TBMD

Most of my purchases in the past two months has been from J.Crew. Their sales have been so... hard... to... resist. Armed with a gift card from Christmas, I lasted maybe... a month before spending it all. Try as I might, it's kinda hard not to be excited about wearing all new items at once, even if I do look like a walking J.Crew mannequin. I'm sure all the time I spent browsing the sale section and perusing the catalog has me mentally drawing heavy inspiration (if not ripping off exact styling) from photos I've seen. The closest sources I could find are plaid + bow tie and plaid + skirt.

Today's outfit was perfect for morning temperatures in the 40s. But by late afternoon, I was sweating it out in this scarf + sweater + blazer combo for photos. Hey, if this spring weather is here to stay, I'll gladly stop all complaints.

Work has been kicking my butt, so my brain's fried by the time I get home. Sorry for more weather-related ramblings.

Old habits die hard. Tan jacket, chain scarf, and leopard shoes = check. Chambray shirt with chain scarf = another check. Snakeskin clutch with leopard shoes = check again. All worn together and we get today's outfit.

Have a good weekend!

I picked up a pair of J.Crew Factory skimmer pant in wool in bright dahlia, size 00 as a replacement to my wrinkle-prone cotton fuchsia pants. The skimmer pants are now on final sale for $14.99 + 4.95 shipping with code MOREPLEASE until 1/23. I paid $26 for these pants a few weeks back, figuring the price was reasonable with room for alterations if needed.

At first glance, the skimmer pants look similar to the ever-popular café capris, which I tried on but didn't like. As J.Crew describes it, Everyone's buzzing about our skimmer—a hybrid of our much-loved café capri and the ever-popular cocktail capri. Though I've never tried the cocktail capri, I figured the skimmer pants are worth a try. The pants are TTS on me, with the length hitting just above my ankle bone. When comparing the café capris and skimmer pants in the same size, I felt the café capris were much looser around my behind and thighs, whereas the skimmer pants were slimmer throughout. I'd recommend sizing up from your café capris for the skimmer pants, or sizing down in the reverse.

If memory serves me correctly, the fabric of the skimmer pants feels thinner than the café capris, but the quality of the wool blend mixture is pretty decent. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the inside of the skimmer pants was fully lined (I don't believe the café capris were), so no worries about itchiness. Though I did notice some static cling with the inner lining throughout the day.

I've given up on completely wrinkle-free clothing, so as long as the creases are minimal, I'm a happy camper. The photos below were taken after sitting in the car for half an hour. The result? Some visible creasing in the usual suspect areas of upper thighs and back of the knees, but not too horrible. They do smooth out a bit if I'm not sitting in the same position all day long.

See the pants on Gigi.

This summed up my day. Hope y'all had a good one!

I saw this Gap email in my inbox and immediately made a mental note to try wearing a scarf with the ends knotted. In its original state, my scarf hangs and looks ridiculously long on me, so knotting the ends was also great for that reason. The looser the knot, the shorter the overall scarf length.

I'm always on the lookout for new ways to wear scarves, so thank you Gap!

Today's outfit was taken a few weeks ago, from when the weather was much nicer. It's been raining all week long (with possibility for snow today!), so I've been on a mini-break with no new outfits to share.

In past winters, I would take photos in my work bathroom. But this year, I've been spoiled by natural lighting and varying scenery, so I don't know if I'd go back to the bathroom route. How do you put up with photo taking in the cold? Always keep a jacket on? Quick snapshots with jacket off? Don't even bother with the outdoors? I'm freezing just thinking about it.

When we were kids, my brother and I would joke about what we wanted to be when we grew up. The only requirement for me was using a pager on the job (I sure am dating myself, but that's growing up in the 90s for ya). I remember my parents perking up and suggesting doctor as a profession (how typical, right?) Sorry mom and dad, I just don't have the drive and dedication for that. Thank goodness I wasn't serious about the pager because now I'm grateful my job only requires normal hours.

My brother on the other hand, wanted a job where he wore a suit everyday. I remember scratching my head at his response while my parents burst out laughing, telling him that dressing up will get old. Fast forward to the present and whatdoyouknow, he wears a suit and tie to work everyday. And actually enjoys it.

I'm most comfortable in casual clothes but sometimes I look around my closet and feel guilty that my business attire items don't see much daylight. So for today's look, I started with a pair of slacks then dressed it down with a long tee. I topped off the outfit with a tweed jacket, where the gray color scheme is also picked up from the metallic threading.

Just another casual outfit with many of the same pieces that've been in constant rotation. Hope you had a good weekend!

I'm waiting for the day that my male boss and I both go into work wearing the same plaid shirt. Okay, so his doesn't have ruffles, but the pattern and color scheme are exactly like mine. Also, given my penchant for cargo pants, there's a very likely chance we'd look like twins from head to toe. Just in case the matching outfits become too embarrassing, I'll be sure to have a sweater handy.

The unseasonably warm weather this week has me pining for an early spring. It's probably wishful thinking on my part, so I'll be enjoying it while it lasts, with a little floral pattern in tow.

Have a good Wednesday!

My favorite way to mix and match my wardrobe for seemingly new looks is to change up just a few items (sorry if I'm repeating myself). Sometimes the change is quite apparent at first glance, while other times it's more subtle.

For today's outfit, I simply took the summer version then added a few winter accessories for a new look. One issue I have with wearing tights is finding the right balance on top. The dress is sleeveless, so the notion of bare arms with covered legs seem unbalanced (funny because I don't mind when I'm covered up top while going bare-legged). I solved this issue by covering my arms with a blazer. Another alternative is to wear a turtleneck with tights. Voila! A dress that takes me from warm to cold weather and back.

Inspired by this photo, I was all set to swap out the denim jacket for my chambray shirt. However, I hadn't counted on the shirt hem being longer than the blazer, therefore making the outfit look sloppier than I'd like. With three layers on top of one another, each shorter than the previous, the combination just looked odd. One piece had to go, so the chambray shirt it was.

Have a good weekend, everyone!

I'm kicking off 2013 with yet another outfit featuring this bright red turtleneck. The holidays may be over but my cheery mood is staying. Be warned, this is only the beginning with many more red turtleneck outfits to come!