November and December were a little more hectic than planned. Personal life and work just got in the way, and while both months were pretty great, I just didn’t have the time to get done what I wanted to get done… mostly involving posting, taking outfit pics, and other random stuff. But regardless, I’ve done a combined post for November and December and managed to scrounge up 13 looks for you. Not nearly as many as I’d have liked, but between all that went on and some cold weather, that’s all I got. So here they are, going way back to November first…
November 1: Lots Going On
At the beginning of November I was getting my love of fall on. I love being able to wear tights and socks with boots, and skirts, and (faux) leather jackets over t-shirts, and scarves… I just love it all! And this outfit was kind of a culmination of all of that, with my own quirky twist on it. Instead of a plain pencil skirt for work, I wore my striped one, which I paired with a NASA tee, lace tights, grey socks, and tan boots. I topped it all off with a black faux leather jacket, a tan scarf, and a chunky clear statement necklace.
I liked this outfit a ton on, but looking at pics, I feel like it would have been better with no socks and black boots instead. I feel like it would have looked a little more streamlined. Because there’s so much going on, while I feel it worked together, it would have dressed the outfit up a little more and made it nicer for work.
November 5: Shades of Green
I don’t wear collared shirts all that often. I have a few, but they generally aren’t my style. BUt this sweater, which I got for a steal from the clearance section at GAP, and its open-knit sleeves were begging for something underneath it. I figured I’d give a collared shirt a go, and actually really liked the way it looked. It’s very hard to tell, but the shirt has a subtle stripe pattern that has pale green, purple, yellow, blue and pink in it. It’s really subtle though. I wanted to go with something other than plain jeans for the day, so I pulled out my camouflage skinnies, half-tucked the sweater, and wore my new duck-style boots from Target (which have proved to be great this winter). For some of my rockstar style, I added 3 necklaces… my chevron from 9thandElm.com, my SydRocks necklace, and my long claw.
I really liked this look. And I still do. The greens work together in some weird way, and I liked the juxtaposition of the preppy sweater-collared shirt, the camo, and the trio of necklaces. And the boots? I’ve worn them enough that I probably could have sprung for a fully-lined pair of L.L. Bean boots and would have felt justified in spending the money. But these were a pretty good deal at Target, so I feel even better about the purchase.
November 7: Summer Dress for Fall
I got this dress on clearance at Target and couldn’t wait for summer to wear it. So even though it’s a sheer summer dress with a thin lining layer underneath (for modesty and all), I layered it up for fall by adding opaque black tights, a black cardigan, and a scarf. Oh, and mid-calf boots, of course (I wore these a lot in fall… rather obsessed with them to be honest). The scarf is multicolored, but had a green in it that complemented the green of the dress nicely, while also tying into my tan boots with a shade of deep gold, so it worked. The scarf even tied the red band of my Rakani watch into the whole look.
I liked this outfit a lot, and am glad I got this dress. I haven’t bothered wearing it again, since the weather hasn’t really been suited for it at all, but it’ll be great for spring and summer. I have plans for it for both seasons. Oh yes… lots of plans!
November 9: “Oh look at you!”
I wore this fabulous, comfy outfit on a Saturday up in Michigan, and when I walked out of the house, my parents and their friends couldn’t believe how “dressed up” I was. My dad liked my outfit so much he had one of the others there take a pic of the two of us, haha! It was cute. But at the same time, I was all “I’m not dressed up… these are comfy, running around clothes!” I wore my black boots, scrunched down socks over skinny jeans, a chevron print tank (with a black tank under because it’s a little big on me), an olive tunic, a purple puffy vest, and my butterfly scarf. I added my ShopBevel necklace, my SydRocks necklace, and my claw, along with my Rakani watch and a vintage turquoise ring. Cute, but comfortable and perfect for wandering the outlet mall nearby.
I loved this look. Totally dig the layers, the textures, the comfort, and the ease of it… and yet how cute it was at the same time. I felt put together but not over the top (even with the P’s and their friends making a big deal about it). In fact, that “look at you” response the look got means I totally nailed it.
