Bright outfit, cold day, and an unexpected blogging break.

• Sweater: Maurices
• Skinny Jeans: Torrid (previously)
• Boots: Torrid (previously)

First, I must apologize for my absence. While I have never publicly committed to a posting schedule, I like to make sure that I post "regularly", and frankly I feel worse that I have not been reading and leaving comments on other blogs as well. I will chalk it all up to a lack of time coupled with technical difficulties: This year has been... busy for lack of a better way to put it, and then I ended up suffering from a lost (and then found...) wallet (but not found before I canceled all the credit/bank/ATM cards and got a new id!), and a dead computer, (and all this interrupted working on pulling together stuff for our taxes... which are still not done! Ugh). In fact, my computer is still dead. Thankfully I don't think I lost anything, but I'm still waiting on a new one, and borrowing my wife's computer at the moment. And the cake topper was tripping and damaging a pair of heels on their first outing (I'm fine... the heels... not so much). I would love to tell you all that I suffered all this with grace, poise and dignity, and that I was pleasant to be around. But that would be a lie, so I won't say that.

On the other hand, I do have a backlog of outfits to post as soon as I can work out some technical details of getting them off my old computer, and I have some pictures still on the camera for even more posts. Alas, I will still be posting... somewhat randomly for the next few days. And while I would love to go back over all the blogs I have missed, I will be doing a lot of skimming and then hitting "mark all as read" in Google Reader soon, and hopefully figuring out a better way to stay on top of my reading, and I am so sorry for missing out what has been happening with everyone and your wonderful outfits. So please excuse this brief rambling post and forgive me for not staying on top of everyone's blogs, and hopefully enjoy this outfit from a few weeks ago that I uploaded before I had computer problems. And about this outfit. I did have to wear a white tank top under the sweater because it was a little too "see thru", but other than that, I felt really comfortable and cute in it on a cold day. In fact, it was so comfortable I didn't want to take it off that evening, which is always a good sign in my book.

Oh, and of course my fabulous wife took the pictures for this post, and even loaned me her computer so I could post it.

Big black boots, long brown hair

• Dress: Maurices
• Belt: Torrid (previously)
• Tights: We Love Colors
• Boots: Payless (previously)

A few months ago, I placed an order from We Love Colors, and while I was really happy with the tights, I have yet to wear them with an outfit here. I know some other bloggers, like Nicole at Coco Maria make really great use of colorful tights, particularly yellow. And the other day, Ashley of Ashley Getting Dressed made some great use too, so I finally broke my own pair out for this outfit.

In other news we had some friends arrange a last minute informal holiday gathering for this weekend, which is a very pleasant surprise. I also want tor remind everyone that I love answering questions, so always feel free to ask away. You can read past question and answers here. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. And of course, as usual, my adorable wife took the pictures.

BBCA 4: Warm colors versus cold day.

• Top: Maurices (previously)
• Cardigan: Old Navy (here)
• Pants: Maurices
• Shoes: Payless (previously)

This outfit is part of Melissa's Blogging for Breast Cancer aWEARness challenge. This is also the first time I have remixed a pair of shoes on this blog, and I'm embarrassed to admit that it won't be a regular occurrence anytime soon since one of my goals for this blog is to go through many of the items in my closet rather than repeating the same pieces and outfits over and over again, and especially to go through most of my shoes. Remixing is definitely a lot of fun though, and I really do need to rethink some of the things I have, and having this blog has been extremely helpful for that too. Everyone in Melissa's challenge has been putting together some really awesome outfits, so if you haven't been to Melissa's blog and checked out how the other participants are doing, you totally should. As for me, I realized how little pink I have in my closet, and this cardigan on yesterday's outfit is brand new. A cardigan in every color is always a handy thing though, right? Right? I hope everyone is having an excellent week! (And less busy than mine...)

As always, I love to write posts to answer questions from the comments! So ask away and I will try to respond! And of course, my amazing and awesome wife took the pictures today.

BBCA 2: Highlights on Black.

• Sweater: Target
• Yellow Cami: Maurices (previously)
• Skirt: Walmart
• Belt: Torrid (previously)
• Leggings: Maurices
• Boots: Payless

This outfit is part of Melissa's Blogging for Breast Cancer aWEARness challenge. It's also a little different from my norm, but it was a cool day and I was in a mood to be cozy, so my thoughts went to leggings and sweaters. I have also had mixed feelings about this skirt, which is today's pink, but its one of my few pieces with pink in it. I thought this would be a good opportunity to ask what everyone else thought about the skirt. Also, we tried some changes with how the pictures were taken today by following some advice from this post Six steps to take your fashion photos to the next level at Two Eyes in the Mirror.

I really enjoy writing posts to answer questions from the comments (or you can ask me in an email if you prefer), so feel free to ask away! And of course, today's pictures were taken by my fabulous wife!

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.

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.

Fit to be tie-dyed.

• Top: Maurices
• Jeans: Maurices
• Kitten Heels: Nine West (here)

This is a simple and comfy outfit I've been thinking about that I wanted to try. The colors remind me of fall, and its finally starting to be cooler in the mornings here. And I need a simple and comfy outfit, today is another no fun day for me. But that's why I have this blog, its a happy creative place, so enough of that! I can't believe all the amazing wonderful people who have come by here and left a comment, but I definitely get a bit tongue tied when trying to figure out what to say. Ashley at Ashley Getting Dressed takes questions in her comments and answers them in the next post, so I think I may give that a try, if anyone wants to ask me something that is! I certainly don't want to talk about things that no one wants to hear about, so this way, I can talk about something only one person wants to hear about instead. :) And of course my awesome 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.