In Which I Dress For A Surprise Party

HELLO PALS,

As previously mentioned, the first weekend in May included two (2) Occasions, which are rare events in these parts. Naturally, I’d planned my outfits Far In Advance. In this case, for my dad’s surprise birthday dinner, I was going to wear the striped shirt featured in this post. HOWEVER, just like for my sister’s bridal shower, Fate Intervened, and it was too cold to wear the Summery Stripes. But NEVER FEAR: I had an alternate outfit ready to go—which, as also previously mentioned, was one of the reasons I started this blog in the first place.

I had also already taken outfit photos, so even though they’re from my BB (Before Bangs) era, we’re going to use them anyway, and also include a picture to illustrate the Actual Weather Conditions at the time. Luckily, there were no snowstorms during the surprise party.

Turtleneck - JC Penney Worthington Tall Womens Turtleneck, bought 10/2021 - still available in some sizes/colors, wearing size Large Tall

Jeans - American Eagle Kick Boot jeans, bought several years ago - same or similar still available in one color, wearing size 10 X-Long

Boots - B.O.C., bought 2019

Belt - Bass, bought ca. 2008?

Coat - Eddie Bauer Lodge Down Parka, bought in 2016 - still available in some sizes/colors, wearing size Tall Large

If there’s one combination I love, it’s a turtleneck and boots, and if you match the turtleneck, belt, and boots, it is FOOLPROOF. I wore a black version of this same outfit a few days later, which I’ll feature in an upcoming post—it’s important to take advantage of all my favorite cool-weather combinations before we launch into trying to figure out WHAT THE HECK TO WEAR WHEN IT’S 90 DEGREES. (The striped shirt, I guess, and Leyla Sancak’s genius shirtdress-and-bathing-suit combo, but I don’t know what else. This is Yet Another reason why I started this blog.)

We’ll talk more about Foolproof Outfit Combinations (as illustrated by everyone’s favorite kickboxing chocolatier and restaurant CEO) in an upcoming post, but I’m also trying to get the post about packing for work on a guest ranch up before people actually leave to work on guest ranches, so we will see which one appears first.

Until then, I remain,

YOUR PAL.