Polka Dots & Swing

[Dress: J.Crew factory (old, last seen as a skirt here); Blouse: J.Crew factory (old, last seen here); Necklace: J.Crew factory (old); Rings: Old Navy & Forever21; Sunglasses: Ray-Ban Boyfriend] 

Another day, another outfit inspired by the lovely Atlantic-Pacific. I loved the 1940's feel of this look when I first saw it on Blair, and immediately turned to my own closet to recreate it. I'm happy to say everything except the rings and flats is a few years old! I've actually had it planned out for a few months now, thanks to the outfit spreadsheet (don't judge me). The comfy but ladylike feel definitely brightened up a drab Monday morning last week! (Oh, and excuse the bare ears. A back to the pair I was wearing fell out during work, but luckily I recovered the stud.)

All photos by Mikhail Glabets

Neon Head to Toe

[Dress: Old Navy (old); Cardigan: Zara; Sandals: DSW; Necklace: Christmas gift from Nana years back; Sunglasses: Ray-Ban; Earrings: Rocks Paper Metal for BaubleBar]

For a long time now I had been planning to write about certain trends I am wary of buying lots of, and neon was definitely on the list. My value shopper self loves to have clothes around for seasons on end, even if they cost $20. So I've hesitated to buy any neon apparel for fear that it would be long gone next year. Until I remembered I had this Old Navy maxi dress from 2010, which is 1/3 neon yellow. Whoops.

But neon accessories are a different story. I can confidently say I love using them to explore the color trend. Like with these cap-toe flats (also from Old Navy), this scarf, and now these earrings. BaubleBar is one of my favorite new discoveries this year. Their jewelry costs slightly more than what I was used to spending at my go-to Forever 21, but it's so unique and interesting that it's worth the bit of extra dough. I often find store e-mails annoying, but BaubleBar is certainly an exception on this front. I'm always lured into checking out their inventory, and recently took the leap on this pair of earrings from their newest designer collection.

I was even inspired to submit a photo to a neon styling contest on their Facebook page. If you feel inclined, it'd be great if you toss a vote my way. I'm kind of a newb when it comes to contests like this and haven't really done any self promotion, so don't judge my low tally of votes.

All photos by Mikhail Glabets

Ray of Light

[Striped top: Forever 21; Jeans: Gap; Necklace: Banana Republic outlet (old); Shoes: Old Navy (sold out)]

I'm fighting this dreary weather with an all-white outfit and a finishing touch of neon.

And celebrating the fact that I didn't get this dirty even though I ate ribs for dinner right after these pictures were taken. 

Happy Wednesday (some call it hump day). 

All photos by Mikhail Glabets 

Closet Remix: Collar & Bows

[Dress: Filene's Basement (old); Coral Blouse: Forever 21(sold out); Sandals: Target (old); Earrings: H&M (recent)]

A sheer, bright coral blouse added some spunk to this polka dress that just wasn't feeling so fresh anymore. I've been seeing lots of floating collars this year, so I wanted to recreate the look by layering this girlish, bowed top over it. The Target sandals are years old, but I'm also loving the classic summer design and the fact that they have held up so well.

Wishing it was warm enough to wear an outfit like that now! But it's jeans and jackets this week. 

All photos by Mikhail Glabets

Colorblock Frock

[Dress: Forever 21 (sold out); Flats: Zara; Necklace: Banana Republic outlet (old); Sunglasses: Ray-Ban] 

I had a blast at Forever 21 this weekend in the Northshore Mall. More and more I find myself wondering why I bother to look for clothes anywhere else. Their cute summery dresses are especially to die for, and this colorblock one is no exception. I bought it a few months ago online when I was really ready for some warm spring weather. I styled it with minimal accessories and nudish flats to let the colorblock scheme get all the attention.

I was happy to kick off the unofficial start of summer with this dress and some tacos in Allston. It was my recovery treat after a half marathon that morning. More on that later.

All photos by Mikhail Glabets

Geometric and jeans

[Sweater: Thrifted at Salvation Army; Black V-neck: J.Crew factory; Jeans: Gap; Sandals: DSW; Necklace: Forever 21 (looks to be sold out, but there's plenty of other awesomeness there now); Earrings: BaubleBar]

Salvation Army, how I love thee. This sweater was hanging on the racks there and first caught my eyes with its weirdness, but then upon closer examination I realized it was kind of awesome. Especially because it displays all my current favorite colors at once (the $2 price tag didn't hurt, either). It's big and cozy and something I would typically wait until fall to wear. Pairing it with crisp white jeans and flat, slightly sporty, strappy sandals felt like the perfect way to spring it up.

