Trippy heels.

• Top: Maurices (previously)
• Cardigan: Maurices
• Trouser Jeans: Maurices
• Pumps: Nine West
• Bag: Target (previously)
• Necklace: Maurices (previously)
• Bracelets: Torrid (previously)
• Umbrella: Crabtree & Evelyn (previously)

Some friends of ours had some guests over this past weekend, and I took the opportunity to dress up. I was really excited about my new trouser jeans, and I really wanted to wear heels with them, so I paired them these heels which I have never really worn other than the initial try on, despite owning them for a while. The weather was pretty rainy and dreary, and I briefly thought about switching things out for my rainboots, but I knew we weren't going to get any good outside shots, and I figured we would mostly be making a few brief trips to and from the car.

After a fun evening with friends though, in the dark and rainy night, I mis-stepped on their stairs walking to the car and tripped. The biggest casualty besides my pride, was my pair of heels, as you can see above. The jeans are mostly okay, but I will probably be demoting them to much more casual purposes due to the blemish on the knee. (I realize that logic may be flawed since I have a matching blemish on my leg...)

I admit I'm a little bummed out about the shoes, but I got to spend a couple of days dressed how I wanted last week, and it helped my mood out a lot actually. And I will have more on that (and the outfits) in a future post. Plus, it turns out there may be some hope for the shoes after all! I talked to some friends and did some searching and I found a cobbler, and when I dropped the shoes off yesterday, they didn't seem to think it was too big of a deal to fix them. And honestly, while replacing shoes in my collection can be a little difficult due to sizing, I feel a lot more bold about going out these days and this blog has definitely played a role in that. And frankly, I'm happy I wore the shoes outside to an event with friends, even if they did get damaged in the process. There was a time when I would not have believed that I would ever own a pair of shoes like this, much less severely damage them from wearing them out and about.

So I look forward to seeing how the shoes come back from the cobbler (this is a new experience for me), and hopefully I will be figuring out a better balance of blogging with the rest of my life. I really miss everyone! And of course, my beautiful wife helped with my hair and makeup and took the pictures for today's post! (She's also still letting me borrow her computer!)

CSN Stores Gift Certificate Winner!

• Tote: Maurices
• Paper slips with everyone's name: Walmart
• Winning Entry: Pretty Penny Mae

My wife wanted to do the drawing, so I took the pictures today. The method of picking the winner was, of course, a random drawing!

Congratulations to Brooke of Pretty Penny Mae! You've won the $25 gift certificate to CSN stores! I will be sending you your gift card in an email momentarily! If you don't get the email or have trouble using the gift card, please let me know!

Thanks to everyone who participated in my first giveaway!

New Year's Eve.

• Dress: Maurices
• Necklace: Torrid (previously)
• Bracelet: Torrid (previously)
• Shoes: Payless
• Purse: Maurices (previously)
• Coat: Kohls (previously)

Due to a confluence of unused vacation that wouldn't roll over, and Christmas and New Year's being on a Saturday, my wife had a rather long vacation, and so I took the time off to be with her. And between family holiday events, some (still ongoing) end of the year clean-up and clean-out, and spending some quality time together, it turned into a bigger blogging break than even I meant it to be. And now that 2011 is in full swing, I'm even more behind than ever (not just on blogging). But I've missed everyone and I look forward to seeing what everyone has been up to!

However, today's post is not my first outfit of 2011 (coming soon though). While we didn't have plans to go out on New Year's Eve, I decided I wanted to glam it up just a bit for a while, and put together this outfit. My wife did my hair and makeup, and we went out for a drive, bought some drive through dinner, and went home to watch the ball drop in Times Square on TV, although by then we were both in PJ's.

Oh, and in addition to all that, we took some time to take some outdoor shots near our apartment. It was surprisingly warm out, but the streets were mostly deserted. And I have to add, I bought this dress on a clearance rack for $5 several years ago. It was actually one of the first dresses I ever owned, and I still love it, although I need to take it to tailor, the zipper gets hung in one spot, and I think it needs to be fixed before something really goes wrong with it.

Oh, and I have really appreciated the comments everyone left about our Christmas tree and my Christmas party outfit last year, and in particular, Melissa from A Working Mom's Closet featured the outfit in her Favorite Holiday Outfits! post. I can't wait to get started posting some 2011 outfits and see what I've missed! As always my wonderful wife took the pictures (and held my purse and coat)! :)

Funky florals?

