Perk Up Winter!

Hope you all have been having a great week!  I have a round-up of holiday looks planned starting Saturday, but I thought I'd finish out the week with a recent work outfit.

Pants: The Limited (old) (Similar here)
Clutch:  The Limited (Sold out on-line; may be available in stores)

I gravitate very heavily towards black in the winter, but I've been trying to keep things interesting by incorporating more prints and some bold pops of color. 

Today's look does both, and it also adds two of spring 2014's upcoming trends - sporty influences and color blocking.

The cardigan has subtle color blocking with slightly darker sleeves and lighter red-orange side panels.  The raglan sleeves and zipper closure give it a sporty feel.  Since I love the warmth and coziness of sweaters, I've been looking for more styles that suit my picky palette.  I loved that this cardigan is very simple, but that it's in a season-less bright color and has fun sporty details.  The medium weight will easily allow me to wear this sweater through spring.

Blouse:  The Limited (Available here)
Cardigan:  The Limited (Available here)

Heels:  Target (old)
Necklace:  New York & Company (Sold out on-line; may be available in stores)

How do you perk up your winter looks?

Fall Color Week: Orange Crush

Fall Color Week continues today with orange!

Dress:  LOFT Petites (Similar here and here)

Orange is probably the first color I think about when I think of fall.  Whether pumpkins or the changing leaves, autumn is ablaze with the color orange.

Blazer:  The Limited (Similar here)

Belt:  Torrid (Available here)

Here, I took a dress I purchased over the summer and gave it a fall make-over with a camel blazer and leopard print heels.  

This is one instance where I would have preferred a cardigan.  A camel cardigan would have created a softer combination, making it ideal for dressier Thanksgiving festivities.

Shoes:  Target (Similar here)

It wasn't that cold here today, but tights could easily be added to this outfit to stay warm.

Clutch:  Target (old)

I don't wear much orange, but whenever I do, I usually think I should wear it more often.  It's such a warm and inviting color.

Do you like wearing orange?

For this dress in another look, see here.
For this blazer in other looks, see here, here, and here.

Spearmint and Orange

Hope you're all having a great Saturday!

Blouse:  LOFT (Available here)
Jacket:  LOFT Petites (Available here)

Today, I feature a recent work outfit.  I paired an orange-tipped blouse with a spearmint green blazer and navy skinny pants.

Pants:  The Limited (Available here)
Shoes:  Target (Available here)

Necklace:  The Limited (Available here)
Earrings:  The Limited (Available here)

I love the mix of green and orange.  The navy pants keep the look subtle enough for work, while being a softer choice than black. 

A straw bag with orange trim and a fun alligator ring finish the look (close-up of ring here).

Purse:  The Limited (Available here)

Ring:  Target (Similar here)

Do you like mixing orange and green?

For this blazer in other looks, see here and here.

Casual in White Jeans

Hope you're all enjoying your weekends!

It has been a very busy few weeks at work, and I still have a couple more weeks of crazy before things settle down a bit.  Thanks for bearing with me over the last month while my blog posts have been more sporadic than usual.  I should be back on track in a few more weeks with my regular daily/semi-daily posting.

Today I feature yesterday's casual Friday look.  

Please excuse the messy hair.  I took these pics after a long day!  I make no apologies for the make-up free face!  :-)

Top:  The Limited (Available here)
Jeans:  The Limited (Available here)

Cardigan:  LOFT Petites (old)
Bag:  The Limited

I wore the cardigan for work due to sometimes frigid office air conditioning.  I also actually wore flats to work since I was running around a lot, but I thought the heels gave the outfit a little more polish.

Necklace:  LOFT (Available here)
Shoes:  Target (Available here)

I love the floaty trapeze shape of this fun tangerine top.  It's so airy and lightweight.  Perfect for the 90+ degree temps we've been having!

The best part is definitely the back of this top, with the cute cutout and button details. 

I should note for those of you who aren't 4'9" like me, the bottom of the top is designed to reveal the small of your back.

For these white jeans in other looks, see here, here, and here.

Eyelet & Denim

For the last casual Friday at work, I paired an orange eyelet blouse with dark denim and a black blazer. 

Jeans:  The Limited (Available here)
Blouse:  The Limited (Available here)

This is definitely a go-to casual Friday look for me (dark jeans/blazer).  It's relaxed but still feels very professional and put-together.

Blazer:  The Limited (Similar here)
Shoes:  Target (old)

Necklace:  The Limited (Available here)
Purse:  The Limited (Available at Eloquii here)

I love this shade of orange mixed with black.  It's such a great color pop.  A Deco-inspired necklace with paler orange stones added a touch of bling to the look.This blouse definitely makes me think of spring and summer, but it's still been too cold here to be too serious about spring fashion (despite my better wishes).  It does appear that spring is on the horizon though, and I for one can hardly wait!

I am looking forward to pairing this top with white bottoms and turquoise!

Hope you all have been having a great weekend!!!! 

See similar looks here and here.

Spring 2013 Fashion Preview: Stripes

Happy Monday, everyone!

Blouse:  New York & Company (Available here)
Blazer:  The Limited Black Collection (Similar here)

This week I will be featuring my favorite picks from the Spring 2013 runway shows.

I love designer fashion straight from the catwalks, but like most people, I don't have the budget for it.  Designer fashion is often inspirational and certainly helps determine what we all see in our neighborhood stores and mall chains each season.

Trends keep fashion fun and help keep your wardrobe new and interesting, but great style is definitely not about being a slave to trends.  For me, great style is about incorporating trends into one's wardrobe in a way that suits one's own personal style, lifestyle, body type, and budget. 

One thing I have noticed about the trends over the last year or so is that most of the major runway trends have been extremely wearable.  For example, one of the major trends on Spring 2013 runways was stripes.  Stripes are super easy to wear.  

Don't believe the hype that curvy or petite girls can't wear stripes.  Wearing stripes is all about getting the right fit and proportions.  Diagonal and chevron stripes are almost always lengthening and thinning.  Narrow to medium horizontal stripes can be very flattering to all figures.  I've already featured a few of my favorite striped looks off of the runways here.

This spring, many designers took stripes in new directions or used stripes in creative ways.  For me, the most innovative was definitely Marc Jacobs who showed a variety of striped dresses, suits, and tunics.

Marc Jacobs Spring 2013 look
Source:  www.style.com

Other favorite striped looks from the Spring 2013 runways:

Jonathan Saunders look
Source:  www.thefashionspot.com

Michael Kors Spring 2013 look
Source:  www.style.com

I am not a winter girl, so even though it's only January, I am ready for spring fashion!

I recently purchased this chevron stripe blouse.  I love the bright orange color of the stripes.  It's great now under a suit, but I am looking forward to pairing it with pencil skirts, white pants, and boyfriend jeans for spring.

Pants: The Limited Black Collection (Similar here)
Satchel:  The Limited (Available here)

Shoes: Target (old)
Earrings:  World Market (old)
Cuff:  New York & Company

Do you like the stripe trend for spring?  Do you have your sights set on any spring fashion yet?

Autumn Color Story

Today, I was inspired by the gorgeous colors of fall.

Pants:  The Limited (Available here)
Blazer:  New York & Company (Available here)

I chose my camel trousers, added a bright orange sweater, and dark green blazer.  This look is a little preppier than I usually go for, but I do love how this has an almost 1970s collegiate ease about it (think Ali McGraw in "Love Story").  

Sweater:  The Limited (Similar here)
Tank:  Target (Similar here)

I kept the accessories neutral and coordinating in cognac. 

Shoes:  Target (old)
Bag:  The Limited (old)

Do you get fashion inspiration from nature?