Happy Birthday!

I share my birthday month with many readers and bloggers and the United States Marine Corps. Today is the Corps’ 234th birthday. I’m going to do 234 pushups in honor of the occasion:


Actually, I kind of suck at pushups. I can do about 10. But animated Kasmira can do an infinite number.
To celebrate the anniversary, I’m wearing my 100% genuine USMC uniform skirt with absolutely non-regulation lace tacked to the hem. I also planned the color palette in honor of the Corps. I’m wearing the olive, khaki, and black of the (old) camouflage utilities and the red of the dress pants’ blood stripe.

Sweater, vintage. Tank, Body Central. Skirt, USMC service uniform. Tights, Danskin. Peeptoes, BCBGeneration.

Happy Birthday, Marines!


Zoro is eating a bug in this photo, but he says “Happy Birthday” too.

Completely Gratuitous

I’ve been reading …love Maegan lately. She titles all of her outfit diary entries as “Completely Gratuitous Outfit Post.” My outfit post today is a bit gratuitous as well. It’s a boring work-from-home-then-go-swimming outfit (and I’m not even wearing any makeup), but I’m using it as an excuse to show off my sunroom and my friend Erin’s fancy pants.

Scarf, gift. Tee, Forever 21. Cardigan, I Heart Ronson. Loafers, American Eagle for Payless.

The sunroom was once painted peach and the floor was covered in gray, all-weather carpeting over stick-on linoleum tiles. I took that stinky carpet out right after moving in, but tolerated the peach walls and red/green linoleum until I had time to paint and money to tile.


I loved all the plants, but maintaining a tropical jungle in an unheated room isn't sustainable in Ohio.
If you’ll tolerate a little more bragging, I’d like to show you my friend Erin’s snazzy style. She calls these her fancy pants:


You know I’m totally jealous.

A Night in the Theatre

I’m off to see Middletown Lyric Theatre’s production of A Night in the Theatre. I’m accompanying one of the ACT judges and we get in for free!


Sweater, Express. Dress, vintage, thrifted, and shortened. Belt, Macy’s. Tights, We Love Colors. Boots, Diba. Hat, Lids. Earrings, Tristate Antique Market.

Maxxinista

There’s a TJ Maxx downtown. It’s dangerously close to my office. I have spent more than a few lunches shopping the Carew Tower location instead of working out. It doesn’t help that my good friend Erin is also a fan. In fact, she bought this dress for me after I’d admired hers.

Jacket, stolen from New Gate. Dress, London Times. Belt, Cappel’s. Tights, Apostrophe. Booties, Madden Girl. Bag, Nicole Lee. Gloves, Cejon. Bangles, Body Central. Fishy earrings, gift. Feather clip, 100 yen store.


This outfit was inspired by one of the ensembles Jessica modeled for Lucky Shops.


I tried belting the jacket, like in the inspiration photo, but it looked terrible. I suppose the view was alright from the front, but from the side, the jacket flared out over my butt like a giant peplum. It made me wonder whether my inspiration outfit looked good from any angle other than straight on. Those stylists are tricky.

The most expensive item I’m wearing is this velvet scarf. I bought it for about $100 US in an Amsterdam boutique in 1996. It was a huge splurge for me at the time (I was still in college), but it’s proven to be one of my most beloved souvenirs. Thirteen years later, I’m still wearing it.

M-I-C...

I don’t normally do logo wear. Why should I pay for the privilege of advertising for a brand? However, I was smitten with this Mickey scarf when I spotted it at Downtown Disney. It’s made of jersey and the Mickey graphic is thoroughly distressed. It’s like a really old t-shirt that’s been repurposed as a scarf.

Cardigan, Wet Seal. Turtleneck, Cherokee. Scarf, Disney. Skirt, American Standard Tyte (thrifted and overdyed). Leggings and gloves, Target. Boots, Diba. Hat, Lids. Earrings, Pangaea.

Do you wear logos?


…see ya real soon!

Experiment No. 591

Another entry into The Red Hat Society Experiment files. I seem to have an affinity for pairing the red and purple on my lower half.


