November 12, 2012: Any Given Monday

We've been over this before... Mondays are suit days and while this was last two Mondays ago it wasn't any different. There was orientation and other business to be had and any this suit was a no brainer. I have been mixing and matching the things in my closet for three years now which leads to some creative and fashion forward interesting combinations but, sometimes a suit is best. I have been conflicted about defaulting back to suits as an everyday wardrobe choice but, as I establish myself in the office it feels more comfortable and easy. The challenge is keeping it fashion forward. How do you keep your suits interesting but, still work appropriate?

• Top: purple long sleeved t-shirt, VanHeusen (same shirt different color here, here, here, here, and here); brown tweed blazer with floral details, George via The Unique Thrift Shop 
• Bottom: brown tweed skirt with floral details, George via The Unique Thrift Shop
• Shoes & Accessories: brown/black snake embossed ballet flats, Xhiliration for Target; silver circle necklace, Charming Charlie/gift from Cousin V; silver bead earrings, Tiffany & Co.; Neverfull GM, Louis Vuitton/gift from BF

Items from this outfit are previously seen and remixed here, here, here, and here.

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November 7, 2012: Corporate Professional

As you might have guessed Wednesday was career day in my office. The annual biannual quarterly event has been such a success in the past the powers that be are interested in keeping them coming. I'm excited to be coordinating the whole day and that starts with recruitment and scheduling the right people my outfit! If you think my attire would compliment my professional manicure then you are correct. I can't expected everyone to show up interview ready and not be dressed in a complimentary manner. This is actually one of the suits I wore when I was interviewing for this new job. What do you think?

The one thing that I regretted about my outfit choice was the shoes. Sure, awesome metallic embellished flats are great for running around the office like a crazy person while looking stylish but, they do nothing to keep your feet warm. As I left work it was beginning to precipitate and by the time the train pulled into my station there was a nice layer of slippery snow on the ground. I has to trudge through it slowly and carefully to make sure I didn't slip and fall or make my still finicky ankle worse. My feet were freezing by the time I walked through my door! I could go for summer again please, thanks...

• Top: yellow ruffle collar shirt, LOFT; navy pinstripe blazer, Tahari via Loehmanns
• Bottom: navy pinstripe pants, Tahari via Loehmanns
• Shoes & Accessories: silver hardware embellished flats, Preview via Nordstrom Rack; silver bead earrings, Tiffany & Co.; Neverfull GM, Louis Vuitton/gift from BF

Items from this outfit are previously seen here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. 

Don't forget to enter to win a $100 gift certificate from Shopbop!

August 13, 2012: Suiting Up

Over the weekend I had a conversation with my father about work. He is closing in on retirement but, still goes to work everyday and does what he needs to do to the best of his ability everyday. I am nowhere near retirement and sometimes I have trouble motivating and taking care of business in the most efficient way. There should be no reason for that, it's time to get down to business. There really is something about a suit/blazer that gets me into a hyper professional mind set hence Monday/Suit Day continues!

Monday was also the day where an unusually large number of new employees started so I needed to set a good example. Especially because they were all recent college graduates. While I don't wasn't to knock my slightly younger peers I am comfortable saying that many of them do not always know how to dress in a professional setting. This is not an assumption, it is something I have witnessed first hand. 

• Top: red bella swan blouson, eShakti.com; beige blazer, Tahari via Loehmanns 
• Bottom:  beige skirt with side pleat details, Tahari via Loehmanns
• Shoes & Accessories: silver cutout flats, Corso Como via DSW; silver bead earrings, Tiffany & Co.; Neverfull GM, Louis Vuitton/gift from BF  

Items from this outfit are previously seen and remixed here, here, here, and here.

June 11, 2012: Monday IS Suit Day!

Ok, Maybe two weeks in a row is not a solid basis from which to draw an infallible conclusion but, I'm going to anyway... Suits are just so easy on Monday morning especially when I need to lead portions of a new employee orientation. They are (almost) as easy as dresses but, the connote an even higher sense of professionalism that dresses don't always. 

On another note, I was so excited to make it outside to take this picture! Picture taking Sundays seem like a distant memory but, with daylight hanging around later it's an (often overlooked) option to take a picture each day before heading home. Do I sense a new plan forming? Maybe... 

• Top: ruffle embellished t-shirt, Merona for Target; beige blazer, Tahari via Loehmanns 
• Bottom: beige skirt with side pleat details, Tahari via Loehmanns
• Shoes & Accessories:  gray pumps, Steve Madden; pearl earrings, gift from Mom/Macys;  Neverfull GM, Louis Vuitton/gift from BF

Items from this outfit are previously seen and remixed here, here, here, here, and here.

