Fashion for Grown-ups

On Monday, I had an interview for a grown-up job, so I wore grown-up clothes -- the kind you buy full price, in season, from fancy places like Anthropologie.
My mom took my pictures once I was home from the interview, which means it was yet again too dark for outside pictures. Instead of standing by the cedar chest (I have another of those to post, but want to wait until I've had some more alternative location posts to bore you again with the white walls), Mom suggested we take the pictures in the kitchen. Hilarious! she says, since everyone knows you'd never be in here to cook.
My faces in both of these pictures are pretty indicative of what someone feels like after a four-hour interview and two-hour commute home. Try to focus instead on the pretty sash and helpful pockets.
Because I was interviewing, I tried to keep the dress pretty simple. Only pearl earrings and a watch for jewelry, nude fishnets, and brown flats. The possibilities to rewear this are endless though: a vintage brown leather belt, some colored tights, possibly a great pair of boots, definitely some jewelry, my locket for sure... the list is endless. Look for this one again.
The pattern of the dress and my immediate mental image of Peggy Olsen wearing it, drinking her Scotch neat, and continuing to be brilliant and sassy convinced me that, even before I tried it on, this dress had to be mine. I certainly can't afford to buy a lot from Anthropogie, but I think I made this purchase really count.
Dress: Anthropologie

Tights: Hue, Macy's

Shoes: Charlotte Russe

I'm so excited to wear this again, I'm sure it'll be a teacher staple! xoxo Anna Rae

Afternoon Tea at the DAR

It's all about the blazer and pearls today, kids.

Today, I worked my outfit out around my new skirt, another great Saturday shopping success! Although the skirt is actually a bit masculine with the big buttons and nautical feel, I thought I could really dress it up in a way that it would fit in perfectly with an afternoon of errands in high society. Also, since it wasn't raining, I really wanted to wear my tweed flats. The outfit turned out well, I think, because I'm wearing so many of my most beloved pieces. There's nothing better than wearing clothes you absolutely love.

Andrew, lovely friend and today's photographer, made a special appearance in this picture via his shadow, and I think it gives this one a little bit of a creepy feel to it. Excellent.

Again, the idea was to make the outfit a little weird (read: me), so I paired the society-accepted blazer - Blazer, how I love you and your Coco Chanel-ness - flats, and skirt with my pink tights and instead of a shirt with pears, my shirt that already has pearls screen printed on it.

I think these earrings are a perfect match for the tshirt. Because AlyWebb found them at a garage sale and because they have a hilarious gold-plated pink flower on each, they have just the same amount of silliness as pearls screen printed onto a tshirt.
I absolutely adore this skirt -- thus the great skirt challenge of 2010.

What is the great skirt challenge of 2010, you ask? Well, when trying to find a teaching-appropriate and team-spirited outfit to wear tomorrow for both TAing and watching Pitt play in their first game of the Big Dance, I couldn't find anything better than an outfit featuring this skirt. So I thought (Sorry, Mom), why not wear this skirt again tomorrow? No one in my seminar today is in my discussion group tomorrow. Go for it, Anna. Hopefully, they'll be styled so differently that they'll look like different skirts altogether. That's the challenge -- that people like both outfits so much that it overwhelms their initial resistance to repeat skirt wearing offenses. So let me know what you think.

Blazer: Gifted by Karen and Mark, but from AE

Shirt: Jacob

Skirt: AE

Tights: We Love Colors

Shoes: AE

Jewelry: Gifted by AlyWebb

Wow, I didn't really realize how American Eaglized this outfit was until just now. Oh, hey, 8th-grade fashion sense, it's good to see you again old friend.

xoxo Anna Rae

And it's back to the basement

Although another rainy day prohibited any outside pictures, I did try very hard to take pictures in the Reading Room, instead of my poorly-lit apartment. But, in typical and classy me fashion, one of the buttons on my dress was undone. So it's back to the basement. You might think I'm wearing sunglasses because I half-washed the make-up off of my face and the remaining mascara and eye-liner have created a rough-and-tumble black-eye look that doesn't really match my outfit, as I am dressed like someone who would say rough-and-tumble, someone who would certainly never get a black eye (unless, of course, she got said black eye from running into someone's elbow in gym class or from opening a door into her face...). Well, you may only be half right. I may be actually be wearing these sunglasses because I've been weeping tears of joy for the 3rd grader inside of me whose mom never let her have Doc Martens and a babydoll dress when they were in style the first time around. That's right, I'm wearing my Docs with a babydoll dress! And, oh hey, messy unmade bed and coat tossed carelessly onto the chair. Good to see you again. This dress is new, another purchase from the States shopping extravaganza. The cardigan, also new, was bought to wear with my (also new) Easter dress, but I thought it went well with the sweet, feminine, and youthful feel of the dress. I knew that if I wanted to wear my Docs (which I always do), I needed to funk up the outfit a little, so I opted for the green tights, which I should have saved for tomorrow apparently, because it's St. Patrick's Day and who doesn't love a dress-up theme?
Aren't they beautiful? My mom bought them for me when she and Dad visited this summer, and they are the best footwear for the rain imaginable. To be fair to Mark and Karen, Doc Martens are a big investment for an 8-year-old whose feet are still growing, especially if she attends Catholic grade school where uniforms and not Doc Martens are part of the strict dress code. Also, I know I appreciate them so much more now than I would have then, as I would have worn them over those awful stirrup pants that Karen had no qualms about buying me.
Because the dress and cardigan were so feminine in an almost dated way, I back-combed my hair and wore my clip-on earrings to add to the slightly retro feel.