Skirt, Express (thrifted). Sweater, Charlotte Russe. Tights, We Love Colors. Peeptoes, BCBGeneration. Pencil necklace, Tristate Antique Market.

This is the second Express brand houndstooth skirt I’ve thrifted. The pattern on the first skirt didn’t meet well at the side seam. This skirt does a little better.


Don’t you just love houndstooth? And red and purple, too?

Snuggie

I got a Snuggie for my birthday! I wore it around the house last night, along with the sleeping mask I also received.


I’m eating Turkish Delight in the first picture. I’ve been curious about this mysterious candy since reading about it in Eight Cousins as a girl. My verdict: it’s kind of like a cross between an Aplet/Cotlet and mochi. If you don’t know what either of those things is, then I can’t help you. You’ll have to go to TJ Maxx and buy your own bag.


A Snuggie can be scary…or sexy. You decide.
From the commercials, it isn’t clear whether the Snuggie can be wrapped all the way around the body. When you get up from the couch, does your ass freeze in the breeze?


The answer: it depends on the size of your bottom. The Snuggie is one size fits all, so it may or may not cover your backside.

Moschino

This is the debut of my Moschino Couture skirt from Sin City Antiques. It’s a little big, but, for $5, I’m not going to quibble.


Jacket, Urban Behavior (swapped and embellished). Blouse, Moda International. Skirt, Moschino. Tights, Danskin. Oxford pumps, Isaac Mizrahi for Target. Studded cuff, Hot Topic. Earrings, Target.

This jacket has troublesome sleeves. They are very short and puffy. I added metal buttons and tassels to weight them down, but they still hit at an unflattering point of my arm. Pairing the jacket with a mid-bicep sleeve beneath was a nice solution.


Coat, Bebe. Hat, World Market. Scarf, gift. Tote, Target. Bag, vintage via Sin City Antique Gallery.

The Unflappable Wong

I might have mentioned that I’m on a triva team. It’s called The Unflappable Wong, and we attend the Tuesday sessions at Champion’s, hosted by the lovely Kristin.


Jacket, Dex (swap). Furry collar, gift. Dress, Forever 21 (swap). Gray turtleneck and leggings, Target. Brown open-weave leggings, Forever 21. Boots, Diba. Owl brooch, swap.

Usually, I have to go to trivia in my work clothes (boo!), but I had a chance to change today.


I forgot to wear my new gloves (from Target) for the full-length photos.
This is a team photo of The Unflappable Wong:


There are two things to note here:

1. The team is composed of five men and me. I like those odds. They answer all the sports questions. My strengths are candy (yes, that’s a category), companies, business, fashion (duh!), and science. I’m useless in the movies and music categories.

2. You probably can’t tell from the photo, but there is only one beer glass on the table. It’s mine. I also consider the beer category one of my strengths.

Two of our team members just started coming regularly. I suspect it’s due to the change of trivia hosts. A few months ago, Kristin started hosting at Champion’s. She’s about 6 feet tall, gorgeous, and funny. She can also be counted on to wear something cute and trendy to trivia. After expressing our mutual admiration for each other’s style, she agreed to appear on WhatIWore2Day.


Eventually, I got tired of Kristin making me look short, so I had my revenge:


Actually, this is an interesting lesson on perspective. I took this post’s lead photos with a tripod and the camera was at about 3 feet from the ground. The pictures with Kristin were taken from an elevation of about 6 feet. Standing next to a glamazon and having my photo taken from so far above, I can’t help but look like a munchkin. A sort of vicious munchkin, at that.

The Unflappable Wong is currently 40th in the league, but the latest scores aren’t posted. If we make it to the semifinals, we have a chance at $1000!

Sammalammadingdong

I’m strutting my stuff in a peacock feather print dress. Don’t you feel sorry for the pea hen? She’s so dull.


Sweater, Forever 21. Dress, I Heart Ronson. Cardigan clip and ring, Tristate Antique Market. Shoes, Van Eli (thrifted). Cuff, Mod Cloth.