Sprummer Day 6 -- Pseudo Summer Camp

Such fun thus far for sprummer fashion week!  I really like seeing everyone in their warm-weather best.  Today, here at Phenofab we're living up casual Saturday.  No professional dress, no obligations, just some grocery shopping and enjoying the beautiful day outside.

Shirt: Colombia, thrifted | Shorts: Eddie Bauer, thrifted | Shoes: Merrell, via eBay 

The combination of the button-up with rolled sleeves (it's one with fancy sun protection, too, which is awesome 'cuz I sunburn just thinking about going outside) paired with shorts, moccasins, and a ponytail (it's runty, but it's there!) makes me feel like a summer camp counselor.

My shoes are part of Merrell's barefoot line.  I've been intentionally working toward minimal footwear for over a year, you've got to have your foot strong enough to not hurt yourself, but I *love* them.  It's like wearing jazz dance slippers, they fit my feet like a second skin.  Plus, I can feel everything -- did you know that 25% of the muscles and bones in your body are from your ankle down?  And that the palms of your hands and soles of your feet have the most nerve endings per surface area?  That's a ton of information about the world you're interacting with that you're just not getting if you're wearing stiff shoes all the time!  =)

You know the drill -- head over to Delirious Rhapsody, drop your thanks to Deanna and cheer on everyone participating!

Comfy-Cozy Casual Friday

We don't get Casual Fridays as students out on rotations (though I think the nursing staff get to wear jeans, if they also wear pink, for breast cancer awareness during October...) so this is weekend wear for me, but I assure you that it is divinely comfy-cozy.   

Seriously, plaid flannel shirtdress?  That's like wearing pajamas all day, but WAY cuter.  Spunky dress and leather boots, my fall go-to when I'm not supposed to dress like a doctor.  Add a cute knit beanie like I've seen Charlotte, Deanna, or Rachael rock, and this would seem just about perfect. 

 Dress: Woolrich | Boots: Merrell

Showing off the oh-so-awesome detailing up around the sides of my oh-so-awesome boots.  And hey, did you figure out my theme for the week?  (I feel like today made it pretty obvious...)  It's plaid!  I'm an equal-opportunity plaid-lovin' [Irish] gal, I won't say no to it any time of year, but something about fall makes it seem simply perfect. 

 

It has been beyond lovely sharing this Fall Fashion Week with all of you.  Let's give a HUGE thanks to Deanna for hosting, and to all of you kind souls for your uplifting comments!

Is It Friday Yet?

I definitely understand Deanna's gravitation toward grey sweaters when the temperatures drop.  They are my weakness as well, especially cowl-necks.  At one point I think I had six -- all very different, mind you! -- but I've pared down.  (Either that, or I managed to hide them all away in the off-season clothes bin which we haven't opened yet for the fall & winter...)

Work work work.  I have determined that, cute as they are, these shoes are not up to snuff for a day on my feet in the hospital.  I have also learned that all Being On One's Feet is not equal -- I can do a full day of walking no worries, but it's this *standing* all day on the wards while the doc sits and lectures/explains/pimps us (ie: asks questions that put you on the spot in front of all the other students) that is totally killer.

 Sweater dress: Lands' End (I'm in straight sizes, but they still have pluses here) | Tights: Modcloth | Shoes: Naya, via dbShoes

Totally a vanity shot.  Killer curves and a good hair day...we all need self-portraits like that.  For more fall fashion and uplifting mutual admiration, you know where to go.  And if you found your way here from GeekMom, thanks for stopping by!  It's an honor to be featured amongst so many other lovely, stylish, geek-hearts-on-sleeves-wearing ladies.

Pumpkin Spice

You gals are all just the best.  Have you *seen* the love everyone is pouring out on each other?  It's a total feel-good fest all up in Fashion Week. 

Truthfully, I have yet to imbibe pumpkin spice anything this autumn season (shocking!), but it seemed like the right name for this outfit.   

 

I love that skirt.  It looks all stiff and woolen, but it's actually very soft, and nubbly.  Can't go wrong with the bias cut, either -- hangs like a straight skirt, but lets you walk.

