Loop Looks

Sweater – Gap (similar) | Shirt – J. Crew (similar) | Pants – Gap (similar) | Boots – Bandolino via 6pm.com (similar) | Bracelet – gift (similar)

When I saw Laura wear her cropped red pants with boots and a sweater I knew I wanted to recreate the outfit with items in my own closet.  Sadly, after I put it on and took pictures I realized that marathon training (and my subsequent desire to EAT ALL THE THINGS) has not been kind to me.  Plus, it’s been awhile since I wore these pants and now they’re a little too tight in certain areas.  I ended up swapping out the crewneck sweater for a long oatmeal colored cardigan so I would feel less exposed.

But the point of this post is not to talk about pants that are a tad too small.  Nope, it’s to talk about the many ways I’ve worn these pants since “Pants” are the topic of the second day of 5 Days, 5 Ways.  Actually, this post is kind of a cop-out because I did a past post showing 9 different ways I’ve worn these red pants!

Still, other than a quickie photo from last year’s trip to New York City this is the first time I’ve showcased these pants for cold weather wear.  See, if your cropped pants are narrow enough at the ankle you can wear them all year round by putting boots over them!  Pretty neat, huh?

Want your own cropped red pants?  Here are a few that might fit the bill!

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Jacket – J. Crew via ebay (similar) | Blouse – Gap (similar) | Jeans – The Limited (similar) | Boots – DSW (similar) | Necklace – NYC (similar)

Another casual-ish outfit for you today since I’m still off work and traveling home from visiting friends. However, I had two great reasons to take photos for today. The first, it’s Inspiration Monday and Two Birds was extoling the virtues of dressing up a plain white shirt with this inspiration photo.

Source

I bought this shirt over a year ago from the Gap.  Originally it was ridiculously overpriced for a polyester white blouse with a little bit of shoulder detail, but it turns out I’ve worn it so often that even if I had paid full price for it (I didn’t) I would have definitely gotten my monies worth.  Which is why I also chose to feature it today as part of the 5 Days, 5 Ways link-up with Franish and Along the Lines of Style since today’s topic is “Tops”.

As you can see, this blouse works with almost everything in my closet and across all seasons.  A white shirt that can be dressed up or down and can be worn untucked or tucked in turned out to be a major work horse in my wardrobe.

Want one of your own?  Here are a few options that I think would work.

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First thing’s first: have you taken the one year anniversary reader survey yet??

Blazer – J. Crew | Striped top – The Limited | Chambray top – Old Navy (similar) | Jeans – The Limited | Boots – Bandolino (similar) | Necklace – JF&A Show (similar)

In the apartment building where my husband and I live there are three floors of parking.  Jason and I park our car on the second floor.  But after taking outfit photos there last week we decided to check out the third floor to see if there was anything interesting there.  We felt like parking structure interlopers trespassing on floor three!  Of course we weren’t really trespassing.

Turns out that apparently floor three is where all the people with swanky vehicles park.  There were at least two Porsches, a big honkin’ Harley, a Pontiac GTO and this Ducati.  I don’t know much about motorcycles but my husband informed me that a Ducati is an expensive bike.  I just thought it made a good backdrop to my incredibly preppy outfit.

This outfit is also a copy of a photo that has been floating around Pinterest for awhile.

I have no idea what the original source of this photo is (I even used Google Image Search to try and figure it out).  But I do know that many, many people have pinned it or blogged it so my outfit isn’t all that original.  But I’m down with that.  I think it’s great to see different people and different body types copy an outfit so you can see what it looks like on everyone.  And, of course, unless you have the EXACT same pieces as the original outfit you’re going to put your own spin on it.  And that’s the whole fun of using a photo to get inspired.

I never would have worn this many layers before seeing this photo but now that I have it’s a look I’m enjoying.  Especially in the winter when layers are key to keeping warm!

Linking up with 235 Designs | Texas Lovebirds | Long Distance Loving

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Blazer – The Limited (similar) | Turtleneck – Express (similar) | Jeans – The Limited (similar) | Boots – DSW (similar) | Necklace – store in NYC (similar)

Before I had a style blog, before I even knew what Pinterest was, I saved an image on my computer from the Banana Republic website.  I loved the preppy, equestrian vibe it had going on.   I even sent the picture to another style blogger I read at the time to see if she would be willing to show me how to interpret it with items that didn’t require dropping a whole paycheck at Banana Republic.  She told me she didn’t wear much red and that was that.

I recently re-discovered this image saved on my computer and THEN I learned you can upload photos to Pinterest!  That they don’t have to already be on another website to “pin” them.  Look, I may be book smart but I’m still learning about all these new-fangled Internet things.

