I'm done with this warm weather! (Monday, Nov.28th)

A tired Helen came into the office today after the long Thanksgiving weekend. The reports from Thanksgiving dinner were all positive - the food and company were fantastic! But the first words out of her mouth were "this weather is doing us a disservice!". I heartily agree! If we wanted to wear short sleeves all year long we'd live in Florida! Enough already! We want tweeds, wools and cashmere!

But then the competitive side of Helen emerged and she began contemplating extending the challenge indefinitely. Perhaps the warm weather has been a blessing in disguise, allowing Helen to go where no others have gone before.....could she pull off an entire academic year with out double-dipping in the closet????

Stay tuned.....

Happy Thanksgiving!

Our heroine took the day off on Wednesday, Nov. 23rd to start preparing her Thanksgiving Feast.

Enjoy the long weekend!

Tuesday, November 22nd

Why does Helen look so relaxed? Is it because it's a short work week and she only had to put together two outfits? Or is it because she finally decided on which brussel sprout recipe to use for Thanksgiving?
(They were delicious, by the way, and she will share the recipe if you're interested).

Helen is wearing a cute corduroy miniskirt and black Anne Taylor long sleeve t-shirt, accessorized by a black belt with silver buttons and and a black, grey and white patterned scarf from D.J. Crater, a local merchant.

Note: We hope our readers patronized their local businesses on November 26th, Small Business Saturday!

Monday, November 21st (Day 45)

By now you would think it would be crunch time in the closet! But no, Helen still comes up with a dress we have yet to see this semester! Is she borrowing from friends and neighbors? Has she raided her daughter's closet? Or is she still riding the wave of missed work days (and outfits!) from the Snowtober event a few weeks back?

Today's blue dress is simple, comfortable, classy and most importantly, forgiving. Lots of room to breath. Perhaps it should have been saved for a post-Thanksgiving debut? We hear the menu for Helen's annual Thanksgiving dinner is unbelievable! Look out Food Network, it might be time for a throw down!

Friday, November 18

There is no such thing as too much black.

But just to be sure, Helen always pairs a colorful addition to what otherwise might be described a 'black on black' ensemble. Here, a deeply-hued rich jewel tone cardigan breaks up the monochome. Though difficult to see in the photo, a delicately ruffled collar adds a welcome touch of festivity to our Friday afternoon.

That's our Helen. Always ready for the weekend.

Substitute Teacher

The crazy fall weather—yes, it finally got a bit cold this week—took its toll on our heroine and she had to take a day to recuperate.

Fortunately Helen's stalwart work buddy Andrea was up to the task and served as a last-minute sub, lest our faithful followers be disappointed.

Andrea tends to eschew the black and white for a more earthy palette and Thursday was no exception. We caught her without her jacket sporting a dark brown ensemble with high turtleneck (in case you didn't believe us about the weather changing). Always wearing a smile, Andrea deserves the kudos for stepping up...and saving us from the pressure of filling in for Helen.

Get better soon!

Hump day!

Yep, a full week of work. Will wonders never cease?

Honestly though, it's been a beautiful fall...apart from that pesky snowstorm, and Helen is taking it all in stride. Well, apart from the occasional cloud in her otherwise sunny disposition (we'll spare you the details). Wednesday we had another lovely black-and-white pants outfit, with a great textured top (ruffles, I'd call 'em), covered over with a button-up sweater, sleeves tastefully rolled up. (Careful followers of the blog may have noticed that Helen's a fan of "rolling up"—as I call it.) Pointy shoes (I'm sure there's a better fashionista term for them) complete the outfit.

Tuesday, November 15th

What? None for me? Today's photo shows Helen looking enviously at some student art work in the hallway. The subject is devouring some Chicken McNuggets and fries and I think our heroine is getting tired of salads for lunch!

I know what you're thinking! "Another all-black outfit?"...but you're wrong! The photo doesn't do the skirt justice. It's a beautiful patterned and textured skirt in soldier blue and black. Very stylish. I'm sorry our readers couldn't see it in person!

