What I Got: Loft Belt

Loft Belt, $20

This belt has been featured on various outfits on Loft forever.  Well, maybe not forever, but for a very long time.  But it was never available for sale.  Until now.  Now it is available, and it is only $20!  I picked one up in Sunday and wore it Tuesday, and I love it.
I hope your week is going well!
~Lori

What I Want: Loft

Loft

This is an outfit that I would ideally wear in a heartbeat, if it weren't for the fact that me and turtlenecks don't do that well together. But the pants and the shoes?  Love!  And I have some just like the ones pictured, though my shoes do not have tassels.  And, sadly, I noticed the other day when I was wearing them that one of them is a little scuffed.
That's a good reason to get a new pair, right?!
I hope your week is going well.  Mine has been super busy, but good.  Last night I went to a crock pot party and made ten make ahead meals in about an hour.  I am looking forward to trying them out in the next few weeks.  I'll have to let you know how they are!
~Lori

Minor Obsession: Loft Top

Last month I posted about the clothes I purchased at the Loft sale.  While I loved a lot of the pieces I got, some just didn't quite fit, and I was able to take them back to a Loft store yesterday.  My plan was to just return the items and go, but the saleswoman was good and convinced me to look around.  I'm glad she did!  I found this sweet Peter Pan collared top, and I purchased it- full price.  I never do that, but I'm glad I did.  I wore it last night to our Open House.  I paired it with a black pencil skirt and my leopard kitten heels.  I plan on taking it to Paris, where I will pair it with black shorts, black cigarette pants, or maybe my high-waisted denim shorts.  I love it so much,  I already want to wear it again!

Loft Grid Print Peter Pan Collar Top
$54.50

Anyway, I am so very glad that it is Friday. This has been a long week.  I am exhausted and ready for the weekend!  Any fun plans?

Loft Spring Choices

Sunday night, as the weekend was winding down and I was watching Midnight in Paris (and maybe one or ten episodes of House), I happened to be checking my email when I noticed that Loft was having a sale.  I hopped on over to see what was what.  I may have gone a little crazy, but my justification is that it was all on sale, and I need new pieces for spring and summer.

                                          1)Black romper/ 2) V neck cami/  3)Long skirt/
                          4) Modern Skinny Jeans in Rinse Wash 5)Stripe Garden Floral Scarf

I've been looking to tweak my wardrobe, and to only add pieces that will work together and with other pieces that I already have.  Plus, I've been wanting a romper like that for quite some time now, but I can never find one that actually fits (long torso).  I'm hoping this one will work, or else back it will go.  The camisole is not a style I would usually wear (not a spaghetti strap kind of girl), but I figure with a cardigan or a chambray shirt over it, it should work.
The jeans are a style that I already have, so I know the fit works, and I am need of a dark wash that I can dress up or down.  The scarf (I was back on the site and I am kind of regretting not buying this one instead) is something I will definitely use and it will add color to my shifting-to-black-and-white wardrobe.  I also picked up a navy blue sweater.  (Because a girl can always use a navy blue sweater!)
So I got all of this for 40% off, (there's that beautiful justification again), and then, Wham!  The sale ended last night.  But... they are having another sale, again 40% off with the code 4peeps.
I'm not sure how long this one lasts, but I hope you find something you like!

Stripes: The Devil's in the Details

photo by Kim Trzyna

Hair & Make up by Dots

I'm a stripes kind of gal.  I'm drawn to clothing with stripes. When done correctly, I think they are timeless and chic.  If you were to peek into my closet, you would see an awful lot of striped clothing hanging around.  I have shorts, pants, skirts, dresses, cardigans, jackets, sweaters, blouses, pajamas, shoes... the list, believe it or not, goes on.  I love them.  Horizontal or vertical, but mostly horizontal.  Skinny stripes and thick stripes, in all colors, but mostly, of course, in navy and black.  As I'm writing this, I am wearing a blue pinstriped shirt, and my socks have black and white stripes (it was crazy sock day at school). 

My obsession with stripes (I tend to talk a lot about my obsessions on here) got me thinking about their history.  Why, I wondered one day (probably while wearing stripes, of course), do you always see pirates depicted in striped material?  And why did prisoners back in the day wear thick black and white stripes?  And burglars, in old timey references, wear black and white striped shirts to go with the black masks that shield their nefarious identities.  This burglar question got me wondering when said burglars wised up and started wearing all black, and whether any burglars ever really did wear black and white, and did they refuse to burglarize on nights when their striped shirts were in the wash?  As in-- Oh, sorry, Joe, I can't rob old man Jenkin's place with you tonight; my striped shirt is at the laundry.
Anyway, to answer all these questions (and more, according to reader's reviews), I need to buy Michael Pastoureau's book, The Devil's Cloth.  Pastoureau is a French specialist in medieval history.  While he was researching various medieval documents, he kept noticing that it was usually only the negative figures or characters who were depicted wearing stripes.  This led him to research the history of striped fabric, starting with a "medieval scandal" in France and moving throughout history to the 20th century.  I don't know about you, but I find this kind of stuff fascinating.  That's part of the reason I love having a smart phone so much, because I have instant access to online research whenever a weird little question pops into my head.  So this book is on my list, and stripes are on my mind.  And in my closet.

by Michel Pastoureau

Audrey Hepburn

Audrey Hepburn

Loft

from the book Parisian Chic- if you don't have this guide yet,
please do yourself a favor and go get it!
image via

Love. from polyvore

perfection (via pinterest)

image via taste-ful.com

Pete Yorn and Scarlett Johansson-her striped shirt

and tousled hair are fantastic in this video

~Lori