Outfit Of The Day (Five Ways Of Fun + Finding Inspiration In Fashion Blogging)

Why do you love fashion blogging?

This question has popped into my head a few different times as of late, for whatever reason, and isn't it important to stop and think about things..especially if they keep popping up in your fluffy, fluffy head?

You know, to really ponder the important questions; even if it's over complicated things like liking or not liking fashion blogging, and if a shirtless Ryan Gosling fell in the forest would Lassie come back to life to save him (of course), and MAD MEN, HEY, WHERE THE GOSH DARN ARE YOU?  (Come baaack.)

I know why I like fashion blogging--it has been really neat meeting a whole new group of girls from all over the US that share similar interests as me that I would never otherwise have met. It has even been neat meeting people here in Colorado that I, all things considered, would have probably never have met. Oh, the world wide web is fancy that way.

One of my favorite things about fashion blogging is drawing inspiration from all of the incredibly talented bloggers out there--from The glamorous Glamourai to Anh at 9 to 5 Chic to Jean at Extra Petite (isn't it great having other options than dressing like a soccer mom or a sailor, as it seems most retailers think us shorties should do?), not to mention the fashion-AND-beauty bloggers like Andi at Saltwater Dreams and Veronika over at Veronika's Blushing AND those-that-take-the-prettiest-pictures and post about pretty things like Rosa at Rosa Loves DC and Shannon at Happiness Is--just to name a few.

I do try to remain open to constructive criticism the best I can, however, and one of the most common complaints I read about fashion bloggers is that at times....we aren't very relatable.

And I do agree. The farther I go along with this, the more ballsy I have become with experimenting with my own style, and so I realize that my sense of style and some of the pieces that I wear might not exactly be do-able for a lot of women out there.

That is okay! It's the great thing about defining your own personal style.  If we all dressed the same, wouldn't that be boring?

Oh, it would be incredibly boring. But that being said, there are still ways to be inspired even if the exact items found on fashion blogs aren't always practical for every single woman in this world.  Here are my two biggest tips:

1. Look for inspiration in unlikely places. I find inspiration for my outfits all over the place: from fellow bloggers, Pinterest, magazines, TV shows, paintings, photographs, catalogs--whatever! Charming mixtures of colors, shapes, patterns, and textures can be found everywhere in this big, wild world; you just have to look at things the right way.

2.  It's okay to play with and swap items; accessories are the easiest to switch around! For example, I might replace leopard heels with a leopard belt, or swap a neon-hued bag for a bangle. The idea is to use things that you already have in your closet and feel comfortable wearing to replicate an outfit you like, and there are easily a gazillion different ways to do it.  It also gives the copied/inspired outfit a touch of your own style, too.

These tips might take a little bit of creativity and an extra 10 minutes in the closet, but the more you do it the easier it gets.  Promise.

So with this in mind, I would like to introduce a new reoccurring series here where I take two or three pieces and accessorize them five different ways.  It will be a bit of a fun departure from my usual Outfit Of The Day posts, I think, and will add a bit of visualization to my thoughts above. I hope you guys like it. :)

(Note: While none of my outfits below contain tights, as Colorado is going through an odd bout of mild weather, they would still work in most of these outfits--I'd stick with a slightly ribbed/sheer black if you do to let the colors of the outfits pop and if you don't like bright shoes with tights, stick with black, flats, booties or heels.. Don't like short skirts? I included some longer-length skirts in my picks below, too--and don't forget the J Crew's Bi-Stretch Wool Minnie Pant in Henna, which is a beautiful, rusty red and perfect for those that don't like wearing skirts at all!)

Enjoy!

