tone it down

This cable knit gray sweater is officially retired until next winter. It was a great layering piece over this midi dress, though (last seen here – it was much less snug this fall…), and helped to tone down the brightness of this dress for the cold and gray weather.

I’m looking forward to wearing this dress a few more times before it becomes too small. It’s non-maternity, but I’ve included it in my maternity capsule wardrobe (more on that coming soon, promise - I know, I've failed to deliver so far) because of the stretch that it offers (love it when that happens).

teal midi dress: WalMart

gray cable knit sweater: thrifted (J. Crew)

black flats: BCBG Generation

statement necklace: Old Navy

casual fancy

What is the best way to remain comfortable in a pencil skirt? Wear a cotton t-shirt. And flats. ESSENTIAL. Don’t forget to wear a statement necklace to elevate your t-shirt to the level of your pencil skirt.

I find that lately, instead of wearing a really nice piece (or nice pieces), I find myself trying to dress up more casual pieces. For example: a t-shirt and a pencil skirt, instead of a button-up or blouse with the skirt. I do that when it comes to church, seeing my mama, work, or any occasion, really. What is it?? Why do I insist on dressing up casual pieces instead of just wearing nice and dressy pieces? Anybody know? Bueller?

striped shirt: GAP

black pencil skirt: Target

statement necklace: WalMart

leopard flats: c/o Aéropostale

stripes on stripes

Hi. Long time no blog, huh? Sorry, friends. But I've got good news - you can wear different sizes of black and white stripes for some "stripe mixing" (instead of the usual print mixing), like I did here. Call it geometric, or artsy, or something you'd do to make it appear as if you're wearing a dress instead of two pieces. I just call it "my friends were coming over for a wine night and I didn't know what to wear, so I went for stripes all over."

Do you ever double up on stripes? It's a fun and bit different take on print mixing. I'm a fan.

peplum top: Ann Taylor LOFT

pencil skirt: Target

black wedges: Target

blushing leopard

When you don't know what to wear to a friend's wedding celebration, you pull out a statement piece and pair it with some (favorite!) neutrals.

Exhibit A (above):

statement piece - leopard print pencil skirt

neutrals - blush top, nude wedges + gold jewelry

(you might also wear your hair up, because, summer)

The really good news is, if you pick out favorites to wear, they're most likely rather comfortable. And they can probably take you from place to place. In my case, the wedding celebration to a free concert downtown. At both locations, I was not overdressed, nor underdressed -  I was like Goldilocks, and it was "juuuuust right." And feeling like a million bucks while still being comfortable in my own skin makes those summer evenings even that much more enjoyable.

And I'm featured over on Sydney Fashion Hunter for one of my posts last week - be sure to stop by and check it out.

blush blouse: H&M

leopard pencil skirt: thrifted (Target)

nude wedges: DSW

linking up:

Shopping My Closet // Tucker Up

Book of Leisure, Chic Street Style & Gracefullee Made

Pampers & Pearls // Classy Yet Trendy // The Pleated Poppy

Cappuccino and Fashion // Pumps & Pushups // The Mummy Chronicles

Sydney Fashion Hunter // Color and Grace

funk-ay

In retrospect, this wasn't my best outfit everrrrr. BUT, it's far from my worst. There's not quite enough blue in the skirt to really pull off the stripes. And maybe the neon sandals were a bit much. I've ended up with an almost funky vibe, don't ya think?

But enough about me. Aren't those trees and grass so nice and green?? Thanks to Colorado State University for providing an opportune place to have a lunch date and take some blog pictures. Just in time for the students to return to campus, and to town.

shirt: Old Navy

skirt: J. Crew Factory

sandals: Target

30 for 30: day 24 + day 25

day 24

Since I've already worn this cardigan with this pencil skirt this month, I tried something a little different this time around- I wore this cardigan as a shirt. I buttoned it all the way up, and tucked it into my skirt. I paired it with black ankle booties, and of course, my black faux leather jacket, to "toughen it up" a bit. And it's something I'm pretty into.

black & white polka dot cardigan: J. Crew Factory

pencil skirt: J. Crew Factory

faux leather jacket: Target

black ankle booties: Kohl's

statement necklace: Walmart

day 25

Here we have some (extreme) print mixing. Leopard up top, and stripes on the bottom. Not just a small piece, or an accessory here or there. I went all out. All leopard, and all stripes. And while I love the idea of this, the shirt didn't tuck in so nicely into my skirt, so this outfit (or some variation) is going to be revisited. And soon.

leopard button up: WalMart

striped skirt: Target

faux leather jacket: Target

pointy toe flats: Target

30 for 30: day 8 + day 9

You guessed it - two outfits in today's post. That's what Mondays are for, right?

day 8

A cream sweater, pink infinity scarf, skinnies, and sandals. Nothin' too fancy, just somethin' pretty simple. But I WAS having a great hair day, so that ups the ante of this casual look, methinks.

cream-colored top: American Eagle

skinny jeans: c/o Aéropostale

pink scarf: gift

metallic sandals: Target

necklace: Old Navy

day 9

Unintentionally, most of the pieces in this look came from J. Crew Factory. I guess some pieces from the same store just go together really well. It's like they design the clothes that way or something ;)

sleeveless blouse: J. Crew Factory

polka dot cardigan: J. Crew Factory

wine colored pencil skirt: J. Crew Factory

black booties: Kohl's

monday does it again

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, or a tugboat tooting my own horn, or Kanye singing his own praises, this outfit is another one that just came another in the early morning (yesterday did, as well). This look has a few different elements that, when combined, form a cohesive (and dare I say, classy?) look.

First up is the colorblocking with the navy top half, and the wine-colored pencil skirt. Colorblocking works best when the 2 colors are of the same saturation, or level, of color. So, a deep wine color, and a rich navy blue work here. Or a deep emerald with another equally deep and rich jewel-tones (see some of my past not-so-great colorblocking looks over here...).

Next is the monochromatic layers up top - the navy blue button-up under the navy blue vest.

The third is tying together the boots with the necklace and scarf. Cognac meets brown paisley and brown + gold - not matchy-matchy, yet coordinating and pulled together. And lastly, I wore a necklace under the scarf so that if/when I took off the scarf and vest (which I did), my outfit would still look complete, and not like it was missing some element.

button-up shirt: thrifted (J. Crew)

vest: Old Navy

scarf: gift

necklace: Target

pencil skirt: J. Crew Factory

boots: The Frye Company via Nordstrom