Outfit secrets, and blogger inspiration

Notice anything about this outfit?

How about this one?



Did you notice I am wearing trouser jeans? This pair from Gap, to be precise.

I haven't had a pair of trouser jeans since Forth & Towne, and those were more of a wide-leg. I am crazy about the look of these straight legs!

My husband wears jeans regularly to his business casual environment, even though they aren't allowed. His secret is that he wears a jacket and tie, or a very nice shirt and gorgeous tie, so everyone's attention is focused on the upper half of his body, and no one even notices that he is in jeans. It's worked perfectly for eleven years; hasn't been busted yet!

So that's what I did with the two outfits above, and no one noticed. I was only working in the office those days, no travel, so if I did get caught it would only be by the people in my department. Hee!

The second outfit, with the silver-grey tee under the striped blazer, was purely inspired by this fabulous look from Small Fabric of My Life. I wish my top had the same drapiness of hers, but overall it did work; I just have to be careful when I am posing that the stupid little zipper pull isn't sticking out through the top. UGH.



You can't see the poking zipper when the jacket is buttoned, but it was much too hot for that nonsense. :)

These dresses continue to get a workout this summer. They're so easy when it's too hot to wear clothes, but you know, you still have to wear clothes. :)



And now it's time to get ready for work again. Is it vacation soon?

Work with What You Got

Last summer this was one of my favorite dresses. Because it was a heavier knit, I was able to wear it all year long. I always get compliments when I do; it's a flattering shape.

When Target released more versions of this dress in different colors, I snapped it up. Now I have purple...



and a fabulous, unexpected green (a color I have very little of in my closet; really it's green, not teal).



What I love about this dress is that it does exactly the opposite of most of my other clothes: it doesn't hide my shape, it celebrates it.

I am a pear. I have a big rack, a flat dupa, a high waist, small shoulders, wide hips and thighs, a short torso and long legs. This dress highlights every aspect of that in a positive, flattering way. The dolman dropped shoulders puts extra fabric and width at my small shoulder, making my silhouette more balanced. The fabric on the top and bottom gathers right at the wide belt section, making my waist even more pronounced. The skirt's tulip shape emphasizes the widest part of me, my hips and thighs, making them part of the whole look all the way down instead of an extra body bit marring the sleekness of the silhouette. And the length stops right at the top of my knee, showing off all of my curvy calves (my best body part, imo).

I feel sexy, confident and kickass in this dress.

Is it any wonder I bought three of them? (Man, it comes in yellow. YELLOW!! If only it was in my size, I might have gotten that instead of the purple. Maybe.) Best $27.99 per dress I ever spent. They're only sold online, so if you buy from Target always go through eBates. Target rarely has coupon sales like other clothing stores, but at least with eBates I will get cash back.

Sometimes I forget that even though I am overweight, I don't always have to hide and misdirect attention away from my unflattering bits. Sometimes I can just say, "Yeah, this is me, and I rock."

Do you have any clothes that make you feel that way? What about them works for you?

Hello Mudder

After 10 years, they are finally, FINALLY repaving the access road and parking lots of my condo complex. Before I start complaining, I will admit they're doing a thorough job, adding in curbs, redoing our walkways, pulling up years of crappy asphalt and starting literally from the dirt up.

That said, it is highly inconvenient, mostly because every exit in and out of my house is a muddy mess. It has rained several times since the project began, and there are still puddles everywhere. My husband and I now have car shoes that we have to wear to walk through the dirt and mud to our cars parked on the other side of the complex; we carry our real shoes in our hands or bags to switch out for work. The paving is expected to take two-and-a-half weeks but we're are in the middle of week 2 now and it doesn't look anywhere near completion.

And I am really kind of over walking through mud every morning.

ANYWAY. At least this will be gone.



The workers are usually here early so I can't sneak out and get many outfit pictures, but I've gotten a few. Hubby took this one after work last Monday; those red-bow leopard print wedges from Payless are still going strong, and I still get lots of compliments at work about them.



