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?

What I've Been Wearing

High on the list of "Things I Always Forget Until The New School Year Starts" is how very exhausting it is. I have been like a zombie by the end of each day so far. Yikes!

That said, I am really enjoying all my students, so hooray!

What have I been wearing, though?! That's what this blog is all about! Let's look first at what I wore on Monday, which was the all important Picture Day, as well as New Student Orientation, at which I was asked to speak briefly. Because of that, I wanted to make sure I looked very professional:

Whoever recommended the green shirt, thanks for the thought! I opted to wear it on this day so that it would bring out the green in my eyes and the red highlights in my hair for my yearbook picture. I opted for a patterned skirt instead of solid to avoid having a solid-heavy look. I liked the overall effect, and was happy with this outfit. So now, on to...

THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL:

So, this is a plug for experimenting with your clothes. It occurred to me on a whim to try putting a button-down shirt under my red dress. In some ways, yes, having a strict dress code can be hard.

...

I know, you're like, "WHAT? Did a TEACHER just admit the DRESS CODE is a CHALLENGE?!" Yes, I did. 

I get it - the dress code can be annoying sometimes. There are a lot of things I'd like to wear that I'm not allowed to, and that can be frustrating. But I understand most of the rules, and why we have them, and the ones I disagree with, I follow because I am obedient to those in authority over me.

But every once in a while, a challenging dress code can be almost inspiring. "Necessity is the mother of invention," or so says a centuries-old proverb, and in this case, it's true. I had to find a way to make this sleeveless dress TKA-appropriate, and I think I came up with something that looked really good. I liked the owl necklace with it, though in retrospect, I think different shoes would have worked better - probably a pair of black mid-height pumps.

Day 2:

This patterned wrap dress was an easy, comfortable choice for the second day of school. In case it doesn't come across well, it is navy and a taupe-color, and I paired it with nude flats. The pattern, as well as the pull of the bow on the side, is all very figure-flattering, which of course I like, but I think my favorite part was how comfy it was to wear. The bracelet was a Europe purchase this summer, and it was almost the exact same color as the taupe in the dress, which worked great.

SO... what do you think? Did I do well?

First Days of School

Let's take a walk down memory lane and examine my "First Day of School" outfits through the years:

 2008

2009

2010

 2011

 2012

So, a couple things immediately stand out. First, I have always worn a dress or skirt on the first day of school. Second, other than 2012, I've always stuck to neutral colors (browns, grays, black and white, etc.). Third, I've always worn heels of some kind, but only once were they heeled boots.

If I had to rank them in order of which I like best, I would probably say I like 2012 the most, 2008 the least, and exactly in order in between - basically, the more recent, the more I like it. And really, that's the way it should be, right? Getting better through the years?

So the question, of course, is what I should wear this year. I turn to you, loyal readers, to give me your thoughts. What elements do you see in these outfits that you like (and therefore think I should aim to repeat)? What should I avoid? Are there any particular pieces you've loved seeing in past posts that you think I should incorporate into my first-day outfit? 

Give me ideas, people!

[P.S. My hair changes a LOT, right?]

Let's Not Skirt the Issue

I can only hope you like puns, because otherwise this post's title is terrible. Let's look at some skirts!

February 20:

I was very excited about this sweater, which I found on sale at Target. They only had it in a size small, which surprisingly fit me! I like the polka dots in neutral colors, which goes great with fun solid colors like this teal skirt. I also really like the larger polka dots in the torso as compared to the smaller dots on the arms - makes it seem more unique. (Though let's be honest: This is a sweater from Target, so "unique" cannot truly be applied here.)

April 10:

Sigh - back to the terrible mirror photos. (Made even worse by how streaky the mirror is.) I liked this outfit a lot, but the skirt was terribly made. It was a Target purchase, and I understand the "You get what you pay for" arguments, but usually I like my Target clothes so much and they work much better for me than this did. It just did not fit right, it tugged in weird ways at the seams, and eventually it actually ripped along one seam without my even noticing. Fortunately, I was spared total embarrassment because the tear was only on the outer layer of the skirt, but the lining was still intact.

