Sticking with it

Jacket (Challenge item #6):: Top/Old Navy:: Jeans, Necklace/Thrifted:: Sandals/Kohls:: Purse/H&M

The jacket scores again! I completely loved this outfit. I met J for drinks after work on Friday before hanging out with friends. I felt completely comfortable (no body temp panics) and totally put together downtown with a sea of suits, slacks and swagger. This top is so breezy and the coral color gives pop without being obnoxious. Coupled with my favorite bird cage necklace, I think safe to say that this has been one my favorite outfits as of late.

 

I don’t show many outfits photos with purses for one pretty simple reason. This is pretty much the only purse I ever use. Ever. It doesn’t matter if it goes with what I’m wearing or not (although it usually does). I have never been much a purse girl so when I find one I like, I stick with it.

 Lately, I have been on the hunt for a clutch. But my hunt seems a bit fruitless. Where am I going to find a clutch that fits all my essentials?(oversized wallet, makeup bag that I barely use but want to keep with me, small notebook, snacks, brush, 1,294 pens, change, gum, mints, smart trip card, lotion, sunglasses, receipts, keys oh and my laptop and charger oh and sometimes J’s items, too) If I may say, that would be one clutch clutch. 

Try it. Trade it

Top (Challenge item #4):: Tank top/Target:: Jeans, necklace/Thrifted:: Sandals/DSW

Ugh, this top. There is a reason I have avoided wearing this shirt. Let me start by saying that I bought it with good intentions. As I have mentioned before, the mantra of “defined waistline” follows me through out the day. I’m not sure if it is brought on my an irrational fear of running into Stacey and Clinton and them putting me directly in the 360 mirror but in case it is with me like white on rice. So when I find shirts that provide that defined waist while also being ideal for warm weather months, I get pretty excited. This top fit that description and was on super sale, so I tried it on, imagined it's wearability with pants, skirts, shorts and happily bought it confident of (or, at least envisioning) the many wears it would get in the spring/summer months.

And then wear-reality sets in with its awkward drape and the strange v-shaped, billowy “sleeve”. And even my go-to solution of “just add a layer” doesn’t work because when you throw a cardigan over this top, the drapey sleeve being even more awkward under the sweater. Even tucked in, this top still makes me feel even more awkward than I already am.

So this top is definitely going in the consignment pile. I did my duty. I wore the top. And now I can safely say I will never be wearing it again.

In light of this, I am adding a rule to my challenge:

4. Once I’ve worn an item, and it has proven not worthy of continued possession, I am allowed to trade out that item for recently purchased item. Seems fair, right? (See, it works because the new item has also not seen any wear, so it can still be considered an unworn item. Ha! I’m so sneaky. But really it’s my challenge and I’ll trade out clothes if I want to..)

I like this new rule. 

The Short of it

"Work horse" blue top, meet white shorts. You two should get along nicely....

Shorts (item #7), Scarf/Thrifted :: Top/Old Navy :: Belt/F21 :: Sandals/ Kohls

This outfit was pretty easy to put together. I wear this top a lot, though I have only managed to document a few outfits with it. That said, it was pretty easy to check off these short from the list with this top. I have no real objections to these shorts. I just don’t really like shorts. I’m not really sure what possessed me to buy white shorts (they actually sparkle. Weird) but here I am, the proud(?) owner of them.

On this day, it was venturing into the quite warm degrees and seemed an appropriate day to give them a go. I have to say, they were not too bad, as shorts go. They are actually lined, which is kindof nice, and necessary as they are practically see-through.

 

But seriously, let’s talk about this top. I love this top. I pretty much dread the summer months (I sweat. A lot. An embarrassing amount, in fact) so my summer shirts have to be able to withstand my constant body temp changes. This shirt is really good at that. It also billows nicely, which means I can wear it belted or undone and it still looks good. I rarely wear it unbelted seeing how I have Stacey and Clinton constantly in my head screaming “WAIST DEFINITION!”

 

I bought this scarf because, as my last few (ok most) posts will attest to, I love scarfs and anything navy. Plus…POLKA DOTS! To be honest, I actually haven’t worn it much. It a big scarf and so I’ve had to find creative ways to tie it up. This was my most successful attempt.  I think my next challenge should be an accessory challenge. I think my scarfs, jewelry and shoes would like that. 

And The Challenge  continues...

Structured Surprise

Jacket: item #6 /Thrifted:: White top/Ross’s:: Shoes,Tank Top/Target :: Jeans, Scarf / Thrifted

This jacket has been with me for quite some time. You would never know it since I never wear it. It is a tricky piece. All the characteristics that should work in this jacket’s favor (lightweight material, barely there blue pinstripes, fits me perfectly) became the exact roadblocks I had to wearing it. I couldn’t wear it when I needed a substantial extra layer but it also didn’t feel like a necessary piece in the warmer months. The “color” also posed some problems. And lastly, if I wanted to wear this jacket, I had to wear it buttoned up (the way it’s supposed to be worn, mind you) otherwise it draped funny.

