An Email from my Mom:

"Dress shabbily, they notice the dress.
Dress impeccably, they notice the woman."

--Gabrielle " Coco " Chanel, French fashion designer

Blue Nails & Horse Shit.

I sometimes feel it's total horse shit that fashionblogs will contain images of food or architecture; I'm uber picky - I only want to subscribe to ones that give me fashion ideas... so today when I popped through some Top Ten Fashionblog lists and saw that some didn't have a What I Wore theme/images to 'em, I was like WTH? Like... a fashionblog that's witty is wonderful, but when that wit is connected to link after link, paragraph after paragraph, I get tired. I want pictures of outfits. Inspiration. Am I off base here? Probably. Look, I'm about to post a all-text post. Bad me.

But I have blue nails, and I love them.

So, on WhoWhatWear, they post this lovely model's outfits. I DIG each one.
Totally.

When one feels unlike themselves, they turn to what makes them happy. For me, it's clothing and outfits and the creativity behind them. Images of looks, that's what does it for me most days.

Above: from MCM's blog.

Above: from Sea of Shoes' blog.

Laid-back, with my mind on my money...

That'sChic blog.
SlanellesStyle blog.

I want to have a SWAP.

A swap. You know... yeah.

And before or after, I'd like to be inspired:



Above: WhoWhatWear shows off SJP outfits. I'm DROOLING.
Then, Sea of Shoes' blog has two funky outfits I'm digging.
Happy Week, everyone.
We move into our house this weekend, so I'll be BUSY! :o)

inspiration, take 2.

idea from queen of hearts.

mcm. i want this dress!

kansas couture. pattern combo.

glamourai. short skirt and a long... shirt, not jacket. :)

inspiration.

disarming darling. necklaces. vest below.


dirty hair halo. scarf as bow.

cocomode. floppy hat.

5 inches and up. sweats as un-sweat-like gear.

Challenge: Something comfy for NDSCS' Graduation but also cute for chilling out with faculty later.

Necklace = The Arc, Fargo, $2.50.
Dress = Charlotte Russe via Plato's, $12.
Leggings = Target, $6.
Pink Heels = Endless.com last spring. $40+?

Lyrics: Song sung at Graduation, "True Colors."
Quote: Coach Schumacher said during ceremony.

p.s. Want to WEAR a magazine? Check this out then, kiddo. I read about it on Faboo's fashionblog.

Scarf = Savers?
Dress w/pockets = Plato's.
Hat = Goodwill.
Leggings, painted by me = Walmart.
Boots = Savers.

Lyrics = "Patience," by GNR + "Just a Girl," No Doubt.

Challenge: Three patterns + a splatter project.

Plaid/checkered Scarf = Savers?
Denim snap shirt = The Gap, $39.
Striped skirt = cut off from a long Ralph Lauren knit dress, $5? Savers?
Leggings w/painted pok-a-dots = Walmart.
Boots = Frye imitations, $20, Savers.

Lyrics: "There She Goes" by Sixpence None The Richer.

Mantras.

'if you don't love it, don't wear it.'

Off Of Broadway (blog pics below) has the above mantra, according to an interview she did with Second Skin (read it in my Google Reader, yo). I love that mantra. Why? First off, it's how I feel now that I'm packing up my stuff for the second time in a year... I only want things around me that I love.



Her mantra also reminds me of when I was in middle school. My mom forked over money for me to get Esprit jeans (I'm unsure if that's how it's even spelled now; I used to recreate the logo on everything!). Black ones. And I wore them EVERY DAMN DAY. I was obsessed. They were "cool" jeans to have, and I believe I even liked how they fit. They slimmed my oddball-growing body down. They were grunge-like too which was cool back then. And... in order for me to wear 'em everyday, I would sometimes spot-wash them. Yep. In a family of six, there was no way I'd get to wash 'em after every wear or every third wear or whatever.

The same happened in college, from what I can recall of it. I had a pair of Levis I adored. My imitation-Birkenstocks too. Later, I accidentally colored the jeans pink by washing them with something red. I was devastated.

Later still, before I ran off into the wild world of high school teaching, I had these yoga-ish black pants. Drawstring. I dressed them up and down, and, yeah, they were sweats-in-disguise, but I wasn't proud of my body and I had no clue how to dress it. I probably thought I had some style, but it wasn't until Carrie Bradshaw came into view...

Now, I'm thinking of my cowboy boots, my imitation Frye boots, my favorite jeans - the ripped up Silvers and my latest Gap 1969, the various vintage tops and the tight striped tunic. I love this stuff. I keep buying better things and replacing the stuff I packed up in July. I searched through t-shirts this morning, realizing that many of them were "EH" in the totem-pole of fabulous. I don't want "Eh," I want "YAY."

