Rustic Office.

• Yellow Cami: Maurices
• Blazer: Maurices
• Skirt: Maurices
• Necklace: Maurices (similar here)
• Sandals: Payless (here)

So, in spite of better judgement, I got some new shoes yesterday. Plural. I have actually been wanting a cute pair of rain boots for a while, and have had trouble finding them in my size, until Payless pulled through for me and a pair showed up on their website recently. And since they were doing buy one get one half off, obviously I had to buy some other pairs too. And since its not raining today, you get this outfit with one of the other pairs I ordered, but I just want everyone to know I'm prepared for the next rainy day. :) This skirt is actually one of my favorite skirts (I've had it about 3 years now), and when I saw this pair of sandals, I thought they would be perfect for this skirt (and a ton of other things too!). Yesterday, Lisa from Respect the Shoes (who has a seriously awesome blog, but I'm pretty sure everyone already knows that) asked some questions, and today, I have answers!

Who are you style icons? I actually don't really think I have any, and my knowledge of the larger world and industry of fashion is more limited than I would like, so about the only name that comes to mind is Tim Gunn. Now, I happen to think he seriously rocks, but he's not really an influence on my style (men's or women's clothing), at least in any way I'm aware of. A couple of my more stylish real life friends over the years have definitely left an impact though. I get a lot of ideas and influence from just seeing other people (including and especially style bloggers!) wearing things in creative ways, or I see something that just strikes me as something I like, and then I try it out myself. I'm definitely an advocate for being adventurous with fashion and just trying things to see if you like it. I've realized no one should ever be afraid of clothes.

How did you get into fashion? This is kinda hard for me to answer, and I'm still trying to fully understand it myself. I actually used to hate myself for my interest in fashion. I didn't even begin to understand my interest until the past 3 or 4 years. I guess one answer would be when I fell in love with a pair of my mom's pumps when I was about 5 or 6. I would have to say I was always a bit of an "artistic" child too, and I have always tried to find creative outlets in everything, but I was afraid of clothes and hyper aware of "girlie" things. I spent the next 20 or so years thinking I was seriously broken for liking women's clothes. As an adult I had a breakthrough when I realized that I should just wear what I like and that it meant nothing more or less other than I had an interest in women's fashions. Since then I have spent a lot of time learning what I like and don't like and how to talk about it. At first, I was very much like a lot of guys, and only knew that I liked something or didn't and didn't understand why, but I've learned a lot (and still have a lot to learn).

What are your fave shops? Well, since today's outfit is almost 100% Maurices, I have to say, its clearly a winner. I also enjoy Torrid, Payless, and Nine West a lot. I typically wear plus size clothing, and have a less common, larger shoe size. I know sizing can be a sensitive issue, and so I'm saying this because I hope it helps answer the question. Unfortunately, what this means is that there are some places that have clothes I find absolutely adorable but I just can't shop there due to sizing.

What's your fave kind of clothing (i.e., dresses, pants, skirts, etc.)? I have a serious addiction to shoes, especially colorful high heels, and tall boots. A lot of classic/retro dresses that my wife tells me are 50's and 60's inspired (I'm still sorting out eras in fashion). But I am a child of the 80's and I can definitely see that the occasional milder reinterpretation of the 80's catches my interest too. I am also a sucker for subtle feminine details. I'm not entirely sure I answered the right question here.

Well, I hope that wasn't too long! Thanks for reading. And I'm always up for more questions. And of course, my adorable wife took the pictures, as usual.