French Kiss

The weather has been absolutely gorgeous lately. All that stuff I said about the last days of summer have, even if briefly, proven me wrong. With temps in the upper 70s and sunny days at least as long as it's light out, I've happily continued to bare my legs and toes. And my fabulous bandaged knee that is taking FOR-E-VER to heal, of course.

Double zip jacket - LOFT / Striped boatneck top - Banana Republic / Washed pencil skirt - Lane Bryant / 
White belt - LOFT / Sandals - Nine West

I've actually worn this outfit before, almost verbatim. Three emendations: belt over the jacket rather than through the belt loops (you know, like an actual belt), shoes (I'll never get enough of these sandals), and the up-do. That counts as a remix, right? Regardless, I simply love it. It's one of those outfits in which I feel as comfortable as I feel chic - the perfect outfit to walk four blocks downtown to our favorite new local French bistro, where the roast chicken is divine and the mussels are addictive.

Handbag - Furla (renting from BBOS)

Ring - Ruche / Earrings - Lane Bryant

Redux

This Ruche top has quickly become one of my favorite pieces. Ever since the first time I wore it, I've kept coming back to it in my closet, wanting to wear more often than not. So I thought about my initial ideas of how to remix it and opted for this casual version at the first possible opportunity. No better way to face the harsh realities of Monday, methinks.

Blazer - Calvin Klein (via TJ Maxx) / Top - Ruche / Dark skinnies - Gap / Necklace - Urban Outfitters / Ring - Ruche

I've really been drawn to the combination of blue and olive lately, so I knew this Calvin Klein blazer of mine would work wonderfully. Cuffed skinny jeans, open toe heels, and a few statement jewelry pieces (the same in the first wearing, actually) complete the look in a way that does justice to the first.

Sad news, though. These favorite Gap skinnes of mine finally wore out and ripped (thank you, thighs), so now I have to go through breaking in a whole new pair. Either that, or figure out how to sew a patch. Or maybe both.

Handbag - Furla (via Filene's Basement)

Heels - Banana Republic

Olive Juice

What's that? My backdrop has suspiciously changed to my old locale? Okay, I admit it; these pics were taken before we moved. I had fully intended to post a few more times before I went on hiatus, but things got so crazy that posting proved impossible. I know, excuses excuses...

Sequined bib top - LOFT / Olive washed pencil skirt - Lane Bryant / Navy belt - Banana Republic /
Gold sandals - Moda Spana (via Endless.com) / Handbag - Tano "Minilisa" in Blue Marine

My attire those days necessitated absolute casual wear, but I didn't want to just slum it in yoga pants and a hoodie, however much that might have been my inclination. An embellished tee and an olive green pencil skirt? Too easy. And almost as comfortable.

Donning a top that does all the work for you (in back as much as the front) is certainly a bonus, though. This outfit, featuring the same top, is a straight up remix of an earlier version of a burgundy/olive pairing. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I just love the color combination! I've also worn this skirt so often (on and off the blog) that it's one I nearly always turn to for "elevated casual." And just cuz it's a great skirt.

Ring - Banana Republic / Earrings - LOFT

Interpretations

Today's outfit is taken from Kimberly's March Outfit Inspiration calendar, albeit a week early... After she had posted the calendar, and specifically this image of some fabulous Anthropologie pieces featuring a maxi skirt and mixed patterns, I immediately thought of a striped maxi dress I had recently acquired from Maurices. Taking advantage of the 70 degree weather and a casual performance-less week, I thought I would try to style it similarly today!

Striped maxi dress - Maurices / Military cropped jacket - Maurices / Belt - LOFT / Blue cut-out wedges - LOFT

Since it's a dress rather than a skirt, I obviously wasn't able to wear a top and mix patterns, but I do appreciate how the lace neckline is able to achieve a similar purpose. Like the original, I accessorized with a belt to break up the stripes, one that I could wear lower on my hips (kinda) and could angle a bit. My military-inspired cropped jacket topped it off nicely - I'm loving the grey and olive together here.

I do like how the blues and greens play together in the original, so I chose my blue Tano and navy cut-out wedges to add that particular hue. I could have also worn a sporty blue zip-up instead (I don't really have a blazer like the one pictured), which I might do for another wearing, but I really wanted to pair my military topper with this time around. All in all, I think I did okay!

Handbag - Tano "Minilisa" in Blue Marine

As you can probably tell, it was pretty darn windy when I was taking these pictures. Hey, my own wind machine! (I liked the effect, obviously.) But, it had plummeted 15 degrees within a hour, so once again my lakeside pictures were postponed for another day. My brick background on my porch is growing on me, though, despite the fact that it is sooooooooo easy to tell when my camera is crooked. You'll have to forgive me for that one today, please - it had gotten so chilly so fast that I rushed through the shoot!

