The burgundy skirt

First of all! Thank you to everyone who entered the $650 EXPRESS Gift Card Giveaway! We are pleased to announce that Sarah L. is the winner! She was so super excited when we let her know, and word on the street is that she may end up with a Portofino in every color. Can't say I blame her!

Sunnies: Vince Camuto | Coat: Calvin Klein (option, budget option) | Necklace: Francesca's (option) | Bag: Michael Kors (option) | Top: Express (option) | Tights: DKNY (similar) | Skirt: Banana Republic | Heels: MICHAEL Michael Kors (option)

This skirt is yet another purchase instigated by Rachelle. I had been on the hunt for a burgundy skirt, which is no surprise considering I love all things this color, and a skirt was the one thing I hadn't had in my burgundy collection yet.

Tonight I'm going to a Holiday Happy Hour event at The Resale Shop hosted by Jill from Stilettos on Sunday Morning. I thought this was a great outfit to transition from work to a holiday happy hour --- rich burgundy is always a favorite holiday color palette of mine. And I'm extra excited to get to know this little thrift shop because it's totally out of my realm of expertise. I'll be sure to recap everything for ya!

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Linking up for: Thrift Sisters with Ayana and Keren, What I Wore Wednesday, Random Wednesday, I Feel Pretty, Whatcha Wearin Wednesday.

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Hints of red

Jacket: Express | Scarf: Express (buy 1 get 1 half off!) | Dress: Kate Spade Saturday (option, option, option)   | Bag: Gucci (budget option, cheapest option) | Tights: DKNY | Booties: Christian Louboutin (budget option)

It's crazy that it's been 4 months since I last wore this dress. Crazy because it doesn't feel like that long and crazy because it feels like winter is never ending!! I wanted to go ahead and wear it today because I've been wanting to style it with booties and a moto jacket like Wendy had done. After I had originally worn this dress, I regretted not just styling it like this in the first place.

This time around, in the spirit of Valentine's Day week, I wanted to show hints of red. I am absolutely OBSESSED with this scarf. Every time I saw it on Express' site, I was curious about it, but wasn't sure how the mix of patterns would look actually worn as a scarf. But as soon as I tried it on, I fell in love. How could I not love it-- it's plaid AND leopard? Shut up!

Speaking of last times. The last time you saw these booties was for my dressier holiday style look. I love these booties. Love them. I'll be the first to admit that Louboutins, while beautiful, are not the most comfortable heels by any means. But I wear these the most because they are actually comfortable. I bought these shoes via text message. No lie. My SA at the Shoe In location in Vegas sends emails periodically with sale info. These bad boys were 40% off, so as soon as I saw the email, I finished my transaction via text message. That, my friends, is when you know you are a shopaholic. Shopping via text is almost like getting that page on your root beer colored pager from your drug pusher that your stash is available. Sigh. They're amazing though aren't they?

Oh, and if you guys haven't seen it - please be sure to go check me out over at Style Sessions hosted every Tuesday by Lauren of Style Elixir! I was so flattered and excited when she asked me to be Head Stylist this week! Please be sure to link up while you're there!

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Linking up for: Stylish Tuesday, Style Sessions, Erin and Laura for Trend Spin Linkup, 

and Love Your Look.

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Resolution #4

Scarf: Banana Republic (old) (option) (LOVE this lattice one) | Dress: JCrew (option) | Tights: DKNY | Cuff: Express | Ring: BCBG (option) | Boots: Sam Edelman

res·o·lu·tion 

ˌrezəˈlo͞oSHən/

noun

1. a firm decision to do or not to do something.

So, Resolution #4 should mean: a firm decision to wear all my shoes. Or maybe: a firm decision to not neglect any shoes in my collection? Either way, I shall refer to this merely as "resolution #4" from now on. Yes, it's only my first week of my resolutions, but what do they say? It only takes 21 days for something to become habit? I could be making that up, but you get my point. I took these boots out of the vault because they deserved some love. They obviously make quite the statement, which is why I decided to pair them with solids. I tried to go with a full on monochromatic look with one of the new metallic skirts I've recently bought plus a neutral cable knit sweater, but it made me look like a matronly Fembot:

(source)

So, I just grabbed this easy dress, a scarf to pick up the taupe in the boots, and I was pleased with the results. It also gives me faith in these boots, because I had almost given up on them. It was snowy/slushy again today, so I begrudgingly *had* to wear my new red wellies, outdoors. A girl's gotta do...

