One-Dollar Dailies: 1/12/12

I wanted something simple and comfortable today, but I still wanted a little bit of a dark edge. Alaskagirl, one of my good friends and style inspirations on the Youlookfab forum, coined the term Urban Warrior Princess (UWP) as a style descriptor - this has been strongly informing my casual fashion choices for the past year or so, but I've recently been trying to inject a little UWP into my work style as well. Ergo, even though this is a lazy outfit in a lot of ways, I still had to roughen it up a bit with moody grays, chunky-heeled and riveted boots, and my beloved cougar skull necklace (a set I bought for my dad and me as a Christmas gift).

One-Dollar Wonders
Banana Republic Sweater
H&M Skirt

Other
Gianni Bini Boots - $70 via Ebay
Merona Ribbed Sweater Tights - gift
Cougar Skull Necklace - $30 via Etsy
Cettu Handbag - $10 at swap meet

Best Buy of 2011 - or - How High Heels Saved My Feet

I tend to do a lot of walking on the weekends. Any given Saturday is guaranteed 2-4 hours of swap meet shopping and, on top of that, you never know when Hubs and I are going to take a walking tour of Koreatown, pop into a mall to browse before a $2 movie, or walk a mile or two to avoid random parking fees. With all this foot traffic in my life, I always figured that the pain, fatigue, and cramping in my arches and ankles was a given - after all, I always wore sensible, flat-to-low-heeled boots and sneakers. It doesn't get more comfortable than that, right?
Wrong!

One day in mid-2011, I browsed some online boot sales (as I am wont to do) and fell in love with the design of Dr. Martens' Marcie boot. The feminine twist on the classic combat boot made my heart patter, and reviews claimed that the boots ran narrow - great news for a gal who always found Docs much too wide! But the heel... 3.5 inches? My feet already hurt in flats.

I told myself I shouldn't get them. Be practical.

But I want them!

Take care of your feet.

But I love them!

Think of the pain.

Love hurts!

You already know I bought them. I wore them to the swap meet and on walks on the beach trails. And you know what? My arches ceased to cramp and spasm. My shins did not ache. My super tall, platform wedges were the most comfortable shoes I'd ever owned.

I bought another pair. Then I bought more boots in similar heel heights. I tromped all around town in all of these heels, making all my sensibly-shod friends gasp and wince and omigoshhowcanyouwearthosethings. I felt wonderful. I don't think I'll ever buy a heel under 3" high again.

I'm not posting this story to say, "Haha, heels don't hurt my feet! Naner naner!" I think there could be some science behind this. Maybe other people who are hurt by flat shoes can replicate this success.

It's more than just arch support, though that helps. I put on an old pair of flat boots the other day and marveled at how much work my feet had to do with each stride. My feet are pretty big for my stature - 8.5-9 on a 5'4" frame - and I felt like I was walking around in big, floppy clown shoes - or snow shoes - or flippers. Compared to walking in my heels, my arches had to invert way more to propel me forward, and my ankles had to contract way more to bring my foot around for the next step. Instead of normal, elegant footsteps, I had to lift each foot up in the air and clomp like a Clydesdale in order to keep from scraping my long toes along the pavement. Walking in flats, for me - with my long, feet, long toes, and short legs - was work. I actually tripped twice.

My heels, it seems, solve all those problems. Setting the foot at an incline decreases the amount of shoe that actually makes contact with the ground and reduces the needed amount of ankle action. Granted, I can't see the future; they may come a day when I'm punished for my altered posture with horrible back or hip problems. For now, though, I'm enjoying my new, blissfully pain-free gait.

If you're someone with large or otherwise cumbersome feet, and you sometimes have trouble with pain or... er... y'know, with walking correctly, then a higher heel might be worth a try.

One-Dollar Dailies: 1-11-12

Today I spent part of my day reading a book about the rainforest to second-graders (part of a community support campaign through work), so I took outfit inspiration from the rainforest: green for the foliage, purple for the exotic flowers, and a drapey gray cardigan for the vines, clouds, and rain. Kind of silly, but it made for a cute outfit!

 

One-Dollar Wonders
Banana Republic Jersey Blouse
Club Monaco Skirt
99-Cents Only Tights

Other
Merona Cardigan - Target clearance
Fergie Major boots - Nordstrom clearance
"Raebot" Necklace - gift from my fantabulous, robot-loving hubby!
Cettu Handbag - $10 at swap meet

One-Dollar Dailies: 1/10/12

Today's outfit is all about alternative necklines. Bought this jacket and loved it, because it features a killer asymmetrical neckline - but I struggled with how to wear it. It looked odd and off-center over a traditional button-front, and V-necks were out, too. To my eye, the soft drape of a cowl neck is a great counterpart to the hard, angular lines of the jacket.

