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

Psych

I guess I was just kidding about being back from my blog break, because I decided to take another week off. It's just so darn hard to care about what I wear when it's this cold outside. (For reference, "cold" to me is 30-40 degrees. I realize that many of you have to regularly deal with temperatures below zero, but I don't, so 30 degrees is pretty shocking.) When I wore this outfit yesterday to church and lunch, I was so cold I kept the coat on the whole time. At least my outfit looked kind of cute with the coat layered on top.

Sweater: Gap

Coat: Marks and Spencer

Skirt: vintage Pendleton, from an antiques show

Boots: DV by Dolce Vita from Piperlime

Necklace: Evidence Jewelry, won in a giveaway

Back from a break

After a two-week unintentional blog break, I'm back! My absence was due to many causes: absurdly cold weather that made me unable to put any effort into my outfits, a lack of interest in my blog (I've heard that's pretty typical for bloggers when the new year hits), and a wrist injury that forced me to stop doing anything involving repetitive movements (like typing and clicking on the computer).

I think I wore this exact outfit four or five times during the past two weeks, just switching out the sweater under the cardigan. I've been obsessed with jeans, sweaters and boots this winter. I love these boots, which I bought with some Christmas money. They have a slight heel (because I just can't get enough of my heels), but they're comfortable enough to walk all over the city in. Some people think suede shoes are impractical for someone who lives in rainy Oregon, but as long as it's not pouring outside, they'll hold up just fine.

Cardigan: Cynthia Rowley from TJ Maxx

Coat and scarf: Marks and Spencer

Jeans: Levi's

Boots: DV by Dolce Vita from Piperlime

Necklace: Forever 21

Belt: thrifted

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

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

Styled by my husband

Josh picked out this whole outfit, which totally impressed me. He doesn't normally like to choose my clothes - you know, being a straight guy and all - but the reason he did it this time is because I wanted to wear my new neon yellow sweater out to our New Year's Eve dinner, and he said he really didn't want to sit across from a glowing person for a few hours. (Seriously. It's very neon.) So he gave me this alternate outfit, and I loved it.

I'm getting more comfortable wearing loose, flowy tops. I used to think that only stick-thin people could wear those kinds of tops and look good in them, but I've come to realize that as long as the proportions are right (i.e. fitted on the bottom) it's actually a decent look on me. I just have to remind myself that my outfits don't always have to emphasize my waist.

Sweater: Anthropologie
Cardigan: Gap

Jeans: Levi's from Urban Outfitters

Shoes: Urban Outfitters

Scarf: self-made

Necklace: from my aunt

Bracelet: won in a giveaway

Watch: free from aunt

Coat: Marks and Spencer