Loop Looks

So, I know it’s spring in Chicago and for many of us our thoughts are turning towards sandals and open-toed shoes. But for anyone who is dealing with cooler temperatures this post is for you!

A reader recently contacted me and asked for help with a pair of ankle boots she just bought.

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Here’s what she had to say:

My problem: So the Nine West store here had booties on sale. I loved a pair but as soon as I opened the shoebox at home, I started freaking out. Although I appreciate looking a few inches taller, these booties scare me to death LOL. What kind of outfit can I wear them with?

I bought my first pair of ankle boots in fall 2011.

Admittedly, I didn’t know what to wear with them, either! But it turned out that they are quite a staple in my wardrobe now. So here are my suggestions on how to wear ankle boots.

1. Putting them with black tights or even sheer black textured tights/nylons will help ease you into wearing ankle boots with skirts and dresses.

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2. If you like the look of bare legs with booties, you could wear them with a skirt and no tights.

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3. Wear jeans or pants over the top of the booties.

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4. Tuck skinny jeans into them or roll the bottom of the jeans up so they hit the top of the booties.

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Want more ideas? I have to give a shout-out to Katie from Alaskan Weredork who does the best job I’ve seen of wearing her many pairs of ankle boots with almost any outfit you can imagine.

Do you have ankle boots? How would you wear them?

Don’t forget you can always submit your own questions for You Pick Wednesday!

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Dress – Nordstrom Rack (similar) | Cardigan – The Limited (similar) | Booties – Liz Claiborne via DSW (similar)

Today’s 5 Days, 5 Ways challenge is…dresses! Although, as it turns out, I don’t think I’ve worn the same dress five times in five different ways. Although, I’ve worn a lot of my dresses two or three different ways. So, I thought I’d give you a taste of how I transform summer dresses into cooler weather dresses in today’s post.

Today’s outfit was inspired by this pin which I saved when I saw it and immediately realized, hey, I have a dress that color and a cardigan that color! Why did I never think to put the two of them together?

Wearing a summer dress in the winter is actually pretty easy.  Wear a shirt underneath, wear a cardigan or sweater over, or throw on a blazer. Add tights and boots or closed toe shoes and you’re done!  Double the wardrobe, half the cost.

Want to see more ways I’ve worn dresses? I’ve tried to tag all of them here.

Also linking with Texas Lovebirds, Frills for Thrills and Vodka Infused Lemonade

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Jacket – Old Navy via Threadflip (similar) | Dress – Marshall’s (similar) | Tights- Banana Republic (similar) | Booties – Liz Claiborne via DSW (similar) | Necklace – Jeans & A Cute Top Shop (similar) | Earrings – The Limited

Today’s Inspiration Monday photo just screams spring.  A lace dress, a colorful blazer and adorable strappy shoes? Spring. Sadly, it’s still too chilly here for bare legs and strappy shoes so I did my best to winterize my lace dress with some additional inspiration from Katie.

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Still, there’s something about this outfit I’m not loving.  Maybe I should have worn the jacket open and belted the dress underneath? Maybe I just like the look of a lace dress with black tights better on other people?  Thoughts?

Would you wear either of these outfits?

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Blazer – The Limited (similar under $20) | Sweater – Old Navy (similar under $30) | Collared Shirt – TJ Maxx (similar under $30) | Pants – Ann Taylor (similar under $30) | Booties – Liz Claiborne via DSW (similar) | Necklace – Macy’s (similar under $30)

Today’s Inspiration Monday photo should have been easy.  Skinny pants and a polka dot sweater?  Polka dot sweaters have been everywhere this past season so of course I have one in my closet.

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 Of course, Hilary Duff’s is ADORABLE while mine required a bit of finagling.  See, mine is actually short sleeved. So in order to give it some more interest under the blazer I added the collared button-up white shirt. I like that the sweater gives is a slightly casual vibe while the button-up and the blazer make it definitely office appropriate. And I incorporated the black and gray color scheme which promptly drove my photograph-taking husband nuts. “Can’t you wear something with color? Now we need to find a colorful background!” Mission? Accomplished.

Do you own a polka dot sweater? Don’t you love the one in the inspiration photo?

P.S. If you bought all the items linked to above (minus the shoes), your total outfit cost would be $122.41 (excluding tax and shipping). And the blazer, black pants, and collared shirt would become closet staples so you’d definitely get your money’s worth!

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Blazer – The Limited (similar, use code HOTPERK for 40% off) | Top – The Limited (similar) | Skirt – The Limited (similar) | Booties – Liz Claiborne via DSW (similar) | Necklace – The Limited (similar)

Full disclosure: I am working from my couch today.  I had an amazing weekend full of a tour at Half Acre brewery, running my fastest 5K race time ever, and an awesome Oscar’s party hosted by the Chicago Blogger Network (full post on Wednesday). I need a day to recover.  But, I already had this outfit planned for Inspiration Monday.  Plus, my hair is straightened so I wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to take some pics.

Today’s Inspiration Monday involved a full skirt and a jacket as worn by one of the Olsen sisters.

