To Market To Market

I'm writing this from the Amtrak wifi as we zoom on out to New York City for a whirlwind trip to bridal market. Also known as Bridal Fashion Week, we're going to choose the new dresses that we will carry at the shop. By whirlwind, I mean less than 24 hours- we're going to see just a handful of our top designers while we're there. Choosing the right outfit for this type of shopping trip isn't always easy, but I think I nailed it this time. 

We'll be on our feet the entire day, so flats are a must. It's important to look professional, but we also want to be a little comfortable. Also, it's spring, so I want to be a little colorful, too. I happened to snap a quick selfie when I was packing, so here it is: 

Let's break it down: dark wash skinnies, leopard flats, coral lace top, cream/coral seersucker jacket, Tiffany blue crossbody bag, seashell ring and flower earrings. 

This is a little more casual than I would typically dress for this type of trip, but the outfit was too cute to pass up. The leopard print shoes are probably an odd choice, but what you don't know about those shoes is that the inside of them is fuzzy. Like slippers. It's just the start of spring and my feet are so soft and pink right now. They can't handle long hours in spring shoes and sandals just yet. So, those shoes allow for the springtime no-socks look while keeping my tootsies super comfy. I wore a pair of leather ballet flats to work yesterday and my feet were protesting loudly by the end of the day. Summer feet, please come quick!!!

Anyone else feeling the winter-feet-to-summer-feet hurt? It's bittersweet, really. I'm super excited to not have to wear tights every single day, but then the rubbing on my tender feet makes me yearn for fuzzy socks. Like I said, bittersweet. 

If you're my facebook friend, I'll try to post a couple of photos from Market, but I make no promises. When I said whirlwind, I meant it. Less than 24 hours in the city. We're on the train now. We'll start at 9:00 AM tomorrow and work straight through till 6:00ish. Then we'll treat ourselves to a nice dinner and be on the 9:00 PM train back to Boston. Whirlwind! It's a good thing I'm on vacation next week! 

Thanks for reading, friends! 

On a Sewing Kick...

Lately, I've had some fun sewing super simple, but super cute pieces for my summer wardrobe. It all started when one of my friends at church asked me to help her make a maxi-skirt. I immediately agreed, but then thought, "Well, I've never made one, so maybe I should do a dry-run first..." Here is the result:

Excuse the fuzzy photo- the lighting was terrible. 

I had originally hoped to have the stripes at a bit more of an angle, but I didn't have enough fabric to make it work. However, I think I prefer the end result even better. I've worn it to work and got lots of compliments on it. I posted a picture on Facebook which resulted in some chatting back and forth with other crafty friends. After all the chatting, I felt inspired, so I raided my fabric stash and found some white eyelet that I'd purchased at Mood so long ago I'm embarrassed to admit how long it's been sitting around. 

After about 45 minutes at the sewing machine, I had this little gem: 

My favorite detail is in the back, though: 

How fun is that pink zipper? 

I wore it to work with my polka-dot chambray shirt and some pink ballet flats. I'm pretty sure I looked adorable: 

I should have taken a better picture. Sorry. 

Finally, after feeling so productive and creative, I decided to attempt a maxi-dress. I purchased a black and white printed jersey at Joann Fabric and I'm pretty thrilled with the result: 

Again, forgive the fuzzy photo. 

I tried it on afterwards with a mint skinny belt and it was adorable. I'll try to remember to snap a photo when I wear it to work tomorrow! 

It's funny how being creative actually breeds more creativity. And talking to other creative people helps inspire. It's a good reminder to me that I need to not only think about doing these kinds of projects, but I need to talk about them and then actually do them. 

Anyone else out there feeling creative lately? Leave a comment and tell me all about it! 

Rate My Look: Spring Personified

Today was the start of our big sample sale and the boss lady had given us all white t-shirts with the Madeleine's Daughter logo on them to wear with jeans. It's literally the one time of year that we're allowed to wear jeans and guess what I did. I forgot to wear the t-shirt and jeans. What a loser! Fortunately, I looked adorable, so that kind of made up for the oops. And on top of looking adorable, the pastel color combination was just so spring-like and soft that I felt awesome in this outfit all day:

Top: Delia's via Building 19 (for $5!!!!!)

