SIA: Fish out of water

Woo-hoo, it’s SIA time again! This week’s inspiration is a stunning watercolor illustration by 3-time Caldecott Award winner David Wiesner.

Inspiration:

Flotsam illustration – David Wiesner – Watercolor on paper, 2007

Interpretation:

And I was inspired right away! Usually, I have to sit with the inspiration art for awhile — as I like to do when visiting museums, as well, just sit with the paintings and soak up the vibes — but this one spoke to me immediately. I think the Wiesner’s stunning colors helped speed up the inspiration.

My coral salmon-colored pleated skirt was a no-brainer, and I paired it with a new striped top I scored at Old Navy with a gift-card last week. (And the top was on clearance, woo-hoo!)

Details:  Pleated skirt:  Florence Adams c/o giveaway  /  Striped tank:  Old Navy, gift-carded last week  /  Denim jacket:  Kohl’s, old  /  Flats:  Payless, new and on sale  /  Trench:  Marks & Spencer, Abu Dhabi, 2008  /  Pearl cluster earrings:  Old Navy, gift-carded in winter

I also added in extra details to play off the inspiration fish in the illustration. I went to my go-to rope braid hairstyle as it reminded me of gills, and my pearl cluster earrings represent fish eggs for this inspiration look. Tee hee!

And could I resist twirling in my pleated skirt? OF COURSE NOT!

Link ups:  SIA  /   YOLO Mondays  /  Monday Mingle  /  My Style Monday  /  Sunday Style

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• Navy + coral pleats (librarianforlifestyle.wordpress.com)

I’ll take that as a compliment

I had a different plan for what to wear today, but had to change course due to… laundry needs. (Sigh.) Vicious cycle.

So I kept things simple again. And the result? A compliment about my cardigan (!) in an early morning class, and a student coming up to me at the Reference Desk in the afternoon to tell me that I looked more like a student today. By his tone, the student’s remark came across more like he was unsettled that I didn’t look like the “typical librarian” image in his mind. But I grinned widely and replied, “Thank you! I’ll take that as a compliment.” I don’t think he knew how to react to that.

I felt a little ’50s retro in this outfit, due to the ankle pants and flats. Perhaps the gingham headband — subtle pattern-mixing alert! — gave off that student-y vibe?

Details:  Graphic top:  Macy’s, gift-carded this winter  /  Blue cardigan:  August Silk via Macy’s, winter  /  Tank ankle pants:  Macy’s, gift-carded this winter  /  Gingham headband:  Free gift from ModCloth purchase, last summer

The headband is a wire-tipped version, so the ends are bendable into different shapes. I chose to wrap the ends of the bow underneath for a more streamlined, knotted effect.

Link ups:  Look What I Got Thursdays  /  Friday’s Five  /  Casual Fridays  /  Fashion Informant Linkup

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• What I Wore: Polka-Dots Again (smileandwave.typepad.com)
• Throw Back Pieces: Knotted Headband (ohmymadeline11.wordpress.com)

United in stripes

For the past couple of months, my faculty union has sent out weekly style challenges for us to show our support. Work and blogging worlds collide! This week’s challenge was to wear stripes. Done. And it was the first time I’ve worn my new black-and-white striped dress to work.

Sam and I took a little stroll down our street after work and made the acquaintance of a friendly cat. Turns out his name is Maxamillion. That’s so money.

Details:  Striped dress:  Old Navy, gift-carded in March  /  Blue camp shirt:  Old Navy, gift-carded last summer  /  Flats:  Payless, last summer  /  Silver collar necklace:  Kohl’s, gift-carded last spring

I cracked up at this photo above and how similar our stances are. Two typical Leos!

Link ups:  Look What I Got

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• Stripes for spring: women’s fashion trend (fashionising.com)
• Stripes at Style Summit (soanthro.com)

May Day simple

Oh my goodness, it’s May! And to commemorate the saying about May flowers, I posed in front of some. Because I totallllllly had that in mind when I chose this flowering bush as the backdrop. Yep, that’s me, an accidental genius.

Details:  Patterned top:  gift-carded at Macy’s in March  /  Cardigan:  August Silk via Macy’s, winter  /  Skinny jeans:  Target, last winter  /  Flats:  Payless, last summer

It’s funny how the simplest of outfits can make an impression. I put this outfit together very quickly because I had an early morning dental appointment and had to get out the door to catch my bus. And my husband, bleary-eyed as he was this morning, went “Oooh, pretty!” when he saw me (awwwww ♥ ), and I got a  compliment from a co-workers on how slimming this ensemble was. Noted.

And here’s my post and outfit from last May Day, which is still one of my personal faves.

Link ups:  What I Wore Wednesday  /  Random Wednesdays  /  Wardrobe Wednesday  /  Whatever Works Wednesday  /  Dress for the Day You Want  /  Trending Pretty Wednesday  /   Look What I Got Thursdays

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Blue stripes + florals

Today reached into the 70s, so I again inflicted my pale legs on the general populace.

And today marks the debut — on the blog, at least — of three recent (gift-carded) purchases. The blue, sleeveless dress and striped, cropped cardigan were featured in last month’s budget round-up, and the floral cotton scarf — my first! — is another clearance find I scooped up at JCPenney last weekend (where I also picked up this mod top). I like the scarf’s moody color scheme — feels very Pacific NW to me — plus one side has a subtle sparkly glow, which you can just see in the upper right corner in the pic above.

Details:  Blue dress:  Old Navy, gift-carded in March  /  Striped cardigan:  Old Navy, gift-carded in March  /  Floral scarf:  JCPenney, gift-carded this month  /  Flats:  DKNY via Macy’s, Fall 2011  /  Pearl studs:  Old Navy, gift-carded last winter

This last photo cracked me up! So dainty!

Link ups:  Look What I Got  /  What I Wore to Work  /  Vodka Infused Lemonade

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• Fun scarf and an orange cardigan (suzegeeksout.com)
• Dressing For The Awkward Season (punkrock-chic.com)