easy summer dressing

Is there anything that screams "SUMMER" more than white pants? Methinks no. And pairing those white pants with a light blouse that make your eyes pop is a no-brainer. And of course, a light jacket for this chilly air-conditioned offices.

Ta da! Easy summer dressing, all in a day's work!

blue shirt: Eddie Bauer

white pants: Old Navy

white sandals: DSW

jacket: thrifted (Land's End)

linking up:

Cappuccino & Fashion // Sydney Fashion Hunter

I do deClaire // DC in Style

oh, the compliments

Somehow, this dress always garners me oodles of compliments when I wear it. Don't misunderstand me - I'm not fishing here, nor am I downplaying this dress.

It's black, cotton, nice floral print, and a skater-style fit.

I'm just not entirely sure what is so special about it.

Sure, it's comfortable, and I can easily dress it up or down - I'm just unable to put my finger on what exactly is so great about it. BUT, you better believe I'll keep wearing it and graciously accepting compliments until I do.

dress: c/o Aéropostale

black sandals: Kohl's

necklace: borrowed from Rocksbox

lace chambray

This chambray is a new favorite of mine. The lace detail is really what sold me on adding yet another chambray to my closet. It's subtle, yet makes a huge impact - those details can make or break any outfit.

I realize in these pictures that it's tough to distinguish between the light wash chambray and my white shorts, but there is a significant difference in color - trust. I wore my nude thin strap flip flops for two reasons: 1) I wore this to get a pedicure before our recent vacation, and 2: they're nude and simple, and this outfit lightly plays with monochrome and simplicity, so loud shoes weren't my best option.

Sometimes I'm really into wearing louder and more striking ensembles, but sometimes, something simple like shorts and a chambray are where it's at.

chambray: Aéropostale

shorts: Old Navy

sandals: Lauren Conrad via Kohl's

adding interest through details

 

At first glance (the first few pictures), this looks like a basic black A-line dress. Nothing special, nothing fancy, just an average black dress that could lean "LBD", or could lean "plain black sundress."

But, on closer inspection, I've added a few details to make this dress a little more than a plain black dress. This dress has a basket-weave-esque texture, and contouring seams on the front.

And what else did I add to create a little more interest to this black dress? A fancy statement necklace, borrowed from Rocksbox, a black beaded cuff bracelet, black fringe-y sandals, and a rose-gold ring, also borrowed from Rocksbox.

Just a few additions and changes, and you can easily alter the look of a dress, or any outfit. Exhibit A: the last time I wore this dress on the blog - it was to a wedding. And this time, to work. 

Had any recent successes wearing and/or styling a piece in several different ways?

dress: Target

necklace & ring: Rocksbox

bracelet: Target

sandals: Kohl's

stripes & neon

I feel like I might have used this title before, non?

Regardless, it applies here, even if I've used it before. Today we have a striped dress, picked for me by my husband, for my birthday two years ago. It's striped, but "Lilly Pulitzer" is sprinkled throughout the stripes in cursive, making this dress anything BUT a basic, striped, A-line dress.

The neon sandals were a BIG hit. Surprisingly. Even a few men commented on my shoes - and not along the lines "WOW. Can see you coming from a mile away." more along the lines of "Oh, cute shoes." And I've worn these several times before to my office...odd?

I digress.

In other news, I'm (still) having a hard time switching back to my "regular" life after a lovely vacation - isn't that always the case?

*sigh*

take me back to the ocean!

or, at least back to my friends!

dress: Lilly Pulitzer

sandals: Target

necklace: Old Navy

linking up:

Sydney Fashion Hunter // Cappuccino & Fashion

a bulldog to match my pants

Hi hi! I'm back! Back again after a lovely vacation with great friends. I'm happy to be home, but not looking forward to re-entering the real world. But, blogging and watching NetFlix is a good first step, right?

Anyways - that handsome pup up there matches my white pants. No, I didn't wear them to play in the grass with him, but I did throw his tennis ball quite a few times.

And also, I'm on the look out for new white pants. These work for now, but just know that I'm hoping to replace them sometime in the near future.

purple button-up: from a friend, who got it from American Eagle

white pants: Old Navy

black sandals: Kohl's

necklace: borrowed from Rocksbox

linking up:

DC in Style // Sydney Fashion Hunter

Shopping My Closet // The Red Closet Diary

rompin' with the peonies

I'll keep it short and bulleted today, since my last post was quite the behemoth (sorry, and thanks if you made it all the way to the end!)

1) this romper was a gift for my birthday (in March), and this was my first opportunity to wear it. Thanks, Ed & KB. #corpvsmgmt

2) above is the pink peony bush that lives in my backyard. love it.

and to think, I almost let D pull it up when we moved in...

2.5) I know, I know - peonies are SUCH a blogger cliche. In my defense, they're purdy, they smell nice, these ones lives at my house, and they were in my wedding bouquet before I even knew what Instagram was.

3) Happy 4th of July! Happy Birthday, America! Happy Independence Day! We're off to celebrate with dear friends - hope you get to celebrate the many freedoms that we enjoy in our great nation, because of the brave men and women who fight for it. 

3.5) no, this outfit is not very patriotic, nor "themed", but if you need some ideas for what to wear on this festive day, look no further than here, here, and oh, here, too.

Ta ta!

romper: gift

sandals: Kohl's

plain & fancy

Whenever I wear this jacket, I try to pair it with something very feminine. I do this simply so I can find the perfect balance between a utilitarian/"rugged" (but nor really) look and a more softer, more girly one. And this outfit does just that - lacy tee, fancy shorts, fancy jewels & an olive green field/utility jacket.

Ta da!

Oh oh, and, you guys, it's Fridayyy. Cheers to the weekend!

lace shirt: gift

shorts: Ann Taylor Outlet

jacket: thrifted (Land's End)

sandals: WalMart

statement necklace: borrowed from Rocksbox

(use the code sweetbananiexoxo for a free month of jewelry rental)

peony bush: my backyard

linking up:

Sydney Fashion Hunter

replacement sandals

You guys, a rare day of sunshine. No joke - it's been raining for the past three weeks or so. Flood warnings all over the place, and everything is SO GREEN (except for my hydrangea plant, which died just a few days after it came home, so, that stinks).

And I got some new sandals. I got asked if I really needed them, and my answer is decidedly "YES." I got rid of my brown sandals at the end of last summer, and have been on the outlook for replacements (same with my black sandals - I'd had those bad boys since 2008). I found these tan t-straps with jangly beads on a recent shopping trip with a friend (I also found some black tassel sandals - I'll show you soon!). So, to all you haters who questioned my big girl decision to buy some sandals, I DID need them. And they look goooood.

And that pretty necklace? From Rocksbox. Use the code sweetbananiexoxo for a free month of jewelry rental.

white v-neck: WalMart

mint jeans: Lauren Conrad via Kohl's

white cardigan: thrifted (Hollister)

tan sandals: Kohl's

brown belt: American Eagle (a decade ago...)