You may be right: perhaps this skirt is too extravagant to wear to class. But you know that “Fake it ’til You Make it” mantra? Sometimes a bold cheery exterior can pull along a recalcitrant interior — or at least cover for it!
I’d assumed I’d wear this with brown tights and a brown shoe, but went to bed without locating the tights. In the morning, with no time to spare, it turned out that the only brown tights I could put my hands on were footless. Rejecting my brown slouch boots as, well, too slouchy and my better-fitted black ones as too black, I decided to try a nude leg with thesefavourite bought-in-Paris-years-ago shoes. I’m not sure either works with the skirt, but overall I like the combo — although now I’m hankering for brown/tan boots, knee-high, fitted. . .
Skirt: Robert Rodriguez, bought on sale at Holt’s the summer before last
Sweater: Banana Republic
Shoes: Paris store that might begin with “C”?? somewhere in St. Germain, around Rue de Dragon, Rue du Four . . . I love a bit of history with my shoes . . .
Other than a long run this morning (20+km, the peak of training for the half I hope to run next month) and a quick flip through the pages of The Globe and Mail, my weekend’s mostly going to be dedicated to a big stack of marking — and actually, reading The Globe and marking student papers are so far yielding a surprising number of errors — at least my students can rightfully complain that they don’t have an editor; not so (I hope!) for The Globe‘s journalists.
What about you? Any particular weekend fun you’re up to? Halloween parties? Crazy costumes?
I just love that skirt! The top grounds it nicely. Brown knee high boots have been my latest obsession too!
Doug and Sam went off to Disneyland today, and I spent the day doing some long overdue grocery shopping, fridge cleaning and domestic organizing, then turned my attention to carving some pumpkins for tomorrow night. We'll have our hands full, I anticipate, as we usually get between 250 and 350 trick-or-treaters.
The skirt is very pretty. I imagine it'll look good with a lot of things. The bare legs and shoes are fine for this time of year.
The skirt doesn't seem extravagant at all to me. It goes perfectly with the sweater and I love the Paris shoes. Very nice!
Oooh. Me too on the skirt-loving train.
The skirt is gorgeous and I love the hi/lo way you are wearing it. I think it's perfect for class!!
You remind me of my mother in many of your outfit photos. It's not that you look the same, but there is something energetically similar. She also has curly, med length hair. You are about the same height by the looks of it (5'3"?) and you have the same shape of face/eyes and physique.
My mother is older, obviously. And not as slender.
My daughter just looked over at your post and said "Wow, that looks like Grammy, but younger." We won't tell my mum. 🙂
I'm loving the skirt too…whoohoo…I am sure not to be the caboose on this train!
I would like to compliment you on your trim figure…
I know that you work hard at keeping in shape…
you are an inspiration mater.
No Halloween parties here …a yellow caution banner on the porch, a few bits of orange and some pumpkin lights and a basket full of treats…expect maybe 50 treaters…not as many as Deja Pseu is prediciting will ring her doorbell!
Happy Halloween!
I love the 2nd photo of you. Who cares about the skirt look at that smile. You look gorgeous.
I really like that skirt (and I don't do patterns, normally). The sweater is the perfect foil – you look lovely. As for my weekend, well, trying not to kill my mother, trying to finish work, endless laundry and cleaning … carving pumpkins and decorating the house and getting treats ready for trick-or-treaters. We leave in less than 24 hours and I still haven't started packing!
Pseu: I remember you citing this astounding figure last year, re the trick-and-treaters. We'll probably have all of 15, maybe even 20!
As for the boots, yes, I just noticed that you have them posted on your blog as the current obsession. . . yummy!
Nancy: It's a bit too cold here for bare legs, but believe it or not, I'm actually wearing nude hose — which I doubt I wear more than once a year!! They seemed to work, but in my life/style, they seem ever so retro.
Susan: Thanks! They're probably my favourite shoes, mostly for sentimental reasons.
LPC: I fell in love with the skirt the first time I saw it, but they didn't have it in my size and it was a goofy price, by my standards. Six weeks later, it was on sale, and they'd brought my size in (consolidating sale merch, I guess) — meant to be!
Hostess: You're so sweet! The running's going quite well right now, but my fingers are always crossed as to how long I can keep it up — my fitness program is so dependent on it, and one injury could jeopardize it. But at the moment, it seems to be paying off.
Anon: Thanks v. much! Hilary?
Rachel?
Tiffany: I'm so excited for you! Still wishing I could hop a plane and we could meet up for a shopping afternoon in NYC. . . . have fun!
K: Given that my eldest daughter's 34, your mom and I might not be so far apart age-wise. And height-wise, we're about the same (I'm just under 5'4).
So if your mom's got curls, did you get any and you're just a whiz with the straightener? does your daughter have curls? (Only one of mine got serious curls — and hers ARE serious — and red to boot!)
