In a previous post, I showed you what I got at the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale last week. This week I had a chance to try some of the new items with my wardrobe, to figure out what to keep or return.

First up: taupe snake-print open-heel booties (Gentle Souls, Harlie), Photos 1-6 I was leaning toward returning them, because 1) I couldn't figure out what I would wear them with and 2) the top of the bootie bumps up against my ankle bone. However, after the try-ons and wearing them around the house for a few extended times, I think they are keepers. They don't really irritate my ankle bone, and I don't expect them to be all-day walking shoes. It seems to me that they go with the outfits I've shown here, and they will be especially good with dresses and skirts. They looked really good with the cream Levi's I was wearing when I bought them, too. Leaning: Keep.

Next up: leopard-print skinny jeans (Frame, Ali), photos 7-10 These received near-universal disapproval, on and off the forum. I was skeptical of them myself. But I promised I would show you some try-ons, so here they are. Photos 7 and 8 show what I think is the most "characteristic Firecracker" look, with an olive draped tunic and olive tall boots. I quite like this outfit. Photo 9 shows another easy outfit, with a cream tee, long black hoody sweater, and tall black boots. Photo 10 is an attempt at pattern-mixing, since I noticed Nordstrom showed these jeans with the NAS Paul Green red plaid booties. The ways I would wear these jeans are limited, and I don't see myself reaching for them often. They seem to fight with my overall look. Strongly leaning: Return.

Also water-repellent studded booties in reddish shade (Pikolinos, Vicar, in Arcilla), in photo 11. I'm thinking I'll keep this color. Though the black are so cute, with the red stripe at the top! Aargh. I really don't think I want two pairs of the same booties in different colors. (Although, I have done that, with the olive tall boots shown above--I also have those in black. . . . Hmmm) Leaning: Keep red, return black.

And, what I'm wearing today, photos 16-17), along with another keep vote for the sling-back booties: dark wash boyfriend jeans (AG, Ex-boyfriend, in Bravura); purple and olive brown abstract stripe-print boxy tee (made by me); snake print sling-back booties (Gentle Souls, Harlie). The jeans are new; I got them at Mercantile in Portland, as a souvenir of my big bike-ride from Seattle to Portland this past weekend!

Thanks for looking! I welcome any feedback. And please share thoughts you may have on the snake-print jeans or the two colors of Pikolinos booties for me. I know I haven't given you any photos of the black booties, but I do have a couple pairs of black booties already, and they get a lot of wear.