WIW 5/25 Blush and navy matchy matchy floral

That thread about what do you admire but can't pull off yourself made me think about pastel and scarves, both of which are not really my thing. Pastels tend to wash out on me because of my coloring and scarves are kind of fussy to deal with. Yet here I am including both of them in an outfit. I had to include my signature matchy matchy with the floral skirt, scarf and purse. And the blush Rockstud knockoff flats to match the sweater. And some whimsy with the bee bracelet. How did I do? Can I pull off pastel and scarves? Also waving to Joy and Skylurker. I'm no good at capsules, but I can do outfits, so add this one to your blush and navy collection!

Everlane sweater, Kate Spade skirt, scarf and bag, Banana Republic bracelet, Halogen flats.

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WIW 5/23 Lemonade stand: When life gives you lemons, put them on!

I loved Angie's post today about her citron capsule, especially with the lemon blouse and white Odynna pumps. We are lemon twins! So fun! I knew I had to wear them today. I paired them with my breezy white culottes and it was perfect. I had originally bought the blouse with a pair of cropped white trousers, but they're a bit tight so not that comfy. The culottes have a stretch waist and I don't even have to unzip them to go to the bathroom. LOL! Speaking of comfort, I knew I was going to be on my feet for most of the day today. I ended up changing from the white pumps to my Ugg nude lace up ballet flats and my feet thanked me. The color matched the strap on the lemon tote. The Odynna pumps are not as comfortable as the Okalas, they are stiffer so they kind of dig into my feet at the sides. I am loath to give them up as they really make the outfit, but I have to admit I prefer flats. Also showing the option of white sneakers for sporty luxe MOTG. I actually brought all three pairs with me so I could be prepared for any activity. Which of these shoes do you prefer with this outfit?

Also, matchy matchy lemon earrings and lemon purse. (I'm even hunting down the matching lemon necklace and bracelet on eBay). When life gives you lots of lemons, put them on! Lemons are a good thing! Toasting YLF with a nice tall glass of icy lemonade!

Kate Spade lemon blouse, lemon earrings and lemon tote
1.State white culottes (Nordstrom)--the find is not the same exact pair but pretty similar.
Sam Edelman Odynna white pumps
Ugg nude lace up ballet flats
Vans white sneakers

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Sanctuary (closet tour)

As I was posting outfits over the past couple months with all of the handbags in my collection, several of you (including Angie) have been asking me how I store my handbags. I felt a little sheepish, as in my head the question sounded to me a little like "OMG how the heck do you store THAT many handbags?" I know you all didn't mean it that way, but I know I have a bit of a handbag problem...LOL!

I haven't been that great about taking the best care of my huge wardrobe when things get busy and it has been kind of messy and bursting at the seams. So it inspired me to really try to tidy it up and do some editing. I went through and purged a bunch of pre-pregnancy jeans and printed skinnies that no longer fit (yes, I did torture myself by trying them all on), plus a few old clutches that were too small to be practical, and some pilling sweaters, etc. I wish I could be ruthless and get rid of more, but I really couldn't do a major purge because I still love and use most of it.

I think I need to go into a hug my closet phase, but without a total shopping ban because that just makes me want to shop more. I just own too much stuff, as evidenced by Handbag Month lasting for several months. I could also do Dress Month, and a Skirt Month too with a new one every day without running out of items! Don't ask me to count my items. I plead the fifth.

I am going to try to concentrate on being more selective about what enters my closet and limiting my purchases. I have been reading up on minimalism and getting uncluttered and Project 333, but the thought of trying to pick 33 items to wear for the next three months makes me break out into a cold sweat. I've never been good at capsules and mix and match, and I don't think I would enjoy being that restrictive about what I wear, especially given my penchant for matchy matchy and accessory sets. I think I would go stir crazy if I tried it! So I think I'm just going to have to focus on having the right size wardrobe for me.

Anyways, on to the tidying and a tour of my closet. In addition to this, I have a dresser in my bedroom with five drawers, with 1) socks, bras and underwear 2) T shirts and other knit shirts 3) shorts, jeans and printed pants 4) swim, sleep and loungewear and 5) workout gear. Also I have coats in a closet upstairs, and seasonal ski gear etc. in bags. And a few pairs of shoes and sneakers under a bench by the entry door.

I stuffed those air pillows that you get in Amazon packages into the purses so they would hold their shape better, and put fresh rolled up magazines in my tall boots to replace the paper towel tubes. I had to take over another shoe shelf to give more room to my satchels, and put my booties on the floor. I had to stack all my flats one on top of the other, and the totes are kind of stacked on top of one another too, which is not ideal, but that's all the space I had. Necklaces are in a jewelry organizer with earrings on the other side hanging on the closet door. Hats and bracelets in a divided box underneath my shirts. Clutches on a shelf above my dresses. Sweaters in a bin with some larger bags on top. Super fancy purses in their boxes on the floor under the skirts. I like rainbow and ombre effects so my bags and clothes are roughly ordered by color. White first, then rainbow, then black. Short sleeve shirts/tanks to the left, then long sleeve shirts in the middle, then jackets to the right. On the bottom, skirts on the left, then non-jeans pants (just a few) on the right. Scarves, belts, maxi skirts and dresses in another section with clutches on a divided shelf above them. My wedding dress and Christmas ornaments up on the very top shelf. DH's clothes are on the other side of the closet.

