Colorblocking stripes

Happy Wednesday! I  wore this outfit this past Monday, the most recent day of sunshine before we were plunged back into a cycle of rainy weather. The combo of blue, white, and green felt fresh for spring, inspired in part by this look.

And based on several recent positive comments about headbands and headscarves (thank you!), I added this striped headscarf at the last minute. And I’m so glad I did!

Details:  Colorblocked cardigan:  Target, last spring  /  Striped tank top:  Gap, gift-carded last summer  /  Tan trousers:  The Limited, Fall 2011  /  Denim wedges:  Payless, last summer  /  Striped scarf:  Thrifted in Texas, old  /  Drop earrings:  Lia Sophia, gift, old

Link ups:  WIWW  /  Wardrobe Wednesday  /  Whatever Works Wednesday  /  Dress for the Day  /  I Feel Pretty Linkup  /  Trending Pretty Wednesday

Related articles

• Blue stripes + florals (librarianforlifestyle.wordpress.com)
• Springtime pattern-mixing (librarianforlifestyle.wordpress.com)
• Floral Headband / D.I.Y. Project (abeautifulmess.typepad.com)
• Refashion Inspiration: Colorblocking (christinadesignsart.wordpress.com)

Inspiration Monday on a Tuesday

Today’s “Inspiration Monday” style challenge is coming to you a day late, on a Tuesday, and features an outfit I wore this past Friday. (Any other ways I can incorporate more days of the week up in here? Lemme know! )

This week’s inspiration comes to you via the eternally cool Gwen Stefani.

Inspiration:

Inspiration Monday – May 20, 2013 – Gwen Stefani

Interpretation:

This one may not look too similar at first, but stick with me. I wanted to turn Gwen’s cool casual look into a “casual Friday” look for work.

Gwen’s look is a mix of monochrome (black) and denim (vest), with a pop of yellow (shoes). My look is also a mix of monochrome (navy) and denim (skinny jeans), with a pop of yellow (scarf).  Big sunglasses? Check. Bright lipstick? Check.

And I like that Gwen’s outfit totally matches her rock chick style, while my outfit reflects my more classic style.

Details:  Navy blazer:  Macy’s, winter  /  Skinny jeans:  Target, last winter  /  Nude wedges:  Payless, gift-carded last winter  /  White sleeveless sweater:  Kmart?, old  /  Scarf:  Echo, c/o giveaway  /  Tote bag:  Payless, new  /  Pearl drop earrings:  Bridesmaid’s gift, old

And let’s talk hair. Like Gwen, I went for an easy updo with maximum impact. Check out the Mad Men-like fabulousness below, y’all. And so easy! It’s just a ponytail with the ends not pulled all the way through, and then wrapped around the base and pinned. It’s a good style for those I’m-going-to-eke-out-another-day-without-washing-my-hair kind of days. Y’all know what I’m talking about. And Sam caught the hairdo at its widest possible camera angle, so it didn’t look quite so puffy in real life.

And finally, I’ve waxed rhapsodic about my Revlon “Just Bitten” lip stains before. But I wanted to show y’all what this lip stain looks like at the end of the day. I took the pic below around 5pm, after 9 straight hours of this lip stain — no touch-ups and after lunch and multiple cups of coffee and water refills throughout the day. This bright pink color is called “Lovesick.”

Link ups:  Inspiration Monday  /  Style Sessions  /  Real Girl Style  /  Anything + Everything Blog Hop

Related articles

• Variations on a theme (librarianforlifestyle.wordpress.com)
• Gwen’s love for Zara. (poppys-style.com)
• Inspiration Monday: Classic combo, denim + white (librarianforlifestyle.wordpress.com)
• Gwen Stefani Print Pants (celebstyle.typepad.com)

Blue stripes + florals

Today reached into the 70s, so I again inflicted my pale legs on the general populace.

And today marks the debut — on the blog, at least — of three recent (gift-carded) purchases. The blue, sleeveless dress and striped, cropped cardigan were featured in last month’s budget round-up, and the floral cotton scarf — my first! — is another clearance find I scooped up at JCPenney last weekend (where I also picked up this mod top). I like the scarf’s moody color scheme — feels very Pacific NW to me — plus one side has a subtle sparkly glow, which you can just see in the upper right corner in the pic above.

