The Fab Life

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!

Review: J.Crew Silk-trim maxidress

May 22, 2013

Last week, on the heels of some exciting vacation plans in the Fab household, I immediately started thinking about summer dresses. Lucky for me, J.Crew was running off a 20% off dresses sale, and there was a stackable 20% off coupon code available. Surprisingly enough, the initial purpose of my order was a suit vest for DH, but I decided that (of course) I needed something for myself (how often do you get stackable coupon codes? I rest my case). I’m still collecting my thoughts when it comes to travel attire, but the J.Crew Silk-trim maxidress caught my eye while perusing the dresses and I figured I’d give it a try. It looked like a comfortable dress that could be casual or dressed up. And it wasn’t $300+ like a few other “Collection” dresses I was lusting after (Collection Noelle dress I’m looking at you). At any rate, I decided to go with navy since the other colors didn’t seem very summer-y. I suppose that might have to do with the whole “dress it up” factor, but a coral or mint might have been pretty. Just sayin’. Here’s the website stock photos.

I also was slightly concerned because the model is way thinner than I am and whoa, it gives her an INSTANT hourglass shape. Yeah, I don’t need help in that department. So, my hopes were low. Sometimes, these things work out for me and other times they’re a total disaster. But the power of the Crewlade is strong, so of course I keep coming back for more. And occasionally it does work out in my favor. Anyway, after a record shipping time of three days…here we go. First off…the tag details (FUN).

This is the underside hem of the dress. There’s a few inches of the same silk from the straps and waistband sewn in the inside hem.

I tried my best to get good photos of the dress, but the dark color made it hard to photograph. I’d say it’s a dark navy and the dress itself is very lightweight. Definitely moreso than the Amie maxi-dress (which I think is cotton, so I guess would make sense that it’s heavier). Even though it’s lightweight, it isn’t see through, but that’s probably another reason for utilizing a darker color palette in this dress. After some failed self-photo attempts in the full size mirror, I enlisted DH to take some photos of me in the dress. Cue the late afternoon sun and our Northwestern facing apartment. I lack the Photoshop skills needed to tone down the washing out of my already extremely pale skin, but you get the idea. The dress zips up the back which helps secure me in to the dress, and another bonus is that I’m just wearing a regular bra with this dress. No need for a strapless bra, hooray! The silk trim around the waist and on the straps is very subdued, not enough to make it formal, but it makes it nicer than your regular jersey maxi dress.

Like I said, I don’t need any help in the hourglass category. I took my regular J.Crew dress size (12) in this dress. I found it to be very flattering in the mid-section and as far as cleavage goes, usually I’m falling out of low-cut J.Crew dresses in every which way so it was nice that I only had modest cleavage in this dress. I’m 5’8″ and the dress worked perfectly with flip flops but I also tried it on with low sandal heels and it still looked ok. I wouldn’t rock any tall 3+” heels with it or it would look odd, but I’m happy with this as a flat/low heel dress. I took a lot of pics of me in this dress and in some I think it’s a bit too figure enhancing, but really, at the end of the day I embrace my curves and I love how comfortable it is. It’s probably a keeper and will very likely make it in to my suitcase for our summer vacation.

So, what do you think? Do you have this dress? Love it or not so much? I would love to hear what you think and thanks for visiting!

Vacation Planning : Dreams to Reality

May 21, 2013

Vacation. Sigh. Just the word sends me off in to daydreams about lying on a white sand beach, exploring every spare inch of a foreign city on foot and the hours and hours I get to spend planning (which I LOVE).

If I had my way, in my fab fab life, I would not work full time, and I would spend as much time as I could on vacation. Of course, this isn’t reality (yet), so I will take what I can get. Having a husband who owns his own business; vacation time can be slim, but we’ve been lucky enough in the last few years to have some exciting opportunities when it comes to vacations. This year, most of our travel has centered around weddings, which is totally fine with me because I get to spend much treasured time with family and friends.

