outfit post: teal ikat shorts, white peasant blouse, neon necklace

Inspiration - Kelly Ripa

Summer summer summertime! Fun bright colors, light fabrics and comfy shoes. Perfect.

Top:
     White peasant blouse - Loft
Bottom:
     Teal ikat shorts - Loft
Shoes:
     Brown wedges - ShoeMint
Accessories:
     Neon yellow triangle necklace - eBay
     Gold link watch - Michael Kors

outfit post: polkadot pencil skirt, pink shirt, nude pumps

Inspiration - J.Crew

Today's inspiration is an easy basic work outfit. It seems like 90% of what I wear to work are outfits comprised of basic neutral colored bottoms and tops with either color, pattern or texture - the interesting part of the outfit. The purchase of this skirt was to try to break out of that habit and try a pattern on the bottom half. I like the result and think I will be getting a lot of use out of this skirt!

Top:
     Pink cotton blouse - Banana Republic
Bottom:
     Polka-dot pencil skirt - J.Crew
Shoes:
     Nude pumps - Aldo
Accessories:
     Gold link watch - Michael Kors

outfit post: black shorts, white t-shirt, neon yellow heels

Inspiration - Ashley Madekwe - Ring My Bell

Two outfits with neon yellow shoes in one week! Crazy!

I'm surprised how happy these shoes make me. I think my love for these bright bright heels is partly because they update the clothes I've had forever and make them feel new again. I can wear basic black shorts and a plain white t-shirt and then by adding the neon shoes it's all of a sudden a fun, interesting, trendy outfit.

Ashley (from the show Revenge - has a really cute blog called Ring My Bell) wore this outfit to go on the E! show Fashion Police. I would wear this for a night out on the town.


Top:
     White drapey t-shirt - H&M
Bottom:
     Black shorts - H&M
Shoes:
     Neon yellow heels - ShoeMint
Accessories:
     Neon yellow triangle necklace - eBay
     Gold link watch - Michael Kors

outfit post: teal midi skirt, striped cardigan, wide belt

Inspiration - Lo Bosworth

I'm currently loving wearing midi skirts. They are as comfortable and cool as wearing shorts in the summer but I feel so much cuter and pulled together in a skirt. This lightweight striped cardigan adds a little pattern to the basic colors and a little warmth for freezing offices or arctic movie theaters. I wore this for a late afternoon movie date with the hubby.

Top:
     White tank - H&M
     Grey & white striped cardigan - Old Navy
Bottom:
     Teal midi skirt - JCrew
Shoes:
     Tan wedges - ShoeMint
Accessories:
     Gold link watch - Michael Kors
     Gold medallion necklace - Target
     Wide woven belt - Target

outfit post: argyle sweater, grey slacks, silver ball necklace

Inspiration - Michelle Obama

I really like this argyle sweater look inspired from Michelle Obama. (Politics aside - I love looking for pictures of either Michelle Obama & Kate Middleton that I can recreate with clothes I own - I feel like there just aren't enough fun, professional, women fashion icons.) This outfit is both professional and fun - in a cute preppy way. Love it!

Top:
     Argyle sweater - Banana Republic
Bottom:
     Grey editor pant - Express
Shoes:
     Nude pumps - Aldo
Accessories:
     Silver ball necklace - Target

outfit post: denim pencil skirt, blue button down, grey cardigan

Inspiration - Katie Holmes

I think this work look inspired by Katie Holmes is a little sexy secretary and I mean that in a totally positive way. It's covered up, modest and sweet but somehow also subtle super hottie.

This Brooks Brother's shirt is only 'no iron' shirt that I've found that truly is wash, dry & no iron! (I wait for the semi-annual sales to buy them at a much cheaper price.)

Top:
     Blue button down shirt - Brooks Brothers (shop same, similar, similar)
     Grey cardigan with floral applique - Old Navy (can't seem to find a good reasonably priced similar cardigan. Did find ridiculously expensive one that is $2,220 though...)
Bottom:
     Denim pencil skirt - Loft (shop same - love, similar, similar)Shoes:
     Nude pumps - Nine West (shop same - LOVE these)
Accessories:
     Gold link watch - Michael Kors (shop same, very similar for $20!, similar $24, different but really cute)

outfit post: neon yellow heels, boyfriend jeans, black jacket

Inspiration - Kim Kardashian

I got a new pair of shoes! And they are brrriiigghhht! I don't own too many things that are neon (I think I'm still recovering from my middle school days of wearing a neon smiley face t-shirt and matching giant smiley face earrings - what was I thinking?) but for some reason the idea of a pair of bright yellow pumps have been calling to me. And now that I have them I am sort of obsessed.

