Workday Wardrobe Nov 4-8
MONDAY
Monday outfit, with and without jacket. I’m doing an Instagram challenge this week: #oldclothesclub, where we share the clothing we’ve had the longest. I’ve had this Tahari merino wool sweater for six years. I liked it so much when I found it (at TJ Maxx) that I also bought it in blue – and I NEVER do that. My mother did that. Find a bag/beach towel/pair of sandals she liked and buy them in EVERY color. Anyway, the white Gloria Vanderbilt jeans are almost two years old, and the leather espadrilles have been with me through two summers. I’m also wearing earrings I’ve had for nine years. The green utility jacket is from Loft last fall.
tuesday
Still being mindful of the #oldclothesclub Instagram challenge, I have on a Tencel buttondown circa (ha) 2015…so almost five years old. I got it from Charlotte Russe, back in the day, before they curtailed so many of their plus size items. I think now they only carry plus size in jeans. It was a camera club day and rainy, so dark jeans and sneakers made the most sense. I just love this color of faded blue with the chestnut cardigan (like I showed on a blog here a couple weeks ago). I’m looking a bit rumpled from being out in the rain earlier.
Wednesday
Day 3 of #oldclothesclub I have on a five-year-old cardigan from Charlotte Russe over this fall’s dress from Old Navy. With Reeboks again cuz I still haven’t found The Shoes for this dress. I had pictured like a beat-up looking pair of chestnutty brown lace-up prairie style booties…I BOUGHT a pair…but they’re sitting here waiting to be packed up and returned. They’re cute. Just not on me. I could also see clogs with this dress (and a lot of other fall/winter outfits, but I haven’t seen Just the Right Ones (at a price I’m willing to pay). Anyway. No camera club today, nice weather, no schlepping of boxes that I’m aware of…so I finally got to wear a dress! And it was good. I like the contrast of the schlubby scruffy grey cardigan over the pretty prairie dress…also the color combo. If I can find the right footwear, this will be repeated. I have like three other things in mind to wear with/over this dress, also!
Thursday
It’s Day 4 of #oldclothesclub so my daily outfit choices continue to be based on some old article of clothing. Here it’s the skinny jeans from (say it with me now) Charlotte Russe. Until this week I hadn’t realized how many of my older items were from Charlotte Russe! I never would have thought of that as a favorite, but 2015 was when I just started to be mindful of what I was wearing…and really my first foray into the world of online shopping. They had a couple things that fit me when no place else did so. Anyway, five years later these jeans are still going strong. I’m wearing them with a new cream v-neck sweater – last year I felt the lack of “one and done” items that didn’t need anything else to go over them. And new loafers. I’ve had cognac loafers on The List for over a year now…and recently I added camel/beige…and these seem to fall somewhere in the middle so hopefully will work for both needs.
I’m so weird about shoes. I have never had many. 10-12 pairs, including summer shoes and sneakers, that’s my normal number. But I never seem to have all the right shoes to go with all the outfits. So I’m trying to loosen up my “One Pair of Shoes Should Go With All The Things” mentality and actually buy the shoes I need to create the outfits I want.
And it was cool enough today I actually needed a jacket. We walked in the woods near a lake for camera club and we were all pretty chilly! Even me! This is the utility jacket I got from Loft last year when I said “if it goes 50% off, I’ll buy it,” and like the next day it went 40% off and I said CLOSE ENOUGH! And I’m glad I did.
FRIDAY
For the fifth and final day of #oldclosetclub, I wore this striped top from Avenue that I believe is from 2014. On warmer days I’ll sometimes wear it by itself but I prefer it under the camel cardigan. White cropped straight-leg jeans from Old Navy. And my new camel/cognac (cagnac? comel?) loafers.
I was going to wear a dress with some high boots I got late this summer but haven’t worn yet, but I could not get myself out of bed this morning and I realized I didn’t know where my long silk underwear or silk socks were and that’s what I like to wear under high boots. As thin as possible and a gazillionhundredmillion times easier to get on than tights. SO, I passed on the dress but it reminded me I need to find those this weekend cuz the COLD has arrived. I’m glad I brought my patio fern inside yesterday as it would probably be dead today.
And this week’s a wrap! It’s already getting harder to get the daily photos. Most of this week I took them during lunchtime in a wooded cul-de-sac near work but that takes up more than half my lunchtime and then I’m rushing to get food, eat it and get back to the office in time. Indoor mirror selfies are a last resort, in my mind. I know I COULD get up 20 minutes earlier and do them on the patio BEFORE work but HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA.
Byeeee!
Gabi mieg
I like your color combinations and especially (!)your writing style. Greetings from Germany.
bettyewp
Aww, thanks so much, Gabi! And welcome!
Barb Standridge
Fabulous outfits! You have given me ideas for several new combo’s from my closet this week!
bettyewp
That’s great!
jodie filogomo
I have a ton of shoes and still sometimes fall into that thinking that they don’t work with an outfit. I think we get too caught up in our head sometimes. Or think it has to look like a photo we’ve seen.
But I do love having fun shoes. Ones that not everyone else has….might as well have them make a statement…then people aren’t looking at my messy hair! LOL
XOXO
Jodie
bettyewp
Me? Caught up in my head? HA HA HA HA HA.