I did quite a bit of spring shopping, which definitely perked my spirits. The best purchase so far is this navy striped knit blazer from Lands End; I was actually at Sears returning some other items I bought online when I spotted it. It's so cute and versatile, I've already worn it 3 or 4 times in the last 3 weeks. It has great detailing, too; the cuffs and collar are a light denim chambray. This was one of the first outfits, with a new purple tunic blouse from Old Navy, my trusty Gap skinnies, and new Me Too flats in tan and black. This might be one of my favorite outfits in a while...



Last Saturday was grocery shopping and cooking, and it just felt like a day for my grey Converse kicks. I added this new Old Navy red striped henley and a new olive green cotton jacket from Kohls wih my faded Old Navy Dreamer jeans. Comfy and casual!




The last bit of news before I log off and get ready for work is that we have resisted ordering pizza for TWO weeks now!! I was feeling the weakest last night so I had picked up some sirloin tips for fajitas, but Hubby had a late lunch so I settled for a chicken salad wrap instead.

Even better news is that it is starting to pay off at the scale; I had been hovering at a 3-pound loss since the beginning of the Bottom Line Challenge, but the numbers are finally moving down beyond that. 5 pounds as of this morning. Woohoo!

10 Thoughts in my Head

1. The painter is coming on Monday. THE PAINTER IS COMING ON MONDAY!!!!

Yes, I am a little excited. Not just for the living room, but he is painting the kitchen too. I've wanted to fix the color of the kitchen for the entire 10 years we have lived here. Plus, since I have to prepare the room for him, taking down wall hangings and pulling everything away from the wall, it seems like the perfect time to do a cabinet re-organization. Maybe we'll even throw away the fax machine! Especially since we got rid of our landline several years ago... ;-D

2. OMG, I had such a good laugh at Phillip when we read some of your comments from Wednesday. I have never seen him blush before! Kudos, you guys. You flapped the unflappable guy. Ha!

3. I noted on Facebook yesterday that I am so sick of all of my clothes I want to set my closet on fire. That's why I stopped taking pictures; I only fit in a small portion of my closet, so I keep re-wearing the same 10 tops and 5 sweaters over and over. This is a typical feeling when I get dressed.



Okay, that outfit was pretty good. But I can't wear it every day. Worse, my favorite part of the outfit, the brown peacock pendant, broke off the chain later that morning. I tried repairing it but it just kept falling off. It's a cheap one from Charming Charlie's so it's pretty much done, but dammit, I liked it.



4. Here's another outfit from last week or so. I don't think I posted it. It was...typical of what I've been wearing lately.



5. To counteract my cranky mood toward my closet, I did finally do some shopping. It's actually been a while since I went on a spree. Packages from Lands End, Gap/Old Navy, and Coldwater Creek (I know! I'm gonna try a few things) are on their way. Maybe I'll do a photo shoot while I try them on.

6. My stylist abruptly left my salon, so I am overdue for a cut and now I need to break in a new stylist. My third one in 2 years? I might be the black widow of Mario Tricoci.

7. Anne asked where we got our super-awesome new rug; the decorator from Lazy-Boy found it for us, so we got it through them. I cannot recommend their FREE decorating service more highly; Casey is the one who found all the pieces that pulled the room together, and she recommended the paint colors that we will be using. I love color, but I cannot pick the right ones for paint. If you are in need of a new chair or couch and would like some help incorporating that into your home, go to a Lazy-Boy store and use their decorating service. Again, it's FREE. If you go to the store on Willow and Patriot, ask for Casey. She was great!

8. The challenge is...not going well. I did a couple of days of exercise last week, but this one has been a wash. I will keep trying.

9. Even though I will be spending most of it tearing apart my kitchen, I am really, really glad it is the weekend. 

10. I feel like dyeing eggs for Easter. First time I've even had the inclination since I was a kid. I won't, but it's tempting!

What about you guys? Any Easter traditions you want to share?

Don't Poke The Bear

I cannot believe it is only March 20. First, it feels like a hundred years have passed since my birthday...which was a week ago. Second, it is more gloriously warm and sunny than it is in June. I am in a horrible mood, but I can't deny how great it is outside.

