Pix-Elated

Thanks to all your excellent ideas this morning, I spent a fun half hour in my closet. Here are some potential stylings for my black Biba kimono or happi, as Mochi explained. 

Let me know your thoughts! 

1/2: Angie suggested high neck top, BF (my slouchy skinnies, in this case), heels. Could also try with white jeans -- just forgot to put them on. 

3: more casual version of same. 

4: Joy suggested a sheath dress. Trying with flat sandals. 

5. Denim skirt, wedges, BR textured MadMen shell. 

6: Leith trousers and an orphaned cummerbund waist top. 

7: Double dose of Asia -- Mandarin collared fuchsia shirt with Leith trousers. Could also try the fuchsia crops once they are hemmed. With or without this top. 

8: With cobalt tube skirt, cobalt T, and leopard pumps. 

Will be interested to know if any of these work or if it's jjust a no-go for me. 

Angie's blog post today prompts me to post this photo. 

Here is a Biba kimono jacket purchased on consignment and never worn out of the house. I find it really hard to style. I do plan to try Angie's suggestions, of course, but perhaps seeing it here gives you a clue why it is tricky. 

Here, I thought it conflicted with the neckline of the dress. 

But it seems to hit me at a weird place, too, and is a little too stiff to be really drapey. It has a belt (wearing it here but not pulled all the way closed) and can also be worn open. There are pockets right on the hip, which is a bit odd, too. 

Maybe I just need to pass it along. Or maybe try it with my slouchy skinnies? I think I was actually wearing those when I bought the thing....

Angie, thank you so much for your thoughts when you have time!!  I hate to disturb your weekend, and will not be taking these to the seamstress until Tuesday morning because we have a holiday here tomorrow. 

That said, I am very nervous about these pants and where/ how to hem. I feel quite clueless about proportions. 

Also, please excuse all the folds and bunches. They are the very devil to pin. They are on the loose/ baggy side up top (except the waist) but are quite tapered towards the bottom and pinning messes with the way they hang -- you just can't really tell how they will look! (There's a lining, too, and that complicates things further). 

The shorter length is about 5.5 inches higher. The longer length is maybe 1.5 or 2 inches (not sure) but at any rate is a couple of inches above my ankle, which is where they seem to be showing them these days and where several people suggested I try pinning. 

There were also a number of suggestions that I have these pants further tapered. That would mean tapering at the top, because there is no way to make them narrower (and still fit me) in the calf area. 

The thing is, they do not have any stretch, and I'm not sure how they would look or feel if they were a whole lot narrower. However, I'm willing to consider that if it seems like the best idea. I don't want to go looking 15 years out of date. For myself, I quite like the look and feel of baggy pants. But maybe these look just too dated? 

Also, these are the RW&Co. shoes I bought yesterday. Will they pass muster? 

Thank you all for your thoughts and help on this. 

I beg your pardon in advance. I want to say something very nasty. 

(I won't say it, but I will complain.) 

I am on the hunt for a simple silk shell to wear with the suit. I have done all the brick and mortar stores in Kingston that I am aware of, including our consignment store. NADA. 

So I go online. Here is this decent looking, well reviewed shell. YAY - it is on sale, and there is one left in a size that works for me (4P) in winter white, which should work pretty well, right? So I go to order it. 

Do you know how much they want to ship this into Canada? More than $25. Plus $15 other taxes. So my $53 shell becomes a $94 dollar extravaganza. 

I didn't order it. I just can't stomach that. It probably weighs less than a regular letter!!! 

Fifty One, I do not like you. Not one little bit. 

Hello YLF friends. 

You have all been so helpful with my gala preparations. If I can get the trousers shortened properly, I am pretty much decided on the suit. But now I am searching for shoes. 

I may have some shopping opportunity at Yorkdale on Tuesday, but time will be tight. I am going shopping here in Kingston today. So far, in store, I have found an Ann Klein pump.   It looks silver in the picture but it's actually light gold that has an advantage in that it can sort of skew either way. It looks pretty nude with my skin tone. The heel was astonishingly good. It felt balanced, in other words. Nice pointy toe, too. 

The fit...well, there's the rub. The last is a great shape for me and it's surprisingly comfortable except the heel flips out -- my perennial problem. We tried inserts but then the toe box felt too snug. Sigh. 

I love Angie's suggested Bella Vita pumps, and also found a J. Renee pump that looks great. But I am worried about ordering from Amazon. 

Canadians -- have you ever done returns to Amazon or an Amazon seller? I don't have time to do a "my US address" pickup, unfortunately. So it would have to come here, I'd have to pay the duties, etc. and then suffer with the return issues if the shoes did not work. I don't think it is safe simply to order one; my fit issues with pumps are legendary due to my narrow heels. 

