BANANA REPUBLIC

May 2017 Fab Outfit Roundup & Summer Wardrobe Challenge

May 31, 2017

Hello! Somehow another month has gone by and we are past the Memorial Day holiday and “officially” at the start of summer. We had a chilly first part of the month here but spring pushed through and we were able to enjoy our fair share of sunshine as well. May also kicked off the season of birthday parties, various family milestones, and friends visiting from out of town. In addition to posting my monthly outfit favorites, I am also going to outline my summer wardrobe “challenge”. But let’s get to the favorites for May first. I’m including some work outfits as well as some weekend outfits this around.

This first outfit I wore for my nephew’s First Communion Mass and party. It ended up being pretty chilly that day so I added a white blazer and later a denim jacket at the party (didn’t want to risk spills on the blazer) to combat the cold. My toes stayed bare though in the sandals. I am a complete jumpsuit convert and this silk jumpsuit is such an easy throw on and go piece. The jumpsuit is unfortunately sold out and the sandals I found on Poshmark recently (they’re J.Crew from a few years ago) but I did link some similar pieces to get the same type of look.

Jumpsuit: J.Crew (sold out, another here, here, or here) / Sandals: J.Crew (similar style here) / Necklace: J.Crew (sold out, similar here)

Holiday Ready featuring the Fashion Outlets of Niagara Falls, USA

December 19, 2016

Hi! The clock is ticking down to the final stretch of holiday prep. As is the case every year, the weekends fill up quickly with holiday parties and while I often think I have a lot of time to get ready (and find things to wear), somehow I’m left the week of the holiday rushing around tying up last minute items. Parties and social events aside, I think the holiday ready items in my closet could cover a month of work and parties, yet every year I am adding more sparkly, lacy, metallic items to my closet (I. Can’t. Help. It.) Two items that I have been wanting to add to my holiday rotation are a lace dress and a fur vest.

Outfit details (all c/o Fashion Outlets of Niagara Falls, USA): Dress: Banana Republic Factory Lace Sheath Dress ($109.99) / Boots: French Connection Monay Booties ($89.99) / Purse: Banana Republic Factory Quilted Shoulder Bag / Vest: Michael Kors (via Saks off Fifth) $144.99 / Bracelet and Necklace: Saks Off Fifth

One of my other favorite stores at the Fashion Outlets of Niagara Falls, USA is the Banana Republic Factory Store. They always have an excellent selection of items and I am familiar with a lot of the retail offerings so I like seeing the same styles in different colors or options than what I’m seeing at the retail store. I can always count on finding key items and I wasn’t surprised when I found this fantastic lace sheath. I like the versatility of the dress and I would wear a black cardigan or blazer and tights to work and swap out the blazer for a more festive fur vest or cashmere wrap for evening events. Admittedly, dressing in cute holiday garb can be difficult in the Northeast and I am always trying to find ways to wear all of the fun short-sleeved and sleeveless items and not freeze to death. So, while I’m not wearing stockings in this photo, I would definitely opt for tights in this climate. However, I do find once I’m happily tucked in to my party with a cocktail, I always end up shedding my long sleeve layer, so I suppose the short-sleeved dress isn’t that far fetched.

November Fab Workstyle Roundup

November 30, 2016

Hi! As promised, I’m trying to get back in to a regular rotation of posting some of my daily outfits. We had a mostly mild November with some colder weather blowing in this past weekend. Before we turned the clocks back, it was increasingly hard to drag myself out of bed in the morning, so planning my outfits in advance when possible really helps my getting ready time in the morning. First up, is an outfit that I put together starting with these Banana Republic Avery pants, which are my new favorite pant. These pants have a slim leg but a more generous hip area, while still fitting my waist.

Pants: Banana Republic / Shirt: Banana Republic Factory (old, similar here) / Blazer: J.Crew / Shoes: J.Crew (old, similar here) / Watch: Michael Kors / Lipstick: Stila Liquid Lipstick

When I ordered these pants, I also ordered a camel cashmere turtleneck and I’ve had the camel/orchid combination in my head since I received my items in the mail. I’ve done a pairing similar to this in the past with my older J.Crew wool café capris in a similar color that don’t fit me anymore. I love mixing leopard and pinstripes and with the pink it all just sort of worked. Not sure how that happens some day, but if it feels good, I go with it.

October Fab Workstyle Roundup

October 30, 2016

Hi! I really want to try and get better at posting some of my work week and weekend outfits in addition to daily posting on Instagram. Here’s some of my favorite outfits from October. We spent a week on vacation so most of the outfits are from the past few weeks and the weather has gone from being mild to downright chilly! While I still love my colors, I am still finding myself leaning towards a more neutral palette and burgundy is still a favorite fall color for me.

First up, some Halloween colors and layers. Yes, it was cold enough for a winter coat this week. I bought this sweater last year but am still seeing the style around at various retailers this year and I hadn’t thought of styling it with dress pants until I saw some styling ideas at Banana Republic. Plus, with my new properly fitting bras, the ribbing in the sweater didn’t make me look huge in the chest area. I still felt like the sweater and pants was missing something so I added a suiting vest and the loafers finished off the menswear inspired look.

