04.23.2014

Everyone loves a little leather.

So I've been wanting to post this outfit since the day I started dreaming of this  blog.  I love love love leather and everything about it (orrrrr...pleather if you are money-conscious like me).  Whether it's leather leggings (and yes, I can completely justify spending $60 on a pair), a leather jacket, leather detailing on a shirt, or the focus of my post- a very necessary leather skirt, I own it all.

Since I clearly cannot write a post without a little alcohol in my system, I invited my friend Brittany over tonight for a little wine, make-up, and a hair appt.  An hour (and a bottle of wine) later Brittany has dark sultry eyes and classic braid to wear out to casual drinks at Wellmans (which happens to be the topic of my next post) but anyway, back to the leather.  I decided the leather skirt deserved two looks since it's so beautiful, and the fact that I've received a few requests to showcase how to wear one item multiple ways after my last post made it a no-brainer (this is for you, Jess).

The other part of this look involves a few of my favorite things, SEQUINS & SPARKLES, and a casual v-neck.  My group of friends consists of the type of people that really enjoy getting overly dressed up to get drunk on the weekends (mostly ME), and others who are more comfortable drinking at home in their sweats. So I really feel like these looks will cover both ends of the spectrum.  A leather skirt is something that you can incorporate into soooo many different outfits.  If you've ever looked at the women's clothes section on pinterest, you've seen a leather skirt paired with a t-shirt, chambray shirt, sparkly shirt, blazer, etc.  So it was hard to pull ONLY two looks for this one skirt, when I had so many options.

For this extremely amateur photo shoot, I took a little time and pushed Kelli out of her comfort zone.  I did her hair a little bigger than normal and her make-up a little more wild than she is used to (well, wild by her standards).  It was pretty easy to get her hair up since she doesn't wash it that often, and as all my friends know, I am no stranger to a teasing comb.  Then of course I had to throw in a little winged eye liner since that is my go to on a night out, and quiet honestly a regular day at the office.

So the first look is one of my favorite combinations of all-time.  Leather & Sequins.  This is for a weekend out on the town, a special occasion, or if you are like my group of friends then this works for a typical Saturday night at The Exchange.  For the most part, we don't shy away from dressing up up and trying to pull off different looks like leather or sequins whenever we can.

The second look is for people who feel like sequins are something that should only come out of the closet on NYE (I think those people are a little nuts, but to each their own).  I thought I did pretty well at dressing this leather skirt down enough so it could be a casual dinner outfit or you could throw a blazer over it, and it would be great for the office.

Earrings in first look- Vintage- $0

Sequins Shirt- Mint LA- Clearance- $15.00

Leather Skirt- Forever 21- $8.80

Tan Pumps- Steve Madden- Clearance $36.00

Second Look Headband- Forever 21- $3.00

Gray V-Neck- Old Navy- $5.00

Black Flats- Target- $5.00

Total for two looks- $72.80

04.16.2014

One Outfit- Three Looks.

With a glass FULL of wine and strawberries on hand, I am ready to write my second post.  After spending a much needed night in with all my friends enjoying a little fondue, I have plenty to blog about, and lots of things to prepare for. 

We can start with one of my favorite things for this spring, a Maxi skirt.  A long skirt is key in spring, especially with the ridiculously unpredictable weather we have been having.  Yeah I'm looking at you, Mother Nature.  Last Saturday I was in a dress sweating my ass off, drinking Skittles margaritas on a patio for 5 hours and woke up Monday morning to snow.  So I figured a happy medium between scarves/boots/parkas and bootie shorts/camis/tiny bikinis that can hardly contain HB's nipples, is a Maxi skirt (or dress).

The next thing I love for spring is a diverse shirt, specifically denim or chambray.  Having shoulders like a NFL linebacker, I have always struggled buying denim or any shirt that doesn't stretch and requires buttoning.  If it isn't a size XL, there is no way in hell it is comfortably fitting around these man shoulders.  Luckily I have the pleasure of living with skinniest girl in town, so anything I put on her looks amazing.

As soon as Kelli got home from school today, I cornered her and told her she wasn't allowed to do anything except model an outfit for me.  Her, being the people pleaser that she is, agreed and let me dress, groom, and boss her around a little bit.  Then again, that's the daily routine when you are the best friend to a control freak like myself.  I digress, back to the modeling.  Since it was finally somewhat nice and sunny outside, we took Harper out to the front of our very modern, upscale apartment building (for those who don't know where we live, I'm being sarcastic) and shot my first OOTD.

The reason I mentioned a maxi skirt and a chambray shirt earlier is because this is the foundation of my OOTD.  I went a little above and beyond with this outfit and decided to see what all I could do with it.  I feel like my friends are always trying to dress for special occasions; whether that is a dinner date, a family event, a concert, or a typical Saturday night. So I decided I would give Kelli three looks from one outfit, so that she can wear it for a variety of occasions.

