theplussideofme

This morning I laid in bed with the covers up to my chin, cuddled with Lola, and argued back and forth with myself about whether or not I’d venture out to Charlotte to visit my office. I had left some books there that I wanted to re-read while I planned for the next semester, and offices would close the next day until January. But it was cold. My phone let me know that it was only 29*F, and I tried to think of a million excuses to push it to tomorrow, but all I could come to were a million consequences from putting things off for one more day. The only reason I pried myself out of the bed was the thought that I could wear my new booties from Lane Bryant. Yes. Yes. That shallow of a reason. I wanted to wear booties. Welcome to my life.

This outfit started with the booties. I typically only wear black shoes. I don’t know why (oh, right, I’m boring). But these low ankle booties intrigued me from the moment I saw them. I liked the buckle, the low heel, and the color, and when I got them they were comfortable (and still a bit stiff). It was a win! But I didn’t know how to wear them. I’m so, so used to black boots. I asked my friends Rachel and Jen, and they immediately said with jeans rolled up. Well I don’t follow directions well, but I still wore them with extra-short jeggings, and I went with a cream colored sweater that I hadn’t worn out yet, also from Lane Bryant.

With the outfit itself having a calm color palette and intricate texture, I wanted warmer accessories and make up, so I reached for this bordeaux deep purple/red Aldo bag and Pixi lipstick in Rose Naturelle

I also added brown and gold floral earrings that gave just a little shine to the look.

By the way – update on the cold – it ended up warming to above 60*F by mid-afternoon. I was cozied up and worried I would regret it, but these short sleeves saved me. Thanks, North Carolina weather. I made it to my office and grabbed my books. I even stopped for a delicious coffee and creme brulee before heading back home. Getting out of bed ended up being totally worth it, so thanks LB booties for motivating me forward.

Sweater: Lane Bryant (similar), Jeggings: Torrid, Booties: Lane Bryant, Handbag: Aldo, Earrings: Forever21

Hey everyone! It’s been awhile since I posted last. After Thanksgiving, we had just a few weeks to end the semester. I was indeed wearing clothes during this time, and if you follow me on instagram, then you probably saw some of my lovely bathroom selfies of outfits. It’s come to that sad point in the year when the bathroom at my workplace has better lighting than I can get at home, but when it’s dark before I even arrive home after work, taking outfit pictures is just impossible. But have no fear! I managed to put a few outfits together as I and my students made a mad dash to the end of the semester.

During those whirlwind weeks of meeting with students, grading, giving feedback, etc., I found that wearing pants/jeans seemed like a punishment in and of itself. Luckily, leggings + tunic/dress is a back up uniform I can call to at any moment, and I wore various versions of this over and over again.

First up was this overcast-gray zippered tunic from Evans, black jeggings from Torrid, and old booties from Evans. I’ve always loved the length of Evans’ tunics, and I used to shop with Evans a lot (and even collaborated with them back in the day), but they seem to offer less tunics or at least less tunic styles that I like then they did back in the day. That said, this was a goodie, and I love the small zipper details. This is a warm tunic. Do not let the shorter sleeves fool you. The material keeps in the heat, which is good on a cold day but bad in a heated office. You’ve been warned — choose where you wear this carefully! I didn’t do much to it since I hurried out the door, but there are lots of different options with scarves, jewelry, and jackets in kicking it up a notch.

In the search for all my different options to wear with leggings, I unearthed this dress from, I believe, SimplyBe, that I probably bought back in 2012 or 2013. This is one of those dresses that I planned to wear many times and then never actually did. For some reason whatever was holding me back before didn’t stop me now. This dress has fluffy sleeves, feather print, and a matching belt. Again, the outfit is a bit no-fuss since I was heading into work, but a leather jacket or playing around with belts could also make this more interesting if I wear it again in the future.

One of the last events I attended as part of the semester was my program’s end of term potluck. I decided to take a little more time to get ready and to look festive, so I pulled this tunic/dress from Evans that is a green/blue (more green that it appears here), my new studded boots from Lane Bryant, and I *gasp* put on jewelry for work. I topped the look with a silver chain bracelet and silver earrings from, I think, Forever21 (similar earrings here).

I really like this dress, its texture and color, but holy-static-cling. I didn’t realize it was going to be such an issue and was unprepared to deal with it making its way north while walking across campus. Later I used a dryer sheet to neutralize it before heading out with friends, but I think I’ll have to invest in anti-static-cling spray before wearing it out again.

Grades were due yesterday, and I received my course evaluations this morning. I’m now officially allowing myself to not think about work for the next week. So far my break plans include decluttering and organizing my apartment (a continuation of a project started months ago), going to the movies, seeing family and friends as much as possible, and enjoying sleeping in with Lola. Tomorrow I’m heading in to Charlotte to explore some places that I don’t usually get to during my work week, so follow along on Instagram or Snapchat if you’d like to connect more day-to-day.

A couple weeks ago I reached out on Instagram and Facebook to seek out your advice on how to style Eloquii’s (now sold out) fit and flare dress. You all gave me multiple suggestions on how to go about it, and the challenge I made to myself was to not spend any additional money on the look. While I got a lot of suggestions, from wearing it with a scarf and moto jacket to “Russian winter theme”, I started with the following suggestions:

Now I don’t own a pea coat currently, but I had the booties. My immediate thought was to wear it with this oversized chain necklace I owned, but I felt like it was a style or look I had done in the past, so I started playing with some of the jewelry I have. I was originally going for a shorter necklace, but then just put on the long one to see how I liked it. Then I added in a different chain necklace and found that I really liked the layered look. This is actually the first time I’ve worn layered necklaces. Living on the edge, y’all!

I also just finished watching Good Girls Revolt on Amazon Prime, so I went with straight hair with a braid along the front.

I added in the long coat I had from Target. It has a close feel to a peacoat without the distinct button pattern you’d expect.

I really loved dressing with your vision. It pushed me to try something new, and I think it wasn’t as safe as maybe my first reach would have been when I went to wear the dress. Thanks Eloquii, Sally, and Sarina in helping me style this look!

Dress – Eloquii, Boots – Evans, Coat – Target, Long Necklace – Charming Charlie, Short Necklace – UrbanOutfitters

You’ll have to let me know if you like offering styling. I’d love to do a post like this one every month or two since it helps me get out of my rut of typical styling choices :).