Fashion Files and A Link Party!

Welcome back for this week’s edition of the Fashion Files, hosted by Amy and me! If you don’t know Amy, her blog is Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa. If you’re a fashion blogger, this is the place to be. It’s the day of the week where I talk about the things I wore last week and what I did as well as anything I might have bought. Please tell your friends about our link party because we’d love to see it grow and grow! So, let’s get the shenanigans going, right?

Last week’s looks…

Tuesday – This was one of those days where I did laundry, cleaned a little bit of the house, and watered the flowers. These are Old Navy loose fit jeans with an old Old Navy tee. Nigel had physical therapy so I think that was the only time I left the house.

Wednesday – OK, now this was a fun day. I’m lucky enough to be part of a group of the IMA docents who plan and go to different art museums and such. On this day, we traveled up the road a bit to Purdue University. They received an absolutely jaw-dropping gift of 74 Degas bronzes from an alum, Avrum Gray. I’m linking a couple of pages so you can check it out. Here’s the really amazing part…it’s absolutely free to view! We have at least two Degas bronzes at the IMA, but this will take your breath away if you’re into Degas, Impressionism, sculpture, ballet, or just like a good deal! This page has a video about the exhibit. This one gives more information about the bronzes (valued at as much as $52 million). Following that, we traveled to The Haan. This is a beautifully renovated, though not necessarily period perfect, museum. The Haan family bought this house which began life in Connecticut, traveled to the St. Louis World’s Fair, and ended up in Lafayette, Indiana! It is filled with art by Hoosier artists as well as some amazing furniture and lots of grandfather clocks. I’m told there’s even a ghost. The gardens are supposed to be spectacular, but we ran out of time. If you’re in the area, these are two wonderful art experiences I would highly recommend. I never really know what to wear on these outings. They are rather informal, but I feel like we’re still representing the museum. I usually try to hit it somewhere between jeans and business casual. This day, I wore a pair of ecru raw edge ankle jeans with an Old Navy tank. I wore a Crepe Sari Shortie Spellbound Kimono over it. I think this may be the most beautiful piece I’ve gotten from Kantha Bae.

Thursday – This wasn’t necessarily a fun day, but it wasn’t bad. I had my annual skin cancer check. For a child of the 70s who never applied a lick of sunscreen in her life (at that time), I have had really good luck. The dermatologist even complimented my skin…pretty good for an almost 70 year old, right? I wore these Flora Flow woven pants from Gudrun Sjödén. They’re an odd length…too long to be gauchos and too short to be pants. But, I really think they’re fun with that wide elastic waist. I wore an Old Navy striped tee. I did ask her about my thinning hair, and she prescribed Minoxidil for me. I’ll give it a try for about a year and see what happens. I love my helper hair, but it would still be nice to see if I can get a little more hair of my own.

Friday – I am now officially in my princess era! I had bought a coral dress similar to this one. Actually, I had tried it on in black but was convinced to buy the coral one. The problem with that one was the multitude of loops and buttons that did up the front. And, it wasn’t a case of just undoing a few to just pop it over your head. You had to undo quite a few. Plus, I just wasn’t digging the color. I had also tried on this dress in black in the next size up. It was a little too big, and I really liked the blue but bought the coral…call me impulsive…go ahead, I dare you! Anyhoo, I returned the coral, and in the meantime, Nordstrom had marked the blue one down! I snapped that baby up, and here it is. It wasn’t fun ironing it. In fact, I just used my iron on the underskirt and used the steam part of it on the rest. Nigel had another physical therapy appointment. This dress made me think, just for a nanosecond, am I too old. It’s also the dress that convinced me I could and should wear what I want. I’ve earned that right having reached the ripe old age of 68! Were there people who saw me and thought I was too old? Probably…but, that’s their problem, not mine!

