Mint n Stripes

Well, okay, so this summer has been super busy and I haven’t had much time to put into my blogging. I thought that with the kids being out of school and none of that school stuff to worry about, maybe I’d have lot’s of blogging time. NOPE!!! Now I’m just busy with other things. That’s okay though, cuz it’s definitely better than being bored all the time!

Since summer IS unfortunately more than half way over and I haven’t YET posted a shorts outfit, I decided that it’s about time! Well, okay, maybe I did when I did my copycat look with Alicia here. Now, once again, I’m styling those same navy shorts, but in a lil more casual way.

I started by pairing the shorts with a  mint top (it’s hard to tell cuz of the lighting, but it really is mint). I LOVE the striped sleeves on this top. They’re such an fun unexpected detail.

To keep things on the casual side, I went with the Contour Lightweight Slide by Avon. I’d never thought I’d wear this type of sandal, but after seeing them all over the Instagram and the Pinterest, they’ve really grown on me. Now they’re one of my go to sandal for the summer, especially for a casual look.

I like to add a touch of dressy to my casual looks. The easiest way to do this, is with jewelry. The mark natural charm necklace is the perfect piece for that. It’s neutral colors literally go with everything!

I finished off the look by doing a quick side braid in my hair and pinning it back with a pretty clip. I love pinning my hair back like this cuz it looks cute and it keeps my hair out of my face without tucking it behind my ear.

Top – ROOLEE / Shorts – Old Navy / Necklace | Hair Clip | Bracelets | Rings – mark / Slides | Watch – Avon

 

 

Red, White and Vintage Blue

I was out of town last Sunday, so I didn’t get a chance to wear my red, white and blue to Church and since wearing dresses are one of my FAVES that I usually only get to do on Sundays, I’m doing a “post” red, white and blue look. It’s only a day late for the 4th, so it’s all good, right?!?!

I decided to go with my Junieblake Dress cuz, for one, it has (vintage) blue stripes and two, I just LOVE the dress period!!!

I pretty much got the idea for this look cuz Junieblake had posted the dress on their Instagram account last week as a July 4th look idea. I just love how the chambray blue gives the dress a vintage blue feel. Then, as I’ve said before, the dress has a 50s vibe to it, giving it even MORE of a vintage feel.

For a POP of red, I added my pair of red patent leather pumps that I’ve had for years. The mary jane style goes perfect with the dress.

To keep the shoes as the POP for the look, I kept my jewelry simple with the Natural Charm Necklace by mark. It’s such a great statement necklace, but since it’s in neutral colors, it doesn’t steal the show from the red pumps!

Dress – Junieblake / Necklace – mark. / Watch – Avon / Pumps – Chadwicks

 

 

Old Navy Copycat

We’re having a food day at work today for all the March birthdays, so I wanted to go with something loose fitting (gotta be able to hide all the extra goodies I eat). I decided that my buffalo plaid tunic would be PERFECT. It’s loose fitting and it has great style to it. That’s when I decided I wanted to recreate a look from an Old Navy email ad I’d seen a few months ago, but with a Jill style twist.

I had first seen the look in my email inbox and fell in LOVE with it. I love the print mixing, especially between buffalo plaid and stripes. Then later that day, I got a FB message from my friend Alicia from over at Word Of Alicia sharing the email ad with me. She knew how much I’d been obsessing over my striped blazer lately and thought of me when she saw it. To make the look Jill style, first I had to work with what I already had in my closet. I have the same buffalo plaid tunic (had to get it after seeing the ad), but that’s it. My striped blazer is a slightly different style, but still works. I don’t have a light wash super skinny jean, so I went with a grey pair of skinny pants and rolled them similarly. Pumps don’t quite work for my work day attire, so I went with a dressy snake print flat instead. The last thing I did to make it Jill style, is add a long pendant necklace. It’s not very often you see me without a necklace on of some sort.

How do you think I did on the copycat? Do you ever copycat a look you see? Tunic | Blazer – Old Navy / Necklace | Bracelets | Watch – mark / Flats – DownEast / Pants – Walmart

Spring Gingham

When the temperature is chilly, but I’m craving the spring colors, that’s when it’s time to break out the pale pink gingham!

