Blushing

Sweater - J. Crew / Coat - One Madison / Jeans (almost identical) - Madewell / Boots - Kaitlyn Pan / Bag (similar here, here, and here) - Sole Society / Earrings - BaubleBar

Another day, another inappropriate pair of shoes for the weather. 

Jeff and I went out for a little afternoon date over the weekend, and I honestly couldn't handle planning another outfit around snowboots. I actually hadn't been outside all day and was remembering that the sidewalks had been nicely shoveled the night before when I selected this particular pair of boots. Ummmm, mistake! I did, however, discover (while not trying to fall down) that I don't need to be quite so freaked out about wearing these boots in the snow or rain. They're actually made out of microsuede, not actual suede. I have no idea what that is, but apparently it still looks amazing despite how many slushy puddles you've carefully tiptoed through. Plus they're less than $100! 

I also decided to pop on my new favorite sweater again, but this time I wore it backwards. Err, forwards? Anyway, it looks just as cute with the deep v in the back as in the front, and it's fun to see how different it looks - two looks in one!

Something I didn't worry too much about? My hair! I made it amazingly crazy/curly/messy for my Shaun White costume on Friday night (which by the way, did anyone else see his big win??), slept on it, sprayed in a little dry shampoo and it wound up like this. Say what?! Do I always need to just have really weird day one hair to have great day two (and even day three) hair? I mean, I'm willing to give it a try ;) 

Anyway, between watching an incredible amount of sports and and The Bachelor, I'm very busy and can't spend any more time rambling. Here's hoping you have a great (Valentine's) day!!

 Sweater - J. Crew / Coat - One Madison / Jeans (almost identical) - Madewell / Boots - Kaitlyn Pan / Bag (similar here, here, and here) - Sole Society / Earrings - BaubleBar

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How to Dress Down a Party Dress

Dress (no longer available in velvet but here it is in black crepe, the green and blue versions are currently 40% off!!) - CeCe / Sweater (similar) - Loft / Boots - Kaitlyn Pan / Earrings (similar metallic earrings, or budget option) - Charming Charlie / Watch - Wristology / Bag (similar) - Coach Factory

Tell me if you have this problem. 

You look in your closet and have nothing to wear, yet there's a whole section of "event dresses" that have only been worn once to a party or a wedding. 

Anyone else?

I've been trying to be better about the re-wear, but after a while I tend to get stuck - after all, now that we're out of the never-ending wedding funnel (the year we got married we had eleven to attend!!) there are fewer reasons to get dressed up. 

I bought this dress for the holidays and wore it for our photo shoot in Paris, but besides the one dressy holiday party we went to I didn't have another reason to wear it. So, it was time to dress it down! 

There are a couple of things you can do to easily dress down a fancy dress: 

1. Choose casual accessories. For a formal occasion I would have picked a fancier bag, but with this casual cross-body and a fun watch this outfit veers towards daytime.
2. Layer up! Look for ways to incorporate other pieces into your outfit, whether it's with a cozy cardigan, a tee shirt or turtleneck layered under your dress, or a casual jacket, adding another piece can tone down the formality of your dress. 
3. Ditch the heels. By choosing OTK boots instead of heels here, I took the dress into fun territory, good for daytime or a fun night out with friends. Plus, they're so much warmer for these Chicago winter days! 

I've worn this combo out to a bar with friends, for running errands, and for a casual dinner date with Jeff, meaning I've gotten a ton more wear out of my fancy holiday dress than I thought I would! 

So tell me, would you dress down a fancy dress? Any tips I missed?

Dress (no longer available in velvet but here it is in black crepe, the green and blue versions are currently 40% off!!) - CeCe / Sweater (similar) - Loft / Boots - Kaitlyn Pan / Earrings (similar metallic earrings, or budget option) - Charming Charlie / Watch - Wristology / Bag (similar) - Coach Factory

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OTK Boots for Work

Sweater - J. Crew Factory / Jeans - Gap / Boots - Kaitlyn Pan / Coat (similar color, similar leather detailing) - Marc New York / Bag - Tory Burch / Necklace (similar) - BaubleBar / Watch - Wristology

In case you were curious, it turns out there is a subtle way to wear OTK boots - pair them with black jeans! As opposed to leather leggings, my black jeans blend with the texture of the boots, which definitely tones them down a bit. In case you were wondering whether or not you could wear OTK boots to work because they can come off a little too sexy, this is definitely the answer!

I actually wore this to work and then to a little date night - last week Jeff and I went to see Les Miserables! This has been the month of theater for us because now we've been twice, and I really don't remember the last time we went to see a show. A production is currently swinging through Chicago, and while I found some of the staging odd I thought all of the actors were phenominal - especially Eponine! I also decided that if I were able to play any character in the show on Broadway, I'd definitely pick Enjolras. Not only does he get some great songs, but he also gets to strut around the stage waving a flag and has an epic death. I'd just have to figure out how you're supposed to pronounce his name...

