Monday, May 14, 2012

Visible Monday - I'm back for a Mingle

I have so missed participating in Visible Monday and Monday Mingle. It feels like it has been forever since I participated, but it has only been two weeks. 


My knee is still healing and I am being very careful to make sure not to hit it on anything. I hope to start back with some cycling exercise this week. 


My outfit is inspired from a feature in the April InStyle magazine on wearing Railroad stripe fabrics. I have had my railroad stripe jacket for quite a long time and I have always liked it as an easy layering piece. According to InStyle, you can mix railroad stripes "with other prints large and small--but not against other stripes." I decided to mix it with an eyelet top and my red jeans.


If you have ever wondered why this fabric is called railroad stripes here is a bit of information about it. The general consensus is that a railroad engineer wanted a cap to wear during work and asked his wife to make him one. She used the the only fabric she had available which was blue and white striped pillow ticking. So, what is pillow ticking? It is a heavy-weight fabric, which was often blue and white stripe, that was used to make feather pillows. The weave kept feathers from coming out of the pillow and poking the unsuspecting sleeper. So the engineer's wife used pillow ticking to make the cap which became synonymous with Railroad engineers. My Grandfather worked for the railroad building and repairing box cars for most of his life. I remember him wearing the traditional cap and overalls every day for work. 




Jacket: CJ Banks
Top: Chico's
Jeans: NYDJ
Sandals: Think! Julia

Bracelet on Left: Vintage necklace worn as bracelet
On right from top: Michele Watch, Dillard's Bracelet,
Forever21
Necklace: purchased from local jewelry store.
You may also notice that I did a bit of work on my hair color. I added a Manic Panic Platinum Blond toner to it but it is still not what I want it to be. I plan on adding a Wella toner to it this week to see if it gets to be more what I want. It still has a lot of yellow and orange tones that I don't like. I do like it much more than what it was before I tried my first toner. I really want a silvery gray color. That probably seems a bit weird for a boomer blogger to want gray hair, but I have always thought all over gray hair is gorgeous. Unfortunately, my hair is not all silver, it is a mixture of mousey brown and silver which is not a pretty look. So, I am resorting to color to create the look I want. 


I want to send a heartfelt thank you to all who sent me good wishes and prayers for a swift recovery. It truly is harder to recover as one gets older, but I believe I am getting a bit better every day. Your support during my recovery meant so much to me. 


Please visit the beautiful women on  Monday Mingle  and  Visible Monday  who are sharing their stylish outfits with us all. Happy Monday everyone!

28 comments:

  1. You don't look like you had a surgery at all! ;) That's a good thing. I really like your accessories with this outfit. I'm going to have to look up that Think! brand, cute sandals!

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  2. I am loving your bangles Debbie.
    Congratulations on having your knee done, I hope that you are not in much discomfort.
    Nice to see you back!

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  3. Well, you look amazing for having been through a major surgery!! Love this look!

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  4. Welcome back - I've missed you! Love your bracelets today, and I also love the direction you're going with your hair. Silver is beautiful, imho.

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  5. Glad to hear you're on the mend! I hope you're able to get your hair color just how you want it, such a tricky business. Still love those red pants on you.

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  6. Sorry to hear about your knee and I hope it will recover completely and soon! Your jacket is a very pretty color!! And what an interesting story. I had never heard that before.

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  7. Welcome back! You look mah-ve-lous dahling!
    Laura

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  8. Yay! There you are! It's good to see you standing up, and looking so smashing in those red pants. (I am loving coloured pants this season.)

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  9. Ooooh Debbi! Great outfit. I love the greyish blue, white and red. This is one of my favorite looks I've seen all spring. Also thanks for the lesson on the fabric. Someone mentioned my blue/cream striped skirt was 'seersucker like' but I actually think it's more like the railroad fabric (more dense heavy cotton).

    I had a teacher once with truly silver hair. It shined so pretty, so I understand the desire for the certain shade. Goodluck with the toner. I've had mixed results while trying to go blonde. At this point red is so ingrained in my color I can't get rid of it!

    I'm glad to hear about your recovery. Keep taking it easy. <3 Happy and healthy is a good thing. You'll get back to that point. Hope you're getting back to pain free.

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  10. So happy to see you back and always with a wealth of new information. I knew nothing about the origin of railroad stripes. Hope that your recovery continues to unfold, and you are looking great in the midst of it.

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  11. Love the color of that top and really like that collection of arm candy! I enjoy reading a blog called 'Killer Strands' which provides tons of information for women who color their own hair. I am 70 and decided to go natural and love the fact that I don't have to put chemicals on my hair ever again. I was a medium blonde all my life, when it started changing I colored it blonde, but it never really looked the way I wanted it to.

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  12. Hi Debbie, so nice to meet you! I love your attitude and I totally get what you mean about all gray being so gorgeous. I saw a woman once in a restaurant that was so amazing looking and she had pure silver hair. I can't wait to read and see more. :-)

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  13. I did not know about the story behind the rail road stripes...how interesting!
    Your red pants is beckoning me to take mine out for a spin. As always, I love how you wear your accessories!

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  14. It is good to see you up and around and looking so put together. I know exactly what you mean about wanting to be one of those grey haired women with a mane. Your hair looks so thick, so once you get the color you want, it will be "killer," as they say.

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  15. Fun bracelets. Thanks for showing off your style this week on Monday Mingle.

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  16. In Denmark we have another name for the fabric, in the navy and white version: Milkboy stripes. I still have my knee operation ahead of me, so it's comforting to see others getting over their without too many setbacks. The eyelet top is lovely!

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  17. Happy to see you back. I like the outfit and mixing red and blue with the eyelet. Good luck with the hair color experiments. You are brave!

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  18. It's nice to have you back again.Your hair seems all grey to me and reminds me I have to do something with my own color. But can't decide yet.

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  19. Yes I do notice your new hair color, I have recently seen some silver hair inspiration they look fabulous, even GaGa was spotted with all silver hair, looks super cool! So wonderful to see you back with an outfit post, you look great, hope your knees will continue to heal well! I love the red jeans and pretty top. The pastel blue jacket has a lovely color to go with your outfit. And of course as always, cute accessories, I like how you layering the pieces.

    mongs
    mythriftycloset.blogspot.com

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  20. Hi Debbie!

    I am happy that you are doing well! Your hair looked different, pretty!
    It is hard sometimes to get the hair color that you want at the first try
    Nice story about the railroad cap

    Take care of yourself

    Ariane xxxx

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  21. Glad you're back, take care of yourself. Like I said before "I love those read jeans".

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  22. What a cute story! :] I love your collection of bracelets.

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  23. Debbi, Hi! You look great! Love he railroad stripes and the story. I see that you've changed your location!! So glad to hear you are doing well. I totally agree about healing and getting older...it seems to take longer. Bracelets look great together...love the big vintage one. dawn suitcaser vignettes xo

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  24. Welcome back to Monday Mingle! Love your arm candy!

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  25. you know I have a blue and white striped skirt (a diehard fave I've had for years) that was called a ticking skirt - I'd no idea why then and the word always tickled my curiosity, but now I do - so I've learnt something today! Good to see you are doing well and hope the knee gets better quick.

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  26. Glad to see you!! I love that kind of fabric too. I also wrap necklaces around my wrist; love your take on it!!

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  27. That is a great outfit. As one who has hated to shop for a few years now, (odd for a woman, I know), I am glad to stumbled onto your blog. I may just want to shop for clothes again.


    Mecky

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