PFC #22: Cold Weather Shopping Clothes

This month's PFC (Petite Fashion Challenge) is hosted by A Preponderance of Fashion.  Be sure to check out her blog for other entries!

The Challenge: Cold Weather Shopping Clothes
"The weather outside is frightful, but indoor shopping is warm and delightful.  So, whether you have wind, rain, or snow, show me your clothes when shopping for friends or foes!"

In general, I like to dress lightly, comfortably, and warm when going clothes shopping in the winter.  My essentials include a crossbody bag to keep me hands-free and comfortable shoes that can be kicked off easily to try on clothes.  I usually try to wear a shoe with some kind of heel to mimic what I wear to work.  This helps me get a good idea of what the pants / skirt / dress would look like "in real life."

LOFT Coat

LOFT Striped Sweater

NY&Co Pants (DIY slimmed)

Ann Taylor Pumps

Coach Station Bag (a gift from the lovely Jean)

NY&Co Tortoiseshell Necklace

A better view:

Lately, especially since I'm still healing from minor foot surgery, my shopping outfits consist of rolled up denim plus boat shoes - very comfy!

eBay scarf, J. Crew coat, Kate Spade bag, Abercrombie jeans, Sperry shoes

What are your go-to shopping clothes?

Past PFC Entries:
  PFC #19: Trend Benders

  PFC #18: What to Wear to Impress Your Date
  PFC #17: Candy Colorized

  PFC #16: Summer Wedding (Under $100)

  PFC #15: Chic Pin-spiration

  PFC #13: Professional Under $100

  PFC #12: From Night to Day

  PFC #11: Vacation Vogue

  PFC #10: Summer to Fall

  PFC #9: Heat Wave Appropriate

  PFC #7: Little Black Dress

  PFC #6: Dress Up Your Basics

  PFC #4: Holiday Party

  PFC #3: The Look for Less

  PFC #2: Wear it Now, Wear it Later  

Alteration: The Red Pants Experiment

Argh, I had this post all ready to go for Sunday evening and then, inexplicably, all the content was deleted when I hit "publish."

Let me reconstruct this darn thing and try again...

Armed with a coupon for $10 pants (from this post), it was unlikely I would be walking out of the store empty-handed.  I found these red pants and loved the color but the fit left something to be desired.  Size 4 fit my tummy well but then the legs were a bit baggy.  The unfortunate effect of baggy pants plus tapered legs was a pear-shaped nightmare.  I decided to take them home for some DIY slimming to "fix" the silhouette.  Aside from hemming, I've never really worked with pants so I was a little nervous about it.  Thankfully, simply slimming it along the inseam gave it the straighter, more-slender shape I wanted.

New York & Company 7th Avenue Sateen Slim Crop, Yelling Red, $10, orig. $43 (buy here)

I wasn't quite sure what to wear with them so I first tried my trusty stripes.

Top 1: Old Navy Tee (old)

Necklace 1: H&M Turquoise Necklace (old)

Top 2: Ann Taylor Starlight Stripe Sweater, XS (buy here)

Necklace 2: J. Crew Resin & Chain (old)

Belt:  Lands' End Canvas Rope Belt (old)

Shoes:  Gucci d'Orsay Pump, Camel (old)

Watch:  Timex face + J. Crew strap (original post here)

Then thought maybe an analogous color combination?  I wanted to try orange with it but the only oranges I had were too close to this shade of red and ultimately made me look like one giant fireball.  I decided to try peach instead. 

And added a deep purple inspired by this J. Crew image I pinned.

Shirt & Cardigan: LOFT (old)

Closer view of accessories

Horsebit Bracelet (purchased here but no longer see online)

Target Chain / Rhinestone Bracelet, $17 - reminds me a little of the J. Crew pave link bracelet

Amrita Singh Cannes Ring (buy here)

How would you wear red pants?

Gettin' Tweedy: DIY Chanel-Inspired Jacket

Ah, the classic Chanel jacket.  I've admired them from afar for a long time but it wasn't until I saw Jean wear her Uniqueen version (as well as Wendy and Tiffany) that I felt inspired to try to sew one.

Jacket:  DIY Chanel-Inspired

Shirt:  LOFT, Peach (old)

Jeans:  Gap Always Skinny (old)

Shoes:  Ann Taylor Suede Pumps, Granite

Bag:  Balenciaga Twiggy, Anthracite

It was a good thing I was very inspired because the construction of this jacket drove me absolutely batty.  The shell came together easily (kind of - the pattern sleeve opening did not match the sleeve width) and I thought I'd have this post ready last Sunday.  Then came the trim.  I had been debating whether I wanted to do regular contrast trim or a fringed trim.  I decided to do contrasting fringe trim and this complicated things since I couldn't make this from a bias strip.  Instead, I used the selvage so it lays a little funny at the collar.  This is far from a perfect jacket but it's good enough (and finished) for now.  I'll have to do some more seam ripping this weekend :)

My Favorite OOPS DIY Dress

When I set out to make this dress, I was envisioning a slim cowl tube dress in a light gray color.  What I wound up with was an asymmetrical split collar A-line dress in dark gray ponte knit.  I do think the color is too severe for summer and the general style looks more fall / winter but ultimately I like how this turned out.  The challenge will be how to alter this into a post-pregnancy dress but I'll worry about that later ;)

Dress:  DIY

Belt:  Ann Taylor Reptile Patterned Belt

Necklace:  Ann Taylor Silver Rhinestone Necklace

Pin:  Rhinestone Tree

Shoes:  Gucci d'Orsay Camel Pumps

A closer view of the pin - I love the pop of "bling" this adds!

