changing up yr style and/or new look 4 u in 2012

the dress i have in mind is less this (look how childish it is! the waist is too high and it fits like a toddler's dress, do not appreciate that)
http://www.ofdresses.com/img/Pinafore-Dresses.jpg

more structured like this, but possibly with slightly shorter skirt (hers was mid calf? that's a bit dowdy even for me. i prefer just below knee.)
http://s117942963.websitehome.co.uk/mostmusic/PCSOM.JPG

Goals for 2012~!!

^ Keep the short hair.
^ Maybe have shorter hair!
^ Sew!!!! In spring, probably, because spring clothes are easier.
^ Collect shorter straight skirts instead of below-the-knee pencil ones, because squared-off look is more in keeping w the rest of my look than the whole '50s bombshell shape.
^ Wear shoes that I don't have to fight to keep on my feet: things that lace up or have straps. This is a tragedy because I ADORE tiny little skimmers/flats that are mostly open, but they pop off when I walk and my feet can't handle the extra strain.
^ Buy at least a few expensive bras

Ha, see if I call it a goal, I almost certainly won't do it. I have to conceive of it as something I'm "trying to do" as opposed to something I will "achieve". Because I am an almost certainly an underachiever by nature, habit, and proven track record.

Ahem.

Folkwear dirndl pattern here.

I want to make sure I am dressed somewhat age-appropriately in 2012, by my own standards at least. Maybe I should get rid of that stupid baby dress I wear on days off, stuff like that. Crap that doesn't fit or look good or anything.

In sum, I intend to trim the crap/step it up slightly.

xp -- OOOH THANK YOU

• more patterned dress shirts
• more clothes that are more adaptable to wearing with other clothes in my wardrobe (instead of matching only one other item of clothing so that I have to wear them both anytime I wear one)
• find shoes I actually like

xp It will enhance the (milk)maiden in you in case you were wondering.

^ I want to dress more geometric/visually interesting and less femme-y this year. This is a laugh, sort of, because "less" for me is prob still more than for a lot of people, but I'm determined to privilege "interesting" over "pretty".

that dirndl is my kind of uniform! it can be taken in so many different directions.

femmey is ok, but i am staying away from cute because polls show it is nagl in 2012

The entire genre of Folkwear patterns was made for you, btw, LL. Please do not fail to notice the Gibson Girl Blouse or the Russian peasant dress.

i'm going to work on finding someone to make me the dirndls (dirndlen?) first, and then move on. one step at a time.

that is but one of my various looks, mustn't neglect the others. although maybe i should try to avoid wearing things that people have said make me look like liberace.

gonna stick w/ being handsome and cool i think

sensible option lamp

not rlly a style thing but i need to replace all my underwear+socks. most obvious place in my lyfe where 'you buy cheap you buy twice' stands out

- another pair of skinny jeans
- go to up-and-coming local designer sales (i went to one other day and got a skirt and a dress for $150! which is realllly good for the quality/design)
- more sexy shirts that aren't just, like, v-neck t-shirts
- upkeep of the current hairdo/colour
- i think i will go buy a new expensive bra today too

I might buy a new jumper. Maybe wait until Autumn 2012 though.

my new year's style resolution is to buy a pair of jeggings. i have never felt confortable rocking this look but i found an old sweater of my dad's that almost looks like this one:
http://totokaelo.com/store/products/wood-wood/fw11/ana-cardigan/dark-grey

i can't actually afford anything from totokaelo (helllooo $600 rick owens sweatshirt!) but in general i want to try to copy many of their looks and dress a bit more modern.

i also feel like i should be using etsy more - i don't even know where to start with that.

that is totally my day off look! right down to the boots.

haha i def know some girls that at least look like they buy all their clothes from totokaelo its a good look imo

i really want some lace up boots like that!

i've gone through 4 pairs of justin lacers in the last 8 years or so and have enjoyed every minute of every one
most i've found secondhand on ebay, the first pair i got at goodwill
they are my perfect shoes and i will probably just keep buying them and wearing them until justin stops making them
then i will cry

I'd like to get a different shade each time I color my hair--I might as well have some fun with my hair now that I'm grey.

I'd also like to get some pants that aren't jeans (and I hope I can get some money to do so pretty soon, because I currently have only one wearable pair of jeans). I have a hard time finding a good style, though--any suggestions? I have very, very short legs, a big rear end and a big belly.

- thinking about a pixie cut
- my look right now is 'jeans and plaid shirt' OR 'patterned skirt, plain shirt, cardie', feel like maybe i should sharpen this up a notch
- gonna throw out some old unused clothing RIGHT NOW while i am thinking about it
- maybe going to learn to hang my clothes up this year, also?