The two areas of life that I seem to need the most outfit help/inspiration are work and nightlife.  I need work outfit ideas mostly because of the sheer number of days you have to get dressed for work and nightlife ideas because they tend to be the trendiest type of outfits and constantly changing.  I really like this outfit for night because it is on trend with the neon accents and it's really comfortable to boot. (Yay - no squeezing myself into a body conscious dress and keeping my gut sucked in all night.)

Top:
     Black boyfriend blazer - Target (shop same, similar, similar)
     Black tank - H&M (similar, similar, similar)
Bottom:
     Bootcut jeans - True Religion (bought at a consignment shop three sizes too big & had them tailored - who knew you could tailor jeans?!) - (similar, similar, similar)
Shoes:
     Neon yellow pumps - ShoeMint (shop same, similar, similar, similar)
Accessories:
     Gold link watch - Michael Kors (shop same)
     Leopard clutch - Target (similar, similar, similar)

outfit posts: mustard sweater, grey pencil skirt, leopard belt

Inspiration - Alexander McQueen via Net-a-Porter

I'm always on the lookout for inspiration for outfits to wear to work. I saw this outfit and loved the color combination. Once I put the shirt & skirt together - it still needed something to add interest - so I added a leopard belt to give it a little pattern. Love the end result!

Top:
     Mustard sweater - Loft
Bottom:
     Grey pencil skirt - Banana Republic
Shoes:
     Black pumps - Alfani (Macy's Brand)
Accessories:
     Leopard belt - TJ Maxx
     Gold link watch - Michael Kors

Dynamic Views

A few months ago I wrote a post about setting up dynamic template views for this blog. It's a cool way to view all the outfits I've ever posted at one time!

You can jump to see the photo layout at any time by clicking the links in the bar at the top of this page, "Flipcard View", "Mosaic View", "Sidebar View" and "Snapshot View."

My favorite is the FlipCard View. I love typing works like "skirt" or "blue" and seeing all the outfits of that type at once! (But for some reason don't hit enter after you type the word or it will take you off of the flipcard view. Instead of enter just click anywhere off of the search popup menu.)

There are 4 different views on the dynamic site:

• Flipcard view: http://outfitpostsdynamic.blogspot.com/?view=flipcard
• I like this view a lot because it lets you see lots and lots of outfits at a glance. And then you can click any one outfit to see more information.
• At the top of the Flipcard view you can sort the photos by Recent, Date and Label.
• You can also use the search bar to find outfits with terms like "skirt" or "blue".

• Mosaic view: http://outfitpostsdynamic.blogspot.com/?view=mosaic
• I'm considering getting rid of this one. It's a mess of pictures.

• Sidebar view: http://outfitpostsdynamic.blogspot.com/?view=sidebar
• This view is amazing for clicking each outfit along a left hand list & quickly getting the breakdown of where I bought the pieces.

• Snapshop view: http://outfitpostsdynamic.blogspot.com/?view=snapshot
• Just a fun & cheesy way to view photos that look like Polaroids.  

I hope you like the updates! Thoughts? Suggestions? Requests? Comments?

outfit post: teal maxi dress, wide bright stretchy belt

Inspiration - Loft

I should have ironed this dress before I left the house. Oopsie. I'm really good for the first few steps of my laundry - I keep up with the washing, drying and folding of the clothes into my laundry basket. I take that basket into the bedroom and the process seems to breakdown there. Instead of hanging/ironing, I put the basket down near my closet and I pull clean clothes from it each morning to get dressed. At first the clothes are still relatively non-wrinkled and wearable but as time goes on everything gets jumbled and wadded up and I end up pulling out a dress like this in a hurry and walking around without realizing that I'm a wrinkled mess. Hence the outcome of this picture.

But in other news... yay weekend!

Dress: 
     Teal maxi dress - LOFT
Shoes:
     Woven rope sandals - Ralph Lauren Outlet
Accessories:
     Gold link watch - Michael Kors
     Wide bright patterned belt - LOFT

outfit post: floral shirt, white cardigan, jean shorts

Inspiration - Zoe Saldana

I think I have a jean short problem. <Insert Florida joke here.> I am absolutely loving mine and wearing them all of the time. I like this outfit because it mixes pretty feminine pieces like the floral top and white cardigan, which both could be dressed up, with the super casual cut off jean short. Fun, casual, hot weather outfit!

