layer up!

old navy plaid flannel shirt   ·   merona turtleneck

old navy bootcut sweetheart jeans   ·   old navy quilted vest

mossimo kiriana boots

when you live in a part of the world that experiences winter, you learn how to layer up to withstand the cold.  i used to think turtlenecks were so silly, but i've come to take advantage of wearing them from time to time each winter for extra warmth.  even though my arms are mostly bare, the turtleneck acted like a base layer underneath the flannel, and the quilted vest kept my core warm enough for an afternoon out for free sandwiches and fro-yo this past weekend when it was about 40 degrees.  my twin sister and i have a birthday this week (friday!) and the freebie offers have already started rolling into our email inboxes, so i have a feeling we'll be eating and shopping pretty good this week!

get the look:  exact shirt / exact vest / exact jeans / simlar turtle-neck / similar boots

oh, this old thing?

this is an outfit i wore last week that i didn't get around to posting but fits in really well with the link up going on at blue paper lanterns, "oh, this old thing?" so i wanted to do a proper post!  kimmie challenged us to find the oldest item in our closet and give it a wear.  the tag on this old navy skirt informs me i have been hoarding it since "08/09" -- that's what, 3-4 years?  wow!  i purchased it when i worked at old navy (it must have been clearanced, and then i got my employee discount on top of that) but had never worn it before last week.  i'm not sure why, other than sometimes i get a little stumped when two neutral colors are paired together in one item (here: black & tan) because i don't know what to wear with it, but i'm glad i finally gave it a try.  i think i'll be keeping it around!

thursday (reminiscing)

merona turtleneck {thrifted new}   american eagle skirt {thrifted}

parisian {dept store} necklace   mossimo kachiri boots

i've always been drawn to this picture of e. in a great teal colored long-sleeved shirt, scarf in the same hue, and a winter white skirt.  i have been waiting until the temps dip down a little bit to recreate her look.  i could have emulated it even better if i had worn this skirt, but i just wasn't feeling it with the boots.  so i put my own little spin on it and accented with browns instead of blacks, and i love it.  i had quite the aversion to turtlenecks when i was growing up, but after finding a few cheap donated target ones at the goodwill, i figured it would be worth giving a try.  i'm also anxious to pair a turtleneck with a great statement necklace and skirt like mariel.

i really don't think i would have come to these style ideas on my own had i not started reading style blogs.  does everyone remember how they found their first style blog?  i used to spend a lot of time uploading personal photos to flickr, and every once in a while i would browse through random photostreams or look at the popular photos of the day.  through doing that, i found someone's photostream who often posted pictures of her cute outfits and linked them up to the wardrobe_remix flickr group.  i started browsing through that group and i think that's how i found kasmira, then academichic... and then the style blogging community opened up.  this was fall 2007.  what about you guys?  i'd love to hear some of your stories!  and i definitely want to thank anyone out there who might stumble across this blog and add it to your own reader.