goldenpig

I don't normally think of myself as a trendy fashionista, but it's still fun to try new trends once in a while. You know what I'm going to say, since I'm wearing it today--my H&M floral ankle pants! These pants remind me of my black cotton blazer with floral print that I used to wear all the time in junior high, circa 1985-86. Which was about the last time in my life that I used to follow fashion trends closely! They are so super trendy and I know I'm not going to be able to wear these pants forever--the floral pants look is so in/hyped right now it may already be dated by next season! Fortunately they're only $14.95 so I can get them down to a reasonable CPW quickly!

Are you into fashion trends? What is the super trendiest item in your closet? Why did you buy it? How long do you plan to wear this item?

Last time my attempt at wearing the H&M floral pants was a bust, DH could not stop commenting on how ugly and clown-like they were, especially paired with the striped shirt--the floral pants and pattern mixing was too much for conservative him!
http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....s-dh-right
(I'm also thinking about Krish's DH with the "disreputable" pants, LOL)!
http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....sreputable

Well here is my attempt to make these floral pants respectable again! A more grown up version--I paired it with all my "luxe" designer accessories (shirt, bag, leather jacket, heels). I'm wearing this to work so I hope it's not too crazy! Will see what the others have to say! What do you think? I'm planning to wear pants all week (blah) so these are the most fun ones I have to start out the week with!

As a side note, I think I should have bought a size down--the 6 seemed tight in the store so I bought the 8. I didn't think they would stretch out but they have and now they're a bit loose. Hopefully I can throw them in the washer & dryer and shrink them back up.

H&M floral ankle pants
White Anne Fontaine blouse
Turquoise skinny belt
Kate Spade grey croc tote
Chie Mihara Eloisa rust suede heeled sandals

Here is what I wore over the weekend.
1-2. All this obsessing over white skinnies and I realized I already have white jeans to wear! These just got back from the tailor--finally got them hemmed.
WHBM blue and white floral blouse and blue cardigan
Paige white Hidden Hills bootcuts
Ugg Hazel sandals

3. Repeat of an outfit I've posted before. We had a bday party for DS and it was a train theme. Lots of fun! Except DS threw up on me (he's fine, he was just bouncing a lot in the jumpy and then had a coughing fit and spit up a little on me as I was holding him) so I hope the stains come out of my cardigan and T shirt! Also, I ruined DD's beautiful red heart dress--it said machine wash so I did and all the fuzzy hearts on the skirt started disintegrating. Wah!!!
INC red cardigan
JWT cat tee
Gap Always Skinny
Red Converse

Why is it that men can wear the same shirt and pants and ties for years/decades but women can't wear things for more than 5 years (or even more than one season sometimes) before it starts looking "dated"? Whenever I post my old pre-YLF clothes (the few pieces that survived my purges, meaning I still like them), I tend to get the "dated" comment frequently. It seems like women's fashion changes at a much more rapid pace than men's. I mean yeah, there are some men who are really into men's fashion and designer clothes, and width of ties and lapels change from decade to decade, but it's much less common for the average guy to need to revamp his wardrobe over and over. Whereas women expect to keep buying, and are constantly told they have to keep up with fashion in order to avoid looking dated and frumpy. (Krish had some great insights as to why this is different now compared to 100 years ago in my previous thread). I finally feel like I have a wonderful fab wardrobe. But am I going to have to get rid of all these clothes five years from now? I don't want to!

I like trying new things and seeing the latest trends, but it makes it really hard to be satisfied with your wardrobe and feel like you're "done" with shopping (which is really making it hard for me to do SYC). And it makes it difficult for husbands to understand why we have to keep buying new clothes when we already have a closet full of clothes.

On the other hand, I don't necessarily want stick to a boring wardrobe full of neutral basics (oh man, don't say the C word!). Fashion is fun, I just wish there was a way to wear the stuff you like for as long as you want without worrying that you're becoming out of date!

I have accumulated a pretty large wardrobe and one of the issues I am thinking about is how many clothes I have and that the more clothes I have, the less I can wear each one. Also I am thinking about which pieces I own still have the tags on and wondering whether I should keep or purge them since they haven't been worn yet. At first I thought I should return/consign everything that hasn't been worn, but on the other hand if I'm starting SYC maybe I should keep them since they will be like getting new clothes without buying anything new!

What's in your wardrobe that still has the tags on? Why haven't you worn them? What are you planning to do with these items? If you have worn everything, then what are the least worn items in your closet and why are they still taking up space?

