two New Year's Eve outfit ideas

In case you need some last minute ideas for what to wear tonight (and tomorrow will have some ideas for New Year's Day ON New Year's Day - mindblowing, I know), here are two a wee-bit-more-than-casual looks, incorporating skirts and tights.

This first look is a black sweater layered over a black dress, with some purple tights for a little pizzazz. I added a polka dot heart scarf, booties, and a purple headband to pull it all together. This would be a great look if you're not into wearing sequins - monochromatic, with a bit of fun color thrown in.

sweater: American Eagle

dress: thrifted (Target)

tights: ???

scarf: c/o Aéropostale

booties: Old Navy

But if you ARE into wearing sequins...

And if you want to be festive in sequins, but tend to get cold like yours truly, try wearing a sweater with your sequins. It's a fun juxtaposition - snazzy party-ready sequins with a warm sweater and boots. And, as an added bonus, this look incorporates ALL OF THE textures: cable-knit sweater, sequins, tights, leather boots, peacoat, and curly strawberry-blonde hair (some of my favorite things!). 

sweater: Old Navy

skirt: Lauren Conrad via Kohl's

tights: Old Navy

boots: The Frye Company via Nordstrom

coat: Old Navy

bag: TJ Maxx

number 5 of 7

from the Mr:

"I chose this one as my tough pick. I know that she likes the skirt, but it seems that every time she tries it on, it’s accompanied by 20+ tops. She tests out each one to end up not wearing the skirt because she can’t decide what she likes with it. So I forced the decision a bit."

Aaah yes, the infamous sequin skirt. Let me provide you a little back-story for this sparkley garment:

I found it at Kohl’s about a year and a half ago. It’s by Lauren Conrad, it was on the clearance rack, I had coupons AND Kohl’s cash - I think I ended up paying less than $10 for this sequined skirt. I envisioned myself wearing it and receiving loads of compliments. 

Imagine my surprise when I wore it for the first time outside my house and outside the Kohl's dressing room – the waist is VERY…odd. As in, I’m not sure if it should sit on my hips or my waist. It doesn’t fit quite right on either location, and bunches a bit, making me look like I have a bit of a abdominal pooch, which is something I work very hard to avoid. I’ve tried belting it, tucking in a shirt, not tucking in a shirt, wearing a chambray (the fail-safe clothing item), denim jackets, t-shirts, chiffon blouses, the works.

So, due to the awkward fit of this fancy skirt, it sits in my closet until I get in the mood to get rid of clothes. The Mr. says to toss it every single time, but the best friend says “Keep it! It’s a sequined skirt!” so I do. And then spend many sleepless nights dreaming up ways to wear this rose-gold sequin wonder.

Enter Pinterest – a sequin skirt and a chunky cream sweater. Not just for a holiday gathering, but also for looking fabulous. So, THAT became my plan. Wait til winter, pair it with a cream chunky cable knit sweater, tights, and boots, or fancy shoes, and pat myself on the back for FINALLY figuring out a way to wear this enigmatic piece of clothing.

And then the Mr. went and picked it for me to wear as part of this style challenge (like I knew, deep down, that he would). So, I kept it simple and went with a half-tucked gray v-neck tee and nude sandals. Nothing fancy, not my best ensemble, but I think it looks ok.

Any other ideas?? I’m almost desperate. I want to keep it in my closet forever (rose-gold sequins. duh.), but have a hard time justifying something I just can’t figure out how to style and wear…why are these silly cirlces of sparkliness so hard to wear?!

Dad & I at a local brewery before our half-marathon

my Mr. and I at the same brewery as above, from my Instagram

shirt: Target

statement necklace: WalMart

skirt: Lauren Conrad via Kohl's

sandals: WalMart

Navy on the Job

This navy cardigan from Banana Republic is a recent acquisition. And I LOVE it. Really. My life was just one big empty shell without this cardigan. 

Kidding...

