Accessory OCD

I admit to a bit of OCD. (Actually, a lot.) When I get really interested in something, I go all out. If it is something I am trying to figure out, then I get a bunch of books about the subject. When I fall in love with a item, I really try hard to find it.
Earlier this year, I found a vintage articulated fish with dangling scales necklace on ebay. The first one I found I was outbid on. So, I went on a search for another one, an in doing so, I found it was made in many different colors. That lead me on a search to find as many different colors as I could. Some that I found were priced out of my range. The ones I could get reasonably, I purchased. Along the way, I discovered owls from the 60's and 70's. I had a thing for owls back then, but I had gotten rid of them over the years. I limited myself to just two owls. Pretty good for me.

Here are pictures of my vintage necklaces.



Vintage Owl & Fish Necklaces

  


Close up of the Pink Scaled Fish



Shortly after I purchased the vintage fish above, I discovered that Fashion Bug had a reproduction of it for sale. It is very similar, but not as well made as the vintage fish. The chain is much lighter weight than the vintage fish. It would be easy for someone who had never seen the vintage fish to sell the repro on ebay as a vintage piece.

These are really fun necklaces to wear on a hot day when I do not want to wear a statement necklace which tends to be heavy and hot.

I hope you enjoy seeing my school of fish.

I think I am a hypocrite

I am really positive to other bloggers who are down on themselves for being overweight. After looking at the pictures from today's outing, I thought "OMG, I look awful. I am bigger than I thought and my face is so round." How can I be positive to others and so hard on myself? At one time, my sister and I were about the same size. As you can see, she is still thin. I have been on so many diets, I can't name them all. Some were really awful. Several times I lost weight, but it always came back, plus some.  I do wonder why I can be so positive to others and not to myself.

To change the subject, my sister, brother-in-law, Mother, and I went to eat lunch at TGIFriday's.  After lunch, my sister took pictures of me and my Mother and I took some of my sister and Mother at a play fountain at a local shopping center. There was a lady and her daughter in the fountain area who obviously were wondering what the heck we were doing.

My sister loves photography and will be helping me to take some pictures sometimes when she is in town.  I hope that I learn a lot from her. She has a nice DSLR camera. Maybe I can learn enough so that I can purchase one to use so that I do not have to rely on someone else to take my pictures.

I plan on wearing this dress to a wedding next week, so I wanted to wear it to see if there were any issues with it. There were. The facings at the neck of the dress keep working their way up and out.  I will deal with it prior to the wedding, so I won't be fussing with the dress and I can have fun instead.



My sister and me. She is wearing a Premier cross necklace and a vintage Sarah Coventry Cross



My Mother and me. She is wearning a metal belt as a necklace. Quite creative!



My feather fascinator head band.



Dress: Dressbarn
Bracelets: From accessory closet
Shoes: Think! Julia sandals
Feather Fascinator: etsy bellasbowtique2008

What I would have worn today if I had not been cleaning carpets

Some days you just have dirty work to do. That was my day today. I had to sweep and spot clean carpets. With 3 large dogs underfoot, it wasn't the easiest thing to do. I bought a Little Green Clean Machine that I had unpack and figure out how to use. I knew that once I got started, I probably would not want to get out of the house, so  I decided I really should go exercise before starting on it.  When I got home, I just stayed in my exercise outfit since I was a bit "dewy" anyway and knew I would get more so from working.

This is the outfit that I would have worn if I had not been doing housework. I may just wear it tomorrow since I spent time planning it out today.



The necklace is a vintage piece - copper and enamel



Normally, I do not wear matching sets of jewelry, but in this case, I think it really works well.

I like to use vintage jewelry with my outfits. Rarely will you see someone wearing the exact same piece you are wearing. It often sparks conversations with people who remember seeing pieces like it years ago.

Denim shirt: Old
Tank: Chico's microfiber cami
Skirt: Talbot's
Necklace & Bracelet: Vintage Matisse

Visible Monday - July 4, 2011

First, I would like to say Thank You to all our soldiers for their service to the United States of American and each and every one of us.

Patti at Not Dead Yet Style graciously asked me to participate in the Visible Monday posts.  I was honored to be asked, so here I am and that darn scarf is surely not invisible. This outfit was one I put together for the 4th with a red white and blue theme. I did not get the scarf looking the way I wanted and did not want to ask the husband to retake the photos just to get the scarf looking right.  I should have done a more simple tie - like a boy scout scarf.