#1

Coat: Topshop, NLA  (similar at F21) (or this coat + this lapel collar)
Top: Ann Taylor Charming Long-sleeve Blouse in Black Cherry (buy it here) (similar here) (similar at nordstrom) (& at anthropologie)
Belt: J Crew (similar here)
Skirt: ASOS (similar at J Crew) (similar at ASOS) (similar at F21) (long version here)
Ring: YSL Arty in Aqua/Green (buy it here) (similar here)
Shoes: Valentino Rockstud Python Flats (buy them here) (similar here) (similar at Endless)
Bag: Chanel Crackled Patent Camel Classic Flap (similar here) (and here by DKNY) (and here for under $100)

#2

Jacket: Tibi, NLA (similar at GAP) (similar here) (similar at WHBM, on sale + take $20 off with "19671")
Top: Ann Taylor Charming Long-sleeve Blouse in Black Cherry (buy it here) (similar here) (similar at nordstrom) (& at anthropologie)
Belt: J Crew, NLA (similar here)
Ring: Forever 21 (similar here)
Skirt: ASOS, NLA (similar at J Crew) (similar at ASOS) (similar at F21) (long version here)

Shoes: Manolo Blahnik Uliepe Pumps in Yellow (similar here - 25% off) (love these at anthropologie)

Clutch: ASOS (buy it here + 10% off with code "BONUSTEN") (similar here with a chain strap)

#3

Cardigan: Urban Outfitters, NLA (similar here) (similar at  UO, on sale)
Top: Ann Taylor Charming Long-sleeve Blouse in Black Cherry (buy it here) (similar here) (similar at nordstrom) (& at anthropologie)
Belt: J Crew (buy it here, runs big!) (similar at ASOS)
Skirt: ASOS, NLA (similar at J Crew) (similar at ASOS) (similar at F21) (long version here)

Blue Bracelet: Forever 21, NLA (similar here)

Black/Gold Bracelet: Forever 21 (similar here)

Watch: Michael Kors Blair in Espresso (buy it here)

Shoes: Christian Dior Lolita Booties (similar here) (and a better-for-winter bootie here)

Bag:Andrea Brueckner City Tierney Bag, NLA (similar at ASOS)

#4

Blazer: J Crew Library Blazer (buy it here) (similar at Forever 21) (similar at Target)
Top: Ann Taylor Charming Long-sleeve Blouse in Black Cherry (buy it here) (similar here) (similar at nordstrom) (& at anthropologie)
Belt: Urban Outfitters (buy it here + take 10% off with code "TOPARTY")
Skirt: ASOS, NLA (similar at J Crew) (similar at ASOS) (similar at F21) (long version here)

Shoes: Alexander Wang Isabeli Mules, NLA (similar here) (more appropriate for winter here - love!)
Bag: Diane Von Furstenberg Harper Clutch (similar in ostrich here) (similar here)



#5

Hat: Eugenia Kim Max Fedora (similar here) (similar here)

Blazer: J Crew Library Blazer (buy it here) (similar at Forever 21) (similar at Target)
Top: Ann Taylor Charming Long-sleeve Blouse in Black Cherry (buy it here) (similar here) (similar at nordstrom) (& at anthropologie)
Belt: H&M (similar here, 40% off!)
Skirt: ASOS, NLA (similar at J Crew) (similar at ASOS) (similar at F21) (long version here)

Necklace: Topshop (similar here) (similar here, on sale)

Bracelet: t + j designs braided bracelet (similar here)

Shoes: J Crew Mona Pumps in Pale Peacock (buy them here) (similar-ish colored heels here, on sale)

Bag: Chloe Marcie Metallic in Gunmetal (similar here) (similar color combo here by Rebecca Minkoff) (similar here, on sale)

Outfit Of The Day (Floral & Faux)

First things first--I have been featured! The awesome ladies over at Kendra Scott squeezed a picture of me in between some pretty fantastic fashion bloggers last week on their blog. What a nice surprise!  Love. ♥

Now on to the clothes. Leather is having a supa-star moment in the world of fashion right now; take one quick look in almost any retail store and you will immediately be bombarded with the stuff. 

There are pants made of leather! Skirts made of leather!  Leather t-shirts!  Leather bras!  Leather made of leather!  Leather made of pleather! It's leather pleather weather!