Saturday – Can I tell y’all a secret and you’ll promise not to tell? I don’t, on a regular basis, get showered and dressed until late in the day! I get up and take care of all that needs taken care of. That usually includes laundry, cleaning, watering plants, mowing (if necessary), and other sundry things. Then, I rest for a bit and shower. Saturday was no different. The primary bedroom suite takes up quite a bit of the north side of the house. I don’t shut the door because I need to hear Nigel should he call. But, Saturday, I heard deep voices other than his. My youngest, his partner, and her children had come over. Now, her kiddos are younger, so I hurried up and shut the door as I was in my birthday suit! Ain’t no one wants to see that! I had already done my hair and make up and was just waiting for my hair to cool down from curling (y’all do that, right?). So, I hurried up, combed out my hair with my fingers, sprayed the tarnation out of it, and got dressed. When I walked out to the living room, I was even more surprised. My oldest, his wife, and their daughter were also at the house. I had no idea they were all coming over, but I’m always glad to see them. Well, they came with cake! I mean, who doesn’t love cake, right? It was a citrus angel food cake with citrus buttercream. It was delicious! I was really touched by the care they all showed…unlike a certain Nigel who shall not be named. I’m wearing Quince’s 100% European linen swing dress in “Ivory Porcelain Blue Petite Floral.” Try saying that 10 times fast! If it’s floral, you know I’m going to love it. If it’s a blue toile-like floral, I’m going to love it even more. I now have three of these linen beauties, and I’m here to tell you the hype around Quince is pretty much right on. I haven’t bought that much, but what I’ve bought has been good quality. I did get their linen pants, but I prefer the linen pants from Old Navy.

Sunday – We went to the mall so I could return some things. I had been there to do some returns the week before, and I had bought a Farm Rio skirt. Then, they came out with a big promotion. So, when Nigel suggested we go to the mall, I thought I’d see if I could return it and buy it again, taking advantage of the promotion. I also popped into J Jill to return a dress which was unfortunate for the balance on my J Jill card! I have been going in spurts with J Jill. They’ll have things I just love. Then, they just have major frump going on. It also helps that I haven’t been to the brick and mortar store in ages. Well, this latest round of new arrivals caught me! They caught me good! You’ll be seeing them soon. I wore this pretty little April Cornell Ambrosia Short Dress. I thought I loved it. Nigel definitely did, and I got oodles of compliments on it. But, I dunno…what do y’all think? Is it a skosh too long? I can hem a dress in no time flat! It didn’t help that I got rained on getting Nigel into the car before I took the photo!

Monday – Today was not a good day. I didn’t sleep well last night, and Nigel was doing and saying weird things. I just didn’t have the energy to get dressed up. I did shower and do my hair, but that’s as far as I got. Jack was also acting a little under the weather. Maybe it’s a high pressure system or Mercury is in Retrograde or something. It just wasn’t a good day for any of us. I did my chores and put on my tried and trusty linen shorts with a good old chambray long sleeve shirt. Some days just call for comfort. If it wasn’t for this daily recording of my outfits, I might have stayed in my pajamas all day…that’s how bad the day was. See, I could barely fake a smile. I’m nothing but honest here on the old blog.

Purchases…

Well, I did buy two dresses from J Jill, two skirts from Farm Rio, and some jewelry from J Jill, too. I’ll be wearing those in future posts so I’m going to keep you in suspense. I also bought Nigel some cologne for our anniversary. Oh, I almost forgot, I bought five hibiscus plants on clearance at Lowes. I need to get dirt so I can pot them up. These aren’t hardy so I’ll try my hand at wintering them over in the garage.

What to link up…

Please link up your favorite fashion posts, old and new. Please take the time to visit some of the other bloggers. I’m sure they would appreciate it, and please let them know you are visiting from our link up! I really do thank Amy for being my co-host! Feel free to show us what you’ve been wearing, what you’ve bought, returned, or just thought about. Maybe you could share something you’d love to have but never will for whatever reason. You can tell us…we’ll understand. Tell us about your shopping habits. Do you enjoy thrifting, reselling, or online shopping? Just write a post about fashion of any kind. You could even do a review of an awards show. I know the Tonys just occurred. I can think of at least one outfit I’d never wear, but the guy wearing looked pretty daggone amazing! And, remember, even if you’re a movie reviewer, a baking blog, a book lovers blog, a blog that’s anything but fashion, I’m betting you get dressed. Snap a photo, write a little about it, and link it up! You really don’t have to dress up, either…take a look at my Monday look! I’m pretty sure we’ve got the bugs out of the link party now so you can link up through me or Amy! Just, please link up and spread the word! Thanks, my friends!