OOTD- A very casual Friday

I work in a very conservative profession. Luckily, I also live on the West Coast, which tends to be much more laid back in terms of professional dress code than say the East Coast. I can get away with much more creative, Anthro inspired outfits here in Seattle. Several friends who live on the East Coast who also work in conservative professions assure me that my outfits would never fly over there. Just one more reason I can never leave the West Coast.


Anyways, here is my OOTD. It is a casual Friday over here, which means I allow myself to break out the jeans. Today is a little more casual than usual because I only came into the office for an hour to grab some paperwork. I am working from home as I recover from a nasty stomach bug that developed yesterday afternoon.

Cardigan: Anthropologie Snowmelt Cardi by Guinevere (here)

Tank Top: Anthropologie from last summer, purchased when it went on super sale

Jeans: Citizens of Humanity Petite 'Dita' Bootcut Stretch Jeans (here)

Shoes: Anthropologie by Pink Studio, purchased last summer

Necklace: Anthropologie

Now, I would normally never be this casual at work. This is much more of a weekend look for me. However, as I said above, I only ran into the office for a quick minute.

Anyways, that is all for me today. I am going home to lay on the couch, and recover while catching up with an old trusty friend, my DVR.

Bride vs. Bridal Store

Dress: Dupioni Scoopneck Dress with
Pleated Skirt and Pockets Alfred Sung
Style #: D447(here)

I am actually a bridesmaid in 2 weddings this summer (!!!). The dress above is the dress for the 2nd wedding I will be in. Sorry for the poor quality, I was unable to find a higher quality photo that allowed me to save to my desktop. The dress I will be wearing will actually be in a dark navy blue (or as the designer calls it, midnight). Very cute, yes?

I thought I would share with you all our experience with the bridal boutique we were going to purchase the dresses from. Below is my Yelp review, which you can also find here.

    I am a bridesmaid in a friend's upcoming September wedding.

    When one Bridesmaid found the dress for $40 cheaper in an Atlanta store (where she is from), the store was nice enough to match the price. So far, so good. 

    When I called to get the same discount they told me I had to make sure my dress was also on sale at the Atlanta location (I had a slightly different style) and provide them with the store name and number so they could verify. Fair enough.

    When I called back to confirm that my dress was indeed $40 cheaper and that I would like the discount, the SA became very defensive. She started talking about how she had to contact THE designer himself, and ask permission to lower their price (BS). They tried to tell me that what the Atlanta store was doing was illegal (BS). THE designer was in the process of pulling his line from the Atlanta store b/c they were selling them too cheap (BS). She tried to make me feel bad for asking them to lower their price which would drive the market price down to an unsustainable level and drive the designer out of business (BS).

    Once she realized I was not buying her BS (I refused to put down the deposit before she would confirm the price match), her final move was to threaten me with calling THE BRIDE. Gasp! I sweetly said, please do. The result, the Bride was so pissed off she canceled our entire order, found the dress online for $50 cheaper (including shipping!), and told the SA to piss off.

    Moral of the story: La Belle Elaine's Bridal inflates their prices by a ridiculous amount and has shitty customer service.

The end.

OOTD- All Suited Up!

Suit: Banana Republic Petite Lightweight Wool Suit (here)

Blouse: Anthropologie by Odille (2006?)

Belt: J Crew Skinny Belt (gift from sister- similar here)

Boots: Nordstrom (similar here)

Watch: Gift from Parents

Today my job required me to suit up. Now, I avoid wearing suits as much as possible. Though my job requires me to have several at my disposal (I had 4 at last count) they get very little action in my clothing rotation. It took me a very long time to come across a suit that did not on make me feel like a little kid playing dress up. Once I found that perfect suit, I was able to buy a classic black suit at a serious discount (via a friend who worked at the store).

That was over 3 years ago. Since then I have acquired three more suits by waiting for suiting sales. Since the suits get so very little action, I feel much better about my purchases because each suit was at a discount.

I also included a picutre of me without the jacket. I feel much more comfortable. With the suit I feel like I am wearing a uniform- never a good feeling to me.

Enjoy!

What is on my shopping radar for this upcoming pay check...