June 4, 2012: Monday = Suit Day?

I feel like my new Monday standard is the suit. It's not necessarily a bad thing but, it almost feels like I'm settling on it. It's hard enough to motivate out the door in the morning let alone put together a cute outfit. Enter, the reliable suit... I can roll out of bed pick one out of my closet pair it with a rando shirt and voilà, a work outfit! On some level I feel like that it's a cop out to defer to such a simple ensemble but, maybe I'm just being sensitive to the entire wardrobe situation. What do you think: cop out, work appropriate, or both?

• Top: red short sleeve embellished t-shirt, New York & Company (same shirt different color here, here, here); gray pinstripe blazer, Kasper via Macy's
• Bottom: gray pinstripe pants. Kasper via Macy's
• Shoes & Accessories: silver hardware embellished flats, Preview via Nordstrom Rack; silver bead earrings, Tiffany & Co.; silver watch, Fossil; Neverfull GM, Louis Vuitton/gift from BF 

 

Items from this outfit are previously seen and remixed here, here, and here.

Don't forget to enter the giveaway for a $100 Shopbop giftcard!

Don't forget to enter the giveaway for a free dress from eShakti.com!!

Purchases and Acquisitions: April 2012

­­­­This month I went shopping with a vengeance! Also, my Mom got me some stuff but, I digress... I had a goal in mind (suits) but, tragedy stuck and in the short span of two days I was down one pair of skinny jeans and one pair of skinny pants. While neither of those items are work necessities they are some of the things I wear most on the weekends. The universe was telling me to go shopping.

I went shopping for replacement jeans with one of my close friends (who stuck with me the whole time, love ya!) the weekend after tragedy struck twice. While I wasn’t 100% on board with the idea of going shopping I knew I needed to replace my broken pants. We went to a ton of stores, trying on lots of different types/brands of jeans. Naturally, the ones that I was most comfortable in were at the last store that we went to, Forever 21. I know, I know… it isn’t where I would have thought either but, I’m glad I checked it out because I’m happy with what I got in the end. They had a great pair of dark wash skinny jeans for only $13.50! I bought two with a Visa gift card I had been holding on to. I also hit the GAP and bought another pair of pants to replace my ripped ones. Ouch, 'nuff said.

Next weekend the next stop on my shopping extravaganza was the Unique Thrift Store near my house. While I had every intention of going there to pick out more suits it ended up being a total bust on that front. I did, however, end up finding two lovely vintage dresses that fit perfectly for $4.99 each! I had no doubts or reservations in my mind as I headed to the register to check out, the shopping bug had caught me! I tried to pay for the total with some Unique Thrift Store gift cards that I had received for placing in their costume contest this past October but, they didn’t work… thanks? Fortunately I had another Visa gift card that I have been holding on to and there were no issues with that.

Then I took a short trip down the block to my local Loehmanns to check out their suit selection. I have had great success finding suits there in the past so, it was a  no brainer! After sifting through the racks of suits I found a Tahari suit that really worked for me (high stance, shorter jacket, etc.). I had a coupon so the $99.99 price tag (down from $280.00 MSRP) was whittled down a little more to $79.99 total. WIN? Either way my Mom took pity on my situation and helped me out with that one, thanks Mom!

Unfortunately, the jeans that I bought at Forever 21 ended up being too big even after I washed them. They were a little loose at the store but, I figured one go around in the washing machine and they would be perfect. Wrong, they were still falling off. So I had to go exchange/return them for a different pair. Thankfully, I ended up finding something that worked even better: jeans with an elastic waistband. Yes, they are a hop, skip, and jump away from being pajama jeans. Yes, I’m ok with that. They fit well and are super comfortable! Even better they were only $11.50!! So, I exchanged one pair of the larger jeans for two pairs of the smaller ones. In the same trip I also returned the GAP pants since I was able to patch up my broken pair, more on that later.

Since I had a coupon for Old Navy and some dresses that I had pinned on Pinterest in my mind I decided to stop by and see if I could find them. I used to shop for EVERYTHING at Old Navy but, my tastes (and their quality) have shifted so, I normally don’t give them alot of thought. They didn’t have what I wanted but, I did find a different dress that I liked on sale. When it fit I decided to go for it since the coupon and a gift card made it an easy purchase.