Ring - The Limited / Necklace - Kohl's / Earrings - LOFT

Not Without a Fight

Whoa. Longest day ever. I think I jinxed it yesterday when I was all too eagerly celebrating being so close to break. Not without a fight, apparently. In fact, I'm still at work as I write this (at 10:30pm). My brain is fried from working on the staff schedule all day, not to mention the somewhat stressful performances we had this evening, so I figured some mindless blogging would help me push through a little longer. (Bob is also working the performances tonight; he's not yet done and he's my ride home...) And at this rate, I wouldn't have been likely to get in a post tonight otherwise!

Military jacket - LOFT / Sweater - Lane Bryant / Pants - New York & Co. / Cut-out wedges - LOFT

I was looking through the past month of my outfits last night and I was struck by how bloody often I wore a pencil skirt - like every other day! There's no shame in the fact that I love wearing them and how I look in them, of course, but I figured I could break out of that routine just a bit. As a result, I decided to go a little bit more casual tonight than I might have otherwise.

Handbag - Tano "Minilisa" in Blue Marine / Belt - The Limited

Mainly inspired by the combination of olive and burgundy again, I put together one of my (three, believe it or not) military jackets with this ruffly-topped sweater, one I think I'd worn only once quite some time ago. It was good to find a new way to wear the top, and I especially like how the ruffles at the collar create such great texture at the neckline. I only wish I had a fun animal print belt in a more substantial width than the one I wore, and I think my hemline could be just a wee shorter (or my shoes taller).

Ring - Banana Republic (eBayed) / Earrings - New York & Co.

Oh well. At this point, I hardly care what I put on my body; just get me to the end of this week! Shoot, just let me go to bed, for that matter...

Flower Power

Just a couple more long days and late nights of performances before spring break! I don't automatically have vacation time like the student population, but it is certainly going to be much quieter, and I'll have lots of opportunities to relax as a result. It's comforting that the days of my evening work attire - and the pressure to impress - are numbered! Even if temporarily...

Peach cardigan - The Limited / Printed top - The Limited / Tweed pencil skirt - Lane Bryant / Handbag - Tano "Minilisa" in Blue Marine / Grey faux-suede pumps - Apt. 9 (Kohl's)

I kept coming back to the idea of pattern mixing with this tweed pencil skirt, which I did so delightfully in this outfit. (Seriously, so much of me just has wanted to re-wear that outfit in its entirety!) Instead, I chose a similarly colored patterned top and an equally vibrant cardigan to get the same silhouette and overall feel. And given that spring isn't quite yet here (almost! almost!), the wintry tweed balances out the springy (even summery) peach cardigan in the same way it did the bright teal one in the original.

With all the peachy tones, including my somewhat bulky bib necklace (a really tricky piece to wear), I added some pops of contrasting color with my turquoise ring and my blue Tano.

Necklace  LOFT / Ring - The Limited / Earrings - The Limited

Bottom line? I'm all too antsy to break out my spring attire!

Bottoms Up

Today's outfit was literally built from the bottom up - these shoes simply HAD to be worn today! It's true, ever since I got a pedicure last week, I've been hankering to wear open-toed shoes as much as possible. And I just couldn't let these fabulous (and new) yellow beauties languish in my closet any longer!

Yellow snake-print open-toed pumps - Nine West (eBayed)/ Pedi - O.P.I. "Russian Navy"

The outfit, too, is a casual remix of this outfit, one of my all-time favorites. My perfect pair of jeans were the really the first building block for the outfit (it was another wonderfully low-key day), but the mustard shoes completely inspired this particular remix, allowing me to play with a similar color palette by swapping out the cardigan in the original for the shoes. The printed tank is the anchor of the two outfits, of course, and I'm glad to find other ways to wear it. It's on the longer side, too, which does make it somewhat difficult to wear. I thought of pairing it my cropped purple jacket as I did here, but I didn't like the proportions for exactly that reason. Instead, I pulled out the rather vivid cobalt blue in the print with this open cardigan of mine (last worn unconvincingly here). I went back and forth between belting it like a wrap or leaving it open and flowy, belting just the tank underneath the cardigan, but after taking a few pictures both ways (the other version can be seen here), I decided that wearing it this way gave me the best shape and was the most visually appealing, especially with all the layers that the cardigan has.