I'm trying to wear more spring in my outfits without really buying anything new or trendy (you will never catch me in floral ankle pants, in case you were wondering). Since it is so legitimately nice out, all of my sandals from last year are already out and in rotation. So glad I got a good set of them that are still in excellent shape. The orange, the turquoise, the olive -- all are being happily worn. The olive peeptoe booties do a good job of lightening up an otherwise dark black-pants outfit. (The melon cardigan and gold jewelry helps too.)



Then on Friday I took the bears out of hibernation. Shaved 'em and everything!



Wearing nude microfishnet stockings, which are almost the same as wearing no hose at all. A cute dress and a long-lost purple cardigan, some embellished flats and I was good to go!

+++++++

In other news, my co-workers talked me into doing a team challenge to lose weight and exercise more. We weigh in and get measured tomorrow, then it starts for 8 weeks next Monday. The challenge is about scoring points, depending on how much exercise you do and how much weight and body fat you lose over the time period. I was all for it -- I could use a good structured kick in the pants -- but then today when we were going over the rules in detail, I got really panicked and now I am dreading it.

I didn't catch before today that you have to do a minimum of 1440 minutes of exercise -- which is 25 minutes a day, seven days a week (or 36 minutes, 5 days a week). Do you know how much I do right now? NONE.

I know, I know, deep in my gut I know that I need to move more, and I was looking forward to this challenge to get that going. But I was expecting to have to do a half-hour 3-4 days a week. I was thinking I could ease myself into it, and then maybe by the end of the challenge add more than that. I was NOT expecting to have to start right off the bat at a sprint. I can't even really miss a day, or I will fall behind, and skip more days, and fall more behind. And then let all my teammates down (there are some nice monetary prizes for competing and winning, and several of them really want to win.)

I am just so...pissed off about the whole thing. I feel like I am doomed to fail before I even start, and the pressure is pissing me off even more. Everyone else was talking about how they already work out 2 hours already a week, and so adding another hour wouldn't be so hard. I wanted to cry.

It feels impossible to me. I can't even get up the stairs without my knee giving out. Which I know should be even more incentive to exercise, but it's not. All I can think about is even if I just do 30 minutes of walking every day, how much every inch of my body is going to hurt, and how little rest I will have before having to do it again the next day, and how I am working 10-12 hours a day and am stressed beyond belief and am barely hanging onto eating right by my fingertips. When the hell am I supposed to even find the time for this? I was just thinking that I needed to start going into work earlier because so much is piling up. I never leave before 6pm, and I am in bed early too. But no, now I need to find a free hour somewhere every day. And my f***ing running shoes. Which probably don't fit. (Can you hear me cursing? I am cursing a blue streak!)

This doesn't feel like something that is motivating me to keep improving myself; it feels like just one more expectation that I can't meet that is crushing my lungs so I can't breathe.

I have 6 more days to get myself into the right headspace for it. Great. First I have to get over being so pissed. Why didn't I read it more closely before I agreed? Damn.

Sigh.

So that's what I'll be working on this week. My f***ing negative attitude.

Friday 5 (with extra bonus)

1. It's true what they say about March -- it roars in like a lion.





Fashion shoots have to set up fancy wind machines; I just went outside!

This is a Martin + Osa scarf worn long against a gold cascading cardigan, almost like part of the cardigan. I tucked it together with a belt and wore an ivory tee under it. The pants are my brown NYDJ skinny ponte pants, and the boots are my green Clark suede booties. Since I went with all earth colors, I swapped out my glasses for my plain brown ones.

2. We are celebrating my birthday weekend in Joliet IL and St. Louis. It's official: I am livin' the dream.

Actually, the hotel/casino we are staying at in St. Louis is just stunning. We're looking forward to a quick getaway there.


The lobby of the Lumiere from 3 years ago when we were there last.

3. We had one of our new team members start this week. He knows absolutely nothing about the company, the business or the software, so we've been training him on all of it. It wasn't until Thursday that I saw him finally pick up a pen and take a note on anything we had been saying. He either has a fantastic memory or doesn't give a sh**. At this point I am not sure which it is. This could be a problem.

