Ladylike CosmoPrep

Well, I felt really comfortable in this outfit. I love a flutter sleeve and icy blues. I also love a floaty printed skirt. I am not sure how I feel about losing my waist. I look rectangular. The skirt is new but the blouse is an old favorite BR  -- I don't think I'll be wearing these two together again without some waist defining element.

I did some online shopping this weekend and ordered this striped top and shoes. I'd been eagerly anticipating the arrival of both. When they arrived yesterday morning I took the items out of their packaging and plopped them on my body.  YAY! I had to return half of the items in the box but clearly this is what I kept.

The purchase of the shoes were spawned by Beth Ann's post on fest wear. She said she was wearing crocs. I looked closely and could see no evidence of franken-foot which signals to me croc-like shoes. I saw cute leopard print ballet flats. After a not-so-exhaustive search I found a pair for myself which are super cute and comfy. They stood up well to 5 hours of browsing and grocery shopping.

So am I alone in my need for instant gratification? Any other team wear members out there?

So I finally challenged myself to create a capsule that was for the way I really live my life. I've done them before for week-end trips, week-long trips, but never for just day-to-day life. I am so excited about this capsule because once the weather turns I won't spend an hour in front of my closet wondering what to wear every morning. 

Creating a capsule is not the easiest thing in the world to do. So why do it? This is what I wrote on Shannon's post and I don't believe there is a better way to sum up the way I feel about it, "Creating a capsule is akin to having the space and time to set your closet up like your favorite store with everything in its place and a place for everything. You can just grab what you like and go". It's SO satisfying!

I wish I could tell you that the creative process itself is satisfying. NOT! The entire process took 6 hours and at times messy and frustrating. My inspiration was a pair of mauve khakis that I love but rarely wear because the color is hard for me to work with. Ultimately I did not use them in this capsule but they did set tone for the tops I picked, which did not change through out the process. 

My first mistake was choosing all solid tops. Although the tops were different styles the colors were the same tones as the bottoms -- no pop. This meant I had to work hard accessorizing to make the outfit pop to my satisfaction (I love contrast). So back to the drawing board I went looking for higher-contrast printed tops. I really wanted outfits that didn't rely heavily on accessories because the best capsules seemed to be able to stand on the integrity of how the pieces were mixed and matched. Excessive accessorizing seemed like cheating. 

Other than the solid top mishap I had no trouble following Angie's guidelines to create at least 30 different outfits. 

I feel so silly saying this but I am so proud that I was able to put together a capsule that is polished enough to go to work (which I am sure will be coming soon!), sassy enough for date night, and casual enough for Saturday errands. I managed to use pieces that I loved but were not being worn enough. It fulfills my goal from January of integrating my "work" wardobe and my "off-duty" wardrobe into a cohesive style that represents my evolving aesthetic in every area of my life. I really believe everyone should do this for themselves at least once. 

I've posted a few of my favorites. I had to leave my head and face out of it because my hair and face were a complete mess from my efforts. Plus you really only want to see the outfits ;-) 

I have been learning a lot about life lessons based on my version of reality this week. It started with a realization that it’s wrong of me to assume that when people don’t help me it’s because they don’t want to. This approach presumes that there is something wrong with me or that I have done something wrong. I am considering the possibility that they don’t help because they either don’t have the tools to help in the way that’s most beneficial to me or they simply don’t know how to help me. This shift in my perception has changed my perspective on my past and present circumstances. I feel lighter and happier because I believe something different.

The same concept carries over to today’s outfit. Fashion is an authentic form of self-expression for me and having a Pinterest board has really helped me identify looks I love and why. However, the general assumptions I had were the looks on my Pinterest boards (and even some of my favorites on the forum) are inspirational and most of them I’ll never be able to pull off because I’m not thin. I believed this rightly or wrongly until today. The shift in my thinking came from the realization that I can only express the self I believe myself to be. So, if I think something is wrong with my tummy, for example, and other people think it’s perfectly fine, then I am not likely to express myself with outfits that outline my tummy. This would be true even if the outfit would look perfectly fine on me. Until today.

Today I gave myself permission to try out a “thin lady’s”outfit and I think the proportions work. I admit I was urged to try this look only out of desperation because I wanted to wear my new seersucker blazer with red trousers. The only problem is I don’t have any red trousers -- I only have red skinnies. I am amazed that my belief was so strong that these pieces together on me would look lumpy, cheap, and tacky that refused to even try them on together in the privacy of my own home. Amazing how we hold ourselves back without being conscious of it.

Have you avoided certain looks/outfit combinations because you believe they can’t work on your body? What looks have you’ve avoided (pictures please)?

(I hate to post and run but I am volunteering today)

Today, well I wish I'd gotten more done. I went to the bank to make a deposit but left behind the very check I wished to deposit.  It doesn't help that my bank is a small community bank situated across town from me. This mishap did not stop me from running the rest of my errands. I just find it inefficient (and maddening). I guess I have an excuse to get dolled up and try again tomorrow.

I love this skirt but because of its texture (the pattern is stitched in) I usually draw a blank on coordinating colors. I think the pattern throws me off (I'm still trying to master patterns). I got this skirt about 6 years ago and for some reason I like it with purples plums, pinks and violets. For that reason I chose this origami tee in red-violet. I also wanted to play around with different textural elements in the skirt, the tee and the belt. I think I did OK.  The whole outfit is from Kohl's with the exception of the belt and shoes which are from Target.  Let me know what you think or if you have any better ideas for this skirt.

I did not want to make this one too long, but here is the finished look for last nights events. We went to a reception before the event, the dance performance itself and a housewarming party afterward. We got home really late (am I in my 20's again?!) 

It felt really good to socialize dress up and be pretty after 2.5 months of being shut away with nothing but books.

Thanks for looking.

So I was playing in my closet earlier this week in anticipation of a charity benefit I'm attending this evening. The event is a showcase of 8 dance troupes in my area benefiting DH's non-profit. I am torn -- I'd love to wear something edgier which based on my experience would be more than appropriate,  but I don't want to feel out of place.

Here are the two outfits I have in mind. 

I am wearing in #1:
Cream silk blouse - Black House White Market 
Black peplum jacket - Khol's 
Camo skinnies - Target 
Gold snake print pumps - Style & Co. 

I am wearing in #2:
peplum top - Elle 
Black and white floral skirt - Banana Republic

Tell me what you think! 

So I have some errands to run today and thought of this
H&M skirt I’ve had for at least 7 years. I absolutely love butterflies and
this skirt has plenty of them. I thought since we have temps in the 70’s today
that Lyn*’s outfit formula (fitted jacket + fitted top +  belt + flared skirt) would be perfect
for warm sun and cool shade.

I am wearing:

• ON denim jacket
• ruffled tank – Apt 9
• Butterfly print skirt – H&M
• Belt – 7 Hills from Piperlime
• Peep toe flats – Lela Rose

How did I do? Is it lyn* worthy???

I thought Beth Ann's post about festival wear was interesting because it combines seemingly opposing forces comfort, function and fashion.  So I decided to use my go-to summer outfit and see if I could make it more functional using some of Beth Ann's ideas.

So I also wore this because of requests I had from forum members to wear the twin to this dress. I regret not adding a picture of me wearing my bronze cross body bag which came in very handy and added to the functional quotient of this outfit.

So what do you think comfy, functional and fashionable?

I'm wearing:
Old Navy, dress & cardigan
Converse All Stars in mint green