I'm currently in Miami, so the next outfit you'll see here will be a lot more hot-and-humid-weather appropriate.

All photos by Mikhail Glabets

Slouchy Blue & Breezy Skirt

[Top: Barney's New York Outlet; Skirt: J.Crew factory (solids here) ; Shoes: Old Navy; Earrings: BaubleBar]

I'm craving all things slouchy, flowy, and patterned lately. This dress is the third of the J.Crew convertible-strapless-dress-I-can-do-anything wonder. In this case, worn as a skirt. That hits me at the midi length. A length I told you yesterday I had been afraid of. Oh, the strides I'm making.

Everyone goes nuts over dressy dresses with pockets, but this shirt has a pocket, so that's almost as cool. Yeah, so it adds extra material around my middle, but hey, that will be perfect for hiding a pregnancy once I get around to having kids.

One last thing, Mikhail kicked a soccer ball directly at my thighs 15 seconds before he started snapping away. So I was recovering for the first part of this shoot.

All photos by Mikhail Glabets

Tunic & Tropical Cravings

[Tunic: H&M (old); Jeans: Citizens of Humanity via REVOLVE; Shoes: Old Navy, Bracelet: J.Crew (with major discount code); Sunglasses: Ray-Ban Boyfriend; Scarf: Target, Earrings: H&M]

I like to make you think I perfectly plan each day's ensemble using a snazzy spreadsheet. But the reality is, a lot of mornings five different outfit options end up in a heap on the floor and I end up going with something completely random.

Today's look is just that. It had been raining for what felt like 10 days in a row in Boston, and this tropical, tribal-looking print called out to me. The breezy tunic shape makes me think of vacation garb, and the bright blue scarf adds even more colorful cheer. Hence the crazy jump in the last picture.

All photos by Mikhail Glabets

Closet Remix: Mint Seersucker

[Mint Blazer: Gap outlet (old); White Shirt: Forever 21; Jeans: 7 for All Mankind; Necklaces: Forever21 and Banana Republic outlet (old); Ring: Old Navy; Flats: Zara]

Let's talk about my pant legs. One rolled, one not. I SWEAR I'm not trying some twist on J.Crew's half-tucked shirt look. Nope, this was completely an accident.

The Mr. and I joined my friend in a wine tasting event extravaganza in Boston at noon. Fifteen or so wine vendors, each with a few wines for the trying. It was awesome, and exhausting. So, Mikhail and decided to curl up in our car for a nap after the fact. We woke up refreshed, albeit a bit disheveled. (Hence my hair. I'm sorry for that. I really am.) We starting shooting to catch some of the good light, and only halfway through our adventure did I noticed my orphan rolled pant leg.

But I am pulling inspiration from J.Crew in another way. One of its catalogues (or Style Guides, if we're being proper here), showed two chunky canary yellow necklaces layered over a beautiful shift dress in the same shade. I realized I had two cobalt blue necklaces and a cobalt blue H&M dress from a few years ago in a similar shape. I just went with the necklaces here, but I'm excited to try to the whole ensemble later on. For now, I thought the chunky necklaces went nicely with a mint seersucker blazer my mom bought me about five years ago from the Gap outlet in our town. She got me a pink one too. I haven't wore them a ton in that time period, but the mint color works great for this season. I think the flowy, slightly mussed white shirt balances out the pure prep of the seersucker. Happy Monday!

All photos by Mikhail Glabets 

FBFF: My Outfit Spreadsheet

I was so pumped to write this FBFF* post on outfit planning because I think I have the most incredibly dorky way of tracking and planning looks: A Google Docs spreadsheet!

This started in part because I am a complete ogre in the morning. Ask my roommates and my husband. This doesn’t just mean I hit snooze 20 times and will bark at you if you try to talk to me. It also meant that I was getting frazzled when selecting my outfit for the day, so I just grabbed the first thing I saw. Throughout the day I’d be reading fashion blogs and thinking of all the ways I was inspired to play with my own wardrobe, but come the next morning I’d forget all these awesome ideas.

Let's go play in my closet

So, the spreadsheet was born a few months ago. It has a column for each category of item that could potentially go into an outfit: top, 2nd top/sweater/jacket, dress, skirt/pant, shoes, accessories (ie belt, hat, scarf), and jewelry. For each potential look, I write down which item goes into which category (see the screen shot below). This also helps me see how versatile a piece is and how many ways I can remix it into different outfits.

