Librarian on the Run

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366 days of dresses - day 36 - shopping counts!

Yep. Guilty at charged. That’s me, in a very, very dusty fitting room (there were dust bunnies all over the darn place! H&M - clean your fitting rooms!) I normally don’t have much luck finding good fitting clothes at H&M. Not because they don’t have anything I like - exactly the opposite! They have a TON of cute clothes; however, their sizes are mostly European based and tend to fit very, very oddly. Kind of like Goldilocks: too big, too small, too loose, too baggy - nothing ever fits just right.

Until today. I did not purchase that cute polka dot blouse, and gosh darn it, looking at the photo makes me wish I would have! Only reason I didn’t? I have way, way, way too much polka dot stuff in my closet, and I really don’t want to theme overload on it. So I put it back. 

Plus, I didn’t want to break the bank today.

That skirt? Oh yes. I did buy it. It fit like a glove. A dream. And that never happens. Skirts are silly in that sense - especially pencil skirts. Watch ones with pockets. You see the pockets on this one? They are more towards the front of the skirt, versus on the sides, which is better. Pockets on the sides tend to “pooch” out, giving the allusion of bigger hips. And no one wants that. Pockets sewn more towards the front lay flatter, and give you no issues.  Also, you gotta be careful where skirts hit around the knee line; sometimes you have to bite the bullet and buy a size up in the waist, so it’s loose enough around the hips. Pencil skirts do not look classy when skin tight, stretched over your hips. The cut of the skirt is sexy on it’s own; making it skin tight just ruins it.

Oh, pretty red pencil skirt! And guess what? It was on my “fashion to-buy-only” list. I have one of those. So I don’t go around, buying silly things - - - and breaking the bank. So I was able to scratch “red pencil skirt” off my fashion to-buy-only list. Because I didn’t have one in red. And it’s pretty.

And… so was it’s sister: a navy blue pencil skirt. Which I also grabbed. It was not on my list, but it should have been. And that counts, too.

366 Days of Dresses - day 35 - John Deere

Mixing the casual gingham shirt with a pencil skirt? Who’d’ve knew they could be such a perfect match? I love this outfit. I feel like I could be checking out books and then - on my break - head out to the field to shovel some dirt. Or pick corn. Either way, I’m really loving these two colors and pieces together. I might have to integrate casual shirts into my wardrobe more often!

Inspiration for this outfit here!

366 days of dresses - day 34 - Blue Color Blocked

Today, my friends, was a fashion new day for me. Not because I decided to play around with color blocking, but because I actually decided to play dress up - all the way. Usually when I throw on clothes, I don’t even bother with a different necklace, or look to see what the heck it is I’m standing behind when I point and shoot my camera.

A nice outfit. It really doesn’t get any better than this. Small things. Be happy for the small things.

(I apologize for the fuzzy effect on some of the photos. My camera  was not playing nice today and was on manual!)

366 days of dresses- day 33 - red and blue

For some reason today, I just wanted to mix these two colors and two patterns. It may come off a little bold and crazy, but oh well. I guess that’s me in a nutshell.

Blouse: Papaya

Skirt: LOFT

Heels: Rue21

366 days of dresses - day 32 - white hot

Another summer dress, guys. I apologize for the wrinkles, I never knew I’d be pulling something like this out of the back of my closet on FEBRUARY FIRST. Wow. I think we might have actually hit 70 today, it was warm already when I woke up this morning. It’s unreal. But I’m all about the summer dress, especially in the middle of WINTER :)

Dress: Old Navy

Heels: CK Jeans

366 days of dresses - day 31 - summer madras!

Never did I think that at the end of January, I’d be able to pull out a favorite summer shirtdress. We almost hit 70 degrees here in Maryland today. Insane. So I celebrated with a summery look! This shirtdress (as are a lot of shirtdress, in my opinion) is a bit too short for my liking, so I usually pair a set of khaki shorts underneath, because it’s just darn appropriate. You gotta be careful with shirtdresses, they tend to run above the knee - or have tapered sides (to replicate a shirt!) - and can run shorter than norm! I would have belted it, but that just makes the darn thing SHORTER!

