Category: outfits

Evolution of an Outfit

Hello blog world! I know I’ve been seriously neglecting this space of the interwebs and right now I’m blaming my busy season at work and the ease of Instagram for posting my daily outfits. But I’m not giving up – there are just so many hours in a day. I have to say I did a solid job of outfit planning this week- I actually planned my entire week of outfits on Sunday night. But regardless, there are always tweaks, and sometimes what I think looks good in my head needs a few changes before it’s perfect…I think of it as the evolution of an outfit – add a jacket, key accessory, switch up the shoes, and you’re good to go. I have time for tweaking in the morning before work – I do not always have time for full out planning. Earlier this week I was planning on (finally) wearing my J.Crew maple tweed pencil skirt – the photos in these pics don’t really do this skirt justice – it is gorgeous. There are so many possibilities with this skirt. I immediately went to navy with it but after searching through my closet really liked how the burgundy made it pop – so why not do both? And I might as well toss a pattern in there – the polka dots worked really well with the tweed. Here’s the website photo of this lovely skirt.

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I originally planned to wear the outfit like this:

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I’m wearing the J.Crew Mona Mary Janes in navy from last year, the J.Crew Factory version of the tie neck blouse and the J.Crew Factory Charley sweater in heather burgundy. This sweater is the Factory version of the Tippi and I find them to be nearly identical for half the price (win!) I felt a little like a flight attendant with the tie neck and the crewneck but I liked it.

20131118_082411So I tried it without the sweater which I actually really like – and had it not been 25 degrees out Monday morning I might have gone with this option. But…I snapped back in to reality and put the crewneck back on. But I wasn’t totally sold…so…

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Ta-da! I added a J.Crew Schoolboy blazer in navy and I was sold. I’m convinced blazers cure any outfit and add that final polish I was looking for. Here’s a closeup of the skirt detail and my shoes:

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So there you have it…the evolution of an outfit. How about you – do you make changes/tweaks to outfits you thought would look good in your head after you try them on? Which option would you have chosen? Would love to hear what you think and thanks for visiting!

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Grey Area

We’ve reached that time of the year where I live where many days can only be described as grey. Maybe it’s spilling over in to my wardrobe, or maybe I’ve just been so busy with work that grey is one of those easy, pairs with almost anything but isn’t as stark as black colors that I find myself turning to it several days of the week. I’ll admit, I’m catching up a bit on a few weeks of photos in my phone, and I’ve been doing the quick post to Instagram thing, so in an attempt to catch up, here’ s a few of my grey-centered outfits from the past few weeks.

20131029_082236Jacket: J.Crew Schoolboy (this year’s version here), Sweater: J.Crew Tippi Sweater, Button-down: J.Crew Factory, Pants: Banana Republic Crepe Ankle Martin, Necklace: J.Crew inspired via eBay, Shoes: J.Crew Factory Emery Flats

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I think I could wear this necklace every day and not get sick of it!! Here’s a few outfits featuring the J.Crew Jeweled-shoulder sweater :

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On Left: Pants: Banana Republic Lightweight Ankle Jackson Pants, Shirt: J.Crew lightweight boyshirt in stripe, Shoes: J.Crew Viv metallic flats

On Right: Jacket: J.Crew Schoolboy Blazer, Pants: Banana Republic Camden Fit Red Print Ankle Pant, Shoes: J.Crew Factory Emery Flat

And one more outfit with the J.Crew Merino Tippi with Shoulder Embroidery:

20131010_181716Pants: J.Crew Cafe capri (2011 / bright dahlia), Shoes: J.Crew Viv metallic flats, Button-down: J.Crew Factory (old).

So, what do you think? I think I need to start working some skirts back in to my rotation…I’ve been all about the pants these days!! Any outfits you love? Not so much? Would love to hear what you think and thanks for visiting!!

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Happy Halloween!

Just a quick post to say hello and wish everyone a happy Halloween.! DH and I celebrated Halloween (and our 6th wedding anniversary!) this past Sunday with my inlaws and six nieces and nephews. We went to find pumpkins, took a hayride through the woods and just enjoyed a nice fall afternoon together. I have to admit, I can’t take complete credit for this outfit – I was inspired on Instagram when I saw Meghan from Everyday Fashion and Finance pair the Factory pom pom dot Tippi with the J.Crew beaded rose necklace and houndstooth pants. I modified it slightly – but the idea is still the same. I wore my J.Crew elbow-patch Houndstooth schoolboy blazer from last year, layered the Factory polka-dot chambray shirt under the Tippi and finished with black J.Crew Matchstick jeans and Corso Como boots (via Gilt Groupe).

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This outfit is how I like to do fall – a few layers under a sweater and I also added a black puffer vest. I have some pumpkin patch pictures but not sure DH wants his pic out on the interwebs so my outfit it is 🙂 Here’s a closeup of the sweater and necklace:

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My necklace is the Groopdealz version of the popular beaded rose necklace – I was excited to find inspiration to pull this in to Fall. This is also only the second time I’ve worn this blazer and I think I definitely need to be working it in to more outfits this fall/winter. And here’s a little peek at our weekend fall fun – the pumpkins were dwindling for sure! This is about the extent of our Halloween fun this year – the kiddos had fun carving pumpkins and we had fun watching them enjoy themselves so much! Halloween itself is quiet – we live in an upper apartment and no kiddos of our own so I cooked a nice dinner and we tucked in while the nasty weather brewed outdoors.