Via Instagram

I don't know about you guys, but I am thrilled that there are only 8 hours left in the work week. Every morning I have woken up this week, I've been discombobulated, wishing it were Saturday. You can imagine my dismay when I realized it was only Tuesday. Needless to say, it's been a long week, and I have spent way too many hours commuting back and forth in this treacherous weather!! Cheers to the freakin' weekend!

Linking up for: Fashion Friday, Friday Linkup, Friday's Fab Favorites, The Fashion Informant, Casual Friday, What I'm Loving Fridays, Sit Down Style Session with Lauren and Jenn

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Making brown holiday happy

Earrings: Express (option) | Necklace: Kate Spade (option) | Dress: Marc Jacobs (limited sizes) | Top: Express (in wild orchid) | Bracelet: Natasha Couture (option) | Ring: Kate Spade Saturday (option), BP Bow Ring (Gifted) | Bag: Burberry (gifted) (option) Tights: DKNY (similar) | Booties: Vince Camuto (option)

I got this dress during a Black Friday/week sale *last* year at the Mall of America.  This is my first time wearing it 1) because I didn't really have a reason to and 2) I have trouble styling brown pieces. If you look at my wardrobe, I really don't have many chocolate brown items. None, actually. I don't even own a pair of chocolate brown knee high boots because I always reach for cognac instead. There's something about brown that is very fall/winter to me (aka not versatile). And to be honest, sometimes the color in and of itself makes things look 70s dated. However, I loved this dress in the store, it was on crazy sale, and I thought I would regret not buying it. But then it sat in my closet for over a year, and I was starting to think there was no hope for it. The material feels like jacquard, which is too thick for summer, and I wasn't sure how I could style it for work.

But that's where the power of trying things on comes in. I held this dress in my hand and sifted through all my tops in my wardrobe. I had the idea of wearing this dress like a "jumper" and wanted to do something other than layer it over a white shirt or a chambray. I realized this wine colored portofino would be perfect - not only for the dress, but for the occasion. We were going straight to a holiday happy hour after work, so the button up added warmth and modesty to the sleeveless dress making it work appropriate, while the color and metallic dots made the look Cosmo consumption appropriate! And just like that, I'm happy I broke the seal on this dress. It's a keeper!

Linking up with:

Bethany and Meghan for Three-fer Thursday

Tara for What I Wore to Work

Erin for Working Girl with Style

Elle and Jacqueline for Spotlight Weekly

Agi for Tres Chic Fashion Thursday

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Pinspiration + remix to the max

Left: Jacqueline from Stylin in St. Louis

I think I've mentioned before that I'm the member of a style and beauty forum. Best group of girls ever, aside from you all, of course! We post our OOTD photos every day, and on Tuesdays, we do Pinspired outfits. Well, I have randomly committed myself to wearing sequins or glitter every day this week in preparation for my week off for Christmas, so I was trying to find some Pinspiration that included sequins, but I was at a loss. Then, at about 11pm last night, I read Jacqueline's blog post, and instantly fell in love with her outfit! I ran to my closet room, tried on a couple of plaid shirts with a couple of dot skirts, and voila! This is my pinterpretation!

Earrings: Stella & Dot | Plaid shirt: Rugby (option) | Tank: JCrew | Skirt: JCrew Factory (option) | Bag: Michael Kors (option) | Tights: DKNY (in grey) | Wedges: Franco Sarto (option)

I've been accused before of not repeating outfits. Or people will say "I've never seen you wear *that* before!" I do admit to trying not to repeat an outfit in its entirety unless I can't remember the last time I wore it, or only if it's a completely different audience. But otherwise I really just like to remix as much as possible. Reading and writing about remixing is probably my favorite thing about blogging. I love proving the versatility of something, and I also love pushing my creativity, so to speak. I admit whole heartedly that I stole Jacqueline's look today, but I thought it would be fun to break down this outfit and point you to other ways I have worn these pieces.

Clockwise from top left: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Also - awhile ago I did a remix post just on this plaid shirt alone - read it here. It's seriously the most perfect starting point for so many outfits. Next to my chambray, I easily reach for this top the most.

Linking up with Elizabeth, Lindsey, Alison, Victoria.

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Worth it

Sweater: JCrew (last season, but there is a Factory version here that maybe you can find in stores?) | Necklace: Banana Republic (option) | Bag: Chanel (option) | Bracelet: Tasha (option) | Skirt: Express | Tights: Nordstrom layered over black opaque DKNY | Wedges: Tory Burch (option, option in black)

The most time consuming part of blogging isn't picking out the outfits or taking photos or even writing the posts. What takes me the absolute longest is finding dupes for  the items I'm wearing that I either can't find online anymore or are past seasons. As I was trying to link to something similar for the pieces in this outfit, I realized that sometimes splurging is worth it. 

