Friday, September 14, 2012

fashion fridays: wear to work edition

Welcome to my first (only?) edition of Fashion Fridays, which will be a wear-to-work focused post.  Lots of blogs catch up on the latest fashion trends and share their styles on Fridays, and since I've been in a bit of a blog-topic-slump, I thought I would do the same.  If this makes you groan, don't worry - it won't be a regular feature.  I'm not the most fashionable person in the planet, and there is simply no way I could come up with new finds every single week.  I'm lucky if I find one new thing per season that I like.  My fashion sense is 40% what my sister-in-law tells me (she works in the biz!), 40% what I see at Ross/Marshall's (I have a tight budget!), and 30% what I see on Pintrest.  Read: no creativity.

That being said, I've started to feel the need to step up my professional dress.  The first few years of graduate school, I spent most of my time in an office that was fairly casual or in class, where jeans/t-shirts were totally appropriate.  Now, I'm frequently teaching undergraduates (and trying to convince them that I'm not 18 years old) and treating cancer patients, so I have been wanting to dress up a bit more, but I'm kind of tired of my clothes (which consist of approximately 17 dresses, 3 skirts, and 3 work appropriate shirts).  My new favorite look?  The pencil skirt and a tucked in shirt!
 
(Both from NY & Company
...Except I don't particularly think I'd look good in either of those shirts, but, you get the idea.  Yes... I know this is not earth-shattering, brand-new fashion... but it's not something I normally wear, so it's new to me!  So last weekend I attempted a shopping trip.  Let me tell you, shopping is hard work!  I think I learned my lesson - I need to go with a buddy.  Shopping on my own just leads to despair: nothing comes in my size, or things don't fit right, or I catastrophize over spending too much money on clothing.  Despite these hurdles, I managed to buy TWO skirts and TWO tops last weekend.

 
The one on the left is from New York & Company; the one on the right is from Macy's.  I am not 100% sold on the bandage look of the skirt on the right, but I realllly wanted a khaki colored skirt and was having a lot of trouble finding one!
 
It took me a ridiculously long time to find a white blouse that wasn't see-through, but hooray, I found it (at New York and Company).  The shirt on the right is from Target and it's not all that dressy, but I think it still is nice enough for work/clinic.  While I was out, I also was really tempted to buy anything/everything in kelly green / "emerald isle" green.
 
I'm not 100% sure if I look good in this color, but I reallllly like it.  It makes me smile.  Not even sure why.  I also was very tempted by skinny jeans in bright blue and bright red.  Is that still a thing?  Can I wear it even though I'm not 20 years old?  I spend a lot of time with undergrads so sometimes I get confused about what's age appropriate dress.  Anyway, I might have to make a second shopping trip to pick up some of these green items.
So, I'm trying to diversify my wardrobe by having skirts/tops - rather than just dresses.  But don't worry, I still have lots of room in my heart/closet for dresses, even if my wallet can't handle some of my current favorites (AKA I'll watch for them at Ross):
  

 

(all dresses from Macy's; mostly Calvin Klein).
Lastly, I need some cardigans.... because although the weather stays nice 8-9 months per year, every building I go to is heavily air conditioned.  I would love to introduce some bright colored cardigans into my wardrobe, but I decided to get some basics first so I could envision what kind of cardigan might look good.
Polyvore Board with JCrew Cardigans
So, what are your new favorite fashion items?  Any suggestions for me on good places to shops or things you think I would like?

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