Floral Blazer

Floral Blazer 9

This past weekend my older sister, her fiance and my parents were in town to take care of some wedding tasks. The wedding is taking place in downtown Minneapolis in October, so they get to travel here to get everything planned. I LOVE it because that means I don’t have to travel and I still get to see my family more this year. Win, win WIN! Anyway, to run errands such as choosing the groom’s tuxedo, taking a look at the chapel and wedding photo opportunities (and grabbing a mid afternoon beer), I thought it would be a great time to wear (and show off) my new floral blazer. I paired it with plain white t-shirt (borrowed from my boyfriend), my teal skinny jeans and mint pumps. With some jewelry accents, like my favorite Lia Sophia bracelets and this gorgeous mint chain link bracelet from Sira & Mara, everything felt just right!

Do you own a floral blazer? How would you style it? I am definitely trying to figure out new ways to wear it, but I think it will be versatile piece.

Floral Blazer 8 [Read more...]

Head to Toe: Casual Style

10DollarMall

I am very excited to share my first post featuring items from 10DollarMall.com. As you might have guessed, 10DollarMall.com is a online clothing and accessory store with items $10 or under (items for women, juniors, children and men). I am excited to collaborate with 10DollarMall.com because I believe that you don’t have to spend a lot to look great and it is nice to know there is a place out there where everything is $10 or under. 10DollarMall.com graciously gave me a gift card to pick out some items to style and I look forward to sharing future outfit posts with you too!

10dollarmall

This casual look is totally inspired by something I saw off the streets of London last summer!  This outfit was perfect yesterday for hanging out with the family and going about my usual errand-running Sunday. It will also be great in the future for shopping or happy hours/drinks with friends. I LOVE this bright orange blouse, it will be a great addition to my wardrobe as I can pair it with cardigans and blazers for work and scarves or layered necklaces for casual style. These leggings are MY NEW FAVORITE! They are high quality and better than my favorite faux leather leggings that I have been obsessed with for the past few years. I mean they cover up all of the flaws of the lower part of my body, who doesn’t love that? And these glitter oxfords?! How cute are they? Just the perfect touch to this outfit.

So here’s the honest deal for those of you interested in shopping here. Although I wouldn’t make this my first store to shop at if I was building a professional work wardrobe, it  has some amazing steals and beautiful pieces (including this blouse that I can and WILL be wearing to the office with a blazer or cardigan).  I found that it has amazing blouses that I would wear to work and has pants, leggings, tops and dresses I would definitely wear on the weekends, week nights to happy hour or when I travel.  The clothing is fairly high quality and I imagine these pieces will last me awhile. If you go there you will find a great variety of styles, colors and sizes at a great price! I had a hard time choosing from their vast selection, I mean it is worth going through every page to see everything they have.

10DollarMall_10

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Vintage Loving

vintage5

You don’t have to spend a lot on your clothes. I LOVE thrifting and finding great vintage finds for two reasons. 1) You can easily find unique pieces that everyone and their mother won’t have 2) Quality items at a LOW price

vintage

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Class Classics

It’s official… my little sister starts college today! I am so excited for her (and very jealous haha) and hope she has a wonderful first day at Iowa State.  This weekend I went back to some of the classic pieces I would wear to class end of August and throughout fall.  These included flouncy skirts, casual tops and a scarf, statement necklace or hair pieces, and of course a pair of sunglasses!  Simple, smart pieces always made it easy for me to get ready in the morning.  Anyway, clearly not wearing these pieces to class anymore, but that doesn’t mean I can’t wear them on the weekends! Yesterday I paired my mustard yellow casual top with my red flouncy skirt, a leo print scarf and wedges for an easy-going Sunday. Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

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Summertime Wishes

Summer, Summer, Summertime

Oh summer, how ready I am for you and your warm days by the pool, long walks and grilling out with friends and family. Oh summer, how I wish I had all of these items to enjoy your heat waves in! Oh summer, wouldn’t it be great if I had this amazing preppy striped dress, white distressed jeans, peach shorts and gingham swimsuit? Yes, yes it would be great!

