Ladylike CosmoPrep

I was browsing in Target when I found this dress. I happened to try it on while wearing red skinny jeans and really liked the silhouette. I also happened to be wearing a tunic that day as well but not as long as this one. Needless to say this is my new favorite outfit formula.

Happy Thursday!

Bonus pic of DD who has been taking up a lot of my playing in the closet time. 

Today I volunteered with my local bar association completing basic estate planning documents for civil servants. I felt that smart casual was the perfect level of dress given that I was one of the professionals preparing documents today.
Slightly off topic I must say I am shocked at how popular burgundy is this year especially since I was in love with berry tones LAST fall. I'm just glad I have plenty of dark red in my wardrobe already. My new color combo crush is navy with lavender.
Back to today's outfit -- I am a little disappointed because the picture is slightly out of focus but I love the mix of colors patterns and textures in this outfit. I will be wearing this again.

I'm wearing:
Burgundy faux leather jacket
Old Navy long sleeved white tee
Apt. 9 cheetah scarf
BR flocked skinny jeans
Vera Wang silver python ballet flats.

This is what I wore today to run a few errands. My signature super long pants (trouser jeans in this case) are featured along with my trench jacket and watercolor tee. The colors are muted but there's enough high contrast in the tee for this combination to make me feel like my old self. I can't say this will be my go-to MOTG uniform just yet but this is pretty close.

I'm wearing:
Light olive trench jacket - BR
Watercolor tee - Simply Vera Wang
Trouser Jeans - Old Navy

Happy Monday -- thanks for looking. I think I need a nap now ;-).

I am finding that my favorite outfits (for casual wear) tend to have both blue and yellow in them. I am also counting variants of yellow and blue like mustard and teal. I figured it out when I pulled this outfit together for running errands the other day. It made me realize that when my clothing options became severely limited (third trimester) my favorite outfits more often than not included shades of blue and yellow.

I'm wearing:
Printed citron and white tunic - Old Navy
Wide leg jeans - Old Navy
White tank - Old navy
Pewter sandals - Target

Any one else have a favorite color combo? 

P.S.  - I had to laugh at myself about the sunglasses on my head. So happy was I to have a few minutes to start a post I completely forgot that my sunglasses were there.

This look was inspired by this pin. I think it's more than a little bit of a contradiction that I love nostalgic florals and full skirts but like them contrasted with clean lines and crisp tailoring. It's a little hard to pull off for me right now given my desperate need to shop for new underpinnings (bras, shapewear etc.) and my lack of will/energy to do it ;-). So my crisp isn't as crisp as I would like it to be but I still think there's enough of a contrast in this outfit.

Happy Thursday and thanks for looking.

Here's another one of my favorite dresses. It's the print that does it for me. I decided to pair it with these gladiator sandals because the strong lines seem to echo the linear design of the dress. Happy Labor Day Weekend!

I revived this outfit to take DD to the doctor. I forgot to add a belt but I don't think it takes anything away from the outfit (though I think it looks slightly better with a belt). Any way, I thought the sandals paired nicely with this skirt because it mimics the graphic pattern. I also happen to love a black and white pattern paired with green. What colors do you love to see with a black and white pattern?

So here is what my pregnant shape shifting body taught me
over the past 10 months:

• Proportion is the most important factor in dressing a body that changes weekly
• Color and or pattern are very important elements in translating my signature style across different proportions
• Colorful/dramatic accessories (scarves, shoes, totes, and handbags) help add my signature touches to outfits that are otherwise basic or boring.
• I don’t necessarily need as much in the way of jewelry/sparkle as I thought I needed to feel like myself.

I have included today’s outfit along with my favorite outfits spanning the 9 months of my pregnancy.

Today (pic #1) I am wearing my favorite tunic. It is a Dana Buchman piece I picked up 4 summers ago from Kohl’s paired with capri length leggings and pewter Merona sandals from Target.  I love graphic black and white sunflower print. I am not sure if you can see it but there is cobalt blue trim on the tunic as well. I adore the proportions of this outfit. I have a no-effort defined waist because of the tunic’s excellent cut.

Pic #2  - November – This outfit was worn a mere week after I discovered I was expecting DD. The snazzy jacket and tights with the column of black formula was a favorite for me last fall. This skirt worked well for me through month 4. I was able to pull the cinched waist up as my belly expanded but after a certain point, you run out of length and the skirt looks too short.

Pic #3 – December – I love this outfit – it is definitely special occasion/holiday outfit. It is the essence of my style – high-contrast, defined waist, classic, crisp and fun (a swishy skirt is ALWAYS fun to wear). I had not begun to expand at this point, but I will be more than pleased to wear this outfit combination again this fall.