While at the mall I also decided to try Macy’s for a suit since they were having one of their sales and I had yet another coupon. I ended up finding another suit with a fantastic pattern that I’m sure you will be seeing soon! Don’t get too excited it’s still very work appropriate but, I digress… I had some gift cards and merchandise credits on top of the coupon so with all of the discounts combined the $69.99 suit (down from $260.00) ended up coming out to $10.27 which I paid for with the balance on one of my Visa gift cards.

Shopping Overview:

• Unique Thrift Store
• $9.98  Gift Card - $0
• Loehmanns
• $79.99 after coupon  Mom - $0
• Forever 21
• $36.50  Gift Card - $0
• Gap
• $62.10 Return
• Old Navy
• $9.75 after coupon  Gift Card - $0
• Macy’s
• $10.27 after coupon  Gift Card -$0

In the end I ended up getting a whole bunch of new needed stuff for no money out of my normal income. That was partly due to the fact that I returned the replacement skinny pants from the GAP since I was able to find away to make it work and my gift card hoarding tendencies. I don’t think I will be shopping like this again for a while. That’s not to say that I am done beefing up my suit selection, I just need to replenish my gift card reserves…

           

April 30, 2012: Change Of Heart

So despite various awkward conversations I was still very dedicated to my goal of no purchases unless they were entirely necessary. However, after the most recent conversation I started to doubt my original decision that I didn’t need to stock up on suits for this new job. My mother was kind enough to hit the thrift store for me and pick up a few things. But, after much contemplation and checking in the status of my (paltry) disposable income I decided to bite the bullet and go shopping to get some more suits.

While I will spare you the details of my shopping trip (for now) I will let you know that I did pick up a few really appropriate things for work like, this suit. YAY? While I wasn’t so keen on the pressure I felt to go shopping and purchases more suits this definitely fits the bill for what I would want: cute muted pattern, interesting details, high stance… overall success! What do you think?

• Top: red floral print blouse, Old Navy with a tank top underneath for the modesty; beige blazer, Tahari via Loehmanns
• Bottom: beige skirt with side pleat details, Tahari via Loehmanns
• Shoes & Accessories: gray pumps, Steve Madden; coin pearl earrings, borrowed from Mom then altered by me; Neverfull GM, Louis Vuitton/gift from BF

Items from this outfit are previously seen and remixed here, here, here, here, and here.

April 2, 2012: Keep It Classy...

Have you all heard that there is going to be another Anchorman movie? I was pretty excited but, I digress... This Monday is the emergence of a new professional Iris. As you might remember I have had multiple conversations with my boss about wardrobe. In the end I have come to the conclusion that I need to be nothing less than my most professional me at all times. Besides that fact that we have had these discussions I am hoping to continue/move up in my career at this firm and dressing to impress won’t hurt. Aren’t you supposed to dress for the job you want anyway?

Another motivator for dressing my best was the new hire orientation that I had to facilitate today. Besides the fact that I always want to set a good example this fantastic new professional joining my firm previously worked in a military environment. I took that to meant that she would be professionally dressed to say the nines without a doubt. It would be pretty bad if I decided to show up in super comfy clothes.

• Top: red floral embellished top, Simply Vera Vera Wang via Kohl's;  black pinstripe blazer, Calvin Klein via SYMS 
• Bottom:  black pinstripe a-line skirt, Calvin Klein via SYMS
• Shoes & Accessories: black pumps, Nine West; my abuela's vintage silver hoops; Neverfull GM, Louis Vuitton/gift from BF

Items from this outfit are previously seen and remixed here, here, here,  here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here. and here. 

February 13, 2012: Not Sure How This Happened

I am working with what I have today in an unexpected way! One of the trends that keeps popping up on my radar is peplum. I’ll come right out and say it, I don’t think it works for me at all. My hips don’t lie don’t need any help and in my eyes that is the only things that is accented by a peplum blouse or dress. When I decided to play around with this dress as a top the excess fabric manifested iteself into a faux peplum because of the way it's gathered at the waist. After all, a peplum is is a short flared, gathered, or pleated strip of fabric attached at the waist of a woman's jacket, dress, or blouse that pretty much sums up what happened here, kind of. 

How do you feel about peplums? What trends are you less than excited about?

• Top: beige, black, and red vintage "Geometry is Sexy" dress, Kathy via Re/Dress NYC; black pinstripe blazer, Calvin Klein via SYMS
• Bottom: black pinstripe a-line skirt, Calvin Klein via SYMS
• Shoes & Accessories: black pumps, Nine West; silver bead earrings, Tiffany & Co.; Neverfull GM, Louis Vuitton/gift from BF

Items from this outfit are previously seen and remixed here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Don't forget to enter the giveaway for a Shopbop giftcard!! 