My favorite part is the seat next to the mirror. My closet hasn't been this clean for a while, but now that it is, I love sitting down and resting in there for a few minutes to get away from the chaos of the rest of my life! (Though the kids always find me and come in and try on my shoes and necklaces!) Hope you enjoyed the tour of my little sanctuary! Thanks for inspiring me to clean up so I could show it to you!

PS: I just found an old thread where I showed my closet five years ago:
nofollow http://goldenpig.lookfab.com/p.....ation-pics
The funniest quote?
"I joined YLF in July (after I started wardrobe shopping for the first time in 5 years since having kids) and now that six months have passed, I think I am finally done!"
Um, yeah, not so much! Rookie mistake.
I was complaining back then that I had too large of a wardrobe, but look at how sparse my closet looks five years ago compared to now! I still have a lot of items in those pictures. And where were all the handbags back then? Yikes!

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K/R Banana Republic black leather moto

Sorry for the photo dump! I wanted to see if I could get your opinion on this Banana Republic leather moto. I already have two black leather jackets, the Spiegel lemming one with wide lapels that I got for around $25 and wear a lot (9, 13, 18/19, 24) and a streamlined Tahari one that's even older but don't reach for much because it's rather plain (8, 14, 20/21, 25). I've really been wanting a leather moto for a while to add a bit of toughness to my edgy ladylike outfits.

I first tried a Kate Spade one (see finds below) and got it 25% off, but considering it was $900 before the discount it was still pretty expensive. I felt like it was a little too tough looking (ironic that a Kate Spade moto could be too masculine!) and it felt a little thick/stiff and the epaulets stood up quite a bit off my shoulders. It felt a little too costumey on me (in my head this voice kept singing "You know I'm bad, I'm bad, you know it") so I returned it. Now I kinda wish I had kept it for comparison, because it's cropped so maybe it might work better with dresses, and maybe my eyes just needed to adjust, but I had a limited return window so I returned it a couple of months ago and it's sold out now.

Then I found this leather moto at Banana Republic online and I thought I would try it out once it got to the stores, but it sold out right away. I finally found one in stock in Emeryville so I had to drive out there on Mother's Day to get it. I ended up being able to use a 10% off coupon and $50 off $100 in store, so I think it ended up being about $350 down from $450. It's totally sold out now. I've been trying it on with various outfits, but was a little worried because I had posted it with my Catfight Champ thread and someone said it looked too big on me and that I should get a cropped jacket instead. This is a S. I did try the XS when I bought it, but it was too tight in the shoulders and arms and not as comfortable as the S. The leather is very soft and it feels like it fits like a glove. But looking at the pics, I'm not sure if it looks too big on me when unzipped? I am showing some pics of it zipped up, but I hardly ever wear jackets zipped up and honestly I think the zipped up pics make my apple belly look bigger. I took a bunch of pics with different outfits to compare this one with the two others I already owned to see if I could justify adding yet another black leather jacket to my wardrobe. I think I would still keep the other two and use the Spiegel one when I want to emphasize the triangle points (9) and the Tahari to use as a leather blazer for work (8). But I could see the leather moto being my new favorite with most outfits.

For some reason I got a little nervous and ordered a Trouve leather moto (26-28) from Nordstrom to compare, also in a S, but that feels too tight everywhere especially in the arms and stomach, so I probably would need to size up to a M. I went to Nordstrom to try a M. They didn't have the collared moto, but had a collarless Trouve version (29-30). But again the arms were snug (it felt like the thin sweater I was wearing was bunching up in the arms). And I really liked the Banana Republic one more because it had more of the "moto" styling I was looking for.

So, what do you think? Am I overthinking this? Is the Banana Republic leather moto a keeper in terms of fit on my body and in my wardrobe, or should I go for one of the Trouve, or keep looking? Tag is still on, but I'm inclined to snip and keep unless you all think it looks bad on me. Thanks so much for your advice! Oh and 1-5 is my edgy casual luxe look with distressed jeans, Chanel boy and wedge sneakers. I heart YLF (5)!

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K/R: Banana Republic white leather jacket (more pics added)

I got these both 40% off at Banana Republic. What do you think? Are either of these keepers, or do I have sale goggles on? I am showing both open and zipped, although I almost never wear my jackets zipped up. ETA--not really styled how I would wear them, just thrown over my other outfits.
White braided leather jacket--size S
Tweed moto--size 6

ETA: Tweed moto has been returned. Added some more styled pics with the white leather moto. The only one i like is with the olive tee. I think this is a return too, right? It doesn't seem to be playing well in my closet.