This sweater I fell in love with instantly. It's cashmere for one. It's color block for two. AND it has elbow patches? Shut up! But, of course, it was full price, at the start of last season, and nowhere near getting marked down. I hemmed and hawed about it for a little while, then decided to just bite the bullet and buy it. And honestly, it's probably my most favorite sweater I own. I was a little disheartened when JCrew made a Factory version of it, but seeing as though it's now sold out, I still have no regrets for paying full price back in the day. Especially since I've been enjoying it for almost 15 months now and I don't see this leaving my wardrobe anytime soon.

The wedges. I did a whole Shoesday post about them back in the day here if you want to see more detailed photos. You have no idea how much I agonized overnight about these shoes. About the size, about the price (even at the mark down price)… but do you ever get that feeling that you will just regret it if you don't buy something? After searching the web back then as well as tonight and finding nothing quite like them, I know I would have regretted passing on these. The suggestions I found were good dupes, but these are just perfect. And sometimes it's ok (as long as you can still pay your bills and feed yourself!) to pay for that perfect piece.

Today I'm linking up with Erin and Laura. Each Tuesday they host the Trend Spin linkup, and last week's feature trend was the statement necklace. My look from last week's Holiday Style Linkup was picked as one of their favorites, and I am just SO excited and flattered! Please be sure to visit their blogs to check it out and say hello! And join the linkup while you're at it!

Speaking of linkups - the Holiday Travel theme is now live as of yesterday! Feel free to join the party whether you have a holiday travel post to share or not! The more, the merrier!

Linking up with Shanna, Lauren, Erin and Laura.

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Bootie Pinspiration

It's no secret. I love shoes. And I have a lot of them. I love each pair equally (honest I do, I can't hurt their feelings), but since I could easily go almost a half year without repeating a pair of shoes… well… you sometimes have to consciously dress around your shoes or else they may never be worn. Last year I was dying for some wedged desert booties. I scored these from a Nine West outlet - they're amazing, but I realized I hadn't worn them yet this season. Last time I styled them with jeans...

…so this time I wanted to style them differently. You know how I love remixing. That's where our buddy, Pinterest, comes in. To be quite honest, it's hard not to think of any other way to style these booties outside of jeans. Nothing wrong with jeans, but with as much stuff that I own, other things in my closet need their day in the spotlight too. Voila - I found this photo. Hers are not lace up wedges, but the color is a great match to my pair.

Unfortunately, I was not skilled enough to locate the original source of this photo, but you can see the pin here.

I originally had dismissed this outfit for today because I already wore my chunky maroon sweater last week for Thanksgiving part 3 and for Black Friday shopping. BUT! I forgot about this cashmere number I got on clearance last season AND it has the contrasting cuffs and button detail that would go perfect with the booties. I doubled up on the tights because I can't do the sheer tights look with a short that skirt for work.

Necklace: Express | Sweater: Last Call Neiman Marcus (chunky option) | Ring: Kate Spade (splurge, save) | Skirt: ASTR (option, love this!)  | Tights: DKNY (two layers) (option) | Boots: Nine West (option, option)

Oooh, this post just made me think of a good New Year's resolution for the last week of the Holiday Style series! Which, BTW, if you have not had a chance to check out week 1 that debuted on Monday - go! On the Daily Express and I have a great group of bloggers linked up, so read, get inspired, comment, and mingle! And it's not too late for you to join either - Holiday Style related or not!

Linking up with Sherry, Alison, Lindsey and Shanna.

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5 minutes of pretty

Dress: Annie Griffin | Earrings: Can't remember! (option) | Ring: Express (option) | Bag: Chanel (budget option) | Tights: DKNY (2 pairs layered for opaqueness) (option) | Booties: Me Too (option)

I bought this dress on a recent trip to Atlanta. It's gorgeous! I love the color and I love the lace inset. I felt nothing but girly putting this on, I had to throw my hair into a low chignon with some chandelier earrings for effect. So the problem is - it's silk. And less than 5 minutes after I took these photos, I was in the car on the way to work - a 45 minute commute by the way - and I was all wrinkly! I had a slip on and two pairs of tights. Doesn't matter. On the up side the dress is silk, and on the downside the dress is silk. Oh well, at least I got photos of the 5 minutes I was freshly steamed and pretty!

Any tips on keeping silk fresh all day, aside from lugging around my steamer?

Linking up with Tori, Lauren, Erin and Laura.

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