February 8, 2012: Date Night, The Redux

I am going out tonight and I am exited because it's date night! Not with BF but, with my GF. We are headed downtown to a chic trendy restaurant for the seemingly endless Restaurant Week! I am eager to meet up with her and catch up on things it's been a while...

Because I am going to be meeting her downtown after work I figured this outfit should be a little easier to travel in. Stomping the pavement in New York City is a million times more comfy in flats (in leiu of a weird commuter shoes) and a great pair of pants. Also, there had been skirts this week so far and sometimes a girl just wants to wear pants...

On another note, now that I have realized that I can roll up the sleeves on most of my blazers I just can't stop! It instantly make an outfit more comfy when you roll up the sleeves on a stiff jacket. I feel like I have been missing out this whole time while holding off because I didn't have the perfect oversized boyfriend blazer and I refused to pick one up because it was too trendy/impermanent. I could have been rollin' with the blazers I had in my closet! Also 2 + 2 = 4 still, revelations!

• Top: pink ruffle embellished t-shirt, Merona for Target; gray pinstripe blazer, Calvin Klein (part of this suit)
• Bottom: black true straight pants, GAP
• Shoes & Accessories: silver hardware embellished shoes, Preview via Nordstrom Rack;  silver bead earrings, Tiffany & Co.; Neverfull GM, Louis Vuitton/gift from BF

Items from this outfit can be previously seen and remixed here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Don't forget to enter the giveaway for a Shopbop giftcard!!

December 8, 2011: Dinner at Tiffany's

Thursday was definitely my favorite day last week! While the normal hum drum (work, commuting, etc) of my day to day still carried on after hours I went to an amazing event organized by a friend of mine at the Tiffany & Co. flagship store after (free) dinner at the Harvard Club. It was delish and the presentation that we heard was fantastic!

Tiffany & Co. has played a huge role in America's history! It's so much more that the little blue box. Did you know that they make the NFL Heismann trophy or that they designed the seal of the United States that is on the one dollar bill? They have created jewelry for presidents as far back as Abraham Lincoln! I also learned that they have a whole crew of jewelers working on the top floor of the Fifth Avenue store and everything they make is created in NY/NJ, no outsourcing. 

Security Pass 

What was even more amazing about the experience was that the entire store was empty. I can say that I have not been to every floor of the massive store on 5th Avenue because it is always so crowded but, without throngs of tourists it was easy to browse and see what they had to offer. Have you ever been to the Tiffany's store on Fifth Avenue? What did you think of it? While browsing I was even able to try on some really fantastic jewelry as I sipped wine and chatted with my friends. By the way, having something that costs as much as a condo or small house on your finger is very surreal.

Bubbly

Lovely Ladies

Also, I wore clothes... 

• Top: teal embellished t-shirt, New York & Company; gray cardigan, New York & Company via Mom
• Bottom: black pinstripe skirt, Calvin Klein via SYMS (part of this suit)
• Shoes & Accessories:  black ballet flats, Xhiliration via Target; black tights, Hanes Silk Reflections courtesy of Hanes via Robert Verdi's Luxe Lab; blue goldstone earrings, mall kiosk in California; dusty mauve butterfly tote, GAP

Don't forget to enter the $100 Shopbop Gift Card Giveaway!


Don't forget to enter to win the Spanish Steps dress from Shabby Apple!

February 22. 2011: Losing My Touch?

In my extreme sense of tired after this long weekend I decided to pick an outfit that was safe easy and wear a suit yesterday. I'll be honest I almost feel like I'm copping out. Don't get me wrong, it's a lovely suit that has some really beautiful floral details (note to self take close up pictures next time) but, it's just... a suit. There were no colorful tights or crazy shoes to spice it up. The closest I got was a little pop of color in the shirt which worked nicely with the little flecks of color in the tweed (note to self seriously take close up pictures next time) but, that isn't much. I can't help but, feel that this new office culture is sucking the creativity out of me in terms of getting dressed. Or maybe it's just that I don't want people to think I'm crazy or color blind right off the bat. What do you do to spice it up when you feel like you're in a wardrobe funk?

• Top: blue short sleeved sweater, Ann Taylor Loft (same shirt different color here and here); brown tweed jacket with floral details, George via Unique Thrift Store
• Bottom: brown tweed skirt with floral details, George via Unique Thrift Store
• Shoes & Accessories: gray pumps, Steve Madden; pearl earrings, birthday gift from Mom a few years ago; beige pantyhose, No Nonsense via Stop and Shop; yellow alley bag

Items from this outfit are previously seen and remixed  here and here:

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