Belting it Out

Okay. This belt. 

Clearly, this belt and I are having some issues. 

I don't know how to wear this belt. When I wear it like this, it kind of hangs under my belly and gives me a beer gut.

Not a fan of that look.

Okay, so let's move it up the waist and try it on one of my thinner sections of torso.

Eh.

I don't like this so much either- see how it's kind of causing the sweater to ride up there just under the buckle?

And I don't like how the necklace is almost hitting the buckle either.

Okay, I put the sweater back in its place, but I'm still not sold on this.

Wearing:

- teal Banana Republic shawl front sweater, Goodwill Outlet

- necklace, gift from sister-in-law

- teal dangly stone earrings

- annoying wide brown belt, Kohl's

- brown skirt, Goodwill Outlet

- brown tights

- brown boots

Necklace close-up.

Put the belt back to Position A and added a jacket and sunglasses. I look sooooo cooool. 

And I'm glaring at my belt again. GAH!

And this is the face I make when I FINALLY find the right position for the belt, but I have already spent way too long on this dumb photo shoot. 

Curse you, brown belt.

Have you noticed that [Wearing My] Art on My Sleeve is not like other style blogs out there? Click here to find out how it was born and why it's so weird...

Dressy at 17 Degrees

Still trying to get all these winter posts done, because spring is (hopefully) right around the corner!

On the day I wore this it was 17 degrees outside when I got my kids on the bus at 8 am. I had my Institute of Religion (scripture study) class that day, which I usually try to dress nicely for, and so I had the challenge of wearing something that was both dressy and would keep me warm. 

Wearing:

- Calvin Klein coat, TJ Maxx a few years ago (I love this coat. It is completely lined in soft faux fur and it is SO warm)

- black short sleeve cowl neck sweater, Goodwill Outlet

- black turtleneck (under the sweater), Victoria's Secret

- black & gray pinstripe skirt

- black leggings

- gray Fergie boots

- silver multi-strand necklace, Sammy Dress

- silver hoop earrings

- plaid newsboy cap, TJ Maxx (actually bought this the same day as the coat- I was extra warm)

- silver & red cuff bracelet

Whenever I see a photo of me in this hat with my head down, I feel like I'm channeling Michael Jackson.

Cute, comfy, and warm. My three favorite things to be.

Later that day when I got home, I changed out the skirt, leggings, and gray boots for a pair of jeans and my black suede boots.

All ready to go out again!

Am I the only one who places such a high priority on being warm in the winter? I HATE to be cold!!

Have you noticed that [Wearing My] Art on My Sleeve is not like other style blogs out there? Click here to find out how it was born and why it's so weird...

Eskimo Boots for a Snowy Day

This outfit was one of my snowy day ensembles from back in January. (I'm running out of winter here, so I  need to get all these old winter outfit posts done!) 

Please ignore the crazy hair. Thank you.

Wearing:

- tan cowl neck sweater (Goodwill Outlet)

- brown turtleneck (Victoria's Secret)

- pocket watch pendant necklace (Sammy Dress- I need to take a close-up of that one sometime- it opens up and everything, really pretty!)

- dark wash skinny jeans

- suede & faux fur boots (Goodwill Outlet- TWO BUCKS, BABY!)

- Magic Scarf (I thought it needed a little extra color)

I wore this (plus a coat) when I walked the kids down to a neighbor's house to play in the snow. You can see that the toe of one of the boots is a little bit darker- still wet from walking in the snow!

And then there was this.

You see what I have to deal with.

Ahem.

It was a cold, snowy day, but it was finished off with this gooorgeous sunset! 

What do you wear out in the snow?

Have you noticed that [Wearing My] Art on My Sleeve is not like other style blogs out there? Click here to find out how it was born and why it's so weird...

Wuuuuv, Twoooo WUUUV!

Happy Valentines Day, friends!

I teach the music to the children at church, so last Sunday I prepared a Valentines-themed lesson. I am much like Ms. Frizzle (if you don't know who she is, you must have had a very sad childhood) in that I often like to dress to match my lessons, so I went with PINK this week!

And of course because it was cold I had to do boots and tights.

Like the flower in my hair? ;-)

Wearing:

- pink cashmere/silk sweater, Victoria's Secret

- black scoop neck tee underneath

- floral skirt, Goodwill (this skirt is crazy comfortable- it has a smocked waistband and double layers of a lovely thin cotton- very froofy- I wear it all the time in the summer)

- black tights

- black boots

- pink earrings & necklace

- flower hair clip made by me

Happy Valentines Day!

What did you wear to celebrate twoooo wuuuuv?

Have you noticed that [Wearing My] Art on My Sleeve is not like other style blogs out there? Click here to find out how it was born and why it's so weird...

Cozy at Home

Are you having a snow day this week too? 

Well, I don't know about you, but sometimes I just want to be cozy and comfortable when I'm at home, and this look accomplished both of those things.

This is me giving Pocket Watch a little talking to. As you can see, he 

is up to his old tricks.

(This is not me. Can ya tell?)

I actually got my style inspiration for this look from a Pinterest pin for the Jones Design Company, which showed this loose top paired with a simple cardigan. 

