summer style Archives | Page 16 of 31 | Dressed For Time | Top Fashion, Beauty & Lifestyle Blog Tips | Best Popular Chic Fall & Winter Style Outfit Inspiration in Chicago

One Vest, Three Ways – Neutrals

May 24, 2016

Hello loves!
I thought it was about time to show again how I style one piece, three ways. I had been eyeing this sleeveless dove grey vest at BohoCheri for a while and it got me thinking of all of the different ways I could wear it. Casual with jeans and a tank was an obvious direction to go, so I decided to pair it with neutral touches for running around downtown. I also put together two other looks that I’ll be posting shortly. I love distinct pieces like this that can be dressed up or down, are pretty much seasonless an can even be worn to work. I would totally wear this over a slim-fitting LBD with some gorgeous gold bangles and strappy black sandals, or with a colorful button-down, black pants and nude open-toe heels. So many options!
Speaking of options, I’m running out of things to watch on Netflix, which I never thought would happen! Mark and I have recently gone through the new House of Cards, Daredevil, and Flaked. Flaked started off pretty darn slow but we enjoyed the little plot twists & turns. I have no idea how they’ll make a watchable second season though. I watched How to Get Away with Murder and Love by myself because Mark didn’t really care for them. HTGAWM was so riveting from episode one and I totally binge-watched it over the course of a couple weeks. When I watched the last scene of the last episode of season two, I literally gasped! I do absolutely enjoy Viola Davis’ performance (along with everyone else in the cast), but I think in the first couple of episodes her cockiness was a little annoying. Oh, yes! I’ve also been binging on Young & Hungry. It took me a couple of episodes to really get in to it, but I love the light-hearted quips that go down between Gabi and Sophia. The leading ladies are so funny, have crazy-but-relatable love lives, and I totally look forward to seeing their outfits on each episode. I wish I had Emily Osmet’s legs so I could rock some of those cute little dresses she wears! I think the 6″ stiletto booties she wears all the time are super impractical for a chef who lives in San Francisco, but hey, they look rad!

Which TV shows do you binge-watch? Any recommendations for me?

Vest / en Crème c/o BohoCheri // Tank / Everlane // Jeans / Mavi USA // Necklace / Elysian & Grace at BohoCheri // Mules / Old Navy // Crossbody bag / Poshmark (use code PTVAA for a $10 credit towards your first purchase) // Sunglasses / Lauren Conrad for Kohls // Bracelets / Forever 21 & LA find // Large gold ring / Gorjana c/o Rocksbox (use code dressedfortimexoxo for your first free month!)

Shot by Holli Zenko Photography.

Cocoon Wrap and Lace-Up Bodysuit

May 7, 2016

Hello, loves!!
I was so excited to put this outfit together and had so much fun shooting it! I think one of the reasons it was enjoyable for me was because it made me think of all of things about the 90’s that I loved (and miss!)

My dress code in the 90’s, when I was very much still figuring out my style, was truly all over the place. I remember wearing glitter screen-printed baby t’s and super wide leg jeans almost every day. One of my favorite outfits, which still makes me cringe, was a metallic mesh t-shirt that flashed cobalt blue and silver, which I paired with either my silver JNCO hugely wide leg pants or a silver tulle ball skirt that I wore to a school dance. Who knows what the hell I was thinking, but when I was 14, those outfits were the sh!t! To me at least, haha! Back when Hot Topic was truly for goth & punk kids, not any of that mainstream pop-y, vampire drama paraphernalia, and Delia’s, Alloy, Moxie Girl and Girlfriends L.A. catalogs were torn through with reckless abandon searching for the latest in trendy gear. It’s crazy how so many of the trends I used to rock, like platform mules, lace-up shirts, and velvet chokers are totally on-trend right now. I won’t be bringing everything back, that’s for sure. While I think chokers are cute, now they give me a suffocating, choking (weird, right!?) feeling and I can’t stand them. I also feel like wide leg pants, on my frame, just don’t do me any favors.

My beauty M.O. in those years was all about the glitter gel. It was one of the first beauty items that I ever hoarded. I had glitter in all forms – gel for body and hair, body spray, creams and sticks for eyes, loose for mixing with lotion, and in every color and size you could imagine. I’m really glad that I toned that all way down, but I totally feel that hit of nostalgia whenever I do a toned-down glittery eye for a GNO. I think everything shiny was kind of a theme with me, and it’s funny how much I’ve stuck with that, just made it more refined and, dare I say, grown up!

What clothing trends make you nostalgic for the decade you grew up in?

Cocoon wrap c/o BohoCheri // Bodysuit / H&M // Jeans / MaviUSA // Wedges / JustFab // Necklace / vintage // Bracelet c/o BohoCheri // Sunnies / Amazon

Pictures by Holli Zenko Photography.

April Stitch Fix

May 5, 2016

Hello, loves!
I hope everyone is doing well and settling in to this warmer weather that crept up. I would have been doing a lot better had I not locked my keys in my trunk during the hottest part of the day earlier this afternoon! Luckily, Mark (and AAA) were just one call away to rescue me.
I wanted to share with you all today my April Stitch Fix experience. This time, I actually remembered to leave feedback for my stylist. I asked for a summery print maxi dress, something with lace, colored jeans, and a chambray-like button-down. I think my stylist did pretty well with the styles, however, I had asked for the prices to be more moderate with each piece. I was sent a pair of $98 peach jeans. They were cute (albeit a bit too snug and long), but $100 for trendy jeans that I likely wouldn’t wear past August seems like not the best investment. I want something I’m either going to wear to death throughout a season or an old faithful piece that I can pull out at any time and know it’s going to look great.

