Silver Cat Tea Party: March 2017

Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Random Post of a Good Outing

I usually like to try and post my most recent Outfit of the Day posts on Tuesday...

However, I've been busy the last couple weekends (last weekend with my Saturday sailing class, then helping out all day Sunday volunteering for the sailing club's open house, and then the weekend before last, with my Saturday sailing class again, and a good long hike on Sunday). I really have no Outfit of the Days to post.

But since I didn't want this blog to go blank too long, and because I do like to use this blog as a record of sorts to keep track of my happenings, I wanted to post pics of the beautiful hike I took the Sunday before last along the Point Reyes National Seashore.

While I've always loved running around in nature, the last couple years I've been trying to get more into hiking and getting out more. It brings me such a great feeling being out and about, especially outside, and especially away from people and their usual hustle and bustle. It's like a detox that quiets all the random trivial things that usually go running around in my head.

Anyhow, just wanted to share these photos of this gorgeous place I got to go to.

Estero Trail to Sunset beach, Point Reyes National Seashore, Marin, California:

Jackrabbit!

Gopher

So many animals this trip including a snake along the path but I was too busy running away from it to take pictures :p

Thursday, March 16, 2017

Outfit of the Day: Springing Forward

Last weekend we sprang forward in more ways than just the change in daylight savings time

Suddenly, the weather went from the midst of winter into full blown summer! The sun was shining and boy was it WARM! I couldn't help but get out some separates and dress for the occasion.

Outfit of the Day (Saturday):

I've been taking sailing lessons through a local sailing club which I've been going to on as many Saturdays as I can manage. Unfortunately, we aren't allowed to bring cell phones or cameras on the boat (and for good reason as distractions would be bad-- not to mention water on the electronics would also be bad if we capsize). I'd imagine, the pics probably wouldn't be too blog friendly anyhow as we are geared up in wetsuits and foulies anyhow. But in any case, that's what I've been up to and so my Saturday activities otherwise have been limited. After my sailing lesson Tim and I did get out and about a bit to do some errands which granted me the opportunity to dress as I please. Seeing as the weather was so great I decided to wear my Trashy Diva Louise blouse in Crepe Myrtle and my Trashy Diva Circle skirt in chambray. Keeping it simple, I wore this with some basic black flats and off we went to the hardware store, Target, and to pick up dinner.

Trashy Diva Louis blouse in Crepe Myrtle and Trashy Diva Chambray Circle skirt- Front View

Trashy Diva Louis blouse in Crepe Myrtle and Trashy Diva Chambray Circle skirt- Saturday View

Outfit of the Day (Sunday):

On Sunday Tim and I went to a bbq celebrating several friends' birthdays. The party was going to be right on the water so Tim wanted to bring his jet ski for everyone to play with. The plan was to take the jet ski out to a nearby estuary where we could launch it and then ride it over to where the party was going to be. As fun as it was I did have to tweak my outfit a bit to make it jet ski riding friendly. And so for this day, I decided to wear some high waisted capri jeans by a brand called Fervour which I got from Modcloth several years ago, paired with a sailor tie top by Tatyana which I also got a couple years ago. To keep warm I wore this with a navy and white polka dot cardigan by Croft and Barrow from Kohl's from a couple years ago. For a finishing touch I wore this with a red belt which I took from one of my Hell Bunny dresses, and while I pictured this outfit here with my red Vans I actually just ended up wearing my flip flops all day.

Tatyana Sailor tie blouse and Fervour high waisted capris- Front View

Tatyana Sailor tie blouse and Fervour high waisted capris- Side View

Tatyana Sailor tie blouse and Fervour high waisted capris- Front View

Tatyana Sailor tie blouse and Fervour high waisted capris- Side View

And just like that, the winter is starting to rear it's head again as the overcast grey clouds dominate the days during the second half of this week. I know soon though it will be spring again. I'm so looking forward to the warm weather to come back again!

Saturday, March 11, 2017

Outfit of the Day: Back in Black

I noticed I've been wearing a lot of black lately

It hasn't at all been intentional. Maybe it's the cold dreary days that have been influencing my outfit choices. Maybe subconsciously I've been picking out dresses to take refuge in, like going into a dark cave for the winter months like bears do.

In any case, here are three more Outfit of the Days that I've worn recently. One, the weekend before last last weekend going out to the movies, another out to see the ballet that same weekend, and another from last last week, out celebrating my husband and I's five year wedding anniversary.

Outfit of the Day (couple of weekends ago Saturday):

On this day I felt that my Trashy Diva Honey Ruffle dress in 5th Ave Floral was calling to me. It has a really fancy contrast pink top (see it from this past OOTD post here) so I decided to try and make it a bit more casual by wearing this with a black cardigan buttoned up which I got several years ago from a shop in Australia. For a finishing touch I paired this with an Erstwilder bow brooch which I believe I bought a couple months ago from Cats Like Us, and is my usual, also wore this with a pair of black flats.

Trashy Diva Honey Ruffle dress in 5th Ave Floral- Front View

Trashy Diva Honey Ruffle dress in 5th Ave Floral- Side View

Erstwilder bow brooch- Close Up

Outfit of the Day (that same weekend Sunday):

The next day on Sunday I went out with some friends to see The San Francisco Ballet perform Frankenstein! It was the North American premier of the show and an amazing performance. For the event I wanted to wear a special dress. I decided to wear my Trashy Diva Katherine dress in Peacock. The peacock design on this dress is actually embroidered all around the dress. It is quite stunning in person and was one of two very first Trashy Diva dresses I ever bought. Going to SF I knew to layer up. I paired this with a black cardigan, which I got several years ago from a shop in Australia, and a black coat by LUX which I took from my sister's closet several years ago. She got it several years ago from Nordstrom. For added warmth I also wore a pair of nude back seam tights, for comfort I wore a pair of black flats, and for a finishing touch, I wore a pair of black sparkly bow stud earrings which I got from a local vintage repro shop, Vintage Alley.

