The "special" sign in the background is a bit ironic because it was extra difficult to take these photos! Not only was it raining, but it was terribly windy, so although we were able to take these under a covered walkway, the wind was relentless! But the show must go on, so I'm sharing my special photos with you anyway! This was an easy outfit to throw on for mild fall weather and some last minute Christmas errands. Both the plaid top and the stripe tee are not only favorites in my closet, but one of multiple colors I have in each! And while you can't tell in these photos, the hem is longer for both at back, so I am covered quite comfortably from behind.
Last week, I recapped what I wore on my work trip to Providence and Boston, so I figured this week I would do the same for my Toronto trip I went on late last week. Packing for work trips is so hard for me. My struggles for this trip were: 1) I had never met anyone I was meeting, so I had no idea if they were casual or super dressy 2) I hate meeting new people wearing flat shoes, but I also knew I'd be doing a lot of walking so the shoes needed to be comfy. 3) The weather seemed to be cold, windy, and rainy. With that in mind, let's get started!
My random roundup is just a little bit different today. I've found that the same outfits are received differently depending on how they are showcased-- a proper photograph, a mirrored selfie, a top down or "from where I stand" selfie, or a flat lay. I feel like it has something to do with not only the composition or quality of the photo itself, but also the reader's/viewer's ability to relate their own personality or lifestyle to the person who is wearing the clothes.
Flat lays are one of my favorite ways to showcase outfits because I feel like they are the least personal. There's no physical person (i.e. body type, age, personality, etc.) attached to these clothes, so the outfits can speak for themselves, and in theory, be universally relatable. I decided to grab some familiar outfits, but share them on the blog in the form of their flat lays.
Coat: Wilson's Leather | Necklace: Kate Spade | Dress:c/o Boohoo (in grape) | Gloves: Target/Neiman Marcus Collaboration | Heels: Kate Spade
Flat lays are something that I've started to get into - they're a lot of fun to put together, and I always enjoy seeing others on Instagram and Pinterest. Jenna is really great about doing these, so the first time we met up, that was one of the first questions I asked her -- how do you do your flat lays? Lucky for you - she put together a whole post about it, which is awesome! See it here - needless to say, I pinned it right away, and I've been Pinspired to do my own ever since.
Her tutorial is already pretty thorough, so I'll only touch on my own personal nuances. I use a few things - I have a 24x36 sheet of white foam board, a 36x48 white, trifold presentation board, and a light box (very similar to this one.) I switch my background depending on how big my subject matter is.
I posted the above on Instagram last weekend here. It definitely looks a lot less glamorous to get to that point. I normally like to take these photos near a window with natural light, but I think I was just antsy to take one after being flat lay-less in California all week, so I was too impatient to wait for morning. While the background I used was my trifold presentation board, I did use my spotlights and rigged my lightbox a bit so I could diffuse the light.
And this is where the magic happens. I play around with the composition until I find something that looks "right" to me. And then I take about 1278676 photos, keep the best one and delete the rest.
And this is the raw photo I took using my iPhone 6 camera. With a little photo editing using the same apps Jenna mentioned in her post, I was able to brighten this up a bit and eliminate the line of my photo box wall.
The end result is what you see on Instagram. Yes, I'm crazy, as I'm sure this is way more effort than someone should do for an Instagram photo, but it's FUN and therapeutic, just trust me on this!
Anyway, I thought this would be a good way to end the short week! Hope you enjoyed this for one reason or another, and if anything, I hope I inspired you to play around with your own flat lays and photo projects!
Holy crap, guys. I have 12 random roundup outfits to share with you. They appear to be multiplying by the second, so let's just get right to it, shall we? You know the drill - I'm only linking to items that are still available.
Scarf season is in full effect! Anything + a scarf = an outfit. This tunic was a Columbus Day sale purchase, and what can be better than stripes AND pockets! The scarf is one of my all time favorites, and really finishes off every outfit perfectly.
