Rainbow Bright

Neither my usual color palette nor silhouette, I was drawn to this flirty little dress. What's not to love about a wide black waistband, navy scoop neck top, and vibrant, swingy skirt?

For a kid-friendly day of music featuring everything percussion, I figured I could step over a few lines of work-appropriate attire and really play with color for this outfit. Bring on the purple tights! I could have chosen navy instead, but I wanted to bring out more of the colors in the skirt, and this was perfect. I toyed with open toed sandals for the look, but nothing I had really worked. I needed to ground all that color with chunkier footwear, like a wedge or wood sandal, but alas, I had neither. Hmm, what about booties? Though rarely worn and something rather outside of my comfort zone, they seem to have been a pretty perfect option for the outfit.

Dress - Lane Bryant / Denim jacket - Theory (eBayed) / Tights - We Love Colors /
Booties - Payless / Handbag -  Urban Outfitters

The dress sleeves themselves are actually quite cute; a short sleeve with ruching on the top makes for something very easy to wear alone. And I could have - it eventually became warm enough outside to warrant it. (Yay for the return of outdoor pictures! My goofy facial expression simply belies a casual frustration with the shade/sun ratio at my usual photo location....) But, as always, I felt myself wanting an extra layer. Casual, easy - a shrunken, cropped denim jacket it was.

Ring - Ruche / Necklace - LOFT / Earrings - LOFT / Nail polish  - Haute as Hello (Essie)

How else I can possibly wear this dress, I really don't know. Bottom line, I definitely prefer tights with it - it is just too short on me and I know I won't wear it otherwise. Considering that it's a spring/summer frock, this is quite the conundrum...

True Blue

This outfit seems to have a split personality: spring on top; winter on the bottom. I'm not sure if this is good or bad, but it's actually an apt representation of the back-and-forth weather we've been experiencing. I just wanted to wear the top, though, and tights were a requisite for the cold, snowy day. So there it is.

Top - Maurices / Jacket - Maurices / Pencil Skirt - Simply Be / Tights - ? /
Heels - Nine West (via 6pm.com) / Handbag - Furla (via Filene's Basement)

I was drawn to the top because of its vibrant color blocking and - you guessed it - stripes. I figured it would be a great option with a black pencil skirt as I've worn it here, or with black or denim skinnies for some other day. I added the off-white cropped jacket for a more casual look (and I loves me a cute cropped jacket), but I couldn't decide if I liked it better half-zipped, left open, or not at all. I felt like I needed to get another color or texture in there, too, but I had limited time to experiment. I'll save that for next time.

Ring - H&M / Necklace - The Limited / Earrings - LOFT

What would you say if I told you I briefly considered mustard tights (with different shoes), though?

Formulaic

I've stumbled onto another outfit formula. Well, it's really the same formula as this one, but the use of solid tees rather than striped ones has doubled the remix potential. And I have lots...

Blue tee - LOFT / Grey ponte skirt - Lane Bryant / Tights - Lane Bryant /
Boots - Coconuts via DSW (gifted)

It also makes me revisit my small but growing scarf collection. As you've probably noticed, I prefer infinity scarves, and I want more. And more. They're a fool-proof accessory - such a great way to get a little print or pop of color into an outfit, and you don't have to worry about how to tie the darn things.

Scarf - Affordablescarves.com  / Ring & earrings - Ruche /
Nails - Frankly I Don't Give A-dam (Sephora O.P.I.)

I'm just warning you, but you will likely see yet another variation of this outfit sooner rather than later.

Handbag - Urban Outfitters

The Swing of Things

And just like that, the holidays - and vacation - are over. Such a hard realization to wake up to (especially when it requires a 3 hour adjustment in sleeping hours), but believe it or not, I think I'm ready to get back into the swing of things. Yesterday's extra day off sure did help, though.

