what would krissie wear

leather skirt + leather boots = a lot of leather

This is my second time wearing this leather skirt to work.  I like this look better than the first one; I think it’s sleeker.  Something about the suede boots along with the leather… I thought it would be too much cow for one outfit but I really kinda dig it.  I think that if the boots were shiny leather like the skirt instead of suede, it might not work as well, but the different textures are what make that much leather ok.

Also, I think this skirt requires a longer top and this wraparound works great (I wore it with a shorter sweater last time and heels instead of boots and I think the outfit shortened me, whereas this one seems to elongate).  I added the ruffled shirt underneath for some extra color.

How would you wear this skirt?

leather skirt - thrifted from HousingWorks, originally Banana - $40
purple wrap shirt - Tristan - $60
ruffle blouse - Mandee - $25
suede boots - Nine West, on sale - $85

10am

when working late, comfort is key

This past week was a long one.  I’ve still been trying to kick this cold and I’ve been really busy at work.  So, a few mornings that I knew I was going to have to stay late and didn’t have any important meetings or dealings with upper management, I really tried to plan an outfit that would be comfortable all day, as well as far into the evening.

Tight skirts out, annoying-ish collared shirts no, tights that make me feel like I’m constantly holding my breath forget about it.  Not that I own that many uncomfortable clothes… but I was going for the feel like you’re in your pjs, look like you’re business casual look.  This is one of those outfits: loose, non scratchy knit top with a fitted but comfortable wool skirt, tights and sturdy heels, very few accessories.

knit top - Express, on sale a while ago - $15ish?
wool skirt - Banana, on sale - $40
navy tights - no idea
brown Mary Janes - Aerosoles, on sale - $40
necklace - vintage, on sale - $15

10am

the one-piece ski suit is BACK!

And in sweet shades of neon pink, fluorescent purple and caution-yellow too.  I couldn’t believe my eyes as I skied around Vail and Breckenridge this weekend only to see not one or two but several dozen women AND MEN on the slopes in what I thought was the epitome of 80s skiwear.  I snapped some photos on the sly so you could enjoy just a taste of what I did:

This guy HAS to be European… right?

The double whammy.

I was almost fortunate to get a photo taken WITH this lovely lady as her friends were standing in front of us in line while I not so subtly shot this photo… but alas, they had started skiing down before we made it up on the lift.

What an amazing weekend of fashion… and I thought I was just gonna get in a good ski and some fresh mountain air.  If you’re curious, here are some shots of me… I can’t say I’m the most fashionable skier on the mountain by ANY means (I’m wearing Jay’s old ski pants from a decade ago and a Spyder jacket I got online on sale for like $150) BUT I do stay warm and have a SICK time.  And, I skied down that:

Helmets are in because safety is in.  Nerd out.

8pm

blogger MIA!

I know, I know, it’s been like a week since my last post.  I’m starting fresh next week, I promise.  Things I’ve been doing while not blogging:

• working my ass off… one employee down means a lot more work for this gal
• playing tour guide to my Finnish cousin who has been staying with me for the past week… this was her first trip to NYC!
• being sick: the sniffles, cough, sore throat, whole nine yards
• getting excited for my weekend ski trip to Vail/Breckenridge with Jay to visit his bro

You guys have anything exciting going on?

6pm

wwkw has had visitors from 116 countries!!!!

I think this is absolutely the coolest thing ever.

Top 10 visiting countries:

1. United States
2. Canada
3. United Kingdom
4. Ireland
5. Finland
6. Germany
7. Australia
8. Mexico
9. Spain
10. Brazil

Thank you everyone from everywhere for reading!

2pm

sometimes, it feels good to go simple

I had a small shopping accident while in Charlottesville last weekend.  Small because I spent under $100, but accident because I really wasn’t planning on buying anything new.  However, both pieces are fabulous and I got them for great prices.  The first of them is this awesome teal colored wool jacket, which was 30% off and $45! 

Because of the bold teal color, I really wanted everything else about my outfit to be simple: black pants, black shoes and just a touch of jewelry.  It’s like making a recipe for the first time, do it exactly as the recipe calls for… only play around with the measurements or add new flavors the next time.  So next time I wear this, I may go a bit color crazy.  Watch out for it!

9am

revitalize: mix and match

One major way to expand your wardrobe is to mix and match pieces from different suit sets or even a jacket from a suit from a stand alone skirt, etc.  The more combinations you can make, the more outfits you’ll have to wear!

Here I’m wearing the tweed blazer from a Banana suit paired with a wool pinstripe standalone skirt.  I really like the way the tweed and stripes play off of each other, especially since they incorporate the same shades of browns. 

This is the first time I’m wearing this funky paisley ruffle shirt under the tweed and like that it’s fun under such a traditionally old school look.  The tights are a bit matchy with the blouse, but to be honest they’re not quite as red in real life as the photo is making them out to be; I’d say they’re a bit more subtle of a burgundy.  Interestingly, I paired this whole outfit with BLACK shoes instead of brown, which is a huge leap for me and took some effort.  But, I felt the style of the shoes here was more important than the color and the style of the black matched the look of my outfit much more than my pointy toed brown pumps.

tweed jacket - Banana, on sale - $50ish
pinstripe skirt - Banana, on sale - $40ish
paisley blouse - Mandee - $25
burgundy tights - H&M ages ago I think in some sort of 3pack
shoes - Aerosoles, 20% off sale - $60ish

6pm

wwkw: weekend edition

I haven’t done one of these in a while, aside from my New Year’s post I guess.  This (long) weekend, Jay and I drove down to Charlottesville, VA to visit my very good friend from college and her husband.  We spent the weekend visiting several breweries, tasting beer, hangin in their hottub, and BOWLING!!!  Here are some photos I thought you’d enjoy:

I’m REALLY excited for this flight of beer.