Details:  Blue dress:  Old Navy, gift-carded in March  /  Striped cardigan:  Old Navy, gift-carded in March  /  Floral scarf:  JCPenney, gift-carded this month  /  Flats:  DKNY via Macy’s, Fall 2011  /  Pearl studs:  Old Navy, gift-carded last winter

This last photo cracked me up! So dainty!

Link ups:  Look What I Got  /  What I Wore to Work  /  Vodka Infused Lemonade

Related articles:

• Spring, sprang, sprung (librarianforlifestyle.wordpress.com)
• What I got with gift cards (March 2013) (librarianforlifestyle.wordpress.com)
• OOTD: Navy Cardigan (thelazygirlblog.com)
• Fun scarf and an orange cardigan (suzegeeksout.com)
• Dressing For The Awkward Season (punkrock-chic.com)

Variations on a theme

If you’re a regular reader, y’all know my go-to formula for casual Fridays is a pair of jeans + a blazer. Here are a couple of recent variations on that theme, from the prior two Fridays.

By the way, it feels so strange to see pics taken before getting my new glasses, doesn’t it?!

Look 1:

Details:  Green camp shirt:  Old Navy, gift-carded last spring  /  Tweedy jazer:  JCPenney, old  /  Jeans:  Gap, old  /  Flats:  Payless, last summer  /  Skinny belt:  Target, winter  /  Black statement necklace:  Florence Adams, c/o giveaway

Look 2:

Details:  Blazer:  The Limited, old  /  Skinny jeans:  Target, last winter  /  Peep-toe wedges:  Franco Sarto, old  /  Striped tank top:  Old Navy, last summer  /  Silk animal print scarf:  Echo, c/o giveaway

And do y’all recognize the inspiration for Look 2? It started out the same foundation as this look, but I simply switched the tan blazer for a black one, and threw on a brightly patterned scarf. Amazing how simple things like that can change up an outfit!

Happy Friday!

Link ups:  Casual Friday Link Up  /  Friday’s Five Linkup  /  Fashion Informant Friday

Related articles

• 5 Days, 5 Ways: Remixing casual Fridays (librarianforlifestyle.wordpress.com)
• How to Dress for Casual Friday at the Office (j9styleblog.com)
• Stripes on stripes (librarianforlifestyle.wordpress.com)

Mutual Inspiration: Pattern-mixing a striped blazer

Continuing the double whammy of style inspiration with Erin @ Loop Looks through our “Mutually Inspired Series“… have YOU been inspired yet?

Inspiration, Day 3:

This time, I chose an inspiration board from the first post of Erin’s “You Pick Wednesday” series. And that post stemmed from my own question submission (!) about how to wear a striped blazer, which I had just picked up on clearance last summer at the Gap.

5 Fun Way to Wear a Striped Blazer, Erin @ Loop Looks

Interpretation:

So I took inspiration from Erin’s suggestions to pair this striped blazer (last seen here) with a bright color (pink) and a patterned scarf. I didn’t have any floral patterns that looked right with the stripes, but I chose this basket-weave pattern instead because of the thin bits of navy throughout. I also wore berry flats to tie in more with the pink sweater.

For a more casual day at work, I felt cute and colorful. Thanks, Erin!

Details:  Striped blazer:  Gap, gift-carded last summer  /  Pink sweater:  Mango, old  /  Silk scarf:  Echo, c/o giveaway  /  Jeans:  Gap, old  /  Flats:  Payless, last spring

Stay tuned for Day 4!

Link ups:  WIWW  /   Wardrobe Wednesday  /  Get Your Pretty On   /  Dress for the Day You Want  /  Whatever Works Wednesday  /  Random Wednesdays  /  What We Wore, Read & Made Wednesdays  /  Whatever Whenever Wednesday

Related articles

• Mutual Inspiration: Grey + teal (librarianforlifestyle.wordpress.com)
• Celebrate! Blogiversary + new series (librarianforlifestyle.wordpress.com)
• Stripes on stripes (librarianforlifestyle.wordpress.com)
• Très Très Chic at Work: Trendy White Blazer With Mint Jeans at Miss England | CareerBliss (careerbliss.com)
• Stay Classy (tammydefox.com)