But yeah, shoes are HARD. I LOVE a beautiful shoe…BUT hate drawing attention to my feet cuz of their shape (wide, high instep), my lumpy puffy ankles, etc. Also part of the reason why I don’t SO mind a little longer jean.
And it’s funny, when I buy a THING (shirt, sweater, pants, etc) I want it to work in at least 3 outfits. But I want a SHOE to go with ALL the outfits in ALL the seasons! And there’s just no way! I’m trying to work through that mindset. But I still am a VERY careful shoe (and purse) (and coat) (and jewelry) buyer. Ha. The bigger ticket items – I have a REALLY hard time with spending that much money. And I want them to last for years and years. It’s a lot of pressure! Ha.
Iris
gazillionhundredmillion – WOW, now that’s a lot! I’ll have to remember that number. Like the shoes. I have a pair of sketchers that remind me of those. Shoes are the bane of my existence, and I hate the way most of them look with any outfit. My feet are long with a very narrow heel (not the toe portion and they almost, always never fit.
I, too, just bought a top the same style of a recent purchase but a different color – unusual for me.
My favorite is the last fit – I do love that sweater.
Grace & Peace,Iris
http://www.IrisOriginalsRamblings.com
Ruth Josey
LOL! I finally gave up on trying to buy shoes that go with everything. I went from having 5 pairs of shoes to like 30 or 40. Who’s keeping count? Not me. And my husband gave up a long time ago. I do try to make sure they go with at least several things, though. But I have my eye on a blue suede pair now and that may go out the window – or I could get really experimentative (I don’t think that’s really a word nor does my spellcheck) and wear it with something I wouldn’t normally think of wearing it with. I love all of your looks! I have my eye on a utility jacket at Target that I fondle every time I go in. I may have to try the 50% rule with it…..or 40%…..or any discount at all. I’m always afraid they’ll run out of my size and then I’ll have to order it online and pay for shipping and then there goes my discount :/ Well, I’m inspired to go through my closet and see what I have that goes with what. I love your color combinations, too. I’d never have thought of wearing gray and tan or beige but those combinations look amazing on you!
Ruth
https://voguefauxreal.com/2019/11/05/
bettyewp
Remember when Imelda Marcos’ shoe closet was Big News? She had over 1,200 pairs of shoes! I just googled a picture of her shoe closet and it’s like the size of my entire apartment (it’s actually probably larger!). I’m looking at JUST the “just barely off-white peep toe slingback low-heeled” shoes. There’s 6 pair. They are PRACTICALLY IDENTICAL. I’m like, what is it you wear THIS pair with that you couldn’t wear THAT pair (or any of the other 4 pair) with??? And don’t even get me started on the black pumps!!! I just got up and counted. I have 13 pairs of shoes (including snow boots and slippers). 6 are just for summer. I don’t know why I’m so obsessed with the NUMBER.
With your 30-40 pairs do you feel like you have the right shoes for every outfit? I think the secret (and I have not been good at this) is to not just fall in love with a shoe and decide you must have it…but to actually look at every outfit in your closet and figure out what shoes you need for each one. And probably, HOPEFULLY, there will be a lot of cross-over.
Yeah, when waiting for sales you do run the risk of things going out of stock, which a) so sad but b) SOMETHING ELSE WILL COME ALONG THAT YOU WILL ALSO LOVE. Just this week I got a Shoptagr notification that a $100 bag I’ve been watching was 50% off…but I couldn’t decide between the black and the cognac…and I waited too long…and now they’re BOTH sold out. Boo. She who hesitates has to keep carrying her tattered black crossbody.
FASHUN IS HARD, ha ha.
Rhonda
I have so many shoes I’m afraid to even count! The majority have only been worn a few times because after wearing once, I’ve determined they’re not comfortable and I don’t have the patience (or skin) to break them in! I shutter to think of the money I have invested, just sitting on the shelf! I think I need to consider selling on Poshmark (why does that sound like so much work?)…Encouragement here would be helpful…..
I wanted to let you know that I have been reading your blog for quite a while and just now subscribed to your email…I love your photography, and so enjoy your writing style! Although I’m not a plus size, I am mature (although that’s debatable..) at 60+, and I think you speak/write with such an honest and genuine style that I find myself wishing we could be “real life” friends. I think your outfits are inspiring for all sizes and appreciate that you are working within the constraints of a budget.
Keep doing what you do!
bettyewp
Thanks so much, Rhonda! So glad you decided to leave a comment!
Poshmark (or ebay, etc) IS a lot of work, but…it’s a good way to get some of the stuff out of your house, out of your head…and put some $$ back in your pocketbook! I have a BUNCH of things I need to get posted and I’m procrastinating, too. I wish all the unwanted things would just disappear and leave a little pile of money in its place. Like the tooth fairy.
Cheryl
I like all your outfits and colour combinations. As we are coming into the hottest season of the year I will have a read of your earlier posts. I’m learning lots, thank you.
bettyewp
Australia, right! You’re like exactly opposite us in seasons!
julia
I’m loving your green jacket! And yay for the dress. You look really nice in it.
Daenel T.
I have cardigan envy.