Dressed for Time | Spring and Summer Style Tips from a Chicago blogger

A Week of OOTDs

November 13, 2014

I haven’t had as much time as I’d like this past week to take detail shots of my outfits, but I did manage to grab some quick snaps of the overall looks. My favorite was definitely the first, which I wore to my birthday brunch. Casual, comfortable, but still pulled together, and topped off with a sock bun, of course!

Denim Button Down – Target//Eye Tank – H&M//Grey Jeans – Target//Tortoise Heels – H&M//Drawstring Bag – Old Navy//Garnet Necklace – Kyle Chan Design

Black Cardigan – Old Navy//Double Layer Tank – Nectar Clothing (similar)//Navy Tulle Skirt – DownEast Basics//Bow Flats – J.Crew//Pendant Necklace – Jewelmint

Black Dress – H&M//Tights – KMart//Booties – Target

Striped top – Urban Outfitters (similar)//Vest – B.Son//Capris – Lauren Conrad for Kohls//Plaid slip-ons – New Look at Asos//Drawstring Bucket Bag – Old Navy//Gold Necklace – Jewelmint

Floral dress – Forever 21 (similar)//Belt – Forever 21 (similar)//Boots – Bella Vita

Fall Shoe Edit Part Two

November 12, 2014

My first shoe edit this season was definitely more black-and-white themed, so I decided I needed to inject a bit of color into my footwear as the weeks progressed. I fell in love, surprisingly, with New Balance sneaks after a recent trip to their outlet. They are exceedingly comfortable and I love the fun color combos. The J.Crew flats and TOMS Botas were scores from the Scarlet Threads Consignment sale. Both were brand new and around $20 each!

I had purchased another pair of knee-high black leather boots from Shoemall.com but had to send them back for a refund… They had been shoddily pieced together and were already forming a hole around the calf on their first wear out! I also must say that I was thoroughly unimpressed with Shoemall’s customer service, I will not be using their site again. Now, on to the new kicks!

Clockwise from top left – Boots//Leopard booties (TOMS-no longer available)//Ballet flats (J.Crew- no longer available)//Navy & coral sneakers//Blue sneakers – similar//Violet sneakers

I’m hoping that all of these comfy sneaks will come in handy during my upcoming trip to New York! From what I hear, there will be a lot of walking involved 😉

What are your packing tips? With just a carry-on allowed, I’m going to need all of the help I can get!

Beauty Buys ~ October

October 13, 2014

This year’s holiday beauty offerings were some of the best I’ve seen yet! It was quite difficult to decide which of the sparkly sets I should add to my collection after perusing the goods at beauty mecca Sephora. I ended up picking the Bon Voyage set from Tarte, the Josie Maran Winter Dreams Argan Collection, and the Juicy Couture Travel Pen set. I also picked up my essential brow pencil from Anastasia Beverly Hills and a couple of Dolce & Gabbana fragrance minis.

From top:
Tarte Amazonian Clay Eyeshadow Palette (from Bon Voyage set)
Tarte lights, camera, action mascara, cheek stain in Muse, LipSurgence lip gloss in Visionary, LipSurgence lip tint in Romantic, maracuja oil, Amazonian clay finishing powder and travel bag
Josie Maran Winter Dreams Collection – Argan black oil mascara, Infinity lip & cheek creamy oil in Limitless Pink, Coconut watercolor eyeshadow in Rio de Rose Gold, Argan luminizer, Argan oil light
Juicy Couture Travel Spray Pen Set – Viva La Juicy, Viva la Juicy Noir, Viva la Juicy Gold Couture; deluxe Dolce & Gabbana Desire parfum; Dolce & Gabbana Dolce sample.

So far, I’m loving from Josie Maran the light Argan oil as a pre-foundation base, the coconut water eye color for a metallic bronze wash on the eyelids, and of course, the pretty travel case from Tarte. As far as the perfume goes, I’ve only spritzed the Viva la Juicy Noir. It smells so lovely at first, but an hour later, even a direct sniff of my wrist and there is nothing there 🙁 It might just end up being a fragrance I carry with me at night for touch-ups.

Which holiday makeup & beauty sets are you most looking forward to picking up?
Side note… I still might grab one of Stila’s collaborative sets with BaubleBar! Those bags are gorgeous!

Beaded Blush Top and Beige Skirt

October 10, 2014

Don’t get me wrong, I love sheer, flowy maxi skirts… One thing I can’t get behind, though, is the tiny little barely butt-cheek grazing mini skirts that are usually attached to them. My solution? Cut out the offending part of the skirt and wear a midi-length nude slip underneath it! Coverage, while still allowing the skirt to flow.

For this look, I wanted to mostly keep it to pale shades of beige, blush and nude with some metallic pops of gold and pink. I LOVE this clutch… It’s feminine but a tiny bit edgy in metallic leather.

I love these flats, but even after multiple uses, they still eat up my ankles! A little moleskin on the inside lip helps a bit.

Jeweled top- Lauren Conrad for Kohls, similar, similar
Beige skirt- Nectar Clothing, similar, similar
Patent flats, JCrew Factory
Foldover metallic clutch, Gap, similar, similar
Gold rings, similar