outfits - Natalie Wise Blog

Go-Getter

Some days, you have to get up, get dressed, and go make something happen.

Or, at the very least, get a cup of coffee in a hot pink cup that really makes you smile.

And by “get dressed” I mean…borrow clothes from my mom. Let’s not discuss how much I want to “permanently borrow” this gingham shirt of hers.

I have to say, I had a really great day while wearing this outfit, and while I didn’t necessarily “go get” anything super awesome today, at least I tried. Points, right?

Look Like Kate

{This is my “Kate is always smiling and walking in all of the paparazzi pictures, so I will be too” photo}

So this is sort of my “Halloween costume”. I’m not really a huge fan of Halloween, but I wore this outfit today, and I put it together inspired by Princess Kate. As soon as I spotted this dress in the thrift store, I knew it had to be mine. Lucky for me, it happens to be a London brand! Kate is bringing sheer hose back in style, but the only ones I had have flowers up the sides, hehe. An older lady who saw me went crazy over these hose and insisted I show them off in the pictures, so I did:

Kate has some very similar Stewart Weitzman cork wedge heels, so I wore my patent and rattan wedges. She often wears belts, too, and the hat is so similar to her brown one from the Canadian tour! I wore my best pearl studs, and tried my hardest to curl my hair.

Her hair is so utterly enviable! Gah! My hair hardly holds a curl. Here’s how it looked at the beginning, the best it looked after all of my 30 minutes of effort:

Here are a few of the dresses/outfits that inspired me:

I feel like Kate wore a dress even more similar to mine at some point, but I couldn’t find a picture of it.

Anyway, I adore, adore, adore this outfit, and can’t wait to wear the dress again!

Have fun but be safe and smart tonight, friends!

PS. Yes, the dress fits fingertip rule!

Take Heart

These days, it’s a daily struggle to keep all of my heart here. To keep it present.

Half of it is still living a small-town-happy past life, and the other half is living a city-struggling-memories life.

I have so much more empathy now for anyone who moves. The next time a new girl comes up to me, I will say, “I will be your friend! I will sit with you at the lunch table! I mean, get coffee with you!”
{this section refuses to get on the ‘centered’ bandwagon tonight for some reason…}

Also, I have only unpacked about 20% of my closet, and I haven’t figured out this “why my hair looks so terrible here most days” thing yet, so I’m really limping along here with style posts. Good thing this blog isn’t just about fashion 🙂

PS> I had to wear this leopard coat because it was snowing. Again.

Wait for the Lord! Be strong, and TAKE HEART, and wait for the Lord.

Psalm 27:14

Have a great week!

Falling

This city has yet to really impress me.

But this weekend…well…I might be falling for it a little bit.

See, I realized something.

This city owes me nothing. In fact, it has no idea who I am. It won’t draw my name out of a hat and invite me to hold the golden key to the city.

I must fall for it.

I must find the moments and the places that make me come alive here. I must find the space I wish to inhabit within this city, and I must inhabit it.

No one else can give that to me.

I have to thrift it along with vintage clothes, write it at coffee shops along with poems, and I must embrace it along with my family.

In time, I will snowshoe along the banks of its frozen lakes, and I will think quietly in my heart:
I have found peace.

And I have found a place here.

Possibilities

In a new town, everything seems like a possibility.

I kid you not, in the past week, I have Google-d and decided I was absolutely going to try rock climbing, trampoline exercise classes, and being a mystery shopper.

See, the problem is, there’s a disconnect. I can’t recreate my old life here. I must become a slightly, somehow different version of myself, just by the nature of moving. And while everything seems to be a possibility, I don’t want to lose my center of gravity either.

Who are we kidding here? A trampoline exercise class would make me, at best, extremely dizzy and probably motion-sick.

So I guess I’ll keep on working on it.

And in the meantime, there’s still a small chance I’ll see you at trampoline exercise class.

What?!

New Girl

This is what I wore to my first Sunday at a new church.

I was so nervous! Now isn’t that silly?

I know, I know. Ridiculous.

But being the new girl is so hard!

{so I figured I’d better channel my inner “Jess” from New Girl with her short pleated dresses}

Polka-dot tights & gold flats with velvet bows.

Also, like, this new girl is gonna be a mega super-star, Adele-style. Girl be talented.

She’s only 16 but so talented and I am in love with her music and style.