Before the show, we went to dinner at The Kitchen out on the river. There's such a pretty view from the dining room as the sun goes down! The Kitchen is actually a special restaurant for our family, although I can't think if there's a reason besides that my cousin met her husband when they both worked there. We actually had my grandma's 90th birthday party (two days before our wedding!) there too. The food is always spot on, and last week was no exception.

Before I go, I just wanted to share a little housekeeping - I'm currently completely buried at work thanks to our big annual conference coming up next week, so content might be sporadic for the next week. I say "might" with the hope that I will get some stuff scheduled, but I usually have all of my posts scheduled a week in advance and am currently scrambling to get this written before my self-imposed publishing deadline and have nothing in my drafts pile, so I'm anticipating a bit of a struggle. You can always catch me on Instagram to see what I'm up to - see you around!

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Sometimes I think, "Left side cool, right side not so cool"

Bonus points if you can place this quote ;)

Jacket - J. Crew / Sweater (comes in six colors!) - J. Crew Factory / Leggings - Spanx / Boots - Kaitlyn Pan / Necklace (similar) - Madewell / Bag - Tory Burch / Earrings (similar) - Charming Charlie

I put this outfit on, and Jeff said, "You look... cool? Is that the right word? Cool?"

So you know, if "looking cool" is your endgame, just pair a pair of (faux) leather leggings and OTK boots together. It's not something I would typically consider for everyday, but the combination instantly elevates my normal sweater/jacket combo in a way that my skinny jeans never could. I just love the texture combo of the semi-shiny leggings with the matte suede boots.

In previous years I've tried coated jeans rather than leather leggings to get the leather look, and while I love coated jeans they just don't seem to be in stores anymore. Leather leggings it is! Coated jeans were nice because they were, in fact, jeans, so you didn't have to worry about wearing them with shorter tops, but leather leggings are awesome because they're so comfortable!

I snagged this pair during the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale after hearing great things about them for years, and you guys, they do not disappoint. I was initially concerned because the brand is Spanx. As any girl knows who has worn shapewear, it isn't normally something I'd consider "comfortable" - I was worried these would be super compressing and tight. Definitely not true! They're amazingly stretchy and oh so comfortable. I did go up a size (to an XL) which may be contributing to their comfort level, but they still fit really well.

What have you been up to this week? We went to the Cubs game on Tuesday with a couple of friends, the game was a total bummer but it was still really fun to go. Or at least, I still had fun. I'm not sure the men in our group would agree ;) I spent most of the night partaking in the complimentary open bar and buffet in our section though, which may be contributing to my feelings ha ;) Jeff actually had tickets again last night which meant a night at home alone for me. When I'm at home by myself all the time it can get lonely, but I haven't been on my own in a long time so it was nice to have a quiet night to myself - I read, opened a nice bottle of wine, got some of my backlog of work done, and even managed a bubble bath! Not bad ;)

Jacket - J. Crew / Sweater (comes in six colors!) - J. Crew Factory / Leggings - Spanx / Boots - Kaitlyn Pan / Necklace (similar) - Madewell / Bag - Tory Burch / Earrings (similar) - Charming Charlie

Previously on KDTI - OTK Boots:

 

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How to Wear Over the Knee Boots for Fall

Dress - LOFT / Boots - Kaitlyn Pan / Bag - Tory Burch / Sunglasses - Urban Outfitters / Earrings - c/o Charming Charlie

I stayed away from the OTK boot trend for a while, but not because I didn't like the look - because every pair I tried on was too short for me! Except for, you know, that $700 pair that I was never ever ever going to buy. This pair (that I found on Amazon of all places!) completely met my OTK boot needs!! They're long enough, they stay up, and the material isn't actually suede so I don't have to worry about ruining them. Win win win.

Now that the weather has cooled down (well, at least a little - I think I saw 85 in the forecast for Chicago this weekend!) I'm so excited to give these another run. I bought them in the dead of winter, and then once spring came I had a very short window where tall black boots felt appropriate. But for fall? Tall black boots are perfect! I love wearing them over jeans or leggings or faux leather leggings, but my favorite way to wear them is with bare legs and a short dress. I look for dresses that are at least an inch shorter than where the boots end so it doesn't look like your whole leg is covered up. 

The best part about wearing over the knee boots with dresses is that they let you wear your short dresses in much cooler weather than normal. I was out and about in this outfit all day and night last weekend, and despite the chilly 62 degrees on the thermometer I was comfortable all day. I kept telling Jeff it was because I had on some sweet boot pants haha.

This particular dress is making me dream of owning some gray over the knee boots too. How many pairs of OTK boots is it appropriate for one person to own? Asking for a friend ;)

Dress - LOFT / Boots - Kaitlyn Pan / Bag - Tory Burch / Sunglasses - Urban Outfitters / Earrings - c/o Charming Charlie

Linking up with Style Sessions, Trend Spin Linkup.

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