Upon forced wear of this garment, I have surprised myself with how much I love it. Take this outfit, for instance. The weather on this particular day was all over the place so having this light, extra layer allowed me to feel perfectly comfortable all day. I also found that I loved wearing it buttoned up. It help take this pretty casual outfit to another level. Score for this jacket.

The white top I am wearing underneath the jacket was on of the only non-returned items for the other day. I actually do not own many ¾ length shirts and none in basic white so it made the cut. Plus, J liked it. A lot.

 One more note about this outfit. I bought these little brogue shoes at Target last year because they were so cute and knew hundreds of outfits I could wear them with. The problem? They were so uncomfortable. As in “I can’t wear these for more that ten minutes” uncomfortable. What saved these shoes from being doomed to scant wear: in-sole supports. And now? It’s like walking on air. Thank you, Dr. Scholls.

Curious what is up next in The Challenge? 

The skirt that should

Skirt (item # 8 from challenge):: T-shirt/Old Navy:: Cardigan, belt, flats/Target :: Scarf/Anthropologie

Ah this skirt. This skirt was one of those purchases that I was so excited about because, in theory (and based on last years obsession with midi skirt) it should have been a easy piece to welcome into a regular rotation. I have pinned probably the most pins around midi skirts thinking that the all powerful pinspiration would encourage me to bust this skirt out. 

Alas, that was not the case. For starters, the skirt was originally two inches longer which meant it was a somewhat awkward length. Second, even with copious inspiration, I still couldn't figure out how to wear it and the right time to wear it. It seemed a little to strange for grad classes along with student teaching observation and I wasn't going to wear it just around the house. Sadly, it hung in my closet with many attempts at wear but no successes. 

Thanks to this challenge I finally wore it yesterday. I have to say that while the skirt was very comfortable, I still felt odd wearing it. Maybe with a few more wears I will feel that it is a keeper. For now, I'm a little on the fence about it. 

Any items in your closet that you are on the fence about?

A Monday Mid-May Challenge

After a slightly disastrous shopping trip (ie: buying several items except the items I really needed) and a need to boost my blogging and closet morale, I have decided to partake in a little sartorial challenge, created by yours, truly. It should not be difficult, but seems necessary in order to ensure my clothes - ALL my clothes - are getting some wear. 


This past week (after returning most of the items) I did a clothing inventory. I discovered that, while I am pretty good at giving every item in my wardrobe a chance to shine, there were a few items that were not getting much love. Some items suffered from being purchased in the wrong season, others were simply passed up for items I know work well. So I grabbed these items, snap pictures of them and have now challenged myself to wear all of these items for the rest of the month. 


Here are the items:

 1: Brown Sleeveless Dress (Target)  2: Teal Short-sleeve Dress (Target)

 3. White Billowy Top (Target)  4: Tunic/Dress (Thrifted-org. Charlotte Russe)

 5. Button-up Shirt (Old Navy)    6. Striped Blazer (Thrifted)

7. White Shorts (Thrifted)    8. Blue midi skirt (Thrifted)   9. Floral midi skirt (old navy)

Here my (very) simple rules:

1. For the rest of May, I must wear one of these items everyday.

2. I can mix these items with each other.

3. I can mix them with other items in my closet. 

Seems silly to even call this a challenge after some of the other clothing challenges I've done. But I think this will be a nice way to make sure all my items get loved equally...

Stay tuned!!

Nothing Special

This outfit was from over a month ago. I have been bad about taking pictures. I really don't have any excuse. 

Top/ Old Navy:: Jeans/ (Gap) Thrifted:: Shoes/ DSW:: Necklace/F21

Birthdays, jobs, and visits

Oh man, I blew it. The month of March has come and gone. But it was not without some wonderfulness. My birthday was on the 15th and it was really nice. Very low key, but nice. J cooked me a wonderful dinner followed dancing in our kitchen to music from our wedding.

I wore this outfit on my birthday. This dress has great memories attached to it and I even though it is not a very fancy dress but it has become the dress I wear on special days. It was also 80 degrees in the middle of March, which was special in itself.

March has been a busy (and successful!) month on the job front. I interviewed for a few positions and was hired by a great school! To celebrate, J and I went out to dinner to a place that was definitely an experience. If any of you live in the DC area and have something to celebrate (or a lot of money saved!) I would highly recommend Restaurant Eve. Nine courses later, we were still marveling all the wonderful food we ate. We must have been the most entertaining guests because we couldn't stop verbalizing our utter shock of just how good everything was.

This is a picture of J and I before the meal. Can you tell we were excited?! I'm actually wearing a dress I have had since high school (eek!) with black wrap over it. Big mistake of the night was wearing shoes I have never walk more that 300 feet in. J, of course, looked so handsome in his blue suit. The man can wear a suit well.

We had the pleasure of hosting J's parents this weekend. Food, kites, walks around DC and sitting in the sun chatting made the weekend great. They kept saying what a nice life we have here. We couldn't agree more!