Feeling a Little Retro

It's the sweater. Or maybe the shoes.

What I'm wearing:
Light purple wrap sweater, gift from Lisa | Black T-shirt, Old Navy | Black A-line skirt, thrifted | Black micro-fishnets, Target | Black ribbon-tie pumps, Clarks | Purple glass tiered necklace, NY & Company | Silver cameo earrings, vintage | Purple & black flower pins in hair, random accessory store

Unfortunately, this skirt is headed to the donations pile. The waist keeps riding up, making it even shorter throughout the day than necessary. Poor fit means goodbye!

Not like I don't have a zillion other black skirts (but probably not this exact cut).

Monday Repeat & Weekend Recap

I wore a repeat outfit today (this dress, which I adore & have worn often to work -- but this is pretty much the only way to style it in summer, just mix up the jewelry & shoes, maybe no leggings, but it looks so much the same that there's no point in re-blogging it).

However, I did take pix of Saturday's outfit that I wore to a family BBQ. And it's one I love just as much.

What I wore:
Red & black stripey maxi dress, Target | Black crochet duster, Coldwater Creek | Chunky black & silver bead necklace, Target | Gunmetal & rhinestone earrings, NY & Company | Black beaded flip-flop sandals, Mootsies Tootsies

I love that I found another maxi dress that was not overly long on me! Score. I've worn this quite a big on summer weekends, & I'm glad to finally blog it. My husband calls me his cinnamon stick when I wear it. He's sweet :-)

Dark Floral

Mornings continue foggy, burning off by noon to reveal hot afternoons. This makes a cardigan a necessity. That's our California summer.

What I'm wearing:
Black cardigan, Chadwicks | Dark floral knit top, H&M | Black crochet trumpet skirt, Coldwater Creek | Black wedge pumps, Dockers | Black & silver chunky bead necklace, Target | Large silver filigree earrings, Target

I'm experimenting by wearing different types of shoes without hosiery recently. I've mentioned on this blog how I find that a bit squicky. But this summer, I ran out of other sandal options, plus I'm taking the bus to work more often, thus I need to wear walkable shoes. And yet I don't always want to wear socks or tights in summer.

I've been kicking my shoes off under my desk at work, which I'm sure would squick out my coworkers. Luckily, the woman I share a cubicle with is on vacation this week :-)

Oh, Sarah came over last night, and we painted our nails while drinking beer. She has some great nail colors, like this dark purple. I'd love to paint my nail more often, but I'm lazy (as you can probably tell from the poor quality of this manicure!).

Casual Boho Day

I fully admit that my wardrobe is a bit schizophrenic. One day, I go for a dress & heels, the next, I feel like wearing jeans.

Since my workplace is incredibly casual & so many of my meetings are conference calls, there's no particular guidelines or strictures about what I wear. It really is up to my moods or whims. And I'm pretty darn whimsical ;-)

What I'm wearing:
Black crochet duster, Coldwater Creek | Burgundy knit cowl-neck top, Forever 21 | Black jeans, Levis | Black embellished mules, secondhand | Black & gold disk earrings, Forever 21 | Burgundy & black flower pins in hair, random accessory store

Another Foggy Morning

Grabbed a black cardigan after taking these pix. The fog burned off by noon, but was it ever socked in for the a.m. commute.

What I'm wearing:
Grey & black knit dress, Coldwater Creek (why yes, I did recently make a bunch of purchases there (online) & am slowly working them all into my wardrobe!) | Black belt with silver flower, NY & Company | Black T-strap leather pumps, Aldo | Black, silver, & pearl chunky bead necklace, Aldo Accessories | Gunmetal & rhinestone hoop earrings, NY & Company | Square-cut black cocktail ring, NY & Company

I also parted my hair on the opposite side I usually do. No particular reason -- my hair just fell that way when I started doing stuff to it this morning. Must be time to switch.

Incomplete Picture

After I took this picture, I changed my earrings & added a cardigan, so this is not a wholly accurate reflection of what I wore today. Still, I adore this sundress & had to show it because it's a maxi dress that actually *fits* my petite height. Love that.