4. I am so, so glad everyone liked my new series, They Walk Among Us. Isn't Kate amazing? I forgot to mention she's been a friend of mine for a few years now, and on top of keeping herself looking so great and being a runner and a skilled baker, she has two adorable pitbulls (even I can't resist them, and I am not really a dog person) and a killer shoe collection. I think I would really hate her if I didn't like her so much. :)

5. Do not adjust your screens; the camera was crooked when I took these yesterday. LOL!





Target drapeneck top, beloved purple Bobeau cardigan, black Gap bootcut pants, green suede booties. A typical Dress Like A Normal Person outfit.


Bonus: Sadly, the Vince Camuto colorblock dress is being returned; it was completely unflattering on me. It didn't quite fit right and it was a bit short, but more than that, the stripes at the bottom did not work. It wasn't until I had it on that I remembered that a pattern or wide stripe at the bottom of a dress is not a good look for my pear shape; it draws all the attention to the widest part of my legs and drags the whole look down. Even when I was skinnier, it didn't work. See?



Oh, well, lesson learned (again)!

What are you doing this weekend?

Stuff I Wore

So the whole Dress Like a Normal Person challenge has fallen apart; I stopped taking outfit photos and tracking them on my spreadsheet since I got back from Florida. Ooops.

That said, I still have been dressing like a normal person, and I have a small backlog of photos to prove it.

First there are some last shots of Florida. Got a goofy one with my parents the morning I flew back to Chicago.



Doesn't my mom look great? She's been doing WW online, and it's paying off. Go, Mom!!



One of me, with a Florida-appropriate top and Chicago-appropriate shoes. And a butt-ugly fish.



Then we got silly and I bundled up full-on in my Chicago gear. I was sweating by the time they finished taking the pictures! :)



I made Hubby snap this one after work one day so I could show off yet another wearing of this awesome Nordstrom dress. I haven't lost a significant amount of weight yet but I am losing a little bit, and it already shows in this dress. It fits much better now than it did in December. You will just have to trust me since the blurriness doesn't help prove my case. :)




A lazy Saturday. I felt like I was channeling Sheila with her striped graphic top over a long sleeved tee! :) Next time I will wear my short-sleeved black cardigan over this; without some solid blocking the sides, I really look much too wide in this. Oh well, lesson learned!



And this was yesterday. This is a new skirt I got on sale from Nordstrom a few weeks ago in its inaugural wearing. It's a midi-length which is all the rage on YLF. I loved the pattern on the knit, and the fit is just amazing. I actually TUCKED IN my top with it, something I haven't done with any outfit in quite some time.



I liked the addition of the thin patent belt too; it made the outfit under the sweater almost look like a dress instead of a LOFT tee and skirt. I could have gone with a dressier jacket or even a more structured sweater, but I was at my desk all day and I don't like to overdress when I am not going to meetings. It makes people in my office nervous, like I have a secret interview. With all the turnover and change in the team these days, I don't want to do that to people. We're already stressed out enough.

And that's a quick peek at some of the outfits I have been wearing lately! Now I am off to figure out what to wear since we did not do laundry last weekend and I have completely run out of pants and skirts to wear. Uh oh...

Where did this week go?

Is it just me, or somewhere around late Wednesday, Thursday do we enter some kind of sci-fi time tunnel and pop out on Saturday morning, rubbing our eyes and all confused about how we got here?

Ok, just me.

I always have such good intentions about the end of the week, where I think I am going to catch up on appointments I need to make, comment on all the blogs I have saved in my Firefox tabs throughout the week, maybe even make one last recipe on my list (since we're usually tired of my Sunday foods by then). But then chaos hits, usually at work, and on Friday morning I am reading Helen's and Shelley's regular Friday posts and wondering why my plans have been laid waste and I am disheveled and disorganized.

The good news is, at least I looked good on those days!



I ran out of ideas for the clothes from my sister, but I decided it was high time to pull out some winter favorites and enjoy them. I'm not going to a lot of meeting these days, so it's hard for me to be inspired enough to go for the dressier side of business casual when I am at my desk all day. So my pretty dresses and skirts are getting forgotten. Until Thursday, when I wore this.