And with all the secondhand hunting I do, I can afford YAY. True story.

WishList.

Basic WishList:
---Big floppy hat?
---Clogs. Black.
---Another form-fitting mini-dress/tunic like my black-n-white striped one.
Hmmm... what else?

A WishList of Creations, too:
---Paint-splattered camo cargos.
---Torn/splattered leggings?
---A mini-dress/tunic with a poem written on it.
---Messy necklace, as seen below (found on Fashionista.com)...
Hmmm... what else?


What I've learned from my photos:
---I look best in form-fitting things. Fitted at my waist, usually.
---I look best, to me, in black + ____.
---Red lips.
---Patterns don't photograph well always.
---I look tall in heels, but not half bad in flats/boots either.
---Hair down, not up.
Hmmm... what else?

from cocomode's blog.
from quality rivets' blog.

I wanna be a cowboy.

bigthoughts/bigwords.

Blazer = Old Navy, via The Arc, $2.
Top = Pok-a-dotted button-up, $4? Savers?
Necklace = Plato's Closet.
Jeans = The Gap 1969, $35, in a size smaller than usual! Yay.
Boots = Cowboy ones from Savers, $20 awhile ago.

Words&Fashion.

This is another image from 5"andUp's blog.

I'm, sadly or fortunately or whatever, one of "those people" who loves words on my clothes. Yea. Sorry. I think. Well, I DO teach English. Maybe that's why?

So, yes. Those goofy tees with sayings on them = love 'em. I found one at Savers "the other day" that said, "I'm Not Irish, But I Play One On TV." Hilarious, right? And I have another pink one that claims, "Black is the New Black." Still another recent purchase, a navy tee, says, "It's All My Fault." So fitting! I should still eventually wear that to a major campus meeting; the president would enjoy it.

Anyhow, I'm "one of those people," and it may be just as annoying as those who wore the trucker hats for 5 minutes 6.7 years ago, but it is what it is.

Maybe that should be a shirt? I'm One Of Those People.
:o)

I'm thinking, as a response to the dress above, that I should write a poem on the $2 camo cargos I bought this weekend. Maybe an anti-war poem, even. What a juxtaposition that would be, eh? Now, to find some paint and markers.

Amish Chic?

Yes, it's a good question.

Dress = The Arc in Fargo, $8.
Flats = Old Navy.
Cardigan = Plato's a long time ago?
Flowery headband/necklace = Target?

Old Navy tan blazer = The Arc, $2.
Striped fitted mini-dress = Goodwill, $4.
Grey sox = Target.
Boots = Frye look-a-likes, Savers, $20.

Lyrics: Rolling Stones & Garbage.

newfavoriteblogger...

The blog's called 5 Inches And Up. Perfect!

AC/DC.

Monday and Tuesday of this week:

Well, hello there...

First off, "Hi" and "Welcome!"
Secondly, thanks for reading this far.
Thirdly, here is what I think you need to know about me...
--- NAME: Sybil.
--- HEIGHT: 5'7" on good days; 5'10"-6' in my heels.
--- WEIGHT: 172lbs as of our final Biggest Loser Weigh-In this week.
--- SIZE(s): +/- 14 in jeans; +/- 9 in shoes.
--- JOB: I teach various English&Humanities courses at the North Dakota State College of Science in southeast North Dakota.
--- WHY BLOG: I've blogged since 2002 here about teaching and non-fashion-y things; just recently, I decided to jump into the fashionblog zone over here. I've been on Blogger before for grad school/teaching stuff because I wrote my Master's Thesis on blogging. (Yes, you read that correctly.) Since many of the fashionblogs I read are on Blogger, I thought I should move.
So, on Facebook (and my other blog), I've been keeping track of outfits and taking challenges from people (horizontal stripes, pattern on pattern, etc.), but this bunch of four have been my favorites thus far. I'm sure there are others "pre-fashion project," but, yeah, these are recorded. The lyrics/quotes added in are random, possibly cut off in this Picnik'd collage, and were chosen the day of the outfit - either because I read it or heard it. I got the idea from different Flickr.com projects I've seen called "Lyric a Day" or "Quote a Day."
{If you'd like to know more about what I'm wearing, just shoot me a comment. Once I officially "move in" over here, I'll give details.}

Screenshot1.

There to Here. Someday.

Right now, I'm blogging over here, but I plan to come here soon. Okay? Okay.