Getting Ready for Work in 5 Minutes: Dressing Up a White Button-Down

I love layering with a white button-down. It makes any t-shirt or sleeveless shirt look more polished.

Getting Dressed for Work In 5 Minutes: Graphic Print Details

Admittedly the shoes are for warmer times, but I like this outfit because it looks polished (and more importantly, fun!) with very little effort. 

Shirt: Walmart (old)

Skirt: Ann Taylor (old)

Shoes: hinge (from Nordstrom Rack)

Red bangle: Claire's (old)

Silver bangle: mom's

Zebra bangle: thrifted

Christmas Wish List: Corset Laced Mannequins

Photo credit: Corset Laced Mannequins

The dress form I'm currently using for photos is old, was free, and the base was hastily glued at split seams. I don't feel like I'm in want for anything for Christmas, but this graphic print dress form from Corset Laced Mannequins would be a nice surprise under my tree. They have a lot of beautiful materials to choose from, but this matches my style best.

Layering Necklaces: Stones and Sparkles

Colored beads: Mom's
Teardrop necklace: thrifted

Oldies But Goodies: Washington, D.C. Baseball Tee

I found this t-shirt at a thrift store where, on Fridays, you can fill up a miniature shopping basket to the brim with clothes and shoes for $5. The joke's on them--I totally would have paid $5 for this. 

Layering Necklaces: Pearls

 

Once Upon a Bust: Cowboy Blues

 

Once upon a time, I babysat a dress form, and it was much more daring than I. The pattern on this pair of shorts cracked me up, but I never had the courage to wear them.

Cardigan: Target (old)
White shirt: Forever 21 (old)

Scarf: gift

Shorts: thrifted

Necklace: Strange Cargo in Chicago

A Cozy Fall Outfit

Some days the St. Louis falls are still warm, and I think this is the perfect amount of layering for weekend frolicking. Don't you just love sweater weather?

Fine Form: Painted Faces

Which painted bust would best display your jewelry collection?

Image credit: EvieSweetie on Etsy

Image credit: Pinterest

Image credit: Pinterest

 Image credit: Nostalgic Corner

 Image credit: Flapperdashery on Etsy

Do you use a dress form or mannequin as a display? Share your photos with me, and I may feature it in an upcoming Fine Form post. E-mail photos to karlieabaker@gmail.com.

The Thrift Store Outfit That Got Me Hired

I am a clothes horse, which tends to come with the territory as a lover of thrifted clothes. (When a blouse is under $3, why not buy every pattern you love?) However, when faced with dressing for a specific occasion, I suddenly find myself saying, "I have nothing to wear!"

I found this was especially true in the case of a recent job interview. The company is a PR firm and said their dress code was business casual. The in-person interview was the third and final phase before hire, and I wanted to make sure I made the right impression.

I had thrown together probably 20 options--mostly solid dresses and blazers that projected, 'professional, mature.' This ensemble was not in that original mix. But once I ran the floral shirt across the skirt, it was hard to concentrate on another option. The cuts are modest but the mixed prints pop together in a good way (IMO). The satin-lapeled blazer counteracts all the color, and hides some of the floral design when I'm wearing it.

This outfit cost me $10. I found the red tank at Value Village for $1.98. The blazer also came from Value Village and cost $4. The skirt, $4, was snagged at a Goodwill store. I kept my feet basic with opaque black tights and black ballet flats.

It took some convincing to actually wear this to the interview. While I believe it's a pretty accurate representation of my style, it's kinda loud. Right? So I wore the outfit out shopping as a test run (also because I was hoping to find some better shoes. I didn't.). A cashier at Anthropologie complimented me on the outfit, so I asked her if she thought it was interview-worthy.

"If you've gotten through multiple interviews, they already like your work. Why not show them what personality comes along with it?" she said.

Have wiser words ever been spoken by a salesperson? She's right--if hired, I'm still going to dress with my own flair. If they can't deal with it in the interview, perhaps it wasn't meant to be.

But, they did. And I'm hired! This blog was started as a meantime project while I was on the job search, but I'm so excited to have money to fund future clothing purchases to share with y'all!

 

For the record, I wore a much plainer necklace to the interview--although I like this cameo best.

Layering Necklaces: Retro Beads

Once Upon a Bust: Shirtdress

Once upon a time, I babysat a dress form, and it was much more daring than I.

Sorry for the horribly quality on the photos. I scored a handful of these shirtdresses during a thrift run one day, and imagined they would be perfect for layering with t-shirts. I was sort of right. On the dress forms, these look pretty cool. On a body you can easily see the t-shirt hems, and that's a dealbreaker for me.

I still have them lying around, waiting for inspiration on the right way to layer them. So if you have suggestions, don't be shy!

Cream geometric dress: thrifted

Octopus t-shirt: purchased at Renegade Craft Fair in Chicago

Green dress: thrifted
T-shirt: Old Navy (old)
Belt: thrifted
Yellow necklace: Strange Cargo in Chicago
Stone necklace: Belongs to a friend

Fine Form: Accessorizing

 Image credit: Bromeliad

Image credit: found on Indulgy

Image credit: Transcriptual 

 Image credit: Fixtures Close Up

In one of my previous Fine Form posts, I shared some great dress form displays for showing off jewelry. But not everyone is a jewelry junkie--some of us have weaknesses for belts, scarves, and purses.

