Dress it Up & Dress it Down

I think I made it pretty clear on Monday that it takes tiny tweaks to bring an outfit from casual wear to work wear by keeping the look in the same color family. Look at how lucky you are. Today, we're taking a look at how hats and shoes make a big difference in an outfit's overall vibe. I make things simple. Flats for day, something with a bit of a heel for night. Hats for day, no hat at night. But maybe you wear your sunglasses at night. (If you started singing that song, I love you. If you don't know the song, educate yourself.) If it gets stuck in your head, you're welcome.

Every now and then, I take a look at what images from my blog get the most pins. Everyone's favorites seem to come from my Teacher Wardrobe Series, and this pin has received a bit of love. Anyway, that's not my point, which I am taking too long to reach. The point is that I just realized the skirt in the top right of the picture in this pin is one I recently bought on thredUP! HAHA. What a fun coincidence. I don't know why I told you this information, but do with it what you will.

(P.S. If you want to search the images people pin from your blog, type the following into the URL box:  pinterest.com/source/YOUR BLOG URL minus the http business. For example, searching pins pinned from my blog would be the following URL: pinterest.com/source/littlebitofwowe.blogspot.com)

You're welcome.  

Today, I learned a fun bit of information from one of the science teachers. He told me that they're doing studies right now which show how zig zag black and white patterns confuse sharks, so they avoid them. Apparently, sharks will just swallow up someone wearing a black wet suit (I assume it makes you look like a seal); however, they see the black and white zig zag pattern as "unnatural" and won't attack it. Additionally, poisonous water snakes have the same kind of coloring, which is further reasoning for them to avoid that pattern. Moral of the story? 

BUY A CHEVRON PRINTED BATHING SUIT THIS YEAR, LADIES. 

You're welcome. Again.

You have so much to be thankful for after reading this post. 

Look #1: Ready for Play

The Look:

Shirt: Mudd via Kohl's 

Blazer: via Marshall's (love this Target option)

Skirt: J.Crew Factory 

Flats: Steve Madden via DSW (similar)

Necklace: The Limited (love this one from Francesca's)

Hat: Target...I think (love this men's version)

Belt: Old Navy

Look 2: Ready for Work

Shoes: J. Crew Factory

(I love how comfortable these shoes are, so I'm waiting on them in black. I wait until they have a 50% off sale, and they seem to have one once a month.)

Disclaimer: I wore neither of these outfits to work because a cold front blew through town. As a result, I had to opt for black tights and black boots, a look I still loved. 

I also wore the skirt this way:

The wedges this way:

The blazer this way:

Linking up with

* Shanna (http://becauseshannasaidso.blogspot.com) 

* Pleated Poppy (www.thepleatedpoppy.com/blog) 

For the record, my inspiration for this combination came from Tara over at Mix and Match Fashion :)

Lily Pad(dy)'s Day

Indulge me and tell me how witty I am for thinking of such a brilliant title for this post. For those of you who do not know, I live in Maryland. If you don't know anything about Annapolis, the capital of our lovely state, then let me tell you how much Lily Pulitzer everyone who's "so Annapolis" wears. A lot. One of their favorite color combinations? Pink and green, a combination I wore on the blog just last week. (Of course, I chose blush and olive versus the bright pink and kelly green of this week's look, but the idea is the same.)

In January, Kimmie wore this outfit, and it inspired me to wear my green skirt with pink. Of course, I envisioned my green skirt that's the same shade as hers, but I realized I wanted this brighter color pairing because it makes me happy when snow and cold weather make me sad. I originally planned for a navy cardigan, but I wanted more warmth, which required a blazer.

One of my friends hosts a pretty popular podcast about Lost Girl. (If you've never watched the series, you are missing out!) Today, he asked me if I wanted to partake in what he calls "Take Fives," which he refers to as "mini rants to fill in the gaps" when he hasn't recorded in awhile. He wants me to discuss the fashion of Lost Girl in five minute segments. Now, THAT is my kind of contribution! How fun, right? 

In fact, I think that would be a fun little installment here on the blog. We can call it, "Let's talk about ______" and fill in the blank with an actress or character, like Daenerys from Game of Thrones (that platinum blonde hair and those braids could make anything hot. And dragons? Hello? Double hotness.) Or Claire Dunphy from Modern Family (shout out to flannels and well-fitting jeans). Or Bernadette from Big Bang Theory (love her signature look, cardigan + dress + tights).  Maybe I can even sport outfits inspired by the character/actress of the hour. What do we think? About whom should we speak? Any favorite characters or actresses?

Also, tomorrow's Trendy Tuesday theme is NAUTICAL OR KNOT. (The cleverness is all my colleague's, not mine.) The tagline, however, is mine: stripes will suffice.