Blouse - H&M / Black cami - LOFT / Ponte pencil skirt - Lane Bryant / Tights - LOFT /
Black booties - Payless / Pink belt - Talbots / Clutch - ASOS

Though I didn't get much in the way of apartment projects done over the much-needed break, we had a good balance of family time, celebration and relaxation. Holiday dressing was some of my favorite this year, but ample time was spent lounging in comfies, too. There was lots of movie watching, peppermint white mochas, sleeping very late, and a general ability to keep up with life, even for a little bit. Holiday decor will come down over the weekend (I abide by the 12 days of Christmas and keep everything up until January 6th), and as always, I'll be sad to put away all that color and light. I might still have to burn my balsam and cedar candles, though. Ahhhhh...

As for the outfit, polka dots, a comfy ponte pencil skirt and a hot pink belt for a needed pop of color (and Black Bomber Bird for a needed pop of humor) seemed like a good way to start the week, one which will be unseasonably busy. Nothing like having to dive right in.

Ring - Banana Republic / Necklace - Urban Outfitters / Earrings - Maurices

Sequins & Sparkles

First of all, I'm really sorry for the picture quality. Not only am I still waiting for a new camera, Bob is also out of town on business, and therefore so is his iPhone (with which we've been taking pictures in the interim). So it's back to my crappy Nikon Coolpix for today - I simply had to participate in today's EBEW "Sequins and Sparkles" challenge!

Cardi - LOFT / Sequin tank - LOFT / Pencil skirt - Lane Bryant /
Tights - Simply Vera (Kohl's) / Sandals - Banana Republic

Thought I don't own too much sparkle, when the challenge was announced I knew this sequined delight would be the top I would wear. It fits so nice and is just the prettiest winter white/cream color that makes it perfect around the holiday season. (I did, in fact, toy with wearing it with my new ASOS lurex stripe skirt for New Year's.) I love the raw edge of the always-flattering scoop neckline, too. In keeping with my near-obsession for all combinations of cream and grey, I went for a grey ponte pencil skirt and grey herringbone tights, a cream cardi in a slightly lighter color (I love the tonal variation of the two together), and {gasp} open toed camel sandals. I don't always love the look of tights + sandals on me, but I really like it here. Ties everything together.

Believe it or not (and I sure didn't), I hadn't yet worn the pencil skirt. I've worn the olive and black versions a few times now, but when I went to pull this one out of the closet, it still had the tags on. Craziness! I just love these skirts though. The wide waistband makes tucking in shirts actually possible and the material is so forgiving that I don't have to worry about much else.

Leather Ostrich Embossed Metal Bar Clutch - ASOS

Like my new clutch? I sure do! Bobby bought it for me as an early birthday present. =) I'd been looking for the perfect caramelly envelope clutch for months, and then I found this one also at ASOS, priced so right and ostrich-embossed! (You're rockin' my world, ASOS!) Of all the textures of leather, ostrich is unquestionably my favorite. Good job, Bobby. =)

Ring - Banana Republic / Earrings - Anthropolgoie

Exclamation Necklace

I'm pretty sure I planned this outfit around this utterly gorgeous necklace. And the fact that I wanted to look fabulous for the last day of Nutcracker merriment, of course. Neither teal nor peach might be the first colors that jump to mind during the holiday season, but I loved how the the pretty peach tones of the necklace looked against the cool hue of the dress. Teal is so my color anyway, and the fit of the dress is pretty great too. Not a bad canvas, I say.

Dress - Ann Taylor / Belt - Banana Republic / Mocha tights - We Love Colors /
 Brown buckle pumps - Christian Siriano for Payless

Thanks to a run in my favorite Spanx sheers, I decided to go with tights for the ol' gams. Since I loved the unexpected combination of teal and brown the last time I wore this dress, I went with mocha tights and darker brown heels to create a nice tonal effect. A wide belt in a tan snakeskin helped define my waist and balance out the colors, but I wonder if I could have benefited from a more streamlined look without it. Next time, I guess. Besides, it was all about the necklace anyway, remember?

Necklace - Anthropologie / Ring & earrings - Banana Republic 

Handbag - Steve Madden

Rusty

To don a pencil skirt, heeled boots and even tights on a day that I'm trying to be comfortable and causal might seem counter-intuitive to many, and especially to me when I was considering this outfit. But I can't deny that it's just a well-worn formula that always works for this body of mine, regardless of how I feel or how many pounds I've put on. (And, oooh, I've put on a few. Thank GOD for Spanx, right?)

