Warning: Rant ahead!

I have accumulated quite a few J.Crew pencil skirts. I love them all. But sometimes I feel like I pull them out of my closet and can't hit just the right note with the top pieces to go with them. The things I have are either too casual or the wrong colorways. So I went to the B&M store today to try to find some t-shirts that could be paired with a few of them. PPPPT to what is in the stores right now. And online, for that matter. Yuk. Is anyone besides me tired of that orangish-red color yet? And how about something other than stripes already? Maybe I'm just ahead/behind the trends (were there saturated reds/pinks/yellows/greens last year in anything thicker than a kleenex?) Maybe they're yet to come. I found one scoop neck 3/4 sleeved t-shirt, black, in my size in the clearance section. It's your luck day if you are an XXS or an XL, because that is all that is left.

I did try on the yellow cotton shift dress. The seaming in the front left something to be desired. Not quite fitted enough, imo. And the back looked worse. Is it stylish to have a zipper sewn on the outside of the dress? I thought it looked unfinished. And it was hard to zip up. To top it off, the dress I tried on had a snag in the fabric in the front, foreshadowing what could happen after a few wears. I pointed it out to the over-eager SA helping me who just looked and said "oh."

I stopped in Target today, to scope out the shoes and accessories. I just can't get myself to like their things! Maybe I look so infrequently that I just miss all the really cute shoes. The ones I find always seem to have something wonky about them--too much toe coverage, unfinished edges, plastic soles... I know they cost under $30, most even under $20, but when I buy shoes, I need to love them; even the trendy ones. I don't know that I've ever heard anyone rant about how comfortable Target shoes are. Who cares if they were a great deal if you wear them a handful of times and they look like crap or fall apart. Mom always said that the first things people notice about a person are their shoes and their teeth. I just wish the ones I love weren't so damn expensive!

Other than my blue suede ballet flats, my last new/expensive shoe purchase was in New York City. Every time I go there, I go to my favorite jewelry store, Dinosaur Designs. To get there, I have walked by the same shoe store, John Fluevog, and drooled in the window at the brogues. This year I bought a pair. LOVE them! And that's the way it should be.


Thanks for reading!