, who, more often than not, tend to run on the shorter side (which is neither good nor bad, it's just a true). Now, for some ladies, this might lead to the decision to wear flats, so as not to seem too intimidatingly tall. For me, I see no reason to beat around the bush, so I just put it out there with 3.5" wedges: "Here I am. I am tall. If you can't handle that, look elsewhere." Out of the 45ish people present (34 participants, plus 10ish helpers), only one person was taller than I was. There were also only two white people--me, and the friend who came with me. Well, nothing like standing out from the crowd, right?

At least I can now say I've gone speed dating, right?

Priorities

You all may not realize it, but there are some things that are just more important than this blog. Things like preparing for my Woodleaf talk, recovering from an exhausting (but awesome!) Woodleaf weekend, and, of course, grading (you know, that thing I'm actually paid to do as part of my job?). So... yeah. Sorry about the absence.

The good news is that my Woodleaf talk went well, I managed not to catch the dreaded post-Woodleaf cold, and I'm still doing well keeping up with our new mandated grading deadlines. So I hope you all understand that sometimes the blog fades to the background.

For now, some pictures!

Pre-Woodleaf Week:

Wednesday's outfit was definitely the least good of this set, but it worked fine. Tuesday's outfit starred an argyle sweater vest because the English department has started themed dress days on the days of our English department meetings, and the first one was argyle!

I also like the sassy head sash on Thursday. SASS.

Post-Woodleaf Week:

Sadly, I was so rushed Friday morning that I forgot to take photos before I left the house, and I forgot to take photos when I got back at the end of the day too. That's okay, there's plenty here already.

I really liked Tuesday's dress with the ankle boots and leggings. It just... worked really well. The Wednesday outfit was less great, but it still worked just fine. Thursday's outfit is a great example of how simplicity can still work great. Just a white shirt and black ankle pants, but the leopard flats and red scarf add just enough to keep it from being plain.

So there you go - that's what I've been up to lately. How about you?

Look! Color!

After two outfits in a row of nothing but neutrals, it was time for at least a little bit of color.

If you're tempted to make the "black and white and red all over" joke, you're not alone, because I thought it too. The red floral pattern in the shirt combined with the red sandals made this outfit much better than just another "black and white" pairing would have been.

I got this dress from the same boutique where I purchased the navy patterned wrap dress and the green maxi dress from last week. It is a super soft fabric blend, and a rich eggplant-y color that doesn't come across quite as well in photos as in person. It has a nice definition at the waist, and an awesome (but modest) cut-out at the top of the back. I paired it with pearls and nude heels to continue what I felt was a very classy look.

On an unrelated note, what was up with my hair? Jeepers.

And finally, Maxi Dress Friday #2. This is a simple black maxi dress I've worn numerous times, but this time, I layered a burgundy vest over it. I wasn't sure how it would go, but I was pretty happy with the overall effect. The choker I'm wearing is a purchase from Europe this summer, and it is amazing: the "beads" have magnets, so when you unwrap it, it's just one long strand, and you can wrap it as big or small as you want. It's a bracelet, a choker, and a long necklace all in one!

Before we go, here's a couple more "casual" outfits from the summer, for those of you who wanted more of those:

I love bird prints.

I love hats.

Sartorial Panache

Everything I wear, I wear with sartorial panache. I know no other way.

 

Actually, I'm not sure my Monday/Tuesday outfits have all that much panache. They're fine, but a little plain. I love this dress - cut and pattern - but admittedly there isn't much happening in this outfit other than the cute dress. When I was getting dressed in the morning, I knew some kind of pumps would be the better choice for shoes, but it has been just way too hot lately, so I felt like I needed sandals.

Still way too hot, so still wearing sandals. This was another very simple outfit, and looking at these two outfits next to each other, I wish I'd worn some color in here somewhere. The skirt is a Mrs. Toth hand-me-down (thanks, Mrs. Toth!), and the shirt is pretty much the softest black tee you can imagine. The whole thing was, as I said, simple, but I liked it.

So, what do you think? Do I have sartorial panache or not?