Something New... Something New...

Have I mentioned how much I truly LOVE Ann Taylor LOFT?

Of course I have.

Hee Hee

Actually, you might even describe me as a bit obsessed.  I cannot help myself.  Their clothes are just soooo my personal style.  I get their e-mail solicitations daily and I cannot help but go look.

Is there ever anything new on the website?

Rarely.

Does it matter that I know that?

Not at all.

Is anyone else that obsessed with a specific retailer?

Anyway... today's ensemble...

What do you think of the color of this skirt?

Ann Taylor calls it Teal Night.  I prefer to think of it simply as gorgeous.  LOVE the color, whatever you want to call it.

I cannot tell you how much I like this skirt.  I do not have the words.

The only thing that is somewhat troubling... teal is not quite as flexible as black or white... my fail safe "colors."

Fortunately, all of my black and white tops will go well with it.

Hee Hee 

It is still available here if you like what you see?

Speaking of black and white...

I went with my striped blouse from Casual Corner today.

Do they "work" together?

This is a great blouse.  I have had it for years.  

I wear it quite often.  I just think it is quite sharp.  How about you?

One of my favorite ensembles is pairing this blouse with my black leather skirt.  I wear that combination at least once each Fall/Winter... probably more often than that.

Hee Hee

To finish things off I finally got a chance to wear my new black patent leather high heels.

How gorgeous are these shoes?

I found these babies at Nordstrom Rack while out shopping with my dear friend Cindy a few days ago.

You may remember that her wonderful husband Rob gave her a "day off" to spend some time with me?

Franco Sarto high heels for $44.97!!!  I just HAD to have them.  Besides, how many different outfits go well with black heels?

Sometimes I justify needless purchases far too easily.

Hee Hee

And the finished look...

Just another standard ensemble for a member of both the Community of Girls Who Love Skirts and the Society of High Heel Lovers.

Hee Hee

What do you think?

Well, lunchtime is over.  Gotta go!

Looking forward to reading your thoughts.  Your comments always make my day.  Yea... I really am that shallow.

Hee Hee

Have a Wonderful Day!!!

-- The Leather Skirt --

A Random Day Off...

Before I go on... Two things...

First... God's Blessings to all that are so harshly impacted by Hurricane Sally.  My heart goes out to you all.

Second... I will begin working on your questions from my previous post immediately.  Hopefully I will have the answers posted in a day or two?

So anyway...

I took today off.

No particular reason.

I just needed a day.

Do you ever feel that way?

I will not be laying around the house but I am not using my day for errands either.

Today is a fun and relaxing day just for me.

I was up early, met a an old college friend for breakfast.  I have a "lunch date" in just a few minutes.  Planning some shopping after lunch and then dinner with my friend Cindy.

Rob has given her the night off.

Hee Hee

Will be a wonderful day ahead.

Here is what I am wearing...

My beloved caramel leather skirt...

This lovely beige blouse...

and the best pair of shoes I have ever owned!

Simple ensemble.

Earth tones.

A little cheetah and leather for just a little "edge."

If you have been reading my blog for awhile you have certainly seen this skirt.  I really do wear it often.

You may recall from this post that it was a gift from Mom last Christmas?

Mom rocks!  She still always looks fabulous.  You will rarely "catch" her away from home without her heels and a skirt.  It is just how we roll.  That did not even sound right.

Hee Hee

The skirt is made by Danier.  It is softer than I could ever explain.

You have heard of "buttery soft leather"... I am sure that this skirt is the reason that term was first written.

 

I chose this wonderful blouse just to provide a little "feminine softness" to counter the "edge" of wearing any leather skirt, even one that is not black or red.

Almost wore the red one today.  Almost.

This lovely blouse has been in rotation for many years.  I wear it all year long.  The long sleeves make it appropriate for cooler months but the light material and color make it so comfortable, even on the hottest days.

Besides, I do not mind telling you that I feel quite "girlie" when I wear it.

Nevermind the wonderful color and cut... look at the cuffs and those cute little buttons.

