Lace on a Rainy Day

Today's forecast was basically "rain all day, and a bit colder out," so I started out this outfit knowing I wanted to wear tights of some kind (easier with my rainboots than socks...) I finally worked up the courage to try out this pair of lace tights that I'd gotten a couple of months ago from Express (big sale + gift certificate = comfortable getting a couple of boundary-pushing things). I kept the rest of my outfit pretty low-key and dressy to make the tights the one edgy bit, and I think I like the result!





Also, does anyone else wear rain boots to work on stormy days but then pack another pair of shoes to wear for the rest of the day? That's what I tend to do, since I don't like wearing my heavy clunky boots all day, but have very few pairs of shoes that keep my feet dry when walking through puddles.





White shirt: thrifted. Camisole and tights: Express. Shoes: Skirt: J. Jill (purchased forever ago...this used to be one of my favorite skirts, until it got too small. I gave it to my mom for a while, but snagged it back during her last closet cleaning. Turns out, now that I wear skirts at my waist rather than right above my hips, this fits again!)



My clothing for the last few days has started to edge toward fall. It's still been fairly warm in Boston, but there's just a bit of a nip in the air, a hint that the heat we had in July is not infinite; that someday (soonish!) fall will be coming. I'm not sure I'm ready for fall. There hasn't been much going on this summer at the lab...mostly I've been reading a lot of research papers and starting to prepare for my general exams. So the fact that the summer is nearly over, that classes start up again in only three weeks, comes as a bit of a surprise. Mind you, it's still mostly been over 80 degrees here...there's just the first signs that someday it will be cold again. Is it still summer where you are?

Rainy day

This outfit ended up being a bit more colorful than I'd intended, probably because it was VERY gray and rainy today and I felt the need to do something to perk myself up. I had a couple of meetings and demos today and spent much of the day at a conference on new technologies and storytelling being held at the Lab. Some interesting stuff...lots of work going on in transmedia, the process of telling stories across multiple different kinds of media platforms. As a semi-traditional theater person, I'm not sure exactly what I think about story experiences that need you to watch television shows, go online, download things to your phone, read particular webcomics...if you can only get part of that content and have a satisfying, exciting, fulfilling experience, great. But that's hard to do...and if you feel like you have to consume all the content to understand the story, or really connect to what's happening, than it's a lot of pressure to follow a story through multiple media. Or maybe I'm just old.


Actually, I know I'm getting older, as it was my birthday today. So I went out with my mother after work to the dollar-a-pound and got a few cute things to celebrate. It's funny that knowing I'll be staying on for the Ph.D. (and I got my official letter today!) actually makes me feel older/more mature than the birthday.

So yes. Outfit details:
Yellow shirt: dollar-a-pound
Cardigan: Banana Republic, dollar-a-pound
Black tank top: Express
Black pants: Express
Shoes: Sketchers (must find some more black flats that don't look like I'm 8...)
Belt: Forever21
Necklace: Ebay (junk jewelry lots...)

Also, while this is what I wore at work, it's not completely representative of the outfit when I was outside and wearing my colored rain boots:

That's actually where the colorful outfit started this morning, with me knowing it was pouring rain outside and that I'd have to wear my rainboots and therefore had to wear something that would work with the boots. I eventually decided to bring a spare pair of shoes, knowing that I wouldn't want to wear the boots all day...but by that point, the outfit was already quite colorful.


At least it's supposed to stop raining tomorrow, warm back up to 50 degrees before it snows on Friday. I'm ready for it to be spring already!

belated post

This was supposed to go up on Wednesday night or Thursday...and then performances got in my way! Oops.


So, this was Wednesday's outfit, somewhat uninspired; it was raining heavily all day and I was tired and I didn’t quite pull together this outfit the way I would have wanted to. This vintage (maybe?) dress seems to be handmade, though it’s got a label in it… hmm. I think it would work better without a shirt underneath, though not till summer!


I admit I didn’t wear the hat out, but I had gotten a bunch of vintage hats off Ebay for a reasonable price and this one was waiting for me when I got home…couldn’t resist trying it on…

For any of you who wear/collect/sell vintage clothing…how do you date things appropriately, anyway? I’ve done a fair amount of research on the different looks from different periods, but how can I tell whether something is from the 60’s or 70’s or is a fairly recent reproduction of the look? Any suggestions?