Seriously, I wasn't lying about scarf season. I'm *pretty* sure I got this scarf at Francesca's. I've had it for almost 4 years now, and it, too, is one of my all time faves. And here are my new favorite Naturalizer boots again! I just can't get enough of them already.
Scarf: Express | Trench: Ann Taylor | Dress:Bailey 44 | Booties:Hinge
This is the same dress and bootie outfit I wore in Montreal here. But, it wasn't quite cold enough for a blanket scarf this day. I've realized that this trench really is the perfect transitional piece! It was completely temperature appropriate, and the sleeves of the dress plus the scarf kept me comfortable it the cooler, but not cold, weather.
Top:J Crew Factory | Bottoms: Express | Booties:Nine West
This is what I should call the trilogy top because I have it in 3 colors. You can see the other two here and here. And then, you can see the last time I wore this exact top here. I really love that you can throw it on and not have to wear any other jewelry if you don't want to. I always feel a bit naked though when I'm not wearing earrings and my hair is up. Am I the only one?
This was the weekend I was horribly sick. I have never had such a bad "cold" in my life, if that's really what it was. All I did was sleep, and I couldn't breathe - it was awful. I actually had to sleep in the recliner the whole time because I couldn't breathe laying on my back. But the day I wore this, the husband needed me to leave the house, so I was all about comfort and soft things. This skirt will be in my wardrobe for quite some time! It's the best!
I stole this white blazer outfit straight from Gina's horoscope post here. And I'm not even a Scorpio! I always have trouble coming up with ideas to wear this blazer, so any time I see a good one, I jump on it right away! The last time you saw this blazer was over the summer here. One of my favorite summer looks!
Ah, the sweater dress! I just love me a good sweater dress, and I found this a couple seasons ago at the Gap outlet. Apparently I love wearing this dress with these exact boots because you can see this combo from over TWO YEARS ago here. Holy crap that's a long time to be taking outfit selfies!
I seriously can't believe how much I love this vest. I would never ever have imagined I would get as much use out of it as I have. And this scarf - this scarf was my subject in my scarf tying video here. This time though, I looped the scarf around my neck twice, instead of just once, which is why it's tighter and less loosey goosey than in my older post. I think I prefer it this way better!
Ugh. This outfit just makes me sad, but not because I don't like it. I won't go into too many details, but long story short, the Cardinals lost their right fielder, Oscar Taveras, to a car accident in the Dominican Republic. His girlfriend also died in the accident - it was during a torrential downpour when it happened. This guy was SO young and at the start of his career. The team was basically built around him, knowing his potential and capabilities. As much time as I invest in watching this team, it was pretty sad for me, and also touching to watch not only the team and its fans, but the entire MLB community, show compassion and respect for this lost player. There was a bit of a rally on Twitter to wear red the day following his passing, so this was my homage.
This scarf will always be my forever scarf. It's just such a good one, that no matter how many other blanket scarves I may fall in love with over the next season, this one is just irreplaceable! I try really hard not to wear it every. Single. Day. This is the outfit that I was experimenting with when I posted my outfit flat lay on Instagram here.
Speaking of staples - here's another one of my many striped dresses from Express. I always tend to pair a red patterned scarf with it, so this time, I decided to be so super adventurous and try it with this green floral one instead. What do you know? Still pretty fabulous.
And last, but not least, is the oversized plaid top you previously saw here. I decided to wear it the more traditional way - buttoned up with a partial tuck. And ok, I admit that in these photos, my bun may be just a weee bit on the big side. Don't cameras add 10 pounds? Well, then, I blame the camera for making it look bigger than real life!
Cute outfit, right? I never would have put these pieces together, ever. I've worn everything before - you can see the dress (worn today as a top) here, skirt here, trench here, boots here, bag here. So what made me try these things together? Barbie. Yup, true story.
Gina thought it would be fun, and honestly pretty easy, to find fashion inspo from the miniature fashion icon herself, and I'm always down for a challenge, so I opted in without thinking twice. Be sure to check out Gina's blog today also to see what she picked for herself!
