#OOTD | One Stripped Dress, Many Ways to Wear It

I am a dress and skirts kinda gal at work. I only actually own one pair of work pants (though I do of course wear/own plenty of jeans). And when it comes to dresses, I like structure, I like tailoring, and I like good fit. That's why this dress is definitely one of my favorites, and why I have a similar dress from different brands in different colors but all with the same cut! 

In the past, I would have always said that it's a no-sleeve dress and therefore it needs either a cardigan or a blazer to top it off. But the new me thinks differently. The new me thinks LAYERING! So in the past month or so I tried this dress layered two different ways. Both have been hits at the office! 

Dress | Calvin Klein (purchased @ TJ Maxx)

Black long sleeve shirt | J Crew 

Pearls (3 strands) | Herberger's

Animal print shoes | White House Black Market (Marshalls)

Red checkered shirt | J Crew

Sparkly black necklace | J Crew 

Black heels | Guess 

Disclaimer: Those shoes are the SINGLE animal print item I own in my whole wardrobe. I am not typically a fan. And let me tell you, they may be pretty, but they are hella stiff and uncomfortable. I only wear those to the office when I have a day without too many meetings so I don't have to walk too much in them. The things we do for style .... 

#OOTD | An afternoon at the theater

Minnesota fashion = boots. Yup, that's about it. However, at the office, I don't think about it much because I just throw on my Sorels (amazing) and put my heels in my bag, so I can still coordinate whatever outfit I want for once I get to the actual office. Not the case for a weekend outing with my parents. First, the theater. Then, dinner to celebrate my dad's birthday. Wanted to be a bit dressy, but alas, had to do it with flat leather boots. I don't own any pointy/fancy/tall boots, just riding-style boots. So after discarding many outfits that were really heel-only appropriate, my parents were waiting downstairs and I threw this little outfit together in 30 seconds flat. Thank goodness it worked!

Dress | United Colors of Benetton (6 years old)

Shirt | J. Crew

Necklace | J. Crew

Handbag | Ralph Lauren

Tights | H&M (from the Paris Champs-Elysee location ...)

Boots | Enzo Angiolini

#OOTD | That's a wrap!

Ah, the wrap dress. One of the staples of any career woman's wardrobe. It's sleek. It's stylish. And best of all, it's easy. It flatters most women and creates a nice small waist. My personal favorite has a bit of an A-line to it so that it covers and flow nicely from the hips. I also like a little pattern to help camouflage imperfections. This black and white number was a recent purchase this weekend at Banana Republic (sale section with an EXTRA 40% off ... boom) and it fits like a glove.

Dress | Banana Republic [shop here]

Shoes | Guess

Jewelry | my own from various travels 

  

The ups (and downs) of weight loss

Anyone who has ever lost weight knows that there are ups and downs (pun intended). You feel great. You look great. Clothes look better. All good stuff. But, there are a few negatives in there. One of them is outgrowing many of your clothes. As someone who has gone up and down the weight roller coaster over the years but someone who insists on buying high quality clothes, I have a lot of expensive and good quality, classic items at a variety of sizes from 2 to 10 (yikes). The great news is that for the last year I have been down comfortably at a 6 or 4. But now, with new energy and excitement, I am down to a solid 4 ... sometimes even a 2. And I have more to lose. And recently I have started losing weight in different ways. Clothes that seemed to fit at one weight now don't at the exact same weight. Weird.

All in all, it is all really really a good problem to have. But ... after doing a little fashion show for my mom last night, it was obvious that out of my 12 skirts, FIVE of them are just ridiculously big on me. Like, silly big. Another 2-4 are good for now ... but won't be good in another 5-10 pounds (which I have every intention of losing). And a few will be good for another 5 pounds or so after that. 

But what does that me for 5 of my favorite skirts? It means goodbye. Sad. Three J. Crew No. 2 pencil skirts ($60-100 each) and another 2 Banana Republic skirts with the cutest little ruffle down one side (another $50 or so each). Sad. That's a lot of money that went away with all those pounds and calories. 

Again, a good problem to have, but still a problem.

What kills me is that I didn't even get a chance to wear some of them! I saw them in my closet everyday but kept thinking "oh, I'm not quite there yet, maybe in another few pounds". Well, when I finally thought they would be good, they were huge. Darn. Fail.

Mostly I am a skirts and dresses kinda gal. I own one pair of nice work slacks. Same thing happened with those. I wore them ONCE (as in ... ONCE) and they were good, but a little tight. So I put them away and said "in another few pounds. Pulled them out again to try on and they are, of course, silly big. I am going to get one more wear out of them next week, but that's it.

Seriously.

I'm off to buy skirts now. And pants. Grrr.

#OOTD | Soft and pretty

You know that feeling you get the first time you pair up some items from your closet and it's like "OMG ... this totally works ... how did I not see this before ... this is awesome!". Well, that was me today! I had picked up this skirt from J Crew over the holidays and hadn't had a chance to wear it yet. And my new-found love of layering led me to this sweater I had for years in the back of a drawer and this button down which I don't love/wear often because it is really rather large on me. But, when you put it all together, it totally works! Was so happy with the soft look this gives off and I think the texture of the sweater, skirt and pears just work so well together! This will definitely be one I repeat in the future! 

P.S. Check out the new short crop! What do you think?

Skirt | J Crew No. 2 Pencil Skirt (shop similar here)

Button down | Banana Republic

Sweater | no idea

Pearls | 3 strands, very old, Herberger's

Shoes | Ralph Lauren 

These are a few of my favorite tees ...

As the song goes ...

I love graphic tees. They are such a great staple that can make any outfit pop. You can find such great tees everywhere from cute boutiques while traveling to J Crew. You can dress down a skirt and blazer with one. Pair it with jeans. Layer it over a button down ... Or put one on top. It all works!

Here are a few of my faves ... 

#OOTD | LA Edition | Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah

A few things I love:

• Traveling
• Beautiful weather that is the perfect balance of cool and warm
• Sunshine
• Museums
• Architecture
• Graphic tees
• J. Crew graphic tees
• Photography
• Ray Ban sunnies
• Beautiful blue skies with frothy clouds

Luckily for me, I got to indulge in all of these things on a beautiful "winter" day in LA in early February. Coming from Minnesota - aka The Polar Vortex state - the LA "winter" weather was pure heaven. 

Blah Blah graphic tee | J Crew

Cardigan | J Crew

Jeans | Lucky 

Flats | J Crew

Necklace | Bauble Bar

Sunnies | Ray Ban

Bag | Banana Republic