The Pencil Skirt

A while back I mentioned I was wanting to find a colored pencil skirt, like the J Crew double-serge wool pencil skirts, but without the hefty price tag. When I went to the thrift store for a little birthday shopping I came across a purple wool one. It is vintage, and even though it said it was a size 8, I was wary of it fitting. Vanity sizing runs rampant these days, so I think I am around an 8/10 in vintage.

 It fit!

 Here it is in the sunlight to get the true color. A nice, crisp purple. The $5 price tag sure beats anything else I had found. Patience pays off again!

 Black Velvet Blazer - JCrew - thrift

Black Camisole - Ann Taylor - thrift

Pencil Skirt - thrift/vintage

Houndstooth tights - Reitman's (Canada)

Key Charm Necklace - gift

Outfit of the Day: Doing the Black and Brown Thing

Hello bloggy world, trying to get back into my posting groove, fingers crossed! 

Here is today's outfit of the day.

 Striped Knit Blazer - Forever21

Trousers- Anthropolgie "Cartonnier" brand 

Shirt - Ann Taylor

Necklace - Gift from Rachael (this post is for you dear)

I wish I had a stock picture of these pants, but I couldn't find what they were called online. They have an awesome plaid lining and a thick cummerbund style waist, with 4 buttons/tabs on the front. Best part? Mint condition thrift find for $7.99. 

Dear local person who keeps donating things in my size and style, please keep doing so, I am rather enjoying the things you pass up.

Outfit of the Day: Playing Flight Attendant Apparently

Here are a couple past outfits from this week. Still finding my groove of what goes dress code wise at work. I was meeting some new higher up people on one day, so went with a traditional black suit. Tim told me I looked light a flight attendant with the silk scarf, but I loved the giant bow effect.

 Black Blazer: BCBGMaxAzria

Pants: Banana Republic

Silk Shell: Ann Taylor

Geometric Patterned Scarf: Hayden Harnett

 Blazer: Esprit

Pants: Ann Taylor

Blouse: JCrew Outlet Ruffle Collar Blouse

Happy weekend everyone. I am laying pretty low this weekend, Tim has a bit of a cold, so we did my taxes for up north, had a lovely visit with my Aunt, and did some grocery shopping for the week. The downside for going back to work is I need to actually plan meals now, and do the prep the night before. The upside? Working :)

Building a Work Wardrobe

So that time in my life is fast approaching. Going from a strict dress code to the relative freedom of business casual/business wear. That also means my wardrobe needed a slight boost in terms of work appropriate wear. Yes, I have lots of fun dresses and skirts, but to be honest, not quite in line with my new field of work. 

That is where my local thrift stores come in. Since money is a bit tight at the moment, I couldn't go out and buy a brand new wardrobe, as much fun as that would have been. So I spent the last month supplementing my old wardrobe into something new. Did you know that the Goodwill stores have days where certain color tags are $1.29? Crazy! I would say about 90% off what I picked up was new with tags, which is awesome.

Blazers & Jackets:

Old Navy/JCrew/Anthropologie/Esprit/H&M/BCBG

Skirts:

Anthropologie/Banana Republic/H&M/Anthropologie

Pants:

Left Side: Lauren by Ralph Lauren/Ann Taylor/Rachel Roy Signature

Right Side: Banana Republic/Ann Taylor/Random 

Dresses:

Shabby Apple (Won through Jess c/o Shabby Apple)/H&M (camera added a white dot)

Cardigans & Toppers:

Top Row: Anthropologie/Anthropologie/Gap/White House Black Market

Bottom Row: Jacob/Gap/JCrew/Ann Taylor Loft

Blouses & Shirts:

Top Row: Ann Taylor Loft/Ann Taylor/Banana Republic/Ann Taylor/Chaus

Middle Row: Jacob/Mexx/JCrew/Anthropologie

Bottom Row: Express/INC/Ann Taylor

I tried to stick to things that would mix and match well, hence the mostly black, purple, green, and blue shades. I was hoping to pick up a blue or green pencil skirt while searching but no luck yet. The JCrew double serge in Warm Jade would really float my boat. Oh and neck bow-tied blouses? Love them.

In total, I think I spent under $100 for 19 new items. I know some people aren't keen on the idea of thrifting, but when things come with tags on them still, hard to pass up silk shirts and wool pants for under $5. I also think the mix of what I had before and what I added works well together.