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33 comments

WIW 5/20 Minimalist

Sorry for wet hair, running out the door.
Can I pull off minimalism?

32 comments

WIW 5/19 FFBO: Dress lover

Dresses will always be popular in my closet! They are my fast fallback option--just grab and go when I'm in a rush to get out the door. No fuss, no muss, no trying to match a top to a bottom. This one is one of my favorite dresses--the pattern, structure and silhouette work wonders with my apple shape. Statement necklace, silver shoes and white bag and I'm out the door!

Lafayette 148 sheath dress
Alexis Bittar necklace
Kate Spade bag
Paul Green Cayanne sandals

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WIW 5/18 Another jersey skirt with KS camera cross body and origami dalmatian

Thanks to Angie's wrap jersey skirt capsule post I pulled out my black tube midi skirt which hasn't been used in a while but is surprisingly versatile. I already used it earlier this week with a purple tank (http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....rsey-skirt). I am trying to finish up with Handbag Month (which has dragged on to Handbag Quarter, haha) and I think this may finally be the last one! This cute Kate Spade camera clutch/crossbody which is adorable but totally impractical. I ended up using it as a big lipstick case inside my satchel! Please somebody do an intervention on me if I am tempted to buy another cute tiny clutch! I used my plain black satchel with a keychain charm, this one is an origami dalmatian. I had originally bought the cross body dalmatian purse, but it was again too tiny to be useful so I returned the purse and kept just the keychain. I had previously posted this bag with the bee pom pom charm (http://goldenpig.lookfab.com/p.....uirky-bags) and I have a few more keychains (ladybug, ice cream, daisy, etc). that can serve as charms to match my outfits. How fun! Rescued this plain bag from the donate pile!

Also I've been feeling rather squishy lately so it was nice to pull on this black skirt and peplum tank which ironically felt slimming (I hadn't worn this tank in a while because I was worried people would think I was pregnant--I don't know, you tell me if I'm looking too gravid!). Also I hadn't used this Tahari black leather jacket lately (tended to reach for the Spiegel instead) but it works well as a black "blazer". So this whole outfit was filled with wardrobe orphans, but they all played well together. I played up the rectangular shape and black circle of the camera lens with stripes and polka dots in my clothes and jewelry.

Thanks for letting me indulge my whimsical side yet again!

J Crew striped peplum tank
Tahari black leather jacket
Vince Camuto black tube midi skirt
White House Black Market black polka dot necklace and bracelet
Munro Abby black stripe sandals
Kate Spade camera crossbody
Ralph Lauren (TJ Maxx) black doctor satchel with Kate Spade origami dalmatian keychain charm

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WIW 5/18 Catfight Champ for Anna (aka Urban Warrior Kitty)

So Anna posted a link to Choupette, Karl Lagerfeld's cat. Love it, especially the cat hoodie. I'm a total cat lover. I'm also into cartoon characters and cute kitsch with an urban edge. Paul Frank, Tokidoki, Gama-Go and of course Hello Kitty. You may not realize it, but Hello Kitty is a total badass with a poker face. (I'm pretty sure she could take down pampered Choupette any day.) Gama-Go Ninja Kitty is one of my favorite characters too. And I have this very old hoodie from Emily the Strange (do I kind of look like her?) that has cat ears and says Catfight Champ on the back. What better excuse to pull it out than to play Urban Warrior Kitty? (thought it might not be entirely appropriate to use the feline P word, LOL!). Like my resting hiss face (7)? Meow.

Paying homage to Anna with the cat hoodie, tiger T shirt (kind of like her Kenzo tiger T), jogger pants, studded cuff (like her avatar), wedge sneaks and signature red lippie. Also showing the outfit with a leather moto (10-11) for a more grown up (ha!) look. 

Emily the Strange Catfight Champ hoodie
The Kooples tiger T shirt
Zella jogger pants
Skechers studded wedge sneakers
Hermes CDC red cuff
Alexis Bittar necklaces
Michael Kors studded purse
Banana Republic leather moto

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WIW 5/17 Hermes flamingo bag

OK coming clean! After the Hermes purse debacle I don't know that I should be posting this, but I said I would get through all of my handbags so here it is. I bought this Soie Cool bag at the same time as the other purse. I was going to sell this one too, but no one bought on my buy/sell/trade group, it so I'm keeping it. It was nowhere near as expensive as the other one. It's more of a backpack/casual bag but in a fun flamingo print. This outfit by itself is very plain which is normally not my style, but the flamingo bag makes it more fun and more me! Though I still got plenty of compliments on the outfit itself. I kind of am enjoying more simple and streamlined looks too. I just purged about 15 pairs of pre pregnancy pants that don't fit me anymore  so I was feeling bad about pants, but this one is stretchy and comfortable and breezy. It was super hot yesterday so the culottes were great. Funny thing is when I came home from work DS#2 ran to hug me and face planted his barbecue sauce laden lips right onto my crotch. Fortunately it seems like it's coming out with Oxy Clean. Hazards of wearing white pants with toddlers!

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