Anthro's Gunilla Dress by McGinn! Polyester Love!

I am meeting a Reader for lunch today.  Karen was the runner up with her submission of Petrified Wood for the Inspiration That Rocks Series.  I'm excited to meet her, and give her a Snowflake Necklace.  Also, a little nervous.  Is that crazy?  I might be overdressed too. 


Gunilla Dress - by McGinn - Anthro Orig $258 2nd Cut $70 - March 2011
Sulky Belt in Blue - Anthro Orig $48 Sale $30 - March 2011
Ribbed Waist Cotton Cardi in Ochre - by Gap - Orig $50 Sale $40 - March 2011
Preserved Gypsophila Necklace - by De Jarnette of New Orleans - March 2011

I've had Anthro's GUNILLA DRESS by McGinn for a few weeks.  I've been so busy with the Inspiration That Rocks Series and Reviews that I haven't posted an OOTD with this dress. I picked it up on Pop Back, at the 2nd cut price of $70. Who sells a dress for $258 that's 100% Polyester?  Anthro!  Despite the dreaded fabric, I'm in love with this dress.  Too bad I forgot to take a photo of the back.  The bodice has an over jacket that buttons up the back.  So cute!  The dress itself is super comfortable.  I think I can come up with several different ways to style this into Spring. 

And I love the PRESERVED GYPSOPHILA NECKLACE by DeJarnette of New Orleans with the dress. Although it's tough to see the necklace in my photos.

Shop the Gunilla Dress for Pop Backs HERE
Shop the Gunilla in Size 4 on eBay HERE, Size 4, 6 and 10 HERE, Size 4 and 6 HERE

Shop the Preserved Gypsophila Necklace HERE

Necklace Reviewed HERE



Gunilla Dress - by McGinn - Anthro Orig $258 2nd Cut $70 - March 2011
Sulky Belt in Blue - Anthro Orig $48 Sale $30 - March 2011
Ribbed Waist Cotton Cardi in Ochre - by Gap - Orig $50 Sale $40 - March 2011
Opaque Tights in Turquoise - by Hue  - Anthro $12.50 - June 2008
Honor Guard Booties - by Messeca - Anthro $168 - Dec 2010
Preserved Gypsophila Necklace - by De Jarnette of New Orleans - March 2011

I ordered this RIBBED WAIST COTTON CARDI in Ochre from the Gap online.  I purchased 4 slightly different Cotton Blend Cardi's from the Gap is various colors for $140 total.  I'm considering a few more.  I wish they had Orange. 

Shop Gap's Cotton Cardi HERE

The waistline on the Gunilla Dress is an inch or two higher than I like.  To define my waist at a lower elevation (ha-ha) I belted the dress with Anthro's SULKY BELT in Blue.  I then pushed the Belt down, which also helps to flatten the very puffy pleats that start at the waist.  I suppose a photo minus the Cardi would have been helpful.  Sorry about that. 



Gunilla Dress - by McGinn - Anthro Orig $258 2nd Cut $70 - March 2011
Sulky Belt in Blue - Anthro Orig $48 Sale $30 - March 2011
Opaque Tights in Turquoise - by Hue  - Anthro $12.50 - June 2008
Honor Guard Booties - by Messeca - Anthro $168 - Dec 2010
Green Line Satchel in Ochre SS09 - by Orla Kiely - Orig $598 Sale $398 - July 2009

I adore Anthro's HONOR GUARD BOOTIES by Messica. I went with these to keep the look on the modern side for work.

I'm not hip on Orla Kiely's ALL LEATHER GREENLINE SATCHEL with this outfit. But for lack of time, I grabbed and ran with it. This is a Green, Disposable Bag.  What!  Just toss it in a landfill when your done using it.  What!  No metal parts to pollute.  Completely Biodegradable!  That's right!  No cotton lining, and no OK elastic key fob either. Who throws away a $600 handbag?  A Purse Snatcher?

Gunilla Dress - by McGinn - Anthro Orig $258 2nd Cut $70 - March 2011
Sulky Belt in Blue - Anthro Orig $48 Sale $30 - March 2011
Ribbed Waist Cotton Cardi in Ochre - by Gap - Orig $50 Sale $40 - March 2011
Opaque Tights in Turquoise - by Hue  - Anthro $12.50 - June 2008
Honor Guard Booties - by Messeca - Anthro $168 - Dec 2010
Green Line Satchel in Ochre SS09 - by Orla Kiely - Orig $598 Sale $398 - July 2009
Preserved Gypsophila Necklace - by De Jarnette of New Orleans - March 2011

It's been raining for several days straight.  Flooding is expected.  I had to unplug the drain in my backyard again.  Haven't used that drain in 4 years.  Now I've had to drain the yard twice in 4 months.  Our annual rainfall is nearing 190% of average. 

Spring is off to a good start! Did anyone pick up some Tuesday Sale goodies from Anthro?

I ordered Anthro's Winsor Knot Dress by Deletta from online...

