Seen On The Catwalk

One time, I showed up to work wearing one brown and one black shoe. I didn't even notice until a file clerk pointed it out to me halfway through the day. To my own credit, they were EXACTLY the same shoe...just slightly different colors.

Another time, I wore a cardigan sweater to a night club. 

If you think these things are horrific crimes against fashion, you will be happy to know exactly how far I have come in my short life. (Sadness, I'm going to be 30 this year). When I was a little girl, I met an elderly gentleman named Pete. Pete was from the Philippines. My mom and I visited him in the Old People's Home occasionally. I like to say that I did it solely to give back to my community. Truth is, I did it for the lumpia. 

Anyway, one day, Pete gave second-grade me a hat. It was a maroon trucker-style hat. Except, affixed to each side of the hat, in silver, glittery glory were wings. The wings were shiny and metallic and if they caught the sun at just the right angle, had the power to blind the Cyclopse. The hat looked a heck of a lot like this: 

Man, I loved that hat. I wore it every day. To school. Yes, you read that right. I wore it TO SCHOOL. Everyone complimented my hat. And by everyone I mean only my 65 year old bus driver with a half mouth full of teeth. I thought I was so cool. I thought it made me look fast. But mostly, I just loved those bright, shiny, silver wings. My poor parents. They were such troopers. Letting me express myself in any manner that captured my fancy, such as dressing like a character straight out of a Greek Mythology book. They seriously get mad props for that. I mean, they had to show their faces at PTO meetings. 

One day, my hat suddenly went missing. To this day I have no idea what happened to it. I can't imagine that another kid coveted that hat enough to swipe it. I suspect my dad may have "disappeared" it. 

So, you see, I have come quite a long way when it comes to making myself presentable in society without burning out the corneas of the fashion astute. I still have wardrobe problems. And I still like to express myself in unique ways (such as wearing my cowboy boots to the office on casual Fridays). But when I do pull together a nice outfit or two, as I stand in the mirror admiring my social acceptable color coordination and tasteful (mostly) accessorization, I like to think fondly of wings hats. 

I'm going to be bluntly honest here. Sometimes, the best part about being a lawyer is simply getting an opportunity to dress like a lawyer. When I have an outfit that I particularly like, I like to take a picture of it. Outfit photo have saved me several times from "OMG, I Have Nothing To Wear" 

I collected some photos of my favorite outfits from this past week and posted them below. But I decided my photo collection needed some kid-contribution to liven things up a bit. It's fun to dress up like an adult. But sometimes the exuberance with which a child embraces the world, free from the strings of social conformity, can be inspiring.  

This first outfit would be a pretty simple outfit, if not for....

THESE AMAZING HOUSES! Yes, a house blouse. Every gal should own one. (I love weird/unusual prints- maybe someday I will find a print with silver wings?)

For those days when you just can't decide what to wear, there is always the option of going Full Monty. However, as your friendly lawyer, I would have to advise against wearing this particular outfit to the grocery store:

This casual Friday, I spiced up a boring jeans/t-shirt outfit with my favorite Anne Taylor scarf (and Sperry shoes- my Christmas gift).

 And on Cool Dude Day, Jacob wore his dad's sunglasses indoors. Eye safety does not suddenly stop when you exit the great outdoors, people.

I recently caved in to a year-long desire and bought a chambray shirt. I absolutely love it. I've dressed it up with a pencil skirt for work but it also looks fun with a blazer, boots, and pearls. Date-night ready in 60 seconds!

Sidenote: this outfit was inspired by U.S. Marshall Raylan Givens (Justified). He's one tall drink of water in his no-fail outfit: denim, a blazer, and cowboy boots. I'm just missing a silver star. Oh yeah, and a penis.

And here is Jacob showing us what happens when underwear becomes outerwear. This look is likely to be a big trend this season. Jacob says, "it's all in how you wear it."

And because everyone wants to a tour of my office toilet.....(I really need to invest in more appropriately placed full-length mirrors...and a better camera phone would probably help too.)....This is pretty much my default work outfit: skirt, blouse, and long cardigan. I've been told I dress like a librarian. Considering that my husband STILL has a crush on his high school librarian, I'm ok with that.

Here is Ryan's contribution to the fashion conversation. In true Ryan spirit, he is wearing his binky (most under-utilized fashion accessory ever), one sock, "comfy" pants, and two hats on his head.

Last but not least, Jacob's trying out a special new look of his very own. He lost his second tooth this morning, single-handedly succeeding in cleaning out the tooth fairy. She better start selling some of those teeth on the black market if she wants to keep her fairy gig going.