Trashy Diva Katherine dress in Peacock- Front View

Trashy Diva Katherine dress in Peacock- Side View

Trashy Diva Katherine dress in Peacock- Front View

Trashy Diva Katherine dress in Peacock- Side View

Black bow earrings- Close Up

Outfit of the Day (last last Friday):

On Friday a few weeks ago my husband and I celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary! We went out to celebrate at my favorite local fancy French restaurant, Le Papillon. For the occasion I decided to wear a dress that made me feel beautiful and fancy yet was comfortable, my Trashy Diva 1940's Flutter dress in Cherries. I paired this with my black cardigan and for a change wore this with a pair of B.A.I.T. Ione heels in black and cream which I got from Pinup Girl Clothing a couple years ago. For a finishing touch, I put some small hair flowers (from Forever 21 from several years ago) in my hair and also wore a pair of 1920's style dangle earrings by 1928 which I got from Macy's several years ago.

Trashy Diva 1940's Flutter dress in Cherries- Front View

Trashy Diva 1940's Flutter dress in Cherries- Side View

Trashy Diva 1940's Flutter dress in Cherries- Front View

Trashy Diva 1940's Flutter dress in Cherries- Side View

1928 Earrings and hair flower- Close Up

Bonus pics!

Just a few pics from the Ballet

And one from our Anniversary dinner

Saturday, March 4, 2017

Dress Review: Dog Days of Summer

While the winter is slowly but surely making its way out I am enthusiastically waiting for the warm weather to hit!

Seeing the new Spring collections rolling out by Trashy Diva makes me all the more excited and impatient to finally get to wear dresses again without tights and overcoats! Bring out the light and airy prints as the sun shines down on my skin <3

The Dogwood print is the first new Spring print by Trashy Diva to hit the site. It features an overall bright turquoise blue reminiscent to me of a clear tropical beach or as Trashy Diva has described it on their website, the color of a bright spring sky. While my eye is really drawn to the bright tropical sea colored turquoise blue of the body, this print is all southern charm. It was created as a love letter to Atlanta perhaps in celebration of Trashy Diva's new store launch which just occurred there a few months ago. It features a southern inspired all over print of dainty dogwood blooms in white with accents of dark green, light yellow green, shades of grey to add depth and rendering to the blooms and a smattering of dark burgundy. It is an incredibly feminine and dainty print which I think is just so pretty and charming.

I opted to get this print in the separates, the 1940's skirt, the Lena blouse, and for fun the Alexa tie top, imagining all the different ways I can wear it and all the different things I can pair with it. I am looking forward to wearing this all together as a set making it look like not just one dress but two completely different dresses when worn with the Alexa tie top. I'm super excited as well to wear the pieces separately... the 1940's skirt paired with a white Trixie top, or perhaps even the Citron green trixie top they came out with several months back. For so many other combinations of completely different outfits I also am looking forward to wearing the Lena blouse or Alexa tie top paired with a seersucker or chambray skirt or even shorts! That's 6 different combinations just right there. What I love about separates is that there really is no end to the different looks you can put together with them!

Let's get back to the pieces themselves though. The 1940's skirt in this print is a bit different from other 1940's skirts I've seen released by Trashy Diva. This skirt features a wide waist band which is wider in the front and tapers down a bit as it goes towards the back. I'm not sure if it's because of this different band style, but I ended up having to size down from my usual size up in skirt and get my usual dress size in this skirt. Not sure if that line makes sense... but usually in skirts most ladies will have to size up. I usually have to size up. But for this skirt the size up was way huge on me and I ended up exchanging this for a size down from what I usually order in skirt. This a-line skirt has two pockets and is gathered at the waist. For some reason both skirts I received from Trashy Diva seemed to have more gathers at the sides then in the front which I feel makes the drape a little funny in the front. Even with steaming, it still has this funny kind of drape where the folds seem stronger in the front and not as equally distributed as is usual with their 1940's skirts.

I also got the Lena blouse as a perfect accompaniment to this skirt. It features a pleated bust with a structured underbust to accentuate curves. It has stretchy ruched side panels for easy wear which helps ensure a great fit. Also helping with the fit, this top has adjustable straps which can be buttoned at three different settings to make shorter or longer in the straps as needed. I got this top in my usual size.

And because I love the idea of making a dress look like a completely different dress with the addition of a tie top, I also got the Alexa tie top in this print. Like Trashy Diva's previous Carol tie tops, this top ties in the front and has an overall similar construction. However, unlike the Carol tie top, this top features petal sleeves which features fabric that layers over each other at the shoulders rather than the usual gather puff sleeves that the tie tops had before. This unique structure is supposed to help with movement of the arms and allows for full arm range movement. I've always felt that my tie tops fit a little blousier than I like so for this one I ordered it in a size down from my usual size which I feel gives me a better fit. I don't think this size advice would be able to be applied across the board to ladies though. I have heard that with the tie tops some ladies have had to size up. I think it all depends on body type with the limiting factor here being how broad your shoulders are.

One other note to add is that this print came out in a light airy flat rayon rather than the stretch slightly thicker rayon they have been releasing lately. For fans of the old flat rayon can rejoice! It's back!

And so there you have it! I hope you have found this review helpful and hopefully not too long!