Cloudy with a chance of suede

Today was the first cloudy day to end the stretch of beautiful, warm, sunny weather we've been having here in central PA for the last couple of weeks. It's still not warm enough (for me) to need a jacket, at least not during the day, but I did feel it was time to stop wearing the summer sundresses (even if they're paired with a cardigan sweater). But I'm still a risk-taker- after all, I wore a suede hat and carried a leather and suede bag, despite the ominous clouds. Only time will tell if I'll end up regretting this risk:

Jeans: Old Navy, $19

Sweater: Target, $13.48

Hat: Nine West, gift

Bag: Coach, $100ish- not sure of the exact amount

Shoes: Fabulous Footwear, $22

Earrings: Musette (on Etsy), $16

The bag was a splurge and a treat to myself a couple of years ago. As you all know, I'm a big fan of the faux-designer bags, but the truth is that I really just love handbags. Whether they are real or fake, what draws me in is the look of the bag itself. This bag made me drool. The light lavender suede is so soft and luxurious and the accent of the dark purple suede and leather is just a gorgeous combination. I remember clearly that it was December of 2007, and I had made the final payment on my car (whoo-hoo!) the previous month. Apparently, the final balance due was grossly out-of-whack and the bank sent me a check for the nearly $400 I'd overpaid. Bonus! As if it wasn't good enough that I finally owned my car free and clear, I got what was basically free money about a month later. Exciting, right? Well, I'd been drooling over the bag for weeks- it was the kind of situation where I'd go to the store just to look at it and dream about how it would feel walking down the street with it. On this particular day, I figured that since the money was a totally unexpected windfall, it would be ok to spend a little of it on something pretty and frivolous. The last time I'd looked at the bag, it was discounted down to around $160, so that's what I was prepared to spend when I went in to buy it. Turns out it was on sale for even less and I ended up getting a small Coach purse for a friend as well as my bag for just a little more than the $160 I'd planned to spend. I think mine ended up being around $100, and the small one around $55, so after taxes, it was just a little more than the $160. What great luck, right? And my friend got a Coach bag out of my good fortune, too. Sometimes you have to pay it forward- it just feels right.

As for the rest of the outfit, I admit I was dressing for comfort more than style today. I have a couple of really fun people at work who make a point of taking note of my outfit each day. It adds more than a little pressure to deliver fabulousness day in and day out, but fortunately for me, I love a challenge. Also fortunately for me, they both approved of my casual attire today- I'm talking about you, Jen & Tabby!

I hope that the weather improves again, but knowing what point we're at in the year, I can hardly expect it to continue to be sunny and warm until the spring. Oh, well. I guess it's going to be time for some serious layering outfits- lots of sweaters, turtlenecks, jackets, scarves- at least dressing for winter can be interesting with all the pieces you have to wear!

One more reminder to visit this week's Giveaway post and leave a comment to win a $20 gift certificate from Eshakti. A winner will be randomly selected from the comments. Each person is allowed to leave up to three comments. If you only leave one comment, your chances aren't quite as good, so go ahead and leave all three allotted comments- you never know what might happen!