I almost want to giggle as I type. 

Hee Hee

Despite my obsession with leather I really am quite the "girlie" type.  Honest. 

I really think these two garmets were "born" to be paired together.

The different textures.

The color pallet.

The cut of each.

They really are quite complimentary... at least I think so.

What do you think?

 

Throw in my current favorite footwear...

Ann Taylor has simply designed a fabulous pair of heels.  Fabulous!

The ladies in the office would probably tell you that I wear them too much?  Perhaps you think the same?

They truly are wonderful shoes.  Incredible look.  Comfortable.  Trendy... yet, classic.  Perfect!

It appears that they are still available here if you want a pair of your very own.

I am so happy that I made the purchase... so happy!

So here is the whole ensemble...

 

What do you think?

Oops... look at the time... going to be late for lunch... gotta go!

HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY!!!

-- The Leather Skirt --

Happy New Year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL!!!!

I wish you all the most wonderful and prosperous 2012 you could ever imagine!

I am so sorry that I have been away from posting for so many days.  I have actually missed it more than I would ever have thought that I would.  Odd feeling.  Does anyone else get that way when you miss more than a couple of days between posts?  I will try to do better... starting today.  We'll see?

Anyway, my New Year's Weekend was WONDERFUL!  I hope that yours was half as much fun because if it was you had an absolute blast!

On Friday during lunch with some girlfriends, my phone rings.  One of my college friends (Amy) is inviting me down to Austin for the weekend.  Amy has a great place just steps from Austin's famed 6th Street and she has been after me for some time to come down and visit.  Not only that, a New Year's night BBQ had already been planned for Amy's place and we were all invited.  Apparently it is silly to pass on New Year's Eve on 6th Street so the house party would have to wait until Sunday night.  She had several friends coming over so it would be a fun evening for everyone.  On a pure whim we all decided  to load up the next day and head down to Austin for the weekend.

Saturday after lunch, Cindy (mentioned in this post), myself and two other sweet ladies (that will remain nameless) met at my place, loaded up the car and made our way south.  Yes, Rob agreed to keep the twins all by himself all weekend so that Cindy could have a "girl's weekend".  YOU ROCK ROB!  

Austin or bust!

Once we got settled in at our friend's place we changed for the night and headed out to explore 6th Street.

Before I go on, for any Austin readers (or future visitors), I apologize in advance for not giving specific names of clubs.  I am horrible with names in general but then when you add in the fact that we spent some time in at least 6 or 8 different places it is nearly impossible for me to keep them all straight.  What I can tell you is simply this, Austin is great, 6th Street was a blast!  I would highly recommend that you go sometime and simply bounce from place to place.  Each place has its own truly unique vibe.  What an experience!

We had been told by Amy to expect anything in terms of dress out on 6th Street and our fellow patrons did not disappoint in that regard.  As you would imagine, lots of denim but there were also MANY people dressed to the nines and everything in between.  As anyone that reads my blog with any regularity knows, I like it when people dress well before leaving the house.

What really struck me as much as anything was how eclectic the group was with regard to age.  We had been prepared for the wide variety of wardrobe choices but I was amazed to see such a wide range of ages amongst the revelers.  I am told that this is quite common and not at all limited to New Year's Eve.  Fun!

Snapped these when I got back home yesterday.  Here is what I wore on NYE...

 Simple but it fits my style.  I did not feel out of place for so much as a second.

I really do love these boots.

Cindy wore the leather pants that I mentioned in this post, one of the other girls wore a red leather skirt that I wish I owned, one wore a fantastic sequined mini skirt that I would not dream of trying to pull off and our Austin hostess simply wore jeans. Amy looked hot though.  A good looking group if you ask me.  Hee Hee

Here is what I wore for the New Year's Day BBQ at Amy's place...

Okay, as it turned out I was a bit over dressed.  I am always the one that is "over dressed".  Everyone (and I mean everyone) showed up in jeans.  I only own two pair of jeans and I rarely wear them.  I like skirts.  I like being "over dressed" by most people's estimation.  This is how I am.  Perhaps I will share a little of why that is the case in a future post?