Sweater: J.Crew (old, similar from Banana Republic here) / Pants: J.Crew (old) / Loafers: J.Crew (old, similar here and here ) / Coat: J.Crew / Vest: J.Crew (similar at Nordstrom here)

Next up is a neutral inspired outfit featuring one of my favorite fall purchases – the J.Crew Regent Blazer. I had been looking for a camel blazer, as the one I owned before was not the right shade for me. I love the shape of this blazer and while the collar is designed to wear standing up, you can still fold it down. I actually started with the shoes on this outfit and build the outfit from there. A grey sweater with polka dots was a little more interesting than a plain grey sweater and the shoes and necklace pulled it all together. When in doubt, my go to pants are the Banana Republic Sloan pants. They’re comfortable, slim fit but still professional enough for work.

Blazer: J.Crew (similar here) / Pants: Banana Republic / Sweater: J.Crew (old, similar here, here and here) / Shoes: J.Crew / Watch: Michele

Next up is a monochrome look I wore to work on Friday for an all day division meeting we had. I wanted to be polished and put together with a little flair via the necklace and gold buttons on the jacket but still stay in muted colors. This is another Regent Blazer from J.Crew but an older one from last year. I paired it with a grey sweater underneath, wider leg full length pants and suede heels. While I love wearing ankle length slimmer pants I also like pulling out the full length pants now and then especially when it’s a little colder out. I might usually pick silver to pair with grey since they’re similar tones but with the gold buttons I went with gold jewelry.

Blazer: J.Crew (old, similar here and here)/ Sweater: J.Crew / Necklace: J.Crew / Watch: Michael Kors / Pants: J.Crew (old, similar here and here/ Shoes: J.Crew

Last up, a few outfits featuring my go to Sam Edelman booties this season. I received these as a gift last Christmas and am just pulling them out this fall for the first time. I want them in every color! They are incredibly comfortable and are great with jeans on the weekend or for a business casual work look. Since I’m sharing work looks, I’ll stick with how I’ve styled these for work. My blouse is an older J.Crew piece that I found recently via a J.Crew swap/sale and I admittedly have only worn it a few times because I have trouble styling it. Coincidentally, I also have trouble pairing this Tory Burch cardigan for some reason. I think because it’s a on the sheer side you can only pair it well with sleeveless blouses but I started with the blouse and matching pants and then tried the ivory cardigan, necklace and finished up with the booties.

Cardigan: Tory Burch / Blouse: J.Crew (old, similar here) / Pants: Banana Republic (old, similar here)/ Booties: Sam Edelman / Necklace: J.Crew / Watch: Michael Kors

This oxford blue top was a recent purchase and I love how it pairs with a navy or darker plaid blazer. I like that the pleated collar on this blouse stays put and it’s a fun way to dress up a suit if I were going to wear it with a more formal suit. Once again, I’ve paired the top and blazer with a pair of Banana Republic Sloan Pants.

Blazer: J.Crew Factory (old, similar here) / Blouse: J.Crew / Pants: Banana Republic / Booties: Sam Edelman

Hopefully you liked seeing a snippet of my recent work outfits. I would love to hear what you think of them and thanks for visiting!

More Summer-Fall Neutral Fab

September 15, 2016

Hello! While Labor Day is come and gone (and I’m still wearing white jeans…and probably a white blazer for a little while longer!) the weather here has been warm so I am very much in season transition mode. No sweaters here (yet)! And navy continues to be my go to neutral as we venture in to September. I really want to get back in to sharing outfits for those of you who aren’t on Instagram so for those of you who follow me on Instagram, these are a bit of a repeat, but here are some of my favorites from the end of summer/early fall.

This first outfit is something you could wear in to September. I knew these J.Crew Factory Suede D’Orsay Tassel flats had to be mine as soon as I saw them at the store! I started out with the shoes, and was thinking about the camel Regent blazer that is on it’s way to me, and remembered I had this skirt. I tried the shell first minus the blazer but it wasn’t quite right so I added the navy cotton blazer to break up the lighter colors and the necklace was the finishing touch. Definitely a preppy vibe but this outfit was an example of putting neutrals together in a way that was a new combination for me. And all of these are items you can currently find at J.Crew or are classic enough that you may have other alternatives in your closet. I’ll be keeping this color story in mind heading in to fall with wool pants or a double serge wool pencil skirt – or navy pants/skirt and a camel blazer. These shoes will be on repeat through the fall and winter I’m sure! These items are all true to size, I take my usual size 12 in the skirt/blazer, a large in the shell and a 9.5 in the flats (they JUST fit – they’re definitely a tad snug out of the gate).

