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!

Lilac and Gray

I got my inspiration today from Outfit Post's blog, and she got her inspiration from the Nine Thirty to Five blog.  They both paired a lilac tank with a gray cardigan and I liked the color combination.  Cardigans are too casual for my workplace, but I can always substitute them with a blazer to bring it up a notch.  I don't have much lilac or purple in my wardrobe, but I do have these lilac pants that I got at White House Black Market last year.  I have always paired them with a white top and blazer but that post inspired me to pair them with a gray shell and blazer.  My blazer has a pink/lilac pinstripe in it as well. I got compliments at work and at the gym, so thank you fellow bloggers!

 

 

 

 

And how about these gray suede peep toe booties! Suede used to just be a fall and winter shoe material, but if you look at the number of suede sandals seen everywhere, that rule is obviously out.  They are Nine West, and I got these during Nordstrom's anniversary sale that is still going on.  You can order them here, on sale until August 8th. They come in red and black too. I think they would look better if my pants were just a little shorter.  I'll have fun pairing them with jeans on date nights too.

 

 

Red, White, and Oops! I Forgot the Blue!

Happy Fourth of July Weekend!  We usually go to Austin for the 4th, but this year we'll be on our way to Europe, so I haven't really gotten into the spirit.  When I got to work today everyone was in red, white, and blue outfits.  Just by chance I'm in red and white, I could have put on some navy shoes and I would have been set!

 

As it is, I'm still working through my "never worn" list from my Stylebook Closet App (you can read more about my adventures with the app here  and here), and this skirt and top were both on there.  I've never paired this top with this jacket, but I think it works, even if it is bright.  The skirt, top, jacket, and even the necklace are all from White House Black Market.

 

 

I was really trying to put together a great outfit for my new shoes.  I love, love, love these new shoes.  My last look-book from Keaton Row included them. I wasn't going to buy them, but I kept dreaming about them. I kept looking them up online and smiling at them, so I went ahead and ordered them.  They arrived last night.  I was worried that all that leather crisscrossing might be uncomfortable, but they are remarkably comfortable. I decided they were keepers. If you're as dreamy-eyed as me you can still get them on Amazon.

 

 

 

Dolce Vita Harper Sandals

 

 

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!

Stitch Fix #4

I got my latest box from Stitch Fix. Have you ever tried it?  It like having a personal stylist drop off clothes at your front door.  I love the idea of a surprise box of clothes showing up on my door step full of things that are my style and size, but...I'm not willing to pay more for the service. I've read so many blogs about people who love Stitch Fix, but my experience has just been ok.

My biggest disappointment has been the price for the quality of some of the items. In this latest box I received 2 blouses that would have been $20 or less at TJMaxx or Marshall's. You can even get great blouses at Nordstrom for under $30 when they are on sale. So for Stich Fix to charge $60 for a similar quality item, I just can't get excited about that.

I have kept some lovely dresses that were a little more expensive, but also a higher quality and the price felt more fair, so for me it's been hit or miss.  The people who have more luck tend to have a more casual wardrobe over all.  If I've peaked your curiosity try it out: Stitch Fix. 

Anyway, here's what was in my box this time.

Brixon Ivy Sylvester Split Neck Blouse $54
This was a pretty blouse, but the fabric was bleh, and I don't need one more top in my closet!

Another cute top, I would have kept it for $20 or less, but not for over $50. 

I loved this blazer.  I asked for blazers and skirts in this fix.  The stylist probably saw all my blazers in this color on my Pinterest boards, but I already have 3 blazers in this color.  If they had sent it in any other color I would have kept it.  The $80 price tag seemed appropriate for the quality.

This was once of the skirts they sent.  It has an ethnic black and cream print.  It is very stretchy, doesn't even have a zipper, and isn't lined.  I like that is can be dressed down with a t-shirt like this, but I can also pair it with a blazer for work.  Still I thought it was a little pricy $68 for what it was.

This was another skirt they sent.  It was the same brand as the one above.  You can't tell in this picture but it was a dark blue with a lattice texture.  It was very pretty, but a little long on me and bunched up when I walked. 

So that is my 4th Stich Fix box.  I generally try to just keep one item from each box, I kept the black print skirt this time.  It's very tempting to keep more, but since reading Marie Kondo's book about the magic of tidying up, I'm much more picky about what I keep.

Sometimes Custom Made isn't Great

This isn't actually a suit. The blazer is from Brooks Brothers. I have the matching skirt to make it a great summer suit, but it is a little tight on me right now (the struggle is real!). I paired it with this tan pencil skirt from White House Black Market today, for a little more casual look, and because it fits!

My French Blue blouse I had custom made in Thailand.  That's a thing there, there's a tailor on every corner. You can get beautiful clothes custom made for a fraction of the cost. My sister and I vacationed there several years ago. You can read about the trip on our travel blog, Two Traveling Blondes.

