Not Quite a Copycat

It's Pinterest again for my inspiration this week.  For once I am not trying to recreate the look exactly, but taking the color mix that I loved and using it with elements from my own closet.  Here is what I came up with.

 I know what you are thinking.  Skinny jeans and brown boots again?!  I can't seem to help myself.  I was missing a major element in my look though, and that was the pop of yellow bag.  I tried to find something of equal weight for my look, but nothing that I tried worked for me.  I settled for the look as is, and sometimes that is ok.

XO,
Alyssa

Teatime Tidbits

(Ignore my titular alliteration)

I spent Friday afternoon at the wonderful English Rose Tea Shop in Carefree with a great friend.  I have never gone to a tea shop so it was a new experience for me.  I thought that my new floral dress would fit the bill just right, and since it is still a bit cold here I had to do tights with my shoes.  First time I've done that combo with these shoes and I really liked the way the whole thing came together.  I tried on about a dozen necklaces and nothing even remotely popped off of the heavy floral, so I though I'd let my belt and my arm bangles do the accessorizing for me.  Oh...and there was also this, in the tea shop...

Bad self portraiture, but is that hat not TO DIE for?!  They had a huge chest full of great hats for the picking.  Perhaps gross, but I had a great time.  It was about 2 sizes too large for me, but I just balanced it on my ears for a while.  It got the job done!  I felt perfectly festive for the occasion.

There was also some silliness going on.

Yes, I wear glasses and I have hair in my eye.

It's how we roll in AZ.  I also took a few fun pics at the "dump", which isn't really a dump but a collection of shops and consignment booths.  [If I knew how to do a "more pics after the jump" jump, I would spare you all of this.]

The lovely Natty who made it all happen.

Thanks for sharing my day with me!  It's Monday...so you know what that means.  And more than likely I'll link it up on Wednesday too so look for me at Patti's, Molly's and at Lindsey's!

XO,
Alyssa

Cautionary Copycat

I love how the ensembles on Polyvore look so cute and complete.  I can imagine it on a person so easily that I readily jump into the style.  Since I am not a 5'10" size 0 however, I sometimes have a hard time translating the outfit for my body.  Especially when the silhouette is a skinny one.  Or if it includes a scarf apparently. 

I happen to have 2 different black scarves.  One is shorter than the other as you can tell from the first to the second image.  It's really obvious that I have a short neck when I have a scarf wrapped that tight to it!!  Wasn't a good look.  The second is ok, but its still too short I think.  I wore it, and no one threw things at me so I guess it would pass.  I also don't own a leopard bag so skipped that element all together.  In retrospect, would my long leopard scarf have done a better job than trying to recreate the look directly?  Possibly.  

The lesson?  Be careful where your scarf lands or you could end up looking like it's trying to choke you.  AND don't use a belt unless you really need one.  I used one to tie in the brown boot since I didn't have the leopard bag to do it for me, but the inspiration is a slouchy look and I think it would have been best to leave it all slouchy.  Why don't I ever learn the lessons before I take the pictures??  I think my blog would be doing so much better if it weren't about what NOT to do.  LOL

XO,

Alyssa

It's Thursday so go check out Carly and Mary's link party and do a copycat post of your own.  I'm sure you'll be a DO!  

Unexpected Inspiration

I am a GAP  brand girl, this is no surprise to anyone who reads my blog regularly.  You also by now know I work there.  What you may NOT know is that I was offered my first sales associate position because of the amount of time the store manager saw me shopping in her store.  True story.

Working in retail can be a boon, but in my case I have found that I only tend to shop in my "family" of stores where I can use my employee discount or store card discount.  I have sort of cut myself off from shopping anywhere else because, well, in short because I'm cheap. 

What is my point you may be asking?  Well, I had to go to Home Depot for a toilet seat the other day.  No, my inspiration didn't come from there!  It didn't take me long to find what I needed and right next door to the Home Depot is a Kohls.  I have only ever been in there a few times and have NEVER found anything I would buy, but I had all this free time on my hands and it was right there!  Well, guess what?  It was end of season closeout time and I came away loaded up with new goodies for my closet!

