Optical Illusions and Renaissance Romance Meets Casual Chic

Let me first just say that this may be one of my favorite photos of myself ever. Do you see how tiny my hips and waist look? Hel-lo! Hooray for flattering angles, that’s all I have to say. And for once I’m rocking all that hair of mine.

Okay, leaving Narcissisia now...

Wearing:

- top from Old Navy, bought years ago for $4. Scooore.

- Arizona jeans from the Goodwill Outlet, which means they cost less than a dollar.

- vintage pendant necklace from Etsy

- brown leather belt I’ve had since college

- black ballet flats from Payless last year- less than $20

- bracelet from a jewelry party hosted years ago by a friend, but I cannot remember the name of the company.

- bronzey earrings

Let us all take a moment to welcome back our friend, Paper Bag, shall we?

And then let’s take a moment to wonder why, for the love of fashion, I keep forgetting to take closeups of my accessories and then, in all my lazy glory, crop my photos into these truly horrific, blurry renderings that make Van Gogh paintings look lifelike? Hmm...points to ponder...

Okay, back to my miraculously skinny waist. Which, when you check out the toe contemplation photo below, you might discover really was just an optical illusion. *sigh* It was fun while it lasted.

I wore this outfit on a day in January when it miraculously got over 50 degrees. This top is fantastic for that temperature, because the sleeves can go long or short, and the wide neckline and jersey knit cotton keep it cool. 

I love wearing a belt with a loose-fitting top because the belt defines your hips and the buckle and looseness of the fabric do a great job disguising any tummy pooch/muffin top issues.

And today’s Keeping It Real Moment is brought to you by my 8-year-old daughter, whose photo bomb is the result, I believe, of her trying to use a play mop toy to get down a mylar helium balloon that had become separated from its ribbon and made a break for the freedom of the open ceiling.

A valiant attempt, my dear. A valiant attempt.

Even Paper Bag looks impressed.

Do you have any clever fashion optical illusions that you use to hide your less-than-attractive parts?

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...