Skirt: Target

Shoes: Steve Madden

Ribbon sash: I'm pretty sure I took this from an old dress

Seriously, the high-low hem on this skirt is just fabulous. Rather than the typical single cut of fabric, this features the cross-over front. You should see the way it flows as I walk in it. I tend to strut around like I'm a runway model whenever I wear this skirt because I love the feel of the chiffon billowing behind me. As Juhree put it, it's kind of like a cape... for my butt. 

In other news, this happened on my drive home and I figured I'd share it for all of you out there with similar OCD tendencies: 

Don't you just love when that kind of thing happens? It just makes me happy inside. Almost as happy as a lavender chiffon butt-cape high-low skirt. 

Have an awesome day and as always, thanks for reading! 

Rate My Look: Original Skirt Creation

Months ago, I was in Joann Fabrics and I saw this awesome orange print. It just so happened to be in the home decor section, specifically the fabrics made for outdoor furniture upholstery. But I loved it so much, I decided I didn't care what the fabric was intended for and I decided to buy a yard of it to make myself a fabulous skirt. I also bought a zipper and I went home and whipped it up. I paired it with a fabulous chiffon top that I already had and voila! Instant fabulous outfit!

I think I'll be careful not to wear this skirt to any backyard get-togethers. I'd hate to match someone's patio furniture. 

I love the exposed zipper detail and I lucked out that the top is the same shade of grey as the zipper. It' a perfect outfit for work- cool and fun, but still professional-looking. 

I think I'll shop the outdoor upholstery fabric section more often... 

Rate My Look: New Dress!

As you may or may not remember, I did a little bit of shopping last week and it was a magical trip. Every time I turned around, there was something fabulous in my line of vision. My credit card was smoking by the end of the day.

By far, my favorite purchase of the day came at the end of our trip when we popped into the Armani Exchange store. I'd held true to my "elevate" mantra throughout the day, not even considering items at fast fashion stores, or that I know isn't high enough quality. Armani Exchange was one of the last stores we visited and so many things were right in line with what I'm looking for right now- high quality garments that are well made and unique. That was where I found this dress:

I am completely obsessed with this dress- everything about it is awesome! The fit, the color, the details, the hem- I love it all! Speaking of the hem, you can't tell in this photo, but it's actually a high-low hem. Check it out: 

So cute!

I wore those little glitter booties while I was out shopping and if it weren't for that happy coincidence, I might never have thought to put them with this dress. They work SO well together, though! Things like that kind of make me have an "a-ha!" moment where I resolve to go through my entire closet and try to pair things up that I might not normally put together. 

Anyway, I love this dress so much that I wore it the very next day to work and then again on Easter Sunday. It's a perfect bright Easter dress! I wore different shoes, but other than that, my look was pretty similar. 

I think I may have even worn those shoes last Easter with another bright dress, but I'm not entirely sure. And no, I didn't wear anything on my head. I thought about wearing a fascinator of some kind, but not only did I not have anything quite right, but I think the dress is fabulous enough on its own, especially when paired with those amazing floral heels. 

Today I've got a very busy schedule that I'm excited about. I'll be heading over to a local middle school to speak at their career day event called "World of Work." I'm excited to share the story of my career- how I went from one job to another and all the valuable things I learned along the way. I also have a fun activity planned for the kids if there's enough time at the end of the session. It's a group of 7th graders, so wish me luck- they can be a tough crowd!

After my career day event, I'll be heading to the airport to hop on a plane and go see the Professor! I'm super excited to spend some time with him and the kids. I packed some cute outfits for while I'm down there, and I hope the weather cooperates and I don't end up running to the store for more cold-weather attire. I'll do my best to snap photos while I'm there, of course.

Well, enjoy the rest of your Monday, everyone and as always, thank you for stopping by and reading my blog!

I'm sill alive...