The hottub was a few minutes walk from their apartment and it wasn’t exactly warm out. This is how we made the trek.

My best outfit of the weekend definitely involved a half-and-half look: party on top, sporty on bottom.  I mean come on, you have to love the ski socks and bowling shoes look, right?

6pm

playing with color and texture

Colors are fun! So are textures.  When you play around with both, you can come up with some pretty funky stuff. 

These tights had been hiding from me for a while, probably because they have a hole in the lower thigh so I can only wear them with skirts that are below the knee (shhh, don’t tell!)  But they’re a great color and they’ve got that J. Crew sweatery texture thing going on.  I love how they turned out paired with the purple pumps, which in and of themselves have several shades of purple and layers of texture (suede, snakeskin, metal studs).  The fuschia wool jacket is a tad big so I cinched in the back with a cool brooch so it wouldn’t look baggy (love this method of keeping semi-ill fitting clothing around for more wears!)

This outfit was a cheap one.  Check it:
fuschia wool jacket - FREE giveaway from a friend
grey wool skirt - HousingWorks - $15ish
tights - SO OLD (like high school old) so they don’t count
purple pumps - HousingWorks - $10!!!
white ruffled tank - Hoboken boutique - $25
brooch - vintage, on sale - $10ish (I think my memory for these things is starting to go…)

8pm

the one item switch

I feel super chill in this outfit.  This was my (business casual) Friday outfit and I had a tough time that morning because I wanted to wear something that if I switched out only one item, it could easily turn into Friday night bar-outingwear.  Well, I didn’t make it to the bar, but I COULD HAVE changed into my black jeans and boots to caz this up even further (which I did lug around all day).

I tried belting the vest before adding the necklace as my accessory.  Does anyone know how to belt a vest so that it looks good? It looked weird to me.

6pm

How do you feel about magazines featuring "large-sized" women? Read this NYTimes article.

 I’ll tell you how I feel: 

1. Considering the average American woman wears a size 14, these “large” women are actually average-sized. Many of the comments after the article noted that these “larger” models looked healthy and confident.
2. Many (please note, I’m not saying all) traditional-sized models do not appear healthy; they’re underweight, have no muscle mass and bad posture, have eating disorders and drug problems and yet these are the women that we see on billboards and magazines, wearing the clothes that we are supposed to buy and wear, acting as the body ideals for which we strive or yearn for.  What I’d actually like to see is models who look healthy and active, who excercise on a regular basis and eat well, who have muscle tone.  We have a serious health issue in this country; wouldn’t it be great if models actually modelled how we might and could look if we ate and excercised properly?  Women of all heights, bone structures and body types, wearing a whole range of clothing sizes, healthy, empowered and confident (check out this Jezebel article which touches on this).  Imagine being surrounded by achievable body/beauty ideals? If only.
3. Point is, do I want to see “large-sized” women?  Yes… but just as many skinny models aren’t healthy, I’m quite sure many of the larger models aren’t healthy either.  What I really want to see is healthy women.  Where can I see those?

10am

H&M responds to NYTimes article re: slashed clothes on 34th street

Main points:

• H&M stated that this is not their normal policy and that their are often clothes that are damaged (returns, mannequin placement, etc.) beyond use or donation.
• They usually donate to Gifts in Kind International, UNHCR, Caritas, The Red Cross, and The Helping Hands.
• They are “reevaluating what we categorize as damage goods and how we discard what we are not able to donate.”

Check out the original NYTimes article here.

6pm

Lands' End and L.L. Bean are re-branding to target younger customers. Would you buy their new styles? Check out this WSJ article.

Ok so the last thing I bought at L.L. Bean was my reversible down vest, which I still wear all the effing time.  But in terms of pants, shirts, dresses… I dunno.  I checked out the sites and they do have some good sales going on right now (and L.L. Bean has free shipping) and while there is a lot of soccer mom looking clothes and outerwear, I guess there’s some cuteness in the mix.  Maybe they’ll feature more of their new stuff in the catalog?  Or maybe it’ll take a bit for them to get it right because they are trying to attract a new customer base without alienating their current customers (which if you read the WSJ comments, may already be happening)… and that can be quite the challenge. 

What would you buy, if anything, from Lands’ End or L.L. Bean?

5pm

sometimes when you do a good deed

You get rewarded with a really big bag of awesome clothes!!!  I helped my dear friends pack up their apartment for their 6-month move to Paris and low and behold, Tania had a boatload of clothes she needed to get rid of (I swear that’s not why I volunteered to help!)  Anyway, this simple, black, go-with-everything Banana Republic button down dress was in the mix and it fit great.  Thanks Tans!

And look at my new shoes from Aerosoles!  They’re total Granny shoes but I love love them and they’re comfy AND they were 20% off! I kinda look like the the Wicked Witch of the West, no?

black dress - another person’s trash (sorta) was my treasure, Banana Republic
lime tights - gift
shoes - Aerosoles, 20% off - $60ish
pearls - mom’s!

6pm

Seriously, H&M... slashing unsold clothing? How about donating it? Check out this NYTimes article.

Apparently the 33rd street H&M takes unsold clothing, slashes it up so that it’s unwearable and then throws it for trash pick up on the street.  Kind of the perfect image for overconsumption and waste in our culture, huh?  Coats, socks gloves all slashed and ruined during the coldest weeks of the year rather than donated to those who could really use them.  So sad.  Let’s hope the negative press turns this practice on its head.

6pm