Green Velvet Red Lips

We spent Christmas Day with some barely relatives, at Beefy’s cousin’s husband’s sister’s house. You’d never know we were so distantly related by the warmth of their welcome or the spread on the table (crab legs, prime rib, and pecan pie). Hospitality like that deserved my festive best.


Sweater, vintage consignment. Dress, Parker (consignment). Boots, Steve Madden. Sunglasses, Earthbound Trading Co. Earrings, made by my friend. Clutch, Maggi B. Brooch (on clutch), vintage heirloom.

Local

After getting home at 3 a.m. this morning, I was up for a low-key Saturday. We kept it local. Beefy and I had lunch at Skool and shopped the OliaModa pop-up shop. Then we walked around the corner for cake and cheesecake at Rick’s Dessert Diner. Finally, we finished the day off at the club: a hot tub soak for me and treadmill time for Beefy.


Jacket, H&M (thrifted). Scarf, OliaModa. Shirt, Passport. Skirt, Mural (consignment). Leggings, We Love Colors. Boots, Vince Camuto.



Photos by me, the tripod, and a remote.

Dogwalk to Sidewalk

I look completely unpresentable after agility. I treat Jasper with chicken and wipe my greasy hands on the utility vest I wear for class. Still, my fingers retain a film that attracts dirt from the dusty arena. It takes all my discipline not to brush hair from my eyes and inadvertently smear the dirt and grease across my face and in my hair. The dirt coats my shoes and sticks to my jeans when I kneel or squat to give Jasper attention. To quote my friend, Lauren, I look “totally homeless” by the time class concludes.

Usually, this isn’t an issue since I go from agility to bed (sometimes changing, first), but there is the rare occasion when class is held in the daytime and I might like to go somewhere afterwards. For this transition, I changed footwear and threw a nice poncho over my jeans and hoodie. I dusted off the jeans and stashed the greasy utility vest in my trunk. I won’t win any style awards, but I look like I at least tried to be presentable.


Poncho, Christopher & Banks (gift). Hoodie and tee, Mossimo. Jeans, Old Navy. Booties, Blondo. Sunglasses, Earthbound Trading Co. Bag, Steve Madden.


For those unfamiliar with the sport of dog agility, the green thing in the background of the below picture is a “dogwalk:”

Two Blazers

The last time I asked you which outerwear I should wear, many voted for both jackets. This time, I obliged by wearing one blazer for the day and the other for the evening.


Blazer, BSB Jeans (thrifted). Sweater, Joseph (thrifted). Shorts, Lassie. Tights, B. Ella. Boots, Steve Madden. Earrings, consignment. Sunglasses, Earthbound Trading Co. Bag, Steve Madden.

The lead photo is my evening blazer. I led our Sacramento Fashion and Style Meetup at Article (a consignment shop) and thought the stylish crew would appreciate my pattern mixing. For my daytime activities of a visit to the Subaru dealer and coffee with a former coworker, I opted for the more conservative topper (a J Crew blazer from another consignment shop).


Can you tell which jacket I liked best?

Working Holiday Casual

At this point, I only own two pairs of non-legging, non-denim pants. They are both silk and military inspired. That doesn’t leave me much to choose from when I need to wear pants (to work an event), but need to look dressed up. As I expect to be working more events this season, I ordered black trousers. In the meantime, I formalized olive cargo pants as well as I could to photograph guests at a holiday party.


Sweater, Charlotte Russe. Pants, Lauren Ralph Lauren. Boots, Steve Madden. Necklace, Banana Republic (gift).


I ended up crawling around on the carpet, so pants were a good call. And the flat boots were also a wise choice for 4+ hours on my feet. Jackson (and many of the guests) liked my leopard boots:

Unsuitable

The last time I wore a suit, a bought-as-a-set suit, I was mistaken for a member of the hotel staff. It was my first sales conference and, although we dressed business casual at the office, I thought it would make a good impression to wear a suit to the event. Instead, I was asked to fetch more dressing for the buffet line, directions to the restrooms, and to please turn down the air conditioning in the ballroom. I haven’t worn one since.

Tonight, I was advised to wear a suit to deliver a speech and I responded with the un-suit. The skirt is black, but the jacket is navy, with black leather trim. My blouse is silk, but leopard print. It’s got a tough girl vibe with the chunky necklace and boots. But I still give you directions to the restroom, if you ask nicely.


Jacket, James Jeans. Blouse, FY2 (thrifted). Skirt, Mossimo. Boots, Lauren Ralph Lauren. Necklace, Banana Republic (gift).


Here’s how the un-suit compares to that infamous suit:

Conference of the Fall

Beefy competed in two contests at this weekend’s District 39 Toastmasters conference. I’m very proud to say he placed third in the humorous speech competition with his speech, Sitcom Husband. (Beefy is a funny guy!) Competition is fierce at the district level as these speakers have already won club, area, and division contests.


Dress, Ella Moss. Dress worn as a slip, Parker (consignment). Boots, Lauren Ralph Lauren. Sunglasses, Earthbound Trading Co. Earrings, self-made. Bag, Aldo.

I’m wearing my leopard Parker dress as a slip underneath the sheer, floral Ella Moss dress. I thought it might look a little weird, but the colors and patterns played nicely together.



Beefy after his big win! (I changed into cocktail attire for the evening competition.)

Pop of Purple

As I’ve transitioned to a more limited color palette, I removed the purple from my wardrobe. Buh-bye silky purple bomber jacket, purple mary janes, and purple peacock dress. Purple has never looked great with my coloring, so it’s absence is no loss. The only time I miss it is when I want to create another Red Hat Society outfit or go to a King’s game. I have a few purple accessories, still, so I wore the amethyst earrings and purplish lipstick to show my support for Sacramento’s basketball team. Next time, I’ll wear purple tights because I still have at least three pairs of those!


Jacket, BCBG Max Azria (consignment). Sweater, Joseph (thrifted). Skirt, London Jean. Belt, thrifted. Leggings, We Love Colors. Boots, Vince Camuto. Sunglasses, Coco Sunglasses. Earrings, Super Silver. Bag, Nordstrom Rack.


I actually find watching basketball to be very boring, but I enjoy the people watching, dance and other performances, beer, and RIDING THE LIGHTRAIL! I may have never mentioned that I love public transportation, but have fallen out of the habit in Sacramento, despite living one mile from a lightrail station. I rode it for the first time and was so giddy from the experience that, at the arena, I signed Beefy and I up for a timeshare presentation in Tahoe and convinced him to pose for a silly picture sponsored by a local credit union.