OOTD: Best of the last 2 weeks

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!!! Hopefully you’ve all had a nice brunch. I had french toast myself and it was ridiculously awesome.

In my continuing quest to refine this series I’m trying something new this week. I looked for product photos of everything I wore to give you an idea of how the items look online and then in real life. This series is mostly newer items so the search was easy; I’m not sure I’ll be able to do this for every outfit but I will certainly try. I had horrible luck with my earrings though since most of them are from Anthropologie and never made it online. Hint, hint, Anthropologie.

So above is Monday’s look in the online world…

…and here it is in real life. The Great Escape Skirt is the bane of my existence. My look is inspired by a Polyvore set I did awhile ago. (I will get back to those sometime soon, probably once my night classes go on summer break.) The problem is that the skirt hits at the worst point possible on my legs. I had the same problem with J.Crew’s Belle Skirt a couple of years ago. But I found this skirt on super clearance in-store and I couldn’t resist buying it. There is a second problem. This skirt wrinkles. A lot! These photos were snapped at the end of the day so you can see all the lines. Reality, man. It’s tough.

I added the Leaps & Bounds Belt as an accent. I had a hard time deciding which layer to put it on, hence the photos progressing from inside to outside to not at all. (I eventually settled on inside.) The Boule Decorees Necklace was a complete splurge. Anthro’s jewelry has been very enticing to me lately. I’ve already worn the necklace 3 times since I got it so I’m happy with the purchase. If you can work with the size and dimensions of it the color palette is fab — it’s got light green, blue and yellow in it. Perfect for spring and summer.

In this look:
Sweater: Tempting Trellis Cardigan (similar here, here and here)
Top: Buds & Bunches Tank ($58)
Skirt: Great Escape Skirt (similar here, here and here)
Belt: Leaps & Bounds Belt ($34)
Shoes: Chie Mihara Esli T-Straps ($375)
Necklace: Boule Decorees Necklace ($118)

Now that spring is officially here both in season and weather I’m excited to break out the lighter colors. I love wearing white because I can wear lighter makeup. Since my skin is fair and my hair is dark it’s not easy for me to pull off light-colored makeup but when I wear bright white I can pair it with pink eyeshadow and lips to great effect. So Tuesday’s look was all about feeling light and airy.

This whole pegged jeans thing is ridiculous. I’m only doing it because I haven’t found the right crops yet. I need crops that are 28″ or 29″ long and it’s been really hard to find a pair that isn’t tapered at the bottom. Weird as this sounds I actually need crops that are slightly flared at the bottom to properly balance my thighs. All the better to see my Pinpoint T-Straps from last year with!

The necklace in this look is another recent Anthro pickup, the Condensation Necklace. It comes in two variations and I bought both. I’m wearing it double-strung. It’s so versatile! There three different kind of beads on the necklace: two colors of drop circles and a couple of sparkly crystal beads up near the top. You can wear this as a long chain on its own if you prefer. It doesn’t have a closure though which I find odd.

In this look:
Sweater: Loft Crewneck Cardigan ($40)
Top: Pearly Glow Tank ($68)
Jeans: Gap Long & Lean Jeans ($60)
Necklace: Condensation Necklace ($32)
Shoes: Pinpoint T-Straps (similar here, here and here)

I try not to reproduce online or mannequin stylings to real life too often. I’m pretty sure my stylists’ license would get revoked. Sometimes though the idea is just too good not to try. When I saw the Ann Taylor Loft look on the left I was sold into recreating it. I managed to find everything but the necklace. Luckily Anthro’s Radiant Necklace was a great replacement. Throw in some flats and baby we’ve got ourselves a look.

The shorts are intended as business casual shorts. But I have both long legs and a long rise so my normal size were inappropriate for day. To make them work I sized up two sizes and sewed a slight inverse v on each side so they wouldn’t fall off. Luckily the oversized shorts are in right now…why, I have no idea. I realize this is still too short for conservative offices but in the creative field it works. I love the tie waist and foldover details of the shorts. They’re long gone online but I have seen them floating around in a couple of the NYC Ann Taylor Lofts. Some girl around my age actually stopped me on the street to say I looked great. Made me smile for the rest of the day!

The flats in this outfit actually bring me to a question. City-dwellers, how do you protect the toes on your flats? I feel as though I go through a pair of flats in about 3 months. These Nine West shoes for instance started peeling at the toe within 2 weeks. I realize that’s partly crappy leather quality on their part but is there anything I can do to preventatively protect the toes? Suggestions welcomed!

In this outfit:
Top: Loft Sparkle Sequin Top (now $20)
Shorts: Ann Taylor Loft (similar here and here)
Necklace: Radiant Necklace (similar here, here and here)
Shoes: Nine West Naughty Flats ($40)

I have admired Fenton/Fallon jewelry for a little while now, since I saw some photos of Rihanna in it. I finally took the plunge with J.Crew’s collaboration. It inspired me to put together a nice little concert outfit for an upcoming show. Of course I needed to give it a test run. Maybe I wore this to work for casual Friday. And maybe also shopping this past weekend (after a nice wash/dry cleaning as needed of course).

