Katie Daily Style – Lace and a Spider

• Striped tank – thrifted
• Cardigan – Target
• Skirt – thrifted
• Vintage lace and button necklace – self-made
• Spider – Mother Nature

As I left for work in this outfit, a very sleep Rocket Scientist looked at me and said,

The stripes and the yellow look really pretty together. But what’s that horrible growth coming out of your neck?*

The dude does not like lace, or “doilies,” as he calls them. Which is too bad for him, because if there’s one thing I love it’s a lace necklace. Observe:

Three lace necklaces isn’t too many, right?

And I spotted a spider on the wall, and got distracted (as usual), hence the title of this post.

Do you have any loves (style or otherwise) that others around you just don’t get?

Be sure to check out everyone’s lace concoctions over at Everybody, Everywear?

*To which I responded “it’s not a too-maaah.” Of course.

Katie Daily Style – Lacey Lady

• Plum dress – JC Penney
• Lace collar – yard-saled
• Lace necklace – self-made
• Lace and button fascinator – self-made
• Brown boots – la mama

As I fell asleep last night, I was struck with the brilliant idea to pair my lace necklace with my lace collar and create a giant neck piece that would make both Elizabeth I and Little Lord Fauntleroy proud.

I had grand plans to pair said lace collar with masculine lines – clean and sleek – to work as a foil against all the lace. But when I actually had to get dressed? All I wanted to do was pair the lace with more lace (see: fascinator) and a dress. If I’d had ankle socks and some Mary Janes, I would’ve worn those, too.

What can I say? My subconscious is a combination of Amy March, Lydia Bennet, and Anne Shirley (the dress even has puff sleeves!). Just give me consumption and a fainting couch and I’ll be all set.

Rogue curl!

30 Day No Repeat Challenge: Day 25

Katie Daily Style – Copy Cat Squared

• Black dress – thrifted
• Black cardigan – Target
• Brown belt – Target
• Black leggings – Target
• Brown boots – La Mama
• Lace necklace of amoeba-ness – self-made
• Wooden earrings – local boutique

Guys, I got so many compliments on this outfit today! My downstairs neighbor who makes my apartment smell like brautwurst every time he grills, coworkers, little old ladies (with surprisingly similar hairdos to mine) at an afternoon lecture, and even a random dude on the street all told me they liked what I was wearing! Sure, the random dude actually said “Got a light?” but I’m hip enough to know that’s just random dude-on-the-street speak for “Hey, looking sassy there, missy!”

This is me, looking sassy.

Sadly, I can’t take credit for any of today’s look because it’s an amalgam of two shameless copies. First up is the ah-maz-ing Danielle of Keep Warm. I adored her combination of black dress and cardigan with brown accessories so much that I copied it in its entirety. Next up, I’m stealing her pink hair!*

Then I added the latest in my attempts at An-faux-pologie (def: recreating the pieces that Anthro charges absolutely shameful prices for). A few weeks ago I saw the Layers of Grace necklace in a store for the pearl-clutching price of $158.00.

Anthropologie "Layers of Grace" Necklace

I went home, rummaged through my supply of vintage doilies and buttons from yard sales, and made this (yesh, sorry for photo quality):

A bit more rustic, perhaps, but also free, which always wins out in my book.**

This brings the total of my lace necklaces up to four (#1, #2, and #3). Excessive? Perhaps. But if you’re going to be excessive, it should be with things like lace. And tiny shrimp forks.

*Not really, Mom. Stop worrying. I’m going to dye my hair purple.

**And it reminds me of an amoeba, so there’s some extra win right there!

30 Days No Repeats Challenge: Day 23

Chelsie Daily Miscellany

Scarf tied to necklace chain.

It’s summer… and sometimes I just can’t decide what to wear, between day trips, weekend trips, and work, it’s been pretty busy lately. This outfit was a little plain, so I tied a scarf to the ends of the chain on my lace necklace. I liked the result.

And now, some pictures, for your viewing pleasure.

We were going through a town having a festival and all the window displays in this old downtown had odd freak show displays. Kind of interesting. And I know you all love a good mustache.

Live 'Freak Show' Models.

This old telegraph pole was found on my uncle’s cottage property. The cottage is on an island and I guess they used to have a telegraph pole there to communicate with the outside world. It has long since being abandoned, but it was pretty neat to see.

Old telegraph wire pole.

Chelsie Daily Style – A Little Simplicity and a Little Lace

• Black Shirt – Smart Set
• Brown Capris Dress Pants – Reitmans
• Shoes – DKNY
• Hat – Unsure
• Necklace – Self-made

I’ve been wanting to make a lace necklace for a while now, and about a month ago I found this lace collar at a local antique store. It took me another couple weeks to get some fabric stiffener and a length or chain, and got around to putting it together this past weekend. I’m enjoying the contrast of the black with the white lace. Crispy.

Katie Daily Style – Thrifting Karma and a Lace Necklace

• Sky blue t-shirt – Target
• Navy pleated skirt with “ship” panels – thrifted
• Brown belt – thrifted
• Lace and pearl necklace – self-made
• White sandals – SAS

This past spring I found an amazing skirt at Goodwill: heavy, navy cotton with tall white ships appliqued all over the bottom half . The skirt was perfect…except it was slightly too small. I could wear it up around my natural waist, but it wasn’t going any further south. Because I prefer to wear most of my skirts on my hips “like those young men who wear their pants below their underwear,” to quote my grandmother who will remain unnamed (but she knows who she is), I knew I wouldn’t wear it that often. I took that as a sign that the skirt was really meant for someone else, and I put it back on the rack.

A few weeks went by and someone else bought the skirt, and I kept kicking myself for giving it up. But it seems I made the right decision and the thrifting karma gods smiled on me as a result. Guess what I found at Goodwill last month? A brand new navy skirt with ships on it for $1.50. Booyah and cue the happy butt dance!

I think this skirt might even be a bit more versatile, because the ships aren’t quite so in-your-face. It’s a little hard to tell, but the ships are on the white fabric making up the inside of the inverted box pleats.

I love the fact that the ships are hidden and only pop out when I walk or sit, along with the pale pink, grey and light blue colors that comprise the image. The only problem is that I’ve apparently lost a little weight and my grandma’s predictions are dangerously close to coming true. So today I tried paperbagging it around my natural waist, but I’m still not completely convinced that the paperbag style works on the short-waisted and big-chested like myself. Oh well, you never know until you try.

The lace for this necklace came from a big bag of doilies my mum bought at a yard sale. I love the shape, and if there’d been two of them I would have made earrings. However, I also love it as a necklace. Plus, combine the pearls on the necklace with the ships on my skirt and I feel like a sneaky theme dresser.

Do any of you have thrifting karma stories?