Here are mine:
1. Evening/cocktail dresses--This is the main offender category.
http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....il-dresses
I have several fab dresses that are too fancy for work and I have no occasion to wear them. On the other hand, it's probably good to have something ready to go if an occasion like a holiday party or fundraiser gala should arise (which happens a couple times a year). And also maybe I should try to go on more dates with DH and get dressed up more often! I have a red satin Suzi Chin, black and magenta floral Tahari satin halter dress, wine and black lace Sue Wong, black lace Bailey 44 and black ruffled Kate Spade wrap dress that have not had their IRL debut yet. I returned the blue J Crew dress but ended up buying another in poppy. I may try to ebay or consign the Kate Spade but I still like the others.
2. Jason Wu for Target--returned most of it, but still haven't worn most of the keepers yet--the navy fit and flare dress with beige and red stripes, red and mustard sleeveless shells, navy shorts, scarf and straw purse. Wore the navy floral dress and cat tee so far.
3. H&M coral/pastel tops. Was experimenting with different sorbet colored tops. I think I'm keeping the cantaloupe graphic tee and the raspberry cardigan but the rest is going to get returned.
4. Cropped denim jackets--I wore the faded denim one, but have the white AE and red Jolt one that I am going to try to wear now that it's spring.
5. TJ Maxx navy floral dress. Planning to wear ASAP with the white denim jacket, will be good for spring.
6. Trousers. I had a few pairs hemmed finally and am planning to wear them next week!
7. ASOS skirts. A couple of midi skirts (rust & black) that I was too late to return to ASOS. The main thing keeping me from wearing them is I'm too lazy to get out the steamer and dewrinkle them!
8. Old Navy cobalt jeans. Have worn the red one several times already but haven't worn the cobalt ones yet. I guess cobalt isn't my color!
9. INC turtlenecks. I bought them in several different colors on sale at Macy's and have worn the black one, but still have beige, grey, and purple to go. Kinda boring basics so that's why I haven't reached for them.
10. Peep toe wedges--fab emerald and blue pattern, bought on clearance at DSW. But the heels are too high to be practical. Will have to try them out at least once, but I think I'm realizing that I really shouldn't buy high heels. The work shoes that get the most wear for me are the mid-heel nude, red, brown and black pumps that I had even before YLF. And my MOTG shoes need to be flat.
11. Scarves. Another big offender category. I think I'm going to have to do a scarf week to get me in the mood to wear these, because it's just something that doesn't come naturally to me and it just seems to get in the way. Also my clothes are often patterned already so it makes it difficult to wear a scarf on top of that. For not being a scarf person, I seem to have accumulated way too many scarves!

Well, sorry to have been so long-winded, but that was a helpful! exercise for me! Even though I didn't really come up with much to purge, it does make me feel better about SYC since I still have some new things to look forward to wearing! Also it lets me see which categories I should really stop buying (evening dresses, scarves, high heels) since they are really not getting worn much.

It's cold and rainy here so I couldn't resist bringing out my cream puffer another time before it gets too warm. I wore a very white and neutral palette which is very unlike me, but it fits with the winter weather. This skirt is super old and didn't get much love last time I posted it, but I'm hoping now that midis are in that it looks less dated (it's one of my favorite old skirts). And I'm having fun with trying coats over jackets! I know it's a little puffy all layered up, but at least I'm warm and dry!

Thanks for looking and comments and suggestions welcomed!

Lafayette 148 caramel leather jacket
J Crew cashmere blend cream turtleneck
Ann Taylor slate and camel plaid wool midi skirt
Timberland Stratham Heights cognac heeled boots
Anthro Moss Mills bronze leaf belt
Betsey Johnson cream puffer coat
Jack Georges brown leather satchel briefcase

I posted an outfit that I thought was mixing a lot of patterns in one outfit:
http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....one-outfit
Nicole posted that it worked because the grey croc tote was a texture, not a pattern. What is the difference? I thought texture was something you can feel, like nubbly tweed or corduroy. Just wondering what makes something a texture vs. a pattern. Is it the size of the print? Are croc, snakeskin, leopard prints etc. textures or patterns? Is fur a texture? Also sometimes I notice people calling an outfit pattern mixed even when it looks pretty subtle to me, like herringbone or gingham check pants with small enough prints that they look solid. What about polka dot or herringbone or fishnet tights? Just curious what you consider pattern mixing and what the difference between textures and patterns is.

I'm doing skirts this week and decided I wanted to try some pattern mixing. So I paired my burgundy houndstooth pencil skirt with a grey floral blouse. But then by the time I added my grey croc tote and herringbone tights, it ended up being four patterns in one outfit! Five if you count the red and black stripes on my glasses. And six if you count the NY city map lining on my Kate Spade trench (although you can't see it). I guess I'm aiming for advanced pattern mixing! It was raining so the Aquatalia Vavoom shiny chianti zipper boots came out to play. I wore the leather jacket as a blazer. And I wore the trench on top of the leather jacket so it wouldn't get wet--my first time trying a coat over a jacket. The boots, skirt and specs are all burgundy and even the trip on the grey tote is burgundy. So is this way too much going on in one outfit or is it subtle enough to work since the colors are subdued? (I did wear it to work today).