It's been a while since I wrote a post, but you should know that I've been very busy doing lots of fun things and that's why I haven't been blogging all that much. When I decided to get back into blogging, I also decided that I wouldn't put the same pressure on myself to post as frequently as I used to. If the inspiration and time are both there, then there will be lots of posts. If not, no sweat. But feel free to leave a comment telling me you miss me if and when you do.

Anyway, since my last post, I haven't had very many great outfits to photograph. It's not that I haven't looked good, it's that I was wearing a lot of old favorites, pieces you've seen before, without any major twists to them. I've done a bit of shopping recently and found that I'm a little bit between sizes right now. I don't want to err on the larger size because I hope to keep shedding inches and it will just mean alterations in the very near future on brand new clothes. Not the worst thing in the world, but still a hassle. And as for the smaller sizes, they're zipping up, but not exactly comfortably. I know myself and if something makes me feel like a sausage, I won't wear it. So, when it comes to shopping, I've been sticking to accessories. More on that soon.

As for the other things keeping me busy, I've been doing quite a bit of sewing. My boyfriend's daughter has a birthday coming up and I thought it would be fun to make her a bunch of cute, girlie outfits. Turns out, sewing kids clothes is a heck of a lot easier (and FASTER!) than sewing for adults. I got all of this done in one afternoon:

Yup. Two dresses, two skirts, two tops (one is reversible!) and two pairs of capri pants- all in one day! I  also managed to buy a few accessories and basic pieces to finish off the outfits. White leggings and simple t-shirts to go with the skirts were easy enough to find at a couple of kids clothing stores. I also snagged a few headbands and I plan to get a couple of pairs of cute summer shoes to finish out the new wardrobe. I spent about $60 at the fabric store, so I think I got quite the bang for my buck. (Especially since I have enough fabric to make a few more pieces!) Having seen the clothes in stores like The Children's Place and Carter's while picking out the leggings, I saw that these kind of outfits would retail for easily about $125 (for all of them). My favorite is the striped dress- you can't see them that easily, but the pink spots are little boats and the stripes are actually waves. So cute!

In addition to sewing lots of cute clothes, I've also spent time with friends over the last few weeks. I visited a good friend up in northern New Hampshire where we visited the world's longest candy counter:

Don't believe me that it's the world's longest? It's documented:

I also had some silly times with friends out to lots of fun dinners. The most notable is perhaps this recent trip to Margaritas where the waiter gave us fake mustaches to play with: 

We are so hot. 

I also made my very first attempt at baking the tricky French Macaron cookie. They were chocolate flavored with a salted caramel buttercream filling. They may not have looked perfect, but they tasted oh-so-delicious! 

My advice to anyone considering trying to bake these cookies is this: GO FOR IT! If they don't come out perfect, they'll probably still be delicious. A macaron with a cracked shell versus a macaron with a perfect smooth shell tastes exactly the same! Bottom line: don't be intimidated- just try them! You can't tell from this next photo whether it was perfect or not, but you can probably tell that it was delicious! 

I know that by now you're thinking, "I'm happy for you that you've been so busy eating sweets, having dinner with friends and galavanting around New England, but could you please get to the fashion?" Okay, okay, I'm getting there. The most recent outfit photo that I took wasn't of that great an outfit. It was me in my red pants and my glitter heel boots and it was not a dynamite outfit. I loved it from the knees down, so that's what you get to see: 

Finally, the last excuse I have for not blogging more regularly is this: (Enjoy!)

So that's what I've been up to. What about you? 

Rate My Look: Cucumber Salads are Working Out

In October, I went with my boss to the Chicago Bridal Market. We ate a LOT of really great food while we were there, but when I got home I felt pretty gross. I immediately made the decision to eat healthier foods in general, and just like that I had made a new lifestyle choice.  I don't want to call it a "diet," because that word has such negative connotations. Also, anytime someone goes on a diet, there's the implicit idea that at some point they will no longer be dieting. Whether the diet gets the better of them, or they just lose enough weight that they feel they no longer need the diet, there is something about that word that says, "I'm temporary."

