Belgian Cardigan

I know you've heard of Belgian chocolate, but did you know that Belgian cardigans are a thing, too!?  Okay, okay, maybe it's not a thing, but I did buy this cardigan in Belgium!

Speaking of cardigans, do you get as excited about cardigan season (a.k.a. fall) as I do?  I just feel more pulled-together and stylish when I can add a layer to my outfit.  And since this cardigan was a souvenir and is a bit more stylized with the swingy fit and shorter sleeves, I'm extra happy to pull it out of the closet on chilly days.

In other news, I finally made plans to get back into blogging about style.  I put together this outfit and wore it on a day when Justin would be able to take a few outfit pictures...and then my camera dies!  I guess that's what happens when you're an absentee blogger and neglect your camera for a few months.  So this is my only picture!

But you're in luck!  If you are looking for other long cardigan inspiration, make sure to head over to The Blended Blog or visit Lana at My New Happy to link-up and peruse lots of cardigan-themed ensembles.

Kellyann. Sarah. Andrea. Deena. Carrie

Lana. Vanessa. Whitney. Abbie. Shelly

The Holiday Series: Christmas Day Outfit

T-MINUS FIVE DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!  And I'm just a little bit excited, can you tell?  Christmas is always my favorite day of the year but the holiday season this year shines a little bit brighter because it's the first my boyfriend and I are spending together.

We are fortunate that three out of the four sets of family we are spending time with this weekend live in the same town.  But that does mean lots of time popping in between houses and the car.  In this snowy Michigan weather, practical shoes are a must and a fun winter hat make a white Christmas a little bit easier.  A sparkly reindeer tee and an evergreen sweater help me to feel festive for the holiday!

Looking for some more Christmas Day outfit inspiration!  Make sure to visit the other ladies participating in The Holiday Series!

Le Bon Macaron

You know those days that are just good for your soul?  The days where the simple pleasures show you just how beautiful life is?  I had one of those days back in January and I'm just now getting the chance to post about it!

On a lovely day off from school, my best friend and I took a day trip to Grand Rapids, Michigan.  We started the day at the cutest coffee and macaron shop, Le Bon Macaron, the site of this photo shoot.  After coffee and sweets, we shopped all afternoon and then had dinner and drinks at Brewery Vivant. Amidst our busy lives, it was just so nice to be able to spend a day together doing fun things and experiencing some great places that Michigan has to offer!

For our date, I wore an outfit I loved!  Plenty of color, a whimsical print and classic lines are features that feel very me.  Evidently, my favorite kind of outfit is sort of reminiscent of a bunch of macarons!

So thank you, my beautiful friend of the past decade, Nicole, for being with me through thick and thin (and for taking these pictures)!  I can't wait for our next day together!

Create28 and New Year Styled: Go-To Winter Look

Oh my goodness, I have so much going on here at Whitney à la mode today!  First of all, today is the kick-off of Create28 Winter 2017!  This month, Carrie and I are challenging you to create 28 new-to-you outfits inspired by the prompts we've created.  We encourage you to pull yourself out of that winter slump that we're all feeling and to be excited about what you're wearing again!  You can find all 28 prompts at the bottom of this post.

To get started, today we want you to wear your Go-To Winter Look!  I've found for the past few years that all I want to wear while it's cold outside is a warm, chunky cardigan and from there, my go-to look was established!

I love the soft color and texture of this marled blue cardigan.  It's the perfect completer piece on a chilly day!  So perfect, in fact, that I wore this exact sweater for my Go-To Winter Look on this very day last year!  And you know what that means!  This cardigan is a perfect candidate for my New Year Styled Challenge with The Blended Blog!

Last year, I let this cardigan be the pop of color in an otherwise neutral outfit and chose to feature texture (lace) over color.  This year, my look is similar featuring a simple combination of skinny jeans, a t-shirt and the cardigan.  But this time I added color with my favorite LuLaRoe Randy shirt and my pink chucks.

Which look is your favorite?  And how have you been styling your looks this year?  Make sure to link-up below with The Blended Blog and me!  And don't forget to take a look at our Create28 prompts!  We hope you'll play along by linking-up with us on Mondays and adding your looks to Instagram with #create28winter17!  Also, make sure to visit Carrie today to see her Go-To Winter Look.