Anyway, I feel like a necklace of some kind would have made this outfit better, but it was still good as it was.

April 18:

I am actually quite shocked that I didn't wear this skirt earlier in the year.  I went back into my files and discovered I also wore this skirt on September 20, 2010; February 4, 2011; and August 31, 2011. All of those were accessorized pretty differently, though, so we're all good with not repeating outfits.

April 23:

Here we have a straight black jersey skirt, which is super comfortable and goes with everything. In this case, it was still a little chilly, so I opted for slightly longer sleeves and mid-calf leggings.

May 1:

This is that same skirt, but this time without the leggings. Because of the straight cut of the skirt, I felt like I could wear a blousier top - if the skirt flared out in an A-line, I would have kept the top more fitted.

May 28:

I actually pinned this skirt to my top to keep it at the empire-waist height, since size-wise it would normally fall at my natural waist. I loved the look created by placing it higher, though - it made the skirt+top almost look like a dress, in fact. The bow on the blouse is a nice detail, but because it is over on the side of the neckline, I still wanted to wear a longer necklace (in this case, two different necklaces, in fact).

That all said, it was more trouble than it was worth putting this look together, so I've already given the skirt away since then.

May 29:

This is another look that I really enjoyed but that was not fun to wear. The shirt tugs uncomfortably and really is slightly too small for me, so I gave it away after wearing it this day. That said, I like the way it looks with the pencil skirt. The pastel blue with the gray and nude pumps is a great light colored palette for spring, and the pearls keep it classy.

Hope you've enjoyed the skirty goodness of this post! Next time: DRESSES.

Trying Harder

I haven't been doing a good job lately of talking about the specific reasons I've been choosing my outfit pieces lately, nor giving good tips for your own wardrobe choices. For this, I apologize. I can only make the vague "Stuff has come up in my life!" excuse so many times before it starts to sound empty and meaningless. Instead, I will merely move on and attempt to do better in this post.

Thursday I decided I really had to break the sweater-skinnies-boots habit, so I opted for a skirt-blouse combo instead:

The weather was warming up a bit, so I didn't need the comfort and warmth of knee-high boots and sweaters anymore. This blouse is of a lightweight material, so it was weather-appropriate, and wearing the ankle boots kept more of my leg out to get air... Well, as much air as a leg clad in tights is going to get.

I've lost count of how many times I've talked, on this blog, about the importance of balancing your outfits; at the most simplified, it goes like this: tight on bottom means loose on top, and loose on bottom means tight on top. (Keep in mind there are still appropriate levels of "loose" and "tight" for different events/situations.) This outfit is a great example of that. The blouse is loose not only in the torso, but also in the ballooned-out sleeves, and the pencil skirt is well-fitted. The belt at the waist helps define the contrast between the top and bottom, cinching right in the middle.

In the same way that fit should be balanced, I'm a firm believer that prints should be balanced as well. You'll note that there are large polka dots on the top, a very bold print, but a solid colored skirt, solid tights, and solid colored booties to offset that print. You'll see I didn't include any kind of necklace with the top because the print is so... big. The bracelet and earrings are both very low-key as well.

I have no good excuse for having accidentally cut off the top of my head in this picture. Sorry about that.
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Friday was a jeans day at school (or a "blue and gold" day, but I had no gold in my outfit of choice), and I went with my favorite pair, my dark-wash skinny jeans. I opted for a classic white button-down top and my awesome statement necklace, with my fawn-colored flats to complete the look.

I think far too many people, both young and old, underestimate how awesome this combo can be: jeans and a button-down blouse. Do you know how much extra time it takes me to put on a button-down blouse rather than a t-shirt? A little, 'cause, you know... buttons and all. But really, it doesn't add all that much time, and the look in the end is great. The classic white and blue (jeans) combo was a great backdrop for my statement necklace that I love so much, too.

Do you only see button-down shirts as "formal" or "business" attire? Or would you wear them casually? If you wouldn't before, will you consider it now?