Anthro's Winsor Knot Dress - by Deletta - Anthro Orig $138 Sale $70 - March 2011

Would love to here what you picked up....
Anthro Sister Love, Laura  (lauramartinsemail@yahoo.com)

Monday's Re-Style Rejected for a Favorite OOTD

Happy Monday Afternoon,

Now, lets look back to Sunday night.

I am a certified organization freak. So naturally, every evening before work, I set out my clothing and accessories for the next day.

Most mornings I stick to my selection. 

However... occasionally I REJECT my Sunday night selection on Monday Morning. 

Is it because I'm not in work mode when I selected the outfit? Because I take all day Sunday and all night to switch from weekend mode to work week mode.

Do I have a difficult time adjusting to life's transitions?  You betcha! And it's getting worse with age. 

Or could it be that I'm not happy with Sunday Nights Re-Style. Which happened to be a Summer 2009 outfit *Up-Styled with new items.

*I just made that word up.

On to the reason for this Post. 

 Who cares! I arrived at work on time. Despite my outfit presto chango.

All that really matters is the Anthro.

This is Anthro's Jahoda Corset Top by Floreat $98.  Purchased on sale for $50 April 2009.  I would love to see Floreat re-design another version of this top.  But if they did and I missed it only tell me about it if you know where I can get one. Gotta love the elastic panel in back with the kicky little gathered hemline. The entire top is stretchy.  Only negative is the low cut neckline.

The most versatile skirt in my closet.  Anthro's Ruffled Denim Skirt by Leifsdottir $158. Purchased on sale for $70 July 2009. You will see me wearing this skirt often.  In fact the skirt is a size eight.  I  moved the top two buttons in to fit like a four.  If  I gain weight, I can always move them back.  Let's hope I don't have to do that.

This little Cardi surprises me still. The Cake Batter Cardi by Deletta.  I don't remember if I paid full price or it was on sale.  Full price would have probably been $78.  I think it was one of those sleeper items that no one noticed.  I purchased mine at the Fresno CA Anthro.  The 2nd of 3 Anthro's I have ransacked.  Orange is one of my favored colors. But only on me.  Not in the house or the car. I found the Cardi to be more like Icing than Batter for my strawberry shortcake.

It was instant heart pounding WANT the minute these appeared online. I am a sucker for the words crochet, needlepoint, embroidery, and *tatting. 

*Tatting is a lost form of Old English lace making done with a bobbin and shuttle. My Mother taught herself how to tat from a library book 35 years ago. She now designs her own patterns and is the hands down winner at the Great Kern County Fair every year. 

No way could I afford the whopping $398 for Chie Mihara's Needlework T-Straps.  I waited 5 agonizing months from when they appeared in the Feb 2009 catalog, to June when they went on sale for $200.

I am so disappointed in the leather wrapped heel.  After wearing them only a few times they started to discolor for no apparent reason. I still wear them.

I haven't included an Orla Keily handbag recently because you have seen almost all of them.  Except this one.

This is from Orla Keily's Greenline SS09 Collection.  All Leather Satchel  in Ochre.  Was $598.  I waited 5 months for the sale price of $398.  I know, not a deep discount. This is a convertible Messenger Bag that can be carried over the shoulder or as a handbag.  Orla's Greenline is tanned using only natural products. And is completely biodegradable.  So no metal, fabric, or plastic involved.

Who would pay this much for a bag and simply throw it away at some point?

What! NO KEY FOB?

All my Orla's have the little elastic strap and hook for the keys. I'm gonna miss that handy dandy hook.

What! NO ZIPPER POCKETS? 

In fact the 2 pockets are much to small to hold anything but lip gloss. 

THE ENTIRE BAG IS TOO SMALL.  But cute!

And what a process to open and close. You have to fold the bag in half.  Then pull the Brown strap over the top and feed it over the carry handles and through the Olive Green Tab.  What a pain.

I love the color and the way it looks, but what good is that if the bag isn't practical.

And if you spill something on this bag you're screwed.  So I try to constantly put mink oil on it.  I already have a few small stains.  The inside is also raw leather.  No Stem Print Lining.

If this is the fashionable Handbag of the future I am going to be very unhappy.

Jewelry is from Etsy Shop psbymelanie.  The Charm Bracelet I found in search. The strawberries are Lampwork Beads, with tiny little crocheted strawberry flowers.  I requested a custom order for the earrings.

And here concludes my OOTD for this back to work Monday.

How do you transition from weekends to the work week?  I am an awful grump on Sunday.

Every element of this outfit is over a year old.  I have never had reason to re-style or up-style this Tried and True.

This was styled when I was more into Matchy Match Themes.  I felt like the jewelry had to have the same Strawberry theme as the top.

Have you ever styled this way? 

I only did this for a few outfits. I don't think there is anything wrong with it either. It was a phase I went through.  And I still love this outfit.

Do you experience stages of styling? 

I go through them constantly.  And it has nothing to do with the current fashion trends. Because honestly I don't follow them.  I follow my heart. Only occasionally do Heidi D. and I steal outfit ideas from each other and Anthro.  And that's cool with us.

Love, Laura (GeoInCalifornia) lauramartinsemail@yahoo.com