Blue open cardigan - Willie Smith (TJ Maxx) / Found Foliates Tank - Anthropologie / Flare-leg denim - Lane Bryant /
Purple skinny belt - The Limited

Not surprisingly, this outfit is now also one of my favorites. =)

Handbag - Steve Madden (via Endless.com)

Ring - Banana Republic / Necklace - LOFT / Earrings - Ten Thousand Villages

Cropped Rotation

Ever heard of Casual Tuesday? No? Oh well. Today was Casual Tuesday for me. Tomorrow will be Casual Wednesday, etc. and so on. I can't believe what a light week I have ahead of me! I could get used to this... (Probably shouldn't though!)

Olive cropped jacket - Maurices / Burgundy sequin bib top - LOFT / Flare leg denim - Lane Bryant /
Boots - Laundry by Chinese Laundry (Famous Footwear)

I've worn a variation of this outfit before, and it was the need to change into a more casual outfit later that night that beget the version I've (re-)worn today. I didn't blog about the change that night, but I was certainly excited to wear/blog about it again! No better time than Casual Tuesday, eh? I would have NEVER thought to wear the top and jacket together, but I'm pretty much in love with the combinations of olive and burgundy, sequins and military.

This cropped military jacket has definitely become a wardrobe workhorse for me, though. Whenever I need a casual topper, this is probably my most grabbed item.

Earrings - Dress Barn

You'll notice some new lighting! I pulled a floor lamp out of the office in the living room to balance the already existing light. My face is definitely more in focus, but hello whitewash! Back to the light source drawing board, at least until outside pictures become an option again!

The Last Minute

This was not the outfit I had planned to wear today. I was initially going to wear a new wrap dress I recently scored on eBay, lookin' a little fancier and what not. But when I learned that tonight's big performance was canceled due to the snow storm and all its effects, I thought I'd go much more casual. I had about 10 minutes to figure out what this dressy-casual ensem was going to be, and this was it.

Printed cardigan - LOFT / Lavender tank - LOFT / Refined denim skirt - Lane Bryant /
Tights (both) - Simply Vera (Kohl's) / Suede boots - Nine West (via Amazon.com)

Now that I see it all together in these pictures, I'm not at all in love with the proportions, but for something thrown together at the last minute, it's not all bad. I've also managed to wear all these items before on the blog (skirt; sweater; tank; boots), but not ever together. So, yay remix! The instigators were the boots and a casual denim skirt, and my current favorite color palette of cream, purple and blue pretty much fell into place after that. I'm even wearing two pairs of tights - navy layered over purple - in hopes for a purpley-blue mixed color effect, but instead I got just a more opaque navy. Meh. Had I more time, I think I would have tried the purple tights over the blue and would have been much happier with the color. Two pairs definitely kept my legs warmer, though!

Eh, you win some and lose some...

Necklace - LOFT / Double-wrap skinny belt - LOFT

I'm glad you all enjoyed yesterday's post with Bob! It was fun for both of us, so I'm sure we'll do it again!

Trapeze Artist

For an outfit that was planned entirely around being able to wear my snow boots, I'm impressed by what I've put together for today - especially considering that I finally settled on it around 1 a.m. this morning. Maybe that's why I'm wearing a smirk in all these photos ...

Brown trapeze jacket - Seven 7 for Lane Bryant / Grey studded tee - Lane Bryant / Dark skinnies - Gap /
Brown animal print flats - Payless

Having to commute to work in snow boots means that I'm wearing either skinny jeans so I can tuck them into the boots or a skirt/dress with tights, and then bringing an additional pair of shoes to change into at work, of course. (I'm sure I'm not alone on that one.) I ruled out a skirt and tights almost immediately, and I preferred easy flats rather than knee-high boots (which would have been too much of a pain to pack) - a rarity with skinnies for me lately. Thankfully (?) I could forgo socks because my boots have a sock lining. In the end, I'm impressed not only that I went to work today, but that I actually wore a blog-worthy outfit. (Comfortable frumpage was admittedly my first inclination.) OOh, and it's a remix too! [Pats self on back.]

Though I've never worn either of these tops yet on the blog, I've definitely never worn them together before. Considering that brown and grey is one of my favorite color combinations, I'm surprised I haven't! The jacket is tough to wear, though, thanks to its bulky trapeze shape and funnel neck collar. But, it turned out to be a perfect topper for skinny jeans!

Most of my work day was spent preparing to not be in the office tomorrow, whether (cuz of the weather...bahahaha) or not the university was going to be closed. Even then I had planned to work a half day-ish today so I could get the heck out of there before the snowpocalypse (as has been the buzzword) descended upon us. I made it home about an hour before it hit, and now I sit at my kitchen table watching the snow blow around the courtyard and obsessively checking email for updates regarding the status of work and, more importantly, performances tomorrow.

Handbag - Tano "Minilisa" in Blue Marine

As for tonight, we shall enjoy a roaring fireplace (hence all the wood you see in the background), hot tea, What Not to Wear, a little Wii, and snuggling (of course).