I will be honest here, I must be honest here: leather typically evokes heebie-jeebie-jeeper-creeper thoughts inside my head resembling something like a hot and sweaty Sturgis Rally circa 1993. Leather also takes me back to that one time, back in 1997 when I was a Teenage Mutant Ninja Chloe working a Teenage Mutant Ninja Job at Macy's Marshall Field's Dayton's, that I argued with a lady for hours over a rumpled-and-stained leather mini-skirt that, according to the equally rumpled-and-stained and darn near illegible receipt she kept jabbing and waving in my face, she had purchased exactly three years prior and was apparently dying to return RIGHT THAT VERY INSTANT for a whopping $11.03.  

Ew.

But that was 14 years ago! A lot has changed since then, and this new leather isn't anything like that old (gross) leather--oh no, no, no, no, noooo.

This new leather is cooler. This new leather is easier to wear. And this new leather reminds us that if one good thing has happened because of the darn recession, it's that retailers have tightened up their return policies and you can no longer return your 9-year old cat to confused teenagers working at the grocery store.  (At least not without a receipt, eh?)

There is simply something a little fun about mixing leather and leather-like pieces into a wardrobe. Forget pairing it with chains, studs, and a bad attitude too--I love pairing it with girly and feminine pieces.  Think ruffles, florals, lace, simple pumps, and a sneak tickle attack from Husband:

 Flash on, flash off--it's a super cloudy day.

Cardigan: Rodarte for Target (similar style at Banana Republic) (and at UO, on sale for $30) (and here for $15)
Top: Ann Taylor (similar style here) (and here at Ann Taylor) (and here at F21) (and a fun alternative at ASOS, too)
Pants: Urban Outfitters (buy them here) (similar style here at ASOS + comes in petite, too!) (similar style at Piperlime) (and real leather here)
Pumps: J Crew (similar style here in "weathered rose") (under $100 here)
Watch: Michael Kors Oversize Runway Watch in Rosegold (buy it here) (similar style here for $125) (and here for $55)
Ring: Charlotte Russe (similar style at Shopbop)
Bag: Lanvin Happy Mini Pop Bag in Python (buy it here) (similar style here at Tory Burch) (& similar style here by Lauren Merkin)

(Currently listening)

Outfit Of The Day (Faux Fur And Yellow Pumps And Tiger Faces, Oh My!)

Here I am!  Again!  Kinda!

Colorado had its first blast of winter this weekend, with about 5 inches of (extremely) heavy snow.  Blah!  Gross!  I'm so not ready for this!

Except..I kind of am ready for this.  It's always fun hauling out winter sweaters, coats, and jackets and wearing them for the first time, isn't it? Whether it's for the first time ever...or simply the first time in a few months, it's fun to have some "new" pieces to play with.  

As brilliantly captured by all of the faces I'm making below, cougggghhh:

Sweater: Madewell Bird's-Eye Pullover (buy it here) (similar style here) (and here by Elizabeth and James) (and here for $39.60)
Tank: American Eagle Outfitters (similar style here) (similar style here at Banana Republic) (and here for $12)
Pants: Old Ann Taylor (similar style here) (and here at J Crew) (and here for $39.60)
Coat: Topshop (buy it here) (similar style here in black) (and another rusty-hued coat here)
Belt: J Crew (buy it here in bright cobalt)
Bracelet: c/o Kendra Scott Audra Bracelet (similar style here)
Bag: Marc Jacobs Cooper Crossbody in Nude (buy it here) (similar style here) (and here for $59.40)
Pumps: Manolo Blahnik Uliepe Pumps (similar style here at J Crew) (and here for $45.50)

Speaking of some new pieces--how pretty is the Audra bracelet from Kendra Scott? I had been searching high and low for something to soothe my obsessive compulsive freaky-matchy-matchy matchiness go with my yellow pumps--and I had nearly given up. This bracelet is perfect! And while it appears to be no longer available to purchase online, the Petra bracelet is similar or you can head over to the (overwhelmingly huge) color bar to design your own.

And finally--here is a continuation with my little blast from the past. Did you know that Homemade Knitted Tiger Face Sweaters™ come with an invisible cloak of bravery?

And a really bad perm. That's all I have.

Outfit Of The Day (Never So Big, Never So Tall; Never So Big When You Are Small)

And another study on petite proportions.

