The weather’s turned quite chilly around these parts, causing this dress-loving girl to put on pants. School started this week. Since I have night classes, there’s no way I’m going to run around in the dark, freezing my tail off. I took advantage of the Anthropologie tag sale, and snagged some AG Stevie Coords at quite a bargain. They have rapidly become my favorite pair of pants, ever. For a curvy girl like myself, it’s so hard to find pants that actually fit, don’t look stupid, aren’t too tight, aren’t too saggy, etc. These Stevies not only look nice, but feel like pajama pants.

These two outfits are the ones I wore on the first two days of the new winter quarter. They’re a mix of a lot of older Anthro stuff from seasons past. I can’t wait for Spring. The January catalog was very disappointing, as there were no clothes in it. Hopefully, the February catalog will bring more cute Spring clothes. In the meantime, I’m going to stay bundled up in my Stevies, trying to keep warm.

The new Orla Kiley purse in the first photo is a gift from my partner in crime. What can I say? The boy knows me. Check out my partner in crime’s frigid but lovely pics of the Mt. Hood area at the bottom of the post.

As usual, Cake did not disappoint this past weekend. It was a wonderful show. For anyone living in the Portland area, the Crystal Ballroom is a beautiful, if odd, venue. The one weird thing about the night was that an 80s club was downstairs. We could hear thumping 80s music constantly throughout the Cake show. My partner in crime didn’t care for the venue because it was so big. But no matter what you think of the location, the music was awesome. This is our third time seeing Cake, and they’re always a lot of fun (yes, he gave away a tree every time).

Here’s the set list:

• Sad Songs and Waltzes (one of my favs)
• Frank Sinatra
• Wheels
• Stick Shifts and Safety Belts
• (new song, don’t know the title)
• Friend is a Four-Letter Word
• Shadow Stabbing
• Guitar
• Sick of You
• Never There
• War Pigs
• Short Skirt Long Jacket
• The Distance

When I was looking through my photos, I noticed this outfit I forgot to post a while back when the trees were still green. Here’s a blast from the past outfit (earlier this Fall). I hope you had a good weekend!

Last night I went out with Kristin and Ben to try  Le Bistro Montage. It was a little difficult to find food there for me, because I’m a vegatarian and much of the menu is made of Southern style meat dishes. I managed to find some macaroni and cheese, but the best part was taking it home in an aluminum foil sculpture. Everyone got a different sculpture. Kristin got a mouse, and I got this morbid hangman. I’ve removed the food from it and affixed it to this wine bottle, so the entire apparatus you see below now resides in my kitchen.

The dress is the Anna Sui Paisley Pixie Dress, which has lots of negative reviews online. In person, however, it’s the most darling little dress ever. I’ve heard commenters say the paisley patterns mimic human intestines, but I think it’s such a cute little dress. It’s very flattering for  such a straight cut. Now, it’s on sale and a steal at $80. I think it used to be around $200.

I love Anthro and Anna Sui collaborations. This is the only way that I would be able to afford Anna Sui clothes. I just wish she would think about curvier girls once in a while, because we like her clothes too.

My all-black Fossil Flats have definitely been my go-to shoes since I’ve bought them. In fact, I may have to buy a backup pair, because I will absolutely die when these shoes fall apart.

Lastly, I wanted to include my purse because I always seem to forget to include my purse, which is such an important part of any outfit. My favorite shape is the square, and no one does the square handbag quite like Kate Spade. The downside is that most of these square handbags can only be found at her outlets. Her new designs look nothing like her classic purses. When I lived in DC, I lived thirty minutes away from a Kate Spade outlet. Now, I live four hours away from one, and it’s killing me. Not only is it the only place to find these square-ish handbags, but the prices are very reasonable. Please, Kate Spade, return to your nylon square purse roots! We miss them.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday. Did anyone score any crazy deals on Black Friday?

