Weddings, graduations and getaways are in full swing. We're already booked every weekend through July! Our first big event was the wedding of our sweet friends, Ryan and Sarah. The whole affair was simple and classic. Good weather, good ceremony, good company. I was in tears watching Sarah come down the isle to the song "Here Comes the Sun" in her lovely dress, her dad on her arm, smiling from ear to ear, with the sunlight glowing through her blonde hair. And the vows. The most genuine vows I have ever witnessed. I love love - and these two together are spilling over with it! I kept it light and easy with my outfit, taking inspiration from Joel's outfit for my accessories. The shirt I wore is actually a shirt dress! It was a tad bit too short for a wedding, so I opted to layer a longer, more appropriate, skirt over it. The shirt dress is from JCPenney and the skirt is from Old Navy. To tie my outfit with Joel's, I chose a caramel brown (my favorite tone of brown) leather belt and heels. The belt actually came with the shirt dress and the shoes are also from JCPenney. All discount finds at the time I am sure!
I ended up matching quite nicely with my hubby. We enjoyed our evening together so much. I count myself lucky that he is mine everyday! Here's a picture of us in all of our cuteness!
0 Comments
Oh hey, Spring! May flowers and sunshine have me dressing in full color almost everyday. This outfit is just one example of the fun combinations I've been putting together. The floral shirt and nude flats are Target finds from a few seasons back but they normally always have similar products on hand, like this shirt and these shoes - modern spins on classics that are always in style. The pants are a major score from Old Navy for only $3.00. Always check the sales racks. I was about to spend $30+ dollars on similar pants, but found four pairs of really nice, structured ankle pants for under $12 total! Here's a close-up of the outfit detail: How are you dressing for Spring?!
One of my favorite people now has a line at Target...Victoria Beckham a.k.a. Posh Spice! I fell in love with her when she was with the Spice Girls and followed her as she blossomed into a refined fashion designer. Her clothes are ev(clap)ery(clap)thing(clap). They are modern, well-tailored, feminine and classic.
I previewed the line on Target.com and wanted to share a few of my favorites. The prices are definitely right. The most expensive item appears to be only $40. For Victoria Beckham?! I'll take one of each! Joel labeled the outfit I'm sharing today as my "riding outfit." I see it! Thus the title. But unfortunately, no horses were ridden in this outfit. We were asked to dress "business casual" for our volunteer duties at the Grout Museum over the weekend, so this is what I came up with. An outfit that is young, comfortable, and as Joel pointed out, very "equestrian." The houndstooth blazer I have on is my tried and true. It is from H&M and has been one of my go-tos for probably a good eight years now. The reason I like it so much is so much is definitely the print and the cut. The print transitions really well from casual to professional. The cut adds shape to whatever outfit I'm wearing. I also machine washed it as needed and it has held up really well over time. I don't have the money to dry clean everything, so it's been nice to be able to wash it on my own. I paired the blazer with a navy blue, semi-sheer button up with a collar from Old Navy. The pants are black jeggings from Old Navy. The brown boots are ones you've seen before in previous posts (and are on their last leg...so, so sad) from JCPenney. I'm a big fan of wearing black and brown together. A lot of people don't like it, but I look at it this way - wild cats have brown and black stripes/spots - it is a natural color combination! Here's a close-up of the blazer print and collared shirt: And here's me and my dog, Madison. She wanted in on the fun!
I'm not a huge prints person...wait...who am I kidding? I'm a huge prints person. Floral prints are my normal go-to, but I do fancy other prints on occasion. An "other print" dress that I really like and have had forever is from Target. It honestly looks like a dalmatian or a snow leapord print. But I love it! The cut of the dress is young, the print is fun, and the black/white coloring is classic. I normally pair this dress with a black scarf, tights, and boots. Wearing clothing with busy prints can be a bit intimidating. But if you really love the print, there's something pretty empowering about wearing it after you have it on. Put your fears aside and get ready to stand out! A close-up of this print:
There is something truly marvelous about the right shade of mustard yellow. I am not a person that wears very much yellow, but for shades of mustard, I make an exception.