Blazer: J.Crew / Shell: J.Crew / Skirt: J.Crew / Necklace: J.Crew / Shoes: J.Crew Factory

Next up, a classic black/white combination. And STRIPES of course. This ruffle-sleeve top found it’s way to me several weeks ago but I just finally pulled it out to wear it last week and now that I’ve gone and gotten properly fitted for a bra (more about that in another post), this top fit me even better and I’m looking forward to wearing it more this fall. The pants are the cotton version of the Banana Republic Avery crop pants which are my new love at Banana Republic. These run true to size and are great for those of us who are curvy on bottom!

Top: J.Crew (limited sizes in black/white – also in blue/white) / Pants: Banana Republic (link to wool version) / Shoes: J.Crew (old, similar here)

Next up are two semi-summery look but the blazers can be swapped out for a more season appropriate one come fall. Shirting stripes and leopard are one of my favorite combinations and one I keep coming back to over and over again.

Blazer: J.Crew / Pants: Banana Republic (old, similar here) / Blouse: J.Crew (old) / Shoes: J.Crew

Blouse: J.Crew / Pants: J.Crew / Blazer: J.Crew / Loafers: J.Crew (old, similar here) /Watch: Michael Kors

Lastly, speaking of navy, I have been all about the black and navy pairing. Black and navy and black and brown always used to be such a faux pas, but now it seems to be everywhere and I can’t get enough. I’m not really much of a brown wearer but I am all about the navy and black. I’ve also had this J.Crew factory boyfriend blazer in my closet for months and thought it was a tad too big – I decided to roll the sleeves on it and I find that it balances out the relaxed nature of the blazer. This dress is a shift dress from last summer at J.Crew and the pearls of course are on regular rotation.

Dress: J.Crew (old, similar dress from Banana Republic here) / Blazer: J.Crew Factory (old, similar here) / Shoes: J.Crew / Necklace: J.Crew / Watch: Michael Kors

Well, I spoke too soon, because it took me a few days to write this post and this morning the weather seems to have turned (cue my seasonal cold!) I’m excited to check out the new fall arrivals at J.Crew and Banana Republic and start to switch out my fall clothes! I feel a bit of a closet purge coming on as well so we’ll see how that goes. For now, thanks for stopping by and would love to hear how you’re getting ready for fall!

Summer Neutrals

August 11, 2016

Hi! Long time no post…a sunny, beautiful summer has meant not so much blogging! While I am looking forward to fall, I am trying not to rush these beautiful summer days. I am looking forward to fun new fall clothes at J.Crew! As I was looking through my Instagram feed earlier this week, I realized that I’ve kept to a fairly neutral palette these last few weeks. I have definitely hit that point in the summer where I’m all about the ease of an outfit and dresses seem to be on constant rotation. It has been steamy in my neck of the woods but I also have to dress for the unpredictable air conditioning of my office (read: layers!) This is a little bit of a copy and paste action, but I thought I’d share some of my neutral summer work looks from the past few weeks. They’re easy pairings and some good go-to combinations when you’re stuck on what to wear in the morning.

Dress: J.Crew / Cardigan: Tory Burch / Necklace: J.Crew / Shoes: J.Crew (old), similar here / Watch: Michael Kors

This J.Crew Factory dress has lukewarm reviews online but I grabbed it for less than $30 (there’s still a full size run online). I took my regular size 12 and I did have it altered to let the hem out to get me another 1.5″ or so in the length. Paired with a navy cotton blazer and gold flats, it is work appropriate. I would also pair it with the J.Crew Corsica Wedges (which I am still waiting to go on sale!)

Dress: J.Crew Factory / Blazer: J.Crew / Shoes: J.Crew (old), similar here

These Tory Burch cardigans are on constant rotation for me all year – even on sale, they’re a bit pricy, but I have been able to grab these on sale and my price per wear on them is so low at this point, they’ve been worth the money. They run a tad on the small size so the larger of my two sizes (Large) works for me in these. I took my usual size in the striped dress (12).

Dress: J.Crew / Cardigan: Tory Burch / Sandals: Ann Taylor (old, similar here) / Necklace: J.Crew (old, similar here) / Watch: Michael Kors

Another place I’ve had a lot of luck with dresses this summer is Banana Republic. Their sales have been pretty solid – running 40/50% off sale on a regular basis and I like their easy online returns. I picked this dress up on store and was thrilled with how flattering it is – I took a 12 and no need for Spanx – what more do you want?!

Dress: Banana Republic / Blazer: J.Crew / Shoes: J.Crew / Necklace: J.Crew (old, linked to similar style)

Next up, one of my go to weekend styles – with my new favorite Adidas sneakers and a striped dress (one of many in my closet!) I sized down a full size in the sneakers from my usual size and I took a large in this dress.

Dress: J.Crew / Sneakers: Adidas (via Nordstrom) / Purse: J.Crew

So, there you have it, some of my recent summer work outfits and a weekend outfit as well. When in doubt – stick with neutrals! Stay tuned for early fall J.Crew arrivals – hoping to get to the store next week and try on new goodies! Would love to hear what you think and thanks for visiting.