In this outfit:

• Anna Sui Paisley Pixie Dress
• Fossil Flats
• Betsey Johnson Two Finger Snake Ring
• Felt Flower Headband – Anthro 2008
• Kate Spade Logo Sam

Thursday, I met up with some of my art school friends, and we had a wonderful day of feasting at French cafes and running all over Portland. Our favorite spots were:

• Chez Machin – delicious crepes
• Pix Patisserie – tasty treats

I can’t get enough of the Stilled Night Dress. It’s so dressy, but with a simple cotton cardigan, it becomes perfect for every day. An example of when I wore it dressed up was when I wore it to see Zooey Deschanel of She and Him.

I just realized that I didn’t have a picture of my Shrewd Stitches Stole. It was a pricey, but ever so worth it addition to my wardrobe. I love the way that old Hollywood starlets would wear fox fur stoles. Being that I’m a vegetarian and adamantly against fur, however, there’s no way I could ever wear one. This scarf is the perfect substitute. It captures the right amount of whimsy, with just a touch of glamor.

Anthropologie has had some exceptional printed tights this season. I have almost given up my standard black and grey tights to wear patterned tights everyday. My current favorite pair are pictured in my outfit, along with my eternally favorite shoes–the Scarf-Tied Oxfords. If something ever happens to these shoes, I will die.

Thanks to Sarah, Paloma, Emily, Dani, and Brett for a wonderful day, yesterday. You guys are the bee’s knees.

On Monday night, I had the privilege of seeing the beautiful and talented Kate Nash in concert at the Wonder Ballroom in Portland.  From her albums, I thought she would be a lot “poppy-er”, but she rocked just has hard as any rock band. Some of my best photos from the concert are below, linked to my Flickr site.

Just when you think you can’t possibly love Anthropologie anymore, they come out with more wonderful winter options. I love layers, and I love sweater skirts, and here’s one of the best combinations I’ve come up with. Also, I’m not sure if you’ve been into an Anthro lately, but the holidays decorations are so beautiful.

Finally, in case you haven’t read her blog, you should check out Kjrsten’s {have a cute day} site. I’ve had a lot of fun hanging out with her and being a bad shoe influence on her life.

In this outfit:

• Akome Blouse
• Flowing Cables Skirt
• Anthro Sparrow Cardi (no longer online)
• Jeffery Campbell Dietrich Shoes
• Betsy Johnson Snake Two Finger Ring

I’m still tired from last night’s concert, which was incredible, but I wanted to share with you these beautiful photos of Zooey Deschanel. I had awesome seats at Schnitzer Hall. She’s a teeny, tiny ball of cuteness!

Being the big nerd that I am, I had to write down every song she sang so I could put it into a set list for me to obsessively listen to. Here it is:

1. Change is Hard
2. I Was Made for You
3. Black Hole
4. Thieves
5. Lingering Still
6. Riding in my Car
7. Over it Over Again
8. Take it Back
9. Home
10. Me and You
11. I Thought I Saw Your Face Today
12. You Really Got a Hold on Me
13. Brand New Shoes
14. You Turn Me On, I’m a Radio (Joni Mitchell)
15. Magic Trick (M. Ward)
16. Gonna Get Along Without You
17. In the Sun
18. Don’t Look Back
19. This is not a Test
20. Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?
21. Fools Rush In
22. Sweet Darling

Here are some of my favorite photos. Click on any of them to go to the full set on Flickr.

The week is already flying by. School is definitely keeping me busy. I’m super excited because I get to see one of my favorite bands and style icons on Friday: She and Him with Zooey Deschanel. I simply adore her cute style, and she is my number one fashion icon. Since this is such a big deal to me, I am going to the makeup counter to get new makeup, I’m getting my nails done, and, of course, dressing up in something really really cute.

This is my number one choice for my outfit on Friday. It’s a beautiful dress, and it screams Gothic Zooey. I’ll have more posts and pics from the concert, but I’m so excited and I’m counting the days. Until then, I’m being a good little worker bee, and completing my art project a little ahead of time while also doing some side work.

This outfit is all Anthro, but I couldn’t find the dress or tights on the website.

So I start college again next week. It’s weird to think about buying books and pens and all that other stuff… but there’s also back to school shopping, right? Yes.

So to celebrate the new school quarter (I’m used to East Coast semesters, so quarters are weird) I’ve put together a few outfits that you will see on me on campus.