Anyway, I knew I wanted to just make healthier choices in general, and in the past I'd had a great deal of success with eating clean and low-carb choices like the South Beach Diet. I basically took all my favorite things about both ideas and incorporated them into my own eating lifestyle and it's been pretty great. I "cheat" every now and then, but for the most part, I've tried to cut out processed foods as well as carbs in general and high-fat proteins and dairy.

Breakfast usually consists of an omelet and coffee, or a breakfast sandwich made with Ezekiel bread. Lunch is most often a salad of some kind. Dinner is some type of protein with some type of veggie. Without turning this into a food blog, I'll let you know some of my favorite foods lately:

Broiled broccoli with garlic, olive oil and parmesan cheese is an ideal "filler." I eat it as a side dish or in place of something like pasta. Sometimes I use cauliflower instead. Sometimes I use brussels sprouts. I've poured homemade meatballs and red sauce on top of it and never even missed the pasta.

My favorite breakfast sandwich uses two slices of Ezekiel bread (regular or sesame) grilled with a fried egg or egg white and a slice of American cheese. I've never tried it with bacon, but I'll bet that's delicious, too.

For lunch, almost every day I've been eating what I call my "Weird Cucumber Salad." It's basically a cucumber, chopped into bite-size pieces (skin on) with a scoop of non-fat cottage cheese and a few sliced Greek olives. It sounds really weird, but for some reason it works. The cottage cheese is so creamy, and the olives make it so savory and rich. The cucumber is really a vehicle for the brine-y cottage cheese/olive combo. Plus, I've been told that since cucumbers are so full of water, they're perfect for trying to lose a little weight. My mom makes a version of the salad with tomatoes in addition to the cucumber. She also adds some more spices like black pepper and Spike.

Apparently my weird cucumber salads have finally paid off because the skirt I wore to work yesterday was way too big in the waist. After complaining all day about how unflattering it looked, I had one of the talented seamstresses in the store zip it through the sewing machine and in no time at all, she'd shaved three inches off of it! I was pretty psyched over the difference in how it fit me. It's amazing how clothing that's actually fitted to you is so much more flattering than pieces that don't fit quite right.

Anyway, enough exposition, here's the photo of my outfit:

I apologize for the grainy photo. I snapped it at the end of the day at home where the lighting is just not that great. I'd just finished eating an amazing grilled sandwich for dinner, actually. It's a combination I created with McKenzie one day and it's really delicious. Her version involves sourdough or some type of panini bread. Mine uses Ezekiel bread. They're both equally delicious:

I'd eaten half of it before I thought to snap a photo! Anyway, this grilled cheese sandwich consists of two slices of Ezekiel bread, a slice of cheddar cheese, a slice of pepper jack cheese, 7-8 slices of jalapeno pepper, thinly sliced fresh tomato and half an avocado. It was beyond amazing. I think I'll skip the weird cucumber salad tomorrow and have this sandwich for lunch instead.

But what should I wear?

Rate My Look: Sunday Best

In the first part of the year, Madeleine's Daughter is open an extra day of the week- Sunday. It's a short day, and even though I'm on my feet for all of it, I can sometimes manage to wear a pair of heels for at least most of the day. Today was one such day and I pulled out a really fun pair to spice things up:

I was going for a little bit of a twist on Joan Holloway, and I think it worked. By the end of the day, however, my feet had pretty much had it in those heels. They spent the car ride home chillin' out on the passenger seat: 

I really love the color combination of the deep, dark turquoise suede of my shoes and the rich, coral leather of my bag. I would love a dress or a skirt or something in a print that combines these two colors. That would be SO fabulous and perfect for this time of year. It's not quite spring, but we need those bright colors to boost our spirits, along with the extra sunshine thanks to Daylight Savings.

Check back tomorrow for a little more about my make-up today. I tried something new and I liked it!

Rate My Look: I Did It!

I got the chambray shirt! I even wore it out tonight after work!

I'm not gonna lie, I think I look pretty good in this outfit. These are my new skinnies, too- they are SO comfortable. As good as the chambray shirt looks with my new jeans, I'm even more excited to wear it with a pair of white jeans or even one of my pair of bright color jeans. I think it's the casual nature of this fabric that made me doubt whether it could work with my wardrobe, but it's just so flattering and cute, I know I can make it work. 