H&M grey floral tie-neck blouse
Halogen burgundy houndstooth pencil skirt
Gap grey herringbone tights
Aquatalia Vavoom boots in chianti patent
Tahari black leather jacket
Kate Spade black ruffle trench
Kate Spade grey croc tote
White House Black Market hammered silver stretch bracelet

Yesterday I wore an INC black turtleneck from Macy's, yellow skinny belt from my Target dress, and a yellow and black chevron stripe midi from ASOS. The skirt is stretchy and A-line and feels very feminine. Just for matchy matchy fun, I also added my chevron stripe Fossil satchel and Missoni for Target striped black pumps. Got lots of compliments and felt great in the outfit. I am seeing now looking at the pics that the outline of the waistband of the skirt is showing underneath the thin turtleneck, but it wasn't noticeable to me yesterday, hopefully it doesn't look too bad. I was in a hurry and ran out the door without a jacket on--I think next time I might try it with my cognac leather jacket.

Yesterday when I walked over to the hospital to get some lunch at the cafeteria, I saw this striking black and white printed skirt on a mannequin outside the hospital gift shop. I went in and tried it on and it looked great with the black turtleneck, so I bought it and repeated the turtleneck today with my new skirt! LOL about leaving no retail stone unturned--never thought I'd be buying clothes at the hospital gift shop! (Now what am I going to do today when I walk past that gift shop and I have that same skirt on--haha!)

It's a skirt by Soybu, which apparently is a Denver-based company that specializes in eco-made clothes. It looks like they have a bunch of active clothes that would be good for yoga or workouts or MOTG or travel.
This skirt is called Wanderlust, and it is made of cotton chamoix and has a stretchy elastic waist and is so soft--it would be great for packing since it seems very wrinkle resistant. This pattern feels sort of Kate Spade-ish (I am drooling over her black and white floral patterned skirts and dresses out right now!) but is a lot cheaper--only $45! Score!
http://www.soybu.com/wanderlust-skirt
This particular skirt is sold at Sports Authority as well (looks like they carry a lot of their clothes):
http://www.sportsauthority.com.....erralID=NA

I actually went with the size L because that way it would fall to a midi length on me and I prefer that length--the M was above the knee. (And if you wanted it shorter, you could always fold over the elastic waist). I like having some elastic waist skirts because they are so comfy and you can still wear them even if you gain a little weight at times! I could probably even wear these as maternity skirts if I ever needed to!

I wore my skinny red bow belt, structured red snakeskin handbag from White House Black Market, red Clark T strap pumps and my Anthro red corset trench (pic from the back is not that flattering because I'm twisted around to take the pic, but you get the idea). I really love the black/white/red combo and always have. Back to my usual ladylike me and feeling comfy and stylish at the same time!

I already posted about my floral pants with black and white striped shirt outfit (http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....elp-needed) but here's the update. I decided to go with the cropped faded denim jacket on top because it felt more casual than the leather jacket and I didn't want to look too aggressive since we were just going to DD's ballet. Well, DH absolutely loathed the outfit. He couldn't stop making comments about it all day. He said when he first saw me in the outfit he thought of a line from the movie Untouchables where Elliot Ness shoots an already dead guy and another person says, "Mr. Ness, I do not approve of your methods!" Then he said that the outfit is something that Peg Bundy would wear (I'm cringing because I once said my mom dresses like Peg Bundy--ouch!). Then he called them clown pants. And then he said, "I'm only doing this for your own good. This doesn't look sophisticated at all. I don't want people to laugh at you. If my fly was down I would expect you to tell me. So, I'm telling you, your fashion fly is down."

Is he right? (You can tell it to me straight, I don't mind). I was having fun trying out a new trend but after all his comments I was really second guessing myself. I ended up having to go to a birthday party of one of DD's friends that day (no time to go home and change) and I was feeling a little self conscious and wondering if the other moms thought I looked ridiculous (they were all dressed in the usual MOTG uniform of long neutral cardigan, skinnies and boots or something similar).

I have to admit this outfit doesn't seem all that much like my usual style and I didn't feel that fab. Maybe the combo is too crazy. And the horizontal stripes are making me look a bit wide. I didn't get any compliments--in fact nobody else said anything at all about my outfit so I think DH may be right that it's just too crazy and strange. At least the pants were only $15 so I didn't waste too much money on them.

After that I didn't feel like coming up with anything new or creative anymore, so the next day I just went with something safe and boring--polka dot top, jeans and long red cardigan with black ballet flats. OK but kind of blah. I was going to try a week of trousers this week but now I don't feel like expending a bunch of energy thinking about how to make trousers more "me", so I'm playing it safe and sticking to skirts this week (will post a WIW tomorrow).

I feel kind of discouraged. I don't want to stand out in a bad way. Being a fashionista isn't fun when people think you're ridiculous!