As you can see from the snow on the ground, the weather is still a lil too cold to be wearing just a light weight top, so I paired the pale pink gingham with a striped blazer for an extra layer of warmth.

I was going for a business casual look, so I went with a pair of dark wash denim. The dark wash of the denim makes them more dressy, while the denim puts them on the casual side.

To keep the look more casual I added a pair of brown booties and cuffed my jeans. Then to keep the look from being too casual, I accessorized with the mark Clear Choice Necklace and gold skinny belt.

 

Striped Blazer | Gingham Button Up – Old Navy / Jeans – DownEast (Only available in their Home and Clothing Store / Booties – Poshmark / Necklace | Watch | Belt – mark

Atteeeention!

Military is ALWAYS a huge trend and it’s going to continue this spring with Army Green being a huge spring color trend. I always love playing up the military trend and today I’m doing that with camo jeans and a military officer inspired jacket by mark (old). Not something they’d necessarily wear together IN the military, but in fashion, IT WORKS! The jacket dresses up the look, while the camo keeps things on the casual side. To keep things interesting, I again added my orange striped top to the look. If you remember, I also styled it last week in another military inspired look. I just like how the orange adds a lil touch of color to the look and then I just LOVE stripes period! For just a touch of glam to the otherwise casual look, I added the Clear Choice Necklace by mark (new). My style AND lifestyle tends to be pretty much on the casual side, but I like to take things up just a notch. Jewelry is the PERFECT way to do that!

  Camo Jeans – Bella Me Boutique / Striped Top – Old Navy / Booties – Poshmark / Jacket | Necklace | Watch | Rings – mark

Mixing Prints

Mixing prints is a fun way to add visual interest to a look. Today I’m mixing stripes (top) with houndstooth (scarf). The trick to keep them looking chic rather than crazyish is to not have the prints compete against each other. Either keep them both smaller prints like I did, or have one print be the larger focal print and keep the other print smaller. If the prints are colored, you’ll want to make sure the colors “go” together. Check out my post on Complimentary Colors for tips on mixing prints.

To finish off my look, I added a military jacket and combat boots. By-the-way, military is going to be a HUGE trend this spring. I chose the military jacket because I like how the army green compliments the orange stripes in the top. I chose the combat boots just because I hadn’t worn them for a while and figured I’d give them the chance to see the light of day. For some extra visual interest, I layered the scarf with a long pendant necklace by mark.

Top – Old Navy / Scarf – Bella Me Boutique / Jeans – Alloy / Boots – Ross / Necklace | Watch | Bracelet | Rings – mark

 

 

Cobalt

I’ve had the cobalt jeans in my closet for awhile (2-3 years I think), but I haven’t worn them much lately (like once or twice a year). I actually thought about selling them in my poshmark closet a few times. I’ve changed my mind though (at least for now), thanks to Audrey over at Putting Me Together. She’s one of my FAVE bloggers to follow. I love seeing all her cute and inspiring outfit ideas! Thanks to her wearing so much cobalt lately, I’ve decided to dust off my pair of cobalt denim and give them another shot! Just in time for spring fashion!

When you wear a bright color like cobalt blue, you’ll want to keep the rest of your look in neutral colors so you don’t look crazy ladyish! I chose a black blouse with a subtle polka dot pattern, paired with  a striped blazer. Then for just a hint of something fun, I added leopard (neutral) flats.

blouse | watch | necklace – mark / blazer – Old Navy / cobalt denim – Alloy / leopard flats – Poshmark

Mustard n Stripes

 

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you know my LOVE for mustard yellow! (If not, I’m warning you now, I am OBSESSED with mustard yellow!) So it’s no surprise I’d pair my mustard yellow top with my new striped blazer from Old Navy. I’d accidentally came across this blazer on a recent visit to Old Navy. I had just planned on returning some clothes I bought for my boys for Christmas that were too big. I should have known better than to “take a quick look around”. I’ve wanting a striped blazer like this so I just couldn’t pass it up! I’ve worn it several times so I’d consider it a GOOD purchase even if it wasn’t planned!

Stripes are one of my FAVE prints and are a great way to add visual interest to an outfit. How do you add visual interest to your outfit?

 

mustard top | Jeans – DownEast / striped blazer – Old Navy / booties – Poshmark / watch | necklace – mark