Fall color-blocking

I really have a thing for wearing these pants and these shoes with blue tops. (Seen here and here.) If it ain't broke, don't fix it, right? Plus, I feel like these colors allow me to color-block in a somewhat calm way - I like outrageous fashion, but the insane neon color-blocking that I've been seeing in fashion magazines lately hurts my eyes.

Also - I made this bracelet! The gold piece is an old shoe buckle. It was one of the first bracelets I made earlier this year, so it's probably going to fall apart fairly soon due to lack of quality craftsmanship, at which point I suppose I will just re-make it.

Turtleneck: Kohl's

Jacket: purchased in China

Corduroy pants: Anthropologie

Shoes: Sam Edelman from Nordstrom Rack

Necklace: Dress Barn

Belt: thrifted

Bracelet: made by me

Double the fun

I've always felt that one of those unspoken fashion rules is that you should never wear more than one leopard print item in an outfit, but I decided to try it anyway on Sunday afternoon, and ended up loving it. I don't think I'd ever wear a leopard print skirt and leopard print shoes together, but I liked the look of the matching hat and shoes.

Last year I actually tried on the sweater and the pants together at Anthropologie and loved the color combination, but it took until now to wear them together officially. When my mom saw this outfit she said, "Those are...interesting colors." And as long as someone thinks my outfit is interesting, I'm satisfied. They don't even have to like it, as long as it catches their eye.

Blue sweater: Anthropologie

Jean jacket: thrifted from Rerun

Rust colored corduroy pants: Anthropologie

Leopard print heels: Sam Edelman from Nordstrom Rack

Leopard print hat: Albertus Swanepoel for Target

Wooden earrings: church craft fair

Gold watch: free from a family member

Gold bracelets: In Pink

Brown belt: thrifted from Goodwill

Leopard print heels

I never wear these leopard print heels with anything but pants. After I bought them I brought them home only to realize that because of the way the top of the shoes look, they look odd with anything but pants. So all I can wear them with are jeans, my red cords, and these blue cords. I've gotten a surprising amount of wear out of them, though. They allow me to do subtle versions of pattern mixing, because I can wear a shirt that would clash with leopard print up close, but when the shirt and the shoes are separated by a solid-colored pair of pants I can get away with it. (I'll be honest though - I really tried to make this top work with my leopard print pants. It was horrible.)

Blouse: thrifted from The Dig

Blue high-waisted corduroy pants: Anthropologie

Leopard print heels: Sam Edelman from Nordstrom Rack

Red hat: thrifted from Village Merchants

Sunglasses: Oscar de la Renta from TJ Maxx

Brown belt: thrifted from Goodwill

Gold leaf cuff bracelet: In Pink

Impractical shopping

Sometimes I'm not the most responsible shopper. In my head I know I should be on the lookout for clothes that are simple, timeless, and go with nearly everything in my closet, but then sometimes I end up in Anthropologie when they're having a good sale and buy a shirt like this one just because it's pretty, without thinking it through at all. Show me a nice pattern and some ruffled shoulders and my heart starts doing a little happy dance. I think my main problem with practical shopping is that it's boring. Sure, there are times where I need to buy jeans, or a plain black skirt, or a dark-colored winter coat, but gosh do I hate it, because even though those are items I'll use over and over again, they're not things that I get excited about. Show me a pair of plain brown heels and my response will probably be, "Meh," but show me a pair of leopard print heels and I'll gush over them and carry on about how I can't live without them, even though they will probably only go with about five things in my closet. Do any of you have this problem? Please tell me I'm not the only one!

Top and pants: Anthropologie

Jacket: Forever 21 brand, from Jen Loves Kev's closet sale

Shoes: Sam Edelman from Nordstrom Rack

Sunglasses: Oscar de la Renta from TJ Maxx

Earrings: B. Lee Designs

Necklace: Bauble Bar

Belt: thrifted

Two of the same

I've often heard the tip that if you find a basic item of clothing you like, you should buy it in multiples. I did that once about four years ago - I bought two pairs of bootcut jeans from Gap because they were the only jeans I'd ever found that looked good on me. And it's been nice not having to worry about finding another decent pair of bootcut jeans since then. When I bought these rust-colored cords a few weeks ago from Anthropologie, they pretty much instantly became my new favorite pants, so I went back to Anthropologie the other day to see if they still had them in navy blue. (Which they did - for only $30!) Now I have two pairs of the same pants, and what's great is that because they're different colors, they'll go with practically every top in my closet - I can wear the reddish pair with more neutral tops, and the blue pair with brighter tops.

Sweater: from my mom

Pants: Anthropologie (here in beige)

Shoes: Sam Edelman from Nordstrom Rack

Hat: H&M

Necklace: Forever 21

Bracelet: free from my aunt

Belt: thrifted from Goodwill

Natural inclinations

My natural inclination when I get home from work is to throw on a t-shirt and sweatpants, and flop on the couch with a bag of chips and watch TV. I end up doing this about half the time, but yesterday I wanted to feel good about myself, so I put on this outfit instead. Then I went to Trader Joe's, bought myself some munchies - and flopped onto the couch to watch NCIS. So basically, I did the same thing I always do, only in fancier clothes. Still, I consider that a win.

Sweater: H&M

Blouse under sweater: ModCloth

Blazer: thrifted

Jeans: Gap

Shoes: Sam Edelman from Nordstrom Rack

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

Necklace: vintage brooch hung on a chain, from my mom