What I'm wearing:
Black cotton tiered maxi sundress, Coldwater Creek | Black jeweled flip-flops, Mootsies Tootsies | Black dangly shell earrings, Target (swapped for mother-of-pearl heart-shaped dangly earrings that contrasted better against my hair) | Red Venetian glass heart on black glass bead necklace, made by me
Skull bracelet, gift from Mom | Silver & garnet poison ring, eBay | Red flower pin in hair, random accessory store

Leggings Are Not Pants

This outfit dangerously skirts (hah) the above-stated rule. But I was taking the bus to work today, so my footwear options were limited. I didn't want to wear tights, so no skirts or dresses. I just did not feel like jeans. So that kind of left me with leggings & figuring out a suitably tunic-like top that covered my backside. This just barely made it.

What I'm wearing:
Burgundy sweater with satin insets, Anthropologie, gift from Sarah | Black lace-trimmed camisole, unknown brand | Black leggings, Newport News | Black flip-flops, Old Navy | Gold with burgundy enameled shield-shaped necklace, local artist | Black & pink dangly earrings, random accessory store

And I'm wearing flip-flops to work. Not even jeweled sandal flip-flops. Yeah, really skating thin ice here. I'm bored of dressing for summer! I want all my spring/fall clothing options back. More shoes, more tops, more layers.

August is traditionally the hottest month of summer here, & while it's still nothing as terrible as the rest of the U.S. gets, I'm done with it.

*shakes tiny fist in sky*

100th Outfit

I can't believe it, but this is the 100th outfit I've blogged here on This Is CorpGoth!!!

Last night, after posting, I looked at the tally of "what I'm wearing today" tags & saw it was at 91. However, I knew there were a few posts -- such as from traveling -- where I blogged a couple day's worth of outfits all in one post. So I went thru & tallied up the outfits. In addition to travel, there were several days where I posted two outfits, probably just from scheduling problems. Counting it up, that's when I realized I was at 99 outfits. OMG.

Honestly, I wasn't sure if I'd make it very far when I started blogging, & I continue to think "why am I doing this? how am I going to continue?" Life is busy, & I'm not sure what I get out of this other than vanity. But it doesn't hurt anyone & it keeps me off the streets, hee hee.

What I'm wearing:
Black skirt with lace & stripe trim added by me, Gap, thrifted, worn on my first outfit post
Black tanktop with silver trim, Old Navy
Grey & white stripe sweater, Forever 21
Black buckled wedge sandals, Kohl's
Black, pearl, & silver chunky bead necklace, Aldo's Accessories
Pewter square dangle earrings, local artist

Considering that I dress up in something of a vacuum at work (the land of T-shirts & jeans), it's nice to have someone in addition to my husband say "nice outfit!" once in a while. Thank you, each & every one of you, who has read, followed, & commented!

Can't believe I made it this far!

Blowing a virtual kiss to everyone who's left a nice comment!

Delicate

Something about today's dress called for delicate accessories. I chose the kitten heels instead of heavy wedges. I picked the light pendant on a fine silver chain instead of chunky beads. I looked for tiny dangly pearls instead of big flashy earrings. Even my hair went smooth & silky instead of wild & curly.

What I'm wearing:
Pink & grey print dress, made by Donna | Black kitten-heel slingback pumps, Payless Shoe Source | Enameled bat pendant, bought at Costume College | Pearl & garnet earrings, bought at Costume-Con | Silver & purple crystal bracelet, random accessory store | Pink & grey flower hair pins, random accessory store

Hippy Dippy Gothic Trippy

Here's a rare weekend outfit worthy blogging. Really, it's all about the parasol -- the rest of the outfit is just my HippieGoth tendencies showing through. Altho' it's also a step up from my old weekend gear of T-shirts and jeans or shorts. I wore this ensemble for running errands whilst taking the bus (being that I don't drive a car), so this parasol was required on such a sunny, but not horrifically hot, day. I bought this beauty at the recent San Jose Renaissance Faire.

What I'm wearing:
Purple print top, Crazy Shirts in Kauaii
Black tiered skirt, gift from Lisa
Black jeweled flip-flops, Mootsies Tootsies
Black beaded necklace with purple shell flower, bought in Waikiki
Black shell earrings, Kohl's
Black skull & crossbones bracelet, gift from my mom
Purple flower hair pins, random accessory store

Cherry With a Touch of Poison

There's no theme to this outfit. I just wanted to wear a little bit of bright color, plus my new poison ring.