• Top: Maurices
• Skinny Jeans: Z. Cavaricci via Torrid (worn previously here)
• Pumps: Nine West
• Necklaces: Maurices
• Bracelets: Torrid
• Bag: Nine West

This is actually an outfit from a couple of weeks ago, but I wasn't entirely sure how I felt about posting it. I really like all the pieces, I'm just not sure about the whole thing. I kinda think the top doesn't "work" with the rest of it. And the top and the shoes are both floral-ish(Sure, that's a word, right? right?) prints, and I like the color pairing, so I thought they might be fun, but now I'm not sure. But this is a style blog, mistakes and all, so I finally decided it was good enough to ask everyone else what they think. So, what do you think? :) I mean, personally, I think the sky is blue (Actually, looking out the window right now, its gray... so I'm wrong again... oh well). Okay, bad joke, I know. (I like bad jokes!)

So more than one style blogger has mentioned Halloween, so like fall, I figure that means I can officially be excited about it on my blog. And why am I excited? Because when I go to parties, I am not the only guy in a dress! Okay, I may still be the only guy in a dress, but it does lead to some funny conversations like "What are you going to do with those shoes the rest of the year?" (Wear them, duh!) or "Did you lose a bet?" (That would make this easier to explain wouldn't it?) or "I think your costume cost more than the prize?" (But its such a fabulous costume, who cares?) Most of the people who I expect to end up at the same parties are actually in the know, so it might be a bit more boring this year. But whatever the case, I will totally post my costume on here.

And as always, I love questions in the comment and I will try very hard to answer them in a future post. And of course, my totally awesome wife took the pictures.

Under My Umbrella-ella-ella.

• Cami: Maurices (here)
• Hoodie: Maurices
• Skirt: Old Navy
• Rain boots: Payless (here)
• Bag: Target
• Umbrella: Crabtree & Evelyn
• Ribbon: from a spool of ribbon bought at Walmart

I don't always follow trends, but I do get inspired by them because cute trendy stuff shows up in stores. Well, okay, style blogging is changing that for me a little bit, but that's not my point. Some trends, like rain boots, end up making me want them all the more because I can't find something that works for me (well, in this case, by "work", I mean "fit"). So finally, I found this pair in my size, and *cough* 4 *cough* pairs of shoes later, my rain boots were safely in the mail. And the next day, I see this post by Kendi, and well, I thought "That's a pretty cute outfit and my boots will be here soon, I should try something like that!", but ultimately, the real credit for this outfit is a friend of mine who posted a complaint on Facebook a few days later. She was musing about the trend of all the people wearing rain boots with shorts and skirts, and pointing out that the water will just trickle down your legs into your boots. And I thought, "Hey, I was just thinking about wearing a something like that myself!" So for my friend, who I know is reading this post, I just want you to know, it was raining pretty hard, and I didn't get a single drop of water in my boots!

And yes, I'm outside!!! I do go out sometimes, this is actually my second trip outside since I started this blog (other trip is here even though I ended up not getting pictures outside). This is from yesterday: my wife had a surprise day off work, so we decided to do some shopping and meet up with some friends. I noted, to my surprising and unusual delight, that the weather report called for rain, so I was all about doing a quick change to get these pictures. And if nothing else, I promise I'll try to go outside again on Groundhog day to see if I see my shadow.

Okay, so yesterday Meli22 who is super cool and runs the totally rocking blog The Daily Insanity of a Fashion Addict asked some questions. And I have answers!

Is that your real hair, a wig, etc? How do you wear your hair when dressed this way vs. how do you wear your hair daily? Yes, this is my real hair you're seeing. I grew it out several years ago for many reasons, and one of them did include my interest in fashion. I didn't really accept this part of myself at the time, but hey, I was making progress. I almost always wear my hair up in a ponytail when I'm not dressed like this (also, I usually go without the ribbon too). In fact, this is one of the few times I've had my hair up for an outfit like this. A few months ago, in the search for a new hairdresser, I finally worked up the courage to ask for a slightly more interesting hair cut and got some layering put in, but alas, our most excellent hairdresser has found another job and left no forwarding address, so now I have to be courageous again. For special occasions, my wife helps me style my hair with a curling iron and other magical hair products (I'm still learning when it comes to hair and makeup!)

Okay, wow, if you're still here, I really appreciate it! Long post. Now no one will ask any more questions! Ack. Well, for the brave, ask away, I will still try to answer them! Okay, its also Friday (yay!), so I hope everyone has an absolutely wonderful weekend, and no rain (unless you want rain! I got my rain boots picture, so now its okay to be sunny with a slight chill so I can break out my other boots, tights I bought yesterday and everything else!). I'll be back with another post on Tuesday! And of course, my lovely (and patiently getting rained on) wife took the pictures (Hey, she got a box of chocolates too!).

With a bow on top.