Earrings - Maurices (?) / Ring - Banana Republic / Sterling silver necklace - Kohl's

How does your daily transportation affect how you dress each day?

Edited to add: At the request of the ever-fabulously booted Tania, here are my snow boots!

Snow boots - Bare Traps (eBayed)

Variations on a Theme

This outfit is not at all what I had first planned on wearing tonight, but I'm pretty thrilled with it!

Cardigan - LOFT / Spotted ruffle tiered shell - LOFT / Tweed pencil skirt - Lane Bryant /
Nude heels - Nine West (via Endless.com)

When I was picking out my work-wear for the evening, I initially wanted to keep it low-key and easy with a pants-jacket-embellished top ensemble. It was relatively boring, sure, but - thanks to cleaning all afternoon (and the effects of PMS) - I didn't have much energy or desire to put something else together. Once I had it on, though, I knew I could do better - perhaps a variation of my colorful cardigan-pencil ensem! So I thumbed through my (many) cardigans, and I pulled out this bright teal one to get me started.

I liked the idea of pairing this otherwise colorful cardi (heralding spring?) with this dark tweed skirt (last seen here) to give a more wintry, but still cheerful, feel. Where the top was concerned, I didn't want to wear just a simple camisole, so I dug around my closet for an embellished or even printed top to try a little pattern mixing again. My initial preference was stripes, but then I spied this dot-print shell, last seen here. I hesitated at first, thinking it was too much of a pattern mix considering how large the dots were. I scoured my belt collection to find one in grey or cream to help break up the two prints a bit more, but I just didn't have one that could sit at my hips. So, I convinced myself to just run with it. I mean, it's better than whatever else I was going to wear! (Which might be tomorrow's outfit, FYI...)

When Bob saw me, he ooohed a bit, commenting how "Mad-Menny" it made me look. (This is a good thing, of course.) He even approved of the pattern mixing! NOW I was sold. =)

The shoes had a moment of indecision. I went back and forth between these on-trend nude heels and a pair of grey faux-suede pumps. Bob voted for the grey pumps for obvious reasons, but I liked the look of the nude heels, pulling out the cream tones in the top, and really extending the line of my leg (as all nude heels so fabulously do). They're not great for being on my feet all night, but beauty is pain, people!

Handbag - Tano "Twiggy"

In the end, I adore the color palette, and I especially like the visual interest of the tiered ruffles. I might still try to find a belt for future (springtime?) wearings, but this particular pattern mixture is really growing on me!

Earrings - LOFT / Necklace - LOFT - Multi-colored stone ring - Banana  Republic

I leave you with this: When I arrived at work, my house managers were pretty excited that I was wearing ruffles. (My house managers are currently all fashion-conscious women.) Apparently we all were! This outfit was fated...

Striking Gold

The more I look at these pictures, the more I love this outfit. There's something so happy about it!

Mustard printed cardigan - thrifted / Embellished top - Urban Outfitters / Flare leg denim - Lane Bryant /
Teal skinny belt - The Limited / Camel heels - RSVP (via Zappos)

It was another one I put together in the moment of late-night creativity. I didn't try it on last night, but I'm thrilled with how it all came together. I especially like the proportions of color, shape, detail, and pattern. And really, this equation never fails: favorite jeans + cardigan + embellished top = always easy and cute!

The sweater is one I found at a consignment shop the same time I found the mustard cardi for my "Ariana" outfit. I bought them both at the same time because I didn't know which one would work best with the intended outfit, especially since I liked the idea of the pattern on this one. And it was exactly the pattern in the sweater that inspired me to try a little pattern mixing today! I first tried it with a striped top, which could also be great, but not the particular top I had. The top I finally settled on is more embellishment than pattern, but I love the effect nevertheless. It's also sort of a remix, too, since I've never worn it with anything else but cuffed jeans in the summer. (Snoooooze.) It's a total tent of a shirt on its own, though - no shape whatsoever! But just add a colorful belt and long jewelry and it's a new outfit! I'm getting a hang of this...

I'm also wearing the new ring I mentioned yesterday! What can I say, I love a cocktail ring, and this one is no exception. The necklace was a fabulous birthday gift from a friend of mine - one who is super fashionable herself. This was actually its first wearing, and I can't think of a better debut!

Ring - Banana Republic (eBayed) / Turquoise medallion necklace - gifted

Fabulous blue nailpolish - Yoga-ta Get This Blue! (OPI)

I guess I should do my class readings now. You know, the ones that were assigned last week. I've been ABD for so long (and a working girl for so long) that I barely remember how to be a good student. Good thing I'm auditing!