Do you use a dress form or mannequin as a display? Share your photos with me, and I may feature it in an upcoming Fine Form post. E-mail photos to karlieabaker@gmail.com.

Fall Work Outfits: Chambray and Sweaters

 

Chambray shirt: T.J. Maxx
Sweater: Forever 21
Skirt: thrifted
Belt: thrifted
Necklace: Goodwill 

While the undershirt occasionally switches out, this is my standard fall work outfit: pencil skirt, blouse, cardigan, belt. I love these types of belts (What is their name? The first person to answer that for me will have my eternal gratitude.). They're colorful, they're feminine, and they always fit perfectly--even on fat days.

A Strange Outfit

T-shirt: Strange Donuts in Maplewood, Mo.
Skirt: Target
Jacket: Forever 21

The guys over at the newly opened Strange Donuts had me at 'dinosaur t-shirt.' (Although to be honest, they also had me at donuts.) It's hard to formulate a description for this shirt, except to say that it's fricken' awesome.

I can tell I'm going to be using this shirt in several combinations of 'tee, cardigan, black jeans,' though I like the juxtaposition of the hilarious graphic and floral pattern together.

Floral and Lace

New shirt alert! I snagged this blouse at Goodwill last week, and I am in love with the lace cut-out Peter Pan collar. It reminds me of Wednesday Addams.

The skirt is a favorite of mine, and was once part of a dress from the girls' section at Target. The top was black and white striped. When I bought it, I had dreams of looking like a very ladylike pirate, but it never looked quite right on me. I am so very glad I took a pair of scissors to the thing--despite the hodge podge of colors, it's an extremely versatile piece (for my closet, at least). Rest assured you'll see plenty more of it in future posts.

Layering Necklaces: Wooden Beads

All wooden strands: thrifted
Purple set of strands: flea market
Colored jewel necklace: mother's!
Suede cord with charm: made by a friend

This is my second entry in what I'm calling the "layering necklaces" series. Check out my first post: turquoise necklaces.

Layering Necklaces: Turquoise

Chunky turquoise necklace: thrifted, Goodwill

Hummingbird necklace: hand-me-down

Long silver chain: thrifted, Salvation Army

Double-stranded black beads: thrifted

I got this funky turquoise necklace during a recent Goodwill excursion, mostly because it reminds me of this layered necklace I've been salivating over on Pinterest.

I've always been a fan of layering my shirts, and piling on tights under skirts, though I don't often try to layer up on necklaces. So I spent a good afternoon experimenting with combinations that I will share over the next week or so. 

Layering Necklaces: Earthy Stones

One of my favorite necklaces in this collection is what I dub the "dinosaur egg" necklace, pictured in the last photo. (Are there any other fossil nerds out there?) It's a Lia Sophia necklace, and was a birthday gift from a friend.

Fine Form: 5 Spooky Halloween Decorations Using Mannequins

For this edition of Fine Form, I found some festive ways to use mannequins and doll parts in your Halloween decorating.

xxmandarxx on Tumblr

1.  These head planters would look awfully spooky lined up on your sidewalk, but a single head in the window may be just as effective in sending shivers up trick-or-treaters' spines.

Ryan McFarland on Instructables


2. Force the guests at your Halloween shindig to scoop guacamole "brains" out of this lobotomy patient.





Yard Haunt

3. Freak out every kid on the block with this acid bath victim.



Bascombe Mania

4. Decorate the lawn with bloody body parts. 



Family Chic from Camilla Fabbri

5. Create your own mini mummies with this super easy, super cute tutorial from Family Chic.

My Favorite Fall Jacket

Jacket: hand-me-down

Rogue Wave t-shirt: purchased at concert (2008?)

Shorts: H&M

My grandma's daily uniform as long as I knew her was a crew neck sweatshirt and stretchy polyester slacks. (The woman had a rainbow array of each.) But inside her closet she kept a few relics of her time as a fashionable mom in the 1960s and 1970s. My sophomore year of high school, she let me raid her closet. I found silky high-necked cocktail party blouses, eyelet dresses, a t-shirt with a fierce leopard, and this quilted jacket, which will forever be my favorite. (Here's me showing off the jacket--but hiding my face--in my Senior Year yearbook.)

I could list you a dozen reasons why the jacket appealed to me (and 10 years later, still does). Here are just a few:

• I was immediately drawn to the rich colors--navy blue and red being two of my most frequently-worn colors. 
• The quirky use of plaid
• The cartoony flowers and shiny, painted buttons
• The even cuter rows of red buttons along the shoulders
• It's warm
• It really doesn't require many accessories to 'make the outfit'
• It reminds me of my grandma herself, because she was a quilter. 

While my mom has a tendency to poke fun at my ensembles, my grandma always said my style suited me. (I like to think it was a compliment.) This jacket reminds me of her every time I wear it.