being an intrepid heroine in expensive sweaters

More spoils of the Goodwill sale! I am always in need of sweaters, as I get terrifically cold during the winter and tend to huddle into layers of clothing and blankets and cats -- and in desperation over the last five years have accrued a lot that don't fit right or some such, so finding new ones to replace them (sweaters take up too much room anyway!) is always excellent. And the weather these last two days has been perfect: just cool enough to wear a sweater, but the sun was out and warm all day yesterday. 

Sweater number one is from Saks 5th Avenue. Ah, thrifting, you are so good to me. I love the bit of puff to the sleeves. And with my wool Banana Republic skirt (which turned up in Goodwill brand new with a $99 price tag -- we bought it for $4), I felt incredibly posh. If only my underwear wasn't from Walmart.

I found a Bartholomew! My gloves (Claire's) don't really go, I don't think, but my hands were chilly. The stockings were one of my DIY projects this week -- cutting up ill-fitting stockings to make thigh-highs or knee socks. I think I am going to have to get myself some garters, though. 

I adore these shoes (thrifted), though I wish they were a bit more comfortable: the balance is a little odd. I want some flat brogues terribly, but haven't found any yet -- not even any on eBay, not in my size (9-- which makes it harder) at a good price. I wear these less than I'd like as they feel really weird to wear around the house: they're very noisy, and as I said a bit teetery.

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Today it's been a bit chillier and rather less sunny, and I am cosy in sweater number two, which is one of the snuggliest ones I've ever had. Quality tells, I suppose -- this one is J. Crew, whose sweaters and cardigans I would terribly love to browse with no thought of expense; Emily Martin always has such fantastic ones.

For NaNoWriMo this year, I am writing a WWII-era gothic fantasy YA (Britain, woods, lots of tramping about in boots and coats), and plan to spend much of November dressed essentially like this -- all mossy, earthy, rich colours, with boots and sweaters and tweeds and stockings and scarves. Really, planning my story is what led to this outfit; I will likely be paging through pictures of film costumes for further inspiration in the future. 

The skirt was another successful DIY fix-it project, hooray! (I have a bad track record with these things, though really, trying to sew new buttons onto a heavy wool tweed coat with no prior experience will end badly.) The skirt is slightly too large -- it fits, but it hangs wrong; the waist fell down lower than it was meant. But for one reason or another, a basic black skirt is next to impossible to find, so as it mostly fit I snatched it up, brought it home, and stitched in a fold at the top. Unlike my safety-pin improvisations (I am all about class, guys), it has not yet popped open and sent my skirt tumbling down my hips. The stitches are pretty ugly, but you can't really see them anyway. 

Awesome stockings were in my birthday package from Kyra, and I wore them for my birthday and then NEVER AGAIN because summer is EVIL. (Okay, okay, I like summer. But I go mad not being able to wear stockings.) Boots are from Land's End! (Thrifted, of course.)

This scarf has been a staple of my cold-weather wardrobe for the last four years. I am convinced that it once belonged to Sirius Black. How it got into a Goodwill in Northwestern Pennsylvania is anyone's guess. HE LOST IT OKAY. The ribbon's from the scrap ribbon box my mother keeps. The earrings -- BUTTONS!! *-* -- uh, that was my reaction when I first saw them; Claire's had a fantastic autumn collection two years ago that included a lot of button jewellery, including these earrings. The key is one of several skeleton keys that goes to this house. For some reason most of them have ended up in my bedroom...

Hey look, I found another kitty! This is my baby Willow, and she wants to kill me. (She's really very affectionate, but she'll be damned if she's going to let a human dictate what she does.)