• Grey Open Cardigan – Pretty Good, from Marshalls
• Green Sweater – Banana Republic
• Brown Corduroy Skirt – Old NAvy
• Beads – Limited
• Tights – BR Outlet
• Maroon Wedges- Anthropologie, via ebay

I loved the simplicity of today’s outfit and remained comfortable and at ease sin it all day. It’s not often that I wear such a flowy and open piece with out belting it, but I have found that this cardigan works well with a structured straight skirt with a visible waistline.

Today I layered the short sleeved cardigan over a longer sleeved sweater and was quite pleased with the color block effect on my arms.

• Cardigan – BR Outlet
• Blouse – BR Outlet
• Jean Skirt – BR Outlet
• Sweater Tights – Banana Republic
• Wellies – Banana Republic
• Belt – Ann Taylor
• Earrings – Banana Republic

It wasn’t until I wrote up my sources that I realized almost everything I am wearing is from either Banana Republic or the Banana Republic outlet. This is not the first time this has happened, of course.

These BR wellies were a Christmas present from my Mom and I can’t get enough of them.  They keep my feet dry and warm yet are versatile and stylish too.  All of the other BR items I’m wearing today were bought on sale!  I mentioned the other day that one of my favorite post-holiday activities is shopping. I love the sales and the sense of freedom to experiment when things only cost $3!

I bought this floral blouse the day after Thanksgiving for a whopping $7. It’s rather outside my comfort zone in both fit and pattern and not something I probably would have ever tired on with its original price tag still attached. The cardigan on the other hand, purchased on post-Christmas sale, was a bit more of a splurge, but I’ve had my eye on it for a while. What better way to wear two new patterned items, than together?  My tights are patterned too!

In time, I’ll be revealing more of my great post-holiday finds.  For now, a few thoughts on post-holiday shopping: hit the store early for more selection; if you have time, go back later in the week to see what you missed and push yourself to consider items outside your comfort zone; visit a Banana Republic, Gap, etc outside of the mall, or in a office district where there isn’t much weekend traffic (often you will find these locations deserted after the holidays and thus have the best selection); skip the bargain stores because their stuff is always cheap; buy things you would normally pass up but keep all the tags on until you’ve had a chance to reevaluate all of your purchases (try things in different combinations with items in your existing wardrobe).  What are your post-holiday shopping strategies?

• Black Cardigan – BR Outlet
• Blue Jersey Dress – Old Navy
• Black Jersey Dress – BR Outlet
• Grey Layering Tee – Banana Republic
• Brown Belt- BR Outlet
• Brown Boots – Banana Republic, via ebay
• Purple Tights- BR Outlet

Happy Birthday E.!!!

In the four birthday’s I’ve known E. I don’t think I have ever gotten to celebrate over a drink with her.  One of us has always been out of town still for the holidays.  One of these days, I swear I’m going to buy you a birthday drink!

Like S., I think of E. in slightly cropped skinny pants and a swing coat slouchy, cardigan, or bloused tee.  I was also inspired by E. to buy a pair of skinny jeans, and eventually start wearing them paired with something other than chunky boots and a long tops.  But, I also think of E and the master of the dress (particularly the jersey dress).  I was taking style clues from E. long before this blog started and I think the most important look I have taken from E. is the day dress. I bought my first jersey dress (this black one) with E.’s help and that was only the beginning! (E. also hemmed this blue dress for me).

In my mind E’s signature look is the cardigan layered over the jersey dress.   She has worn this look over and over, while always keeping it fresh and interesting. In one of her first posts for Acadmichic she layered two jersey dresses over a wool skirt and then topped the whole thing off with a chunky cardigan.  I thought it was genius!  So this is a tribute to E’s love of the day dress.  I also adore E’s color blocking and the way she can elevate any ensemble with the addition of purple tights!

I hope you are having a wonderful time in Hawaii!  I can’t wait to see you when you get back!
Love, A.

• Grey Wrap Cardigan – NY & Co
• Black Henley – Gap
• Green Ruffle Top – Old Navy
• Skinny Jeans – Banana Republic
• Black Patent Belt – Forever 21
• Earrings – Hand-me-down from sister M.

Happy Holidays dear readers!  I have been traveling through the Midwest visiting my and A2’s families.

We spent Christmas Eve with my family and we were having too much fun to worry about capturing the perfect outfit-post picture, so these family snapshots will have to do.

I think all of my  sister’s looked adorable – unfortunately the pictures are limited (no picture of sister R.) and I’m not positive where all their fabulous pieces are from.  As you can see, the love of belting runs in the family!

I wore my favorite comfy wrap cardigan and dressed it up with big black earrings and my holiday-perfect ruffly green top.  I layered it all over my black henley for warmth and wore my skinnies so I could sit on the floor to open presents and play board games – a practical yet chic holiday ensemble.