I take some time in my closet a couple times each week to test out the things I’ve put into my spreadsheet and make sure they look as good in reality as they do in my head. I don’t take pictures like Cher does in Clueless (except for this post), but usually just give the outfit a yay or nay on the spot, or find a way to tweak it to make it look better. I often spend way longer than originally intended on this process, because I think of new combinations, rediscover old pieces, and basically play dress up in my own closet, jotting down notes as I go along. (Are you embarrassed for me yet?) I don’t necessarily plan these outfits out for specific days, but generally take stock each week of what the weather’s going to be like and think of some looks that will work with that. I love getting dressed up for special occasions and planning those outfits down to the last detail, but I like to put similar care into my day-to-day looks, too. (Except when I've wildly overslept.)

OK I do take outfit test pictures. Just this for the purpose of this post, though! Oh, and my photographer husband is thoroughly embarrassed by my cheesy iPhone photos and over zealous use of filters from picfx (which I learned about on Twitter from Blair of Atlantic-Pacific)

The spreadsheet also helps me track how long it’s been since I’ve worn something. At the end of each row, I have a column to input the date I last wore a particular outfit. Right now, most of my spreadsheet is dominated with Spring/Summer outfit ideas. One thing I’m pumped about is that as the season draws to a close, I can take a look to see what rows have blanks in the date last worn column, and make an effort to wear those outfits before the warm weather runs out. (Yes, I just said pumped).

I’ve said before that I love to recreate looks worn by my favorite fashion bloggers using similar items in my own closet. Whenever I come across something I think could work for me, I usually pin them and log my version into my Google Doc on the spot. New purchases inspire me too. I love buying a single new piece and thinking of all the ways it can remix with things in my closet. Because of this, I can’t remember the last time I had to buy an entirely new outfit for an event. #Gofrugality

Trying to recreate this look from Atlantic-Pacific with clothing I already own 

I'm sure you're all thinking I'm either incredibly high maintenance or hopelessly nerdy, but an outfit spreadsheet is actually a lot easier than these seven paragraphs might indicate. You can jot ideas down on the fly and test them out whenever you get the time. And that part is loads of fun. I encourage you to try it! Not only will it help you get more creative and organized with what you wear, but you’ll probably find that you have a lot more going on in your closet than you thought you did!



*FBFF stands for Fashion Beauty Friend Friday. It was started as Katy Rose over at Modly Chic as a way to regularly connect fashion and beauty bloggers around a specific topic. (Read more about it here). I heard about it at a blogger conference I attended last month, and this is my first go! Thanks for reading.

Swapped Style

[Cardigan: Old Navy, last seen here; Pink Shirt: Gap, swapped; Jeans: Citizens of Humanity via REVOLVE; Flats: Zara; Earrings: BaubleBar; Ring: Old Navy; Necklace: J.Crew factory (old) Bracelet: Flea Market]

I have been so excited the wear the goods from my first ever Swap party. The ladies at The Swapaholics put on this incredible event where you bring in three to five items in exchange for new (to you) pieces. I've heard that previous events are reminiscent of a Filene's Basement running of the brides, but this particular night was leisurely and lovely. Whenever you saw an item you wanted on the racks, you simply replaced it with something you brought. The idea was to hang out and see what else made its way onto the racks as more people arrived and swapped in their own items. You could even sip wine, munch sandwiches, and meet new people in the process. Way better than the mall or Newbury Street, if you ask me. And way greener, of course.

Sad you missed it? Don't be. That party just kicked off their swap season, and there's even another event coming up in Boston May 16. Oh, and expect to see more of my fun finds on the blog. I'm finally starting to embrace the color red, which inspired me to pull this awesome number off the racks. I have so many ideas on how to style this maxi dress, which I admittedly don't think I would have sprung for at any retail price. And the pink oxford in today's outfit is something I had been wanting to buy anyways, so being able to swap it out for something I didn't want anymore felt quite lucky.

Boston has slipped back down to its normally chilly winter temperatures, so I was happy to layer this pastel pink shirt (trendy this season but also timeless, in my opinion) with the Old Navy cardigan that looks and feels far too well constructed and luxe for its $15.99 (on sale) price tag. I played up the pastels even further with blue ring and lavender nails (Essie Lilacism). I think the color trend is really cute, but am a little wary of spending much money on pastel clothing just in case those shades become stale next year. But an $8 bottle of nail polish? I can do that.

All photos by Mikhail Glabets