A once-a-year dress

The last time I wore this dress was more than a year ago (here). I know people always say that you should have a closet full of clothes you wear all the time, but I think there's something fun about having a lot of dresses that I only wear a few times a year. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I'm easily bored - if I only had five dresses, I'd hate them all pretty quickly. Instead, I have about thirty, and still feel pretty excited to wear all of them.

Turtleneck: Kohl's

Dress: Sweet Jayne

Coat: purchased in China

Tights: American Apparel

Boots: Jessica Simpson from Macy's

Sunglasses: Oscar de la Renta from TJ Maxx

Earrings: free from my aunt

Necklace: Evidence Jewelry, won in a giveaway

Plain Jane

Here's a "plain Jane" outfit from the other day. Apart from the wrinkly skirt, I thought it was cute, even if it was a bit simple. During the afternoon that I wore this outfit, while I was snacking on some popcorn, part of one of my teeth broke off. Ahhhh! It was a horrifying experience, to pull a chunk of broken tooth out of my mouth. But thankfully I got it fixed yesterday, and I think I'll steer clear of popcorn for a while.

Also - where the heck did my eyebrows go?! I wish they would show up in photos more often...

Shirt: J. Crew

Skirt: Anthropologie

Jacket: Macy's

Tights: American Apparel

Boots: Jessica Simpson from Macy's

Hat: H&M

Scarf: made by me

Cozy 80's sweater and a shopping ban

It's been so cold here lately, so I've been wearing a lot of bulky, cozy sweaters. I love this gray sweater that my aunt gave me. She found it when she was cleaning out her apartment. I think it's from the 80's. It was more obviously 80's before I cut out the shoulder pads, but now I think it looks quite cute. One of my other aunts gave me this necklace. I get so much free stuff from my three aunts, it's ridiculous. Right now I especially appreciate their hand-me-downs, because I'm banned from buying clothes. Josh and I are trying to kill off the rest of our non-student loan debt, so for the next few months I have a clothing budget of $0. So far I've gone a month and a half without buying any clothes, and it's been rough. I don't think I've gone that long without buying clothes for years. I think my no shopping challenge will be good for both our budget, and my frame of mind when it comes to shopping. I don't need to be constantly buying things in order to have a good wardrobe.

Sweater: free from my aunt

Coat: Marks and Spencer

Jeans: Levi's

Boots: Jessica Simpson from Macy's

Hat: H&M

Necklace: free from my aunt

Bracelet: gift

In a rut

I'm in a jeans and boots rut this winter. It's been so cold lately, and that makes me want to wear simple, warm clothing - although I think the pretty pink shirt and vest kicked it up a notch from plain to interesting.

Shirt: American Eagle

Vest: free from my aunt

Jeans: Levi's

Boots: Jessica Simpson from Macy's

Necklace: Evidence Jewelry, won in a giveaway

Monochromatic

I wore this outfit to church last Sunday, but was so cold during the service that I had to keep my coat, scarf and gloves on the entire time. (Seen in the bottom photo.) Good thing I had a cool, monochromatic look going on with all that brown.

Sweater: H&M

Skirt: Target brand, thrifted from Goodwill

Tights: American Apparel

Boots: Jessica Simpson from Macy's

Hat: Albertus Swanepoel for Target

Scarf and coat: Marks and Spencer

Camel pin: gift, from Bethlehem

I'm dreaming of a non-rainy Christmas

All I want for Christmas is a rain-free day. Okay, that's not true - I also want some cool shoes, and books, and The Avengers on DVD. But a rain-free day is high on my list, because we haven't had one of those in a while.

This skirt just screams "Christmas" to me, so I wore it practically the same way as I did this time last year. (And after looking at that old post, I really miss my red hair.)

I hope all of you have a merry Christmas!

Turtleneck: Kohl's

Skirt: vintage, from an antique show

Boots: Jessica Simpson from Macy's

Earrings and bracelet: gift

Belt: thrifted

Jeans and boots

I've been feeling uninspired lately as far as outfits go. That's not a bad thing - it's not like creating interesting outfits is my job, or a crucial part of my existence. These jeans and boots have been worn a lot, and some of those jeans-and-boots outfits have been more interesting than others. Like this one - the women in my family went nuts when they saw this outfit a few weeks ago. I thought it was fairly simple, but they thought it was awesome, so I figured that meant it was worth posting on this blog.

Since I would feel weird only having one photo in this post (the top one is the only one that turned out), I thought I'd throw in these two below. The first one is my cousin Summer's awesome perfume collection, which I saw at a brunch on Sunday, and the second is my favorite of those perfume bottles, by Nicki Minaj...