The dress is my lovely ponte knit from Nordstrom with the lace pattern. It's fitting a little looser these days, HURRAY. I returned to my old foolproof formula for dressing and added a long cardigan; it's not quite a boyfriend style but it covers my dupa nicely. Black Target tights and my mushroom platform stretch boots from Franco Sarto finished the outfit.

It made me happy.

Also making me happy is my new office; I have added lamps all over it instead of using the fluorescent overheads, and while it still needs one more light so it doesn't feel too dark, it's so soothing and quiet it makes the stress flying out of my inbox in my computer more manageable. I am  waiting for the maintenance person to come hang all my boards and art and then I will take photos for everyone.

What made you happy this week?

The last outfit photos of 2011

Wow, what great responses to yesterday's post about weight-loss tips! Cynthia, I love the link to that NYT article you sent. So much to think about!

I also loved that there were some common tips that work pretty much universally: track what you eat, track your progress (somehow), plan your meals, and have a positive attitude.

I would add just one more: enjoy what you eat. It's food, and well-prepared food is supposed to be enjoyable. Food is not just fuel; it affects all of our senses. So don't waste your calories/points/checkboxes on something that doesn't taste good. Conversely, not everything that tastes good is calorie-laden. Fresh oranges, homemade tomato sauce, a simmering bowl of seasoned bean soup, a slice of warm crusty whole-grain bread -- these are healthy, delicious, satisfying choices.

Anyway, onto the outfits!



This was Thursday before Christmas, one of my last days at work. We had our department holiday party after work that day, and this easily made the transition to party wear. Plus, I finally added some color to the dress!


Friday was my last day of work for the year. Hurray!



This transitioned into a travel outfit nicely -- all I did was lose the belt. :) I got the turquoise top from Lane Bryant this summer, but have yet to find the right outfit for it. This was close...maybe it will work better with my black ponte skirt? I definitely liked it with the long-sleeved top under it. A work in progress for 2012!

This one is for my sister: the last Bento of 2011.




Leftover Maui chicken from the Yardhouse, peeled clementines, and pomegranate yogurt with blackberries.  Yummy!

I hope you all have lovely New Year's. We'll be staying in that night, but I have plans for the day and the next day. Plus reflections and resolutions to make. Plan on seeing a few more posts this weekend from me! :)

Happy New Year!

Optical Illusion

I don't have much to say about this one, I just really liked this outfit from Wednesday.



On the days that I've been skipping (see: Tuesday), my outfits have pretty much been like the one above: straight-leg pant, long cardigan, heeled bootie, layering top and either a long pendant necklace or a scarf. It's a look that covers all the parts I want covered, and gives the optical illusion of making me look leaner than I am right now.

In contrast, we have the outfit I wore on Thursday.



I finally managed to wear the button-down under a dress! (Hrm, the collar appears be tucked under more than it should have been.) I've worn this dress before, but most of the pattern was covered up under a cardigan. I am really in love with the pattern -- up close, the top part makes my shoulder line look stronger than it is -- but looking at the whole thing like gives me pause. Maybe that wasn't the right belt?



On the plus side, it had some really nice flow, and I loved the grey tights and black Vince Camuto boots with it. On the minus side, it is not nearly as slimming as Wednesday's grey pants and gold cardigan combo.

I am trying to make my peace with that -- do all outfits need to be optical illusions, or can I live with the fact that sometimes I just look heavy? I don't know the answer. I see other bloggers wearing their curves and shapes with pride, and I am torn between envying them their freedom, and silently re-dressing them so they look slimmer in the camera. ("Oh, that would be perfect if you lost the belt!") It's a vicious circle; as confident as I am about who I am, I feel more comfortable in my clothes when I think I am fooling the world in an optical illusion outfit. Then I feel bad for copping out like that, that I should be proud of myself no matter what size I am. But I'm not, and I don't want to be this size. So I change back into an optical illusion outfit, and I stop beating myself up.

See what I mean by a vicious circle? Oh, the terrible things we do to ourselves with negative self-talk sometimes!