I knew I wanted a navy cardigan, but I didn't realize how much I would love wearing it. Below are two different ways I styled it for work. Both with something else navy. Of course :)

 

left: sequins & bedazzled shoes / right: flannel & tennis shoes

 

 

 

on the right: I was invited to a construction site at work for a BIG project. the timing was too perfect - I mean, I was wearing flannel, AND long pants, AND close-toed shoes.

and my pink hard hat is e'er'thang

 

on the left:

sweater: Banana Republic

sequined tank: WalMart

scarf: gift (Old Navy)

jeans: Aéropostale

flats: thrifted

on the right:

sweater: Banana Republic

flannel shirt: Old Navy

jeans: thrifted (Old Navy)

shoes: Payless

30 for 30: (No Day 24) Day 25 & Day 26

Day 24 

was another sweatpants day, simply because we were packing boxes/moving boxes/moving furniture/unloading boxes/unloading furniture/unpacking boxes all day. 

Aaah, the life of a fashion blogger - not always so glamorous ;)

Day 25

Sequins, polka dots, boots, a sweater, and my sweet Cali girl in our new home.

My idea of perfection.

Day 26

You'll have to trust me that in person, this dress does NOT make me look an inmate like the picture seems to do. Maybe it's the braid in my hair...? I really like this dress, but it just doesn't photograph well, which is a HUGE bummer, since, y'know, I like to take pictures of my clothes and post them on the interwebs. 

In other news, that dark square up above is my newest pair of tights. My new fleece-lined tights that I'm obsessed with. Everyone should own a pair of these. 

Fleece-lined tights for EVERYONE! 

They are the key to world peace, solving world hunger, and global warming, I just know it. 

Because, really, you can't wear these and not be cozy, 

and warm, 

and feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

#trustme

30 for 30: Day 14

Day 14

Sadly, my Mr. had to work this evening, so I was only able to get some fuzzy mirror pics - sorry, friends. Bums me out when he has to work late! However, I did get some MAJOR blogging done, so it worked out ok, I think ;)

Hope your week is off to a great start!

30 for 30: Day 30

Day 30

my skirt looks kind of purple here, but it's really gray

Ta-da! I finished my first 30 for 30 challenge! Wahoo! Happy dance! *THE CARLTON*

Anywaaaaaaays, it's done! And I've got a "recap/what I learned/what I would do differently/what I've taken away from this" post coming your way. Some of my professors always said one of the most important parts of the learning process is reflection, so, you'll get some of that shortly :)

*cue the song "Reflections" from Mulan*

Dressing Down a Sequined Skirt

this is the skirt I was telling you about from Kohl's

So, what do we think of my new sequined skirt??? I'm a BIG fan and I have BIG plans for this fancy skirt - trust me!

Above is what I wore to a friend's graduation party. I couldn't wait to wear my new skirt, so I dressed it down with a t-shirt and flat (but fancy!) sandals. The jacket was in flux all day - I was too hot, then I was too cold, so it was off and on the entire time.

My t-shirt is from Tour de Fat, a bike parade sponsored by New Belgium Brewing. Everyone dresses up in goofy costumes and rides their bikes along a marked route, then celebrates with a festival and lots of beer. I volunteered at last year's Tour de Fat pouring beer with some folks from work and got this t-shirt. Love the color, and love the design. New Belgium Brewing is a pretty cool place that brews Belgian-style beer, is employee owned, runs on alternative energy, and encourages alternative forms of transportation, hence, the bike parade. If you ever get the chance, you should check out a Tour de Fat near you and celebrate bikes - it's quite the experience!

***ERRRR - switching gears***

Let's talk about my hair. It's really not doing me any favors in these pictures, is it? It's pretty long, but it's also very fine, so I lose a lot of volume and thickness towards the ends. I've got a hair appointment this weekend and I'm debating switching it up majorly. I'm hesitant to lose any length - my hair grows SO. SLOWLY. and it's taken what feels like forever to get it to this length (6+ years). I've had bangs several times, and as you can see, have grown them out. I did get highlights at my last appointment, and while I like how they broke up my hair color and added some light, I think I'd like something more drastic so I'm not such a "dishwater blonde." Any suggestions/thoughts/ideas for my locks?

Jacket: Old Navy

Shirt: Tour de Fat

Skirt: Kohl's

Sandals: Sears