Stepping it Up

This weekend, I caught an unexpected glimpse of myself in a mirror at The Limited.  As I looked at the view, I suddenly realized, "I am OUT of style!"  Sure, it was just a trip to the mall and yes, I did have a bad head cold, but still.  I looked at my reflection, which I had thought looked just fine before I left, and realized that my outfit would be completely appropriate even if I were 55 or even 65 years old.  Or at work.  But not on the weekend and not for my early thirties age bracket.  If we are supposed to get better as we get older, I really need to get back on the fashionable train.

Strangely, it's actually not the first time I realized that fashion had passed me by.  I had a moment like that years ago in graduate school, but that was partially due to lack of time and money to shop rather than just simple letting fashion get away from me.

It's not that every day I look bad, but just that I feel like much of what I wear on the weekends could be worn to work and look just fine.  This is not fine-- I want to get ready and love my clothes and love my outfits.  I want to look nice and fashionable and hip (but age appropriate).  That might be part of the problem- I've often erred on the side of not trying to dress "too young", but I think it's actually hurt me because I think I'm beginning to dress "too old."  I have a closet full of clothes, but lately I've just felt like I wasn't excited to wear any of them despite some attempts to shop my closet or recombine some old favorites.
   
With this realization, I made the decision to step up my wardrobe and accessories.  Part of this (the fun part) is my hauling that I did this weekend.  I love to shop, and this weekend was one of those lucky shopping times when I wanted to buy things and I actually found them instead of my usual not having money and finding a lot or having money and finding nothing.  This weekend, I did a combination of in-person and online shopping at:

*Sephora  (Too Faced Eye Palette and Blush)
*Express Outlet (cute going out shirt)
*Nordstrom (lip gloss and cami from Nordstrom Juniors)
*Macy's (flat black boots and new perfume)
*Express (2 camis, 1 really fun going out shirt, cute peach cardigan)
*Kohl's (teal boyfriend blazer from the Lauren Conrad Line)


Express, Express Outlet, and Nordstrom

Deeper color than it appears on here- with a little sparkle... can't beat it for $9.99.

The big gun- a Chanel lipgloss...  This one has to be my one and only lip purchase for quite a while.  I'm so excited to use it once my Sephora order comes in and my cold clears up.  Now it's just sitting there tempting me!

   
      This is probably the biggest shopping weekend I've had in years, so I am very excited to try out my new stuff once it all gets here.  New makeup, perfume, clothes- I think I'll feel like a new woman!  Along with the new stuff, I HAVE TO just in general put in more effort putting together my outfits.  I've recently stepped up my makeup, attempted to step up my hair, but the style has lagged behind the other two.  However, what's the point of good hair and makeup on top of a blah and boring outfit?  I need to not just enjoy the new stuff, but figure out ways to combine it with what I already have for some more fun and interesting looks.  Although the Catholic guilt part of me sometimes feels frivolous focusing this much attention on the externals, I just have to think that the effort we put into looking nicer is worth it in improved self-confidence.  It's also a little way that we can make each day better because, really, what's a sweeter way to start the day than with a sharp outfit you can't wait to wear?

Even Sweeter- I called Macy's because when I was on their site today trying to look at my order's shipping, I saw that there was a 15% off code for all purchases that I hadn't seen before.  They nicely applied it to my order, saving me an extra $25.00.