BTW... sweet Cindy wore a denim skirt.  She knows me well.  I am sure that she did not want me to be totally alone in the room.  She knew I would not have jeans in my luggage.     Denim skirt... perfect compromise.  I am just not that quick.  Perhaps I will look for one?

Regardless, as you know, I love these boots.  I think that the skirt is rather casual (at least by my standards) as is the shirt.  Honestly, this is an ensemble that I would put together just to hang out at home.  Despite these facts, I took a little ribbing from the other girls and even some of the guests that arrived later.

As always, I get the routine question, "Why are you so dressed up?"  Does anyone else get that asked that or is it just me?  Why do people even ask that question?  Would they actually prefer that I run around looking sloppy?  Sometimes I want to reply, "Why do you like you just got out of bed?"  Alas, Mom raised me better than that.  Hee Hee.

Despite the occasional dumb question and a few silly comments the BBQ was really fun.  I even met a guy that I might actually like.  He lives in Austin so who knows if it even matters but we agreed to talk and e-mail before he left to go home.  I think Cindy is more excited about it than I am.  Hee Hee.  

Wish me luck.  We'll see?

One funny story from NYE and then I will bring this long post to a close.  It has been a LONG day and I am off to bed.  Another LONG day awaits me at work tomorrow, too.  I did not check e-mail all weekend so you can imagine what that does for the first few days back in the office.

At one of our stops Saturday night, the waitress brings drinks to our table compliments of a few guys on the other side of the room.  This is actually the first time that such a thing has ever happened to me.  Honestly, I didn't really know what to do.  None of us did.  I have to admit, I thought this was only something that happened in movies.  Fun though.

When asked whom exactly had sent the drinks, (pointing to the group of guys across the room) the waitress explained that she had been asked to deliver to the table of ladies wearing leather whatever they were drinking.  A leather skirt gets attention, no way around it.  Hee Hee.  We certainly did not want to be rude to such sweet gentlemen so we graciously accepted their gesture.  Hee Hee

There are four of them standing there together.  Cute guys.  Unfortunately, these guys are younger... a lot younger.  I am not that old but I just cannot date a guy that is still in his early twenties.  I just can't.

I watch as they are clearly discussing our group once the drinks have been accepted.  Guys think that they are so coy but they really are not.  Hee Hee.  Three of the guys are clearly cojoling one of the others to walk over and speak to us.  Guys are so much fun to watch.  Don't you agree?  Hee Hee.  Finally, after enough coaxing from his buddies he makes his way across the room and asks if he can sit down.  Naturally we let him.  Hey, he was the one that was "brave" enough to walk over, right?  I do not know if he was the "sacrificial lamb" that was supposed to soften us up for the rest of his team or not but I do know that none of the others ever came over to help him out.  Instead, they left him to deal with five 30'ish ladies on his own.  Hee Hee

He held his own.  Hee Hee.  He was sweet but just too young.  He only graduated from college last fall!  Let's just say that my graduation year was before that.  Hee Hee.  After sitting with us for a few minutes he asked me to dance.  I did.  How could I not?  We sat back down and talked a little more.  The girls then decided it was time to move on to our next stop.  I think they were trying to help me out.  Hee Hee.  

A little secret for any guys that might be reading this blog... this is why the ladies travel together... Hee Hee.

As we are preparing to leave, my young suitor asks for my cell number.  Ouch!  I was really hoping to not have to deal with that request.  Hearing this request, Cindy immediately steps in to rescue both me and the young man's ego..., "Jordan, you probably shouldn't lead him on."  "You know that you and Rob have discussed trying to reconcile and another man will just complicate that for you."  Cindy is so smooth.

I turn to the young man and he sheepishly replies, "I understand."

Should I feel bad?  I really do not but should I?

Out the door we headed.  We made at least 3 or 4 more stops before the new year arrived.  Lots of fun.  The girls are such fun to spend time with.  Austin was marvelous and 6th Street certainly did not disappoint.

