Loop Looks

Cardigan – Target (similar) | Shirt – Gap (similar) | Skirt – The Limited (similar) | Shoes – Bandolino (similar) | Necklace – The Limited (similar)

Total outfit cost = $146

Yes, it’s Friday and yes, I could be wearing jeans. But I’m not. Instead I decided to break out my sequined pencil skirt. Why? Well, I have a luncheon to attend at the Chicago Cultural Center for my job’s Distinguished Service Awards. At first I was super excited thinking that I’m getting some kind of awesome recognition. Turns out it’s just because I’ve been at my job 5 years. Still, it’s an excuse to wear something a little out of the box, don’t you think?

Plus, this afternoon Kim and I are going to trapeze class together! It will be her first time and I’m so excited to share my new-found trapeze love with a friend. That calls for a celebration in my book!

Pairing the fancy sequined skirt with a neutral colored cardigan and nude heels helps keep it from being too bling-y or overwhelming. Just like the last time I wore it, I wanted it to be part of the outfit, not an in-your-face statement piece.

Linking up with AJ for Friday Favorites since if you click the link in the post you can see another way I’ve worn this skirt!

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Cardigan – The Limited (similar) | Dress – Marshall’s (similar & 20% off w/code DPFWE) | Belt – Target | Earrings – Stella & Dot via Poshmark | Shoes – Bandolino (similar) | Necklace – Overstock.com (similar)

Welcome one and all to another Monday morning! Are you looking forward to this week? How about this post? Today I’m going to share with you one of my favorite ways to this lace dress that I’ve come up with yet.

But first we have to talk about the fact that the weather in Chicago is really schizophrenic right now. Hence the fact that I’m back to wearing a coat. At least it’s my spring coat.

Which is from the Gap Outlet YEARS ago, in case you were wondering.

Anyway, I’ve worn my lace dress quite a few other times on the blog and even winterized it twice before (here and here…and for some reason we tend to end up in front of this red door when taking pictures of me in this dress). I didn’t LOVE those two iterations, though, but today’s I like.

Inspired by today’s photo at Two Birds I decided to put my navy cardigan over the lace dress so that I could stay warm without wearing my denim jacket all day.

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And because nothing classes up an outfit like leopard and pearls, I added them both. Overall, I like that the navy cardigan gives the illusion of slimming down the sides of the outfit and also gives it kind of a colorblock effect.

This inspiration photo, though, has me thinking about more casual ways to wear this lace dress this summer. Now, if I only I had places or reasons to wear casual dresses I’d be all set!

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Cardigan – The Limited (similar) | Top – The Limited (similar) | Pants – Ann Taylor (similar in black & white) (similar in navy) | Shoes – Sole Society (similar) |Necklace – JF&A Show (similar)

This week I’ve been feeling rather uninspired. Then I remembered I hadn’t worn these navy lace pants since November and knew I wanted to wear them this week! But then I couldn’t figure out what to wear with them. Purple cardigan? Okay. Lighter purple shirt? Okay. Oh! Purple bubble necklace! Got it!

Still, I think my husband had to take about 100 photos of this outfit to get two that I liked. Not sure if it was the outfit, my (lack of) posing skills, or the angle of where he was standing, but it just wasn’t happening for me.

So these are the two I liked the best. And even then I don’t love them. But, I do love the purple paired with the navy. Such a fun color combination! I’m also hoping to wear these pants a bit more this spring since I bought them right at the tail end of cropped pants season last year. What colors would you like to see with them?

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Cardigan – The Limited (similar) | Blouse – The Limited via Poshmark (similar) | Pants – The Limited (similar) | Shoes – Anne Klein via Marshall’s (similar) | Bracelet – Gorjana

Ever have one of those days when an outfit looks better in your head than it does when you put it on? Yep, that was today. I wanted to participate in today’s Pantone link-up with The Modern Austen and wear something linen colored but my outfit just wasn’t doing it for me. Original plan? This top, untucked, with a linen (or oatmeal, as I prefer to refer to it) colored boyfriend cardigan and the brown pants. But the untucked top and the long cardigan just weren’t doing it for me. So, I tucked in the top. Nope, that just looked weird. So I swapped out the cardigan for the navy one. Better, but not great.

As a last resort I buttoned up the cardigan leaving the tie on the neck of the blouse sticking out. But now I just look lumpy.  Sigh. Win some, lose some.  This will definitely not be one of my favorite outfits of the month.

Speaking of which, Kelsey suggested that I start doing recaps of my outfits each month and tell which ones are my favorite. Since I’m not in the office tomorrow I will be sharing that information with you! The best part, you get to vote on YOUR favorite outfit from April! So, if you’re stopping by from Work Your Wardrobe or the Pantone link-up, I hope you stick around and share your opinion.

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Dress – The Limited (similar) | Cardigan – The Limited (similar) | Scarf – JF&A Show (similar) | Shoes – Nine West (similar)

It’s so cliché to say that a little black dress is a closet staple, but there’s a reason it gets said over and over again. A black sheath dress is incredibly easy to accessorize.  I’ve featured this dress three other times on my blog and it’s also the dress I’m wearing in my blog “logo”!