There's also a bunch of things that need to be replaced--my bra is seriously stretched out and the strap on my purse is about to break.

My style resolution is to start wearing more skirts/dresses. My legs are probably my best feature and I nearly always wear pants. I would like to change this. Ladies - where are your fav skirt/dress shopping places. I need recs. If it helps I favor a line mod type shift dresses/ skirts and also like fuller 50's style skirts too. Not into straight/pencil skirts cause I just don't think they do me any favors.

I would also like to find a hair stylist I actually like and stick with for more than one or two cuts.

Also stop being afraid of heels and learn how to walk in them. That said, I just tried on some today and they were prob three inches and made me a giant. This one might be tough.

i've been thinking maybe i should give pants a try

In 2011 I upped my makeup game somewhat; in 2012 I would like to up my hair game. This means I am going to need to learn to master my own updos!

Laurel, will you please be my updo mentor, even if you've gone short and may go even shorter? I was trying to find the lady from yootube that you liked, but failed. . . blond lady, 30s/40s, maybe lives in Berlin? Is this ringing any bells? Does a lot of vintage styles?

Lol we can swap styles

HS wear to buy cool skirts?

Skirts: seriously strongly suggest boring lady department stores that stock office-wear!!! You really want a lined skirt, non-lined ones ride up, twist around, and are more likely to look cheap (mostly bc they ARE cheaper to make). And boring career-wear departments have the widest selection of lined black skirts!!

i will wear any old skirt, but i also have a wide array of slips that pretty much take care of the lined/not lined issue for me. are you looking for work skirts or fun skirts? (again, this is a very real divide in my line of work)

quinie: her youtube account name is BerlinHairBaby!

lately i get all my clothes at marshall's and tj maxx due to no money/living in lol buffalo. marshalls has some cute sheaths + shifts if you have about an hour to hunt for them. anthropologie has a lot of cringey preciousness + a gross catalogue + is overpriced but i got a couple of good, interesting-detail, not looking totally like a piece of candy skirts that i still wear from there a few years ago on sale. finally, i have yet to actually buy a dress from asos online, but thanks to kinder i am obsessed with it. that adorable 60s mod dress has still not gone on sale! it's $200 but i want it!!! you should make someone buy it for you.

xxp also nordstrom rack, for skirts. less fun detailing potentially but good-quality stuff. is there a nordstrom rack in boston? i miss nordstrom rack.

Eh fun skirts more than work ones but my office is pretty casual- I wear jeans a lot - so I could prob wear a lot of "fun" skirts to work too!

You make a good point about slips! For various reasons I hate them, so I stick to lined skirts.

Heels: Everyone has their own walk/style, but the advice I find best is to take slower, longer strides. Your legs are practically speaking LONGER now, so think of your foot as a ball on the end of a pendulum and slow that shit down.

oh, it's not mod, but anyway, someone buy this: http://images.asos.com/inv/media/9/8/9/6/1746989/red/image1xxl.jpg

omg sorry for hueg

Dear god you have the most amazing taste in dresses hs.

I really hate both clothes shopping and trying on clothes which makes stores like marshals my worst nightmare even tho I know tons od people who hunt and find good stuff there. I get fed up/bored after about 20 mins.

I actually usually a lot of things I love at anthro but it's so $$$$$. I should keep an eye out for sales and learn to like shopping. Thanks for the tips tho.

That is pretty but I wish it had either elbow length or 3/4 length sleeves.

Laurel, YOU have amazing taste in dresses! <3

I don't know how a human being could actually WEAR that dress to do more than walk around and stand still a lot, but it's phenomenal and BRAVE. Red!

i am kind of bad at shopping for every day, tbh. hence: pants in 2012.

I love red. It's my fav clothing color aside from black.

tbh my personal aesthetic could historically have been described as "a piece of candy" or "a crazy candy-colored mess." i am trying to be more subdued in the '12.

Oh here is a good one. I vow to no longer only buy black clothes.

as befits a woman of my advancing years lol

I love red and black glossy things. I bought a fancy label handbag in patent black with red accents at TJM over the hols.

Now that I've passed 50, I'll be aiming for a distinguished, Omar Sharif, graying eminence-type look.

how will you achieve that? through pomade and scent?

i vote snow bunny, LL

turban is cuet!

Also I wore those headbands made out of fleece to downhill ski in the '90s and just personally I cannot go back there style-wise.

i don't need it, was just wondering if it was hideous or would make me feel like a hollywood starlet on a ski vacay!!

Those two things are not mutually exclusive!