I caved and made a trip to Orange Possum in Hampton. If you read my previous post, you know that I was fighting the temptation to visit this store due to the overwhelming number of amazing pieces they have in right now. The dress I'm sharing today, along with the scarf, is featured in image four of that post. I just had to have that outfit! They only had size large left in the dress, which was actually perfect. The material is very comfortable, but clingy, so anything smaller may have showed off lumps and bumps I didn't need anyone to see! I believe that you can fix anything with a belt, so as you will see, I belted this dress off to give some shape to the silhouette. The large also fell better in the skirt - long enough for work and it hit in just the right place on my legs so I look a foot taller than usual! I wore this to work and ditched my standard heels. I paired the dress with brown tights and ankle boots from Old Navy. I topped everything off with the triangle blanket scarf I purchased at Orange Possum and was very pleased with the outcome! What a November so far! Can't beat this beautiful Iowa weather. It feels so strange to not be bundled up a little more each day as winter approaches.
In this abnormal warm streak, dressing for the day has been a bit of a challenge. It's cold when I step out the door at home in the morning, but warm when I leave the building after work. I've partially transitioned into my winter wardrobe with boots and tights, but have kept it light otherwise. I have several different variations of the collared button-up top I am wearing below. They are from the I Heart Ronson line at JCPenney. These shirts are great because they are long, perfect over leggings, and light, so they can be tucked into a skirt or layered without adding bulk. They offer a lot of look possibilities. They are also a tad bit sheer, which I like because there's good air flow and it adds a bit of sexiness to an outfit whether you are wearing this top casually or professionally, especially when you have it buttoned all the way up. I paired this particular version of the I Heart Ronson top with a vintage olive green skirt (with pockets!) that I found at Goodwill. My boots are from JCPenney. This outfit was comfortable and held up well during a day full of meetings and video shoots! Lord, please give me the strength to stay away from Orange Possum this season.
Ladies, I have to tell you, I am a thrifter/discount crazed lunatic through and through, but sometimes I am very tempted to take all of my money, drive to a store, and buy all of the things at full price. I want pretty much everything that is currently available at Orange Possum in Hampton right now. They've been tempting me on Instagram one post at a time...but I will stay strong... Here are some of the items I need NOW! Unfortunately, I don't have a pro following me around to take my outfit photos like Jackie O. did. Here's a visual description of what I look like while capturing my fashion photos: Phone propped on bumper of car; Self-timer set; Me jogging backwards so I get a full body shot; Me jogging forwards to check the shot and reset the camera. This series is repeated around 10 times while one of our neighbors watches without me realizing until I've made a complete fool of myself. I'm a blogger, people! Get over it!
Anyway...This gem of a dress is a piece I found for...wait for it...five dollars!! I am not kidding. Brand new, off-the-rack at Sears. My sister and I scored on the first day of a sale they were having. The discounts were deep and we were on Cloud 9. We both walked away with multiple dresses and I also got a great jacket you'll see later on. I love this dress because it is the epitome of classic. I'm just missing gloves and a pair of chic sunglasses. The cut, the pattern, the material - perfect. And to top everything off? It has POCKETS! I paired the dress with my favorite pair of Vera Wang peep-toe heels and red nails. I felt very Jackie O. - pulled together, polished, and timeless. My ideal trio of characteristics in life and in fashion. I've been proud of the creativity I've brought to dressing up for work this summer. Our new house has better closets that allow me to see everything I own vs. 50% of it (at our old house, the rest was hidden in the back - I had to press against and squeeze in my clothing to see everything I had). I think the new closets have helped a lot.
The cute combo I am wearing below is a JCPenney/Old Navy creation. Jacket, top and nude flats from JCPenney, skirt from Old Navy. It is an easy breezy look that is both comfortable and professional. I always love the look of a good blazer. They pull everything together, making an otherwise casual look appropriate for the office. |
Archives
March 2022
Categories
All
|