Mix It Mondays: Herringbone Vest

Today I'm excited to be co-hosting Mix It Monday's with Lauren at Fizz and Frosting. It's no secret I love my herringbone vest, so it was an easy choice to show today.  This vest really does go with everything!  I picked up this vest on super clearance at J.Crew Factory after Christmas and love the yellow paired wit the black here. This outfit already made an appearance on Instagram, but great outfit need to be worn again! The next time I wear it, I'm planning on pairing it with this in colbalt (it's 40% off today, by the way).  Down below today's pictures is a ginormous remix collage on how to style this vest, make sure to check it out below, as well as link-up with Lauren.

On another note, last summer I did a post on knowing and dressing for your body type and it was a great success. I'd like to expand on it and I need your help. I really only gave outfit ideas for a rectangle, because that's what I am. Here's my pitch: Are you hourglass, pear, apple, or triangle shaped? Send me a picture of you in all black (with or without your face) if I get more than one of each body type I'll choose at random. Then I'll create Polyvore sets for you and others with your body type as outfit inspiration, as well as tips to best utilize your best qualities. I plan to do this as part of my Tuesday how-to series. If interested email me here. 

Have you entered my sponsor's giveaway here yet?

Vest: Coldwater Creek $50 (sold out)

Sweater: J.Crew Factory $20 almost exact

Chambray: $20  similar 

Jeans: Old Navy $15 same

Necklace: Stella and Dot  same

Bracelets:  Chimera, Moxie , Renegade Stella and Dot

Shoes: Vera Wang $12 similar

About a month ago I did a massive herringbone vest re-mix, you can check out the original post here. 

Fizz & Frosting (Bloglovin') / My New Favorite Outfit (Bloglovin') / JustJacq (Bloglovin')

Linkup Rules:

1. Follow your host Fizz and Frosting (via Bloglovin' or Instagram) and your co-hosts, Ginny of My New Favorite Outfit (via Bloglovin' or Instagram) and Jacquelyn of JustJacq (via Bloglovin' or Instagram)
2. Share a post, showing how you remixed an item - a top, skirt, jeans, purse, shoes -- it's completely up to you! Want to share a collage? Go for it!
3. Link back to this post with a text link or by sharing the linkup button!
4. We'd love for you to tweet using #MixItMon so we can help promote your posts!

  Want to co-host in the future? Please email Lauren at lauren@fizzandfrosting.com and use the subject MIX IT MONDAYS!

How To: Style a Boyfriend Cardigan

I'm excited to be starting a how-to series, which I'll be sharing with you all weekly.  This week I'll be sharing tips on how to style a boyfriend cardigan.  Now, these cardigans can be great, but the length and tendency for them to be over-sized can make them difficult to style.  I have some great tips on how to style them for you all today.

• First, when trying a boyfriend cardigan on in the store, try on your "normal" size and then one size smaller.  You might find that the small works better than the medium, etc.  Also, check the length.  For me, having a boyfriend cardigan hit right below the hips is most flattering.  Due to my short petite figure, cardigans that are longer than this are not flattering on me and look more like a weird dress with buttons on the front.  Not cool.
• One great way to style a boyfriend cardigan once you've gotten a well fitting one is with a jersey dress like this one I'm wearing in the first picture below.  Boyfriend cardigans are more casual in nature, so wearing it with a jersey dress works great.  I'll done this quite a few time and and always feel put together and cozy all day long.  A belt also helps to accentuate your waist with this combo too.
• The second ways to wear a boyfriend cardigan is with skinny jeans.  This is a great combo for casual Friday or for a weekend look.  I think skinny jeans are best because you don't want to create more volume with the outfit by adding a wider leg jean; this outfit can have a tendency to look overwhelming and make you look bigger than you are.  I styled mine below with booties, but you could also easily wear ballet flats or tall boots too. I also feel that tucking in your shirt or wearing a more form fitting shirt is the most flattering with a boyfriend cardigan too, just like with the jeans, an over-sized shirt can make you look bigger than you are.
• The third way to style a boyfriend cardigan is with a mini-skirt.  Now pencil skirts can be ok with boyfriend cardigans too, just keep in mind the casual nature of this piece, so a cotton skirt is probably best.  Once again tucking your shirt in will be the most flattering for this look and I think booties are boots look best.  I don't recommend wearing an a-line skirt with a boyfriend cardigan, just like I stated above with over-sized shirts or wider leg jeans, adding more volume is not very flattering.
• The last way I'm going to show is to wear a boyfriend cardigan with leggings.  I love this with a longer tunic and boots or booties.  I don't recommend wearing leggings to work, I'd stick to wearing this combo for a night with friends or on the weekends.  You also want to make sure your rear is covered by the tunic and cardigan and that the legging are nice and thick.  To wear this look at work, simply swap out the leggings for black jeans or the gigi pant and you're ready to go.

