Hot Child in the City

Here's a little dressing room photo shoot I had after my first day... at my NEW JOB! I'm thrilled to be the newest content strategist at Integrity, which is conveniently, and awesomely, located in St. Louis' Delmar Loop. "Content strategist" is basically a fancy name for a copy writer, which is the person who researches, edits and rewrites content before it is published. I love the atmosphere, the location and the people I work with. It's nice to feel like you're welcomed and needed somewhere. That feeling has inspired me to start getting out and living again - going to events around town, visiting with old friends and getting back on my social media grind. (Starting with blogging, of course!)

Check out my welcome post on Integrity's blog.

In these photos I'm at one of my favorite places, TJ Maxx. I've been watching the fur trend come back around this winter, and I think I like the vests that seem to be popping up everywhere. I've yet to find the perfect cropped, pure white, affordable one I dream of, so I took this one for a spin instead. I paired it with an over-sized cardigan - the over-sized top trend doesn't seem to be going anywhere - and a pair of forest green cords that I ended up buying. Fur vests add a touch of glamour to a casual outfit and I love them over long sleeves or leather jackets for a night out.

Oh, and I got new glasses! Soooo much better than my old ones, which I probably never even posted a picture of. These are from Eye Roc Eyewear; a little pricey but totally worth it. I wear them all the time. 

Fur vests on Chictopia...

The PERFECT fur vest from Chicmuse.

Fairy dress AND fur vest? Oh hell yes. Check out Alexandra's blog.

I think I want a short, white vest until I see how luxurious this one looks... on District of Chic. 

Peace be with You

Winter is official upon us! It's been a busy one, and I couldn't be more excited as to why! But you'll have to wait for the next post to hear about that. :) 

Here I'm wearing two of the things I'm obsessed with this month, corduroy and scarves. My forest green Levi's were a STEAL at TJ Maxx for only $20 and I wear them at least once a week. They look like velvet here but I swear they're cords. The scarf is in the hippie/Buddhist trend that about half of my wardrobe is in. These shoes are great, a suede neutral with just a little wedge to elongate the leg but still totally comfortable.

Now, the most interesting part of this outfit in my opinion is the necklace. It's a turquoise "om" inlaid in gold. The om symbol spans across many languages and religions, but it is generally used in mantras to center the spirit, transcend your physical body and become "one" with everything. Ok, sounds a little nutty, but read this explanation and tell me it isn't a cool idea to embrace. For a long time, I've wanted a Buddhist mantra tattoo. Perhaps one day...

But for now, clothes!

It's hard to tell in this photo, but my nails are a deep red wine color and the accent nail is just some cheap gold glitter polish. I hardly ever paint my nails, but when I do, I go for drama.

If you're interested in learning more about Buddhism, check out the The Buddhist Blog. And for fair-trade goodies from around the globe, visit MacroSun. 

forest green cords: Levi's from TJ Maxx

tan, long-sleeved tee: Charlotte Russe

printed black and white scarf: MacroSun

turquoise and gold om necklace: MacroSun

camel, suede wedges: Target

"Louie" bag in the first picture: flea market ;)

Giant

I'm so happy that leather can be casual now.

 

I bought into the wine trend this fall as well as indulged my leather obsession with this faux pair from H&M. I then stared at them for a few months trying to figure out where the hell I was going to wear them. After Googling "how to wear leather pants" about 40 times, it dawned on me that they can be dressed down for an every-day look. I also realized that you can never wear too much leather - as long as you switch up the colors. Here I stayed in a neutral, earthy color family. My cream sweater is of the "high-low" style, or, in more eloquent terms, a "mullet sweater." I like the cut with higher waisted pants because it doesn't poof over my pants and give me a cute lumpy midsection.

 

 

wine pants: H&M

cream sweater: Old Navy

tan leather jacket: Love Culture

brown boots: Target a few seasons ago

scarf: Burberry.   ....or Target.

 

 

The "mullet" trend summed up in one image...

 

 

Thank you, San Diego Songbird.

 

 

 

 

 

 



Sugar

I'm taking a note from the leaves and playing around with more color for this look.

