polka dot initiation.

 

 j crew factory draped novelty top in polka dot {thrifted}

j crew factory pencil skirt in double-serge wool

chaps blazer {thrifted}  ·   cl laundry irresistible bol wedges

if it looks like i have a lot of j crew in my wardrobe it's honesty probably 90% thrifted. i'm always pleasantly surprised when i find j crew at the goodwill just because it's a high value brand whose normal asking price is way out of my budget but whose designs i really love, especially j crew factory these days.  i had some time to kill last week so i dropped off some donations at the goodwill and of course i had to browse around afterwards.  i put the 25% coupon they gave me when i donated to use right away on this blouse, making it $5.24. not too bad!  

anyway, if you've been a long-time reader of mine you may notice that i never wear polka dots.  it is probably blogger blasphemy of me to say this, but it's just not a pattern i gravitate toward.  however, for this price i was willing to let the goodwill initiate me into polka dots.  plus, the blouse fits all of the requirements of those i want to add to my closet these days - short sleeves and a looser drape.  i'm pretty satisfied with the purchase, and i'm even happier with myself that it's the only thing i walked out of the goodwill with!

thanks for visiting!

get the look:  similar short-sleeve or long-sleeve blouse / similar skirt / similar blazer / exact wedges / similar belt

the usual.

analee & hope blouse {via thredup*}

j crew factory pencil skirt   ·   chaps blazer {thrifted}

american eagle (payless brand) heels

this outfit is definitely feels like the usual me... pencil skirt, printed top, fitted blazer.  i tried it on with a cardigan first but it just didn't feel right... you know?  cardigans felt like my signature item years ago but i don't wear them as often as layering pieces anymore.  i built up such a collection of solid colored cardigans but i don't have enough printed tops to mix and match them with.  it's kind of funny how a solid colored blazer worked better with this outfit though.  does this make any sense?!  it was enough to confuse me, so i'll just end this post here!

get the look: similar blouse / similar blazer / this season's pencil skirt / similar heels

*join thredup through my referral link above and we both get $10.  yay!

catching up... and hanson.

merona blouse   ·  chaps blazer {thrifted}

banana republic slacks {via twice}

fergalicous irene pumps

in pink necklace

hi blog friends! it feels like it has been forever since i've been here or been to anyone's blogs.  i am so behind as i took thursday-monday off for my annual trip to tulsa, oklahoma where my favorite band hanson is from. they host a weekend of events for their fan club members and it's become a tradition to go almost every year.  i think it's pretty phenomenal that i've been following a band for 17 years and i still love them just as much now as i did back in 1997. their music has seen me through high school, college, a move across the country, graduate school, and continues to be such a huge part of my daily life. i feel so fortunate i can share in their story and attend these events they put on to thank us for being their fans!  and they have their own craft beer now -- how crazy is that?!

anyway, yesterday was an 11 hour car ride home so i pretty much crashed and didn't put a lot of thought into this outfit today. these slacks are from the secondhand website twice* i just recently found about and received in the mail prior to my trip and i was so glad they fit. it was so easy to throw them on with a pretty top and necklace this morning and conserve my brain power for getting back into the swing of things at work.

thanks for visiting and reading my babble about my favorite band. who is your favorite band?  do you ever travel to see them?

get the look:  this season's lace top / similar slacks / similar blazer / exact necklace / exact heels

* if you join through my referral link, we both get $10!

florals week (day 2)

old navy dress & flats
chaps blazer {thrifted}

today is day 2 of andi, brynn, and kate's april flowers week!  i've worn this floral dress from old navy one another time and thought this link-up was a good opportunity to wear it again.  the fabric is really sheer and thin so i felt more comfortable layering a blazer over it, even though i wear this particular blazer at least once a week... it is just what i always reach for to complete an outfit.  i will force myself not to wear it next week!

get the look:  similar dress / similar blazer / similar belt / similar flats

never been worn before: floral dress.

jones ny dress {via thredup*}   ·   chaps blazer {thrifted}
merona meaghan flats   ·   old navy belt

for day three of my "never been worn before" theme week i'm debuting this floral dress i found on thredup in november 2013.  shortly after receiving it in the mail, i lost my job and got a new job at a significantly more casual environment and i didn't feel like this dress had a place in my wardrobe anymore.  i decided to just go for it today; my thinking was that layering a blazer over it gave the effect that it was more like a skirt, which i'm definitely comfortable wearing.  sorry for the wrinkles--is it obvious i was sitting most of the day in meetings?! 

i'm wearing more navy tomorrow, so i pulled out a pair of metallic flats i haven't worn in a long time and a matching belt, which also hasn't been worn in a couple years.  i liked the pewtery accents both provided instead of just wearing a solid colored shoe.

thanks for visiting!

get the look:  similar dress / similar blazer / similar belt / similar flats


*if you sign up through my referral link, you get $10 to spend and i get $10 when you spend it.  yay!

rewear.

old navy plaid shirt   ·   merona doubleweave skirt

chaps blazer {thrifted}   ·   merona bella flats

i've never been too concerned about waiting a certain length of time before i rewear items; i wore this button-down not even a month and a half ago and i'm already reaching for it again when i realized my orange skirt would bring out the orange in the plaid.  i hate the idea of buying something i really like and then only wearing it a couple times a year.  if my closet were smaller i'd wear all of my clothes more, sure, but i don't want to let too much time pass and then forget about certain clothes entirely... especially when i only have a few more months (fingers crossed) when i can wear flannel and long sleeves.

