I celebrated two birthdays with friends today, one for Lisa and the other for Dan! I ended the evening riding home in new all-purpose pumps and thick, opaque leggings, but the day began with Lisa's birthday lunch at Holt's Café.
I love that this lunch space is out-of-the-way. It's not a feeding frenzy. No lines. Just good light and a simple setting. I also like that the wall of windows looks onto my old hair salon across the way (I've since then changed places since my girl moved to Saskatchewan).
Happy Birthday, Lisa!
I liked her birthday cardigan/belt combo.
We had lemonade that was flavoured with rosemary and lavender.
Lunch special.
Panini special.
Then after work Don and I biked the scenic route to dinner at Culina. I haven't been here in ages and I really miss it. Dinner was very very delicious.
Leanne wore houndstooth with really great earrings.
Decor.
Wine.
Birthday boy, Dan.
Me.
Nielsen's hands and his dinner.
Leanne made cupcakes for dessert. Carrot cake with yum-yum frosting. I ate two.
I'm back to wearing an old favourite shoulder bag. It's too wide to fit in my basket so I clamp it down on my rear rack.
So, the utilitarian pumps. Our winters are SO BRUTAL here. The snow is just ridiculous and then there's the sand too. Beautiful shoes really get abused. Many of my pretty shoes are non-snow only or else I bring them and change into them when I get to my destination. These pumps I found are great because they're really grippy on the bottom and they're not precious. Synthetic leather? In this case? Yes, please. And the heel is robust too. No snapping off or wobbling around when trekking through snow.
And leggings. Man, I'm sort of eating my own words here, but allow me to provide some context. I think when skinny jeans first came out there was an onslaught of inappropriate body types donning the trend. It just comes down to fit. Regardless the trend, if it doesn't fit, it's not going to look good.
Now most of the legging no-nos that I have seen are when the leggings are more like pyjama or underwear type leggings. One of the main distinctions here is whether the leggings are opaque. Particularly when they're stretched across somebody's bum. If you can see flesh peaking through? Um... those aren't pants.
So I found this pair that is super thick, and more comfortable than jeans. I am willing to concede that these pant-style leggings are acceptable to wear on their own but I will still exercise caution when pairing them with tops. Coordinates will have to be tunic-length. I'm not kidding myself. I have a shapely booty and thighs to match so one must wear such things with caution.
Honestly, one of the most convenient things about thick leggings is that they're wonderful to wear while riding bikes. Warm, no catching on bike-parts, and very stretchy. When it snows I am going to love easily tucking theses into my various boots.
So, leggings. They exist in a fashion grey area for me. I am now venturing into uncharted territory and will tread and ride, carefully.
11 comments:
My wife said, "Cute!" :-)
I think what you are wearing are called Jeggings. Alas, I tried on a pair by Jessica Simpson at the Bay and they looked terrible on me. I was so hoping I could wear them with boots. I too have decided that I don't want to risk scratching up my nice heels so I usually wear a pair of really well-worn flats or in the cold and rain I wear my old, trusty, waterproof ankleboots from Ecco and change into nicer shoes at work.
Dag - oh no! I make fun of jeggings all the time:( I thought those were made to look like jeans, either with a denim pattern or faux hardware. Mine are just black, and no buttons or any other jean-look. I think they look more like running pants, without the shiny reflection.
Jeggings, what a grey area:)
warm leggings, bikes, birthdays, and yo' blog...all things that make my heart go *yay*!!
Lululemon should design a lululemon pant/legging hybrid. Perhaps they already have. There are also leggings with openings and zippers at the ankle that I'm on the fence about.
I've been wearing a pair of TNA leggings I bought at Aritzia to wear under skirts since fall mornings are so chilly and I still want to wear skirts. I usually take the leggings off when I get to work (depending on the outfit).
dag - yeah, I'm not a fan of the zippers. Mostly because my legs are short and sometimes I have to tuck the leggings a bit. A zipper would make it look horrible. I'm also not a fan of velour leggings. Something about the texture. I've rarely seen faux velour look good on anybody.
I too used to be anti-legging... until I was pregnant! I ordered a pair of maternity leggings from JC Penney and ended up wearing them all the time. It was a great way to extend the wearable life of my dresses as the front hemlines slowly crept upwards with my growing belly.
Now I miss my leggings (I don't own any non-maternity ones!). I want to get some new ones but all the ones I find are not opaque enough for my liking, or they're "jeggings" with contrasting seams or zippers or somesuch nonsense. Where did you get yours?
Karen - They're everywhere now, but I have a secret about trends like this. I think it's the advantage to being short. I'm allowed to shop at teen-ish stores like forever 21 where items such as opaque leggings come in many shapes and forms, and not for very much $$$.
Mine are thick thick. Thick like a gortex jacket!
use to be anti legging until I figured out what I ated was leggins with tops that are too short! In boots with a long sweater and belt it's just fab. So I find myself eatign my words. I am still not sure about the shoe/ballet slipper look but I admit it is growing un me. Done right it can look rather awesome. SO ... it's about the flair and not the leggings.
Sonja - Agreed. Coordination of the whole outfit plays a major role in certain elements looking like they've failed. Played correctly, almost anything goes!
I've been looking for a good pair of black heels that are functional . . . and still haven't found ones that I like enough to commit to. Where did you get yours?
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