 

The Look:

Shirt: Forever 21 (OLD) (similar)

Belt: Dude's section at Target! (similar)

Skirt: J.Crew Factory (exact)

Blazer: LOFT via thredUP (similar)

Boots: Ralph Lauren via DSW (similar)

Elephant necklace (my favorite animal!): Lauren Conrad but Momma got it for me :)

Sunglasses: gift from Momma (she got 'em at LOFT)

 

I decided to include two outtakes for your viewing pleasure.

The first features me looking as if the F word will escape my lips at any moment.

 

My lips are so pretty.

And so are my hands.

And so are my awkwardly positioned feet.

 (I might look like a goon, but no one will be pinching me today!)

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Linking up with

Molly

The Style Record

Mix It Mondays

Green Week 

and

Style Swap

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Peter Pan?

Moving might just be the world's best way to convince yourself that there's shit you don't need, and there's a lot of shit I just don't need. 72 electric tea lights? Go away. 

Of course, then you realize how much shit you really have. And, quite often, you have many of one particular item...in every color. 392 blankets in a basket puked on by rainbows and ponies? 

WHY NOT 397? 

And I'm dropping the s bomb on you. A lot. 

I think there is something in the blood of high school teachers that makes us potty mouths. Or, I just hang out with equally sailor mouthed individuals. Or, I'm a terrible influence. Or, both. Furthermore, my Mom Mom always told us that "shit, damn, and hell" are fair game. 

Thanks for the validation, Mom Mom. 

The Outfit:

Scarf: Handmade by Momma dukes

Top: Old Navy (recent)

Cardigan: Target

Skirt: Clearance rack at Target

Boots: Macy's

(I think the belt came with a dress?)

The Details:

Occasion: Teaching

Notes: If this skirt hangs on the clearance rack at your Target, BUY IT. It's the perfect length, the material is comfortable, and I found it for $15. Do I look like Peter Pan? Why do I feel like I look like Peter Pan? 

Linking up with Style Sessions.

Emerald and Floral

After I buy new clothes, I make it a point to try on each item as a part of three, as-different-as-possible outfits. I thought I'd share two of today's shirts. (I also picked up two others, but my bedroom was wayyyy too hot to continue taking off and putting on clothes. I'll try again tomorrow. Maybe.)

I used gift cards for these two shirts.

The floral one is Lauren Conrad's via Kohl's and the emerald green one is Apt.9 also from Kohl's.

Floral Top

Outfit 1

This skirt has pockets, so I love it. I have yet to wear it (stupid!). Now that I have the perfect shirt for it, I think I'll wear it for Back to School Night on Tuesday. Genius.

This outfit might seem too "spring," but I think some brown boots and a solid color scarf will take it right into cooler weather. It's still in the 80s and 90s, so it's fine or now. 

 Outfit 2

Good grief, this outfit is warm. It's perfect for cooler weather. The blazer dresses it up for work. A pair of olive dress pants (in place of these pants) would make it even more work appropriate. However, skinny pants are acceptable at my school. I need a longer, gold pendant necklace to complete the ensemble.

Outfit 3

Perfect for a casual Friday at work. 

I think this top would work well with white jeans, maybe with an olive green button up thrown over it. 

Any other suggestions?

Emerald Blouse

Outfit 1

Probably my favorite of the three outfits. I just love emerald, black, and white together. Almost as much as I love cobalt, black, and white together. Almost. I'm so wearing this outfit to work when it's not a billion degrees in my classroom.

(I also wore these pants this way.)

 Outfit 2

I've worn this paisley skirt before (here), and I like it with emerald. I could've tucked the shirt, but I decided to create tucked and tied looks with this shirt. 

I like this necklace that a friend bought for me, so I decided to wear it a bit like a "bow" tie with this top. Look at me being all clever. Yeah, I went with emerald, black, and white/silver again. What of it?

Feel free to throw some more ideas my way! 

Go on and make these shirts worthy of staying in my closet. 

Oh, and is anyone else as obsessed with Lauren Conrad's clothing line as I am?

Lion meets Dolphin.

I didn't want to provide you with just the colors of my outfit. Giving them animal names seemed so much more exciting. You're welcome.

Yesterday, I caught up with a friend, and we happened upon the cutest store in Ellicott City! It's called Sweet Elizabeth Jane. As my friend said, "it's like Pinterest come alive." No joke. This store was stocked full of home goods (turtle shaped salt and pepper shakers? Whaaaaat?), clothes (like this green skirt below--I bought it), and jewelry (at really reasonable prices). If you're ever in Ellicott City, Maryland, go visit. Immediately. I wanted to buy everything, so I settled for trying it all on and picking one thing. Okay, one item of clothing and several pieces of jewelry. 

Cute skirt, right? It's mine now. Fear not.

Anticipate a post about it in the future.

(That other dress is mighty cute, too.)

Today, I hosted a 31 Party because one of my friends recently became a consultant. Aaaaand now I want to buy everything in the catalogue. Self control, do not fail me now. 

I thought you might want to see how cute Mom and I looked. I come from good stock, folks. Good stock, indeed.

For once, I successfully layered necklaces. Baby steps.