I wd add some plumy ostrich feathers behind that beaded gew-gaw btw.

yeah i don't think i can pull this one off
maybe if it were a hat

all you need is:

giant glasses
huge swing coat
bejewelled cigarette holder
poodle on a leash
packard with a chauffeur

boom, you're golden

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VMUEKhzREks/TbiPni2etwI/AAAAAAABsP0/QMRwuw3rhFE/s1600/5492449747_f198f2804b_b.jpg

young...and ageless!

That turban screams 'wacky knitting lady,' which is a look I *have to* endorse.

Would wear an Elizabeth Taylor style turban... with a kaftan!

I never really could have predicted that in July of 2013 I would purchase a pair of high waisted turquoise leopard print dress pants at Target, but there they are hanging in my closet. I bought em. I haven't felt this flummoxed by a garment I brought home with me in a long time. I think they might look ok with heels, but under what circumstances would I wear them? Are they ok for work? Going out? Any old time? No clue when I will wear these bizarre dress pants.

Also I now have kitchen curtains that enjoyed a previous life as a caftan.

i want to revive the caftan

You know how to work a toga iirc?

loungewear for casual entertaining! i think it's a concept worth revisiting.

i am having trouble imagining those pants tho

i agree with you wholeheartedly
re pants: i'll take a pic, hold on

Wd wear w heels, with little flat skimmers, or with ankle boots, based on just that description. It is possible that you'll have to schedule more rock'n'roll calendar events to wear them to tho?

i think they may be more like work pants?
they would look cute with my white boots though...i just don't know where they will end up. i just knew that for some reason i had to have them.
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5445/9369251555_59917bc562.jpg

i already have some scheduled, don't worry -- they will get better costuming than these pants for sure

hahaha you're all horrified by my pants

Work pants, definitely.

they are work pants i could tolerate
i loathe wearing Women's Professional Clothes so much

um LL I totally dig your pants

they could be work pants, or party pants --- I endorse you wearing them a lot :D

I recently purchased a pair of leopard print stretch-denim capris that conflicted me hugely because honestly, printed denim just reminds me of the dirtbag moms with bleached hair in my hometown

but I wear them all the time and they're kind of exciting I can't explain it

i like those LL.

my big change this year was that i stopped wearing contacts (for the most part) and started wearing glasses.

my new change is I have a whole bunch of skirts and I now wear SKIRTS a lot

LL when you were describing them they sounded awful but now I want them!

The pants are so much more classy than I expected!! I love them! (I say this as someone who owns a leopard-print twin set.) Totally work pants and I would wear them with tiny pointy flats or diminutive heels with an open vamp, but I know you like to mix things up more than I, kooky vintage girl, do.

I was going to embrace them if they were crazy/trashy/costumey, too, but I'm glad to see they're so wearable for practical things.

I will have had such a long break from anything other than beach clothes that I am kind of scared about having to dress myself for the real world again. I don't even remember what "work clothes" I have to work with back home. I got rid of a lot of stuff when I was packing up for storage.

Like I don't even know what social workers wear to work?

Tunic tops, stretch pants, white sports socks, and Crocs. For some reason this is my mental image.

Hahahaha you are probably not so far off. I'll try to set the bar a little higher! I'm guessing that I will be on my feet a lot more than in my whorporate job, so footwear is gonna be a problem. Crocs are *not* going to be part of the solution.

Check out "comfort" brands like Clarks and Naturalizer.

You guys are totally underestimating social workers!! The ones I know who are in our general peer group are rather stylish, if not work-neutral.

tight pants for rolling up normal fatigue pants/army outfit. (gray)
1 new heavy overshirt, purple
more refined hair side of the head shaving as per mange :-)
hand wraps and arm wraps to not show my scarred for life :-) that's for legs too (im in school)
new taller boots rather than Wellco boots
walgreens hair dye becauyse Splat is permanent and looks good, and loreal et al are expensive
a specific kind of socks and maybe gloves of a permantn?? no u cannot wash wish gloves...

//</style planner> :-)

okey...

also some type of reading glasses, not for looks.

it's cold here, so i'll have to dress warmly shortly.

oh and tattoos, hands and head and orange and pink and mb blue around my eyes and mouth, and a blue grid on my scalp.. |_| :? :\ :D :/ feel weird talking abt style/postin leik ds

+xanax/adderal

do you like salads with lots of butter and cheese on them?

heh what

u are unfamiliar to me, just wonderin!

and also your post was extremely detailed and made no sense to me

Those pants look awesome! They don't look as far-out as I imagined.

neogoth

lo.. i love tapered women's pants too, and salads with butter and cheese,

but i soooo want a liquid diet, if i can get a job. for cutting :-)

http://www.youtube.com/user/Athenos?v=femp7O65sMM