I love that my biggest problems in life involve trying to incorporate a new fabric into my wardrobe. I don't know how I do it. Honestly, I think only the Kardashians have lives this stressful. 

Rate My Look: Elevating on the Cheap!

I'm no stranger to second-hand shops. Consignment shops are my favorite because the items tend to be carefully curated, or at least more so than your typical thrift shop. However, quality pieces can be found at thrift shops if you're willing to do a little digging. Lucky for me, I didn't even have to do the digging this time. My mom was at our local Salvation Army on Wednesday and she found an adorable (designer) outfit for me for just about five bucks!

Yuppers. You read that right. Wednesdays at the Salvation Army are half-price days. They use color-coded price tags and every Wednesday, certain color tags will be half price. So, as if $6 for a skirt wasn't cheap enough, my mom scored it for just $3! And the top was originally $4, so after knocking the price in half, my adorable new outfit was a whopping total of $5! But wait! It gets better!

The top is a brand-new Ann Taylor light-weight fitted sweater and the skirt is Michael by Michael Kors! The average price for a comparable sweater at Ann Taylor is about $60-$70 and similar skirts by Michael Kors retail for around $120. The point I'm trying to make is that you can elevate your wardrobe without dramatically lessening your bank account.

The skirt was about 2 inches too big all around, but fortunately I have skilled seamstresses at my disposal pretty much every day. But even if I didn't, taking in a skirt like this is a simple project that takes just a few minutes and any tailor could do it for a minimal price. Even investing $20 in the tailoring would have been worthwhile for such a great piece.

As for the rest of my outfit, I kept the accessories minimal to highlight the bold pattern of the skirt. You can't really tell in the photo, but the white pattern on the skirt is covered in clear sequins, so that the skirt actually sparkles a great deal without looking super bling-y.

Have you found other inexpensive ways to elevate your wardrobe? I'm always a fan of a bargain shopping trip, but shopping isn't the only way. Leave a comment with your ideas! And as always, thank you so much for reading my blog!

Rate My Look: Something Different

I wore this outfit to work the other day and everyone kept commenting on how cute I looked and how I'd really stepped it up and stepped outside my typical outfit. I didn't think it was that different, but I guess I was wrong. You be the judge:

You've seen the sweater before. The scarf is nothing new. The pants are my new ones from Athleta (I should have taken a photo from behind because these pants work wonders for my butt.) I guess this biggest difference is my curly hair and the fact that my hat is of a normal size. I felt pretty great in this outfit, truth be told. The pants are definitely my new favorite- I'll be wearing them a lot in the near future. After hearing all the remarks about this outfit, I decided that this is the "cool Renee" look. 

It's always nice to receive compliments on your outfit, but sometimes when they are really enthusiastic, you have to wonder if maybe you've been slacking a bit... food for thought, anyway. 

Rate My Look: Another Stupid Little Hat

As you know, I have a thing for stupid little hats. I just love them. When I was blitzing through a random Baltimore mall trying to find a sparkly "hair diddy" for Jen on her wedding day, I stumbled upon the cutest little hat, but this time, it was all black and therefore appropriate for wearing to work on Saturday! I snatched it up and I couldn't wait to wear it, so this past Saturday, it made its debut at MD:

How stinkin' cute is that? I love it! It definitely had its supporters throughout the day. As expected, Juhree hated it. Most of my other coworkers seemed to like it, or at least they said so. And as for the brides I worked with, none of them said anything, but that doesn't help me. They could have hated it and were just being polite, or maybe they weren't phased by it. My favorite moment was when I walked into the morning meeting. McKenzie took one look at me and dryly pronounced, "You look like you're in a show." 

She's kind of right, actually. My sparkly skirt and hat are quite theatrical. I like to think that if I'm dressed for a show, it's for a role that might also be played by Zooey Deschanel. 