In Other Words, Work Leggings for Style Perspectives

I worried a bit when planning my outfit for this week's Style Perspectives with The Blended Blog.  Each lovely lady of TBB is featuring a leggings and scarf look today.  Why was I worried, you ask?  Because I don't frequently wear leggings unless I'm lounging around with my cat (and you probably don't want to see that look).  I'm certainly not a "leggings aren't pants" kind of a girl because, well, comfort.  But, at least for me, I need to wear a tunic if I'm going to wear leggings outside of my apartment, and I just don't own that many tunics.

Cue ponté pants for the win!  Because ponté pants, in other words, are really work-appropriate leggings, right?!

Do you own a pair of ponté pants?  If not, you should really try a pair!  They are stretchy and comfy like leggings but are thick enough to pass as pants in public.  The pair I have are a few years old but I've heard (from Fran) that these are are a great alternative!

Once I figured out the pants part of the outfit, the rest was easy!  I haven't worn this scarf in awhile but it's one of my favorites.  And blush pink pairs so well with grey so the cardigan was an obvious addition on a chilly morning.

What I'm Wearing:
T-Shirt: Old Navy (exact)
Scarf: Anthropologie (similar, similar)
Cardigan: LOFT (similar, similar)
Ponté Pants: Gap (similar)
Converse: DSW (exact)

Make sure to visit the other ladies of TBB to see how they styled their leggings and scarves today!  And by the way, here are all of our plaid looks from last week!

And how are you styling your leggings and scarf?  Please link-up below so we can be inspired by each other!  We hope you will join us next week with a blazer, jeans, a tank or tee and sneakers!

Create28: Pinned It and Did It

Today's "Pinned It and Did It" attempt could be considered a Pinterest fail.  My outfit didn't quite turn-out like the photo in the pin.  However, in a pinch, I took what I had in my closet and I made it work.  I think I still pulled-off the easy, comfy vibe from the inspiration photo so I'm going to consider it a win!

I initially had on a light brown, cable knit cardigan but it was a little too fitted to create the look I wanted.  This one is super comfortable so it's the first one I grabbed as I was heading out the door to meet my mom for a day of shopping.

What have you been pinning lately?

What I'm Wearing:

Shirt: Dressbarn (similar)

Cardigan: LOFT (similar, similar)

Jeans: American Eagle (exact)

Purse: Nordstrom Rack (similar, similar)

Converse: DSW (exact)

And now it's time to see your Create28 looks!

Create28: Favorite Winter Look

You guys, where have the last few months gone?!  It's already time for the next seasonal round of Create28!  This time, Carrie, Casey and I will be joined by some of our blogging friends to show you 28 brand new looks inspired by our daily prompts.  We hope that you will join in the fun by linking-up your looks on Mondays or by posting pictures to Instagram (#create28winterlooks).  Here's a look at what we have coming-up this week:

When deciding what my go-to look has been this winter, I thought about what I've been reaching for in my closet the most frequently.  My most-worn items have definitely been thick, over-sized cardigans!

One of these cozy little numbers with skinny jeans, camp socks and booties have been my uniform lately!  So much so that you will see similar combinations for a few other prompts this month!

A lot of the cardigans that I have been drawn to are in soft, neutral tones like these.  bb dakota sweaters just seem to have the perfect drape to them, don't you think?

What's your favorite look lately?

What I'm Wearing:

Shirt: LOFT (similar, similar)

Cardigan: Gap Outlet (similar, similar)

Necklace: Raw Sugar Sunday (exact) <--Can't say enough about this Etsy shop!

Jeans: American Eagle (exact)

Socks: L.L. Bean (exact)

Booties: Kohl's (similar)

Where I'm linking-up!

And now it's time for that Lovely Little à la Mode Link-Up!

Create28: Aztec Pattern

I think I might have a thing for blush pink Aztec print.  But seriously, what could be better than a cute print in my favorite color?  ...Especially when it comes in cozy pieces like that scarf and this over-sized cardigan!

Really though, is this called Aztec print, southwestern print (like I called it last year), or something else?  In any case, I love it and I had been on the hunt for big, chunky cardigan in this print for over a year.  It's one of those pieces that I would see on other girls but just couldn't find the perfect one for my closet.  But then I found SheIn with cute, trendy pieces for the right price and this cozy sweater was delivered to my doorstep!

I do want to be honest about my experience with Shein, though.  While I love this cardigan, I was a bit disappointed with the company.  I ordered three pieces and sent two back because they felt as cheap as they had cost.  On top of that, the return process seemed a bit shady and return shipping wasn't free (a luxury that I have become used to).  I suppose you get what you pay for!

