3.2 hot styles you can copy this December

There's nothing like dreary weather to make me feel glum, so imagine my relief when I ran across this uplifting article in my Bloglovin' feed called "5 ways to brighten up a winter wardrobe" by Natasha Alexandrou. The tips were showcased by five stunning young women each wearing one of the following: 

bold scarf
statement outer wear

embellished accessories

bold colours
floral prints

Emboldened by these highly praiseworthy looks, I decided to apply the adage, if wearing one tip is good, all of them at the same time must be waaay better, especially when executed by a woman of my maturity and taste, and came up with the following 3.2 examples of super-powering outfits to whack those winter glumballs outta the park. 

The faux fur stole is a dead giveaway that this is an evening outfit, which must strictly be worn only for evening outings, such as to the opera, fine dining, or looking for golf balls in the dark with a flashlight. I am of course referring to the stole over my shoulders, not the DIY wrap around my head, which is exempt from the daytime/evening wear rules as any right-thinking fashionista knows. 

When O, my partner, saw this outfit he in fact suggested many places I could go that evening, including one with a chauffeur and escorts in uniform. In hindsight I really should have worn bells with this outfit to alert him when I was about to traverse the living room, requiring, as I did, a wide berth for stately passage. He'll be fine again in a few days.

The foundation garments here are an oversized Eileen Fisher top with a Gap T-shirt over it, which I happened to be wearing around the house that day, and this vintage coat. The pants were thrown on in an absolute panic when I realized I had recklessly failed to incorporate the floral print tip.

Oh Claude, you're so amusant! Shall we breakfast at Tiffany?

Only boring people take their daytime wear into nighttime; exciting people, such as moi, take their nighttime wear into daytime. In this case, below, two simple accessories were all it took: sunglasses and a DIY handbag (teacup carrier), which, if you roll your bologna sandwiches into tight little logs, also doubles as a handy lunchbox.  Who would guess that you've been out all night when you look this smashed smashing?

Note the metal clothespin on the red stole tie around my waist. This is every girl's must-have fashion tool for a range of quick fixes; for example, if your stole starts falling down around your eyes, as we know can happen, you can conveniently clip it back into place if you frickin' remember that you have a frickin' clothespin on your stole belt in the first place.

I'm just Stayin' Alive, friends.

And look! Below is another example of how to brighten a humdrum day of potato-picking in a frozen field. (I call my humongous jewels potatoes - don't we all? I shall not engage in a discussion of whether or not my boudoir is a frozen field.) I have simply varied my accessories to create a whole new and enviable look you will be aching to copy this month. I am successfully employing the stupefaction pose here.

More potatoes? Where's the stickin' gravy!!

I switched the white shaggy faux fur vest for a black one, wrapped the stole around my hips instead of my head, balled up one of scarves and tied it onto my head with a new scarf, velvet on one side, sparklies on the other. Voila! The clothespin clip shuts the collar of my coat. Clearly, this is daytime wear. 

EVIDENCE!

And here we have another scarf and different sunglasses. Naturally most of my poses are frisky - you would be too knowing there are tuna fish tight logs with a pickle core in your handbag. Can't wait for lunch! I hope the pickle juice doesn't sog up my cash.

Aaaah. Sigh.

You know what's really funny about this post? I went in thinking, hurry!, let's put on some OUTRAGEOUS clothes!! Don't think - just do. Let's go over the friggin' top! And when I was done I thought, hey, I might just wear this for real, maybe minus a scarf or two. Okay, no, I probably won't wear the potato-picking outfit again. The silhouette with that huge stole around my hips - hahaha! And the hat would definitely fall off. But simply, these clothes made me happy - and warm.

I look quite at home in this outfit below.

If I encountered a woman wearing any of these outfits while I was out on my inspiration walk, would I like her? Hell, yeah! Plus, it's not the clothing itself that's the draw; it's as much or more the chutzpah it takes to be yourself, even when it means standing out of the crowd and risking getting hammered down, especially these days.

And for the record, I do scan those Bloglovin' articles once in a while. Sometimes I roll my eyes so hard I have to give my marbles a good shake for a reset, but I ask you, who doesn't want to learn how to wear a skirt eight ways when it's 5 degrees, right? Hahaha! (This counting thing in general remains a mystery.) And I find many things I like despite the heavy, heavy, HEAVY emphasis on women under 25. For example, in the article I referenced today, here, I would gladly wear that last dress. WOW!