Monday, November 14th (Day 41)

"Summertime, summertime, summertime, summertime!" is the melody that ran through my head when Helen walked into the office on Monday. This has been one weird and wacky fall and Helen is starting to get a little frustrated. She's getting tired of the warm weather outfits, and is dying to break out the wools, cashmeres, and tweeds and put the short sleeve tops in the storage bins. The long range forecast calls for a dip in temperatures over the weekend, followed by more warm weather next week. Maybe Helen can take a photo in her favorite wool outfit on Saturday and share it with her readers!

11-11-11

An auspicious date and day 40 of Helen's project! (I'm not doing the counting on this, so I'll have to take everyone's word for it.)

Helen's looking very serious here in her go-to-faculty-meeting suit. Reading glasses and clipboard round out the look. This is not Helen's favorite task in the office—which puts her in good company with lots of others who would rather not be at a long meeting late Friday afternoon—but what can you do? The job's the job.

Warm weather continues and I remain optimistic that our heroine will persevere well into winter. Stay tuned!

Day 39--Celebration

My daughter was accepted into a highly completive film program in Los Angeles, so my husband decided we should have a celebratory dinner. It was also the Dean's birthday--another reason for my decorative cardigan and flouncy skirt. I hope everyone finds reasons to celebrate--life is too short not to have fun.

Wednesday, November 9th (Day 38)

Thirty eight days and our heroine is still surprising us! On Wednesday, Helen wore a red and brown patterned jersey dress. She admitted she was not a big fan of this outfit, but felt a tad more glamorous when she arrived that morning wearing her ruffled cape. As a result, we opted to take the the photo outside at lunch time so our readers would be able to see the complete outfit. The cape also prevents Helen from blending into the fall foliage!

A note to our more observant readers: The cape is a repeat, but "outerwear" is not part of the challenge!

Taking the hint

Well, somebody's a little grumpy! :-)

OK, Helen's got us dead to rights. This blogging thing requires at least a little consistency, so let's see if we can do better. After all, we've got the easy part!

Last Tuesday—yeah, that was a while ago—saw Helen in another simple, yet elegant, black-and-grey pants outfit. I need hardly point out the accessories anymore, but I like the thin belt on this one, and the chunky necklace provides a nice contrast and complements the circular neckline well.

That whole Snowtober thing aside, the weather has been holding out pretty well, and we're expected to be back up in the 60s again for a few days this week. If that keeps up at all, my money's on Helen to push boldly into next semester with no problem.

WHERE ARE MY BLOGGERS!

My bloggers have let me down. Pictures have been taken all week yet no posts have been composed. Time to crack the whip tomorrow. Hopefully they will catch up shortly. Till then I am still on target and have not duplicated an outfit yet. Discussion is taking place when the actual semester is considered over but I believe whatever is decided I will complete this mission.

I was in the Hamptons this weekend, saw a consignment store name "Out of the Closet"-how come there was no objection to this store's name but my blog name had to be changed? Just commenting!

Monday, November 7 (Day 36)

Skirt or skort? Place your bets!

It was a gorgeous day so our heroine of the bottomless closet is posing outside for her photo op. I liked today's outfit. Simple. Comfortable. Hip. Enough said.

Back to Work! (Friday, Nov 4)

One day of work this week, and Helen is swamped with mailers, but elegant as ever! Punching up her basic black slacks and top is a wine-colored (cabernet, says Helen) sweater. Personally I'm a fan of the long drapery, so I love this outfit.

Besides if you have to work Friday as if it were the entire week, you might as well look good!

The Calm before the Storm

Hard to believe it was just a week ago, but here's Helen last Friday, as we waited, ignorant of the gigantic mess we were about to be in due to a little late-October snowstorm. If I didn't know better, I'd say she was trying to escape by climbing up our bookshelves.

As for the outfit, it a well-coordinated dark-blue and maroon combo, set off with a great (and wide) belt. You can't see it, but trust me that there's a nice necklace too.

As for the unexpected Snowtober "vacation"...only Helen knows what she wore in the un-electrified privacy of her unheated home. No doubt she's started looking at the winter section of the closet!