What do you think of this "oops" dress?

DIY "Lace" Skirt + OOTD

I actually made this skirt a while ago but never posted pics of it (so note the longer hem length LOL).  This was during the early days of the H&M lace skirt making its way through the blogger community - see it here on:

• Ping of All About Fashion Stuff, 
• Elle of Fast Food and Fast Fashion, 
• Elaine of Curls and Pearls, 
• Liane of PetiteXXS, 
• Annie of Really Petite, 
• Kileen of Cute and Little, 
• Vicky of Vicky's Daily Fashion, 
• and Kelly of Alterations Needed (am I missing someone?  Just comment below and I'll link you). 

I really loved how it looked on all of the above ladies but I was feeling rather cheap about actually going out and purchasing it.  On my regular craft stores round, I found a mock lace fabric at Joann's and decided to make a lace-esque pencil skirt.  The fabric is actually a black lace print with a cream background.

Top:  Eyelash Ruffled Satin Tank, XS

Cardigan:  LOFT, Black, XS

Necklace: F21 - I really love their dramatic and super inexpensive necklaces!

Skirt: DIY Mock Lace Pencil Skirt

Shoes:  Ann Taylor, Perfect Suede Pumps, Granite

Here's a close-up of the mock lace fabric:

What do you think about the mock lace?  A do or a don't?

A Cardigan Makeover, Resolutions and Wish List

Happy New Year!  May 2011 bring happiness and many blessings to everyone!

You may remember that I purchased a raspberry cardigan from Ann Taylor the other day.  It was a final sale item ($12!) that I wasn't particularly in love with but knew it would be perfect for a DIY idea I had.  I had originally planned on adding chiffon cascading flowers but the color I had didn't match so I used this knit instead.  What do you think?

 Before and After

And what it looks like on.  Sorry about the lighting - it's really not this dark in color.

The necklace is a DIY with freshwater pearls to represent the members of my family.  One pearl each for hubby, me, and my dear son.  :)

Can't have a New Year posting without resolutions and wish list items!

Resolutions:

1. Spend more quality time with the family DOING something.  We have a tendency to be a relax in front of TV type of family and I'd really like us to bond over more activity type items.
2. Be more deliberate in my shopping.  Items purchased should either be super deals or something I REALLY want.  No more lukewarm purchases!
3. More DIY!  Elevate skills from novice to intermediate.
4. Related to #3, create a garment from draping rather than a pattern.  Just bought a new pinnable dress form to try this and am super excited for its arrival.
5. Shop in my own closet and try different combinations for new outfits.

Wish List:

Cole Haan Pumps, black

Tall brown boots with a 2"+ heel - these are Frye Sarah boots but I don't need this particular pair

Long black leather gloves, I want it to be long enough to cover 1/2 my forearm - is there a name for this?

Double wrap belt, black

Urban Decay Naked palette, come on Sephora.com and restock!  I'm a huge eyeshadow novice (as in I don't wear any except a nude for base) but I've heard so many good things about this that I really want to try it.

Any resolutions or wish list items for the new year?

Another Bow Blouse DIY + OOTD Options

I'm one of those people who will buy multiples of the same item just to get different colors.  It's no different when it comes to DIY garments.  I LOVE bow-front tops and I can't seem to get enough of them.  I feel like they have dual functionality as a stand-alone type top or layered beneath a cardi / blazer / sweater.  They can also be dressed up or down.

Today's version was a print I fell in love with at the local Joann's.  It happened to be a shiny charmeuse type of fabric (and I have to say that I'm not always a fan of wearing something shiny - just seems to show imperfections) so I wound up using the "wrong" side of the fabric for more of a matte look.

Bow Front Blouse, DIY

Black Pencil Skirt, DIY

Ann Taylor Perfect Suede Pumps, Granite

Oops, I forgot to put on my snake print belt in gray!

Or a more casual alternative with a sweater and jeans:

Would pairing a necklace with this be too much?  I feel like it's missing something...

Is there a type of blouse that you just can't get enough of?

Nautical OOTD and DIY Beaded Pin

Left:  ROCKSTAR Sushi Striped Embellished Epaulet Tee, Neiman Marcus, $121

Right:  DIY Beaded Pin + Boat Neck Striped Tee from Old Navy, Sz XS, now $8, Ann Taylor Khaki Trousers, Sz 2, Banana Republic necklace

When I saw the tee above in the Neiman Marcus I HAD to try and recreate it.  It combines everything that I love - nautical stripes, epaulet, and beading!  I already had a striped tee in my closet so I set off to create a pin to go with it.

 What do you think about pin placement?  I think it looks better on top of the shoulder except that the edges don't lay flat there.

Here's the pin by itself - DIY tutorial to follow!

 These AT trousers run very large.  I usually wear a Sz 4 in pants but these are Sz 2 and are still a little roomy.  Nonetheless, the material is very soft and I like the semi-wide leg cut.  Plus they were on sale for $20!  :)