OOTD: Virtual Girls Night

Girls and their clothes. It never gets old creating outfits and having fun dressing up! It's well known that girls don't dress for boys, either -- they dress for other girls!

Tonight, I had one of two Girl's Nights scheduled for the week, this one with a dear friend from college. Meet Lindsay, my partner in crime from our six-week Madrid study abroad program.

Side note: Oh Fanta from Spain, you are so much better than Fanta here in the States. Why can't they replicate that recipe here?! 

Lindsay and I spent a lot of time "studying" in Spain way back then ... at the bar across the street from our dorm. With "Bluuuudy Maryssss" as the bartender called them. Don't be fooled -- we went to our fair share of classes and local business visits as part of our program. But we also ran into some famous people while out on the town at nights:

Oh hi, Ice-T! Or "Mr. Ice-T Sir" as we addressed him, ha!

Lindsay is a blast, so I never pass up the chance to hang out with this old friend! I made sure to put on a nice outfit this morning in honor of the occasion, and you know, maybe blow out my hair rather than wear it dirty ;)

Dress: Target, Blazer: LOFT, Shoes: Nine West, Belt: JCrew

I also threw on some fun earrings, just for the occasion.

Earrings: Stella and Dot

Sadly, my friend has had a crazy day come up at work, so we have to postpone our evening. Now we are both sitting here in cute outfits today, with nowhere special to go tonight.

Doesn't this card just sum it up perfectly? :)

Source: someecards.com via Katherine on Pinterest

So instead, we took shots of our outfits and texted them to each other and had a virtual mini "date" at work, ha! I am loving Lindsay's ring. And her manicure - check this out!

Lesson learned: don't let a "wasted" outfit day get you down! Even if you can't publicly post about your outfits like me (ha!), share them with friends or snap a shot and recreate the look later. It'll be just as good the second time around. And virtually is better than not at all!

Have you "wasted" an outfit recently?

And to Lindsay: Can't wait to see you next week instead!!

 

OOTD Shots

As always, even though it is itching into the 90's outside, the indoors at the office remain breezy and cool. Layers are still key, even in the spring and summertime!

Here was what I wore yesterday. I threw this together at a very early morning hour before heading to the dentist, and in retrospect, was really happy with how it looked! First, the whole shot. I will admit the colors here are not that great to distinguish it ... but imagine the texture combo of the hearty jeans and jacket with the silky shell layered underneath ...

Jeggings/skinny jeans: Target

Gray military jacket: LOFT (one of my all-time fav buys!)

Purple silk shell: LOFT

Heeled gold and brown sandals: Nine West

 I combined an assortment of jewelry today. The beaded bracelet (LOFT) tied into the shirt, but then the snake chain necklace (H&M) tied into the gold-accented sandals. Together, it all worked.

 

Ssss! This necklace has been fun to add to my outfits. It was only about $10 at H&M this spring.

Oh and um, not the same outfit, obvs. But I got a new hat at the beach last weekend, and took a picture while there to capture the newly-reappeared freckles and the Folly Beach hat! :)

Wear that Dress Again

We've all been there, ladies. Your BFF picks out the most beautiful wedding gown, and then ... your bridesmaid gown pales in comparison. Of course, you aren't supposed to be prettier than the bride on her special day, but we can each give an extra kudos to those brides who make the extra effort to pick out gowns that fits both her theme and the personalities and styles of her 'maids. You ladies are awesome, and we thank you.

The biggest bonus of all, though, really goes to the bride who picks out gowns that openly defies the snarky (and usually false) saying that "you can wear it again."

True, this is a big iffy in the world of bridesmaid gowns. Picking out dresses is a balancing act between fabric, cost, cut and personal shapes and sizes of each of the 'maids. That doesn't mean it can't be done, though. It just takes a special eye to figure out where and when to shop for the perfect dresses.

Well, remember this particular gown?

My gal pal Annemarie knew just how to please her ladies. We picked out gray silk Banana Republic dresses at the end-of-the-season sale last winter, and teamed it with summery accents for her holiday weekend wedding. To say I was eager to wear it for weeks ahead of the wedding itself, though, would be an understatement. This dress was just itching to make an appearance as a non-wedding dress, and especially during the cold months that it was originally designed for.

Behold, here is proof that yes, you can totally wear it again:

Granted, not all gowns can be worn again, but if you are lucky enough to have one that is straddling the line, here are a few tips for dressing it down after the Big Day:

• Pair it with leggings or tights during the winter, and add a cardigan, like I did here
• Ramp it up with chunky costume jewelry to take down any prissy factor
• Split apart the pieces: if your dress is a two-piece with a corset top, consider wearing the top with a black pencil skirt and a cardigan/shrug as a fun party look
• Add a belt to keep the look everyday
• Don't forget the shoes! Skip the bridal party sandals and kick back with some fun, shiny stilettos. 

Have you dressed down one of your former gowns? Do you have photos that you can share? I'd love to do a feature with some of your best Post-Wedding Looks!

OOTD: Sailing Away

Today, I feel like it's time for an Outfit of the Day (OOTD) post. 

Why? Because it was dark and gloomy and rainy and stormy all day. And oddly enough, 70-something degrees, making it very humid for November. And despite all that grossness, I still attempted to put on a nice outfit, do something with my hair (bangs up and hair wavy = quick bedhead turnaround!) and say HI to the day ahead, instead of crawling back under the covers much like I really wanted to do.

And you know what? I felt pretty good all day as a result. It's amazing what "putting on your face" in the morning can do for a person. The best part? No one I ran into today would have been able to tell that I was up until 12:30AM reading the (entire) second Hunger Games book, plus then up until 2AM jacked on Excedrin Migraine (resulting from said rain/atmosphere craziness).

Gosh, I sound pretty lame. Pretend I was having a glass of wine with that book or something, will you? :)

So here you go! Tar-jay jeggings (which I like to wear rolled at the bottom, making them look even less legging), orange driving mocs from Land's End, striped sailor shirt from H&M and a "found" orange necklace given away by a gal pal. What do you think?

Do you put any extra effort into your outfit on gross days like we had here today? Does it help you get through the day?