Striped top - Dorothy Perkins / Rust infinity scarf - Dorothy Perkins / Black ponte skirt - Lane Bryant /
Belt - Talbots / Rust tights - We Love Colors / Boots - Nine West

I kept thinking about this outfit (especially since I recently remixed it for my Boston trip) and how much I appreciated the wide waistband and the comfortable ponte knit. And fabulous stripes, duh. I figured it was the perfect thing to hide, er, things and yet feel put-together at the same time. I reached for this black and cream striped top, which meant that my black ponte knit skirt would be its mate. (I also have the skirt in grey, in addition to the olive I've most often worn. Shocking, no?) Needing a pop of color, I grabbed this cozy rust-colored infinity scarf and decided to complement it with my rust-colored tights. I could have gone with black boots or booties, but I wanted a little more variation in color, so I chose my suede taupe knee-high boots and fun gold accessories.

Again, it's a far cry from the yoga pants and hoodie that I would have liked to have worn, but far more successful and, truthfully, pretty darn close to being as comfortable. I also know that, because I look better, I feel much better too. It never ceases to amaze me how that works.

Handbag - Coach (gifted)

Ring - Ruche / Earrings - Lane Bryant

Wish me luck on the Nutcracker and related holiday performance madness that commences tonight! It's a weekend I always try to wear my sartorial best, so I'll definitely be sharing the weekend's outfits next week!

Laced Down

Well, I got through an extremely rough week, capped off by a truly challenging day on Saturday. I'm still kind of reeling from it all, to be honest... This week, Bob is away on business, and while I'll miss him terribly, it does mean I have the apartment to myself! I have big plans: mega-cleaning, rearranging the living room (with the purpose of having a functional indoor photo location), eating too many Totino's pizzas (a guilty pleasure that lingers from my single days), hem and hang my bedroom curtains (finally), and - if at all possible - start decorating for the holidays! We leave for Boston on Saturday to spend Thanksgiving with Bob's family, so if I'm going to decorate, it'll have to be sooner rather than later. I just can't believe the holidays are almost here again!

"Fiona" Dress - LucieLu / Denim jacket - Theory (eBayed) / Grey tights - LOFT (?) / Flats - LOFT

I thought I'd try dressing down this lace dress today, so I started with a denim jacket. Tights were a must, but they made my shoe choices more difficult. I didn't want to wear boots, and I toyed with wearing sandals, but I was totally self-conscious about the tights-sandals combo, regardless of how popular it currently seems to be. So I opted for my trusty flats. Between the jacket and sandals, I think I succeeded in putting together a pretty casual look.

Ring - Banana Republic / Ginko and Gunmetal necklace - chrdesigns on Etsy / Earrings - Lane Bryant

And yes, you sure have seen a few versions of this dress before: the "Amelia" in grey and white and the "Piper" in black and pink with cream embellishments. I love the lace overlay, the straight skirt that hits perfectly below my knee, and the pretty embellishments that make each dress unique. I continue to experiment with more ways to wear them!

Handbag - Gustto

Tight Walk

Tuesday. Here we go. Three consecutive morning performances plus five consecutive evening performances equals no sleep, no me or Bobby-time, and lots of coffee. (Kona, baby!) This also means that planning outfits for the week is a must. I've got a working list all ready to go, but blog only knows if they'll work out as well as in my head. That's the one hinge that can either make or break my morning, that will keep me on time or make me unforgivably late.

Embellishment cardigan - Anthropologie / Cami - Banana Republic /
Denim pencil skirt - Lane Bryant / Mocha tights - We Love Colors / Shoes - Kenneth Cole

Today could have gone either way. I've been meaning to try an interpretation of green and turquoise together a la this pin. Wanting to participate in today's EBEW's Tight Challenge, I thought my mocha tights would be a great pairing. Well, the outfit sure didn't look anything like I wanted it to, so I ditched it and about 5 other attempts and went back to the drawing board. Since I had those chocolaty-smooth tights on already, I wanted to put together something else that would work but with minimal effort on my part. (I'd spent way too much time on the failed ensemble[s] already.) Cue a cardigan with saturated colors and lovely embellishment to do all the work for me.