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You may notice that any time an inspiration photo features a full skirt I wear this purple pleated one.  That’s because it’s the only full skirt I own.  I definitely gravitate towards the pencil skirt silhouette but ever so often it’s nice to break out of the box.

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Blouse – Macy’s (similar) | Pants – LOFT (similar) | Belt – Target | Booties – Liz Claiborne via DSW (similar) | Necklace – Macy’s (similar)

This outfit looks very spring-y to my eye what with the colored pants and the white top.  You’d never guess it was 20 degrees F outside.  And windy. And my poor husband was taking these photos and freezing his fingers off.  Ah, the sacrifices we make.

I suppose I could have made this colored pants look even more winter appropriate but after I saw the inspiration photo I knew I wanted to wear this blouse.

Lauren Conrad

Sure, Lauren’s blouse doesn’t have any black on it, but I knew that my blouse would have enough billowiness to drape the way I wanted it to.  To make this even more Chicago-winter appropriate I’d probably throw a black cardigan on over the top to help stay warm.

And aren’t her ankle boots adorable?  Now I’m inspired to wear these blue pants with my own tan ankle boots in the future.  See, multiple ideas from one outfit!  Score!

Would you wear Lauren Conrad’s outfit?  How would you interpret it with your own items?

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Jacket – Express via Poshmark (similar) | Blouse – Macy’s (similar) | Pants – Gap | Booties – Liz Claiborne via DSW (similar) | Bracelet – JF&A Tradeshow | Necklace – Gift | Watch – Fossil

Welcome back to the real world!  Or, at least, back to work for those of us who have been off for the Thanksgiving holiday.  Going back to work is always such a rude awakening after several days off which is why I’m thrilled that Mondays mean Inspiration Monday from Two Birds!  Usually this makes it easy to figure out what to wear.  Although, I admit, I struggled a bit with this week’s ultra casual choice of plaid and denim.

Mary Kate Olsen

Which means you’re probably looking at my black and white outfit and wondering how in the world the two are related.  Well, here’s how:  oversized shirt over tight pants?  Yep.  Booties?  Yep.  A black accessory (mine’s in the form of a jacket)?  Yep.  Sunglasses?  Got ‘em.

There you go.  One inspired outfit that looks nothing like the original.

And with that out of the way, how about I announce the winner of the $50 Visa Gift Card giveaway?

Thanks to all of you, Loop Looks got over 200 page views for 5 days out of the past two weeks.  Which means that anyone who left at least two comments over the past two weeks gets one entry per comment into the drawing.  And everyone who likes Loop Looks on Facebook gets an additional entry.  So….drumroll please….

The winner is: Katie at An Alaskan Weredork: A Style Diary!

Hooray, Katie!  I’ll be contacting you shortly to get you your prize.

Thanks to everyone who helped spread the word about Loop Looks.  Keep it up!

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White shirt – The Limited | Sweater – Gap (similar)| Skirt – NY & Co (similar)| Necklace – The Limited (similar)| Booties – Liz Claiborne via DSW (similar)

Just because it’s cold and dreary outside doesn’t mean you have to put your bright colors in the back of your closet.  Pairing a bright skirt with black and gray tones down the look and keeps it from shouting “SPRING”!

Also, here’s a hint:  wearing a cotton pencil skirt with tights is not the best idea.  I had to purchase my very first slip to wear with this skirt and these tights to keep the skirt from riding up like crazy.

When you play around in your closet you’re bound to discover that the right undergarments are key to making certain pieces work together.  And in this case if a $9 slip from Target can help me keep wearing this skirt into the winter then I’m all for it.

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Dress – BCBG Outlet | Blazer – The Limited | Necklace – The Limited | Tights – Banana Republic | Booties – Liz Claiborne via DSW

Another Inspiration Monday is here and another week of me wishing I could dress exactly like the inspiration photo.

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Of course, who doesn’t want to dress like one of the Middleton sisters?

I don’t have a moto jacket yet.  So I went with a blazer.  I don’t have a colorful sheath dress so I went with my blue dress that has a slightly fuller skirt.  And since the high today is only in the mid-50s I put on tights with my booties.

But I think Pippa’s look is beautiful and classic with a bit of an edge to it with the leather and the booties and the bit of animal print in her clutch.  I will be saving this inspiration photo for sure.

Would you wear Pippa’s outfit? How would you interpret it?

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Blazer – Forever 21 | Sweater – Old Navy | Pants – Gap | Booties – Liz Claiborne via DSW

It’s Monday and you know what that means!  Another Inspiration Monday from Two Birds Boutique!

The outfit they chose for today’s inspiration is absolutely adorable.  I wish I could have worn an exact copy of it to work.

Rachel Bilson

Sadly, jeans on Mondays are frowned upon so I had to wear something else.  Also, I don’t have an navy blazer.  Yet.

So, I took my cues from the individual pieces of the outfit. A gray sweater with a design on it.  A blazer in the blue family.  And, yes, I have on ankle boots although because they blend into my pants it’s difficult to tell.

However, I love Rachel’s look so much that it’s definitely going to stay on my Outfit Inspiration board for a future casual outfit look this fall and winter.

Would you wear Rachel’s outfit?  How would you interpret it?

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