So, initially, I thought this dress would be tricky to wear due to all of the horizontal stripes, but it actually hugged me in all of the right places and was figure-flattering. I didn’t feel the print was versatile enough, in terms of being able to dress it up or down, so at $78, it was a pass.
Sunnies / Amazon // Necklace / LA find // Clutch / Cambridge Satchel Co. from the Box of Style

Next up, this chambray-like top, as requested from my stylist. I loved the idea of keeping it super casual with a little tank and leggings. This one was pretty great, with it’s subtle pinstripe fabric, that also happens to be super soft. At $64, it was a touch on the pricey side, but I knew I would wear it often enough to make it work.
Sunnies / Amazon // Tank / H&M // Crossbody / Shaffer LA from the Box of Style // Slip-ons & Leggings / ASOS // Necklace / Kyle Chan Design

Here are the aforementioned peach jeans. Cute, but limited in terms of wearability. They were also about 3 inches too long, so I cuffed them up and added my favorite nude open-toed heels. I really liked the idea of pairing it with aqua tones, kind of a play on a coral & turquoise color story. Regardless, their longevity in my wardrobe was non-existent, and therefore, they were returned.
Sunnies / Amazon // Tank / H&M // Necklace / Anthropologie // Pumps / Miu Miu // Clutch / Gap

Lastly, and you may have seen this look already in a recent Gwynnie Bee post, but it was probably my favorite outfit that I put together from this fix. The skirt from Gywnnie Bee I knew that I was going to purchase as soon as I unwrapped it, but figured I would pair it with a white blouse and colorful heels. When I saw this pink blouse in my fix, the colors were just so harmonious, that I flipped that idea around and paired the colorful top with neutral heels. I may have considered purchasing the top, as I believe it was just around $45, but it actually had a stain on it, front and center. I know that part of the hazard of sending things out to people to try on is that you may get them back in not-pristine condition, but I just wish that the people who packaged my fix up would have inspected the items a bit more thoroughly.
Sunnies / Amazon // Clutch / Cambridge Satchel Co. from the Box of Style // Skirt / Gwynnie Bee // Heels / Dolce Vita

The last item I unfortunately do not have a picture of. It was completely unwearable, as the “Large” was genuinely like a Small/Medium and I could barely get it over my head! It was a top with white crinkly fabric and several patchwork-like strips of material running down the front. So not my size or my style.

Overall, I just kept the chambray shirt from this round, and I’m quite happy with my purchase! For my next fix, I’ve requested another shot at a maxi dress, a colorful crossbody bag and something in the on-trend blush shade. I can’t wait to see what my stylist chooses for me next! I really do look forward to coming home to that box at my front door 😉
If you’re interested in signing up for a box of your own, feel free to use my link here.

Belted Maxi Dress and Wedges

May 3, 2016

Hi loves!
I have to say, I’m loving this BohoCheri belted maxi dress and wedges from DVF! The wedges are amazingly comfortable for how high they are and I’ve literally gone the whole day in them, running errands around town. Height and comfort, not to mention they’re super cute, it’s the best of all worlds! The dress is fun too because it has a beaded neckline for a little added interest up top, but also the hi-lo hemline allows it to flow beautifully behind me when I walk. Love!
I know that this is perhaps not the most sexy of topics to be discussing but today I wanted to talk about caring for your feet during summer. It is SO important to take extra special care of your feet in the warmer weather, not only for your health, but also because you’ll be showing them off a lot more! They can get all kinds of nasty, being held captive and sweaty in sneakers, being dragged across the bottom of swimming pools, etc.
The first thing I want to recommend is professional maintenance. I think it is important to get a pedicure by a professional nail tech at least once a month. You can do it yourself for financial reasons, but I always feel that technicians are a lot more diligent and really get in there, as opposed to me who will just stop when it tickles haha.
Next, is to remove your polish in-between pedis. This step is crucial because it’s necessary to put down another strengthening/hardening coat often so that the chemicals from the colored polish doesn’t seep in and start eating away at the enamel of your nails. I learned this the hard way recently when I went to the nail salon and after my old polish was removed came an (informative) lecture about why my nails looked the way that they did.. They were slightly yellowed, and had little white flecks in them! Sooo not attractive, and I had no idea how harmful it was to leave polish on for a couple of months, by just being lazy and refreshing dark polish when it started to chip. He ended up having to sand down a couple of my nails to get them on the road back to good condition.
Along the topic of home maintenance, there are several other things that I would recommend keeping up on. I am obsessed with my Amope electronic foot file that I purchased off of Amazon a couple months back. I use the regular coarse type, but they also offer an extra coarse. This file is crazy efficient, and it’s both gross and riveting to use. You start rolling it around in the areas where you’re experiencing some dead skin or calluses (I typically reach for this once a week) and it just eats away at them, causing the skin to turn to dust and fly in to the air. I wish it was like a ped-egg, and it just collected in to a little well that was easy to dispose of, but no, the particles pretty much just float away. Like I said, gross. But so effective! After I use the file, I’ll apply some lotion. The other at-home item I definitely recommend having on-hand is a rich cream made for especially for feet. My favorite is the Set N Me Free (cheesy name, but whatever, it works!) Foot & Callus Rub. It contains menthol, so it makes my feet tingle! Right before bed, I’ll rub in about a nickel-sized dollop on each foot, cover them with socks and head to bead. If you can’t stand to sleep with socks on, another option is to apply it just after getting out of the shower, when it’s easier to penetrate skin.
I hope this post has been informative and have fun showing off those pretty feet!
😀

Dress / BohoCheri // Bag / StitchFix // Wedges / Diane Von Furstenberg // Necklace / LA find // Ring / Kyle Chan Design // Sunnies / Amazon

Shot by Holli Zenko Photography.