I wasn't sure it would work as well on me because my legs are not stick-thin like this lovely lady's, but I gave it a shot with this top and my cozy sweater, and I think it worked okay. I especially liked that I can now wear this short-sleeved top in winter as well as spring & summer. Hooray for multi-season fashion!

Wearing:

- White sweater, originally Charlotte Russe, but procured at Goodwill Outlet

- brown top, Goodwill Outlet

- khaki skinny chinos, Kohl's

- brown sweater boot slippers, Wal-Mart on clearance years ago

- dangly earrings

- pendant pocket watch necklace, Sammy Dress

See those brown belt-like things hanging off the bottom of the sweater? Well, don't get too attached to them because later on that day I used my scissors and snipped the seams and removed them. I could never actually use them to close the sweater, so I put them out of their misery. So fun to shop at the Goodwill Outlet because then you can take scissors to your clothes without batting an eye!

If I recall correctly, this look is on my face because I am telling one of my littles that if they run across the kitchen ONE MORE TIME they will be in some serious trouble.

What do you wear when you just want to be cozy at home?

Have you noticed that [Wearing My] Art on My Sleeve is not like other style blogs out there? Click here to find out how it was born and why it's so weird...

Something Very English About It

Okay, I know. When I wear my brown boots with my khaki pants I look like I'm about to go ride a horse across the English countryside.

I wish!

To be honest, I actually am an equestrian, which is probably why I do love my boots so much. And I really loved when boots came in fashion because I got to have a whole collection of them and now when I'm visiting my mom (she has horses) I can just jump on a horse without having to worry about changing into my riding gear. Well, in the fall and winter anyway. ;-)

Wearing:

- oatmeal-colored henley (Goodwill Outlet)

- brown v-neck sweater (Goodwill Outlet)

- pocket watch pendant necklace (Sammy Dress)

- skinny khaki chinos (Kohl's)

- brown leather belt

- brown boots

- earrings- pearls & mother-of-pearl-type stone things

With this outfit I decided to try something a little different and I paired this oatmeal-colored henley with this brown v-neck sweater. I really liked the way it looked- the layers were kind of cool. But I realized that the look was quite masculine, especially paired with the pocket-watch pendant necklace, so I thought I'd add a little more femininity with a really girly hairstyle.

This is me trying to find the back of my head with the camera. Clearly I don't actually have eyes in the back of my head. Darn.

There we go! Okay, this hairstyle looks complicated, but it takes less than five minutes, promise.

You just do two pigtails at the back of your head, close together, and rope braid each of them. Then you kind of wrap each rope braid to make a bun (2 buns- one for each rope braid) and then kind of cross them in the middle and pin the whole thing. And if I could find the pin on Pinterest that was my inspiration for this, I would share it. 

Cool, right? Hooray for quick, looks-like-they're-hard-to-do-but-really-aren't hairstyles.

Now let me introduce you to Magic Scarf. I have named this my Magic Scarf for a few reasons.

First, it was a Christmas gift from my stepmom, and it is not something I ever would have chosen for myself. The base color of the scarf is navy blue, and aside from my jeans, I just don't do navy blue.

But this scarf is magic because I have discovered that it goes with EVERYTHING.

Ooh! Are you excited? Trying out a new backdrop here- the light was reflecting off the snow outside and it made for a really cool picture spot in my living room. Thought I'd give you a better view of Magic Scarf.

Another angle so you can check out the hair...which looks messier from this angle...sigh.

And do you want to know a secret? That blasted necklace is ALWAYS trying to turn itself around like that. It drives. me. bonkers.

But that's okay, I'll just sit here and stare out the window at the beautiful snow, because I can use this picture as an author photo next time I need one. I look very scholarly with my pocket watch pendant and my layered henley and my Magic Scarf.

Thank you for behaving yourself for once, Pocket Watch.

And our bonus Keeping It Real moment for the day: I am actually falling over in the photo below. Milliseconds after this photo was taken I slammed into the closet door.

Do you see Paper Bag laughing at me from around the corner? He can be so cruel.


Have you noticed that [Wearing My] Art on My Sleeve is not like other style blogs out there? Click here to find out how it was born and why it's so weird...

Today I'm linking up to...

Lady In Red...and why I need an instruction manual to get dressed

Wearing:

- red boucle cowl neck tunic sweater from Victoria’s Secret

- dark wash skinny jeans

- black suede boots from Urbanog

- silver hoop earrings

It was a cold, snowy day people. This is me wanting to be nothing but WARM! 

(Okay, I wanted to be cute too, but that was just a happy side effect of the warm.) 

Okay, now it’s confession time. It is not easy figuring out a cowl neck sweater. When I first got it I kept searching the box to find an instruction page for how the heck to wear the thing. Do I roll it down? Fold it somehow? Scrunch it? They make it look soooo easy in the catalogs. They lure you in and then you get your box in the mail, you excitedly take out your sweater and pull it on and then...

Well, obviously I did figure it out eventually. And FYI, if you take your kids for a walk around the neighborhood wearing your cowl neck sweater like this, you’re gonna get a lot of strange looks. 

Just so you know.

Have you ever owned an article of clothing that had you stumped as to how to wear it?

Have you noticed that [Wearing My] Art on My Sleeve is not like other style blogs out there? Click here to find out how it was born and why it's so weird...