outfits

Pink Highlighters

June 3, 2013

I bought this J.Crew Blythe Blouse in Shocking Pink a few sales ago and finally decided to wear it this week. This is day one of my no-stripes week. I actually spent some time to plan my wardrobe out this week which I’m going to try and continue so I’m not such a disorganized un-fab mess in the morning trying to get ready. This blouse is bright and I don’t think I realized how much until I was at work under our oh-so-flattering flourescent lights. But now that I’ve worn it, I love it and am already trying to plan new outfits for it.

I’m a little sad because in a flurry of deleting the no-go outfit photos from my phone, I accidentally deleted the one ‘perfect’ pic for posting. I find that for every ten photos, I get one good one. All the more reason to plan my outfits in advance so I have time to take extra photos in the morning.

Shirt | J.Crew, Skirt | Banana Republic (old), | Shoes | J.Crew (Mona in Brocade Blue)

When a co-worker stopped by my desk today and asked to borrow a highlighter, it occurred to me that this blouse is the exact shade of a pink highlighter. Which I’m totally ok with. I used to always prefer the pink highlighters over the yellow ones growing up. I still use them when I can. Neon yellow may come and go but I have and will always love hot pink. How about you? Do you have a color that has come and gone out of style but you will still wear regardless? Would love to hear what you think and thanks for visiting!

Casual Friday

June 1, 2013

My summer Friday uniform usually consists of a simple dress or a pencil skirt, blouse or graphic tee and cardigan- usually with flats. I’m lucky enough to work in an office where I can pull this look off, and the stack of J.Crew graphic art tees in my closet are grateful that I still wear them occasionally. This Friday, I found myself reaching for the J.Crew striped pencil skirt again and pairing it with one of my new color favorites – coral. I almost didn’t buy these Nine West flats when I saw them at TJ Maxx a few weeks ago but now I’m really glad I did! They’re a great pop of color with many neutrals, and it’s a color that I haven’t worn a lot of in the past. I picked up the belt from Target recently too, and will definitely have to consider them for more belts since they’re much more affordable than the Crew if I’m wanting several colors.

So, here it is, my Friday staple. Not super casual, but I think the tee makes it less formal. How about you, do you find yourself dressing down on Friday? Would love to hear what you think and thanks for reading!

Repeat Offender

May 29, 2013

A few weeks ago I wore the following outfit to my cousin’s bridal shower and I wasn’t quite set up in blogland yet so I took some photos for Instagram that for some reason I never posted. Fast forward to last night and I was sitting in my closet last night trying to figure out what to wear and lamenting that all of my summer skirts are at the tailor being lengthened. I decided to take the easy way out and wear the outfit I’d worn to the shower a few weekends ago. I tend to repeat outfits the most when I know I’m going to be around people that haven’t seen the outfit. Like in this case, I was with family when I had the outfit on, and I’d be wearing it to work. So, even though I’m repeating myself, I’m showcasing to an entirely new audience. This is usually what convinces me that it’s ok to wear a dress to an event more than once, as long as the guests won’t be the same. Yeah, I know. Nobody remembers. But I do. As usual, I’m off on a tangent. Anyway…

Here’s the original shower outfit:

Perhaps it was because it was the same sort of rainy day as the day of the shower that I decided to go with the same outfit. But there’s something comfortable about going back to an outfit that works. I definitely need to work on styling these pants in different ways. When getting dressed this morning though, I thought that I could mix it up a little bit and switch it in for my new J.Crew Contessa snakeskin bow pumps (yay!) and a featherweight cashmere cardigan instead of the J.Crew Tippi shown above. So, it’s not exactly the same as a few weeks before. And seriously, these shoes alone make this outfit fabulous. I might admit to strutting around the office today (well, not blatantly, but maybe a little in my head. Or maybe because the shoes are just that tall I don’t have a choice.) Since I couldn’t chance the suede pumps in the wet weather outside, I opted for some Banana Republic Ashley flats for my morning coffee run and walk from the parking ramp to work as well as a robin-egg blue Burberry coat that I scored at an outlet clearance years ago but still love. Two fab outfits in one day!

So, how about you – do you have outfits you find yourself going back to repeatedly? And are you more likely to wear the same outfit in close succession as long as it’s for a different “audience?” Or is that just weird? Would love to hear what you think and thanks for visiting!