Blouse: thrifted | Necklace: clothing swap | Skirt: thrifted | Shoes: Clarks

Not much more to say about this, it's a pretty standard work outfit.  Though, I must mention that it is exhausting having to dress like a professional adult every.single.day.  I can't decide if that's made better or worse by the fact that I have limited options, with two pairs of dress pants and two, maybe three pairs of shoes that don't kill my feet to be standing all day.  I know nurses wear those so-ugly-but-everyone's-in-scrubs-anyway Dansko clogs; how do teachers and other who walk all day do it, without resorting to sneakers?

Mirror crud, sorry, but it shows so nicely most of the colors in the skirt.  Perfect for autumn, with a pumpkin spice whatsitcalled...

I hope you haven't gotten your fall fashion fix yet, because there's a whole lot more happening and the party's at Deanna's.  Have fun!

Dress Like a Boy

This is basically my husband's work "uniform": plaid button-up (usually blue), khakis, and brown oxfords.  Heck, even our glasses are similarly-colored half-rims.  He doesn't do the cat-eyes, though, and he definitely isn't rocking curves like these.

This made for a good work outfit on those early-October-is-actually-the-nicest-(read:-hottest)-times-of-the-year-in-Berkeley days, when professionalism dictates coverage and thermo-self-regulation demands some exposed skin.  Mornings are getting now to be a bit too chilly to leave ankles uncovered, but these have definitely been my workhorse work pants all summer and through the early fall.

Blouse: H&M | Khaki crops: J. Crew, thrifted | Oxfords (shiny!): thrifted | Belt: thrifted

I am hoping to get a long-sleeve blue gingham shirt at some point, but thus far I haven't found any where I like the fit.

Getting my apple jacks on.  I was hoping for something animated GIF-able, but alas. 

Let's see what Deanna & co have going on for the rest of Fall Fashion Week, shall we?

Fall Fashion Week!

First, I just want to say that I LOVE the move to October for FFF.  While it's still warmer than my heart wants, at least it smells like fall.  September is still half summer, after all.

This is my take on one of those photos that used to float around on Pinterest a lot.  I love the rich color and luscious feel of these burgundy corduroy shorts, but they've always seemed too rich for summer.  I wore them with tights (usually with boots, not heels) for a few years, and now I see that all over the place!  Never expected to be ahead of a trend.  =)  The tights also make me feel comfortable wearing shorts to church, like I did with this outfit.

Shirt: Ross | Shorts: Anthropologie | Shoes: Fluevog, via eBay | Scarf: made by me! | Tights: ??

These are my neutral, skin-tone heels, but I love wearing them over contrasting tights to show off that super-sweet crossed strap action.  Surprisingly, this is a splurge-y outfit for me -- while nothing was full price, it was all new, nothing thrifted.  Not my usual MO.  That said, I've got a theme going on for this week, let's see how soon you can figure it out!  =)

It's always exciting to be part of a fashion week.  Go over to Deanna's place and see what everyone else is up to!

Spring Fashion Week - Monday

Another day of Spring Fashion Week!  First, can I just say that I'm really, really happy with the picture below?  The warm woods, the art on the walls layered for depth (even in the reflection!), the cool lighting that makes it look like old film from the 70s...I like it.  I feel like it also makes our place (what little bit of it that you can see) look a lot more white, and sparse.  It's totally not, I love bold color and graphic art and we've got kind of a lot of it.  Just...not so much in this corner of the bedroom.  

Top: Maurice's | Jeans: Kohls | Shoes: thrifted jelly flats

This top is actually a dress, and a favorite one at that.  I've had it for six years, and wore it for several bridal showers (including my own!), brought it with me to live in Peru, and generally bring it out whenever I want the mister to get all smiley and say "ooh, I like that dress!"  Unfortunately, its flimsy cotton is really going downhill, and my bustline, having expanded quite a bit since I was 19, is threatening the integrity of the buttonholes in front.  I fear my much-loved blue gingham dress is not much longer for this world...sigh.