Pic #4 – January – I think you all have seen me in this sweater/shirt/color combo in many variations. I have to confess that as my bustline continued to expand I used this (my favorite cardi) to “hide” the pulling across my bustline apparent with just the button down alone. The great fit of the sweater (which expanded with me – up to a point) covered all of those sins up ;-) 

Pic #5 – February – I just love this outfit. This is a navy waterfall cardi tied like a wrap top layered over a white tee and deep teal skinny cords. I loved the addition of the cheetah scarf which picks up on the tan color in the boots. Yep no maternity clothes here but I had to accommodate my growing bustline, which would not fit in my woven tops by February. I will definitely be wearing this again once fall settles in.

Pic #6 – March – this outfit is just comfy. I was not in any maternity clothes at all. My pants were secured in place with a ponytail holder and a belly band. These are my Levi’s and I love wearing them rolled at the ankle. I also like wearing them with this soft gray blouse I picked up from Sears 2 years ago. I think this was my favorite outfit from early spring. I had to lose the Calvin Klein oxfords when April came around because I could no longer bend comfortably to tie the laces.

Pic #7 – April – The only maternity gear I’m wearing in this picture is the jeans which are from LOFT. This is where I realized that my cardigan sweaters in general (but not always) needed to be in proportion to my growing belly so that I would not end up with a cropped look which would throw off the proportions. I also realized that lavender could work as a neutral with my skintone.

Pic #8 – May  - This violet ponte knit dress from BR was a life saver during this pregnancy. Pairing it with gray helped make the color work in professional settings. The violet color was prominently featured but did not overtake the entire outfit. White and silver accessories provide a modern polished feel to the outfit. None of the pieces are maternity so I’ll definitely wear this one again and probably not looking very different than I do here.

Pic #9 - June  - I loved how this pink black and white outfit combined lace and stripes to create a casual ladylike outfit. It’s only heightened with the high bun on top of my head. What really helps this outfit work is the length of the BF sweater and the length of the striped top. None of these pieces are maternity – so you’ll see this outfit again before the weather looking slightly different on
my deflated belly. I liked this outfit so much that I wore it to my babyshower.

Pic #10 – July  - green and blue was always a theme. I love the pattern on this top. I have had it for the past 5 years. It is a maternity top but I bought it well
before I ever became pregnant. I loved both the print and the fit.  The BF jeans are maternity as well. It seems as if most maternity things fit best at least on my body during the very last 4 weeks because that’s when my baby bump was large enough to fill out the clothing as intended. A little backstory on this pic, it was taken on 7/31/14 on our way to the hospital to meet DD, who arrived the very next day.

If you’re still reading at this point, let me know what you think of today’s look. I still have a bit of a belly but for the most part I am back to my pre-baby weight. (I only gained 19 pounds! YAY!)

Well, I have been reading all these weeks that rarely do babies show up on their due date. It seem that my baby wants to be the rare bird to start the process on her due date at the very least. Perhaps she'll show up before midnight ... I predict she'll show up tomorrow, but it's awfully close to the original intended finish line (Perhaps she gets that desire to always be on time from me? ;-)) Any way here are some things I wore right up to the end.

First up is favorite dress, you've seen this one before. I had to make some changes to how I wore it because my bustline has increased along with my waistline, so I had to layer a minty green cami underneath. I like the effect of the kelly green and the mint.

Second is another Old Navy dress. It's a sun dress with spaghetti straps which I wear with a regular bra, hence the light weight cardi in navy also from Old Navy. I like the impromptu square neckline the sweater and the dress create. I also added my yellow LC tote which I carried with outfit 1 as well. I have not been one for switching purses lately -- too likely to forget something for all that.  Next time I post, I'll be a new mom!  Happy Thursday YLF!

I don't think this turned out too bad for 38 weeks along. DH thought it would be nice to have dinner out and go to the theater one last time -- just the two of us and no babysitter to worry about. Not sure when DD will arrive but as I said in my last post, we're on baby watch.

This is not a maternity dress at all. I actually bought this dress in February and  wore it in this post. It fit differently of course, but I bought it with the idea that it would grow with me and be an appropriate base for me to dress up with accessories for a fancy event over the course of my pregnancy.  I think the theater qualifies as a fancy event. With the unusually mild temperatures and low humidity lately this dress was perfectly comfortable to wear. Normally temperatures and humidity would be high meaning that anything with sleeves would be a nightmare to wear.

I'm wearing:

• Black ON dress sized 1X (purchased on clearance! YAY!)
• Silver tone Simply Vera Wang earrings and statement necklace
• Pewter Merona sandals from Target

Happy Saturday and thanks for looking! BTW - I included a profile photo as promised in my last post. Some ladies (including myself) were waiting for me to "look pregnant". Oddly I look more pregnant from the side than the front.