I hope you are all enjoying your holidays!  A.

• Ruffly Floral Scarf – Anthropologie
• Long Brown Cardigan – Urban Outfitters
• Black Jersey Dress – BR Outlet
• Tights – Gap
• Belt – NY & Co.
• Shoes – Kenneth Cole Reaction

Today I am sporting ruffles and flowers together! Both fall outside my normal comfort zone.  Like E,  I have been embracing ruffles more and more this season, but always paired with stripes or other hard edges.

When I saw this scarf at Anthropologie, I immediately thought of S. (although this is definitely my color palette) and was ready to pass it up, but little sister L. convinced my to try it on and play around with it.  I decided a what better way to introduce an new aesthetic than through an old favorite – the scarf.

I’m letting this new wardrobe addition have center stage so belted it over my black jersey dress and chocolate-brown long cardigan.  I think the pockets may be my favorite part of today’s outfit.

I’m thinking I might like this scarf even more with my new jeans and a simple v-neck tee, so I’m excited to give all the ruffles and flowers another go soon!   Are you trying anything new this season?  A.

I loved the layering of the bright read plaid over the monochromatic stripes,  but I think the teal and grey, while a subtler use of color also makes for an interesting contrast.  I self-consciously avoid the terms “masculine” and “feminine” when describing the mixing of elements that seem to have different feels to them (ie stripes and flowers).  I haven’t come up with an alternative way of describing this contrast, but want to steer clear of the essentializing language we so often see in the marketing of clothing.

Interestingly enough, the gendering of clothing has come up in several of the student papers I am grading this week.  When attempting to do a visual analysis of a painting of an Italian nobleman, many students described his as effeminate because of the lace at his collar, the ring on his pinky, and the shinny black robe students misidentified as a dress.  In my comments, I am reminding them that: 1) they should be careful about making  essentialist generalizations about gender (their discussions went beyond the clothing) 2) they should remember that whether we consider clothing “masculine” or not is inextricably linked to culture, period, occupation, etc.

This reminded me of the great exercise reader N. uses in the classroom, in which she asks  students to do a visual analysis of her clothing and then followed this with a discussion about interpreting clothing.   I can’t wait to test this lesson out, but for now it’s back to grading for me.

A.

• Teal Cardigan – BR Outlet
• Short-Sleeved Argyle Sweater – J Crew
• Brown Skinny Belt – Ann Taylor
• Denim Pencil Skirt – BR Outlet
• Corduroy Blazer – Marshals
• Earrings – Banana Republic
• Wedges – Gap Outlet

Today’s outfit was totally inspired by my desire to wear argyle – a preppy pattern I love but don’t actually wear that much anymore (except my ridiculous collection of argyle socks).  The argyle print was one of the many reasons the birthday gift scarf from S. was so perfectly me!  The lovely turquoise and olive diamond pattern reminded me of this old J Crew short-sleeved sweater.

When I first got this sweater years ago, I wore it all the time.  However, as my style has shifted some, I’ve struggled with how to wear it in a way that still feels like me.  So, I amped up the color palette and went a little layering crazy and ended up with this cozy analogous spectrum of greens and blues, accented by what better than caramel corduroy!

What pattern do you love but struggle to work into your daily wardrobe?

A.

• Green Blouse – BR Outlet
• Wool Skirt – BR Outlet
• Black Sweater – Banana Republic
• Boots – J Crew
• Tights – H&M
• Earrings – Gift from Sister L.

After a busy weekend, during which I accomplished very little school work, I spent most of yesterday in sweats trying to get some writing done. We have discussed this questions of what to wear when working from home before.  The three of us weigh in differently.  I personally find a day in sweats every once in a while to be very productive – as was the case yesterday.  After such days, however, I find myself dressing up a bit more than usual.

Today’s outfit are all pieces I have worn before but I made a few temporary alterations to make some of the items feel different.  I pressed the collar of this ruffly green shirt inside to make a mandarin collar. My black cardigan is actually a black wrap sweater, but I tied the strings behind my back, under the sweater.  I also hiked my skirt up a little and belted it.  Just these little adjustments help make my closet more interesting to return to everyday.

How do you change up the look of an old standard?

A.

• Ruffle Cami – Gap
• Pinstripe Skirt – J Crew
• Blue Cardigan – BR Outlet, birthday gift from mom
• Belt – Target, altered by me
• Sweater Tights – Banana Republic
• Shoes – Off Broadway

Pencil skirt, cardigan, and heels have become my go-to professional uniform.  Today’s outfit is  basically a recreation of a look I wore several months ago to mark the end of the intense course I taught this summer.  Here I have made it weather appropriate by adding the grey sweater tights and a bit more colorful with the mix of bright blue and maroon.