Ring - Banana Republic (eBayed) / Necklace - The Limited / Earrings - Anthropologie /
Nail polish - "All Hail McQueen" (Butter London)

I've worn this lovely cardigan pretty similarly to that last time, but wanting to showcase the tights, I opted for some cute mary-janes instead of boots. Happy Tights Day, everyone!

It's a Pattern

Do we see a pattern here? (Bwahahaha... pun intended.) I mean, can anyone ever get enough stripes? Especially when this new blue and pink version of mine can be so easily swapped into this outfit!

Double zip jacket - LOFT / Striped boatneck top - Banana Republic / Washed pencil skirt - Lane Bryant /
Tights ("Sugarberry") - Lane Bryant / Boots - Ciao Bella (via DSW - similar here!) 

The main difference is the addition of the tights and boots, of course. Bob and I were planning to walk downtown for a light dinner, so I wanted to be sure I donned comfortable footwear and - since the nights have become quite chilly - warm tights. I was tickled pink giddy to find that these pink tights matched perfectly with the pink in the top! I thought it was just the right pop of color between the bland khaki skirt and the cognac boots. A darker brown belt brought all the colors together.

What I love most about the "formula" is how the three-quarter sleeves of the top peek out from the elbow sleeves of the jacket, how the large pseudo-portrait collar frames my face, how the the belt and pencil skirt define my shape, how I feel covered yet sexy at the same time. As much as I liked the original, I love the pop of pink and warmth of brown of this one even more. And I can't think of a better way to break out my favorite boots for the first time this fall!

Handbag - Furla (renting from BBOS)

Ring - Ruche / Reversible belt - Lane Bryant / Round wood earrings - Maurices

Fool's Gold

I have been wanting to wear this skirt for, oh, over a year. It never fit me as well I would have liked it to, and generally I think an A-line skirt is not my friend; it sat too high on my waist, making it was just much shorter that I would ever wear, and as I result, I never did. But then it dawned on me - tights! Tights were the answer! Granted, I don't think I ever would have considered such an option before dabbling in fashion blogs, but they seemed the perfect solution to my particular sartorial dilemma.

Blazer - NY&Co. / Orange tee- Maurices / Gold cami - LOFT /
Orange floral print skirt - Simply Vera (Kohl's) / Tights in Hunter Green - c/o We Love Colors

These particular tights were sent to me from We Love Colors as a thank you for letting them use one of my blog posts for their style blog, celebrating Ivory Tights Week.* When deciding which color I would pick, I knew I'd finally choose a color to wear with this difficult-to-style skirt. Needless to say, I was thrilled how perfectly they went with together!

The tights, in "Hunter Green," pull out the lovely teal-green shades in the skirt, which has been the most difficult color to find in items to pair with it.. It allowed me to go with more traditional neutral colors on top, while accentuating all the fabulous color the skirt has to offer. I do have to admit, however, that I was afraid the fashion police would come after me for sporting a more fall-like color palate of deep oranges so ostentatiously in spring. Yes, I do sometimes care about such things... (just sometimes, though)...which is why I specifically chose to debut this outfit on April Fool's Day... With the temperature barely getting up to 50, and at often times still cloudy, windy, and wintry, I have been certain that Mother Nature has been playing a few tricks on us! So, take THAT, Mother Nature...

Or something....

Handbag - Steve Madden (via Endless.com) / Brown pumps - Shoe Carnival / Brown belt - Nordstrom (?)

I couldn't really decide between wearing a cream color cardigan and this light beige blazer, but I felt the blazer grew up the otherwise playful tone of the outfit a bit more, and helped to ground all of the outfit's bright colors. It's the same thought behind the round-toe brown pumps and simple brown belt, too. Thanks to the tights, though, it's clear that being a grown up doesn't always have to suck. =))

Ring - Banana Republic / Necklace - LOFT / Earrings - Dress Barn

* These tights were sent to me as a thank-you for being featured in the WLC blog and nothing more. I was not asked to review their tights in any way. These tights are simpy pair no. 10 or so of my ever growing collection (all others purchased with my own hard-earned moola), and I was happy to get to add another!