Turtleneck: Kohl's

Crocheted vest: Forever 21

Jeans: Levi's

Boots: Jessica Simpson from Macy's

Hat: Albertus Swanepoel for Target

Necklace: Forever 21

Belt: thrifted

Bracelet: In Pink

Humph!

I'm so glad I bought this skirt a few months ago. I have a limited number of shirts I can wear with it because of the unusual colors in the pattern, but I don't mind because it's such an odd, fun piece.

I added the pin to this outfit because "Humph" pretty much sums up my feelings towards all the rain we've been having lately. (If you look behind me in the photo above, you'll see that the path is flooded.) You'd think I'd be used to all the rain we get, having been an Oregonian for nearly three decades, but I'm not. I'm still astonished and disappointed every winter at just how much it rains.

Turtleneck: free from a family member

Chair skirt: Anthropologie

Brown tights: American Apparel

Boots: Jessica Simpson from Macy's

Sunglasses: Oscar de la Renta from TJ Maxx

"Humph" pin: free from my aunt

Bracelet: gift

My life in China

A few years ago I lived in China. It was an interesting experience. I moved there alone, which was one of the most difficult things I've ever done. I half loved it and half hated it. There were some things that annoyed me to no end, like every Chinese person everywhere staring at me, all the time. But there were a lot of things I loved about my time there, and most of those things were because of the friends I made - other foreigners like me, who were trying to build a life in a country far away from home. One day I went to the yarn market with my friend Lily, and even though I hardly spoke any Chinese, and she didn't speak much more than I did, we managed to buy some pretty yarn. This was mostly accomplished by pointing at balls of yarn, and hoping we understood the dollar amount. I bought this autumn-colored yarn there, and spent the next few days knitting this scarf on my bus rides to work. It's about six years old now and looking rather worn, but I still feel happy whenever I wear it, and think of the good times and the bad from my life in China.

Green sweatshirt: Forever 21

Denim skirt: Gap

Brown boots: Jessica Simpson from Macy's

Earrings: Underglass

Scarf: made by me

Bird pin: free from my aunt

I always forget about the Everybody Everywear challenges, but Gracey's post reminded me of it, so I decided to join in the fun. This time the theme was boots, so it's not like it was that difficult :)

Up in the air

Last Saturday Josh and I rode the Portland Aerial Tram that runs from the south waterfront to OHSU, the teaching hospital up on the hill. It was rainy and foggy, so we didn't get to see any of the mountains, but it was still a cool experience. If you're in Portland, this would make for a fun afternoon, especially if you go on a clear day while the leaves are still changing colors.

I've already worn this outfit several times this fall, even though this was the first time it was photographed. It's perfect for cold and rainy days.

Striped cardigan: Cynthia Rowley from TJ Maxx

Jeans: Levi's

Boots: Jessica Simpson from Macy's

Earrings: free from my aunt

Belt: thrifted

This last photo is blurry, but I love it anyway because it still captures the beauty of Portland...

Broken record

Sometimes I feel like a broken record, wearing the same things over and over again. Like these boots - I wore them in yesterday's post as well, also while posing in this alley. And in my two earlier posts this week, I wore the same black sweater both times. I guess I just have my favorites. I'm trying to get over my irrational fear of wearing the same item of clothing (or shoes) two days in a row. When I lived in China I noticed that all my students and all the other teachers at my college wore the exact same outfit for three or four days in a row, so eventually I started doing that too. If you love what you're wearing, why not wear it over and over again? But then I came back to America, where everyone feels compelled to wear something different every day. That's not a bad thing - I certainly like being creative with my outfits and trying to find new combinations, especially since I photograph what I wear for this blog. But every now and then, it's nice to wear a favorite piece a few times in a row.

Lace dress: H&M

White button-up shirt: free from my aunt

Brown coat: Marks and Spencer

Brown boots: Jessica Simpson from Macy's

Red necklace: B. Lee Designs

Brown braided belt: thrifted

Embroidered bracelet: thrifted from Village Merchants

Repeat

The outfit in these photos is the twin of this outfit I wore earlier in the year. (Maybe the fraternal twin, since they're not exactly the same.) I like the current version much better - it looks nicer, and it was more comfortable. Josh said it was one of his favorites out of my recent outfits, and I loved it, too. Sometimes the things I wear just feel "meh," and other times I hit upon a combination that really makes me happy. I think a lot of people underestimate the power of a great outfit. When I wear something that I feel good in, it usually improves my mood and my confidence.

Beige sweater: Target

Gray vest: free from my aunt

Brown belt: thrifted

Jeans: Levi's

Brown boots: Jessica Simpson from Macy's

Hat: free from my dad

Earrings: free from my aunt

Necklace: purchased in Florence, Italy

Here are a couple pictures from a walk I took the other day...Portland is so gorgeous in the fall.