M: I can't believe your daughter is 34! Is that Nola's mum? My mother is from a Puerto Rican background on both sides. Her whole family has dark curly hair (but her curls are soft like yours). My mother says, regrettably, I got "Mema" hair. (That's the name I had for my father's mother when I couldn't say Grandma and it stuck.) You can imagine, based on the sound of it that "Mema hair" is not good. It's fine and straight and mousy brown when not dyed.
My mother is a serious hair snob. It's like a terrible prejudice she has that she cannot see. She truly pities people whom she feels have been cursed with bad hair 🙂 I've had to set her straight (ha!) a few times on the topic. Esp. since I'm the only family member with Mema hair.
FYI – My mother is an excellent, caring mother. She's just got a few blind spots. PS: Thank goodness my daughter got the thick luscious hair from my husband's side of the family 🙂
Such a exuberantly patterned skirt! Almost Asian (from what I see here) and so lush.
K: That whole hair thing is so funny. Generally, when you get a few of us curly-heads together, you'll hear us wishing for straight, but you guys always claim to wish for our curls. I've been sorely tempted by the Brazilian Straightening treatment — until I heard recently that they've recalled it due to the formaldehyde content!
As for your mom, she's probably pleased you recognize both her blind spots AND her excellent warm care. I'm always happy at any evidence that mine can recognize the coexistence of both (and yes, Bronwen is Nola's mum).
Duchesse: It's the most wonderful fabric — a microfibre with a sheen like something between poly and silk — and the flowers and their winding, connecting stems are somehow like a brocade/appliqué cross. And yes, I think of it as Asian as well — perhaps because the flowers seem chrysanthemum-like and I associate those flowers with Asian motifs.
You look just GORGEOUS Mater!!! Love, love, love that skirt…and you could do the mash-up and mix it up with the more casual stockings and boots….
Oh I think that skirt is just perfect, and I too love the high/low approach with it. I think this skirt can lend itself to so much….. a statement piece that I think would work with other strong pieces as well as the neutrals. I think I remember when you posted about buying this skirt and how lovely I though it was then.
Earlier this fall you posted about looking for just the right top to go with a particular skirt, was this the skirt?
Hope you had a nice weekend. We don't tend to get trick-or-treaters here, as it is not a particularly walkable neighborhood. I gardened and made a chicken tagine instead of celebrating.
The skirt is great, I am most envious that you are still a member of the 'I can tuck it in' club, but I guess that is all the running you do.
The colour of the jumper really suits you and signifies you could probably pull off the caramel end of luxe very easily!
What struck me most about the skirt is something I am just learning myself, and that is a higher waistband is far more flattering than I at first realised. I always thought we should emphasise the actual waist but recent experiments have shown that if you lift a wide belt slightly above the natural waistline it is far more flattering, hence the success of this skirt.
Yes to the skirt!!!! The sweater and the shoes make it totally work ready. I am inspired by the Rue de Dragon and wish you would add a dragon pendent to the outfit( can you tell what book is on my bookstand waiting for me?).
This weekend was wild. There were parties. And, yeah, I am particularly proud of our Simone de Beauvoir and Sartre's lobster costumes.
F>50: I'm now really wanting a pair of brown boots to wear with this — I think it could be a fun combo!
Mardel: We don't get many costumed little ones either as the island population is small. As for the sweater, yes, I found this one after I posted about the hunt for something in this colour range. It's not exactly what I wanted, but very close. And meanwhile, I'm still knitting up a Vogue pattern v-neck in a similar colour bamboo-silk-merino.
Alison: I've been surprised to find how well I can wear this colour, if I get it just right. As for the high waist, I find the same thing, even though I'm so short-waisted that I have to be carefully of it bunching up there. And I also have to be careful about the contrast factor or the proportions can look odd. Funny to still be on a learning curve about what suits me, after all these years . . .
LBR: uh-oh, that book is a rabbit-hole, an enjoyable one, but a captivating one that will demand you spend much time there as you move through Book 1, then 2, then 3. . . From hedgehogs to dragons, eh?
Mater, sorry I'm late to this post. I LOVE the skirt – with boots it would be fabulous but is great just as you've worn it. And, as for your hair, leave it as it is. I, who have straight hair, have finally come to terms with it (are we ever happy with what we're born with?) and I'm learning to manage it as it is – yours is lovely, so leave it.
Best wishes from Australia,
Raels
better late than never, Raels — welcome! and thanks for the compliments on the skirt. I'm still on the hunt for the right boots to wear with it (most of mine are black; I'd like a fitted knee-high brown). As for the hair, no, I think we're always wishing for someone else's. . . . although I've come to realize I like the way my curls somehow express something about my personality.