Anyway, while perusing my pins for something to recreate for today’s Copycats Friday from Frills for Thrills I saw this pin and the light bulb went off.  I now have all those items!  In fact, I’ve had the gray blazer since September and all the other items for much longer but this week was when they finally all came together in my head.

Which is why you should totally save images of outfits that catch your eye even if you don’t have the items to recreate them at that exact moment!

Also linking up with: Two Thirty Five Designs | Texas Lovebirds | Modly Chic

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Cardigan – Target (similar)| Blouse – Gap | Pants – Gap | Scarf – San Francisco Chinatown (similar) | Necklace – Store in NYC (similar)| Boots – Bandolino via 6pm.com (similar)

Welcome to another Monday installment of Inspiration Monday from Two Birds!

Lauren Conrad (pictured above) tends to get emulated a lot in style circles.  The outfit for today isn’t anything particularly special.  Boots, leggings, a big sweater, and a scarf but she always manages to make whatever she puts on super-chic, am I right?

This outfit is perfect for traipsing about on the weekend but not so perfect for a Monday morning in the office.  So, I broke a few rules.  I went a little bit more casual than I normally would for a Monday.  I like to think the heel on the boots dresses it up a notch.  And speaking of the boots, I stuck with brown shoes with black pants.

Although, black and brown is okay now, so it’s not really breaking a rule anymore.

Actually, when you look at it, they’re all neutral colors so why not wear them together?

P.S.  Huge thanks to this week’s guest photographer, Molly!

P.P.S.  Like my scarf?  Pretty sure you’ll be able to pick up the exact same one at the next JF&A Show.  If you’re in the Chicago area mark your calendars for the afternoon of December 2nd.  I’ll be leading an outing to the show.

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Sweater – Old Navy | Jeans – AG Goldschmeid via Bloomingdale’s | Belt – Target | Boots – DSW | Bracelets – Joe Fresh (gift) | Scarf – Street Vendor in New York City

Let’s see.  My boss is out today.  My only meeting is with IT people who dress casual every day anyway.  I’m leaving work at noon to get ready for a girl’s weekend at the ZOOMA Half Marathon.

Weekend casual at work?  You bet.

I’ve also been playing around with ways to keep wearing my white jeans this fall.  Pairing them with a sweater, scarf and boots keeps them from looking too much like spring or summer.  The more wear you can get out of an item the better investment it is.  No sense in hiding something away in your closet for half the year if you can make it work for multiple season!

Plus, it’s totally cool these days to wear white after Labor Day.

So, the next time you have the opportunity break a few rules!

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Dress – Stitch Fix | Camisole – The Limited | Necklace – JF&A Trade Show | Belt – The Limited | Boots – Bandolino via 6pm.com

Busy, busy day today.  I snapped this photo on my commute to a meeting and just now have the free time to post it!  But I did give everyone a little tease on Facebook and Twitter.

This dress is perfect for a busy day because it’s quite comfy and doesn’t need a lot of embellishments to make you look put together.  That’s the great thing about a printed dress.  Thrown on some simple accessories and you’re good to go.

And just so you don’t think I left the house without a jacket today, here’s what I actually looked like during my commute.

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Dress – Stitch Fix | Camisole – The Limited | Belt – The Limited | Earrings – The Limited | Necklace – NY & Co | Tights – Target | Boots – Bandolino via 6pm.com

Although I’m sure almost everyone in Chicago is lamenting the return of unseasonably cool temperatures, I actually welcomed the opportunity to wear my new dress from Stitch Fix!  It has a very “fall” feel to it so since our weather is more fall-like than summer-like I decided to dress the part.

When you get a new item in your closet do you wear it right away or do you hang onto it for awhile?

I much prefer to be able to wear my new items ASAP which is why I was excited to be able to wear this dress within a few days of getting it!

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Scarf – NYC Street vendor

Denim shirt – Target

Cardigan – Lucky Brand

Blazer – The Limited

Jeans – The Limited

Boots – DSW

Purse – Kate Spade

Our last day in New York!   We spent the morning running in Central Park and the rest of the day walking all over Midtown.  I dressed much more appropriately for the gray, drizzly, chilly weather and was very happy.

This outfit went with me to lunch in Times Square, to see Rockefeller Plaza, the Empire State building, Grand Central Station, and, obviously, the New York Public Library among many other sights.

We packed a lot into the few days we had and I think I got a great taste of NYC.

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Necklace – A gift from my friend Kim

Shirt – Old Navy

Blazer – Old Navy

Jeans – The Limited

Boots – DSW

Ahhh, Friday.  The bane of my existence.  No, not really.  I’m just not very good at putting together “casual” outfits that still look professional.  This was this Friday’s attempt.

I almost bought another pair of lighter brown boots this morning (they were on sale for $30) but they only had a 6.5 and a 7.5 and I wear a 7.  And do I REALLY need two pairs of brown boots??

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