Sunday, November 22, 2009

Five Outfits Take a Vacation in North Carolina...

Compared to my last post on outfits in the Bahamas, I feel like these outfits, while I like them, don't really represent me as well as summer or beach outfits do.

But my winter clothing serves me well, so I decided to take some of them on a little vacation to the hills of North Carolina. (Well, I really didn't...Mr. Dina had a conference there...but still, it counts.)

This was the same vacation that I was able to go to the AWESOME J. Crew Clearance Center in Arden, NC. (BTW, there are some great tips in the comments section...check them out before you make a trek to this store.)


Here is the polyvore of this vacation wardrobe. I have no in real life photos from this trip of the berry trim Astrid jacket (which is really the outlet version), but I wore it last night to go shopping, so it will be on this blog soon enough! The herringbone ecole in pumpkin is another outlet find. (But it looks EXACTLY like the one from J. Crew last fall.)


Day One--Drive from NOVA to NC in five hours in awful weather. Kinda wet, kinda warm, kinda blah. The yellow in my v-neck brightened the world for hours. I think you can read in the dark from the illumination.

Anyhow, we are at my FAVORITE fast food joint ever, Steak and Shake. This place has the best fast food...hands down. It even beats my other fave (and local business gone good) Five Guys. Why? Because Steak and Shake has more variety. If Five Guys had Steak and Shake's variety, it would be no contest, my neighborhood burger joint would win, of course. But since Five Guys business model is to stick to the basics (which they do REALLY well), I think Steak and Shake will always reign supreme. BTW, I always get the Frisco Melt with a side of cheese fries and either cottage cheese or chili. I eat clean the rest of the time...Steak and Shake is for me to INDULGE.

Here is the sadness...there are NO Steak and Shakes anywhere in the Virginia, DC, or Maryland area. I have to drive 5 hours to where Elon College is located to get to our nearest one.


Still Day One--Halloween night. My kids were both their favorite characters from the hit children's tv program, Yo Gabba Gabba, for Halloween, so I decided to be their DJ Lance. Rex was Brobee, and CW was Foofa. I know...a bit ridiculous, but all in fun. Plus, and this is just perfection, when can you ever pull out J. Crew and wear it for Halloween??? I love that this Candace sweater jacket just fit the bill.


Day Two--Drive from Winston-Salem (we stayed at the same hotel as we did when I had the INCIDENT but on the other side AWAY from hilarity and festivity) to Asheville. This top is not represented in the polyvore. It is from Boden probably three years ago? This was when Boden was still making their tops fairly short, which doesn't really bother me, Miss Short Torso, but I remember seeing people complaining about how Boden doesn't really give enough length in their tops on their website. Anyhow, I love the floral detail with the stripes. Plus the colors are pretty and all autumnal.


Day Two--Evening at dinner with the kids at some fancy restaurant at the resort. THE KIDS WERE PERFECT. :) YAY! Anyhow, IGNORE my makeup. I have no idea if the flash did that or if I really am that ghostly, but I definitely didn't look like that in real, actual light.

I love this top...it is very comfortable, but when the bow is tied and you wear it with a pencil skirt, tights, and heels, it gets notched up to "dressy casual." (Which is my favorite type of outfit...) Also, look at it! Not an ounce of actual color. This may be a dinagideon first!


Last Day (Day Four)--Skipped right over Day Three because that was the day I went to the clearance center and none of the outfit pics turned out. Sigh.

This top is the abstract rose victoria cami from the outlet and the jacket is the herringbone ecole (with a button instead of a clasp) from the outlet. The pants are the charcoal minnies, and the shoes are my lovely Alessias in grey. This was the ONLY shot that turned out okay. I think the room had bad lighting. This outfit was actually VERY comfortable. This was the outfit I wore when we ate at Tupelo Honey (which has FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC southern food). If this outfit was still comfortable after that meal (which it was), then those Minnies are God-sends.

I still have more posts upcoming. Later on today, I will be doing my next Mid-Century Mom post (I did some cooking, you all). The next couple from My Superfluities will include one on the ruffles and rosette top in black, a recreation of a catalog look from November, some Boden pieces from this fall, and a whole long post with me wearing a bunch of dresses.

Have a nice Sunday!

11 comments:

melissamolasses said...

Great outfits! Can't believe you wore an outfit without real color!

Can you comment on the fit of the Candace jacket? Is is boxy? Are you wearing a size small?

Kathy said...

Your outfits looked lovely! I like day 4 best, you rock those minnies!

Patina said...

your wardrobe is awesome. i love all your outfits.

Debye said...

Thanks for sharing these, I especially love outfit four and you look too cute as DJ Lance who always reminds me of one of my highschool friends!

Can't wait to see your Boden post. I just preordered some of their Spring items. I have never ordered from them before but I love the pieces you have posted so I had to give it a try. Plus, I love that all the dresses have a tall option!

Summerilla said...

Loving all the outfits. Your Halloween costume is adorable.

Every time I see your outfits posts I think "Dina must own everything JCrew has ever made and I'm so jealous". Your closet is definitely the one to raid!

Jayna Wallace said...

I love all the outfits, but I love the abstract rose victoria cami + herringbone ecole the absolute MOST! You just look so positively chic!

tm said...

lol, steak n' shake... first time I ever saw one of those was when I lived in Pittsburgh. :)

GingerSnap said...

Ok... Not that you don't look darling in every outfit, but you look AMAZING in outfit 4...the one with the printed top and Minnie pants. You look smokin'!!! I think this might be my favorite outfit on you thus far :). Bravo!

tm said...

I agree w/ Gingersnap-- the minnies, abstract roses blouse, yellow blazer + alessia combo is fab!

Anonymous said...

Great outfits! Love all of them. I love Steak and Shake too, I used to live within three blocks of one in Indianapolis.

dinagideon said...

Oh. Man. I am so way behind! Oops. Okay, I have to do a general response to this and answer all questions. :) I thought I had responded to this post already!!!

Melissamolasses: Sorry for the delay!!! I am wearing a small. I would say I could have even gone with a medium, and I have a very narrow upper body...the small just fits, if you get my drift!!! :)

Summerilla: I think I own all the "unusual" J. Crew pieces, like the prints that stand out, or things made with the unusual fabric...I definitely do not tend to buy my casual pieces there, like white tees, etc., unless they are on super-sale (or really useful like the Minnies). I tend to think you shop the same way, buying J. Crew's better known items!!! I love your wardrobe too and wish that I could still fit into your size...

In regards to all of you who said I rocked the Minnies and the Victoria, THANK YOU! Definitely must try this look again! ;)