I've worn this look a number of times and Instagrammed it too.  I wore it like this on the blog earlier this fall when I could actually go outside without tights.

Cardigan: Target $12 same / Target Coupons

Dress: Target $22 same 

Belt: Kohl's $1.5

Leggings: Target 

Boots: Born similar

I also wore this outfit on the blog earlier this fall as part of my color series, What to Wear with Mustard.  I love this combo and blue and gold are definitely one of my favorite color combos.

Cardigan: Target $12 same / Target Coupons

Top: Loft $30 cute option

Jeans: Old Navy $19 similar

Belt: $1.5

Necklace: Stella and Dot same

Booties: $29 (ebay) same in black

I've worn boyfriend cardigans and mini-skirts a number of times together before, like here and here.  It can give the look some great casual ease, but still make it totally work appropriate.

Cardigan: Target $12 same / Target Coupons

Top: Loft c/o Chippmunk similar

Skirt: Loft (thrifted) cute option

Necklace: Stella and Dot same

Leggings: Target

Booties: $29 (ebay) same in black

I love this combo below and recently wore it for a girl's night in. I think this look can be great with a boyfriend cardigan, just remember, keep that rear covered. : )

Cardigan: Target $12 same / Target Coupons

Scarf: Joe Fresh $10 similar

Chambray: Gap $15 same

Leggings: Target 

Boots: Born similar

Next week I'll have another topic to cover, make sure to come back for it! Also, is there a topic you'd like to see me cover? Let me know, I'd love to try to tackle it!

Linking up with:

What I Wore Wednesday

What to Wear With Mustard

Today is my second day of my mini-series focused on styling colors.  Yesterday I shared my tips for styling wine and today I'm focusing on another hot color for fall, mustard.  My boyfriend cardigan is quickly becoming one of my favorite things in my closet and I was excited to style it today for a nice casual look.  When it comes to styling mustard here are some tips for what colors to wear it with:

• Wear mustard with another shade of yellow for a monochromatic look.
• Although mustard is a warm color, it can easily be worn with both warm and cool neutrals.  Mustard and gray is an awesome color combo, but mustard with browns and blacks is also great.
• Lastly, wear it with a complimentary color like navy or teal.  Today I chose to wear it with navy, which is one of my favorite color combos.  I added my skinny jeans, then cuffed them (I love this!) and added my booties.  This outfit is not only comfortable, but perfect for all your fall activities (Pumpkin Patch anyone?) 