And I know this post is primarily about my hat, but can we talk about my skirt for a second? It a mini-pencil skirt with stripes of black sequins over the wool. I found it at Ann Taylor when I was on my cashmere and red pants binge. I only paid $20 for it and I love it. It's already at the top of my list of favorite winter skirts in my closet. I love the length, the fit, the embellishment- I love everything about it! 

So there you have it- a show-worthy black outfit complete with a mini hat. And if you're wondering, even though I didn't have my stellar selling hair, I still sold a whole heck of a lot of accessories that day. Perhaps if I'm not wearing my stellar selling hair, the tiny hat compensates? What are your thoughts on the matter? Maybe it's not the hair or the hat at all. Maybe I'm just getting to be decent at sales... what a strange idea. 

Feel free to leave a comment and tell me what you think. If you love it, great. If you hate it, telling me that won't deter me, so it might not be worth the energy to comment. But sometimes haters gotta hate, so whatevs. 

Rate My Look: Slimming Style

Remember the magical optical illusion Stella McCartney dress that Kate Winslet wore a while ago? I posted a picture on the blog back in December, but here it is again:

See the black bands on the side? Do you see the magical optical illusion that creates such an incredible slimming effect? Outstanding, right? I found a Calvin Klein dress on sale at TJ Maxx not too long ago that has a similar effect. And the best part? It only cost me $23! 

My dress only has a small detail, but the effect is quite similar. Strangely enough, on the same day I wore this dress, my coworker Meghan wore something similar! Check her out: 

Ain't she cute? 

Our dresses are quite different, but they both possess the same magical optical illusion that creates a slightly slimmer silhouette. I believe this may be a brilliant break-through in fashion technology. And if you're looking for a magical dress of your own, here's a few to get your started: 

Theory Nyasha Elite Colorblock Dress, Piperlime, $325

Jax Sleeveless Colorblock Dress, Dillard's, $108 

Remarkably similar to my dress from the holiday party and Jen's wedding, right? 

Calvin Klein Sleeveless Colorblock Dress, Belk, $128

Have you tried wearing a dress with this type of optical illusion? If not, has this post convinced you that you ought to? I hope so! I'll leave you with one that photo of Meghan and I in all our optical illusion glory! Have a great day and thanks for reading! 

We are such babes. 

Rate My Looks: DC Edition

Remember the polyvore sets from last weekend? They were inspired by the outfits I'd packed for my time spent in DC/Virginia for the wedding, etc.

And here are the looks as they actually came together:

This outfit inspired the polyvore set in the "Museum Style" post from Saturday. The cashmere sweater kept me perfectly warm in the 50-degree weather. It was unseasonably warm that day, and I didn't even need another layer. We ended up going to the Holocaust Museum, then visiting the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial and finally the Spy Museum. We had a quick lunch before the Spy Museum and after that we were beat and decided to spend the evening relaxing in the hotel room.

At the reflecting pool with the Washington Monument behind us. 

Lincoln Memorial

Rubbing my uncle's name from the Vietnam Memorial Wall. 

The next day, I had to leave in the morning to get to the airport, but I made sure to travel in style in the outfit that inspired the "Jet Set" post from Sunday: 

So there they are- maybe not the most exciting outfits I've worn, but you can't accuse me of looking sloppy! It was a fabulous weekend- from the wedding to the museums, I have no complaints at all. We made a lot of great memories and I'm glad I even thought to snap a few photos, too! 

Rate My Look: Cashmere and Suede

I had a bit of a shopping spree the other day. My red pants were part of the haul. I also managed to score some major luxury pieces at bargain prices. In total, I spent just under $140 and I came home with a belt, a sweater, a skirt, my red velvet pants and an awesome pair of suede boots. Not too shabby, right?

You see, my theme for 2013- in all areas of my life, not just shopping- is to "elevate." I'm going to apply this theme to everything I do- from work to my social life to my hobbies to my home life- everything! From now on, everything I do will be a notch above what it used to be. I don't have to reach the sky in everything, just elevate a little, but do it across the board. So there it is: elevate.