The first one I put her in is the 'formal version' of a chambray and maxi.  Working in a business casual work place, where people tend to push the boundaries of casual, (you should see what some of these people come in wearing) this is something I could definitely wear on a daily basis.  I paired it with a dressier necklace and felt tucking the shirt into the skirt gave it a cleaner feel.  And since I'm not really a fan of high heels with maxi skirts, I thought some cute ankle booties would help pull it together nicely.

The second version is the more "casual look." But let's be honest, in this house 'casual wear' is yoga pants or no pants.  The turquoise necklace helps dress this down, and simply untucking the shirt gives it a whole new feel.  You could take it a step farther and pair it with sandals or flats instead of booties-variety is the spice of life, right?  This look would be ideal for a lunch date, a weekend shopping trip, running errands (the kind you want to look cute for) and weekly (or daily) happy hours.

The last variation of this look pushes the limits of spring and dips a toe into summer.  Lucky for me Kelli is so tiny, any type of crop top looks good on her.  I have noticed that crop tops, and showing a little stomach, is sadly (for people like me without abs) coming back this spring/summer.  If you are afraid to go hardcore crop top (and rock the under-boob that comes with it), then this is for you as it is  something almost anyone can pull off. 

Where to get this OOTD:

Shirt- Buffalo Exchange (similar to Plato's)- $15

Skirt- Younkers (yellow dot)- $10

Booties- Younkers (yellow dot)- $22

Brown Braided Belt- Free with a shirt- $0
Formal look silver necklace- Borrowed from Jess- $0
Turquoise Camel Necklace- Younkers- $6
Gold and Black Chain Necklace- Forever 21- $13

Total For Three Different Looks- $66

04.13.2014

The First Post.

So here it goes, my first blog post about the people and things I love most in life. I've never claimed to be the best writer, my English and spelling skills are average at best, so cut me a little slack when reading this (especially you, Tyler).  I've always loved fashion and beauty blogs especially those written by regular people just like me.  But what really inspired me to start (at least attempt) my own blog was my best friends and the lovely ladies I work with everyday.

First, let me set the scene.  I have a biology degree and last year I got a job as a client service rep at a chemistry lab. So as you can imagine, fashion isn't top priority for most of my coworkers.  It seems like every few days as I come into work (at 7:59 on the dot) I get stopped by multiple people who will compliment my outfit, ask where something is from, or just give their opinions on how I look.  I've always really appreciated the compliments on my clothes because, to many people's surprise, I always make an effort to look nice or put an outfit together (unless its a Monday morning of course).  The dress code at work is business casual, which poses all sorts of challenges to a girl who heavily relies on leggings and oversize shirts 90% of the time from October to April.

My next inspiration came from my large group of close friends.  I have the pleasure of living with my best friend in the ENTIRE world who basically lets me treat her like a real life Barbie doll.  I also live across the hall from two more of my really close friends.  Let's call them Jeather and Hess for the sake of anonymity, ok?  Good.  If you can put that in perspective that's four separate closets to shop in on a daily basis.  It really doesn't get much better than that.  The best part about my group of friends is that they actually listen to what I have to say about what to wear.  Well uh, usually....they usually listen to what I have to say about what to wear.  It works out well because I have such a wide range of body types to help dress.  This is both challenging and extremely fun.

My last piece of inspiration came this past Saturday.  My dog was LONG overdue for a hair cut (see here), so after dropping her off I headed to the mall to kill some time.  I was in Younker's (who recently increased their black dot discount from 70% to 80% which about brought tears to my eyes)  minding my own business when three employees from the fragrance department stopped me to talk about what I was wearing.  I was really confused because the outfit I had on (see here & here) was merely thrown on in attempt to not be late for Harper's hair appt.  They rattled off questions about where I got my shirt and how I did my hair; also mentioning that my gold earrings went perfectly with the gold on my camel necklace and all the while repeating how "cute" I looked. After I escaped the perfume people, I made it to the clearance rack (i.e. my happy place) with a little pep in my step and a budding idea for a new blog.

So that is a little introduction as to why a Biology major from small-town Iowa would be interested in writing about what she wears, drinks, and the, some may say, questionable make-up/ hair skills that she possesses. Oh, and I also made sure my friends were fully aware that they will be the stars of this blog since I haven't really perfected the mirror selfie- but I'm working on it!

A Thank you to Ms. Kelli Paris for modeling my Saturday Mall/Groomer adventure outfit.
Head band- Forever 21- $2
Shirt- TJ Maxx- $10 (clearance)
Skirt- Forever 21- $10.80
Shoes- Target- 2 for $20
Necklace- Younkers- Black dot sale $6
Purse- DSW- on sale for $15
Earrings- Charlotte Russe- pack of 3 for $5