But let's get back to the outfit details!  My first inclination was to wear this cardigan over skinny jeans with a basic tee and flat booties.  But since Create28: Fall Looks is about pushing ourselves to be creative, I decided to try the chunky cardigan with a basic dress and all black except for my booties.  And I love the way the look turned-out...although I'm already looking forward to that cardigan and skinny jean combination!

You guys, we are almost done with another month of Create28!  Can you believe it?  I'm loving the looks that you are posting on Instagram (#Create28FallLooks) and I'm looking forward to another Monday link-up tomorrow where Carrie, Casey and I will each be featuring a "Pinned It and Did It" look!

What I'm Wearing:

Dress: Old Navy (similar)

Cardigan: SheIn (similar, similar)

Necklace: LOFT (similar, similar)

Tights: Target (similar)

Booties: Old Navy (similar)

Blogging Besties: Sweater Dress + An Announcement

No, no...you aren't going crazy.  I did write two posts about the same outfit today!  I was able to fulfill the requirements of both Create28: Fall Looks and Blogging Besties with one ensemble!  However, I have lots to say about both challenges so I decided to post about each separately.  You are currently reading my post about Blogging Besties

Alex looked so cozy and ready for fall last week in her transitional outfit featuring a scarf and riding boots!

As much as I love scarves and riding boots, I knew that I had to pass-on Alex's sweater dress!  I used to have so many sweater dresses but I'm not quite sure what happened to them over the years.  I think I need to add some more to my collection because they are a combination of two of my favorite things: cozy fabrics + dresses!

So, if you are still playing along, here are the choices of items to pass on for next week: a sweater dress, mixed media, lace, stripes, a cardigan, colored tights, emerald or wedge booties!

But before you go, Alex and I have a big announcement to make!  We were pretty bummed last week to announce that we were closing our weekly link-ups.  But this week things are looking up because we are adding two fabulous ladies to our Blogging Besties rotation!  Ladies, meet Maricel and Selah!

So next week will be as usual, Alex will pass-on an item from my look.  But after that, look out for Maricel to pass-on a look from Alex, Selah will follow Maricel, and I'll be back after Selah!

Previous Editions of Blogging Besties

Featured On:

Whitney à la mode

Undergraduate Style
My Closet Catalogue
A Bibliophile's Style

What I'm Wearing:

Dress: ASOS (similar, similar)

Cardigan: Gift (similar, similar)

Tights: Anthropologie (similar, similar)

Booties: DSW (exact)

Where I'm linking-up!

Create28: Tights

No, no...you aren't going crazy.  I did write two posts about the same outfit today!  I was able to fulfill the requirements of both Create28: Fall Looks and Blogging Besties with one ensemble!  However, I have lots to say about both challenges so I decided to post about each separately.  You are currently reading my post about Create28!

Ahhh tights season, how I love you!  If you've spent any amount of time visiting Whitney à la mode you may have noticed that I'm most frequently found donning a skirt or a dress.  I really struggle finding pants that fit and I find skirts and dresses to be more comfortable, anyway.  Plus tights make skirts and dresses just that much better!  Not only can you change-up your look with different colored and patterned tights, but tights allow you to wear skirts that are just a wee bit short on their own!

While I could talk about the merits of tights all day long, I decided to focus on colored tights today because I know that I used to struggle with how to wear them!  I am by no means an expert or the most stylish colored tights wearer, but here are some tips that I've found help me to feel good about wearing colored tights!  And for the sake of this post, I'm considering colored tights to be anything except for black and brown.

For me, the colored tights struggle was always about finding footwear that didn't look funny stuck on the end of a pair of colorful legs.  The easiest way I've found to pair colored tights with shoes is to go for a monochromatic look.  Add a pair of boots or flats in the same color as your tights and you have a longer, not-so-awkward look!

My other favorite way to wear colored tights is with boots or booties!  If you are feeling really nervous about trying colored tights, I suggest a pair of riding boots because then you are really only showing a tiny bit of the tights!

And then there's this look.  But I already told you how much I love moccasins!

So tell me, are you brave enough to try a pair of colored tights?  And let's see all of your beautiful tights looks from today (#Create28FallLooks)!

What I'm Wearing:

Dress: ASOS (similar, similar)

Cardigan: Gift (similar, similar)

Tights: Anthropologie (similar, similar)

Booties: DSW (exact)