what not to wear when shopping

So many layers. It's so weird to think of snow and cold when we've had beautiful weather the past few days. But, it won't last. Spring in the Rockies is a fickle little beast - 70 degrees one day, gross snow the next. And everything else in between the few days after. 

I wore this heavily-layered ensemble to do some shopping with my Mama, and it took me so long to try anything on - layers on, layers off, static-y hair, boots, snow, slush. You know how it is - shopping in the winter. It's quite the ordeal. Where do I put my coat? Is it worth trying on? It's going to take 20 minutes to de-robe before I can even try on this top...

Good news is, my Mama and I did make a few small purchases.

So we didn't totally let the retail gods down ;)

tank dress: American Apparel

buffalo plaid button up: Kohl's

fleece-lined tights: Target

sleeveless sweater: Eddie Bauer

boots: c/o Aéropostale

2 years later

Today marks two years that I’ve been doing this blogging bit (here's 21 March 2013 and 21 March 2014). And with that, comes reflection. What this little blog should look like moving forward. What you’d like to see. Why I keep doing it. Why it’s easy to be discouraged. Laugh at old outfits. Laugh at how my photo editing hasn’t changed much.

So, what would you like to see more of (or less of) here on Sweet Bananie?

Yes, I do this blog for me as a fun hobby and creative outlet, but it does feel nice when I know people read it and hopefully are inspired by it.

So, tell me - what would you like to see?

Style challenges?

More ways to style an item?

More jokes?

More pictures of my bulldogs?

I would love to hear any suggestions you may have. Please let me know in the comments or email me at sweetbananie@gmail.com

And looking back a bit, here are my most viewed posts of all time,

this month, and this week.

Thanks for reading!!

can't win 'em all

This outfit looked so much better in person. Like, 100 times better in person. Trust me. It (and I) photographed terribly. Is it all the black? All the dark colors? The stripes? The fleece-lined tights? The cold? Maybe it makes my face puffy?

I just don't know. But I do know this is clearly not a great outfit. I look a bit shapeless and that's not doing me any favors. But, in the interest of real style and transparency, here's what I wore! And as great as some looks were earlier this week (here and here, oh, and here), this one just isn't competing. 

But, I'm a real person, with real style, and a real life, and a real job, and real wrinkley dogs, and sometimes, my real outfits aren't so great. *sigh*

linking up with:

Style Elixir

dress: Target

cardigan: Ann Taylor

fleece-lined tights: Target

boots: c/o Aéropostale

taupe & gray

All of the taupes and grays.

All of the knits.

And all of the scarves.

This day was frigid cold, which called for a warm sweater and not one, but TWO scarves. I had a surprise coffee date with my best friend, and she kept gushing over my taupe and gray ensemble. And to be honest, it's something I didn't put much thought into, but I knew I liked both colors, and thought "They look decent in home decor, so why not on a person?"

And, ya know what? I like how it turned out.

However, I'm hoping I don't have to wear this heavy of a sweater (or two scarves) until next winter. Fingers crossed!

oh oh, and linking up all over the place:

Jersey Girl, Texan Heart

Cappuccino and Fashion

A Touch of Tartan

Stylin in St. Louis, Living in Color Style, and Coffee Beans and Bobby Pins

I do deClaire and Once Upon a Time & Happily Ever After

sweater: thrifted (GAP)

gray skinnies: c/o Aéropostale

striped scarf: thrifted

oatmeal scarf: handmade

ankle booties: Old Navy

monday does it again

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, or a tugboat tooting my own horn, or Kanye singing his own praises, this outfit is another one that just came another in the early morning (yesterday did, as well). This look has a few different elements that, when combined, form a cohesive (and dare I say, classy?) look.

First up is the colorblocking with the navy top half, and the wine-colored pencil skirt. Colorblocking works best when the 2 colors are of the same saturation, or level, of color. So, a deep wine color, and a rich navy blue work here. Or a deep emerald with another equally deep and rich jewel-tones (see some of my past not-so-great colorblocking looks over here...).

Next is the monochromatic layers up top - the navy blue button-up under the navy blue vest.

The third is tying together the boots with the necklace and scarf. Cognac meets brown paisley and brown + gold - not matchy-matchy, yet coordinating and pulled together. And lastly, I wore a necklace under the scarf so that if/when I took off the scarf and vest (which I did), my outfit would still look complete, and not like it was missing some element.

button-up shirt: thrifted (J. Crew)

vest: Old Navy

scarf: gift

necklace: Target

pencil skirt: J. Crew Factory

boots: The Frye Company via Nordstrom

olive & magenta

This is one of those outfits that came together in the early morning haze that exists before the sun is up, before the coffee has been drunk, and before I'm ready to make coherent sentences. Somehow it came together, and I simply love LOVE LOVE how the olive looks with the purple and magenta, and how the stripes look with the fair-isle print of my scarf. I think this is one of my best looks yet.

On another note, I'm on the lookout for another pair of olive green skinnies - these have been great, but after just a few minutes of wear, they become stretched out and saggy in the most unflattering of places. Any recommendations on where I should look?

purple striped shirt: Kohl's

olive skinnies: c/o Aéropostale

fair-isle scarf: WalMart

gray blazer: c/o Aéropostale

magenta wedges: ALDO

the opposite of snowy

See that snow on the ground? And the accompanying velvet pants, boots, turtleneck, and blanket scarf?

I'm NOT wearing anything like that today.

Instead, I'm wearing a lot less warm clothing, and soaking up as much sunshine as possible with friends while patio drinking and frolicking. We're also resurrecting old phrases and -isms from our youth, in celebration of my birthday nameday yesterday:

"Long hair, don't care."

"Let your freak flag fly."

"Leggooooo."

"YOLO"

turtleneck: GAP

blanket scarf: WalMart

velvet pants: J. Crew Factory

boots: c/o Aéropostale