12 October 2009, originally uploaded by academichic.Sources:
- Brown cord jacket – thrifted, remixed
- Plaid scarf – H&M
- Black woven belt – thrifted, remixed
- Black polka-dot dress – Target, remixed
- Blue polka-dot tights – my mom’s in the 80s
- Boots – Dillards, remixed
- Umbrella – Totes, remixed
- Green tote – Kenneth Cole, remixed
Endnotes:
Today’s outfit was born out of necessity. I have about a week’s worth of tops/tees with me and as I haven’t done laundry since arriving in Munich, I have run out of tops to pair with my bottoms. So a dress is had to be. But I am actually pleased with this situation, since I love how having a smaller wardrobe is forcing me to take a more creative approach with my style.
Since the weather has cooled off considerably and I can no longer wear skirts with boots without tights, I had to pull out my newly acquired stash of multi-colored and fun-patterned 80s tights. No, I did not buy these in a mad embrace of the recent return to 80s trends, but have actually found these fun 80s relics while closet diving at my grandparents’s house in Romania.
When I showed these to my mom, she claimed them as her fun multi-colored tights from her youth before we left Romania, and they’ve miraculously survived the past twenty years with neigh a snag on them. I’m excited to play around with them and incorporate them into future outfits this fall. I can only guarantee that I will NOT be wearing them under a belted leotard while striking a pose…
Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go do some laundry! So I leave you with my two favorite shots from my walk in the rain today, under my umbrella -ella- ella, eh eh eh…
What a score! A bagful of bright tights to play with? Could there BE anything better?
I can’t believe you found a bag of 80s tights to play with! Needless to say I am VERY jealous, and will likely be scouring my mom’s house this Christmas for similar treasures.
Looking forward to seeing you wearing all the colorful tights (the old Romanian packages surely brought back memories). The Residenz area is always charming…
How fun! Love those tights!
I’m starting to believe it pays to keep old clothing, even though I know everyone is always saying purge, purge. Maybe we should just be purging the worn out stuff- keeping what could be used in the next trend cycle?
The picture of Munich is so beautiful- thanks for posting those. We get to travel vicariously.
I would LOVE to see you striking that pose, haha! I’m always amazed/impressed by people who keep their clothes for that long. I’m a ferocious purger and get rid of things quite ruthlessly.
I totally have that umbrella!
I love how you belted the blazer. And that umbrella is so cute!
That last photograph is breathtaking. What a beautiful place to live, even in the rain.
Have fun playing with your “new” tights!
Quick question…if you wore this to teach, how much would you remove when you started the class? Is the jacket really a jacket or is it part of the ensemble? I like the outfit and could construct a similar ensemble for myself, but I am trying to imagine teaching in it and I think (for me) it maybe too confining. Thanks for your help!
Thanks for the comment Carla – I wore this while running errands around town, so this was the whole ensemble.
Were I to teach, I would also feel like removing some layers, and I’d make sure that I was wearing something underneath with which that would work. The dress itself is short-sleeved and I think I would even just unbutton the blazer and wear it open cardi-style over the dress.
You could also have a cardi on underneath over the dress and wear that without the belted jacket while teaching.
Hope that helps! S.
Oh man, be careful with those tights, seriously – I went closet-diving in my mom’s room looking for thigh-high stockings, and I also found a couple sweet pairs of 80s-tastic tights. Unfortunately when I put them on, I discovered the elastic seam stuff around the waist had disintegrated or something, and it actually burned my skin!! So, uh, be careful with that.