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Lilac Jungle

Isn’t it funny how somedays you have a lot to say about your outfit because the pieces tell a story and other days it is literally just: this is what I threw on and I liked the way it looked? Well I hope you don’t mind that I want to share a lot of information about my experience with my clothes (like yesterday’s coral dress post) and somedays it really is pretty simple.  One of my goals for the new year to help spice up what I wear to work is to mix prints and colors together.

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Floral Your Heart

Clothing is often like photographs… they bring back memories and take you back to a place and time that maybe you have not thought about in awhile.  This outfit is what I wore five years ago on the trip home from my five month study abroad experience in England and Wales.

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Snakeskin Details

With the warmer temperatures, my straw fedora and black strap wedges have been the first items to make an appearance from my spring & summer wardrobe.  Today’s snakeskin is all in the details… a vintage gold shimmer snakeskin scarf and a sequin, snakeskin clutch.  With a pair of boyfriend jeans and a sheer nude blouse, this outfit’s staples could easily become my spring uniform for casual Fridays and the weekends.

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Casual Outings

Besides casual Fridays at work, I tend to dress down on the weekends since I tend to wear skirts all week long (although there is nothing better than throwing on a dress and a pair of flats for weekend wear as well!) Last Friday I met up with one of my girlfriends at Cowboy Jacks for some after-work drinks and to enjoy the gorgeous weather! I could not believe I was sitting outside in a t-shirt in Minnesota on March 16! It is just insane, but no complaints… I’m loving it! Anyway, one of my easiest go-tos for casual and weekend wear is a plain tee, fringed, printed scarf, dangly earrings (to dress it up a bit) and my aviators! This time I was wearing my newest jewelry investment… a beautiful pair of gold earrings from JewelMint!

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All Black On, Blacked Out Shades

Since its November in Minnesota, dressing for warmth isn’t an option, it’s a must. It can be hard to transition from beautiful fall days to temperatures close to zero, but there are plenty of ways to look put together and stay warm without looking too bulky. Pleather or leather leggings are not only warm, but extremely comfortable and chic. I can literally wear them out anytime of the year, but they are especially great for cold nights out in Minneapolis and here they are my favorite part of this outfit. (Oh, and I also love the sequins on this cluth!)

Black Snake Skin Pleather Leggings: Express; Ruffle Tank: Charlotte Russe; Black Blazer: Express; Black Sequin Clutch: Forever 21; Skinny Gray Belt: Ann Taylor Loft; Snake Skin Heels: Steve Madden; Red  Lipstick: “Red Muse” Rouge Volupt No. 17 Yves Saint Laurent

Get the LOOK

Knit jacket
$52 - meetmark.com

Olsenboye chiffon pants
$25 - jcpenney.com

Dollhouse platform shoes
$33 - dsw.com

Forever21 clutch hand bag
$16 - forever21.com

ASOS buckle belt
$8.18 - asos.com

Forever21 aviator shades
$5.80 - forever21.com

Union Red No.17
$30 - burberry.com

 

“DO” the LOOK

Black Pleather/Leather Leggings: If you don’t own any, this look still works well with black skinny jeans or dark-wash skinny jeans.

Ruffle Tank: Any black tank top would work, as long as it can be belted properly to focus in on the narrowest part of your body. A colored tank could also work here to add more pop or to incorporate your own personal style.

Black Blazer: *INVESTMENT PIECE* I have owned this black blazer for over six years and have worn it for multiple occasions, including casual daytime wear to dressing up for a New Year’s Eve party. You could wear a cardigan or some type of over shirt as well, but make sure it has structure, that’s what pulls the look together.

Gray/Metallic Skinny Belt: This is another place where a color could be incorporated if you have colored skinny belts. A skinny belt is suggested because there is so much else going on with the ruffles, the structure of the jacket and the snake skin. A big/wide belt could work, but might overwhelm the mix.

Snake Skin Heels: Basically any pair of neutral, dark or colored classic pumps or strappy heels would be great. I always make the shoes I wear about me and my personal style. I personally believe shoes are the easiest way to have fun and be you, so wear a pair that screams YOU!

Red Lipstick: All black allows for extreme makeup looks, whether its bright eye shadows or lipstick. If you don’t own red lipstick, try other shades such as a rich berry or classic pink. Otherwise playing up your eyes with bright blue, purple or teal shadow and a nude or toned down color lip would also look great.