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)

SIA: Fish out of water

Woo-hoo, it’s SIA time again! This week’s inspiration is a stunning watercolor illustration by 3-time Caldecott Award winner David Wiesner.

Inspiration:

Flotsam illustration – David Wiesner – Watercolor on paper, 2007

Interpretation:

And I was inspired right away! Usually, I have to sit with the inspiration art for awhile — as I like to do when visiting museums, as well, just sit with the paintings and soak up the vibes — but this one spoke to me immediately. I think the Wiesner’s stunning colors helped speed up the inspiration.

My coral salmon-colored pleated skirt was a no-brainer, and I paired it with a new striped top I scored at Old Navy with a gift-card last week. (And the top was on clearance, woo-hoo!)

Details:  Pleated skirt:  Florence Adams c/o giveaway  /  Striped tank:  Old Navy, gift-carded last week  /  Denim jacket:  Kohl’s, old  /  Flats:  Payless, new and on sale  /  Trench:  Marks & Spencer, Abu Dhabi, 2008  /  Pearl cluster earrings:  Old Navy, gift-carded in winter

I also added in extra details to play off the inspiration fish in the illustration. I went to my go-to rope braid hairstyle as it reminded me of gills, and my pearl cluster earrings represent fish eggs for this inspiration look. Tee hee!

And could I resist twirling in my pleated skirt? OF COURSE NOT!

Link ups:  SIA  /   YOLO Mondays  /  Monday Mingle  /  My Style Monday  /  Sunday Style

Related articles

• SIA: Soft and sweet (librarianforlifestyle.wordpress.com)
• Coral pleats (librarianforlifestyle.wordpress.com)
• Make Do and Mend…..rescuing a permanent pleat skirt that lost it’s pleats (princesspincurls.com)
• Navy + coral pleats (librarianforlifestyle.wordpress.com)

Pops of yellow

Today’s look was inspired by Marionberry Style’s Trend of the Month Link-up, with this month’s challenge being the color yellow.

In all honesty, I’ve never warmed toward the color yellow because it’s never felt like the best color for my pale skin tone. However, I love how this top sets off its pops of yellow with cool grey, white, and black tones. I was originally going to pair this peplum top with a tan pencil skirt, but for some reason, this morning I woke up with the idea to set up off the yellow with a plummy maroon instead, with the skirt and the skinny belt. Looking at the pics, I think it was a good choice.

I’ve discovered a new trick of securing my skinny belts with a small hair elastic, as seen above. And I spent my Sunday night with my new awl, punching in a couple of extra holes on all of my skinny belts. Good times.

Details:  Peplum top:  JCPenney, gift-carded last month  /  Pencil skirt:  LOFT, last fall  /  Black cardigan:  Target, last summer  /  Flats:  Payless, last summer  /  Skinny belt:  Fall fashion swap  /  Silver circle earrings:  Lia Sophia, gift from my husband, old  /  Tan-and-black tote:  Payless, new

Link ups:  Trend of the Month Link-up  /  WIWW  /  Wardrobe Wednesday  /  Whatever Works Wednesday  /  Dress for the Day  /  I Feel Pretty Linkup  /  Trending Pretty Wednesday  /  What I Wore to Work  /  Third Thursday Threads

Related articles:

• Fashion Monday: JCrew Telegraph Pencil Skirt (thebrooklynwoman.wordpress.com)
• Style Strategy: Can I Wear Peplum to Work? (forbes.com)
• The One Hundred: 65 Pencil Skirt (inaworldofbees.com)
• Peplum: I Wish I Could Quit You (desperatelyseekingsparkle.com)
• Black and White All Over (walkinginprettyshoes.com)
• Class to Night Out: Printed Pencil Skirt (collegefashion.net)
• Pop of Neon (baublestobubbles.com)
• Fashion Friday: LBD – Office Edition (rubysnpurls.wordpress.com)
• Adding a little sunshine into my closet (librarianforlifestyle.wordpress.com)

Inspiration Monday: Classic combo, denim + white

Today’s “Inspiration Monday” challenge was great for a sunny Saturday morning of running errands. And Emmy Rossum’s combo is so classic, my interpretation is pretty straight-forward this week.

Inspiration:

Inspiration Monday – May 13, 2013 – Emmy Rossum

Interpretation:

I donned my mom’s vintage ’60s dress again, adding my darker denim jacket and my striped canvas flats. And to echo Emmy’s bright orange bag, I grabbed my yellow canvas tote bag, my go-to bag for the weekend this spring.

One of our errands took us by the neighborhood of Ladd’s Addition in SE Portland, a beautiful residential area that revolves around a large roundabout that also serves as a small park. Sam and I had fun exploring the little niches around the park.

And part of that fun included making silly poses, happily captured by Sam.

Details:  Denim jacket:  Old Navy, gift-carded last fall  /  White sheath dress:  My mom’s from the ’60s  /  Striped canvas flats:  Target, spring  /  Silver earrings:  Gift from husband on my last birthday  /  Canvas tote bag:  Gift from my mom

Link ups:   Inspiration Monday  /  Copycat Linkup  /  YOLO Mondays  /  Monday Mingle  /  My Style Monday  /  Style Sessions  /  Real Girl Style  /  Anything + Everything Blog Hop

Related articles:

• As Seen On: Emmy Rossum + Jamie Chung (explife.express.com)
• Inspiration Monday: Stripes + glasses (librarianforlifestyle.wordpress.com)

All-in-one floral

Today’s outfit was inspired by the latest IFB project, sponsored by the film EPIC, to share a nature-inspired look. I don’t have that many florals in my wardrobe — or at least I thought I didn’t! – but as I was taking another look at my tunics (most of them bought overseas while working in the UAE), I realized most of their patterns are floral-based. Take this tunic, for example, that has a paisley-like pattern, but one made up of flowers.

I often wore this tunic for work overseas, so I thought it fitting to wear today while giving a presentation at work about my time in the UAE. I also wore my Arabic name necklace, which can be seen close-up here in this post.

Details:  Floral tunic:  Dept., Abu Dhabi, 2010  /  Trousers:  Woolworth’s, Abu Dhabi, 2009  /  Sandals:  Target, last summer  /  Necklace worn as bracelet:  Birthday gift, Abu Dhabi, 2009  /  Arabic name necklace:  Dubai, old  /  Sunglasses:  My mom’s, Dubai, old

And here’s a prior look featuring this tunic, from last spring, when I paired it with a cardigan and skinny jeans:

Link ups:  IFB Project #94  /  What I Wore Wednesday  /  Wardrobe Wednesday  /  Whatever Works Wednesday  /  Dress for the Day You Want  /  Trending Pretty Wednesday

Related articles:

• Springtime pattern-mixing (librarianforlifestyle.wordpress.com)
• Spring florals style challenge (librarianforlifestyle.wordpress.com)
• the perfect tunic(s) (tenacious-dee.com)