So I went into the belly of the beast tonight. In my world, this means shopping for pants and jeans. I have such an aversion to shopping for bottoms that I will walk into a store and I literally not see the racks that contain bottoms. They are invisible to me. I have to be desperate to force myself into the dressing room with bottoms. On my way home from work tonight, I had to make a return at TJ Maxx, so I suddenly decided to pile the cart with every jean or pant I could find - two sizes of each. I told myself that this would be a fact finding expedition and that I didn't need to buy anything. Just get ideas. I think I tried on nearly 30 pairs all told. There were two boyfriend jean options that were viable, and one was a shorter style like those shown in Angie's recent post. That they were viable was is miracle in itself. But I passed. I really need more work clothes right now, so on to the non-jeans. I walked out of that store with two pairs of pants that I would have NEVER taken off of the rack before.

This was the first - Ellen Tracy Slim Ankle. They definitely don't look good at this length but I really liked them rolled up a little. Is that okay with this style? I really loved the fit and I have never ever worn this khaki/taupe color on my bottom half. http://www.sears.com/ellen-tra.....ockType=G2

The second has me still shaking my head. They are navy linen Max Studio draw string pants that I can't find online, but they have a similar shape to those in Angie's post on silky track pants: http://youlookfab.com/2013/08/.....ack-pants/

I also scored a Cynthia Rowley gauzy linen, blush pink, long hoodie sweater (very lightweight). Very me in every way, except the color. I love that color, but with my white hair and pale skin, will I become one big pale blur? I honestly don't care!

The least practical thing I bought was an ink blue Cynthia Rowley tunic hoodie. It is so soft I can hardly bear it. I will probably be able to wear it exactly one time before next fall, as the heat is about to be turned up on our part of the world, but this buy was totally worth it! And completely within my comfort zone.

And lastly, I found a simple, sleeveless, kelly green dress. It has a beautiful shape, despite slightly unforgiving fabric. A little spanx-y type item will fix that right up!

So that was my shopping haul tonight! I will post photos of outfits when I can figure that out, but I just had to share how pushing myself out of my comfort zone may have yielded amazing results. We shall see when it comes time to style and wear them!