Tag: walmart

Style

For Kly: Easy to Wear Professional

the outside lane

I hate to call this the Look for Less, but it really is.  You can use this link to find all the details on the clothing shown below.  With these two different jersey dresses (or reasonable facsimiles), and four different tops, you have a decent professional wardrobe.  Adding in a pair of neutral colored trousers and a couple of neutral blouses would take you into 3 weeks worth of different ensembles.

With the exception of the shoes, which I chose for Kly’s consideration to showcase attractive, comfortable shoes that would work well for moving across campus at the speed of coed, and with the exception of the accessories chosen to resemble items I have, I own all of the pieces in this collection.

Both dresses are from the Norma Kamali for WalMart line, and are a slinky jersey fabric.  Think Chico’s Travelers collection.  The dresses fit beautifully, have very nice drape, and don’t wrinkle.  Bonus!  I paid $20 for each of them, but if you follow the link above, I think you can get to the website and find them on clearance sale.  If they aren’t available, just look for similar items.  You can’t beat a good dress.

Alone these dresses are lovely, and you can do a lot to accessorize with just jewelry.  Obviously, you couldn’t wear the strapless to work without a jacket, but it makes an interesting and modest neckline under something else.  Got a date after work?  Take off the jacket, et voila.  Add colored or patterened tights, and you have a whole new look to carry these dresses through winter.

Top left is a coral blazer from Old Navy.  This is a boxy fit that reminds me of the 80s.  I felt like a Seventeen Magazine cover from 1987 the entire time I wore it–that was a very good thing!  $29 to relive my youth.  Priceless.  Clockwise, the white shirt is from the WalMart Just My Size collection.  I have this in turquoise, and got it for $6.  Fits beautifully, and the ruching is very flattering.  It’s very Candice Bergin from Boston Legal–looks crisp and professional, but is very comfy.  The leopard jacket pictured is an exact copy of the Grace Collective brand I bought at Ross for $14.99.  I do think animal prints should be used sparingly, but I couldn’t resist this jacket.  The black and white striped shirt is from the Norma Kamali collection and costs $10.

Ladies, you can wear horizontal stripes.  Here is the trick:  Just don’t wear them from the hips down.  Thick horizontal stripes on a fitted shirt or sweater can actually slim you, by creating the illusion of a waist if you don’t have much of one.  Skinny stripes work best on slimmer figures.  Avoid Hamburgler tights unless you are under 21 and frequent Hot Topic.

Uncategorized

New Romantic

the outside lane

Trying something a little new here using Polyvore.  If what I wear gets more than one compliment, I’ll show it to you, tell you where to find it, and how much I paid for it.  I do tend to hang on to things forever, and I rarely buy a whole outfit at one time (a piece here, a piece there), so it might not help you know exactly where to shop, but it might give you an idea of what to look for.

Below, you will see what I am wearing today.  At least, you will see an approximation.  I can assure you that nothing I have on comes near costing $1200. 

At the moment, I can’t get the embedding feature to work, so if you’d like to see the collection of what I am wearing today, click this link.

It’s ruffle blouse day.  I love this Miley Cyrus/Max Azaria blouse for the frothy chiffon ruffles, and the one pictured is the exact style.  I love this so much, I also have it in purple.  I bought both at WalMart for $12.  The ruffle cap sleeves are just long enough that they are legal for the office.

I am wearing it over a spaghetti strap tank, with the top three buttons undone, with a vintage, multi-strand necklace underneath.  The necklace is altnerating tiny chains of gold and tiny, creamy pearls.  I think I paid about $20 for the necklace in an antique mall.

The pencil skirt I’m wearing is tan.  I also bought it at WalMart, from their George line.  Believe it or not, WalMart has some good clothes.  I wouldn’t buy shoes there, and their underwear leaves a lot to be desired, but the George, Max Azaria, and especially the Norma Kamali collections have some great looking, long lasting pieces.  I love the Norma Kamali collection in an unholy way.

The pale gold, hidden platform, slingback, peep toes I am wearing are by Carlos Santana (no kidding!  His shoes are amazing!), and I bought them at Ross for $14.99.

I have a seersucker jacket hanging on the back of my chair in case I get cold, or I need to look more professional.  It is a one button blazer from Chadwicks of Boston, and it was $24.99.  I’m not going to recommend this because the fit is slightly off in the arms.  It’s like the sleeves aren’t sewn in correctly.  However, it fits well enough that I’m not going to send it back.  It’ll serve it’s purpose.

The earrings belonged to my Granny.  I suspect they are Avon.

This type of blouse is a great piece to have in your wardrobe because it is so versatile.  Buttoned up it is modest, buttoned down it is edgy. I also pair this top and tank with gray trousers, gray mary janes, and a black cropped sweater for the office.  It looks equally good with blue jeans, and wears well with canvas shorts, too.