Short or not, I still love the madras style of this one! Where’s summer? ‘Cuz I’m ready!

Dress: Old Navy

Heels: Charlotte Russe

366 days of dresses - day 30 - scripted pink

When I bought this salmon pink pencil skirt, I had an idea of what type of top I wanted to pair it with. This cardigan wasn’t at all what I pictured, but I think it contrasts nicely! I paired it with a nude bootie I have, but looking at the pics now, I think a pair of black polka dot heels would be awesome, too. If I can find some ;-)

Skirt: J.Crew

Cardi: Merona for Target

Booties: Forever21 (XXI)

366 days of dresses - day 29 - mustard birds

Blog, meet my librarian skirt. This was my first serious pencil skirt, and definitely not my last. I like to call it my “librarian” skirt because of the color. It’s so old-fashioned, crisp, and mellow - reminding me of dusty bookshelves and paper-filled card catalog drawers. One of the first catalogers I worked with owned (owns still!) a mustard cardigan exactly this color. She always let me wear it when I was working, because she knew I loved the color. Yellow ochre.

When your clothes remind you of past library co-workers - that’s when you know those items are keepers!

Skirt: J. Crew

Blouse: Forever21 (XXI)

Heels: Payless (Dexter)

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366 days of dresses - day 28 - when in a bind

When in a bind, at least - a clothing bind - jean skirt. LIke their panted version, just as simple, and also goes with everything.

Even leopard wedges. Just because.

366 days of dresses - day 27 - peachy keen!

I think it’s official, and this outfit says it all. No, it has nothing to do with peaches. Or keenness. (Is that a correct word?) I’m ready for spring. SPRING FEVAH! This outfit would probably be more appropriate for Easter Sunday - but alas - I am wearing it in JANUARY. In the middle of WINTER.

We had 60+ degrees today. With a thunderstorm. That’s all I’m gonna say. Winter is lost.

Dress: Papaya

Cardi: Old Navy

Heels: Bamboo

366 days of dresses - day 26 - orange ya glad for spring on it’s way?

I apologize if I keep picking orangy or orangish type skirts. My subconscious just grabbed this color (again) out of the closet; either I’ve got a thing for orange (I do.) or instead of spring, I really want it to be autumn (I do. I love autumn.) But the dark chambray? That I didn’t have to think about either. Because it goes with darn near everything. 

Shirt: Target

Skirt: H&M

Belt: Forever21

Heels: Lucky Brand

366 days of dresses - day 25 - poppies!

I saw this blouse while at Target the other day - and I knew I had the perfect skirt to go with it. The colorful little flowers remind me of my grandmothers - both have worn loose floral shirts like this in the past. Now, so do I. All these bright spring floral colors are making my spring fever kick in early; spring, where are you?

Blouse: Target

Skirt: Burlington Coat Factory

Heels: CK Jeans

Why, thank you for the kind words! You rock! I’m a gal who grew up with 2 older sisters, so I learned the art of the hand-me-down quite well :) You know, I never liked shoes (heels/wedges) so much until I moved to the East Coast and was introduced to all the big chain shoe stores. Wowsa. That’s when it started. I’d never had so many options to buy shoes before. My hometown had one shoe store in the mall, Payless Shoe Source, and it closed. So my little love of shoes never got the chance to grow!

I say, wear those pumps!  Every day should be a dress-up-for-fun day! Thank you again for stopping by and being so kind! Take care!

366 days of dresses - day 24 - blouse-y mouse-y

I think I matched these two pieces just so I could wear MY NEW WEDGES, Y’ALL. Is it too matchy matchy? I don’t think so. It’s very rare to find shoes this high, this comfortable - that match with a comfortable outfit. 

I’m just surprised I can actually walk in the heels. Yay, me! I’ll just avoid any and all doorways. It’s the little things. Really. Be happy for the little things.

Blouse: Forever21 (XXI)

Skirt: Target - Merona

Heels/Wedges: CK Jeans