I was having a total nothing to wear moment last weekend. There wasn't anything new and exciting in there, and I was several days past definitely needing to do laundry. But instead of flailing around, I spied these leopard espadrilles and challenged myself to build an outfit around them.
The next time you look in your closet and think, "I have nothing to wear," try combining things you normally wouldn't. A white tee and white shorts might look odd on their own, but with a third piece over the top they all the sudden are an outfit.
Dress and Sandals - Ann Taylor / Bag - Tory Burch / Earrings (similar here and here) - J.Crew
Whew! Now that the cat's out of the bag (in case you missed yesterday, I'm pregnant!) it feels like we can talk about everything over here again! My August budget post was pretty light partially because I'm still not really sure what non-maternity items will work for pregnancy (I obviously will get some maternity clothes but would prefer not to buy a ton!) and because I actually spent a lot of my time shopping for maternity jeans! I know some people hold off on that purchase and go as long as they can in their regular pants, but as a woman who holds most of her weight in her belly already I was ready to hop into the maternity jeans basically as soon as possible! Of course I've hated basically every pair I've tried on - all of the rises are too high on me plus barely any retailers seem to make long lengths (but why?!?) but once I hit on some good ones I'll let you know. I currently have an order that was supposed to be delivered last Monday (yes, as in a week and a half ago) floating around somewhere with FedEx.
But anyway, back to the dress! This shift dress is so cute, and definitely bump friendly. I don't usually like such high necklines on me, but I think the sheer sleeves help to balance it out and not make me feel so covered. It also de-emphasizes my chest which helps the high neckline work. I love the length too - it hits me just above the knee, which feels appropriate for work but still short enough to wear on the weekend. I am 5'9" though and get most of my height from my legs, so it might be a bit longer on you.
In case you're new around here, my legs are amazingly long - I wear the same inseam as Jeff who is 6'3"!! Funny story - when my brother Pat came back from his first year in South Korea wearing skinny jeans and all kinds of fun trendy styles, a pair of my jeans went missing. I was poor and unemployed at the time and literally only had two pairs of jeans, so that was a big problem. Yep, you guessed it - they were in my brother's closet. He, "thought they were a little tight," but 100% thought they were his.
So, all of that was to say, if I can manage to find a dress that isn't too short on me, I'm a very happy camper.
Dress and Sandals - Ann Taylor / Bag - Tory Burch / Earrings (similar here and here) - J.Crew
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Dress (super similar here) - Gap / Jacket - J.Crew Factory / Sandals (similar here - these are the comfiest sandals I own and have lasted for years!!) - Michael Kors / Bag (similar) - Coach Factory / Necklace (similar here and here) - Madewell
It's happening.
I've decided. It's fall.
Now I know the calendar doesn't quite agree yet, but with temps dipping into the low 60s in Chicago over the weekend, I'm calling it. Put away your summer colors and bring on the earth tones and plaids!
Of course, I paired my favorite comfy earth tone dress with a pink purse, which might contradict what I said above, but you know, I'm going with it.
In case you're wondering how to dress for fall when it doesn't quite feel like fall, just pick a fall color or pattern in a nice light fabric. This dress is easy breezy and light enough for the warmest fall day, but still fits into that fall feeling. Win win win.
So tell me, are you on the fall train yet, or are you holding off a few more weeks?
Dress (super similar here) - Gap / Jacket - J.Crew Factory / Sandals (similar here - these are the comfiest sandals I own and have lasted for years!!) - Michael Kors / Bag (similar) - Coach Factory / Necklace (similar here and here) - Madewell
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This short sleeved thermal top is one of those things I saw on Instagram a few times and had to have - I love the buttons and the little tie front, plus it's so fun that it's a thermal but short sleeved, so I can wear it now and feel ready for fall even when it's still 80 degrees outside. Wearing this top with white shorts and pink accessories definitely isn't the most "fall" way to do it, but it looks equally as cute with jeans and booties. We're working our way into this fall thing haha. On September 1st I actually tried to wear a blanket scarf for a hot second before deciding it's still too soon. Maybe in another week or two I'll be ready!
Just a note on this shirt, I am wearing the large which is the biggest size available. I wish it were a little more oversized like I've seen on other people, but I decided it's cute at this size too. But, amazingly, the buttons are functional and they don't gape at all on me, which is basically a miracle. I don't know what kind of witchcraft is at play here, but I'm willing to go with it. If you're looking to snag it, move fast. The only color left is yellow, and when I bought it two weeks ago there were a bunch of other colors available. Here's hoping they do a restock!
I wore this over the weekend, and I swear when I got dressed it was sunny out with just a small chance of rain. Yeah, we walked out of the house half an hour later, and between leaving the building and walking to our car a block away it downpoured. Like the kind of rain where having an umbrella doesn't help. Probably would have picked different shoes if I knew I was going to get soaked!! We were driving down to the Gold Coast to visit Jeff's new baby sister Isabella again and I had grand plans of getting pictures on the cute streets down there, but the rain had other plans. Instead, we literally almost got stuck on Lake Shore Drive because all of the underpasses had flooded, and found that a couple of windows had leaked when we managed to get home. Yay. So, instead of cute pictures on well manicured, beautiful streets, we ducked out onto the balcony during the twenty minutes between storms and quickly snapped these. Jeff was shirtless and shoeless if that helps with your mental image.
Dress (similar here and here) - LOFT / Jacket - J. Crew Factory / Sandals - Ann Taylor / Bag - Sole Society
Jeff and I are homebodies by nature - what can I say, we just really love our couch!! I think honestly if we didn't think about it, we could easily end up spending an entire Saturday inside. So every now and then I put my foot down and force out to explore, especially on a beautiful weekend like we just had. Lincoln Square is really close to our house and is full of some really cute streets that are fun to wander down, and of course tons of restaurants and shops and bars too!
I almost didn't have Jeff snap any pictures while we were out, but I actually chose to share this dress from last summer again because I was in stores a couple weekends ago and saw something incredibly similar on the racks. Like I swear, the same cut with the ruffle at the bottom, and a really similar pattern. Well, lo and behold, I cannot find it anywhere online. Ugh, major blogger fail right there.
I guess though, it's good to see that I do rewear pieces all the time, even if I'm not sharing them on repeat here! Really, I've been in this dress a ton over the past few weeks since it's so lightweight and breezy, but the palette is a little softer as we start to transition into fall colors. I honestly often struggle between showing you what I'm really wearing every day, and wanting to show you only new stuff so you won't get bored.
So tell me - do you prefer to see new items only? Or do you like seeing how I remix my wardrobe?
Dress (similar here and here) - LOFT / Jacket - J. Crew Factory / Sandals - Ann Taylor / Bag - Sole Society
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