Top:
     Floral shirt - Loft
     White cardigan - Old Navy
Bottom:
     Jean shorts - Target
Shoes:
     Nude flats - TJ Maxx
Accessories:
     Teal crossbody purse - Target
     Gold link watch - Michael Kors

outfit post: orange polka dot dress

Inspiration - Forever 21 Mannequin

I found this dress on super sale at F21 after I saw it styled on a mannequin at the front of the store. I really liked the look & decided it was worth $8 to try a very out of character dress. Once I put it on with the black accessories (it really needed the black tank underneath or I'd be showing some serious side boob) I felt simultaneously sweet and a little edgy.

I'm not exactly sure where I'm going in this outfit - it is reeeeally short.  Maybe to a hole in the wall bar for a few beers?

Dress:
     Orange polka dot - F21
Top:
     Black tank - Old Navy
Shoes:
     Black pumps - Mossimo via Target
Accessories:
     Skinny black belt - from another dress

outfit post: mint cropped pants, tan and white striped shirt

Inspiration - Glitter and Grace

Here's my second outfit with my fun mint cropped pants - first outfit here. (Although the lighting in the photo is making them look teal...) I like this look because the shirt is neutral colors but has a pattern and the pants are a solid but have a fun color - mixing up the interest. Oh, and I'm wearing super fun & high heels which always makes me happy... as long as there aren't any long walks involved.

Top:
     Tan & white striped shirt - Loft
Bottom:
     Mint cropped pants - Loft
Shoes:
     Peep-toed nude pumps - ShoeMint
Accessories:
     Chevron gold necklace - F21
     Gold link watch - Michael Kors
     White purse - Louis Vuitton

outfit post: black dress, chambray shirt, leopard belt

Inspiration - The Other Emily

Some days clothes are all about comfort. And this outfit is completely comfortable - the black dress is stretchy and the chambray shirt is huge and soft - total relaxed fit & ease for lounging around a picnic with friends or running around the park after little people. Lovely.

Top:
     Chambray shirt - Old Navy
Dress:
     Black dress - Ann Taylor
Shoes:
     Brown wedges - ShoeMint
Accessories:
     Leopard belt - TJMaxx
     Gold link watch - Michael Kors
     Tan purse - Longchamp

outfit post: black & white floral blouse, black pants

Inspiration - Vionnet via Net-a-Porter

I'm always looking for non-crazy outfit ideas to wear to work - it seems like most suggestions I see are for people who work in creative professions like design, publishing or advertising. I don't work in a artistic industry so my work looks should be more professional, polished and modest. But a professional enviornment doesn't mean you can't have a little fun with what you wear!

I like this look because it's only black and white. I feel like I have been wearing a lot of bright colors this summer and so this feels like a color palate cleanser. Although if it is chilly in the air conditioning or I had to meet with my boss - I might throw on a teal cardigan to cover my arms. :)

Top:
     Black & white sleeveless floral top - Old Navy
Bottom:
     Black pants - Express
Shoes:
     Black pumps - Alfani (Macy's Brand)
Accessories:
     Black purse - Coach
     Gold link watch - Michael Kors

outfit posts: red skirt, black jacket, leopard heels

Inspiration - Rachel Bilson

I would wear this outfit if I had some kind of cool/trendy event to go to - like an art gallery opening or a book release party. I don't have anything like that on my calendar so it would more likely just be dinner & drinks with my husband. :)

(I bought these shoes from ShoeMint.com which is Rachel Bilson's line so it makes me happy that the first outfit I'm wearing them with is with an inspiration photo of her outfit.)

Top:
     White tank top - Old Navy
     Black jacket - Target
Bottom:
     Red jarden skirt - JCrew
Shoes:
     Leopard & zebra print heels - Shoemint "Carol"
Accessories:
     Nautical necklace - JCrew
     Gold link watch - Michael Kors

outfit post: purple & white striped top, jean shorts

Inspiration - Lauren Conrad

TGIF! It's been really hot lately and sometimes I just want to throw on something easy, cool and cute. This outfit inspired by Lauren Conrad meets all three criteria.

I have had this shirt from Forever 21 for a really long time (6 years?) and I was thinking it was just about time to donate it when I came across this photo of LC. Seeing her outfit made me realize this shirt is still cute and I can definitely get more wears out of it before passing it along!

Top:
     Purple and white striped top - F21
Bottom:
     Jean shorts - Target
Shoes:
     Silver flip flops - Old Navy
Purse:     
     Tan purse - Longchamp