Thursday, May 1, 2014

OOTDs: Subbing in Decent Weather.

Hey, all!  It has been nearly three weeks since my last set of ootds.  That's quite a bit of time.  I love writing up the Boden sale alerts and new arrivals posts, but I find the ootds keep me on my toes, style-wise, since if I take a photo of it for the blog, I try a little harder in the morning to look put together.  Admittedly knowing that I wouldn't be publishing as many ootds in the last month has seen me being a bit of a slacker in my fashion, lol.  All good, of course, 'cause ultimately, who cares, but still, I look forward to getting back to it already.  :-)

These ootds will not include an anecdote.  Back when I was teaching full time and blogging (way way back in 2009), I tried hard to not tell stories of my days as a teacher and keep the posts about why I chose what I did for that day.  So now that I am able to more fully revive my teaching outfits (I have a backlog of about twenty spread throughout this year of subbing), I want to keep the outfits to why I like them for teaching, and keep quiet on anything that actually happened while I was teaching. 

I have changed my style since 2009, I am less bright colors/patterns/crazy combos than I was back then, but in teaching, I still like to "grab" the kids attention by wearing something bright and/or patterned.  Although I am not Ms. Frizzle 100% now, I still could definitely see comparisons being made.  (Especially in my pink apple print dress, which will be published in another post.)

Okay, here goes!

Excuse my bit of wayward hair up there.  Bad hair, bad!

Day: Thursday, April 10, 2014.

Where: Substitute Teaching 7th Grade.

Ease of Wear: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.) All the pieces worked well together and the shirt even stayed tucked into the cute J. Crew Factory skirt, which I definitely consider a bonus.  It was *just* chilly enough that I needed to wear a heavier cardigan, and this very old school J. Crew cardigan (2006) fit the bill.  The skirt is a stretchy cotton sateen and besides a little wrinkling, kept its shape and moved with my body and not against it.  The Target wedges pinched a bit by the end of the day, but I also didn't sit much, so that may be on me and not them.

Cool Factor: (3.5 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest--for both outfits.) Very pretty and conservative look.  I look like I am off to work, but not anyplace too stuffy.  The silhouette flatters my frame, too.

I had tried to figure out how to style the cardigan.  Upon receiving after purchasing it from ebay a few years back, I would wear it, but never liked the way I styled it.  Finally I have found a way to wear it and really show off its darling ruffles and very feminine style.


Day: Friday, April 11, 2014.

Where: Substitute Teaching 7th Grade, which did include a trip to the church twice for Mass and the Stations of the Cross.

Ease of Wear: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.) Ah, the first edition of the very popular Boden Riviera Shirt Dress.  There is a version of it this spring (here), but I prefer the Gingham Shirt Dress (here and a very brief review of it here).  I wore this very dress the very first time I brought Rex to be evaluated for placement in kindergarten, and I still love it for exactly that kind of use, when I need to feel pretty but more covered up.  Also, with the way the flipping weather has been, it is nice to be able to wear something breezy and springy for once.  (The weather was in the low 70s--not warm enough to wear sleeveless but nice enough not to wear a jacket!)

Cool Factor: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest--for both outfits.) It is very easy to overdo it when styling this kind of dress.  By wearing simpler flats, a basic bag, and a simple necklace, I allowed the dress to be the star, and that makes this look cool.

Day: Thursday, March 6, 2014.

Where: Substitute Teaching (can't remember the grade).

Ease of Wear: (3.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.) This dress has a fuller skirt and a slimmer bodice, so it is perfect for my body.  I dinged a couple of points for the fabric (this is a rayon woven that is a bid rough feeling) and the weird very short sleeves (Boden's sleeves usually run long, too).

Cool Factor: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest--for both outfits.) Again, another nice covered up outfit that still manages to be less frumpy.  I think the ankle boots and dark tights make it look modern, but any more height on the ankle on those boots, I would easily become a school marm in the early 20th century.  :-)

This whole outfit would look way better, though, if I had my current haircut.

Okay, that's all for now.  I am glad I was able to sit down and write about the outfits again.

Have a great Thursday!