Wish you had a black sheath dress in your closet?  Here are a few that I think would fit the bill. Yes, the price on these might be sticker shock for some people, but if you think about the cost in terms of cost-per-wear you will get a lot of wear out of a dress like this if you work and it won’t go out of style. So it might be something you want to spend a bit more on. Still can’t stomach the price tag? Check out stores like TJ Maxx, Marshall’s, Ross, Beal’s or Burlington Coat Factory.  All typically carry a large assortment of dresses and I bet you’ll find something!

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Still catching up from being in Phoenix for the first part of the week.  I left this:

And came home to this:

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Which is why for this week’s outfit photo you get office bathroom selfies! I wanted to participate in Bri’s Third Thursday Trend of florals but the only thing I own that has flowers on it is a scarf. This scarf, actually.

I originally had this on with gray dress pants but there was a button incident before I left for work and now those are in the repair pile.  Also, after my trip I had to say goodbye to my pink gingham shirt.

Turns out that this:

Leads to this:

RIP, pink gingham shirt. I will mourn you and then I will replace you. The question is, do I go with this one from J. Crew Factory or do I hunt for one on Poshmark?

At least the pink gingham shirt had one last hurrah. Not only did it get worn on a mechanical bull, it also got to pet a miniature horse!

Finally, many of you know I am a runner. I had many, many friends at the Boston Marathon on Monday and, as I wrote on my fitness blog, my heart broke on Monday. But on Tuesday I went for a run in the dessert and knew we would persevere.

Next week I will be back to the normal posting schedule. Enjoy your weekend!

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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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Cardigan – Nordstrom Rack (similar under $25) | Shirt – Gap (similar under $15) | Pants – Gap (similar under $25) | Boots – Ciao Bella via DSW (similar for $55) | Scarf – JF&A Trade Show (similar under $15)

It’s Friday!!!  Who’s excited???  This girl right here. After a really long week at work I needed to celebrate Friday by wearing something comfy yet put-together for work. I know you can’t really tell from the photo, but these are NOT leggings. They’re actually skinny dress pants. But they’re comfy like jeans so they’re really a win-win situation.

Flat boots, a boyfriend cardigan that covers my butt, and a soft scarf round out my casual Friday outfit. For many people there’s no way this would fly in the office, but I recently read somewhere that you should take your cues from your boss. If your boss wears it then consider it fair game (caveat: your boss wears embroidered sweatshirts. Please don’t wear those to the office). And my boss has worn outfits almost exactly like this so I’m in the clear!

Speaking of being in the clear, I’m still attempting to stick to my goal of giving you all budget-friendly options for items you might need to round out your closet. And in this week’s edition I give you this entire outfit for $128.62 including the boots!

So, if your Friday needs a pick-me-up, throw on a comfy but cute outfit. And if you don’t have one, then use the links above to partake in some retail therapy. I won’t judge.

P.S. I mentioned that I was going to trapeze class last night. Well, I learned a new trick (called a set whip). Here are some photos:

Linking up with Two Thirty Five Designs

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Blouse – Old Navy (similar) | Cardigan – The Limited (similar) | Pants – The Limited (similar) | Shoes – Anne Klein (similar) | Bracelet – Joe Fresh (similar) | Necklace – Groopdealz (similar)

I admit that I purchased this leopard print top from Old Navy last year with very little idea of what I was going to wear it with.  Turns out that leopard is so versatile that I’ve worn it with white, brown, black, pink, green, and purple just to name a few. And just sitting here writing this post I came up with a few more items in my closet that I want to pair it with.  Crazy, huh?

I’ve had people ask me if it’s okay to wear leopard print to the office. Yes, it is. If your office is more conservative I would stick to using leopard as a layering piece and pair it with neutrals like I did here with the burgundy and brown. However, if your office is a little more laid back then you could put it with brighter colors like red or bright pink or make it the focal point of your outfit.

Leopard is definitely one of my favorite patterns so it’s no wonder it’s a go-to pattern in my closet when I feel as though an outfit needs a bit of a pick-me-up.

Linking up with Mix & Match Fashion

Also, because I wanted to link up with Trusty Chucks and Texas Lovebirds here’s an inspiration photo for you.

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Cardigan – The Limited (similar on sale!) | Shirt – Gap (similar) | Pants – The Limited (similar 40% off with code HOTPERK) | Belt – Target | Necklace – JF & A Show (similar) | Shoes – Karen Scott via Macy’s (similar) | Round earrings – Stitch Fix | Star earrings – gift

Apparently there was some concern among my faithful readers when my post didn’t go up this morning that I might have gone to work naked.  I promise you, that did not happen (although now I’m going to get even MORE weird searches, I bet).

Truthfully, my crazy weekend just meant that I didn’t get a chance to take pictures ahead of time and am now doing it on the fly.  And today I had an early meeting in a Chicago suburb so I had to snap pictures and write this post afterward.  On the plus side, I was able to get in the pictures before the snow started coming down.

Also, I know that so many people in the style blog world are tired of the bubble necklace but I’m here to say that people who don’t read style blogs LOVE this thing!  Seriously, a woman at my meeting today gushed over how cute she thought it was.  I love this grayish purple colored one because it almost seems to take on the color of whatever it’s next to.  Plus, it’s just such a huge statement that it adds personality to whatever you’re wearing.

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