Another Day of Shopping

I'm too tired to go into a while song and dance about how much I hate to shop. We all know it. I doubly hate shopping when I only have one shot to find something that I have to have. Example? A suit for an interview I have on Monday. If I didn't find something today, I probably would have had to fall back on my old black suit. That one is technically fine, but it's about 4 years old. And it's black. You're not supposed to wear black for an interview.

Of course, I'm not sure what the interview fashion police would say about the outfit I ended up with, but I'm happy. I think that's what counts most.

After an unsuccessful run to Dress Barn, then 2 hours of babysitting (cookies in exchange for quiet? it worked for a little while!), Scott and I set off for the Florida Mall. Macy's? Nope. Nordstrom? Nada. Dillards? Zilch. Sak's? They at least had suits, but nothing I loved enough to spend more than $150 on! We hit the "fancy" department stores ahead of our normal stand-by's because Sears and Penny's usually carry a much more casual set of clothes.

As it turns out, Penny's was my lucky store today. The first thing I found wasn't a suit. It was a cute cocktail dress in a size too small that I grabbed and decided I needed to try on. Not only does it fit (there's a little back fat involved, and therefore a shawl/wrap is needed), but it was on clearance for $20. Sold!!

Scott didn't like it on the hanger, and I don't really like it in this picture, but you'll just have to trust me that it looks cute on.

As for suit shopping, I finally hit my stride. There were three that I tried on, and would have bought any of them, considering the complete lack of anything worthwhile anywhere else. One was a light green tweed-ish fabric that was a little too "Jackie O" for a job interview. One was dark brown with teal pinstripes and a matching tank. This one was ok, but didn't fit great, and the pants had a high waist and the zipper was in the back. And then, there was the one I ended up buying...

It's tan with very fine teal and brown pinstripes. Originally, I tried it on with the teal tank that came with the brown suit, and I seriously considered re-hanging the suit so that the tank came home with me. But you know me and that whole honesty thing!

So we circled the store until I happened upon this bright orange shirt. It's basically got a shallow

v-neck with three flat stones that look like a built-in necklace in the exact color of the buttons on the jacket.

oh! And the coolest thing? This suit is really high quality. It fits nicely already (the pants should be hemmed, but since I'm short on time, I'll just wear heels). And it was on clearance for 60% off! The original tag was $190 and I got it for $85. And the shirt was on sale for under $15.

At this point, I'm just glad the shopping is finally over!

Of course, I do have one more "fashion" picture to share. It seems that my cup runneth over with sweaters. Particularly cable-knits. Amazingly enough, I have a dark purple, a dark red, and a brown (all short sleeved) that are mid-laundry and therefore didn't make the picture. I'm thinking my slogan should be, "wear the rainbow!"