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How about you? Did you have a fun Halloween inspired outfit? Are you all over black and orange for Halloween or do you put a different spin on it? Would love to hear what you think and thanks for visiting!

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Feeling Inspired

I have to admit, I’ve been lacking in the inspiration department lately.  Or at least I feel like I’ve been.  I’ve had a bout of writer’s block and I think it also is spilling over in to my wardrobe (perhaps a random association but it makes sense to me…). I’m not going to whine about it any more than that, but it is definitely frustrating. I’ve been waiting for that spark of inspiration – the moment when all of the items in my closet jump out at me and say “wear me! together!” or when whatever I’m writing starts writing itself –  that moment when the inspiration kicks in is incredibly fulfilling.  I know I’m just talking about clothes.  And short stories that I write just for fun…but I think this can have meaning in many other areas of life. These are just two primary examples right now and since my blog is well, primarily about clothes, there’s my example.

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I love it when an outfit comes together – when all of the items of clothing just click and it works. Today, my new J.Crew inspired necklace was the item screaming “wear me!” and after enough iterations of finding the right shape of pants (my Banana Republic crepe ankle Martins and my J.Crew Everly mirror pumps…again) and combing through my clothes, I came up with this.  Finally, some inspiration.  I felt completely on my game today, and even though work is crazy and there are other random things going on that I wouldn’t bore everyone with here, I had a pretty fierce outfit on and that pushed me through the day.  Ok, maybe a little cheesy but, I feel like the inspiration spark is finally back, so I’m trying to run with it while I have it!

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Here’s a closeup of this lovely necklace – an “inspired” version of the gorgeous J.Crew flower lattice necklace as well as the J.Crew Navy tweed jacket. I have the matching pants but have yet to wear them – I’m still working on ways to style this blazer. The blouse is the J.Crew Factory version of the Blythe blouse from last winter.

So, how about you? Do you have times when you’ve lost your inspiration? Any tips on how to get it back? Would love to hear what you think of the outfit too and thanks for visiting!!

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Neutral Territory

For as much as I love color, I also love those days when I pair basics and instantly feel pulled together. Black, white, navy, grey, khaki…they are the perfect compliment to all of those bright colors and also wonderful on their own.  Looking at my outfits over the last few weeks, I’ve found myself reaching for the neutrals in the summer/fall transition (which seems to be taking forever around here). And neutrals don’t have to be boring – sure, you can pair all solids like I did here and it works. And yes, I consider leopard a neutral. I have a bracelet, shoes and belt going on here which for me, is the perfect combo, but just one would be fab too! I’m wearing my new favorite dress pants in this first photo – the Banana Republic Martin Fit Crepe Ankle Pant which I’ve paired with my trusty J.Crew blue oxford Tilda, Factory merino cardigan and J.Crew Calf-hair Valentina pumps.

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Neutrals can also work in polka-dots and stripes. And while you’re at it – mix a few patterns – stripes and dots, or dots on dots with leopard! My favorite neutral jewelry accessory are a set of pearls. These are the J.Crew factory twisted hammock pearls from several years ago and I wear them all the time. I like the different sized pearls and the multiple strands make them more interesting than just a single strand.

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I’m wearing the Banana Republic Sloan ankle pants in both of these photos. On the left: Charley Sweater in pom-pom dot and Polka-dot chambray button-down – J.Crew Factory, shoes – Gap. Right: Charley sweater in color block stripe and Printed silk two-pocket button-down – J.Crew Factory, Bijou bow flats – J.Crew.

As I was reorganizing my closet this weekend – I realized just how many neutrals I own! So while bright colors are fab,  basics can be just as fab! How about you? Do you prefer color or neutrals or both? Would love to hear what you think and thanks for visiting!

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Cobalt Chic

I am a big fan of purple. Not so much blue, but I think this dress technically qualifies as blue. Cobalt seems to be my happy place between purple and blue. Or Byzantine Blue as J.Crew would call it. I think this dress is a good alternative to a black dress without being too bright. You can be more neutral with it and do simple jewelry and black shoes but why be neutral when you can add a fun necklace and silver shoes? I love dresses for their simplicity but I always love dressing them up with fun jewelry and shoes.

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This is the J.Crew Teddy dress from 2012, which I recently had lengthened. You can see that it added a little bit more flare to the skirt, but I was able to add another two inches of length from letting out the skirt. And it’s still above the knee. But not nearly as much as before. I have this dress in black too and with black tights it’s ok, but I will probably also have that one let out as well. My silver mirror Everly pumps are still in constant rotation – the silver finish still looks great on these shoes. I recently just picked up the metallic Viv flats in silver and I can’t wait to try them out!

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The J.Crew bright stone necklace is the perfect addition to this dress! It is definitely inspiring me to try more shades of blue.  As usual, would love to hear what you think and thanks for visiting!

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