And her dresses!!!

Also check our her Cher’s Believe and Midnight Train to Georgia.

Ok I’ll stop fan girl-ing now.

I have enough on my plate being the new girl.

Textures

This outfit is jam-packed with texture. A metal necklace, a silk shirt, a cotton scarf, a tweed jacket, corduroys, and suede wedges.

I’ve been thinking today how God sometimes takes things from us for a season.

Our God who gives and takes.

Do you know what I mean?

Sometimes God says, “Here, you know what? We’re going to take this thing and put it on the shelf for a bit. Let’s focus on something else for a little while.”

This feels so scary. It feels very unsettling.

But the cool thing is, our God is a detail-oriented God.

And oftentimes, He takes things we thought got shelved, and He works them back into our lives in the coolest ways.

You know, He works them together like mixing different textures. It may sound silly, but its true…He puts together our lives with the finesse of a God who cares about the details. A God who cares about the beautiful big picture.

Oh I just love that.

Bittersweet

My dear church family threw me a party with the theme of Bittersweet. You know? The beautiful fall vine/berry that is red and orange? I’ve always loved it.

Photo by Chelsea of Frolic Blog from Here

And of course a “Bittersweet” theme is just perfect for a farewell party this time of year. They had orange tablecloths, vases full of bittersweet, and the most beautifully decorated cake with Bittersweet piped on. So pretty! I was totally a crying mess.

Cake decorating skillz by one of my favorite people from church!

Hmmm…

My cousin had this darling polka-dot dress and I just had to ask her if she’d mind if I got one! Isn’t it the cutest!?

Of course, I had to have the party earrings—the bling, if you will, to kick this outfit up a notch.

It’s hard to leave such precious friendship.

But everyone has really sent me off with a lot of love (and photographs, handmade presents, little travel things, chocolates, and more) to carry me forward.

Bittersweet, indeed.

I Have No Words for A Title

Legit talking to my neighbor.

Blazer collar legit popped.

Overeager camera face.

Slightly more normal.

See the color flecks in the blazer? Love.

I’ve been so busy lately preparing for my move and working on a few other projects.

I cleared my desk at work today.

Just a phone, box of tissues, message book, and stapler remained and I packed up my favorite mug, my bowl of chocolates, my robin’s egg blue desk accessories.

I think I’ve gone and packed up all of my words tonight, too, because I can’t find many.

{see: post title}

Ugglebo Clogs for Autumn

What says Autumn more than….

Tights! Sweaters!

Mustard yellow!

Burgundy! Tights!

Hmmm…what else?

Vintage tote bags with a bird pattern?

Yes.

Am I missing something?

OH! YES! Clogs!

These beautiful handmade-in-Sweden clogs are beautiful heirloom pieces. The quality is outstanding. The leather is gorgeous and soft, the wood is solid, the construction is old-fashioned, handmade, generations-worthy, well-done work. They have been made the same way in the same little Swedish factory since 1965. I love the way these “rock” when I walk. See that pretty cut of the wood where it meets the sole? Gorgeous. Ugglebo means “Owls Nest” in Swedish, hence their adorable owl logo.

My one sadness when it comes to Ugglebo clogs is that they run extremely narrow. I had originally picked out these stunning babies:

You can see the beautiful that eggplant color of the “Berry” Lisbon clogs. I very dearly wanted to keep them but they were simply too narrow. I just had to send them back in favor of the Etnas you see above, and I sized up. Unfortunately, that means my Etnas are about 1/2 size too big to fit the width of my (pretty-average) foot. The super wonderful customer service representative assured me they were working hard to get their sizing appropriate so we can all wear all of their beautiful clogs. Until then, I figure I’ll be wearing socks inside them soon enough 🙂

Above image courtesy Ugglebo clogs

Friends, if you need some great-looking, comfortable, beautiful clogs for fall and winter, I highly recommend Ugglebo! I have several pairs of Swedish clogs, and these are incredibly beautiful and feel more “solid” that my others. Not only that, but the customer service is unparalleled (especially compared with a more well-known Swedish company based in Sweden with a rather distasteful slogan).

Thank you, Ugglebo!

Disclaimer: Ugglebo sent me these clogs free of charge for review, and the words, pictures & opinions are my own. The links are not affiliate links. Thanks, Ugglebo!