Just because I like to wear what I want when I want doesn't mean I can't appreciate beauty wherever I find it. We all need more beauty in our lives. Definitely.

And that's my report. Oh, I put blue hair gel in my hair that morning too - you can't see it here though. Next time.

Actually, without the hat I might even like the furry hip bumper. Heh.

I'm linking up something here with, you guessed it, Patti at Not Dead Yet Style, Visible Monday, and Catherine, Not Dressed as Lamb, #iwillwearwhatilike.

And don't forget that Anne of SpyGirl is currently exhibiting her portraits of 52 style bloggers in a compilation called "Fashion Rainbow" at TAG Gallery in Santa Monica until Dec. 17. There is an artist panel on Dec. 10, so it's not too late to get in on the action. Anne is also selling items featuring the portraits. Have a look her amazing work here. I so wish I could have attended her show!

ALERT: Society6, which sells Anne's products, has FREE INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING today, Dec 6. 

If you copy any of these outfits, please do let me know. Heh.

PS - I have never set foot on a golf course nor gone searching for golf balls, but I like to see them split open with all those elastics showing inside. Or maybe they are not like that anymore...?

The shoes that ate Vancouver

You know how I go downtown almost every morning to check out my turf, right? Well the other day, I cut through Nordstrom on my way home and was overcome by a crowd of highly-excited women who appeared at a glance to be dressed in black blazers, black skirts, white blouses, and heels. They were scurrying around like bumper cars in a velvet-roped corral in the shoe section.

I didn't have a photo of bumper cars so this will have to do

Holy cow! Clearly I didn't get the memo and looked down at my bathmat white maxi coat, three-sizes-too-big white chinos, white DIY boob-cooler T-shirt and turtleneck, black Italian ankle boots, tower hair, and Joan Crawford red lips. I thought, hm, this might end badly for me.

What?! No memo?!

Had I missed the "filming in progress" signs and stumbled onto the set of a new David Lynch movie? Was this Purgatory!? To their credit, everyone looked great but in a mass-fabulous way that makes it hard to see the trees for the forest without a little neon pink tulle for focus. Blazered eye correction can do that to a person.

Blazered eye correction

Regaining my composure, I then noticed lines of anxious women in a phalanx along the perimeter of the store, all clutching shopping bags. And wait! They were being fed champagne. Whaaat? Where's my champagne? Quickly I spotted the head security guard looking like a god from central casting. I approached him with my best VIP face and asked, How do I get in?, What's happening?

Seeing red in the Louboutin shoe department

He explained that Christian Louboutin was expected on the premises in about 30 minutes to sign purchases of his footwear, then indicated the table and throne behind him where the maestro would sit. So the price of admission was new red-soled shoes, which clearly the lined-up women had paid, and apparently this was non-negotiable as no amount of seductive Norma Desmond eye bulging on my part would change his mind. I'm losing my touch.

Guess which one is me.

I wanted to tell these women, hey, I'll scribble on your old shoes for free! Maybe it's a good thing I left my folding card table, Sharpie, and lawn chair at home. Well, maybe not for free. I'd be like Lucy from Charlie Brown comics and charge 5 cents.

But really, all this fuss for a signature on a shoe? Isn't that weird? You're just going to put your stinky feet in there and literally drag his name through the mud. But maybe these disciples have shoe shrines in their homes and never wear them or are carried by servants when they go out. Maybe they will try to sell their shoes on eBay. Or maybe they've had the sweat glands in their feet surgically removed. Do they even do that? Could I make my millions with this idea? Would Louboutin invest?

My farked boots - post on them here. Note my signature. Free.

I wondered what would happen if Valentino had an in-store signing of thong underwear. Would women wear them? Can you sell pre-owned undies on eBay? Is there even a Mr. Valentino and does he make thongs?

As for me? I only wear diamonds on the soles of my shoes, baby. I find them in the thrift store. Priceless. Okay, maybe not diamonds, but they are still rocks of a sort. They get stuck in the cracks.

Goners. Days ago both shoes in the right pair cracked. I should have bought some Looboos.

I'll hook something up with Patti and Catherine when they go live later, Visible Monday/Not Dead Yet Style and #iwillwearwhatilike/Not Dressed as Lamb, respectively. (In fact, I linked up an Instagram photo for Catherine instead.)

Oh, I made a video of most of my posted outfits from October '15 to October '16, photos from here, Instagram, and a couple new ones.  I put this on IG too but this version is the original size. Much better.

THE VIDEO

That's all. Have a great week everyone!!!