Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Broke My Fast

As I mentioned, I didn't make it very long without shopping for clothes. I lasted through all of January, but then, bam, February came & there I went. Even before I hit the mall, I had done some online shopping.

I was thinking about casual clothes, as one does, specifically, how sloppy I dress when I'm not going into the office. Working from home, ok, sure, yoga pants & a black T-shirt, that's fine every so often. But my weekend wear is pretty sorry.

About five years ago, I did make the break from jeans & teenager-style T-shirts (mostly). I weeded out all the gothy band tees & cutesy saying tees. I even ditched most of the old travel T-shirts I'd collected. And out went of the freebie tech T-shirts from work & conferences, 'cept for one or two to sleep in ONLY.  I replaced all those with simple "grown-up" solid-color knit tops in short & long-sleeve varieties.

Of course, that felt boring. And the cutesy T-shirts crept back in, along with me just generally not giving a crap on weekends.

So, I'm on a renewed mission to stop looking like a slob on weekends, but also not look like a teenager, & that means I need a few things. Not a lot of stuff, just a few tops-that-aren't-T-shirts-but-aren't-dull. Because I can always wear leggings or the cute black jeans I stocked up on already. Plus, I wanted to do so on a budget -- can't go crazy given the attempt to not buy stuff in the first place.

Luckily, my faves Newport News & Target both had some deals. I found two white & black knit tops (pictured here) with a little romanti-goth flair in the clearance section of Newport News' site. These should go well with black jeans, maybe a cardigan (could be dressed up for work too).

Target had quite a few little knit dresses (similar to the black one I already have), so I got one in red. Good for layering with black, 'natch. Also picked up a black cotton tunic that should be spiffy with a belt & leggings &/or a skirt.

At the mall, I found a few more basics at Old Navy (one can never have enough black tees & camis), plus a couple scarves that could work for casual or work. New York & Co. had a few more solid-colored knit tops & these have froofy embellishments (buy one, get the other 50% off), so that's something less-than-boring.

But Express was where I got the gem -- this black & white stripey tee, which seems so simple, but is really an ideal CasualGoth look. On petite moi, it's rather long, almost a tunic, which instead of being a design flaw, makes it more flexible. I immediately wore it layered over a cami & with jeans, but I could see wearing it with leggings & belt & a maybe even a cardigan too.

And then I went kinda nuts on accessories. Perhaps it's because I've been catching up on the first few episodes of the latest "Ru-Paul's Drag Race" -- I bought a bunch of giant cocktail rings & flashy bib necklaces & flower hair pins. Plus a wide black corset belt. My inner diva is happy.

Got any casualwear style tips to share? What do you wear on the weekends?

9 comments:

  1. Yay, good shopping haul!

    My weekend wear, these days, is either a light version of what I'm wearing on weekdays if I'm going out, or PJs if I'm staying in!

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  2. I always have envied the cross dressers their wardrobes and having the nerve to wear them.

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  3. Drag queens have long been a fashion inspiration for me!

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  4. much depends on how well I feel and whether I'm working. Farmers market trip saturday mornings involve dressing for the weather. Either tunic over leggings & longsocks, coat, mittens, etc, or jeans & layered shirts with coat, mittens, etc, til the weather warms up and I might switch to leggings & Duro-type dresses. If it's a working/deadline weekend, the usual tshirt/leggings/bloomers kit. If going out friday or saturday, obviously, dressed to the nines. ;)

    <3

    -d

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  5. Kendra - My weekday & weekend wear is so schizophrenic!

    Judy C - I *big puffy heart* drag queens. I want to be one when I grow up ;-)

    Laurie - Me too!

    Angldst - Ooo, duro dresses! I have one, should get / make more.

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  6. Ok, pick 3 fabrics (cottons work well, here) that complement each other, usually 2 prints and one solid or one that will read as a solid, and email me and I'll tell you yardages you need to buy & send to me so I can make you one. :)

    I have the pattern I used for my "Duros" in your size, so I can hook you up.

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  7. angldst - I'll work on it! maybe novelty prints...

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  8. Oh, Express is awesome for casual stuff! I wish Newport News had actual stores to try stuff on before buying it, tho.

    I have a jeans-tshirt-hoodie uniform on days off. I put a bit of effort into my work wardrobe and I fall into slackerville at the first chance. I have been weeding out the concert man-shirts, at least. Should not wear the same top as hubby.

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  9. LovleAnjel - LOL, yes, I have caught myself wearing the same shirt as hubby!

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