The idea came from that period last year when I felt no desire to purchase anything for myself. I still loved shopping, but I had no reason to buy. I was perfectly content with the contents of my wardrobe. After living through that period, I was able to reflect back on it and realize that my feelings of contentment came from knowing that I had great pieces in my closet, great accessories to match with them and great shoes to finish it all off. I'd stopped spending my money on cheap junk. It was a bit of an epiphany for me.

It's so easy to get caught up in bargain shopping that we often end up spending money on cheap junk that doesn't last, either because it's a silly fad or because it's so poorly made that it only survives a few washes before you have to toss it. Once I realized this, I resolved to only purchase quality pieces from now on. My logic is simple: spend a little more for a higher quality piece, and in the long run save money because I'm buying fewer pieces. However, "elevating" doesn't always mean spending more. At consignment shops, sample sales or just really great store sales, I can find high end pieces at bargain prices. As long as the items themselves are quality, that's all that matters.

My Kate Spade bag is a perfect example of this. It's a classic color and style and the quality is good enough that I won't have to buy another brown handbag for quite a while. And while I bought it for about $200, it would normally retail for closer to $500. I've already gotten several months use out of it and it still looks and feels brand new. I purged my handbag collection a while ago and only kept the best ones- the real leather, the high-end designers, the classic ones that will last for years.

On my recent shopping spree, I kept my "elevate" theme in mind. I knew I needed a new sweater or two, so I decided to only consider cashmere. And as for the boots, well, that's a whole other story that has little to do with my "elevate" theme and more to do with luck. I'd tried them on at TJ Maxx several months ago, when they were about $100. Typical retail price is closer to $200, so they felt like a decent deal at the time. However, I passed on them because I had just bought a couple pair of boots, and even though these were really nice ones, I just didn't need them. Well, the other day on my shopping spree, I stopped into a Marshalls and saw them for $48. I tried them on and they were a little too big- my foot was wiggling around inside them. Again, I passed. Even at $48, they're not a deal if they'll be too uncomfortable to wear. On my way home, I popped into TJ Maxx and there I found not only a gorgeous Cynthia Rowley cashmere sweater, but the same boots for just $39 and they were my size! It was kismet!

So, now that I've give you the world's longest description and shopping explanation, here's my outfit with the sweater and boots:

I should have taken a shot of just the boots while I had the on. Fail. Instead, I have this terrible photo, but at least you can see the cool details: 

I love how the heel and toe have the darker shading on them and I also love the buckles. The heel is a little high for work. I had to switch to flats about half-way through the day, but maybe once they're broken in I'll be able to last a little longer. We'll see. 

So there you have it: one of many elevated looks to come in 2013. How do you plan to make 2013 better than 2012? Did you make resolutions or are you happy with the status quo? Leave a comment!

Rate My Look: Red Pants!

On Wednesday, I did some damage on the post-holiday sales. Between Ann Taylor Loft and TJ Maxx, I managed to come home with quite a bit. A new pair of suede boots, a cashmere sweater, a wool sequin skirt, a new sparkly feather belt and my favorite new item: a stunning pair of red velveteen skinny pants!

Colorful pants have been everywhere for the last year, but mostly in more casual options like jeans and corduroys. Unfortunately, those are too casual for work. I did get a pair of awesome kelly green jeans and another pair of super cute purple-ish pink jeans and I got a lot of wear out of both of them this summer. When it came to work place attire, they were just too casual. So, after seeing these amazing pants, I knew I needed to get them for work. Originally around $90, I ended up paying just $22 for them!

Everything I bought that day was a major bargain, but the pants (from Ann Taylor Loft) were far and away the best deal. Care to see how I styled them? Wait no longer:

What I really wanted was a black and white graphic sweater in a luxurious textile like cashmere. I shopped all afternoon for something that would work. I did find a great cashmere sweater, but it was more of an oatmeal color and although it's beautiful, it didn't work with the pants. So, in an effort to keep with the black and white idea, I just layered the jacket over a satin top. It works. I'm still going to hunt for the perfect top to wear with these pants, but for now, this look will do. It's far from shabby. 