One-Dollar Wonders
Outback Red Cowl
BCX Wide Leg Tweed Pants

Other
Asymmetrical Zip Wool Jacket - $16 via Buffalo Exchange
Burgundy Dolce Vita Jayce Boots
Purple Cettu Handbag - $10 via swap meet

New Series: One-Dollar Dailies

I haven't done this in the past, but I'm going to try my hand at daily outfit posts!

At first, I thought, "Hey, my outfits aren't exactly groundbreaking. My goal isn't to expound on how fashion-forward I am, but to spread the good word on thrifty shopping. No one needs to see that many outfits from me." But now I wonder if that's the wrong way to look at it. Anyone can dress on the cheap, and anyone can get lucky and find a few gems secondhand - but I want to prove that chic, cheap wearable wares can be had consistently. You don't have to have a super-eclectic, retro, or hipster style to take advantage of secondhand goods - regular folk can save money, too.

Enter: One-Dollar Dailies. Essentially, these will be your average daily outfit posts, except that the focus will be to highlight the functionality of $1 purchases over time. I will also list off the retail items in my outfits but, at least in the dailies, I won't link to every item I ever buy online - it makes me feel just a wee bit dirty to give retailers free advertising, and that was never the original focus of my blog. If you ever do want to know where I got a non-$1 item, though, please feel free to ask!

Without further delay, here's the first One-Dollar Daily! I wore this to the office for an internal meeting. Nothing too big, so I'm not in strict Corporate Wear, but a little more conservative than normal.

One-Dollar Wonders

Navy Tights - 99-Cents Only Store

Christian Dior Belt - swap meet

Calvin Klein Dress - free at swap party

Other

H&M Cable Knit Sweater - gift

Carlos Santana Pump

Bolero Style Necklace - gift
Red Abro Handbag - about $40 ($15 + two bottles of dye)

New Year, New $1 Loot

It's been hard to swap with all the holiday bustle, but I still managed to make out like a bandit in late December and early January. $1 Wonders below!

Club Monaco Midi, Teal Turtleneck

Donna Rae Paisley Skirt

Banana Republic Red Sweater - compare at $60

Hinge Knit Poncho - compare at $58

Theory Dash Batik Jacket - compare at $355

Ann Taylor Loft Engineer Dress - compare at $60-$90

Diesel Denim Jacket - compare at $210 (okay, this cost me $5 instead of $1, but still a fun deal)

James Perse Daily Tank - compare at $45

Donna Karan Signature 100% Cashmere Midi - compare at $795

Cropped Denim Jacket

Honorable mentions - These were $8.00 and bought for me as Christmas gifts by The Husband, but they were a great deal. The others we saw were made of cheap fleece material and cost the same price. The last time I tried on a knit hat like this, it was $40. 

Liebster Blog Award!

 I'm beyond thrilled to share that Bella of Bella Remixes has very sweetly given me this Liebster Blog award (liebster means "beloved person" in German)! Bella is a fabulously creative blogger who always finds new, exciting ways to shake up her wardrobe and starts the most amazing outfit challenges - like finding outfit inspiration in famous works of art, or dressing to fit a certain decade. 


Love you, Bella, and thanks for the sweet recognition. <3


 

Now, it is my turn to pass on this award to other bloggers.



This award is given to bloggers with fewer than 200 followers by other bloggers. The rules for accepting the award and posting the widget are to:

Link back to  the giver and express your heartfelt, undying gratitude. : )

Pass it to five more bloggers, letting them know it’s been given.

Copy and paste said award to your blog.

Keep the love flowing. They’ll tell five friends, and they’ll tell five friends, and…so on…

I'm kind of ashamed to admit that I don't follow that many blogs - I'm more the kind of person who follows a few blogs religiously and reads every. single. post. that goes up. I actually have no idea how many followers this blogger has, so I hope I don't mess up this lovely award chain!

Renin of Running Codes... In Heels posts a wonderful mix of budget fashion tips, hilarious med school anecdotes, and thoughtful musings about whatever catches her interest. Her blog won't load on my work browser, but I still make time to read it from home - now that's blog love! Muah!