What I'm wearing:
White & black pinstriped twill jacket, Macy's | Black zip-front ruffled sleeveless top, Michael by Michael Kors | Cherry red pleated cotton skirt, Newport News | Black abstract lace stockings, unknown brand | Black T-strap pumps, Aldo | Round silver earrings, random accessory store | Silver & garnet poison ring, eBay

Alas, I ripped these stockings today! And they're a fave, so I'll have to hunt for a replacement. I've been contemplating a sort of clothing diet, for both financial & moral reasons. I have a huge, overly stuffed wardrobe, so I could stand to stop buying new things for a while. Maybe make an exception to replace specific small things that become destroyed & unwearable? Just as long as I don't use that as an excuse to go shopping...

Grey for Summer

I don't usually think of "grey" as a summer color, but then, black isn't supposed to be a summer color, & I wear that all year round. So who cares? This dress is lightweight & very comfy, so it fits the bill for today's weather.

What I'm wearing:
Grey knit dress with black trim, bought in London | Black tights, Calvin Klein | Black pointy buckled boots, Aldo | Large silver dangly earrings, random accessory store | Silver filigree cocktail ring, gift from Kendra | Purple flower hair pin, random accessory store

We now interrupt this fashion blog...

With depressing news for anyone who likes fashion & enjoys shopping. You probably already knew that most of the clothes we buy in the major retail outlets of America, Canada, the U.K., & Europe are manufactured in questionable labor conditions in Asia, South America, & other countries typically called the third world. It sucks, & there are precious few brands / labels / retailers who can honestly claim that 100% of their goods are made by people who are paid a living wage & work in clean, safe, reputable conditions for reasonable working shifts with regular breaks & access to toilets & food, entirely free from coercion or worse.

Well. I just read this story & the accompanying video about Walmart, Target, Hanes, Macy’s, Kohl's, Land's End, & others being linked to a Jordanian "rape factory." Young women went to work at this factory to makes clothing for all of these retailers, & once there, they were beaten & sexually assaulted to make them work faster.

This is, of course, not the first time such a thing has happened, & I'm sure it won't be the last. That's the truly depressing part.

Stripes for Going Back to the Office

It's never any fun going back to work after vacation. Never ever. So I tried to make the day a little more bearable by wearing pretty clothes.

What I'm wearing:
Black & white striped silk blouse, made by Donna, fabric from Sarah | Black crochet trumpet skirt, Coldwater Creek | Black elastic belt, NY & Co. | Black & white ankle-strap, peep-toe pumps, American Eagle | Black & silver chunky beaded necklace, Target | Purple heart-shaped dangly earrings painted with bats, made by a local artist | Purple & grey flower hair pins, random accessory store

What do you wear to perk yourself up at work?

Look, it's a hat!

But I can't take full credit for this one -- this topper was a gift from my friend Ghislaine, who knew I love skulls & such things. Yep, that's a real vole skull on the topper. I was a little tempted to take it off & put it on a smaller hat so it looks bigger & more menacing. But not a really teeny hat. As some of my friends know, I have a rule: Your hat must be bigger than my fist or I will punch you.

Instead, I added a bunch of feathers to go with the skull. What do you think? Should it stay on this hat as-is or move?

What I'm wearing:
Black top hat with vole skull & checkered ribbon, all feathers added by me
Black tone-on-tone stripe coatdress, Kambriel
Black T-shirt, Old Navy
Black & white stripe walking skirt, River City Trading Company
Black & pink stripe tights, We Love Colors
Black ribbon-tie pumps, Clarks
Black & pink Victorianesque earrings, random accessory store
Pink crystal brooch, vintage, from my grandmother

Unfortunately, none of the full-length photos of the outfit turned out, so you only get hat shots. Ah well, that's the important bit, because this was a hat-themed post as part of Sophisticate Noir's August theme of Hats/Fascinators.

I wore this outfit on Friday at Costume College, which wasn't in August, but I knew I'd be on the road (literally -- driving from L.A. to San Jose) on August 1. So I prepped the post & auto-scheduled it to run. That's how much I liked this theme! Thanks, VictorianKitty!