1. Wind Catcher Dress (Anthropologie, here)

Two of my close friends are getting married this summer (to each other) and I am a bridesmaid! Last weekend we were shopping at Anthro and she spied this dress from across the room and immediately proclaimed that this little beauty is exactly what she had in mind for her bridesmaids to wear. She is going with a whimsical theme for her wedding, and I think a more perfect dress will not be found. Imagine this lovely dress with gold strappy sandals. I graciously volunteered to play dress up and grabbed my go-to size. Unfortunately, this dress runs big and I was swimming in the 4. With no size 2 in stock, I left empty handed. Since then I have been stalking this dress. It is finally up on the website, and our downtown store will be getting them sometime next week. This is definitely a dress that I will wear again and again!

2. Ring Send Heels (Anthropologie, here)

I just about died when I saw these little shoes! I knew that they would not last long because they are so very very perfect, but I had no idea that my size would sell out less than 24 hours after they posted to the Anthro website! When I called Anthro to ask if they were planning to restock them they sadly said no. I may have shed a tear or two. But, I am a resourceful girl and I traced these little shoes to their source - the manufacturer. Now I am just waiting for pay day to make the purchase. Until then I will waiver back and forth between the two colors. I am leaning towards peach. Thoughts? Sigh, little shoes you will be mine in less then a week!

3. Archeologist Button-Up (Anthropologie, here)

Something about over-sized white button ups just make me giddy. They are so easy to wear with jeans (and I love my jeans) and sandals. I also love to dress them up with cool statement necklaces as seen in the picture to the left. This is a new arrival for Anthro, and I have yet to see it in my stores but I have my eye out. I won't pay $88 for this one, but you can bet that I will be diligently stalking this button-up till it goes half off.

 4. Drifting By Dress (Anthropolgie, here)

OMG. I am crazy for this dress! It is so pretty and feminine. And I really have nothing like it in my closet. I must own it. Actually, I must see it and try it on first. But after that, assuming it looks good on me, I must own it. I worry that this pretty little thing won't make it to the sale section. I would just hate to spend the full $168 (it is silk people!) just to see the price get slashed in half. I will try it on and if it works I will monitor the blog world to see how it is selling. If it looks like it will sell out, I will bite the bullet and purchase. I really don’t want to suffer through another Night Blooming Dress Fiasco. Really, I should have known that dress would never make it to the sale racks in my size. And now it is lost to me forever. Now I stalk the blogs and eBay for that dress. Never again, I vowed. Never again.

Alice and Wonderland Outfit of the Day

This outfit makes me think of Alice in Wonderland, it must be the blue bottom/white top combo. I almost paired it with my white sweater tights, which would have made the outfit a dead ringer for Alice's. But when I put them on it was a little too much for me. Whenever I see people in white tights all I can think about is that white tights should be reserved for the 10 and under crowd. Even though I own a pair myself, they have been relegated to the back of my tight drawer for as long as I can remember.

Blouse: Anthropologie by Maeve 2006 (?)

Skirt: Anthropologie Trace Paper Skirt (April, 2008) See page 38

Tights: Anthropologie Dotty Downpour Tights (here)

Shoes: Seychelles Veronica T-Strap in black multi color (here)

Headband: Flushed Beauty Headmand (here)

Necklace: Anthropologie Iced Lait Necklace (here)

I am very excited to break out this blouse which I have had for ages. I finally had it dry cleaned last week after it sat in the bottom of my hamper for a year! Now that I am an official grown up, I have resolved to take my clothing to the dry cleaners. Just yesterday I dropped off a dress and a skirt that needed zipper repairs, 2 pairs of pants that I never got around to getting hemmed, and my go-to black suit which has needed a good clean for awhile now.

This skirt is a favorite of mine. After hemming and hawing over the purchase (originally a steep $148 if I remember correctly) I thought I had lost out after it went on sale and my size disappeared before I could snag one. Fortunately for me, a customer returned it and I got it on super sale for 39.99! What a deal!
Enjoy!

Here I am with my favorite United Colors of Beneton navy wool cardigan thrown on. My office is cold!

Enjoy!

Welcome

Hello and welcome to my blog, Sometimes Sunny in Seattle.

I will start out by saying that this blog is intended as a way for friends and family (hi mom! hi dad!) to keep tabs on the goings, and comings, and doings of my busy life. Now that I am done with graduate school (phew!) and employed (a much bigger phew!), I may not have as much time to return phone calls, write emails, or come visit (sad!). The hope is that this blog will help my loved ones still feel connected to me, even though we may see a little less of each other.

Ok, now that the introductions are over…. Let the blogging begin!