Friday Chic: Streamlined

A streamlined look is something I love. Most great streamlined looks are made up of well-made items, minimal accessories and at least one stand-out piece. Here I’ve paired all but one 2nd  hand itemd for a chic, tailored look that is perfect for work, meetings, or errands (all of which I accomplished today).

What do you think of the streamlined, casual, but perfect for any occasion look?

Outfit details:

button down – Banana Republic, Goodwill / jeans – J. Brand, Finicky Fox / pumps – Stuart Weitzman, Baggio Congisnment / ring – my mom’s / belt – unknown, thrifted / earrings – Stella and Dot

Midweek Chic: A Jewel Tone Stand By

I’m a casual dresser with a few old favorites I keep on stand-by, like this jewel tone maroon blazer. It came to me via thrift store and was found in the boy’s section, but it has stayed in my closet through high school, college, grad school and now married, adulthood. The blazer is thin, made of corduroy and unlined, but has come to be one of the most versatile pieces I own. It stays modern with other updates (patent leather peep toe flats in today’s post or with stripes seen here) and I can’t imagine a day when this blazer will not be in my closet, much to my husband’s chagrin.

What stand-by item of clothing have you had for years on end and can never see giving up?

Outfit details:

sweater – J. Crew, warehouse sale / blazer – thrifted / necklaces – 1 thrifted, 1 New York and Co. / jeans – H&M / flats – Lanvin, Baggio Consignment / earrings – Stella and Dot / bag – Dooney and Bourke, thrifted

Monday Chic: Color Party

I am a relative conversative dresser when it comes to mixing prints and colors. My go-to wardrobe items are all of the neutral variety (think grey wool, canvasy brown, dark brown cashmere, or a slick black leather). I enjoy going out on a limb with outfits by pairing unique pieces like wide legged pants, high waisted skirts, oversizsed sweaters, but even those tend to stay conversative with mostly netural colors. This is a fairly colorful outfit for me, but the contrasting of the red and pink puts it on just that side of interesting that I kinda love. The fact that all (yes ALL, besides jewels) are consigned or thrifted pieces just makes it that much better.

How do you feel about boldly mixing colors and prints? Do you live for that, or are you more into neutrals?

Outfit details:

black top – New York and Co., thrifted / cardigan – J. Crew, Plato’s Closet / skirt – Worth, Clementine / belt – J. Crew, Plato’s Closet / bag – Dooney and Bourke, thrifted / pumps – Stuart Weitzman, Baggio Consignment / earrings – Stella and Dot / bracelet – Stella and Dot

Friday Chic: Spring

All of the rain and warmish weather is finally paying off with this past week being the first in a while to truely feel like spring. We’ve spent a lot time in our yard weeding, planting flowers, and finishing up a rain barrel project we started back in February (find me on Instagram at chicstripes for these adventures!). My husband has also taken to watering our flowers every night and I am loving the huge blooms that have sprung up everywhere in our back yard. This outfit is a reflection of the great weather and full blooms we’re having.  The “dress” is actually a skirt I found during my thrift crawl and when I realized it wasn’t as tight on my waist as first thought, I realized it could easily pull double duty as a dress and skirt.

Have you found items you can wear multiple ways? What do you style differently than it’s intended purpose?

Outfit details:

skirt worn as dress – Personal, thrifted / cardigan – Old Navy via Plato’s Closet / belt – thrifted / heels – Aldo / bag – Guess via eBay / earrings – Forever 21 / rings – Stella and Dot

Midweek Chic: On Repeat

Well hey there investment flats and bag…nice to see you again. These items have been on heavy rotation and for good reason. I will chose to spend what may be considered a good bit of money on certain items if their wearability, quality, and wardrobe fill-ability checks out. When I spotted each of these items, I knew that they would go with everything (wearability), are made from great materials and by quality designers/brands (quality: leather materials. brands: Coach, Lanvin), and allowed me to check off certain items on my wardrobe hole list (fill-ability, yes, totally made that up). And as you can see, I am loving wearing each of these, which is another, just as important factor when making purchases.

What qualifying factors do you make an item meet to warrant it’s purchase?

Outfit details:

tank – Forever 21 / jacket – H&M / skirt – Arden B. via thrift / earrings – Stella and Dot / cross body bag – Coach via Baggio / headbands – Goody from Target / flats – Lanvin from Baggio  / sunglasses – thrifted / rings: blue from my mom, silver Stella and Dot

Monday Chic: Wearing Investments

I’ve recently invested in (and bargained) some great pieces. If you’ve watched either of my recent videos (Goodwill here, Baggio here), then you know what I’m talking about. For those of you just tuning in, I’ll do a quick recap of my recently purchased 2nd hand favorite items, all featured in this post: green army jacket, Coach cross body leather bag, Lanvin peep toe flats. I’m all about creaving an investment worthy wardrobe and I happen to believe you can find investments at any price, it just all depends on where you shop!

 In case you are dying to know about these pieces, I paid $1 (YES!) for the green army jacket at Goodwill, $50 for the leather Coach bag at Baggio Consignment and $130 (ask for a discount and you may receive) for my Lanvin flats, also at Baggio (which retail for $600 by the way). I consider each of these investment pieces. Jacket: the ultimate casual layering piece that can transition from spring to fall seemlessly. Bag: hands free carry when you need it most, namely for events such as a festival, concert, wine tasting, running errands, or shopping. As a bonus, a small cross body bag only allows you to pack the necessities, keeping tired shoulders and arms at bay. Black peep toe flats: there are a lot of variables to consider when buying black shoes, mainly because it can be easy to spot lesser quailty in a solid colored item. But you need a pair of these in your wardrobe. The peep toe adds a bit of fun to a flat and will again take you from spring straight to fall. Everyone’s sense of style and budget is different, but following these loose guidelines will get you on your way to a quality wardrobe filled with pieces you will want to wear on repeat (and if you shop 2nd hand, you may save a pretty penny as well!.)

What do you consider to be investment items and why?

Outfit details:

top – United Colors of Benetton / jacket – no brand, Goodwill / jeans – H&M / bag – Coach via Baggio / flats – Lanvin via Baggio / earrings – Old

Video: Baggio Haul

So I valiantly tried to work on editing for this video. I wanted to take out where I tell you how much these shoes can hurt after a long day of walking (ha!), but couldn’t figure it out. I’ve been wearing both items a lot lately and they will be cropping up in my outfit posts, so I wanted to share all the great details. I’ll work on the research, but any recommendations for easy to use video editing software would be welcome! In the mean time, enjoy!

Outfit details:

top – United Colors of Benetton / jacket – thrifted / jeans- H&M / earrings – old