Black Horn Talons Fake Gauges earrings: TribalStyle on Etsy (I don’t see the exact ones in there right now, but these are pretty much the same in white)

Silver ball stud earrings with pearl catches: ?? (from Japan)

Padded-shoulder short-sleeved jacket: Forever 21 (from a couple years ago; similar here)

Basic Tee-shirt (Short Sleeve): Petit Bateau

Bracelets: DIY, Target, snowflake obsidian stretch bracelet from Arizona

Rings: Target, mocha (from Japan), double cross interlocking ring designed by me

Front-zip convertible work-dress: Jelly Garcia (now The Dress & Co. by Hideaki Sakaguchi…this particular piece is almost impossible to find now since it’s from 2008/2009 or so…funnily enough, I saw Jane from Sea of Shoes post a photo of the one she owns more recently, so maybe it is still available)

Black miniskirt with zips (under dress): H&M

Black leather Ruffle Satchel: Steve Madden (purchased from HauteLook; no longer available)

Faux over-knee mock hold-up tights: TRAIN (Japan) (similar here)

Zoe Boots: Sam Edelman

The boss and the financials whiz I work with decided to instigate “Monday Fun-Day” at work…a day that we all wear our most out-there, most amazing, most Fashion-y with a capital F outfits.

That sounds wonderful to me – since I don’t really wear a lot of my super high heels or ultra-fashiony outfits on a day-to-day basis (except sometimes for this blog).  Ultra-fashiony doesn’t really fly in Portland (or in the more sedate suburb in which I live).  The standard is more classic, comfortable clothing here, tending toward the rugged: mostly browns and greys, knee-high boots, soft tunics, quilted/fleecey jackets, and low heels (if any heels at all).  Sportswear and yogawear abound (since we have Nike, Adidas, Columbia Sportswear, Lulu Apparel, Nau Clothing, and Jantzen Swimwear all headquartered in the same small metro area here).  (But Portland Fashion Week Fashionxt is coming up this week, so we may be in for an annual fashionable shakeup!;-)

So an outfit like this definitely doesn’t blend in with the majority, but another wonderful thing about Portland is that there is a great deal of tolerance towards others, and even the handful of people with the really out-there outfits don’t really garner that much attention.

I’m in love with these fake gauges I got at TribalStyle’s Etsy shop (see link above); Portland is also all about gauged ears but I don’t want to go that far permanently.  It’s a great way to get that look and mimic the S/S 2012 Givenchy Tusk Earrings look, all at great price and from an individual artisan.  (And she was making these way before Ricardo Tisci created his version for Givenchy!  Just sayin.’;-)

My other boss told me I looked like a Gothic Nun today, which I found extremely amusing.  Of course I had to top off (or bottom out…?) the look with my circa ’09 blogger-bandwagon-jumping Sam Edelman Zoe heels, which are always just the right amount of fierce.

I added a pair of tights I got in Japan that are actually full-length tights; though they look like over-the-knee black thigh-high tights.  I’ve never been able to wear thigh-highs; having super-thick thighs means I always get that unsightly roll of flesh right above the thigh-high stockings, so I stay far, far away.  But these mock hold-up tights are a perfect alternative that solves my problem completely!  MyTights.com has some great options, including those by House of Holland if you’re looking for a pair yourself.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

xoxox
Carly

Tags:

my outfits, trends