Since it is the Pacific Northwest, I think I’ll need some pants ( a girl can’t wear skirts and tights in the very very cold!!!). I tried out the Pilcro Cohort Cords and they are wonderful. I prefer them rolled (I’m short) and I even like the skinny cut, despite not being skinny myself. So now I have some pants, but I still love my skirts and tights.

In this outfit:

• Button Parade Blouse
• Angled Ruse Skirt
• Chie Absinthe Heels

In this outfit:

• Steadfast and Whimsy Skirt
• Molded and Melded Tee

In this outfit:

• Molded and Melded Tee
• Pilcro Cohort Cords
• To a Tee Blazer

In this outfit: Phlox and Coral Coat

By the way, if you are in the Portland area, you should come to the Bridgeport Anthro on Wednesday for the fashion show. I will be there talking about Fall styles and helping out by working as a personal shopper. I can’t wait because I love putting outfits together, and Fall is my favorite season. I’m also going to auction off at least one painting for charity. I hope to see a lot of people there from the March shopping event! I hope to see you there!! Here are the details:

Wednesday, September 22 · 7:00pm – 9:30pm
Location:    Anthropologie, Bridgeport Village
7203 SW Bridgeport Road
Tigard, OR

This week, someone hit me with the creativity stick, because I’ve been churning out paintings and drawings left and right. I should have new items in my Etsy shop within the next few weeks.

I picked up the Sure Lock Dress this week, after reviewers said it was very similar to the Anchors Aweight Dress. I would say that’s true, except the Sure Lock Dress runs a bit smaller. The dress has quite a deep V, so for chestier girls or more modest gals, you definitely need to wear something underneath it. I prefer to wear my halter dresses with a tank top or blouse underneath, like a jumper. This way, I’m covered, but still get to wear cute dresses.

Last night, I went out with Kristin Cutie and her BF Ben, and of course my partner in crime, to go see a bunch of local bands and the Dum Dum Girls (SubPop) at the Hawthorne Theater in Portland. It was a completely awesome show, and if you haven’t listened to them yet, I highly recommend it. They’ve got a great Sixties rock girl vibe going on that I’m really into.

One last thing–I want to tell you how much I absolutely love Portland because it was easy-peasy to get to and from the concert last night, even parking. I never could have driven all over DC (where I was recently living) without being accosted by someone, nearly in an accident, not able to find parking, or all of the above. I’m deeply in love with Portland, and I think it’s getting serious

In this outfit:

• Sure Lock Dress
• J.Crew Favorite Tank
• Anthro Picholine Wedges
• Orla Kiely Textured Midi Sling Flower Check
• Cutie is wearing the Midday Garden Top
• Ben is clothed head-to-toe in plaid, as per usual
• Curiously absent is Mitch Madness, who prefers to take the pictures

On Friday, I met the wonderful Kristin Cutie for lunch at an adorable bakery in Portland (Saint Honore Boulangerie). I wore the Vappu Dress, which I think is a modern day Snow White dress. I know some people have had problems with the Vappu Dress, but I found it to fit true to size, and very comfortable. I’m wearing it here with the Blooming Lattice Cardigan.

I continued the yellow theme on Sunday with our crepe brunch at Chez Machin, wearing the Anchors Aweigh Dress. This warm sunshine yellow is my favorite color, and I’m so happy to see that Anthropologie has come out with yellow dresses to feed my addiction.

The Anchors Aweigh Dress is on sale, but be wary as it doesn’t quite cover your whole chest, even though its a halter dress. That’s why I chose to put the On and Off Hours Blouse underneath it and wear it like a jumper. I feel like too much of the side of my chest would be showing, otherwise.

I want to share with you my latest, obsessive purchase. They are a woven version of All Black’s Scarf Tied Oxfords called Bow’n Places Heel. They’re available at Imelda’s for local gals. ModCloth also has them, but they’re currently sold out. You can sign up at ModCloth to be notified when they’ll be in stock, or you can try calling Imelda’s and see if they’ll ship them to you.

I hope everyone had a fun weekend. I’ll give you the weekly Mitch update. He got up at the crack of dawn and drug our friend Ben to hike at Mt. Hood. They had a fun hike, and tried to rescue a stranger’s  little Saab that was stuck in the snow.