Hope your weekend was fun, too!

- The Leather Skirt -

Leather Pants in the Suburbs... Really?

Okay, I admit it, I am an urban girl.  Always have been.  I grew up back east before moving here for college.  Although I didn't exactly attend an "urban university", I lived that way as much as I could.  It is my comfort zone.  As soon as I was able, I moved to Dallas.  Yes, I live in Dallas.  Lots of people say that they live in Dallas but actually don't.  I live IN Dallas.  I like the energy of a city.  Honestly, I really don't "get" the whole "suburban thing".  Please don't misinterpret that, it is not meant to be derogatory in any way.

With that understood, let my weekend recap begin. 

I actually had Halloween plans for Saturday night.  I was invited to a Halloween costume party.  Even had a date.  Honestly, I wasn't really excited about either one.  Hope the guy doesn't somehow stumble across this blog and figure it out.  Hee Hee.  I have no problem with adult celebrations of Halloween but the whole idea of a costume and a party just didn't get me going this year.  Somehow knowing all of this... the phone rings late on Friday with an alternative...

Cindy is a college roommate and one of my dearest friends.  Unfortunately (sorry Rob, you know I love you), she married her longtime boyfriend shortly after graduation and jetted off to suburbia for a big house, minivan and kids.  Her dream, not mine but she is truly blissful so I couldn't be happier for her.

It seems that Cindy & Rob actually have made plans for themselves for both Friday and Saturday night.  The problem... no sitter.  Apparently teenagers are unreliable?  In desperation, Cindy calls to ask if I would come out for the weekend and watch the kids each evening?  I said she was one of my dearest friends so of course I said yes.  Nice excuse to break the date and pass on the costume anyway.

After work I rush home, grab a few essentials, something to wear for the weekend and I am off! 

The Leather Skirt out in suburbia... this should be fun.

I work too much so Friday evening is fairly quiet.  By the time I arrive dinner & baths are done so "watching" the three year old twins is really catching up on TV and reading.  On Saturday morning the fun begins.

I am active, an early riser.  I "attack" the day right from the start.  After an early morning run I am back for a shower and then I dress for the day.  Here is what I wore.

Cute booties, Huh?  Nothing special, but cute.  I have to admit, I do like the little pattern on the side and the heel height is perfectly "walkable" all day long.

I can't figure out how to turn these.  Sorry.

Simple.  Understated.  Casual.  I wear this on the weekend all the time. 

Down the stairs and into an "active" kitchen I go for the lavish home made breakfast that Cindy had used to bribe me the day before.  Lavish turned out to be bagels and yogurt.  Ha!  When I step into the room I am greeted by Rob with, "Leather pants in the suburbs, really Jordan?"

I respond, "Sure, why not?"

Rob, "You might just feel a little over dressed, that's all."

Me:  "I don't understand, Cindy has a pair?"  I am naive.  Ha!

Rob:  "I only see her wear them when she goes downtown to meet you for a drink."

Me:  "She looks good in them."  Turning to Cindy, "You should wear them more often."

Rob looks at Cindy.  "You do look good in them."  "Maybe she has a point?"

The twins are adorable.  Of course "Aunt Jordan" doesn't see them every day so the bickering and spills are cute to me.  Mom & Dad, no so much.  Hee Hee!

After breakfast, Cindy asks if I am up for errands?  Rob will keep the kids while we do a little shopping at the local mall, stop at an auto parts store (yes, that is what I said), pick up the dry cleaning and then go by the grocery store for a few things.  Sounds like any given Saturday for me (sans the auto parts store) and it is precious time alone with my friend so why not?

Not that it is critical but for clarification, Cindy leaves the house in jeans and a light sweater.  She did throw on some booties but admits that a t-shirt and tennies would have been her choice had I not been there and had not been "so dressed up".

We make it to mall and it becomes clear to me pretty quickly that I am indeed (as Rob had predicted) "overdressed".  Honestly, this is not at all unusual so it really doesn't bother me but it did surprise me a bit.  After all, we were not at Wal-Mart.