Hope everyone had a great weekend! It was nice to have a normal, travel free, commitment free, sick free weekend! I would still rather have more daylight than that extra hour of sleep yesterday, but it was still a relaxing weekend anyway. I finally went to Pilates for the first time in about 6 weeks. Considering I was going about 2-3 times a week, that just tells you how busy life has been. It felt good to get back into it, and I don't know if it was the Pilates itself that has been helping my mood and spirit, but I'm a lot more mentally relaxed than I was this time last week. Yay for sore muscles and sanity!
Before I go, please head over to Rhea's blog. She's doing a mini feature on me, so please check it out and say hello!
Thursday night was the big designer runway show for St. Louis Fashion Week (#stlfw.) The three designers featured were Timo Weiland, Tess Giberson, and Yigal Azrouel. I knew there was going to be a meet and greet before the show, so I wanted to wear one of their pieces if at all possible. I started sifting through their collections to see what kind of inspiration I could pull.
I ended up choosing a dress from Yigal's cut25 line that I was able to find on crazy sale. I added the vest for warmth and extra edge. You know I love a good color pop, and I may or may not have bought this bag the morning of the show. How perfect does it finish off this look though?
Vest: Forever 21 (option) | Bag: Rebecca Minkoff | Dress: Cut25 by Yigal Azrouel (other options here and here) | Ring: Kate Spade Saturday | Sandals:Coach (option)
Ok, now for the show! Just as with Wednesday's show, I think the easiest way to paint the picture is to simply show you a few of my favorite looks from each designer. First up was Timo Weiland. Timo's designs were very organic to me, but in an edgy kind of way. There's a bit of a resort-casual vibe to his looks that I love so much. I posted a video of his final walk here if you'd like to see! Loved that he had menswear in his collection.
Next was Tess Giberson. I ended up getting to meet Tess (see photo here), and her personality and how she carries herself are every bit translated in her designs - effortless, eloquent, natural, down to earth, chic.
Photo Credit: Alive Magazine
I love this sweater/skirt combo so much. One thing I admired about all three of these collections is how the monochromatic looks are still very interesting because of the mix of textures and fabrics. So much depth!
The metallic skirt!! In love!
And finally, Yigal Azrouel. Yigal's designs were strong, edgy, and almost futuristic looking to me, but in a good way! Lots of rich patterns, textures, and asymmetrical cuts to his collection.
Photo Credit: Alive Magazine
This maxi dress literally took my breath away. Even though there is so much fabric, I love the way it drapes, and how it is still very sexy with the low v-neck and the front slit down the leg.
Photo Credit: Alive Magazine
You know I would wear this in a heartbeat. I wanted to steal it right off the model. All black outfit, but the layered textures and bold cuts make it so interesting to me. I need this jacket in my life. NEED.
Photo Credits: Alive Magazine
I have to give props to this model. I could tell Kelsey Owens was struggling to walk in those shoes, and when I looked down at her feet, her pinky toe was literally hanging out of the pump! She finally, and flawlessly, paused to slip her shoes off and strutted down the walkway without breaking that gaze. The crowd loved it and cheered her on. How those models fake like the shoes they're walking in are comfortable and actually fit them is amazing to me. That runway is no joke!
If there is one thing I have learned from my first Fashion Week is that I just need to take the entire week off next time! Trying to juggle my day job, plus all the night events, plus being able to keep up with regular blogging on top of these fashion week features is all a bit much. As I write this, I'm fighting a bad head cold, and I'm pretty sure it's my body telling me to slow my roll. And, I've decided to listen, so this week, you're only getting Monday, Wednesday, Friday posts verses my typical 5. I honestly could not imagine taking outfit photos this weekend, and no one needs to see my face like this anyway!
I promise I'll go back to real life here in a bit, but thanks for following along with all my #stlfw activities and letting me share with you. It's been a fun ride, and I cannot wait for the next one now!
