Clearly I'm getting busier as the year goes on, because it's getting tougher and tougher to find the time to blog. But I will persevere! Let's see what this week brought us in fashion...
Tuesday:
I ended up really liking this, mostly because of the pegged pants with the tall wedges. Now, I will take this opportunity to talk about ankle straps. Generally, this look would be a pretty big "stumpifier," shortening the look of the leg line. The end of the pants coming right before another hard "line" (created by the ankle strap) would make the legs look shorter. If I didn't already have REALLY long legs, I wouldn't have done it, so if you're a shorter-legged person, keep that in mind. For someone with shorter legs, a non-strapped pump or espadrille would have worked much better. Just say NO to stumpification!
Wednesday:
Hellooooooo, wrinkled pants! I really need to find time somehow to look at the pictures I take before I leave the house in the morning. These pants really needed to be ironed, but I just had no idea until now, looking at these images. Well, other than that, I liked this. I liked the wide-leg pants paired with a fitted top, and I liked the line splitting the color block in the tee. I probably should have dressed up a bit more in the shoe category, but I really just wanted to wear some flips. I was selfish. Sorry.
Thursday:
I almost wore this exact outfit with mint pants instead of burgundy, and then I realized it looked terrible. The black just didn't go at all with the mint, so this was much better. I love this top - from Target - and I had a great pair of earrings to go with the polka dots. All in all, while it wasn't my best outfit, it was perfectly good.
Friday:
I ended up LOVING this for Maxi-Dress Friday. The collared shirt under the dress worked well, and I added this belt which originally came with a totally different dress. The dangly gray art-deco-ish earrings offset the belt really well, and I put some sparkly black sandals under it all. Definitely a win for Maxi-Dress Friday, in my opinion.
Thanks to everyone who weighed in on last week's best/worst poll. I find that deliberately seeking out "worst" opinions makes me sad - I already know which outfits don't work as well - so let's just stick with bests. What's your favorite from this week? I think I'm going with Friday. :)
Talk to you soon! Stay beautiful, friends.
Bad news, y'all: I forgot to take pictures on Monday. I tried to recreate it on Microsoft Paint, but it turns out that I stink at drawing, so... sorry. I guess that day is gone.
But there's no use mourning the past, so let's move on to Tuesday!
I love this leopard-print top because it's comfy, well-fitted, and a good way to spice up a neutral brown color palette. It is, however, sleeveless, so I put this 3/4 sleeve cardigan over it. On the bottom, I wore my white wide-leg pants and light tan flats.
Buttoning the last few buttons on the cardigan was a tactical choice, because leaving it open doesn't cinch at the waist quite as well, which makes it less flattering. Keep that in mind the next time you're wearing a cardigan - does it look better with some of it buttoned at the waist? Something to think about.
Get the look for yourself:
Top - Target, available here.
Cardigan - Target; similar here.
Pants - New York and Company; similar here.
Shoes - Target, available here.
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This morning I was feeling sleepy, and when I'm feeling sleepy, I want to wear something comfy, and when I want to wear something comfy, it's usually pretty casual.
Even though I bought these skinny pants a couple months ago, I hadn't actually worn them yet, so the tags came off today. They're a shade that's hard to describe, somewhere between tan and gray, but it works well as a neutral. I decided to pair it with a rich pink belted sweater vest, and kept it simple with a plain white tee underneath. To avoid keeping it too simple, I added a long necklace and hoop earrings, with a pearlescent bracelet. Staying on point with casual and comfy, I wore my white Keds.
Like the buttoning of the cardigan on Tuesday, keeping the sweater vest belted was a purposeful choice to avoid having too much of a "boxy" outline at the torso. I considered a couple of my actual belts, but decided to stick with the sash that actually came with the vest. Either way, it was important to keep with a skinny belt/sash rather than a wide one, because a wide belt with the lower waistline of the pants would look too choppy; no belt, however, would have left the outfit too baggy overall. I'd say I was pleased with the outcome.
Get the look for yourself:
T-shirt - Target, available here.
Sweater vest - Gap; similar here.
Pants - Express; similar here.
Shoes - Payless, available here.
Necklace - Target; similar here.
Earrings - Target; similar here.
I *really* love these pants. They remind me of sailor pants from the 1940's or something, and that reminds me of Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire and Frank Sinatra, and that makes me happy. Now, wide-leg pants can be dangerous, but white wide-leg pants can be especially dangerous, as there is a very real possibility of making yourself look larger than you are, especially around the hips and thighs. That's why it has to be paired with something fitted and flattering on the top.
Ironically enough, the top I chose with this outfit happens to be a maternity shirt. I AM NOT PREGNANT - I just want that to be clear from the start. I do, however, enjoy looking through the maternity section every time I go to Target, because there are some awesome pieces in there that can be worn by pregnant and non-pregnant alike. This particular shirt really only works for the non-pregnant among us if it's tucked, but since tucking is very "in" right now, it doesn't concern me. Plus, I love the crossover detail at the top.
These pants aren't quite long enough to wear heels, but they drag on the ground if I wear completely flat shoes. So I opted for a 1/2" heel on these wine-colored loafers, which was pretty close to perfect height. I didn't want to wear a necklace because it would detract from the shirt's detail at the neck, so I kept things simple with just a moonstone ring and a leather wrap bracelet with a fun flower detail.
So, what's your verdict on this one?
Get the look for yourself:
Shirt - Target, available here.
Pants - The Limited; similar here.
Shoes -Ross; similar here.
Belt - Target (with a dress); similar here.
Bracelet - gift; similar here.
Ring - The Limited, available here.