I've mentioned on here precisely 07q878q47q32984271891 times that I have a pretty weird body.  I make no bones (hardy-woo-ha!) about it, even if my self-deprication only serves as a thin-and-rather-obvious veil to shroud my insecurities. I have a long torso! I have the shortest legs ever!  My head is huge!  One day I saw in my trackbacks that someone was talking about me on a German forum dedicated to gloves! And I had no idea what they were talking about since it was in German! But I'm going to guess it was probably really weird because it was a german forum dedicated to gloves! Nothing normal ever comes out of somethin' like that, right? Right.

I wore the outfit below for a lovely night out furniture shopping (hence the flats) and stuffing my face at The Cherry Cricket + D Bar Desserts. Good times!

Once I took a look at the OOTD pictures after the fact, however, I then spent about 10 minutes trying to figure out how my camera somehow morphed me into an Oompa Loompa. My torso--so long!  My legs--so short!

When I (obnoxiously) asked my homies that were with me that night if I looked that distorted in person, they all replied no. No Chloe, they said, you did not look like you had a bad wrestling accident with a cheap carnival fun house mirror. Every single one of them said it; they all denied it. I have such good, honest-to-god-lying friends--the best type of friends to have.

But oh well. In spite of my obvious need to find some high-waisted denim skinnies ASAP, I still really like this outfit and will probably wear it again. The GAP jeggings are ridiculously comfy, and sometimes I just get tired of paying attention and following rules when dressing myself. Sometimes I just want to embrace my body and all of its goofball proportions, and not think so hard about it, and I suppose that the outfit below is a great example of doing just that.

Also, rusty-orangey-red has always been one of my favorite colors for fall. It's popping up everywhere this year, and so I am happily collecting everything I can find in this hue. This J Crew blouse is a great example, and it goes quite well with the shop-vac in the background (if I do say so myself):

Blouse: J Crew Silk Lucinda Blouse (buy it here!) (similar style here) (and a pretty style from Vince)

Belt: J Crew (similar style here, on sale)

Jeans: GAP Gummy Jeggings (buy them here + take 30% off with code "GAPFALL") (similar style here at Old Navy) (and here for $30)

Necklace: Topshop (buy it here) and J Crew Biseau Necklace (buy it here)

Ring: ALDO (similar style here)

Flats: Miu Miu (similar style here by Vera Wang) (and here + take 20% off with code "SEPEVENT") (and here at DSW) (and here on sale for $40.70)

Bag: Chanel Classic Flap (similar style here) (and here on sale by Rebecca Minkoff) (and here for $50)

Next up we have a bit of the opposite. I have been slightly obsessed with the Pilcro Superscript flares over the past few months, even going as far as to try them on every single time I found an Anthropologie. I tried them on in Denver! I tried them on in Minneapolis! I tried them on in Denver again!  And again!  And again!

I finally gave into the temptation a few weeks ago after my 100th time of trying them on. I have been boo-hissing Anthropologie most of this year due to their suddenly strange inventory (I am not paying $500 for a blanket of a coat that runs XS-S-M-L, thanks) but....oh these flares. They are fun and ridiculously comfy, with a good amount of stretch to keep them snug but cozy, too. They are totally worth having to break my Anthropologie ban.

The only problem? My inseam hovers between 29 to 30 inches; in the pictures below I am teetering around in 4.5" heels and I still need to get them hemmed up a bit a lot. I snapped these pictures right before I sent them in to the tailors and until I get them back, I promise that I have feet. You'll just have to trust me here, guys:

Blouse: GAP (buy it here) (similar style here) (and a splurge by Parker here) (and here at Old Navy for $15)
Belt: J Crew (similar style here) (and here by Michael Kors) (and here for $15)
Pants: Anthropologie (buy them here) (similar style here for under $60) (similar here) (and here for $39.60!)
Shoes: Dior Lolita Booties (similar style here) (and here + take 20% off with code "SEPEVENT") (and here by Calvin Klein, on sale)
Necklace: Ann Taylor (similar style here) (and a stunning splurge from kate spade here) (or design your own here!)
Bag: Lanvin Sweet Dora (buy it here) (similar style here, on sale!) (and here for $45)

(Currently Listening)