• Top: Maurices
• Cardigan: Torrid
• Skirt: Maurices
• Shoes: Payless
• Bag: Maurices

This outfit was another attempt at a more professional look. I think I succeeded. I also think this definitely looks better with the cardigan, but I really liked the sleeves on this top (its one piece with the vest part of it too) so I wanted to show what they looked like too. When I bought this top, I discovered how much I love interesting bow ties like this. I have no idea what the proper name for those are (the collar of the top has long strips of fabric on each side), but I enjoy them and need more. Okay, I don't need more clothes, but hypothetically speaking, if a half dozen more tops in this vein in interesting styles and colors showed up, I would find a place in my closet for them. I would also remind my wife that she doubted me when I bought this top, and how cute it actually turned out. I might get in trouble for posting that.

Anyway, back to the (not) shopping. One of my goals I've figured out for this blog is to try and go through everything in my closet and either try and wear it for an outfit post or decide it doesn't fit or doesn't look that great and put it in a thrift pile, and at least shop less. I won't promise no repeats, or remixes (In fact, I hope to do some), but I will try to go through everything I have. And actually doing this blog has helped me want to shop less (We will not discuss the new shoes I'm expecting in the mail today, or why I needed new shoes, at least until I get to post an outfit with them). I don't exactly wear my clothes outside that much, and this has given me an opportunity to talk about fashion with people who love it as much or more than I do. Oh yeah, I'm also open to attempting to answer questions on the blog, if anyone wants to ask them, I know I've answered some in comments, but I'll be more organized about it and have longer posts, also, I guess I'm getting more comfortable talking writing here. :) I realize this post is a little more talkative than usual, I hope that's okay. Thanks for listening! And of course, my excellent wife took the pictures! :)

Comfortable Colors.

• Top: Maurices
• Cardigan: Old Navy
• Skinny Jeans: Z. Cavaricci from Torrid
• Pumps: Payless
• Necklaces: Maurices
• Bracelets: Torrid
• Messenger Bag: Target
• Bag: Target

It was a rainy day here, so I protested with color. I realize that I have two different bags in this collection of pictures, but I wasn't sure how I felt about the color of the orange'ish one, and then I ended up liking the pose, so I kept it. The rain also cooled things down enough that I broke out the skinny jeans. Unfortunately today is a bit of a hectic busy day, but this outfit is super comfy. The top and the cardigan are really soft and warm and bright, so take that rain.

Pinstripes and Purple(the two things you can't see...)

• Dress: Macy's
• Belt: Torrid
• Shoes: Payless
• Bag: Maurices

I do a lot of shopping over the internet, and sometimes I just never know what I'm going to get. So when I ordered this dress a while back it actually ended up a little bit too big, and the belt that came with it is waaay too small, by like 4-6 sizes, how crazy is that? I was kinda bummed out it didn't fit right, but I've learned a lot from reading other style blogs. So instead of giving up, I went with what is apparently one of my wardrobe staples and grabbed my wide stretchy belt from Torrid. Problem solved! Oh yeah, a couple of details that didn't quite turn out in the pictures: The dress actually has a pinstripe pattern, and the shoes are purple with a black trim. I love how I feel in this outfit though, and I'm glad I was able to salvage the dress with a different belt. And of course my lovely wife took the pictures for me.

It's not easy being green.

• Top: JC Penney
• Skirt: Walmart
• Belt: Torrid
• Green Wedges: Alice + Olivia for Payless
• Bag: Target
• Necklace: Maurices
• Bracelets: Torrid

I got these green wedges a while back, and absolutely love their color and quirkiness, but I've had a horrible time trying to figure out the rest of the outfit to go with them. Until today :). I've decided the problem was that I was never bold enough or funky enough with the rest of the outfit. I usually feel like I have a horrible time making tops work with skirts, even though I love wearing skirts and I rarely tuck in my tops, but I think that worked out too. I'm really happy with this outfit though, and I hope you enjoy it too. I hope everyone enjoys their labor day weekend. I know I'll be away from the blogging enjoying myself. And thanks to my beautiful wife for taking the pictures.

Monochromatic Bruise.

• Tube top: Torrid
• Shirt: Old Navy
• Pants: Torrid
• Belt: Torrid
• Shoes: Payless
• Necklace: Maurices
• Bag: Target

Melissa at A Working Mom's Closet has challenged herself to wear pants this week, and I was inspired by one of her outfits today. I bought this lavender tube top online when it was on clearance because I thought the color was too perfect to pass up, but its a little bit too big on me, so I've been trying to figure out what to do with it. I also don't know if this outfit is truly monochromatic, but the shoes are a deep burgundy color, and go along with the two layers on top. The bag is a dark brown, and the belt is black and the pants are mostly a charcoal color, but neutrals go together, so I think its okay.