Anyway, I worked another optical illusion to my advantage yesterday. This was dinner:




We ordered salads and pizza, our weekly too-tired-to-cook meal.  (How do I know it's weekly? The delivery guy complimented the way we redecorated the living room. He has been to our house enough times that he noticed the change. Yep!) So I dumped the salad out of the container and put in a nice big bowl, and I put the pizza on a smaller plate. And it worked; I ate the half the amount of pizza I normally would!

It also occurred that I probably need to stop fighting the weekly pizza ritual so much, and find ways to work it into the Foodstyle so it is a regular indulgence instead. Repeating the trick above will be a good start, and replacing the salad with a healthier one will be a second. I don't like their salad anyway. I bet if I mix up a bag of chopped lettuce and veggies the day before, when I have cooking energy, I could dump it into a bowl just like I would if I bought the bag at the store. Hmmm, that would work!

What tricks do you have for including unbreakable habits into your meals? Any optical illusion outfits you like to wear?

In the Zone

I took this dress to Nordstrom to be altered after my last wearing. It's a fabulous dress, but it was a little too loose around the waist and chest. The tailor kept pulling it in, and I kept telling her I wanted to be able to fit a blouse under it. In the end, she won; when I picked it up a couple of weeks ago, it felt a little too tight, and zipping up under my arm when I was in a blouse was a struggle. I was disappointed, but I didn't want to take it back and have her fix it. I was embarrassed to admit I was too fat for how much she had taken it in.

So it hung in my closet for a bit while I stewed. I finally gave up on the idea of a button-down blouse under it. and wore it again with a layering tee instead. For NOW -- we shall see what the Foodstyle brings in the coming weeks; I may get a button-down under there yet!



I really do love the dress. Next time perhaps I will be brave enough to style it with some color; both times so far have been black-and-white variations. Not that there is anything wrong with that!



The bigger news is, as I have mentioned, the Foodstyle. I am In the Zone, in that moment when dieting/eating right is effortless, your motivation is high, and you're not frantically missing all the "good food" (i.e. junk food) you could be eating. It took me a long while to get here, so I am doing my best to keep myself here. I am eating very well, I'm tracking my foods nightly, I'm getting tons and tons of water in naturally -- my body is craving water so I'm refilling my water bottle at work all day long.

People, I am voluntarily and willingly taking my daily multivitamin. Alert the media!

I'm also not depriving myself; if I want a chocolate covered pretzel, I have one. But I only have one, and I don't let it derail the rest of my day. This change in attitude is the one that most represents being in the zone; when I'm not, that chocolate-covered pretzel is my gateway drug to a whole day of candy-snacking and usually culminates in Taco Bell for dinner. When I am in the zone, the pretzel is a savory treat that I enjoy to its fullest, and then I move on. Yesterday for example, our boss bought us pizza for lunch after our annual gift-wrapping party; I ate two squares of cheese pizza instead of the lunch I had brought, but my afternoon snack of two clementines came from my lunch box, and then I polished off the rest of the lunch (squash soup and a turkey sandwich) when I got home for dinner. It's amazing to realize that; to see in vivid clarity how much power my attitude has over what I eat and therefore what I weigh.

My goal during this month is to keep it going during the holidays, to not use the excuse of traveling or stress or parties to change my attitude. There are plenty of ways to still enjoy myself and yet get 5 fruits and veggies in every day.

Speaking of which:
1. I spotted this recipe for mixing grains with pomegranate seeds over on This Mama Cooks. Doesn't it look and sound amazing? I think I need to make that for next week, right alongside the holiday blossom cookies I will be making for the family Christmas party. Gotta keep that balance going!

2. Is it just me, or are clementines especially tasty right now? I prefer big, thick navel oranges, but they're too tough this early in the season. The clementines are right at their peak -- their more delicate skin tears away easily, and they're so flavorful and soft. Winter citrus is just one of my most favorite things to eat in the world; I still resent the winter I was on Medifast and couldn't have any oranges. Oranges never hurt anyone!

What's your favorite fruit to eat right now?