I kept catching myself in the mirror at work and realizing, "Holy crap! These pants are RED." I love them and I am so happy I got them. They definitely bring a bit of fun to a dreary time of year. 

Have you hit the post-holiday sales? What have you hauled in? Leave a comment! 

Rate My Look: Stellar Selling Hair

A little over a month ago, we had a little seminar with the sales staff at Madeleine's and one of the reps from Jenny Packham. We learned all about great selling techniques, specifically geared towards selling bridal gowns. Because let's be honest, we're in the business of selling dress. Yes, it's magical. Yes, it's emotional. Yes, it's all about "the experience" of shopping for the gown for the bride. But at the end of the day, we don't give these dresses away, we have to sell them. Or in my case, I have to sell the accessories.

In case I've never explained it before, on the weekends at my job, I take on a slightly different role from my Alterations Manager duties. I do accessory appointments with brides. It's a blast. When a bride's gown arrives in the store, she makes an appointment to try it on and shop for accessories. After all, you can't exactly pick out accessories for your bridal gown while you're wearing a pair of jeans. Accessorizing a bridal gown is tricky for most brides because it's something they have never done. The learning curve is steep and they rarely have any idea of what will look best. Fortunately, I have an excellent idea of what will look best, so those appointments are really fun for me. I get to be their bridal stylist and help them put together the perfect overall wedding look. Like I said, it's a blast.

Unfortunately for me and the store, many brides use this appointment time to get the overall look figured out, but then purchase little to nothing and tell me at the end of the appointment that they want to "shop around." They go to Etsy. They go to Nordstrom. They try to replicate the look I created on their own. They ultimately want to spend less money Sometimes they succeed, sometimes not. Every now and then you have a bride with a cohort who knows enough about sewing that they think they can replicate the style of the veil on their own. They snap photos, they scrutinize the details, they ask me how to do it.

I'm not trying to write a rant about the rudeness of wasting my time or anything like that. (That's another post for another time.) My point is simply this: after the seminar with the Jenny Packham rep, whose name is Petra, we all started referring to her sales methods as "Petra-fication." And we all resolved to utilize them in our appointments in the future. The first day we decided to do this also happened to be the day of our company holiday party. This is significant (at least to me).

That morning, when I was getting ready for work, I decided to spend a little extra time on my hair and actually put it up in preparation for the party that night. I teased and sprayed and bobby-pinned it into submission. Then I donned a basic black outfit (it being Saturday and all) and went off to work. My logic was simple: If we work till five and we need to be on the road to the party no later than six, there's  a possibility I might not have time to get my hair looking perfect for the party. I was just being practical.

As the day went on, and I incorporated the "Petra-isms" into my appointments, I found myself selling like a pro! Every bride bought every accessory that I put on her! It was like magic! I couldn't believe it! It was amazing and incredibly fun, to boot. The next week, I tried it again. I was only slightly less successful, and so I started to try to think about what I had done differently. And then it hit me: my hair.  My hair was normal for the next couple of Saturdays. And despite using as many "Petra-isms" as I could, I just wasn't selling quite as much.

So, this past Saturday, I did my hair again. I teased and hair-sprayed and bobby-pinned it to within an inch of its life. Then I donned another basic black outfit and went to work. I combined the "Petra-isms" with my amazing hair and guess what happened? I once again found myself selling like a pro! It worked! So, if you take nothing else away from this very long post, remember this: appearance matters.  (At least in my experience.)

I know you're probably dying to see this stellar selling hair, right? Well, wait no longer, friends. Here's the entire look:

This dress is so cool- it's a high-low hem and when I strut around the store, it flows behind me like a dream. The asymmetrical top is super chic, too. 

It's really the back of the hair that's so great: 

The feather and rhinestone fascinator really completes the updo and dresses it up like New Year's Eve. 

The pictures hardly do the look justice, but leave a comment anyway and tell me what you think. Would you trust me- and more importantly, my hair- to put your bridal look together? Or do you think I'm just getting better at sales?

And just in case you were wondering, NO, I am not wearing a Bumpit.