Closeup of the buttons I added yesterday. The peace sign is far better than a plain flat button.

 Top: Target
Vest: Old, I don't remember brand
Jeans: BandolinoBlu from TJ Maxx
Scarf: Mossimo from ebay
Shoes: Think! Julia Sandals (Can you tell yet that Think! sandals are my favorites?)
Bracelets: On the left in the picture: Chico's, On the right David Yurman & Michele Watch

Accessories are not always jewelry or scarves

I was sewing some buttons on my 4th of July outfit when I thought that this would be a good time to write about buttons. I have always had a love for buttons and remember going through my Grandma's button can  for fun when we visited her. Grandma would remove buttons from old clothing and put them in a Prince Albert tobacco can for possible future use. Now days, no one I know saves buttons that way.

Buttons can accessorize an outfit and take it from so-so to something really unique. During the winter, I bought some buttons for a velvet jacket I had purchased from Talbot's. The buttons were really, really plain and just did not add anything to the jacket. So, I purchased some buttons that had a bit more oomph. In the before photo, the buttons are plain and unadorned. In the after, the gold and enamel buttons make the jacket look more expensive. I think it is the details that make an outfit and buttons are a wonderful accessory to add a distinctive touch.


Before - Blue Velvet Jacket with plain blue plastic buttons


 



 

After - Blue velvet jacket with gold and blue enamel buttons



Close up of the buttons

(There was something on the camera lens, so please excuse the spots.)

Different fabric trims can also add a lot to the style of a jacket. Chanel jackets often have very unique trim such as chain, fringe, and braid. Utilizing details like that you can take a very inexpensive jacket and make it one of a kind. I often shop ebay and etsy for vintage trim to use. I recently bought some daisy trim that I plan on adding to a jacket (when I can find the time.)

I hope that this will inspire you to make some easy changes for a unique look.



Black and White, Stripes & Print

Sacramento @ MIS PAPELICOS stated that she would like to see me in a skirt or dress. Quite honestly, I don't wear many of either. Not that I don't like them, but here in Kansas it is often way too windy to risk a dress or skirt. However, today I am not only wearing a skirt but also trying to rock a pattern mix trend.

My husband and I went to lunch today at Red Robin and not one other woman was wearing a skirt or dress.  On the way home we stopped at Walmart, which was a zoo, and I was way overdressed for that outing.



 

Harry wanted in the picture too!



Jacket: Coldwater Creek
Top: JC Penney
Skirt: Talbot's
Necklace: Chico's
Bracelet: Dillards
Shoes: Think! Julia
Handbag: Lockheart (It is a deep red color)



One thing I am learning by posting these photographs is that the look I had in my mind and saw in the mirror is often different than what I see in the photos.  I am sure that as time goes by, I will learn more and be better at this than I am today.

Happy summer colors on a REALLY hot day

It was horribly hot here today. The 55 degrees Paula at Fashion over 50 wrote about sounds divine right now! This was kind of a no make up day for me as whatever I started with this morning pretty much melted away by this evening.  I should have put on lipstick, but did not. We had just gotten back from our Friday night dinner date and I was just thinking about having my husband take these pictures as quickly as possible.

Paula asked if we would post our at home wear. Since I have retired, pretty much every day is a day to chill out. I still love my accessories and wear them whenever I go out. I did have more bracelets on earlier in the day, but it was so hot that even the metal touching my arms was too uncomfortable. I don't always wear all the jewelry at home, but I do usually put on at least a necklace.

This outfit really looks better in person than in the photos. I got several compliments on my accessories today while shopping with my Mother. She and I had fun in Sephora trying on different products.

We also went to a couple of shops so I could try on new eyeglass frames.  It is funny that a couple of years ago there were very, very few plastic frames and now they are abundant and wire frames are harder to find. I hate trying on frames as I am pretty much blind and viewing them from a distance of 6 inches really doesn't give me an idea of how they look.

I love bracelets. This is an Anna & Ava purchased at Dillards.

Jacket: Coldwater Creek

Top: Purchased from either QVC or HSN, I cannot remember.

Jeans: DG2 by Diane Gilman

Flower pin: From a seller on etsy

Necklace: Vintage Chico's

Bracelet: Anna & Ava, Dillards

Shoes: Think! Julia