Lesson in Proportion, v2

I bought this dress on sale at Nordstrom a couple of weeks ago, and have tried fruitlessly to figure out how to wear it. That seems crazy, right? It looks like it would be so easy to style, especially for a dress gal like me.

Turns out, it is a deceptively complicated dress. It's sleeveless, but the pattern right at my chest needs a cardigan or jacket to break it up so I don't get uni-boob. It's got great gathered drape at the waist, but I had to get it tailored because it was too big (a smaller size might have been a better choice) so it needs just the right belt to work.

But the trickiest part of the dress is the hem. First, it's a midi, which makes finding the right shoe complicated. Second, the lighter color repeating at the hem is tough for me to wear, as it tends to drag the eye down and widen me out. (I had the same problem with a dress long ago. I never learn my lesson!)

So I struggled with this dress for a while, trying and rejecting different shoe options, attempting black tights with it (BAD idea, grey is as dark as the tights should get with this), skinny belts, jackets, etc. Nothing worked until today.



These cheap-o grey fabric pumps with mary-jane bow haven't been worn in two years, and by about halfway through the day I remembered why; they're not very stable so I ended up putting all my weight on the balls of my feet when I walked. When I finally got home and was able to take them off, I felt like an astronaut returning from the moon, getting used to gravity again and re-learning how to walk on my whole foot again. Hee! But I did like the sheer black hose with the dress; that part I will wear again.

I added a short-sleeve LOFT Outlet cardigan because my other black sweaters are too bulky, and since it was cold that meant I needed a black layering long-sleeved tee underneath that. The belt from my City Chic tunic from Tina made another appearance, and I finished the outfit with my little-worn grey triple-strand pearls.

It was so early and still so dark when I left for work this day (Wednesday, I think), that the camera actually used the flash for the first set of pictures. Ha! I much prefer natural light, even if it is still dark. At least I don't have to worry about the sun in my eye anymore!

A Working Woman's Guide to Leggings

(My favorite outfit of all time.)

My friend J asked me to do a primer about leggings in the workplace. It took me a long time to warm to the idea of leggings at work, and there are only a few circumstances where they are appropriate, but it is possible to wear them in the office, provided you use a little discretion and grace.

Caveat: all of this depends on what kind of office dress code you have. Mine is business casual, and when we are in the office at our desks, it tends to be on the looser end of business casual. When we travel out to the sites or for meetings, we step it up a notch, and for exec-level meetings, it's a suit.

Here are the guideleines I use for leggings:
1. Never ever wear them at a executive-level business meeting.  Just, don't.
2. Cropped leggings are a possibility in the summer, but I have only worn them when I knew I was doing something before or after work that required them. Otherwise they just look goofy.




3.  Long leggings are best, in dark colors. I have black and brown.




4. Wear them with a dress. They say they can be worn with tunics, but not to work. I've tried, and it just didn't look right.



5. Dresses that are too-short otherwise can get a new life when you pair them with leggings, but a regular length dress is best. The idea is to wear them almost like tights before it's cold enough for tights.



6. Wear them with flats, or sandals in the summer. It's the really the best way to wear flats with dresses without looking frumpy.



7. You can wear them tucked into boots, which I have done, but I don't see the point. Why didn't I just wear tights? To me, leggings are seasonal: spring and fall, when the weather is just between tights and bare-legged temperatures. Coincidentally, that's also (ballet) flats weather!




8. My favorite look is monochromatic. I think it's because there's that break at the ankle where skin shows again, so it's not the same as head-to-toe black in tights and boots.



9. Contrast is okay, but tricky. Angie at YLF said once to pull in that darker color up top somewhere in the outfit, and that makes a lot of sense. See? The left has that repeating color, the right doesn't.




10. Don't be afraid of patterns on top, especially if you use rule #9. The left outfit is missing dark on top, the one on the right has better color flow all the way down.



I hope this was helpful to you! Are there any tips that you use for leggings in the office that I may have missed? Do you have an office where they can be worn?

Angie has posted about leggings many times over the last couple of years. If my guidelines are too strict for your office, check out what she has had to say!