My camera was doing something weird with super-long delays between the timed shots, so I ended up dancing around for quite a while before they all took and got some amusing shots in the process.  And no, despite how much it may appear in some of those, that is not a baby belly.  Just sayin'. 

Want to see some more?  Go take a gander at Spring Fashion Week.  And thank you, Deanna, for hosting us once again!

Pattern Mixing x Three

I have worn this outfit three times in the past six days.  This was a week of exams, leaving very little brain power for anything else -- when you find something that works, you run with it.

Occasions: 1) studying at home  2) exams & studying at school  3) churching

This is also a [kind-of] three-way pattern mixing, too -- I was drawn to the bright poppy colors and large-scale floral print (#1) of this dress, and especially how the impressionistic rendering is very much ikat (#2) in style.  Then, top it off (bottom it off?) with the argyle tights (#3).  The brown oxfords are a recent thrift score, and I was quite pleased to find that they color-match well with the tights, which I've had for ages.

Dress: thrifted | Jacket: thrifted | Tights: Kohl's | Shoes: thrifted

To be completely honest, it wasn't exactly the same outfit each time -- the second day I was cold, so I had a green sweater over the dress & under the jacket, and today was gloriously springy, so the dark tights & oxfords were swapped for cropped leggings and crochet skimmers.  Still, variations on a theme, which is now one of my favorite outfits.

We've talked about repeating outfits before, but what about tweaks?  What do you do with your favorite ensembles -- wear 'em strictly the same each time, or change things up a little?

Reasons to Wear Red

I admit it, I'm one of those folks who will dress up in the appropriate colors for a holiday.  No over-the-top themed sweaters with crazy matching jewelry or anything, but red/white/blue for national holidays, green for St. Patrick's, harvest colors for Thanksgiving and sparkles for New Year's.  So, it's probably 100% likely I'd have worn red on Thursday anyway because duh, Valentine's Day.  However, for the past two weeks our school has been emphatically encouraging us to wear red on the 14th in support of "Humanism in Medicine."  While I think they would have gotten a more accurate representation of solidarity on a day when people weren't otherwise inclined to wear the same colors, it was still really cool to see so much support.  As a classmate described it, I am an "accidental osteopath" -- I found my way here due to the constraints of other parts of my life, but I recognize how blessed I am to be surrounded by colleagues with similar priorities of being empathetic, compassionate people and doctors.

Occasion: a Valentine's date with the sweetest elderly patient

We had follow-up visits with patients in a nearby senior residential community, and hence had to dress doctorly.  I was excited to break out this skirt, a recent thrifting score -- not only is it nubbly tweedy wool in a plaid pattern (two of my favorites!), but all the seams are on the bias (diagonally across the grain), which gives it more flexibility and a great fit, for a non-stretchy pencil skirt.  Also, I'm pretty sure that these are my favorite shoes.

Shirt: H&M | Skirt: thrifted | Belt: thrifted | Tights: Hue | Shoes: b.o.c. by Born, thrifted; similar, similar | Necklace: gift from the mister

Do you dress for the holidays?  Intentionally do the opposite?  Ignore 'em and wear whatever?

Autumn Leaves

The slight fall colors we get in the bay area have been lingering for a while, but the weather has finally shifted from basically summer (such as it is, here) to basically winter (again, such as it is).  This past week, though, provided a lovely combination of bright-but-crisp days and nights that smell of woodsmoke and decay -- that perfect scent of autumn.

Occasion: churching

Pretty standard Sunday fare, around here.  I've had this nubbly plaid skirt for several years now; though it reads as neutral and conservative at a distance, it's all bright golds and rich greens and bold raspberries striping back and forth.  LOVE that.

sweater: Banana Republic, thrifted | skirt: Forever 21, thrifted | belt: Target | tights: Target | shoes: Naya, via db shoes

As we shall surely soon see, I'm rather fond of plaid -- gingham, tartan, lumberjack, I love it all, and it seems especially suited to the fall.  It can be polarizing, though.  So, I have to ask: are you a fan of plaid?  Or, do you have another favorite pattern or texture that says "fall" to you?