Dresses - loving it right now

There's something about fall. Skirts and dresses are just perfect this time of year. Maybe because soon, it will be too cold to even think about going outside with just a thin layer of tights on my legs! January, northern Indiana, snow up to your armpits.... well, I think I've said enough!

I was looking through sketches from Ivanka Trump's new clothing line, and this one caught my eye. I love it!

You know those days when you just stare into your closet??

Some days I wake up, open the closet door, and stare blankly at my wardrobe. For like, 7 minutes. On really bad days I might sit down while staring.

Those are the days when I need some help. My brain is still asleep and creating an outfit seems as hard as advanced calculus.  So, I've come up with a bit of an {inspiration board}. Because if I'm going to stare at the wall, at least I can stare at something that might speak back to me!

This cork board leans up against one wall of my closet, tucked behind the hangers of shirts. When I see an outfit that is put together well, or utilizes an accessory in a way that I want to remember, or a color combo that I love, I tear it out and save it. Most of my pictures come from In Style magazine or favorite catalouges. {Anthropologie, anyone???}

This can sometimes be enough to break me out of my rut when getting dressed for work each day. As long as it gets me off the floor, I'm satisfied.

Wimping out in the big city

I was in Chicago yesterday for a workshop. It was windy, chilly, and rained on me just a couple of times. I was walking to lunch with a few other workshoppers and enjoying people-watching along the way. People watching is one of my favorite things to do, so big city streets are like candy to me!  I saw all kinds of fashion that I don't get to see everyday - the 3 piece suit, skinny pants and sneakers, 5 inch stilettos with leggings, mini-skirts that made me blush, briefcases, and slicked back Wall Street hair.

I wanted to snap a few pics of some of the styles that were typical of the big city. Here you go:

{shot a little high on this one}

{crossing a bridge and turned to the side a bit}

{people walking quite far away from me}

{quickly dropping phone down to my side}

So what I learned today...

I can't be cool. At all.

I think people know exactly what I'm up to.

I'm scared to piss off a stranger.

Who Needs Black???

Seriously, when there are so many gorgeous shades on the color wheel, who needs basic black? I would much rather be stunning in red than slimmer in boring black any day!

photo from Anthropologie

The hardest thing is, for me, living in a *somewhat* small town... finding stylish pieces can be tough. If you want to see sad, you should see the crap they fill our department stores with!! Big city folk would never be given such garbage. But, I digress...

The question I would ask is; would you do it? Wear this much red???

Count me in! Now if I could just find some color in the stores around here...

Bold is way better than wimpy

I'm a huge fan of color. Big, rich, bright or loud. Sometimes I may take it too far. But, I'm totally psyched to see that "fashion" is agreeing with me this autumn.

My fashion sense is, do what you want and wait for others to agree that you're fabulous!

This picture from In Style magazine this month is a great example. I want those wine-colored pants!!!

The Best Fashion Intentions

Personal style versus professional dress. It's something that I go back and forth on. How much of my personal style to I let into my work wardrobe??? Or do I go with basics and keep it professional?

As a lover of style, I can't help but let my personal style be out there! My brain says A nice skirt and pumps would really look professional, but my hands grab the wide leg trousers and flowy cardigan every time!

I love you, cardigans!

Inspiration for the Tired Brain

You know how there are times when your brain is full of ideas and there aren't enough minutes in the day to create the projects that are bouncing around in your head? Then there are the other times. The days when you have time, sit at your desk, and stare blankly at the wall. I'm guessing I'm not the only one who knows what I mean. At that point, where do you turn for inspiration?

I have the usual places that I tend to look: beading magazines, jewelry catalogues, websites... But sometimes, my favorite catalogue pops up in the mail, and flipping through the pages brings me a different kind of inspiration. Anthropologie doesn't {just} sell jewelry. Mostly they sell women's clothing and house wares. They are my favorite store in this universe, and flipping through their catalogue give me visions of color combinations, themes, texture, and mood that I just don't get by looking at necklaces in a beading magazine. Want to see what I mean? Take a look:

Anthropologie is not a store I get to visit that often. There's one in Chicago, which is about a 2 hour drive for me, and another in Indianapolis, which is about 3 hours on the road. Walking through the store is another level of happiness for me that I won't even try to express with words. I'll just let those pictures speak for themselves. For now, I'll just sit back and hope that someone out there {Santa} drops a gift card into my stocking this year! Even if that doesn't happen, it's just a matter of time before I make my semi-annual trip there to treat myself to something special.

Luckily, I get a monthly dose of eye candy in the mail, which tides me over between visits. So the next time I'm feeling like I'm out of ideas, I might find a quirky color combination in a bedspread, or a funky doorknob, or even a wrapper from a piece of soap that will spring me back into creative action! What inspires you?