Okay, I may be the last person in the world to know this, but I just saw that we can order from a Canadian web store. 

I swear the last time I looked it was US and UK only. Am I nuts? 

This could get dangerous!! 

In Angie's spring summer inspiration board she pinned certain outfit with the comment, "This shocking pink suit could be the new cocktail dress. Love it so much."

That, along with today's post on masculinity threshold, set the wheels to turning. 

As you know, I did not feel like myself in the cobalt and black cocktail dress that I showed you the other day. It fits, it looks good -- but I don't feel fab in it. Perhaps it's just too "strong" for me, too bold and dramatic. Or dramatic in the wrong way. Or perhaps it's too feminine/ bombshell. I need a dose of masculinity or at least androgyny. 

Some of you may recall that last year I got, from my consignment store, a fuchsia silk pantsuit. 

It cost me less than $20 for all three pieces. I wore the top quite a lot, the jacket a few times, and the pants only once, to take Anna up on her suggestion that I copy a ManRepeller outfit on New Year's Eve. 

Now I am wondering, can this suit be my new cocktail dress? 

Showing it here a bunch of ways for your thoughts. 

1-4: The suit with the J Crew tuxedo shirt, pants as is. Note: the pants are high waisted, but with the boxy shirt sort of pulled out a bit, that's not as evident (I think). 

5/6 : Showing the pants brought up to different lengths -- cropped more, and shorts. If I were to shorten, what length would work? I am a terrible judge of this. 

7: With the Rag and Bone tux shirt. 

8: With a silky cami instead of a shirt. This one is too low on the chest, but I could buy a silky crew-neck T. 

9: With a light-coloured cami -- again -- could replace with a silky white or ivory tee. 

10-12 Inspiration pics. 

I've tried various accessories, too, just to play around. I could buy different shoes and bags if these clutches (my mother's) are deemed not modern enough. 

What think you? Is this do-able, somehow? Could I make it work? What would I need to do to make it fly? 

P.S. I feel much more like myself in this suit. 

P.S.S. I also have a few other "shopping my closet" options that I can show you. Just wanted to put this out there because if the pants need alteration, I should take them soon. They are lined. 

I took my husband out for lunch today. It is his birthday next week and this was our celebration. I wanted to wear something feminine and spring-like. 

Wore my Ralph Lauren navy knit sheath
Banana Republic jacket (from a few seasons ago) 
Sam Edelman sandals
Danier bag
Bracelet was a gift from hubby. 

This outfit is also something of a trial run. The Nicole Miller sheath I have ordered is much dressier than this (which is essentially a sporty sweater dress) but the basic shape is the same. I wanted to see if this topper might work for my gala, assuming that dress works out. I think it probably will do -- what do you think? 

Thanks for looking! 

Here is the Jax dress that Diana found for me at The Bay. (Can you believe her generosity, searching that groaning tortoise of a website when she was only days away from her own wedding? Sheesh!!)

Naturally, I have thoughts, but I won't mention them yet because I am interested in your views.

I still have one more dress on its way to me, by the way, and have not yet exhausted all other possibilities. So honest assessments are welcome, including pros and cons. 

Thanks in advance for your thoughts! 

YLF is such an amazing place. 

I mentioned that I had a big party to attend and within 10 days, a designer dress arrived at my doorstep from Israel! 

Shevia rememberd that she had this Dries van Noten, and thought it might be in my size and worth a try, so she forwarded it to me. 

So here it is! 

The dress is a beautiful cotton/ linen blend, in a sort of sagey-olive green. It hasn't been ironed yet, so please excuse the shipping wrinkles. I just wanted to get photos ASAP. 

It has an interesting asymmetrical collar. The fit is superb up top. The lower hip area is just a touch too snug. Years ago, whenever I had this fit issue, I imagined I was "fat." Now, at last, thanks to YLF, I understand that it's actually more because I am on the short side, and short waisted! The dress is falling a couple of inches lower than it is supposed to. If I raise it at the waist just a little, the hip issue goes away. 

I'm showing it first "as is." It's wearable this way, and does pass a sit test, but movement feels a bit compromised. 

In #5, it is folded a bit to raise it by an inch or two. This eliminates the hip problem. 

In pics #6/7 I've tried it with a belt, blousing it a little. Maybe it compromises the line too much to wear it this way -- I'm not sure. I quite like the effect, myself. But it does make if feel more casual.

I think even unbelted it is a bit too casual for the gala (the slight sheen you see here is mostly a flash effect and doesn't really show IRL), but I have another occasion just before the gala that it might be perfect for, and it would also be perfect for all my city excursions in the summer. 

What think you? Keep? Alter? Wear as is? Belt it?