Establishing a Pattern

May 24, 2013

The thing about cataloging your daily wardrobe is you start to see patterns in your wardrobe, such as color, prints, clothing combos or styling. This may seem like an obvious thing, since you make a conscious decision to choose what to wear daily; but there’s something about laying out the day by day and saying – oops, I wore stripes three days in a row this week. Like this week. Case in point:

While I don’t necessarily think a pattern is bad, I think one of my styling goals in striving to be more fab is that I’m going to try and mix it up over the course of a week. Yikes. Putting that in writing makes me nervous. Well I’m going to try. When it comes to patterns, stripes and polka dots seem to be my thing. I have a few florals and paisleys but that’s definitely an area I need to expand on. On Thursday, I wore stripes and polka dots (and leopard print). Why wear one pattern when you could wear three? (yeah, I really need to work on my photo stance, I’m channeling my five-year old fab self kicking the hip out a bit much).

I had to include my fabulous arm party from Thursday, which I was quite proud of. It was my first time wearing my new Kate Spade idiom bangle which I bought during the Surprise sale. I also can’t believe I waited so long to purchase the J.Crew Wildside bangle.

Speaking of patterns, I am loving the blouse/pants/flats combo lately. Maybe because all of my pencil skirts are at the tailor being lengthened. Ok, so that’s another pattern I need to try and break – different combinations of outfits over the course of a week.

Ok, well I should be packing for Boston instead of blogging, so time to wrap up this brief post. How about you…do you have any constant patterns in your wardrobe? Style, colors, prints? Would love to hear your thoughts and thanks for visiting!

Spring Brights

May 20, 2013

I probably should say summer brights are more appropriate for this outfit today, as temperatures were in the high 80s today. Of course, I was inside at work all day but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t looking fabulous in my bright colors! Today I wore one of my favorite J.Crew pencil skirts from a few years ago. Look at all of the wonderful colors, isn’t it fab? This shot doesn’t even do this skirt justice, but the outfit possibilities are endless.

Pink! Purple! Green! Yellow! Today I hit multiple options by pairing this skirt with my J.Crew Blythe Blouse in Sea Glass, my Cece Suede ballet flats (from last year) in Wild Berry and the J.Crew Factory stone chandelier necklace in bright sun. The necklace was the final “pop” that made this outfit ready to go.

Here’s the finished product. Once again, flats won, but they’re comfortable and cute, so what’s better than that? I sadly even needed my cashmere boyfriend cardigan as a semi-blanket today because it was so cold in my office. But at least I looked bright and sunny so it didn’t matter that the office was so cold. I’m glad to have this skirt out and back in the outfit rotation for summer…makes me wonder why I’ve had pants on for so many months! So that’s it for Monday…what do you think? Too many colors or a fun assortment of spring brights? Comments, please and thanks for visiting!

Neon Saturday

May 18, 2013

It’s no secret that neon colors are in this summer. I personally cannot seem to get enough. I think the fashion gods were on to something when they decided to appeal to all of us who grew up in the 80s and still have a secret affinity for highlighter colors. I’ve always loved hot pink but neon yellow seems to be a close second this summer. I know this is one of those trends that will probably be in and out after a summer, but I’ll take my pop of bright colors when I can get them. The J.Crew Mila Cap Toe Leather Ballet Flats have become a fast favorite of mine, and I find myself pairing them with basics to give that necessary pop of color. Today I decided to go all out and do the neon shoes and a my J.Crew Vintage cotton v-neck tee in neon yellow for my Saturday errands. I love J.Crew’s vintage cotton tees, but I do find the lighter colors to be somewhat sheer and the v-necks give me a little more cleavage than I want sometimes so I usually pair them with a Gap Favorite Cami. The maxi skirt is from last summer and is probably one of the most comfortable items of clothing I own. I’ve seen a similar one at the store this season but haven’t noticed anything online yet. The Mila flats are edged in navy and the skirt is black, but you really can’t tell with a long skirt and I would be impressed if anyone actually noticed.

And because I can’t go anywhere without a light jacket or cardigan even in the dead heat of summer, I tossed my new Gap Destructed Denim Jacket on to complete the full on 80s inspired look. I wasn’t sure how much use I would get out of this jacket since I have my ten-year old basic blue J.Crew jacket that I still wear faithfully every year but it’s nice to have a different option. I didn’t end up actually wearing it as it was in the mid-70s and sunny today and there really was no need for a jacket. But I was prepared, just in case. I can’t stand being cold, so I must have a backup of some sort with me at all times. It’s a nice sunny casual look and I will keep the same outfit on to head out with DH in search of a casual spot with a patio for drinks and dinner this evening. I hope everyone else is enjoying their weekend! So, what do you think? Too bright or just right? Feel free to comment and thanks for visiting!