Blogging Besties: Green-Hued Skirt

Selah must have known how much I would love this outfit of hers when she posted it last week:

I mean, do you remember this post?  Obviously I could have just recreated Selah's entire look and I would have loved it!  But in an attempt to not be completely repetitive, I decided to pass-on my favorite skirt.

Like Selah, I chose patterned top to pair with my skirt but instead of stripes I went with a subtle animal print in greys.  A statement pearl necklace and a bit more grey completed a comfy yet put-together outfit that I wore to one of my best friend's baby showers!

And I can't believe that this purse is finally making its first blog appearance!  Late this summer I was on the hunt for a quality, mustard cross-body purse.  But alas, instead of finding a yellow bag, I fell in love with this beautiful little burgundy number.  I absolutely adore the rich color and the glossy leather.  The quality is amazing and I would highly recommend checking-out some of the other gorgeous Liebeskind leather goods.  And I just have to mention that Shopbop has determined burgundy bags to be one of fall 2015's biggest trends!  (Not that I need another, but I kind of love the third one in).

Alright Alex, your choices for items to pass-on next week are a (subtle) animal print, a sweater, a (green-hued) skirt, grey, tights and ballet flats!

Previous Editions of Blogging Besties

Featured On:

Whitney à la mode

Undergraduate Style
My Closet Catalogue
A Bibliophile's Style

What I'm Wearing:

Sweater: c/o Le Tote (exact)

Necklace: Amazon (exact)
Skirt: Old Navy (similar, similar)

Tights: Anthropologie (similar)

Flats: Etsy

Where I'm linking-up!

Another Monday + Link-Up

Well, it's Monday again, friends!  I'm sure I'm not the only one that feels like Thanksgiving weekend just flew by!  I had lofty goals of checking-off to-do lists, spending quality time with loved ones and passing much of the time lounging about.  Do I feel like I got enough of any one of these things?  Of course not!

Why is it that time seems to fly the fastest around the holidays?  This is my absolute favorite time of the year and I wish that the clock would quit spinning so that I could truly enjoy what this season has to offer.

But here we are, back to the daily grind.  In honor of that daily grind, I'm featuring a pretty typical teaching outfit for me!

To me, the key to a good teaching outfit is comfort and fit!  When you are at the front of a classroom, you have about thirty pairs of eyes on you at any given time.  It's super important to not be tugging at your clothes or worried that something isn't covered-up properly.

Cute colored pants and a top with a bit of detailing are easy pieces to mix and match for a put-together teaching look.

My final "must have" for a day of teaching is a warm layer.  I teach in an old building with really inconsistent heat so my denim jacket goes on and off several times a day depending on the temperature.

What does a typical work outfit look like for you?

What I'm Wearing:

Top: J.Crew Factory (similar, similar)

Pants: c/o Stick Fix (similar, similar)

Denim Jacket: hand-me-down (similar)

Flats: DSW (similar)

Time to link up!

Blogging Besties: Black and White Stripes

Last week, Maricel wore an infinity scarf and double dog dared me to wear one too.

While I respond well to encouragement, my typical reaction to a dare is:

 

So, no, I did not pass on the infinity scarf. Sorry, not sorry. Instead, I went with black and white stripes and a deep green skirt.

 

Alright Whitney, I know I made this easy on you! You can choose from: stripes, circle skirt, green, ankle boots, fringe, and a pendant necklace.

Top: Chaps via Kohl's (similar)

Skirt: Old Navy (exact, in Night Dive)

Ankle Boots: Journee Collection via Amazon (similar)

Necklace and charm: Gingersnaps (exact necklace, exact charm)

Previous Editions of Blogging Besties

Featured On:

Whitney à la mode

Undergraduate Style My Closet Catalogue A Bibliophile's Style

My Take on the GYPO Fall Challenge + Link-Up

With a blanket of snow covering the ground here in Michigan, I think it's time to recap my experience with the Get Your Pretty On Fall Challenge so that I can move on to winter style!

For those of you who aren't familiar with the Get Your Pretty On challenges, I'll start with the basics.  Each seasonal challenge costs around $50.  Upon signing-up, you receive a shopping list of both classic and trendy items that comprise a capsule wardrobe.  You purchase the items according to your own budget or find the pieces (or similar ones) already hanging in your closet.  Once the trial begins, you receive daily outfit formulas featuring the items from the list.  You get twenty-some outfits that are ready-to-wear!

What I liked:

I really love this challenge in theory.  I love the idea of remixable pieces.  I love pairing classic and trendy looks.  I love the hunt for all of the items on the list according to my budget.  And I especially love having cute outfits already planned for me (that way, getting dressed for school at 5:30 in the morning doesn't feel so daunting).

What I didn't like:

But like I said, I love the challenge in theory.  In execution, it just didn't work for me.  For one, sometimes the "outfit of the day" didn't work for what I had planned.  I just can't wear distressed boyfriend jeans to work on a Tuesday.  I ended-up using the outfit ideas out of order to fit with my plans but, for me, this created more work than just choosing an outfit from my closet.  I would spend my evening combing through all of the outfit combinations to find one that would fit my needs.  The next struggle was in making sure that all of the pieces I needed for that outfit were actually clean.

The other trouble I encountered was with the clothing items that I substituted.  For example, I couldn't find the grey cable knit sweater on the shopping list so I substituted the recommended neutral sweater that I already had in my closet.  I just didn't like my outfits featuring substituted pieces as well as I would have if I had purchased the actual recommended items.  This makes me feel like I want to buy each specific piece on the lists in the future...which just isn't compatible with my teacher budget.