As we make our way from store to store it is quite apparent that I have "drawn" a crowd.  Not really but it sounds better.  Can't you just picture hoards of people following me around the mall like I was the star of a movie or some music video?  Alas, no microphone... Just The Leather Skirt.  Ha! 

Actually, there are clearly people watching as I go by.  Men watching... good.  Hey, what woman ever wants the men to stop watching her walk by?  The women, some of the looks on their faces are, frankly, amusing.  I actually enjoy those strange looks so this doesn't bother me either.  The only comment I get is from a woman checking me out at one of our stops. 

She says, quite coyly and somewhat under her breath, "I really like those pants.  I thought about buying some myself but I just don't know if I would ever wear them."

Me:  "Buy them and wear them wherever you want."  "I wear mine all the time."  "They are great!"

The dry cleaner is one of those drive thru places so that is not at all monumental.  But... the auto parts store...

We arrived looking for a tail light for Cindy's minivan.  We are armed with little more than the knowledge that this light is important and an ability to point the clerk to the van in the parking lot. 

Yes, I spent the day riding around in a minivan.  Ha! 

The clerk is a young man in his 20's and we may not be super models but we aren't scary either so it is clear that he is interested in helping us as we walk in.  He immediately looks at me, gazes up and down, pauses, stares directly into my eyes and says, "What can I do for you?"  I am not sure if he thinks he is hitting on me or if he is just being helpful.  The tone wasn't clear.  Ha!

Anyway, I point to Cindy and she makes our request.  To the back of the store he heads, but not without a quick turn of his head, followed by a quick top to bottom gaze.

From the back of the store I hear two men whispering (well, maybe not whispering as much as they think, ha!) about my pants.  One says to the other, "You have to see this woman."  "She is wearing leather pants!"

Suddenly, another 20'ish young man appears and asks to help me.  Funny.  Men are such, well, men.  I politely dismiss him and he returns to the back of the store.  Shortly they both reappear with Cindy's part and off we go to the grocery store.  can't you just hear them both after we left?  Hee Hee.

Grocery shopping in the suburbs is a little different.  The parking lot is massive.  The carts are massive.  The isles are massive.  The store is massive.  Everything really is bigger in Texas.  Ha!  Up and down the aisles we go.  On each aisle I catch another "interested & confused" soul watching as I walk by.  The expressions are so silly.  I am clearly "over dressed" but by now it is well after lunch and there are still women running around in what appear to be pajamas.  I have never so much as gone out for the paper in my PJ's and these women are out shopping... and looking at me like I am weird.  I really do find it all entertaining.

When we get to the seafood counter I am approached by a VERY nice woman named Julie.  She is a well dressed woman, probably in her late 30's.  She is standing there in heels, a nice pencil skirt and a matching silk top.  She is clearly "ready for the day".

While standing in line with us Julie leans over and asks, "Are those real?"

Me:  "Is what real?"

Julie:  "The pants, are they real leather?"

Me:  "Yes, indeed they are."  "Why do you ask?"

Julie:  "I have been thinking about buying this leather skirt that I saw online but I wasn't sure that I had anywhere to wear it." 

Me:  "Why do you need anywhere to wear it?" 

Julie:  "I like to be well dressed, even for errands, but I just don't know about leather for that." 

Me:  "Well, all i can tell you is you have to dress like you like to dress."  "I do."

Juile:  "It does makes me feel better when I get dressed in the morning."  "I feel like I get more done."

Me:  "I am the same way & I think you look great today."

Julie:  "I think seeing you standing here in those leather pants has inspired me to buy that skirt?"  "If you can wear those pants to the grocery store, I can wear that skirt here, too."

Julie, if you are somehow reading this blog, I hope you bought that skirt.

Home we went.  Baby sitting was a piece of cake.  I stayed the night, got my promised big breakfast and headed home on Sunday morning.

PS... I wore one of my many pencil skirts home.  Rob said I was still too dressed up.  Ha!