November 14: Layers
The weekend of the 9th we went to the Lighthouse Place outlet mall in Michigan City, Indiana, and I got some great new stuff. Add that to my Savers haul, and I got some great stuff in November. I wore four of my purchases together for the first time and loved the look. I started with the plaid shirt I got from the men’s section at Savers, and topped it with the super-soft, button neck sweatshirt from Banana and my GAP puffy vest (also from Savers). I wore leather-texture leggings and brown boots, and finished the look off with the necklace I got at Banana Republic, which I tucked under my collars.
I really liked this look. In fact, later on in the post you’ll see I wore something very similar. The tan top, while it was dubbed a “grandma color” by my mom, worked nicely on me (though in her defense, it is a color my grandma would have worn haha). But I liked the neutrality of it and knew it’d go well with a bunch of stuff I owned.
November 15: Fall Fun
In the middle of the month I busted out my favorite plaid shirt and wore it with black leggings and my black vest. I added touches of red with a red shirt under the plaid and a pair of red OTK socks, which I scrunched down under my tan boots. I added my long claw, my SydRocks necklace, and my Labradorite Maya pendant from Stella & Dot (which you can get in turquoise and gold here). I added my turquoise ring, my Michael Kors watch, and braided my hair because I was sick of putting it up and didn’t want to dry it all the way. And then I went and played in the leaves…
No real surprise that I loved this look. It was perfect for fall, perfect for me, and just all around a great look. I liked the layers and textures, of course, but also the comfort of this one. Maybe a little casual for a work day, but largely it doesn’t matter in the office, so whatevs.
November 26: Pink Hair, Don’t Care
Early fall, I went yellow ombre with my hair, and when it faded, I decided it was time for a more dramatic color. So off to Bii I went, armed with this picture, and I left a very happy camper (of course, because Bii rocks). I don’t remember what I wore to work my first Monday back, but on Tuesday the 26th, I decided to wear whatever the heck I wanted, and that started with my ASOS skull dress and teal fleece-lined leggings. I added my faux fur collar sweater vest, brown boots, and my Banana Republic necklace, rocked my glasses, and called it a day.
Man, I loved this look! I felt so totally me in it I can’t even explain it. This dress was a good buy for sure. I actually found it because I was joking about wearing skulls to a former coworker’s wedding, because I knew other former coworkers there would appreciate it. When I found this, I couldn’t pass it up. Skulls and galaxy?! Yes please! I didn’t wear it to the wedding, and I justified the purchase because I didn’t own a single long-sleeved dress, but it’s already gotten quite a lot of wear… and tons of complements. Gotta love a good buy that you get a lot of wear (and complements) out of!
November 28: Thanksgiving with Trixie
On Thanksgiving, I wanted to be comfortable but look nice all at the same time. I settled on navy fleece-lined leggings with a sparkly sweater tunic from H&M, which I topped with my thrifted J. Crew oversized plaid. Over the leggings I wore black scrunched socks and my tan boots, and to add a little extra something to the look I piled on necklaces and wore my Michael Kors watch. In the late morning hubs and I took Trixie for a quick walk to the beach… she was in a sweater because she lost a ton of fur due to all of her health issues and the meds she was on (it’s growing back now, yay!). She sat posed perfectly for almost every shot!
This was the perfect outfit for helping with cooking, setup, and (of course) eating, and it shouldn’t surprise you that I loved it. It’s very similar to a look I wore in September and said I could live in. This is, essentially, the dressed up version of it. Win!
Quick shoutout…
My brother got engaged on November 29! He proposed right where I was standing in the pics above. How sweet is that?! I’m super-excited for him and his amazing fiance!
November 30: Tree Hunting
My husband’s family goes almost every year to cut down their own Christmas tree. I love it, especially when the weather is so nice you can get away with wearing leggings, a sweatshirt, a puffy vest, and not much else. Often times it’s cold and snowy, so this relatively warm day was great! I wore the same leggings tree hunting that I wore on Thanksgiving, and added a black skirt, a long sleeved black top (which you can’t see), and my tan Banana Republic sweatshirt. I wore my new Columbia hiking boots with scrunched socks and a ruffly scarf. I added my goofy furry hat because it was cold enough to, and that was it.