One of the things I found was this great printed, tie-neck blouse.  It has beautiful details like the pleating in the front, which is echoed in the back.  I loved the floaty sleeve and the colors, and immediately saw a bunch of different ways I could use this.

Click here for Kohl's Blouse Shop

I loved it layered with my cool leather jacket.  I thought it added a masculine element to the feminine aspect of the blouse.  I threw in a great clutch and off I went, happy in the knowledge that there are more places to shop than my own stores and deals to be found if you take the time to shop.  Lesson learned world, lesson learned.  Inspiration can often be found in unexpected places.  Now that I have my eyes open, where will I find it next?

Where have you found unexpected inspiration?

XO,

Alyssa 

** I got called out by the social media dogs for not linking to Kohl's, so out of courtesy I added the link.  If you so choose, you can also use the blogger promo code TENFORBLOG now through March 9th.  

Casual Copycat

I think putting Copycat in the title of my Thursday posts is going to become a "thing".  Watch for it.

From my Pin; followed 12 links back and gave up.  I'm guessing Archimedes on Polyvore is the originator.

How easy and cute is this little mix?  I loved it so much, it inspired me to get back into the Copycat game.  Of course, I can never manage to leave well enough alone so I had to do it my way, using the pieces i had at home.

My shoes and belt are a lighter neutral than the tobacco color in the Pin, and because the buckle on my belt is silver, so too became the accessories.  You know, I felt so great in this super simple outfit.  I thought it looked put together, even though it is really just jeans and a tee shirt.  I could have used a couple more necklaces to really make it sing, but I wanted to just stay simple.  I will do the tobacco colored neutrals another time...dressier wedges and gold and coral jewels instead of matching.  Then we can see which interpretation we like best!  This is a cooperative you know.

So...I'm linking up with Carley at Texas Lovebirds and Mary at Trusty Chucks.  I think you guys should too...copycats are FUN!!!  See the sidebar for links loveys.

XO,

Alyssa

Makin' It Work

My watch reads 7:13 and the poor picture quality tells you that it is the a.m. before I had to drop the kids to school and head to work.  The good news here though is that I'm making that Lemon-drop necklace work for me.  

I hadn't received the necklace before I found these adorable flats on clearance at Old Navy, but had planned many an outfit starring the two together.  When the necklace came and was such a disappointment I had almost despaired of using either.  But, being the former Girl Scout I am, I persevered and used the damn necklace anyway.  Know what?  I think it looks ok!  I mean, unless you touch it you can't really tell it's crap.  I tried to sneak in a closeup of it, but obviously my camera skills on self timer are not that great.

What do you think?  Can you tell I'm wearing cheapy neck bling or does it pass as a more expensive piece?

XO,

Alyssa

It's Wednesday so Pleated Poppy and Rolled Up Pretty are hosting link parties...go check them out and see for yourself how many amazing bloggers are sharing style.  

Better in Real Life

Okay, I swear that this outfit translated better in real life than in any of the pics I took!

It's transition time in the stores again, with Spring and Early Summer merchandise flooding into place.  For my job, this means I have to clean the store in the morning and then move merchandise around and be a cashier for the rest of the day.  Those jobs require a few things...foremost is comfortable shoes.  Not too many shoes more comfy than Chucks.  I also can't look like I just finished mopping floors and cleaning toilets (even if I just have) so the look has to be presentable while still allowing me the freedom to move about without adjusting layers all day.  So...this is the type of outfit you get from me when my job gets squicky complicated and full of multi-tasking.

Have I ever mentioned that I used to be a manager at this SAME store?  Sigh.  I used to look really great for work.  I didn't have to clean then.  Sigh again.  Oh well, I get a whole lot more time for blogging this way!  LOL.

It's another Monday ya'll, so go check the links.