Funny how the tank looking like a sad sack on the model made me excited! Hey, it’s made for curves. Win all around. The look also gave me a chance to try out the Cynthia Vincent for Target wedges. I’m sure they’ve been blogged to death by now so here’s my mini-review: they’re great but my pinkie toe constantly slips out of them. What gives??!?

In this outfit:
Top: J.Crew Sequin Raye Tank ($78)
Jeans: Joe’s Honey ($158)
Necklace: J.Crew Fenton/Fallon Carrington Collar Necklace ($115)
Bracelet: J.Crew triple scroll linked bracelet (similar here, here and here)
Shoes: Cynthia Vincent for Target wedges (store search here, similar here)

I have been an Eva Franco fan for a long time. The clothing is so bright and fun and doesn’t shy away from bold patterns. It was no surprise to me when Anthropologie started carrying it. A couple of months ago HauteLook had an Eva Franco sale and I pounced, purchasing the Jolie dress in vivid yellow. I could go into a whole long rant about how these sample sale sites have destroyed my once-awesome NYC sample sale cruises. Another time. In this case I got a great deal, snagging the dress for nearly 75% off.

Come Earth Day this dress was the clear choice. It was a little windy here so I threw on a basic black cardigan over it. When it’s warmer I’ll sub in my white version for this black to keep the office chills off. Can’t say enough great things about this dress. It’s has tons of little swiss dots on it and I love the thick sash. The neck is adjustable to you can wear it halter-like as the model shot shows or more spread out for gals like me that need a supportive bra underneath.

My legs were also nice and gently (fake) tanned thanks to Jergens’ Natural Glow firming moisturizing lotion with tint. It seems like every year I have to go through 3 or 4 fake tanners before I find the right one. Why do companies change their formulas every friggin year? They can’t just leave well enough alone. Last year I swore by Oil of Olay’s Touch of Sun. This year I can’t even find the stuff! I had used Jergens in the past but switched away from it for the smell, because it stained my clothing and because two years ago they’d started adding sparkle into it. I’m not even kiddng — it looked like I’d dropped one of those little containers of sparkle all over my legs. Luckily the sparkle is gone and the smell is quite subdued. For someone fair like me it’s important that the tanner goes on smoothly and evenly. So far so good. I put it on right after my morning shower and by that afternoon my legs have soft color that looks pretty natural. Any other sunless tanner recommendations?

In this outfit:
Dress: Eva Franco Jolie Dress (similar here, here and here)
Cardigan: Loft Crewneck Cardigan ($40)
Shoes: Target Studded Flats ($18)
Ring: Marigold Ring (similar here, here and here)
Earrings: Anthro (similar here, here and here)

Recently I’ve been poring over Anthropologie’s back catalogues. It’s funny how an item that didn’t catch my eye at the time now becomes a must-have. Enter the Bark Cloth Skirt above. I found it flipping through one of my 2006 catalogues. I clearly remember trying it on in-store and thinking it was too long. Oh how times have changed! When it popped up on ebay I was in it to win it. Luckily the price stayed pretty low and this Elevenses beauty is now mine forever and ever. (I will hug it and love it and name it George.)

I don’t want to say Anthro doesn’t make skirts like it used to…but this skirt has a few details that you don’t see anymore. In the far right shot there are four buttons and then below do you see how the seam is curved? Well the zipper actually follows that seam. How awesome is that? It’s just a little touch that’s done so well. These days it’s back zips and side zips and sometimes ugly exposed zips but they’re all straight. Whoever designed this skirt took the time to think about the details and it makes me love the skirt that much more.

The top is a real oldie from Ann Taylor Loft, one of my few pieces from that store that has stood the test of time. I bought it when I got my first job in NYC. I needed to dress business casual which I hugely resented at the time. It was not fair to ask a 24-year-old in a creative field to dress up for work unnecessarily. My job was to sit at a computer doing web design all day. True I dealt with clients but always over the phone. Blargh. Guess I’m still bitter about it. HR’s reasoning to me was that you never know when the CEO of our big, multinational corporation might come through. I did meet the CEO eventually and guess what he wore to our meeting? Jeans. And a tee shirt! I still seethe about having to wear khakis because jeans weren’t allowed. These days of course I’m happy to dress up for work because there’s a good reason to. Policies shouldn’t be policies just because. There should be some sense behind it, you know?

In this outfit:
Top: Ann Taylor Loft (similar here, here and here)
Skirt: Bark Cloth Skirt (similar here, here and here)
Necklace: J.Crew Crystal Chain Necklace (similar here and here)
Ring: Marigold Ring (similar here, here and here)
Earrings: Anthro (similar here, here and here)
Shoes: Target Studded Flats ($18)