Orange & Camo

This jacket cost me $3.37!! I know. Let me break it down for you. 

I had a gift card sitting in my bag for over a year. Then, the coat was marked down to 49.99. Then, there was an extra 50% off. After the discount and the gift card I only owed $3.37! What a find!

I'd like to say I'm wearing orange in honor of Halloween, but I'm wearing it instead in honor of a great friend who passed away recently. This was what I wore to his benefit, and his favorite color was orange. That was the very least I could have done to honor such an amazing person.

Stay safe out there tonight all of you Halloween revelers.

Boots: Marc Fisher (old)

Jeans: 7 for all Mankind

Silk Blouse: Joe Fresh

Necklace: J. Crew

Bag: Target

Camo Jacket: Urban Outfitters

Lips: c/o Jouer in Ava
Bracelet: Oia Jules

Snowcat Pants

Snowcat is one of those prints I feel can only be worn in the colder months, (it is called "snow" cat right?) but the truth is, I really just want to wear it all year round. 

It's only natural that as soon as I felt a chill in the air I found it was high time I broke out these snowcat pants I picked up over the summer at Forever 21. My favorite part is that they have the most adorable rounded hemline that adds just a bit more interest to them. Not bad for Forever 21, huh?

Jacket: Banana Republic (old)

Blouse: Forever 21 (similar)

Chain necklace: Oia Jules

Pants: Forever 21

Shoes: Sole Society (similar here)

Lips: Nars "Heatwave"

Neutral Territory

A few weeks back when I attended the Midwest Style Bloggers Brunch, I was introduced to Langford Market via the brunch goodie bag. The kind ladies over at Langford market gave each blogger a $50 gift card to shop to their hearts desire.

The following weekend I met up with Peggy, whom I also met at the brunch, and browsed the Armitage Ave. location. The store had a lot of cute options (especially the teal fringy dress I tried on) but I decided on a pair of out-of-my-comfort-zone neutral-colored satin pants. Usually I would go for the bright colors but I wanted to try something different. These pants also happen to have an elastic waist band which puts them right in everyone's comfort zone!

Thanks to the lovely ladies over at Langford Market. Stop in and check them out for yourself! Locations here!

Lips: YSL Glossy Stain #16 (in love with this stuff!)

Blouse: TJ Maxx (cute option here)

Vest: Akira Chicago

Pants: c/o Langford Market

Bag: Phillip Lim for Target (the leftovers of the line are all on clearance online)

Booties: Report "Marks"

Necklace: Forever 21

Nails: Bahama Mama by Essie

Jacket: Zara

Watch: Michael Kors

Window Pane & Herringbone

This was a weekend outfit I wore to meet a client to work on her closet. Nice and comfy and still representing my favorite color.

Afterwards I met up with fellow teacher and new blogger buddy Peggy where we stopped in to check out Langford Market on Armitage. I got some seriously cute satin pants that will be featured very soon on the blog.

Photo credit to Peggy! Thanks a bunch!

Top: J. Crew (from last year but LOVING this window pane print dress)

Jeans: Theory

Jacket: Banana Republic (similar herringbone option here)

Watch: Charming Charlie

Booties: Old Navy (from last year but here are this season's new version)

Necklace: eBay (almost identical here)
Nails: Essie "Bahama Mama"

Black and White Sweaters

Right now I'm kind of having a thing with black and white.

I recently perused Forever 21 and found tons of cute and CHEAP black and white sweater options. Whether you crave dots, stripes, bows, window pane or floral, Ive got you covered. These sweaters are such an easy, cozy and on-trend option. Just pair with your favorite leggings and black boots and you are on your stylish way!

Click on bottom scrolling images to shop!

Aqua & Navy

Technically, these are winter crop pants because they are wool. That means I better wear them before there is snow on the ground and it's too cold for even a bit of ankle or calf to peek out. They are actually left over from the J. Crew sale of last year when I scored these and the orange ones for $18.  I only got around to wearing them now. Better late than never.

Necklace: Forever 21

Top: Joe Fresh (in NYC) shop online here at JC Penny

Pants: J. Crew (other colors on sale right now here)

Heels: Sole Society

Black and White to the Theater

You may remember this dress from a few weeks ago when I wore it here to work with a white long-sleeve tee underneath it. 

And you may be surprised that I'm wearing the same dress within such a short timeframe -- to me it's like a year -- but I just love it so much.

Like the top in yesterday's post, this too had to go in to the tailor to have the shoulders taken in a bit, which softened up the look. It was a too squared off and boxy, but now it's perfect thanks to Frank's Alterations in South Loop!

I can't wait to get creative with this dress when the snow starts falling and add fun layers under and over it!

Dress: Calvin Klein via the Fashion Outlets of Chicago store

Shoes: Zara

Purse: Target

Bracelet: Forever 21

Coat: Macys

Cheery Yellow

I know it's cold out, and I certainly was not wearing this outfit yesterday. But I still have a few outfit shots left from those fleeting days that were somewhere between summer and fall. Did you blink and miss them as well?

So in protest of this winter-preview weather we are having, here is some cheery yellow for your Wednesday. 

By the way, did anyone else pick up/try on this Zara top and find it ran ridiculously big? This is a small and I still had to take it into the tailor to get it taken in. I know it was supposed to run on the boxier side, but I just couldn't wear it like that. But I also couldn't pass up a hard-to-find interesting yellow top. I guess it was worth a trip to the tailor in the end.

Top: Zara (from the summer)

Jeans: Theory via the Fashion Outlets of Chicago store (similar)

Bag: Phillip Lim for Target

Blazer: Uniqlo

Necklace: Nordstrom

Shoes: J. Crew

Watch: Michael Kors

Oxblood Maxi

Another great Forever 21 find. This oxblood maxi dress was but $16! 

It was perfect for one of those pre-school-day meeting days when I had to get up at a disgustingly early hour and was not awake enough to come up with a clever outfit. One-piece dress, add some sparkles and that hot pink lip I love so much and there you have it, an easy early morning outfit!

P.S.: Tomorrow is my birthday, and my husband and I will be on an anniversary/birthday trip out to Utah (keep up with me on Instagram) where he will be running a half marathon! I will be taking the day off of blogging with the excuse of traveling, as well as taking a moment of recognition of just how old I really am! Sadness.

 

 Dress: Forever 21

Shoes: Piperlime

Watch: Michael Kors

Purse: Coach "Willis" (same) (similar for less)

Necklace: J. Crew

Lips: Smash Box "Fuchsia Flash"

Banded Totem Shift Dress

I love this dress the moment I saw it. It practically screamed my name. Bright bold colors, a fun print and a structured shape that's perfect for work. All that made this dress too hard to pass up. 

What I did not love was the price. Starting out at $178.00 it was just too pricey for a work dress. I had the feeling that the masses might get turned off by all that color and maybe this one would make it to the sale section soon. Sure enough it did but I still waited it out for a second sale cut. I found one left in My favorite Anthropologie in Philly (there is a couch in the elevator! It's like a tiny floating living room) and snatched it up!

This dress pulled double duty when I wore it after work to the Women Empowerment Open house in Pilsen. These ladies threw quite a party in their new location. But like the bad blogger that I am, I didn't take any pictures there! Don't worry though, you can check them out here!

Dress: Anthropologie

Shoes: J. Crew Factory

Bracelet: Banana Republic Outlet

Earrings: Francescas (similar stunners here!)