We have a wedding coming up this weekend so naturally, I’m already wondering what vacation I can be planning next since the wedding travel has run out (oh? a cousin is getting married out West next summer? let me get on that). Just when I thought I was going to have to be scrounging around for our next vacation opportunity, all of a sudden DH and I are going with his parents to Italy for ten days at the end of the summer. As I said. I love going on vacation. But, almost even more than going on vacation I love planning them.

So of course, I’ve been crowned planning queen of this vacation. Needless to say, I will be spending hours planning where to stay, what to do, and of course what to wear! The morning after this trip was decided on, I was up at 5:30 AM researching the weather in Italy in early September (hot!) and stressing about what I would be packing. I eventually fell back to sleep but these are the things that will keep me up in the middle of the night for the next few months. Frivolous? Maybe. But that’s just me. Also, I will only be allowing myself a standard carry-on plus the standard “personal item.” Crazy? Maybe. It takes a lot of planning up front but it’s worth it. Last December, DH and I were fortunate enough to spend the holidays in Germany, Austria and Paris and somewhere along the way of planning I made the grand statement that I was going to pack for 12 days and do it all in a carry-on. DH laughed at my grandiose ideas and gave me a ‘good luck’ along with raised eyebrows. Well. I did it and because I did it, this means that I will never ever be able to check a bag again. So, you would think that planning for summer months will be easier. Perhaps. And we have a washing machine in our apartment in Rome (cheating? maybe). However, walking around in the middle of summer in Italy is a lot different than traipsing through the Christmas markets in Germany in winter. I’m already picturing two outfits a day because I’m sticky from walking around. And, I live in Upstate New York. I do winter like a pro and jeans and boots and a down coat are how I define comfort. I don’t mind summer, but my comfort zone is fall.

You’re probably asking why are you going to Italy in the summer? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining…I will make this work and I will make it fabulous. Just giving you some insight in to my very full brain when it comes to things like this.

So, you can look forward to a lot of planning on my part and probably some advice seeking from those more experienced than me when it comes to summer European travel. I have to say I’m the most stressed about shoes, as I know we’ll be doing a ton of walking and my search results for “fashionable travel shoes” seems to still yield pages and pages of shoes that I don’t foresee myself wearing. I do recognize though that there is nothing worse than walking around on vacation with sore feet, so whatever I can do to avoid this I will. I’d just like to make it look good if possible. I really don’t hope this is an impossible dream!

So there you have it. Travel planning fills my brain but I love, love, LOVE sorting it all out. Any out of the gate advice? A piece of travel clothing you can’t live without? Comments, please 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!

Stripes Remixed

May 17, 2013

So today I decided to delve back in to skirt-land after weeks of wearing primarily pants. I have a closet full of skirts, and I love wearing them, but in this awkward time of I can’t wear tights and my white bare legs might blind you, I’m somewhat hesitant to wear skirts. But after a few days of dismal weather and seeing a sunny day today I decided I could wait no longer to wear my J.Crew No. 2 Pencil skirt in navy-white stripe.

I had originally planned on wearing my new Contessa snakeskin pumps to give my pale legs some help but as I was leaving for work, I grabbed my oasis green J.Crew Cece suede flats to wear to/from my car (no need to kill the blush suede shoes on the first wear) and the green Cece flats ended up being the shoes I wore all day. Excuse the slightly rumpled skirt since, as usual, I was trying to get ready and take pictures and look organized and be to work on time and I still haven’t figured out how to make all of that happen in a timely and organized fashion. I will say that after several runs with the iron, the skirt still looked a little rumpled but I didn’t have time to obsess over it.

So then, I had a hair appointment after work tonight and I was so in love with my day combination that I decided to remix it for after work using the J.Crew lightweight boy shirt in stripe, J.Crew cashmere tee in neon azalea, Gap Destructed Real Straight Jeans,and J.Crew cece suede ballet flats. Necklace is a version of the J.Crew double crystal brulee necklace via eBay. What do you think? A successful remix or not creative enough? Comments please!