Engine 17

I've worn this outfit several times the past week, because it's just so easy to throw on when I'm in a rush. I don't think I've ever worn this cardigan on the blog even though I've had it for years, because it only looks good with jeans, and therefore doesn't allow for much variety in the way it's worn. I wore this to free scoop day at Ben and Jerry's on Tuesday! (I also wore it around the house, but that's not as interesting.) I'm a big fan of ice cream, but I have to admit even free ice cream doesn't have much appeal when it's forty-five degrees and rainy out like it was on Tuesday. Get back to me when it's hot outside - I eat ice cream just about every other day in the summer.

Also, I'm aware that I overused the word "I" in that paragraph, but I'm too tired to try and change it into something that sounds less narcissistic :)

Beige cardigan: Anthropologie

Jeans: Levi's from Urban Outfitters

Brown boots: Jessica Simpson from Macy's

Hat: gift from my dad, from a hat shop in York, England

Earrings and rings: free from my aunt

Brown belt: thrifted from Goodwill

My name is Jones. Indiana Jones.

Here are pictures from a few days ago, where I decided to dress up as Indiana Jones. Not really, but doesn't the hat look like something he would wear?

This was only my second time wearing this vest. The trouble with having a wardrobe almost entirely full of brightly colored clothes is that it's hard to work something into the rotation if it's in a softer shade. So far I've only found three colors that go with this vest: brown, olive green, and white. Even black, which is generally what I turn to when I want to wear an unusual color, looks odd with this vest.

Brown turtleneck: Kohl's

Green vest: Anthropologie

Jeans: Levi's from Urban Outfitters

Brown boots: Jessica Simpson from Macy's

Green hat: vintage, gift from my dad

Gold necklace: Evidence Jewelry, won in a giveaway

Gold bracelet: free from a family member

Pink stripes

I know I said that rain wouldn't stop me from taking outfit photos, but I guess I lied :) It's been raining like mad here lately, and I feared too much for the safety of my camera to brave the elements for some photos. Instead, since I had the last couple days off work, I decided to stay in my pajamas both days. It was incredible. This is an outfit from a few weeks ago, saved up for a rainy day. While a sweater + a skirt + tights + boots is such a classic winter combo, I'm getting tired of it. I'd like to wear some short sleeved shirts, sheer blouses, and open-toed sandals every now and then. Can I get an amen?!

Pink striped sweater: H&M

Pink blouse (under sweater): ModCloth

Pink skirt: Zara

Brown boots: Jessica Simpson from Macy's

Hair clip: gift from a friend, from Thailand

Gold necklace: Evidence Jewelry, won in a giveaway

Brown tights: Forever 21

Sweater style

This is the first time I've worn this sweater dress even though I've owned it for about five months. What I didn't realize when buying it in the sweltering August heat was that in the middle of winter, I would not appreciate the fact that the sleeves are only 3/4 length. I can only wear it on those in-between days where it's kind of cold, but not so cold that I need some extra fabric on my forearms.

This sweater vest is another piece of clothing I've been neglecting. I found it at an estate sale about four years ago during a phase where I was trying to make my wardrobe really "interesting," and I thought a men's sweater vest would do just that. Only recently, though, have I had any luck in styling it well. Despite my propensity for wearing men's shirts in different ways, apparently I have trouble styling grandpa vests.

Red sweater dress: Fred Meyer

Brown men's sweater vest: estate sale

Brown boots: Jessica Simpson from Macy's

Brown earrings: church craft fair

Gold necklace: Dress Barn

Brown belt: thrifted from Goodwill

Brown tights: Forever 21

Temporary insanity

The "Temporary insanity" title is referring to the last photo in this post, where I removed my jacket and blazer in 30-degree weather just to get some outfit photos. Normally I don't mind getting a little chilly taking pictures, but this was just too cold. It was supposed to be a snow day in Portland on Sunday, which is a big deal to everyone since we rarely get snow, but it was the wimpiest snow day I've ever seen. (As is evidenced by the fact that there is absolutely no snow on the ground in these photos, even though it snowed a bunch in the morning.)

A lot of people think you can't be comfortable wearing a skirt in cold weather - I know that's what I thought a few years ago - but I've found that as long as you wear two (or three!) pairs of tights, and knee-high boots instead of heels in especially cold weather, it's a very comfortable outfit choice.

Shirt: Anthropologie

Black skirt: H&M

Camel colored blazer: Forever 21

Brown coat: Marks and Spencer

Blue hat: H&M

Teal earrings: free from aunt

Black tights: Fred Meyer

Brown knee-high boots: Jessica Simpson from Macy's