CocoLion

I've been wanting to do my own version of this recent ensemble, and here it is.  I wore it earlier this week, out to dinner with a friend who is a sort of mentor.  We talked about how I can get my mentality out of "victim" mode -- something I'm working on.  It seems I need to not let other people's behavior and comments get to me.  O_o

The peep-toe bootie sandals are a few years old and have a 5" heel with one of those island platforms.  Kind of dated but they work under these jeans which stretch out so in a few hours this outfit was a bit more PPL than pictured.

The top is from last winter, Zara.  It's thick sweatshirt material and quite  boxy and cropped.  The pea coat finishes things off, although I didn't need it.  In the future, I need to pick tops that fit better under this coat.  All the same I enjoyed wearing this outfit and plan to repeat this ensemble formula.  

It occurred to me, while trying to get the coat over the bulky top, that one of the reasons it's so popular to throw a coat over your shoulders, is that many of today's tops don't fit very well under coats.  (Batwings, drop shoulder, dolman, kimono, swing etc.)

Thanks for looking and commenting!

Hello everyone!  First I have to say if you happen to be watching the CBS evening news tonight (national edition), our restaurant will be featured in a story covering the economic impact of the government shutdown.  I declined to be interviewed as my brother is better/prefers doing that sort of thing.

1 -- I love me a tonal grey outfit!  Here worn with Angie's pick from NAS 2012, the sci-fi sweater.  Coral necklace worn near my face to brighten things a bit.
2 -- I've been reaching for this formula for going on two years now, easy and haven't tired of it yet.  TR boyfriend jeans + Report Marks neutral booties.  Here worn with a Breton stripe sweater from Zara and Bellatrix silky bomber jacket.  I have a black belt on to tie in with the black in the jacket plus my black backpack works here well (I forgot to include it in #2 but you can see a bit of it in #1).
3 -- Bonus shot of the original CocoLion, in case you were wondering about my forum name.  Doesn't she look good in the fall? What do you think, is she a Soft Autumn?  :-)

Thanks for looking and commenting!

ETA -- Here is the link of the news story:

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18.....community/

For entertainment and educational purposes I am sharing some September WIWs.

1. Worn to dinner party in mid-September.
2. Wore this to work minus the heeled booties and backpack.  I returned this B Brian Atwood Juliette backpack.  Although I love, love, love the look of this I wasn't crazy about how it was constructed.  When the bag was full it put too much strain on certain parts making me think the backpack would lose its shape unless I carried an extremely light load.
3.  Settled on this Aimee Kestenberg backpack instead.  MaryK and Adelfa helped me choose between the two in a parking garage in LA!
4.  Outfit worn for lunch with MaryK, Adelfa and Rae in Burbank.
5.  Easy all white outfit worn in my sister's spotless house in LA.  There is a lot of dust on the ranch so it's harder to wear all-white.
6.  Fashion sweatshirt I'm loving, worn in late September, sandal weather might now be over.  Modeled on a skinnier day.  Skinny jeans don't hide any sins do they?
7.  Wore this to YLF meet-up.  Not happy with how this came out!  I had to get up early WITHOUT COFFEE to do some blood tests and forgot that I had previously styled this to better effect in a practice session (picture 8).  But when I got up that morning, all I could think of was to wear this with these faded black skinnies.  This Peter Som top has officially become an orphan.  I purchased it in June but didn't wear it until the meet up.  Do you have any ideas how to better style it?

Thank you!  And in advance, I apologize for the long thread but instead of starting a bunch of different threads I thought I'd do one.  I really would appreciate styling advice for the Peter Som top.

Where I live it is most certainly still summer.  Temps between 88-98 F (over 30 C).  But, I see leaves falling off the trees and this makes me want to change my color palette, while still being comfortable in the high temps.

1/2.  Angie pick Three Dots harem pants.  I think black and white is the perfect color scheme for September, don't you?  But I overdid it on the neon highlights, I think my white watch would have worked better than the orange one.   This accessory flaw is more visible in picture 2. 
3.  Tuxedo stripe skinnies.  Milking the colored skinnies thing a bit longer!  Not sure if this top works 100% color or style wise.  Rather than a semi tuck I am trying a loose tuck in both of these outfits, just for a change.  
4.  Casual shorts outfit.  I was planning to ditch this pale green top from Zara, the shoulder line is not flattering, but kept it because it feels right for September.

Thanks for looking and opining.

I got a few days away last week to attend a friend's retirement party.  She retired at age 60 after 35 years on the same job (working for the county in insect abatement).  They have a surplus of wild boars in the county so that's what we ate -- it was a delicious BBQ.*

Pictures 1/2 -- What I wore to the retirement party and later on at the Valley Fair Mall in San Jose to make some NAS returns.  This is pretty much a repeat of one of my favorite outfits.

Pictures 3/4 -- What I'm wearing today.  Normally I don't post outfits like these but since it cleared of smoke this afternoon, I was excited to get outside and take some selfies!

Thanks for looking, commenting and most of all -- many thanks to all of you who have offered so much support on my Fire thread in the off topic section.

