Coral Blazer 5 Ways

Here's my favorite coral blazer again.  I bought it last year at White House Black Market and had no idea what a wardrobe workhorse it would turn out to be. Even in such a bold color it has so much versatility. It easily pairs with black, white, blue, and tan which are the most common colors in my wardrobe.  I've worn it to work, I've worn it on date night, and I've worn it to casual events as well.

 

The cropped style and shawl collar let it stand out.  The 3/4 sleeves and linen blend fabric make it wearable for 3 seasons here in Houston. White House Black Market brings back many pieces year after year in a new colors or a slightly different cut. I kept my eye out for a repeat of this blazer all year, but no luck.

For Look 1, I paired it with a fit and flare knit dress that I got at Marshall's. It's in a heathered blue that makes it look like denim, and easy to dress down for weekends too.

Matching shoes also from WHBM and multi strand coral necklace from San Miguel complete the look.

 

Look 2: I've worn this bight jacket over a white dress with matching belt and shoes (see blog post).

 

 

Look 3: I've paired it with a nautical stripe dress for a patriotic look.

 

Look 4: I've worn it with a navy skirt and blouse, this time with brown studded sandals.

 

 

Look 5: And, I've worn it for date night with an embroidered bustier and black skirt.

 

 

Look 6 (bonus!): Paired with a matching knit top and white skirt with lace up leather sandals (See post). 

Black and White and Bold All Over

I love how black and white is effortlessly chic in any situation.  Here, I'm in my the little white dress I just got from Nordstrom via Trunk Club  (styled before here). This time I topped it with a black pin stripe blazer with short sleeves. I just buttoned the middle button and added a belt over the blazer. I've found that while models can pull off the belted blazer look effortlessly, I can only manage it with fitted blazers that are intended to be belted like this one!

The blazer is the top half of a two piece suit. I used to hang my suits in sets in my closet.  I always kept the blazer with the skirt or pants it came with.  About a year ago I tried separating my suits so I have just the blazers with all of my blazers and the skirt with my other skirts, etc.  I found that by doing that I found other ways to wear the pieces separately; giving me more unique outfits and more mileage out of my existing wardrobe.  It's been a great trick.

 

 

White Dress - Classiques Entier, available here it comes in four colors, regular and petite

Blazer - Tahari ASL (old)

Booties - Tahari (old)

 

I've had these black and white booties for many years; long before booties were all the rage and became trendy to wear with skirts and dresses. I still think they look better with Capri pants, trousers, or jeans, but I figured I'd give the trend a go.  I think booties with skirts work better on women with super skinny calves or really long legs.  I need that extra couple inches of skin to help elongate my legs!

 

 

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!

Embroidered Skirt Two Ways

I've enjoyed this skirt all summer. It is white with a subtle beige geometric embroidered pattern on it. I usually wear it with my tan blazer and nude shoes. I like to change up my blouse and jewelry though for more variety. Here I'm wearing it with a sky blue wrap blouse, and below with a simple white shell.

 

Embroidered skirt - White House Black Market

Blue wrap shell - Lafayette 148

Nude Heels - Christian Louboutin

Tan Blazer - Brooks Brothers

Blue chalcedony necklace - Sri Lanka

 

Embroidered skirt - White House Black Market

White shell - White House Black Market

Nude Heels - Christian Louboutin

Tan Blazer - Brooks Brothers

 

Tropical Print Skirt

Several bloggers I follow are already talking about transitioning to fall clothes. We still have two months of summer weather left here in Houston, so wardrobe adjustments haven't even crossed my mind yet! On the flip side, I tend to start thinking about spring outfits while others are still wearing their Uggs.

Even though I won't be able to pull out my knee high boots until November. There are some things that I put away in mid September. My seersucker suit doesn't feel correct after Labor Day, even when the temps are still pushing 100. Tropical prints, linen garments, and sun dresses will all be relegated to the back of my closet in a month too.  With that in mind I'm putting my overtly summery pieces in high rotation until then since I won't have a chance to wear them again until next year.

I'm not usually a fan of floral prints, but lately a few have crept into my closet. They are all bold and tropical like this skirt, so I guess I just don't like grandmothery florals! 

 

Skirt - Ann Taylor current season

Blouse - Vince 

Blazer - Brooks Brothers 

Suede sandals - Audrey Brooke (one of DSW's in house brands)

Errand Day

My weekends are always full of running errands. As I'm writing this I'm sitting at the auto place hoping my leaky tire can be fixed and doesn't need to be replaced. It's another 100 degree day, and I really feel it when I'm getting in and out of the car all day. It's tempting to wear shorts and t-shirts on days like this, but then I hear Stacy London (do you remember that show, "What Not to Wear"?) in my head telling me you can be cool and comfortable and still look put together.

I also hear my mother telling me to "dress nicely, because people treat you better when you look nice." Which is true, the auto repair guy just gave me a cold bottle of water.  So, I'm still wearing shorts to be cool and comfortable, but they are a tailored pair with a flat front and a breezy tropical pattern. Instead of tennis shoes I'm in cute gold wedges (styled before here, and Deborah from Fabulous After 40 just did a great post about metallic sandals) that are still comfortable, and even cooler than tennis shoes. I swapped a t-shirt (to be honest I did look for my red t-shirt but it is in the wash) for a short sleeved blouse, that I usually classify as work wear. My matching cross body purse, and a statement necklace in a neutral color finishes the look. I'm cool and comfortable, and if I happen to run into a client I won't have to duck or hide! Stacy London and my mom would be so proud.

Shorts - White House Black Market 

Blouse - The Limited

Gold Wedges - Fergalicious by Fergie 

Cross body - Kate Spade

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.

White capris and gold wedges

Here's a quick casual summer outfit. These are my Lucky Brand white jeans. They are ankle length but I rolled them up for a Capri length. I topped with this blue and white striped tunic that I got on Amazon, and these cute gold wedges. 

I got the wedges at DSW a year or two ago; they're Fergalicius by Fergie. I've worn them a lot this summer. They are a soft gold, and they go with everything. 

 

 

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!