 

how do you balance the desire to show all your clothes equal attention but still appear as though you have a versatile wardrobe, even if it means only wearing a certain item a couple times a year?  does that matter to you much?  i think it's definitely a balance!

get the look:  exact button-down / exact skirt {similar in orange} / similar blazer / exact flats

button-down love.

merona dress   ·   chaps blazer {thrifted}

gap button-down {thrifted}   ·   dexter wedges

i haven't worn this dress very often, but i think about it often and was trying to come up with a different way to wear it aside from just with a cardigan layered over it since i wore a cardigan yesterday.  i like layering button-downs underneath just about everything and thought the printed collar peaking out underneath the dress worked, but something was just off... it needed one more layer!  enter the navy blazer (sorry it looks black; my tights are also navy).  since i love layering so much, i didn't mind the cuffs showing past the bracelet length sleeve of the blazer and of course you can never go wrong with a basic cognac colored shoe. 

here's a spread of different ways i like to layer button-downs:

short sleeves / a cardigan / a knit tee / 3/4 sleeves / a sleeveless dress

{click to enlarge... but don't look too closely or you'll realize i 

was wearing the same necklace in three of these five pictures, oops!}

how else do you think i can layer a button-down? 

thrifted & altered.

 

​talbots blouse {thrifted} · chaps blazer {thrifted} 

george skirt {thrifted & altered} · lela rose for payless heels ​​ 

happy monday! if you noticed my absence lat week and we were wondering what happened to me, i was in georgia celebrating thanksgiving with my family. i hope you all had a wonderful week and equally as great holiday and/or time off from work/school! i myself am back to work after having a week off, but putting together this outfit was relatively easy as i just grabbed two items i thrifted while i was in georgia - this blouse and skirt. i've been trying to look for fuller skirts at the goodwill since my closet is full of so many pencil skirts, and this one definitely caught my eye with the fun pattern-mixed print. even though it was about 6 sizes too big, i saw the potential in it and it was a really easy alteration for my mom and i to sew a new side seam and bring up the hem. i am pretty sure you can't have too many white blouses or button-downs in your closet, either, so i was happy to find this one with an interesting, ruffled neckline. 

i'm sorry you can't see my shoes in this picture -- i'm wearing these.  the blazer and background of the skirt is navy and my tights are dark gray.  i will try to get better at taking brighter pictures so you can see the differences in colors!

isn't it fun traveling to a different place and seeing what their thrift stores are like? the ones in georgia are pretty different from the ones where i live in minnesota, but i had a lot of success there so i hope to share more of my finds in the upcoming weeks as i plan outfits with them. thanks for visiting and have a great week! 

get the look: similar blouse / similar blazer / similar skirt / similar heels / exact bracelet

made to fit.

 

 e​lle blouse {thrifted} · chaps blazer {thrifted} 

j crew factory skirt · dexter kylie wedges 

sept 3rd / i found this pretty blouse at the goodwill last week; despite being many sizes too large i again just slimmed the sides to fit me as i've done with a couple other blouses (here, here). this easy alteration seems to work pretty well, although i think a standard smaller size wouldn't have had such a scooped neckline. either way, i felt it worked pretty well and i liked pulling out the greens and navys with the skirt and blazer. i'm getting a lot of wear out of this 3/4 sleeve navy linen blazer and it was the perfect layer to hide the scoopiness of the neckline in the front and back. i guess i have some more alterations to do!  thanks for visiting -- enjoy your week!

going, going, gone

mossimo dress {thrifted target stock}   

dexter kylie wedges   ·   chaps blazer {thrifted}

august 20th / today was so busy!  it is rare that i have a lot going on but my social work colleague and i like to joke (foreshadow?) that you can just feel that something is going to happen after a long stretch of stillness, quiet, boredom... and by mid-august i was hit with a tsunami of tasks, projects, and new clients in addition to regularly scheduled visits.  usually i may have one meeting or one home visit a day, but today my schedule was jam-packed with an early morning conference call, a long in-person assessment, a visit at a nursing home, and a home visit with another client and caregiver.  

two of these clients i had never met before, so i knew i needed a fuss-free outfit that would help me feel confident but approachable.  i have been wanting to wear this dress again (see the first time i wore it here) and it seemed like a good selection for the different interactions i had today.  the blazer helped me feel like the professional i needed to be (let's be honest, some days i feel like i'm still faking it until i make it), and the wedges gave me some height while still allowing for easy walking from office to car to visit.  i really don't know how i made it through this day of going, going, going but thankfully my outfit didn't fail me!

august 13th {jewel}

banana republic dress turned blouse {thrifted}   ·   merona doubleweave skirt
chaps blazer {thrifted}   ·   dexter kylie wedges

this is a pretty simple outfit:  blouse + skirt, but i really liked the unexpected combination of the green + magenta.  i have only worn this blouse once last summer, so it felt good to let it shine at least once this summer.  our air conditioning has been off and the windows have been open for the longest time, so it almost doesn't even feel like summer right now.  but unlike the person who resides in the cube in front of me at work who has her space heater by her feet turned on all day long, i still can manage wearing short sleeves or 3/4 sleeves - this outfit just felt like it needed to be blazer-ified (the blazer and wedges are navy).

thanks for visiting, i hope your week is off to a great start!