A Spirit Week Guilty Pleasure

During Spirit Week, there is one day that I celebrate with more zeal than most of the students.  I secretly can't wait for its arrival, and each year, I carefully plan my outfit days -sometimes weeks - beforehand.  That day, my friends, is 80s Day. 

Jacket: a.n.a. JCPenney

Tshirt: Something I bought in 7th grade

Skirt: l.e.i. from 10th grade

Black tights: Merona for Target

Red leggings: Claire's

Leg warmers: Claire's

Shoes: Converse Chuck Taylor All Stars

Believe it or not, I didn't have to go out and buy anything for this outfit.  I bought the jacket on super sale last year, and I've had the Rainbow Brite shirt and jeans skirt since I was a teenager.  I bought the red leggings as part of a Courtney Love Halloween costume several years ago, and the legwarmers were part of an outfit I wore to a Lady Gaga concert last year. 

I'm not sure if I'm proud or ashamed of the fact that I can pull off 80s Day with items I already own.

I didn't even have to do anything spectacular with my hair or go out and buy new makeup.  I literally just ran a brush through my locks (They're that big of a frizzball.), and I used a Sephora makeup palette.

The only negative aspect of 80s Day?

That hot pink lipstick showed up on everything that came within 3 feet of my lips. 

I'm a poser

...and I'm officially old.  Not only is today my 26th birthday, but it's also the one-week anniversary of the day that I realized I'm no longer cool.  Last week, I went to a Blink-182 concert.  I've been a fan of the band since I was in junior high, and this was the second concert of theirs I've attended.  Taking my cue from some of my punk-ier students, I decided I'd wear plaid, Chucks, and a cool knit hat.  The result was more Punky Brewster than Punk Rocker:

Button-down: J.Crew Perfect Shirt in candy plaid

Cardigan: J.Crew Camp Pocket Cardigan

Jeans: J.Crew Matchstick

Shoes: Converse Chuck Taylor All Star Low Top in pink
Hat: Target

I stuck out like a sore thumb.  Here I was, trying to be all cute:

Meanwhile, I was surrounded by teenagers who all looked relatively similar to this kid:



Fail.  Plus, it was about 35 degrees all night.  That, my friends, would be what the children refer to as an EPIC fail.  I ended up buying a Blink-182 sweatshirt, so that gave me a little bit of street cred with the rascals who surrounded me.  But hey, I knew every word of the songs Blink played from their debut album from 1994, and those spike-cuffed, mohawked teens just stared at me in adoration.  Booyah.

I'll leave you with a pretty picture of the pretty lights from the show:



My CTO: Comfy Teaching Outfit

So, I just found this draft in my archives, and I thought I had scheduled it to publish last week on Thursday (9/15/11), but apparently not.  I'm going to be honest; I'm too lazy to fix it to make it more timely, so I'm publishing it as-is. 

Do you ever have a day where you just want to be comfy?  It's starting to get chilly here, and that initial autumnal drop in temperature makes me want to curl up in a ball.  Plus, I'm going to a Blink-182 concert (yes, sometimes I have the musical tastes of a 15 year old boy), and today at school, I just wanted to be comfortable.  This outfit tends to be my go-to early fall/spring Comfy Teaching Outfit.

Glasses: Prada

Sweater: Ralph Lauren (from the outlet about 5 years ago)

Dress: Converse for Target

Cami: N.Y. & Company

Shoes: Converse All-Star Chuck Taylors

When I first wear this outfit every year, the kiddos go crazy for a couple of reasons.  "Miss T.!  You got glasses?" is always the first thing I hear.  Nope, children, I'm blind as a bat and wear contacts, because my glasses are Cokebottle-thick.

Don't mind the rat's nest on top of my head.  Rainy days tend to make me look like I've stuck my fingers in a toaster.  I included this picture for two reasons: 1.  You get a better glimpse of the glasses, and 2.  You can totally see the contrast between my classroom (above) and my fiance's classroom (in all of my OOTD pictures, including the first one in this post). 

Okay, so anyway, the second thing I hear when I wear this outfit is, "Miss T.!  YOU WEAR CHUCKS?!"  I love telling my kids that I wore my Chucks to my high school graduation with my cap and gown.  I was class president, so I was the first person in line to march onto the stage, and my Chucks were on display for everyone to see.  This story normally gets me some street cred with the ninth and tenth graders.  And really, that's all I can hope for in my life, right?  ;)

The Chucks are not only an instant conversation piece, but MAN, are they ever comfortable.  If my feet need a day of rest, I slip these puppies on with this dress, khakis, or cafe capris and I'm instantly calmer and ready to tackle the day. 

What's your CTO?  Those of you that aren't teachers, what do you wear on days that make you want to curl up and go to sleep?