Unfortunately, my custom made blouse didn't turn out quite like I hoped. I took my favorite shirt for them to copy, but my shirt was a knit material and the tailor didn't have any stretchy fabric to choose from, so I picked out this silk in my favorite blue to try. The blouse doesn't work as well without the stretch. I have to wear a cami under it, as you can see, for both the front and the underarms, which gives it a much more casual appearance. It looks fine under a blazer for summer, but I usually pair it with jeans or shorts for a polished but casual weekend look.

My nude Louboutins round out today's outfit. They look custom made for me too! I don't think you could match my skin color any better! I knew I wore these shoes a lot, but since getting my Stylebook Closet App, I've found out that they are well worth the price tag, as they are the most worn shoes in my wardrobe.

Minimalist Shinimalist!

There's been a real trend towards minimalism in the last few years. Fashion blogs and Pinterest are littered with how to create a Causal Wardrobe, or as some like to claim, how to dress like a French woman.

Then there's Marie Kondo's New York Times best seller that espouses that if you get rid of everything that doesn't spark joy in your life you will free yourself and only greatness will follow.

I've read numerous flow charts to help you decide what to keep and what to ditch. I've tried the system of turning all of your hangers backwards, the hang them back up normally after you wear something and after 6 month you'll be able easily identify what you haven't worn and get rid of it.

I've tried all of these ideas. In January after reading Kondo's book I did a big purge and took six bags to Good Will.  But I still have so many clothes.  When I started using my Stylebook Closet App, and it gave me an actual count of everything in my closet and the combined value...holy cow! 

I really started to weigh on me. The volume of my possessions was making me a little depressed. I started obsessing a little bit about it. Am I too materialistic? Am I a shopaholic? Am I hoarder? 

What is a reasonable amount of clothes to have anyway? Looking at my statistics in my closet app I have 502 items logged. And that's not everything, but it does include bags, shoes, necklaces, belts, and scarves. 

I've been using the app for 2 months. I haven't repeated a work outfit once, and I've only repeated a casual outfit once. Out of my 502 items, I still haven't worn 204 items after 2 months. About 65 of that 204 are winter items, so that doesn't really count. So, I have about 150 items still to wear.  That will probably still take me at least 2 more months to wear everything in season in my closet.

With those 502 items I've created 665 outfits so far, without much effort. If I really tried I could probably get up to 1000 unique outfits. And I'm not splitting hairs here and counting an outfit with different shoes or a different necklace as a different outfit. These are distinctively different outfits.

There's only 365 days in the year, though. I could go over 2 years without ever wearing the same outfit! My mom would say that's obscene (that's also how she describes our Christmases with 100's of presents, hmm maybe my comfort with excess stems from that!)! 

Anyway, I was lamenting to my coworker today about how I need to get rid of half my wardrobe because I have too much and she said, "Who cares?" I thought about that for a moment, and you know what, she's right! Who cares? 

I have the space for my stuff. I don't go into debt buying things. I wear my stuff. Why does it matter that I have too much, and who's to say what too much is anyway? I'm sure it's less than any of the Kardashions!

When I got home I changed out of my work clothes and into errond clothes as I do everyday. I created a new outfit combination that utilized 2 items from my never worn list, and a great pair of wedges that I've owned for years, but have also gone years with never wearing. If I'd had followed all that minimalist advice I would have gotten rid of these shoes years ago. Instead they were the perfect shoes for my outfit today and that brought me joy! 

 

A Summer Dress

Today I wore this light pink dress by Tahari. It has pockets! I had no idea how fun it is to have pockets in work clothes until today! I usually keep my pants' pockets sewn up so they lay flat, so it was new for me.

This was such an easy outfit. I'll have to find more dresses that I can wear to work without a blazer. I probably would never have picked this dress out, but my stylist from Trunk Club sent it. Tahari is one of my favorite brands, so I kept it even though I wasn't sure at first. I've actually put it on in the morning a several times before, but always changed into something else. I kept trying to wear a blazer with it before, but now that it's well into summer I felt alright wearing it on its own, and I got a lot of compliments from my colleagues.

Another reason I kept it on today is I wanted to wear these new shoes! They match perfectly! I just got the shoes a few days ago from DSW. They are by Ivanka Trump. This is my 3rd pair of her shoes and they are all eye catching and comfortable.

When I got back to the office this afternoon I set my purse on my desk for some reason. I usually put it in a drawer. My collguege spotted it and started gushing over it. I've always thought that everyone needs at least one Chanel purse, so last year I finally splurged. It's never made it into heavy rotation because it's a purse that generally takes two hands to get anything into or out of. It is so elegant though, and goes with everything!