Two Outfits, One Formula

I definitely have a couple of outfit formulas that I wear most often.  Jacket with straight skirt statement shoes is what I wear most work days.  That is closely followed by the very similar jacket with ankle pants and statement shoes.  Here are two outfits that are the same formula, even the same color palette, yet different.

Both outfits pair my favorite black ankle pants with a black jacket.  Since I love shoes, and I love outfits that are all about the shoes, ankle length pants are my favorite work pants because they allow the shoes to be fully seen.  They are also very comfortable and I've been wearing them on weekends instead of jeans to elevate my look as well. 

In this first outfit I added a bright pink blouse and black Hermes belt. This outfit is a bit less casual than the second.  The jacket is a little more tailored, the solid color shirt is more businessy, and the classic belt are all more professional than the second look.  This outfit I started with the shoes and picked out the rest of the outfit to go with them. In the second outfit I started with the floral blouse and went from there.

I fell in love with these embroidered heels as soon as I saw them.  I liked them even more after spending a day in them and realizing how comfortable they are.  I usually wear shoes with slim heels, and I really noticed a difference in these. My sister always tells me how chunky-heel shoes are more comfortable, I just never believed her!

 

Here's a close up of the shoes.  They are still available at White House Black Market.





This second outfit is the same black ankle pants with a slightly different black jacket.  I could have worn the same jacket though.  A few days ago my daughter asked me why I have so many black jackets and I honestly had no good reason to give her! I do wear and enjoy them all, even if I do need to take a course in minimalism!

This time I paired them with a floral peasant blouse. Floral prints are hit or miss with me.  There are a lot that I really do not like.  If the print is too small, or the colors too muted then I stay away.  The pattern on this blouse is a medium size and has enough vibrancy to not look matronly to me.

I finished the outfit off with these pink sandals that have been in my closet for a while and a matching pink belt.



  

Which is your favorite?  Do you have any go to outfit formulas that you use regularly?

Little White Dress in fall

In August I blogged about the Little White Dress trend (see post here).  It seems like an easy choice in summer, but it can work in fall just as easily.  Back in August I paired this same white dress with a coral linen blazer with matching belt and strappy sandals.  Here, for fall I used the same formula, but with gray as my accent color and more fall friendly materials like these suede peep-toe booties.

 

I purchased this gray blazer last year at White House Black Market.  I like the updated stand up collar and lapel. It also has two shades of gray (but not 50 tee hee!) which gives it more interest while still being subtle.

 

You can read my review about my white dress that I got from Trunk Club here.  It's ponte knit so super comfortable.  These pictures are after a full day of work and there are no noticeable wrinkles either.  The label says dry clean only, but I just washed it at home with great results.  It shrunk a tad in length which was fine with me since I felt it was tad long anyway. This exact dress is still available and runs true to size.

 

These Nine West Booties are my favorite purchase of the year!  Swoon! See how I styled them with lavender pants here, and with a burgundy jacket here.  These exact booties are still available, and true to size.  

 

 

Recreate the look here:

Jacket - mine  is old from WHBM, similar 2 tone from JCrew, also this one with stand up collar from JCrew

Booties - exact Nine West Booties

White Dress - same brand and fabric as mine with cute waist detail

 

 

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Happy Friday

I blogged about this dress before. I like to wear it on Fridays because the heathered navy fabric makes me feel like I'm in denim. I tend to wear this dress with the same formula too: bright blazer and matching shoes.

I wasn't going to post this outfit since it is so similar to this one from a couple of weeks ago (see post here), but I got so many compliments today so I decided to post anyway. There's just something about a bright pink jacket and matching shoes that makes people smile.

Have you seen all the great new pink items at J. Crew? They have a three shades of pink items, and the bright pink is called Wild Flamingo. I'm smitten! I might have to get this skirt or this jacket.

Pink jacket - Tahari, similar
Navy dress - Dalia, similar, similar
Pink Sandals - Kelly & Katie, similar, similar, similar

Charity - I use affiliate links in this blog.  That means each time you click on a link to a product I get a few cents, even if you don't purchase anything.  I have a full time job and I keep this blog purely for fun.  All proceeds I make here I donate to charity, so please click away and know it's for a great cause! Also, please tell me what your favorite charities are in the comments.  I will donate to the ones that are most popular. Many thanks!

Gray and Pastels

Last week I blogged about a lilac and gray outfit I was wearing.  It got me thinking about how gray looks great with all pastel colors. So, I used the same  gray and pastels formula for today's outfit of gray and sky blue.

This is a sky blue leather skirt from White House Black Market that I got last season.
The gray zipper eyelet jacket is Armani Collezioni that I got at Neiman's Last Call, also last year.

 

I paired it with gray and navy pearls, and a wrist-full of silver bangles.  I learned how to stack bangles from growing up in the Middle East...looking at these pictures I'm not sure if that projects the successful business woman image I'm going for, but I am in very cosmopolitan Houston, so maybe it works!

 

 

Here are the shoes I'm wearing.  The are still available at DSW, and are on sale. The gray tied in with my jacket and it's not obvious in this picture, but there are shades of blue throughout the gray, so these are just the perfect shoe for this outfit!

 

 

I don't use affiliate posts, so I'm not making any money when you click on these links.

Outfit Formula: Formal Suit Made Casual

The matching skirt and blazer tends to be the most formal and traditional outfit formula, but when done in Searsucker, it's emidiately a bit more casual while still professional, and perfect for a Houston summer.  This seersucker suit is from Tahari, and the white shell is White House Black Market. Paired with an orange Michael Kors purse and these brown embossed Prada peep-toe heels, you have a great summer work outfit.

 

Prada shoes are often the most comfortable shoes I own. These brown embossed leather ones were a little loose in the heel and sometimes I would walk out of them. I added some heel cushions and now they fit great.

Outfit Formula: Matching Blouse and Shoes

Do you ever use formulas to get dressed?  I do. Here are some of the formulas I use most often for office outfits:

1) Matching skirt and blazer with contrasting blouse - this is your most traditional formula.  It is the most similar to a man's power suit where your blouse becomes synonymous with his tie.

2) Matching skirt and blouse with contrasting blazer

3) Matching blouse and blazer with contrasting skirt

4) Matching blouse and statement shoes with any combination of skirt and blazer

I use one of first three formulas when I'm pressed for time or when I have important meetings, because they are easy to put together and always look smart. 

When I'm I feeling creative or want to have a little more fun, like today, I'll use #4! 
Today I wore this black and white striped skirt with a pink blouse and matching statement strappy sandals. 

My skirt is from White House Black Market, the blouse is from Stitch Fix, the Shoes are Kelly and Katie from DSW.  My necklace is white topaz that I got in Sri Lanka (you can read about that trip in my Travel Blog). 

Here's a close up of the blazer.  It is by Elie Tahari, and has these wonderful ribbon details to really make it much more than your ordinary black blazer.

And these shoes are so fun!  They are by Kelly & Katie which is a private label brand created by DSW. They have enough elastic in the strap that I can get them on without having to unbuckle them which is convenient.  They are very comfortable except for a small spot on the top strap that rubbed against the top of my foot.  I actually just put a piece of tape under the strap and the problem was solved.