 

I absolutely love this mint sweater. One of the many found during a day at the thrift store earlier in the month. It's just big enough to layer under and the pattern is cutesy with being too grandmothery. Usually I'd wear a top like this with dark jeans, but I figured why not pair up some pastels? I've had these pink jeans for months and never worn them. I'm glad I got them out to experiment with adding pops of bright color even in the cold months.

 

 

mint sweater: thrift

pink jeans: Wet Seal

suede fringe boots: Charlotte Russe for $5. Seriously!

scarf: thrift



A River Runs Through It

I take it back, I guess I don't hate fall. Trees explode with color, it's finally comfortable to sit in directly sunlight and not get scorched and most importantly - I get to layer on more clothes.

 

This outfit is pretty typical to my style, a little bit trendy with the oversized scarf and a little bit of my mom with the corduroy button down.  I got both items during a recent trip to a huge thrift store. After about 3 hours of searching through crowded racks trying on clothes in the lean-to dressing room I picked out 6 sweaters, a cardigan, this scarf and shirt and a corduroy flatbill.

Because, you can't pass up a corduroy flatbill.

 

I wore this earlier this week when my family and I took a little tour of the farmland in nearby Illinois, crossed the river on a ferry and stopped to check out the scenery and produce stands along the way. This look is casual but still thoughtful and great for a fall weekend. The deep forest green, blue and leather brown are also perfect fall tones.

 

 

Forest green corduroy: thrift

Cream crochet carf: thrift

Grey Obey tank top: shop called Yellow Rat Bastard in SoHo in New York

Levi's: discount store, likely TJ Maxx or Marshalls

Boots: Not real suede, actually fabric with rubber soles from the little girl's section at Kohl's

 

 

Road Trippin'

 

 

 

 

Skins

LEATHER.

It can be quite a controversial material. In terms of fashion, the word “leather” conjures up images of tight black pants and chains, a la Rihanna. However, it is really quite a versatile skin. Over the past year I’ve seen it work its way into mainstream fashion. Now there’s leather for every season and occasion – shorts, pants, pencil skirts, jackets and in panels on nearly every item you can imagine. I myself own a few “leather” (as in, not real animal leather) items. As trends have become more eclectic and personalized I’ve felt freer to mix leather pieces into everyday outfits. Here’s what I wore out to lunch with my parents for my mom’s birthday in late September.

Jacket: reallyyyy old Wet Seal military-inspired jacket

Shorts: Lauren Conrad, on sale. Duh. 

Infinity scarf (also a big trend): Charlotte Russe

 Purse: I honestly can't remember where I got this, but I'm sure it was somewhere affordable. Think Kmart or Forever 21.

 Boots: I'm loving booties this fall. They're casual enough for jeans and have enough heel to wear to work. I've got these in brown and black. The brand is Jeffrey Tyler and I got both pairs for just under $40 at Off Broadway Shoes.

 

 

And, how AWESOME is St. Louis?!
 

 Food trucks. Delish.

The fabulous Fox Theater.
 

 

These ladies know how to rock leather shorts (and a skirt):

 

from: makings-cenes.blogspot.sg

 

It's like leather on leather on leather... on leather. Very bold. Love it.

 

 from: halliedaily.com

This LA blogger calls this "summer leather."

from: nanastars.blogspot.com

Well, I officially need a new leather article of clothing - this skirt.

 

I'm blue.

Fall trend: denim on denim

Denim.

It can go horribly wrong or look amazingly right - it's all in how you wear it. Double denim has been a hit for a few seasons and the most important thing to remember to pull it off is to mix up the shades. Never, ever go monochromatic with denim. Patterned and colored denim were also pretty popular this spring and summer and I love this star patterned pair from Hot Topic. A good denim shirt, like mine from American Eagle, is a staple. You can wear one over tank tops or tucked into a skirt with tights and boots for fall. A vintage tee goes great with a denim jacket or overshirt and booties pull the outfit together with a girly-but-tough touch.

More double denim inspiration...

from: triplethread.blogspot.com

This brainy blogger has the same idea as me with dark jeans and an open denim top with a graphic shirt underneath. A casual and trendy look for school or shopping.

from: www.ifyouseekstyle.com

Here's a sexy summer take on double denim from a Chicago blogger that I follow.

from: stylingdutchman.blogspot.com

This Dutch blogger makes denim classy with a wide-leg pant and polished details.