In Summary:

I know that lots of women love these challenges so I'm in no way trying to portray it in a negative light, I just want to be honest about my experience.  And even though I found the program to be more difficult than I expected, I did find myself in the middle of a great Facebook community of women who were participating as well.  Everyone in the group was super encouraging and supportive.

All of that being said, I will not be participating in the Winter Challenge.  I'm hopeful that I can try another one in the future but I just don't have the money or time to give this next one a go.

The Outfits:

And finally, here are two outfits that I created based on the prompts from the Fall Challenge.

This was one of my favorite outfits that I created from the daily prompts.  I really enjoyed the color pairing that I wouldn't necessary have thought of myself.

And this is an outfit that I didn't necessarily dislike but I would have liked it better if I had the grey cable knit sweater with a white shirt underneath.

What I'm Wearing:

Scarf: Target (similar, similar)

Pink Shirt: Old Navy (exact)

Red Pants: c/o Stitch Fix (similar, similar)

Gold Flats: DSW (similar)

Camel Sweater: J.Crew Factory (similar)

Pearl Necklace: Amazon (exact)

Black Jeans: Zara (similar, similar)

Leopard Flats: LOFT (similar, similar)

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

Blogging Besties: of super casual Friday

This week is brought to you by: "green, lace dress, cargo jacket, fall statement necklace, combat boots, earth tones, and fall classics". For your viewing pleasure, I give you: green, cargo jacket, combat boots, and fall classics (as in, the luvverly infinity scarf). The extra bits: I think it was a good thing for me to go on a style hiatus. Because I'm finding myself getting quite lax and relaxed with my wardrobe choices recently. (Actually, is it a chicken or egg scenario? That is, have I gotten more lax because I went on hiatus or is it because I went on hiatus that I became more lax?) Ah, conundrums! Suffice to say, I was quite pleased and relieved when I saw Alex's challenge from last week. Cargo jacket? Combat boots? I heart you, girl! Coz that's the perfect combo for a super Casual Friday ensemble. Like Alex, I had a hard time finding the perfect cargo jacket and this isn't it. It's too stiff and green for my tastes. But it's the warmest of the bunch (Oh, yeah. You know I bought and kept three of them in my search for the perfect one) so it won the toss-up. I'm still searching for my holy grail of cargo jackets, but until I can afford the J.Crew downtown field jacket, my quest continues. The combat boots are pretty perfect, purchased after my cheapie Charlotte Russe ones bit the bullet this summer. Of course, it took me multiple tries and several returns to find them - you hear that, cognac booties?! - but eBay did me right eventually. And the striped shirt? That's a Pinspiration, my friends. Otherwise, I would've thrown on a chambray button-down and called it a day. See what I mean by lax and relaxed? I still do feel more ready for a leaf-strewn walk in the woods rather than a suburban classroom, but such is my life nowadays. Anyhow, here's Selah's challenge for next week: forest green, stripes, black leggings, infinity scarf (Do it, Selah! I double dog dare you! LOL!), or outdoorsy wear. Vive le vendredi!

:: Just the facts, ma’am :: Top – Anne Taylor LOFT Jacket – F21 Pants – Karmaloop Scarf – H&M Boots – G by Guess

:: Linking :: Fun Fashion Friday @ Fashion Should Be Fun

:: Scream it from the top of your lungs :: Shake It Off by Taylor Swift

Paix pour Paris

I'm not sure that I have the right words to write this post.  I've spent the past several hours combing through articles, images and videos describing the terrorist attacks in Paris on Friday.

I can't begin to imagine the shock and heartache that the people of Paris and of France are feeling.  While the French people are experiencing significant pain, I'm feeling my own personal hurt regarding these attacks.  I began studying French when I was twelve years old and have since chosen to build my life around my passion for this culture.  I've studied French, I've lived in France, I've loved the people that I met while there.  I currently teach French, sharing everything I love about this country with students every single day.  Today I hurt for the beautiful country and the beautiful people who hold a special piece of my heart.

While you are reading this, I will be talking to my students about the terrible events of Friday.  In the hours I've spent looking through pictures and watching videos of reactions around the world, I've created lessons for this week that I hope are sensitive, informative, heartfelt and hopeful.

Having spent my energy and emotion figuring out how to present this to my students, I haven't written an outfit-related post for today.  If you happen to follow my little corner of the internet, I know that you come for a light-hearted chat about personal style, so I apologize for not having that conversation with you today.  I'll be back with another outfit in my next post but, for today, here are some of my favorite images of Paris that I've taken during a few of my trips to the City of Love and Light.  Paix pour Paris.

While I didn't have an outfit post ready for you today, I still want to see your posts!

Blogging Besties: Green

I am just in love with Whitney's outfit from last week. That shirt and skirt look like they were made for each other--an effortless mix of colors and patterns.

I kind of copped out this week and passed on the color green, because I am enamored with this jacket I found at Old Navy! I have been looking for the perfect casual cargo jacket for the longest time, and I've ordered several from Old Navy in the past only to return them because they weren't right. I think what I like best about this is that it's more of a cropped length like my denim jacket--I can still wear it with a shirt and pants, but it's short enough to be flattering when worn with a dress (as opposed to longer jackets that bulk out at the hips.) It's also a soft cotton so although the color gives off the cargo look I want, it's super comfortable and fits so nicely. 

I wore it a few other ways this week, but for this outfit I paired my cargo vest and combat boots with my lace dress for a mix of masculine and feminine pieces. I finished it off with a multi-colored gem necklace which I have loved for this fall! 

Dress: Thrifted (similar, similar, similar)

Jacket: Old Navy (similar, similar, similar)

Necklace: Thrifted (similar, similar, similar)

Boots: Target (similar, similar, similar)

The elements of this outfit are: green, lace dress, cargo jacket, fall statement necklace, combo boots, earth tones, and fall classics!