There are apparently cacti in Indiana. Who knew? I liked this outfit, but it was more utilitarian than stylish (though I still felt cute). It served its purpose, and I’d go back to it for a similar need… but I don’t think that I’d wear it again outside of doing some adventuring.
December 13: Return of the Layers
And here’s the outfit I talked about above… the one that was really similar. But this time, instead of leggings, I wore my aztec print Rock & Republic jeans from Kohl’s. I added navy plaid socks which tied into the navy in the plaid shirt and the green in the necklace, and my winter boots. Made the look actually pretty different, especially because I also tucked the plaid into my jeans under the sweatshirt.
Obviously, I liked this look. I particularly liked the pattern mixing going on in this variation of it. It was a good look for the unofficial transition into winter, because I’m pretty sure this was our first snow. It may not have been, and as I write this we’ve got about 7″ on the ground and it’s bitter cold, but regardless, this is a good example of “cute winter wear”. More recently, and through a lot of December, I didn’t bother so much with “cute” as I did with “warm”.
December 14: More Snow
Aside from running errands and figuring out the menu for Christmas Eve dinner (because hubs and I were asked to host 2 weeks before, and accepted), all I remember doing this day was shoveling the driveway. I couldn’t get our snowblower to start and hubs was out, and it had to get done, so I did it all on my own with the shovel. I liked this layered look though, of fleece-lined teal leggings, my unicorn tee, a denim shirt, my American Apparel hoodie, my puffy vest, and my colorful scarf. Thankfully, it wasn’t a cold snow (like we’ve got right now) and being outside was actually rather tolerable. I wore my winter boots and a black cap with my hair in braids, because I felt like being extra lazy.
This was a great outfit for both running errands and doing some pretty hefty physical labor. I did end up changing shirts after shoveling, because I worked up quite a sweat, but the general look was mostly the same. A good weekend winter look, for sure.
December 17: Impracticality at its Best
December 17 was the day of my company party, during which we were going to be skeet shooting. Outside. And yet genius here decided to wear sequin shorts, tights, a Hogwarts tee, a boy’s blazer, and 4″ heeled teal booties. Oh, and it snowed (again). To complete the totally impractical, but wonderful look, I added pink nail polish, my Rachel necklace, my Stella & Dot necklace, and a vintage piece I’ve had forever.
I got a lot of complements on this getup from coworkers, which was great. And it actually wasn’t all that cold outside since it wasn’t super windy. So it worked out ok and I was able to do some shooting. I even made a Christmas ornament from some shotgun shells later on! I didn’t really plan on shooting, to be honest, but decided I’d give it a try and check it off the bucket list. So glad I did! Next time we go (because we all agreed there has to be a next time), I’m wearing more suitable clothing so I can (hopefully) get more than 4 clay pigeons.
December 19: Whiskey & Sparkles
The last outfit I shot in December was one I wore to work, on a day I needed to be dressed a little nicer, but didn’t want to be boring. I wore sparkly leggings (which are my sequin leggings stand-ins until I find a pair I’m comfortable buying, or get over the idea of having sequin leggings altogether, whichever comes first). I topped them with a whiskey and rye shirt that’s a pretty obvious knock-off of a Jack Daniel’s top, but I’m ok with that. The top is slightly longer in back, which worked out nice for me because it covered my tush in my leggings. Then I added my newer thrifted blazer, which added some nice texture, and 3 necklaces and 2 rings you’ve seen before. And last but not least, I wore my teal booties, because they pulled the color in from the jacket.
It all worked together really nicely, though I did find myself wanting a longer shirt in front with the leggings. It was a fun look that was a nod to my creative position at work, but still looked decent. I was pretty comfortable in it too, which was nice.
So that’s it for November and December’s Random Outfits.
Sorry there weren’t really all that many, but life just got in the way. I wore really cute outfits on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but didn’t shoot them because I didn’t have time on Christmas Eve, and was just too tired on Christmas Day. Both looks were ones I can seem myself wearing again. Anything you particularly loved from the last part of 2013? Share in the comments… you know I love to hear from you!
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