Tricky

This is not a skirt . . . it’s a dress. Tricky, huh?

Also tricky: getting out of the car a dozen times a day in this dress. Let’s just say it’s a good thing I wore underwear. I was done with lady-like exits by 11 a.m.


Shirt, St. John’s Bay (thrifted). Dress, Richard Chai for Target. Bag, Go Jane. Shoes, Linea Paolo. Earrings, don’t remember. Necklace, vintage. Beaded bangle, Charming Charlie. Other bangles, Deb and thrifted. Rings, vintage, thrifted, and Black Hills Gold. Sunglasses, Girl Props.

See the Light

I’m posing behind a Home Depot. But it doesn’t matter because the light is so great.


Blouse, Sans Souci. Dress, Merona (shortened). Bag, Charming Charlie. Shoes, Guess. Sunglasses, Girl Props. Earrings, vintage. Rings, gift, thrifted, and vintage.

Props to the truck’s driver who came out of the Home Depot and walked past me to his vehicle without giving me a bit of the side eye. I guess he also thought the light was so wonderful that he could ignore the weirdo taking pictures of herself in a parking lot. Or maybe he was just blinded by the sun’s glare.

Natamos Natomas

I’m learning all the little towns around Sacramento and how to pronounce their names. For some reason, I had it stuck firmly in my head that the community north of the city was called Natamos. After being laughed at and corrected, I gave myself a mnemonic device to remember the correct order of the vowels: “Natomas Hematomas.”


Dress, swap. Scarf (worn as belt), Calypso St Barth for Target. Shoes, thrifted. Bag, Go Jane. Sunglasses, Girl Props. Earrings, No Boundaries. Necklace, Serket Jewelry. Cuff, vintage. Ring, gift.

If you know what a “hematoma” is, then you’ve realized it isn’t a flattering rhyme. I have nothing against Natomas. I like the gym I tried today and this photo location. But it’s really hard for me to remember its proper name!

Hot Velvet

I didn’t do a great job predicting Sacramento temps for the month of October. It seems I didn’t bring enough warm casual clothes and I brought too many wintry work garments. I’m making this velvet skirt work on an 80 degree day because I don’t have a lot of options!


Shirt, Old Navy. Skirt, Herman Geist (thrifted and shortened). Tights, Urban Outfitters. Shoes, Sole Obsession. Earrings, thrifted. Necklace, Emily Lyn Design. Bracelets, Tala’s Distant Treasures and gift. Rings, Black Hills Gold and Puzzrollrings.

Sacramento Sunday

I’m sensing a theme…it’s my second Sunday in Sacramento and I’m wearing the same dress and posing along the same river.


Shirt, Old Navy. Dress, Frederick’s of Hollywood. Moccasins, Minnetonka. Hat, Charming Charlie. Earrings, Night Owl Crafts. Bracelet, thrifted. Ring, Black Hills Gold.

Not a bad way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Not a 5-for-5

At the end of the month, I’ll recap the outfits I was able to create with my 31-for-31 capsule*. I love variety, so working with this reduced wardrobe is a challenge! I found it even more challenging to pull a 5-day business wear capsule out of the main capsule. It isn’t a 5-for-5, but I enjoyed the combinations I got out of two dresses, three blouses, a skirt, three** pairs of shoes, and a blazer.


*31 clothing items (tops, bottoms, jackets, dresses, shoes, bags, and a hat) for the 31 days of October.

**I flew to LA with only two pairs of shoes, but hit DSW on Wednesday night. I left room for two additional items in my 31-for-31 capsule and found two great pairs of shoes to fill that hole! I wore the new purple pair on Friday.

Two Sheer Florals Can't Be Wrong

Two sheers make an opaque. Two florals negate one another. And two wrongs make a right. Right?


Blouse, Sans Souci. Dress, swap. Belt, H&M. Shoes, Guess. Bag, Go Jane. Earrings, Night Owl Crafts. Ring, Black Hills Gold.

The Transformative Power of a Hat

Obviously, I’m working with a pretty limited wardrobe on this trip. But removing a blazer and adding a hat is a simple, low-inventory way to take an outfit from office to dinner.

First, blazer and no hat:


Blazer, J Crew. Blouse, Love on a Hanger. Skirt, Cynthia Rowley. Shoes, thrifted. Earrings, No Boundaries. Necklace, heirloom. Bracelets, Charming Charlie and Deb. Rings, heirloom, thrifted, and gift. Hat (below), Charming Charlie.

Next, hat, no blazer.


I think the magic is all in the hat, though. Not the absence of a blazer.

Signature

By this point, everyone in the LA office must know me as “the one in the orange jacket.” I tried not to wear it all day today, but I still ended up with it on for most of the day. At least I got a picture without it.


Blazer, J Crew. Blouse, White House Black Market (thrifted). Dress, Richard Chai for Target. Shoes, Linea Paolo. Necklace and earrings, vintage. Bracelet, Tala’s Distant Treasures. Ring, Black Hills Gold.

Last time I was in LA, I also wore the “modern red” blazer nearly all week. I suppose it isn’t such a bad thing to have a signature item.

Unmatched

This week’s work outfits are a capsule within a capsule. I pulled 5 days of outfits out of a 31-day capsule wardrobe. To save space, I wanted to be able to wear the major items at least twice. Today’s outfit is a random collection of the “leftovers” from the more purposeful ensembles I planned for the week.


Blazer, J Crew. Blouse, White House Black Market (thrifted). Skirt, Cynthia Rowley. Shoes, Linea Paolo. Necklace, Serket Jewelry. Belt, H&M. Bag, Go Jane. Rings, gift and vintage.

None of the colors really match (coral, turquoise, olive green, and true blue), but I think they get along well enough.

Business Backless

How to wear a backless blouse to work: sandwich between a dress and a blazer.


Shirt, Nollie (thrifted). Blazer, J Crew. Blouse, Sans Souci. Dress, Richard Chai for Target. Shoes, thrifted. Earrings, vintage. Rings, gift, thrifted, and heirloom.

River Plaid

I finally visited the famed American River. This place is popular. On a pleasant fall day, the river was full of fishermen and boaters and the Discovery Park was packed with picnickers and cyclists. It wasn’t so busy that I couldn’t find a quiet corner for my pictures, but also busy enough that my antics were easily overlooked.


Shirt, Nollie (thrifted). Dress, Frederick’s of Hollywood. Sandals, Seychelles (thrifted). Bag, Go Jane. Earrings, import store. Rings, Black Hills Gold and Puzzrollrings. Sunglasses, Girl Props.