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Outfit details:
1/2 -- Jeans Free People, Top Helmut by Helmut Lang, Booties Rag & Bone, Jacket Zara from last summer.  All via Shopbop except jacket.
3/4 -- Jeans True Religion (from their store, purchased last summer), tee and belt from H&M, fringe clutch from Tylie Malibu via Amazon.
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*Wild Boar details:
For those interested, William Randolph Hearst imported wild Russian boars in the 1920s for his zoo.  Some of them escaped and mated with equally rogue, escaped domesticated pigs.  The result is a creature weighing 300-400 lbs who is quite destructive to local crops -- the Salinas Valley is a very important agricultural center.  I think the hunters had a depredation permit to get these.

Photos 1/2 -- Super casual day off outfit.  This is my first pair of cropped boyfriends; I know everyone else has been wearing them since last year.  But it took me a while to warm to the idea of them.

#1 -- Worn with baby wedge Splendid sandals.
#2 -- Worn with DV wedges from last year.  This is one of those occasions where I think the lower heeled option might look better.  I think I'm over these wedges too.

Photo 3 -- For a slightly dressier occasion (and cooler weather).  I fear my expression borders on sexy face!  I was trying to look relaxed but serious while walking towards my camera. 

Thanks for looking and commenting!

Outfit details:
1/2 -- Paige "James" cropped boyfriend jeans.  Bird of prey graphic muscle tee, gold braid belt, and necklace all UO.
3 -- Rag & Bone jeans, Madewell tee, Adia Kibur necklace (all Shopbop).Jacket from Nordstrom, Shoes from ShoeMint. 

I wasn't sure I would post these simple, hot weather casual outfits but as Angie made it her featured ensemble today, I changed my mind.

1 -- This is the dressiest of the outfits with the button down and refined ankle strap wedges.
2 - Shorter shorts.  I don't think I left the house.
3 - Knee shorts.
4 - Short cargo shorts and the same breezy denim top.  My strategy with shorter shorts is to wear them sized up and looser.  I think this helps make them more age appropriate and keeps the look from being vulgar.

Outfit details:
1 - J Brand mid-thigh roll ups from last year; J Crew shirt from MaryK (thanks!!), Sam Edelman wedges and Madewell belt.
2 - Rock & Republic fringe shorts from last year; cold shoulder top from boutique in Tahoe (purchased with forum member Mo).  My top favorite sandals, Matiko Keeley from 3 years ago.
3 - J Brand dark wash knee shorts, F21 tencel denim shirt, Nine West sandals, Zara striped sweater.
4 - Wal*Mart cargo shorts remixed with same F21 top and Matiko sandals.

 
Thanks for looking and commenting.  Any suggestions for improvement are welcome!

My life is so uneventful right now.  My one occasion where I felt the urge to step up my outfit a bit was to go grocery shopping for dinner.  (Garlic & mustard roasted chicken, rice, and southwest salad.)  When the young male cashier asked me if I was eligible for any discounts, I remembered that it was Tuesday and that's senior discount day.  So I said yes, I get the senior discount!  He told me you have to be 55 to get that and I told him, yes, I just turned 55 in April.  I couldn't tell if he was genuinely doubting my age or if he was trying to flatter me.  Anyway he got an A+ for handling a potentially awkward moment well.

Jeans - Free people via Shopbop
Booties - Rag & Bone via Shopbop
Tee -- H&M
Necklace - Adia Kibur via Shopbop
Bracelet -- last year's NAS
Watch - Fossil via Macy's
Bag -- Nicoli via TJ Maxx  (never heard of this brand but the leather is fantastic!)

Each week when I post a WIW I pose a fashion question for the week.  Here goes this week's.  In this outfit I am wearing a lace bra.  Do you think lace bras work under tee shirts or should one strictly wear a smooth tee shirt bra with tees?

Thanks for looking and commenting!

Currently I am trying to weed out unflattering cuts and colors on me, specifically for tops.  So, what do you think of these two cuts and colors? 

#1 -- Worn to meet friends, super casual setting.  Top is from last year C& C California via Shopbop.

#2-3 -- To run errands and go see "The Heat."  Movie name notwithstanding, our local theater is the only arctic place in the county, hence the 14-year old denim jacket.  Top is from Three Dots also via Shopbop.  

BTW the shorts worn in both pictures are from Kut (via TJ Maxx) and the sandals are Sam Edelman via Amazon.

Thanks for looking and commenting.  What about you -- are you wearing shorts right now or can you get away with longer pants?  A cool day for us is 92, so even loose boyfriend jeans feel too confining for this kind of weather.  It's supposed to climb to 104 this weekend.  :-(   :-(   :-(

1.  These are the only pair of colored jeans I have left, I sold most of my inventory on eBay last February but these Rag & Bones came back because I failed to notice a small pen mark on them.  Keep?  Purge?

2.  Same jeans worn the next day with a grey Splendid trapeze top that I'm thinking might go.  Just not that flattering and impossible to cover my bra. So the top = keep?  purge? 

3.  Wore this to lunch at the local Mexican place, this bridged casual to smart casual easily.  The shoes are fairly beat up but I pulled them out of my garbage (!) because they are still useful to me.  The sole is visibly split... hmmm... should they go back in the trash?  I can also replace them, they are sold on Amazon for around $40 right now.

ETA -- 4.  Got two of these tops from Zara a few months ago.  They are loose and cool but the shoulder line looks quite unflattering I think.  I have plenty of other tops to wear, it's not like I need them.  Keep? Purge?

Thanks for the feedback!