And, you know, you're right. Those sunglasses look so ridiculous. xoxo Anna Rae

Dress: Charlotte Russe (another middle school favorite!)

Cardigan: Old Navy

Tights: We Love Colors

Shoes: Gifted Doc Martens

Earrings: Costume Jewelry I found in my childhood jewelry box

Sunglasses: 3 Vets Ltd, Army Surplus Store

Just Like Libby

Hello, readers! Today, The Tights that Bind is celebrating the one-week anniversary of daily wear posts. Yes, this blog will treat anniversaries like any respectable 7th-grade couple would. And when you break up with us at the Valentine's Day dance because that girl who was only a friend because you're so hip to have best friends of the opposite sex wants to date you, we will spend the rest of the evening crying in the bathroom. But, until then, happy one week!As promised, I am wearing a new acquisition - the beautiful purple skirt you see pictured. Now, my natural instincts are to match the skirt with color intensity - yellow tights or cardigan, colored jewelry... you know the drill. But, since it is only March 15 and my skirt is the color of an Easter egg, I thought I'd winter it up with the black and white cardigan and my all time favorite sweater tights.
The hair bow is from Hot Topic. Yeah, that's right. I entered Hot Topic as a 24-year-old. I know, I know -- I betrayed the trust of 19-year-old Anna Rae who was so cool with her Bright Eyes vinyl, Freaks and Geeks DVDs, and Frank O'Hara poetry (yes, I like all of those, and yes, I think it's a little weird myself), the 19-year-old Anna Rae who moved to the bottom of the pile any evidence that she ever shopped at Hot Topic -- well, except, of course, that Smiths t-shirt (which may work with this skirt someday). I'm sorry 19-year-old me, but this $10 headband was so worth it. There is a shiny, puffy bow AND a lace bow.

I love the textures of the skirt and the tights against each other. The polka dots on the skirt are so delicate especially in comparison to the oh so wintry sweater tights and the bolder stripes on the cardigan.

Erin took these pictures in one of UBC's small patches of Spring. We both get dorky-excited when it comes to bright colors, so the idea of yellow daffodils as a background for a purple skirt seemed completely ideal. I love dressing like it's Spring!

Sweater: Jacob (Olympic sale -- which I keep saying and am not sure if the sales were actually tied to the Olympics or just for the change in seasons. We'll never know. Unless you already do.)

Skirt: Target

Tights: Kohl's

Boots: Kohl's

Headband: Hot Topic (I know, it makes me smile every time too)

Necklace: Gifted, and all the way from New Zealand

Remember readers, it's Monday -- go watch Gossip Girl and some ABC Family original TV programming, if you haven't done so already.

xoxo Anna Rae

Hello again Canada, meet my new wardrobe.

Yesterday, as I mentioned, I went on a shopping adventure in the States. Erin, my friend and fashion hero, drove me and her boyfriend (who, by the way, does not think you need to leave the country to shop. He saw a movie) across the border on a mission to buy Liberty of London at Target. Yes, the line was to launch today, but we called the store and the lady said it was already out. Well, guess what -- this is where the story gets sad -- they had everything out but the clothing. I will leave you some time to be appropriately devastated.

Do not worry, though. Erin and I recovered by buying other things, and for me, that meant a lot of other things. I bought more than one piece of clothing at a store! I bought a few things full price (yes, that full price did not exceed thirty dollars, but still)! Nothing I bought was used or damaged or donated! As you will notice on this blog, this is not how I often shop. And, of course, we ordered from Liberty of London at midnight when the clothes become available and shipped them to my house in the States (what a misleading and extravagant way to say my parents' house). How can one not be excited for Easter when they know this dress is going to show up in their Easter basket?

Because it happens so rarely, when I find myself buying more than three things at a time, I feel like I have an entirely new wardrobe. So, I'm a little disappointed to say, that the pictures I have to post are from my old wardrobe. It's so wintry and not new. But, I do like this outfit I wore to teach on Friday and you certainly wouldn't be impressed with my current state - self-tie-dyed "Guster is for Lovers" tshirt and sweatpants. Expect new clothes (but aren't they all new to you?) in the future. Until then...

I took this outfit when I came home from school, desperately needing to sleep and wearing no make-up, so I, like Libby, Maria Antoinette-ed my head. This outfit was formed around my love of a cuffed, Khaki trouser and the attempt to make my Wide-leg trousers resemble that.
When your pants kind of resemble golf pants, how can you not wear argyle and loafers? These socks, an important piece of the outfit, are actually Erin's, a great Sleepover success where she decided that my plain grey socks just wouldn't do.
This necklace, which you should love, is from one of my favorite Etsy seller's -- Jspoincas. Her entire store is so amazing. I wasn't sure if I wanted to wear all neutrals with the pants or add some color, but clearly I chose color with this cardigan, and added the blazer to help make me look extra Teacher-professional because the prof came in to observe our class.

I also wore this headband to distract from the fact that I hadn't spent much time or effort on my hair. It's amazing and I wear it about once a week so look forward to seeing it again. Instead of this headband, I briefly wore Will Best's Newsboy Cap (he wears it to look like JT), and it really completed the golf look. But, tragically, he wouldn't let me wear it home for photo documentation.

Pants: Ann Taylor's The Loft

Sweater: Mango

Blazer: Target

Necklace, Etsy, Japonicas shop, Present from Mom and Dad

Shoes: Value Village

Socks: Borrowed from Erin