Closet Schizophrenia

I was having a conversation with my boyfriend about the "outer" and "inner" personalities we all have. You know, the outer you, the you who wants to be liked and be perceived as an open, happy, dependable person, who you want your boss and coworkers to think you are, and the inner you, who you really are inside and what you're really thinking with deep, dark mysterious dreams that could only be shared within the pages of a black leather journal. Yeah, manic, I know, sort of "Catcher In The Rye."



What does all this have to do with my closet?
At one time I would have said that I don't have a specific or defined style point of view, (weirdly enough, this topic came up again on Friday night while I was out with some fellow bloggers,) when in reality it maybe closer to the truth to say that my closet has multiple personas. Looking back at some recent past posts, I have, with a few exceptions, mainly focused more on what the inner me chooses to wear, darker muted colors, very little pattern...( Inner me thinking, hmm, ever since I went back to work...)

So, let me focus on the outward side... First let me say, I deal with the general public and to be perceived as my above definition of the outer personality is important to success in my line of work. And I'm not always deep and dark (which can be easily construed as moody.) So these are items that I'd wear to work because they're practical for the job I'm doing, a uniform of friendliness to the outside world, because along with a smile, (right now the inner me is sort of gagging,) it's what I should be wearing...


Bright friendly colors and prints, making whatever task at hand seem that much more fun. When it comes to dressing like this, I almost feel like more is better, pick out the most over the top patterns and colors, just go all the way with it! (Although I do have a few pieces that can cross over into either side.) To be honest, a look like this makes me feel more out going and vibrant, versus the inner me who would prefer to seem mysterious and untouchable. (The red pants also make me feel very brave!)

(Close up of details, what I'm wearing, BCBG thrifted red pants, vintage bracelet, Anthropologie top, Elie Tahari shoes.)

I guess, for the most part, I prefer the inner personality of my closet. To me it's much more clean and modern yet insightful. But it's sometimes nice to step out of my usual box and on days when I need a bit of a pick me up, I know exactly which items I'll be pulling on.

So to say that I don't have a stylistic point of view is wrong, I actually have many (or at least two,) that depend on where I'm going, and what I'll be doing.

So what about you? What moods does your closet convey about your inner and outer personalities?

New To My Closet- Thrift Finds

I recently had a day of unexpected thrifting luck with the adorable Sandhya from the blog Livin' Wide and wanted to share my finds with you, so here they are...

Apologies...I didn't take the best pictures or detail close ups this time around.
Anyway, this little shirt dress has pintucks all the way around the upper body, making it just the right fit and not too snug around my mid section, which is still suffering from my food rampage in New Orleans. On its own, it is a reasonable length for work but I'll probably pair it with tights or a legging of some type. The fabric is also slightly heavier which means it'll easily carry me into fall, with an over the knee boot.

I worked hard at breaking my usual color blocked style and went for some fun patterns like this Express snakey pencil skirt in raspberry and lavender...super crazy! But so fun! It was a tad big but I've already altered it to fit. I like the idea of a simple white button down for a sort of secreterial style, but I tried it on with a gray jersey cowl neck and big black belt and loved this look as well.

BCBG red pants...ok, way out of my comfort zone! But, other than the length, they fit extremely well. I'm always on the hunt for something other than jeans and these are definitely unexpected. I purchased them mostly for work wear and already hemmed them, so now I only need to be brave enough to wear them! Maybe today...

I love everything I found, but this dress might be my favorite. It fit right off the rack and needed no alterations other than a good hand washing. Geometric print, pops of yellow and light weight, perfect for summer! It works belted as well and I think it'll be just the right dress for the Lucite necklace I found a month or so back. I might need to go out for cocktail hour sooner than expected just to wear it!

Even though this ABS dress is a little big and needs to be shortened in the arms and length, I love it! Or the print to be exact. It looks like a forest in the middle of winter...

And it's not just black, but navy as well. The two tones gives it a little depth. It's also a little heavy for summer along with the longer sleeves, so alterations on this one can wait a little longer. I'm picturing it layered over some knit tights...

I also found a jersey cream and black perfectly simple dress but it's currently hang drying and will have to wait for another post.

The thrift Gods were smiling upon me that day! Best part about it is I didn't go over my $20 thrifting budget, which included lunch! I think everything combined was around $18 give or take a few pennies. (Not including gas...) Yup, an entire thrifting day for under $20. That being said, I could have spent more...
J.