XO,

Alyssa

Accessory Additions; Buyer Beware

If I can make an admission,  I can honestly say my wardrobe holes are by this point very few.  I could really and truly live happily without adding anything new in the clothing department.  Well, perhaps I wouldn't be HAPPY, but I could live.  The one area which is sorely lacking in my closet however is colorful jewelry.  Those blingy, poppy pieces that make a statement when you wear them.

Continuing on with the honesty bit...I refuse to buy a "bubble necklace" merely because EVERYONE ELSE already owns them.  What is the fun in that?  Sometimes I do things just to be contrary (which is also one of the reasons why I refuse to read Fifty Shades...).

Anyway, I have been on the prowl for some fun, decent quality but not hugely expensive pieces to add to my basics.  I was so excited to have found two pieces that I really loved and envisioned working well in my closet.

Both pieces are from T & J Designs

[I get no kickbacks or free stuff from these or any other retailers, that isn't how I roll.  After what I'm about to share, I doubt I will get any from here on out either!]

The pieces came quickly, within 3 days of my order.  The packaging was cute, a faux-velvet bag embossed with their logo.  However, both my necklaces were shoved in the one bag.  It was a teensy bag.  So, with great trepidation I opened it and beheld my $42 worth of new bling.  GASP!  These are soooooooo cheap.  The Lemondrop is ok, I only paid $18 for it and I can live with its quality.  But the other?  It is really awful.  The metal is barely that, looks and feels more like plastic as do the "resin" beads.  I wouldn't have bought this for $4, let alone the $24 I actually paid. I am sorry.  I know I said "if you can't say something nice than shut the fuck up", but REALLY, this is more buyer beware than cattiness.  They have some highly expensive things on their site, and if these two pieces are a reflection of the overall quality of their items, I would not recommend them to anyone.  Looking on their site after this disappointment, I also discovered that sale merchandise is non-returnable, not even for site credit.  Sad again.  

So.  That was a huge waste of money and a huge let down.  I came away with two lessons from this though; 1) I now remember why I never shop online for stuff I wear and 2) read the return policy BEFORE you purchase stuff!!  

In the good news column...Target was having buy one get one 50% off their jewelry today and I came home with these two great pieces for what amounted to $12.75 a piece.  The quality is FAR BETTER than my $24 fail.

Be on the lookout for all these pieces in the near future.  (Since I can't return it I've got to make it work, right?  Unless you guys want it to be a giveaway piece?)

I think I'm set for colorful necklaces now?  Who am I kidding, I'm on a roll.  Colorful shoes are next.

XO,

Alyssa

Jewels and Jewel Tones

I don't have a whole lot to say today except this; I love this shirt.  I love this color.  I love polka dots and huge gold chains.  I love the bracelet that my best friend got me.  Guess you could say this outfit works for me, huh?

I'm going to throw in a side note here.  That necklace is from Forever21 and is a REALLY heavy chain set with rhinestones.  I paid $12 for it.  In my next post, I'm going to tell you why that makes any difference to anyone.  Stay tuned.  

(If you follow me on Go Chic or Go Home you probably can guess where this is headed!)

XO,

Alyssa

It's Wednesday, so find me at Pleated Poppy and Rolled up Pretty (see buttons on sidebar for links).

Back to the Basics

It's been very colorful on this blog lately, so I thought it was time to head back to the basics.  Remember this skirt?  I wore it not that long ago for a copycat post (this one) and went on and on about the belt making the outfit.  Guess what.  

It did again.  That one shot of color is enough to elevate the look of the whole outfit.  Were I a savvy blogger, I would have pulled out some other accessories to make the look pop such as a bag perhaps, or a chunky necklace, or both.  But I am not a savvy blogger and so, you just get the outfit.  

Listen, I do what I do and often don't have the time to switch bags for every outfit when all that happens is it gets locked in a locker.  I did however take the time to pull my hair back.  What do you think?

It's Monday ya'll so look for the YOLO and Visible Monday buttons on the sidebar!!  Go join in the fun!

XO,

Alyssa