Make sure to check out my collage at the end of the post for some additional ways to wear mustard and here's a chart to help you see what to wear with mustard:

Here are some more detailed pictures of my outfit for today:

Cardigan: Target $12 same / Target Coupons

Top: Loft $30 similar

Jeans: Old Navy $19 similar

Belt: $1.5

Necklace: Stella and Dot same

Bracelets: Stella and Dot  Chimera, Moxie , Renegade 

Booties: $29 (ebay) same on Amazon

Here are some other ways to wear mustard:

Look 1 / Look 2 / Look 3 / Look 4

Make sure to stop back tomorrow to see the third post in this color series. : )

Linking up with:

Tre-Chic Fashion Thursdays

What I Wore to Work Link-up

Chelsea and Ginny Take On: A Picnic

This week Chelsea and I are taking on what to wear and eat at a picnic. It's been pretty stinking hot here, and as much as I like to be wearing my fall clothes I'm still wearing shorts whenever possible. We also have a splash park right down the street and it's works out perfectly to let Grant run around and play like a crazy man then eat lunch there. I really like this shirt because it's really light-weight and breathable, but still protects my shoulders from the sun. I decided to pair it with these Lauren Conrad shorts which I have declared the perfect denim shorts;the length is great and they don't stretch out when I'm wearing them. I added a nude wedge because I love the elongated look I get with theses as apposed to flip flops. 

Also, I still have a few sponsor spots available.  I've reduced my spot prices and have decided to us PayPal to send invoices (therefore cutting out the middle man).  Check out my option here.

Blouse: Target $7 cute option

Shorts: Lauren Conrad similar

Necklace: Stella and Dot same

Bracelets: Chimera, Triple Wrap, Renegade

Shoes: Kohl's  $26 c/o Chippmunk  similar

Now stop by Whatcha Makin' Now where my sister has the perfect side dish for your picnic: a delicious Brown Sugar and Pecan Grape Salad! Yum. I kid you not, the first time I had this I finished like half the pan.  Seriously.

Be Original. Be Yourself.

I had such an amazing time at Go Blog Social and I want to take some time to share my takeaway with you all.  A lot of this will obviously apply more to bloggers, but I hope to tie it back to you non-bloggers as well, and share with you how I'll apply it to my blog too.

 I feel like I heard time and time again at the conference the importance of being who you are and not a copy cat of someone else who is successful. I definitely think this applies to blogging and life in general. Meg Biram Jeanette of J's Everyday Fashion and Corrie McFadden  all discussed the importance of finding what makes you unique and focusing your blog on that. What's your passion? What gets you excited? The answer to that is what you should blog about. "There's a reader for everyone, be the voice for them."-Corri McFadden

As for me, I definitely think fashion and finding great deals gets me excited.  I feel like that's definitely been a focus here, so for me to go start spending hundreds on outfits (not that I would, or could) wouldn't make sense, because I feel a lot of you readers like a good deal just like I do.  I want to stay true to myself and my budget. Jeanette touched on this too. She's had a $250 a month clothing budget for forever,but even with her phenomenal success, she's stuck to that budget because that's the focus of her blog. She's living what her blog is. I love that.

That being said last year I thrifted A LOT because I was really trying to build up my wardrobe. I don't need clothes like I did before (don't tell my husband). What I do need are some closet staples like blazers and pencil skirts. Pieces like this can be very hard to thrift (trust me, I've tried). I definitely plan to shop the sale racks, but thrifting isn't something I've done all summer and something I don't see myself doing much this fall.

I'm also passionate about teaching and plan to do more how-to posts here as well. You've seen some of that from me this summer and I have a new tips series coming next and an exciting collaboration starting at the end of the month with my fabulous sister.

Tomorrow I'll share with you another takeaway from Go Blog Social, and today's outfit is what I wore to the fun cocktail hour last Thursday night.

Have you entered my Swag Bag giveaway yet?

Blazer: Kohls $20? similar

Blouse: Target $7 (can't find on line, instores now)

Shorts: Kohl's $20 similar

Belt: Kohl's $6 similar

Necklace: Stella and Dot Rebel

Bracelets: Stella and Dot Renegade,  Triple Wrap and Chimera similar

Shoes: Kohl's $26 c/o Chippmunk  same

Bag: Coach same

Linking up with:

What I Wore Wednesday

Get Your Pretty On