Commentary

 Whenever I wear these blue shoes from Boden they get compliments.  But today it went into overdrive.  People commented on the street, in the office, at the gym . . . It was all very flattering.  I really wore them because it was a cold day but I refused to wear tights or pants and wanted to stay warm.  Also it was a Monday so I needed something on my feet so I could get out the door and to work.

Skirt and Shoes - Boden T-Shirt - J. Crew

Days of Blue Shoes

 Totally without planning it I wore two of my blue shoes on back to back work days.  I am actually housesitting for a few weeks, so I grabbed a bunch of my clothes and headed out.  Then when I laid out all of my things I realized I had grabbed three pairs of blue shoes, two heels and my teal flats.

 This outfit was planned so I could go to work and then head out and meet friends.  Although I love my heels, I hate having my feet hurt when I am out having fun with friends.

 Shoes - L.L. Bean Jeans and Cardigan - The Gap Shirt - BR Belt - borrowed from my mother

 I was excited to pair my blue booties with this dress.  I like how the pop of color in the shoes plays nicely off the pattern in the dress.  Both are pretty bold pieces, but I liked how they played off each other.

 Dress - Hand Me Down H&M  Shoes - Boden Splurges!

My Best Friend's Wedding - Beach House Bridal Shower

 This weekend I helped to host a bridal shower for my brothers fiancé with her sister, the other bridesmaid.  It was a total blast, and as you can see, even the weather cooperated!  We had it at a beach house on the cliffs above the beach and I got to break out a dress that I bought because it was on sale and loved but hadn't yet had a chance to wear.  I ordered this dress from Boden when it went on sale for $44 and lucky for me, I had a gift card from Miss P, so it was a steal! I paired it with some hand me down sandals from my mother and my gifted Mosely tribes sunglasses from my brother.  It was such and easy look that was perfect for a beach shower!

 It was actually my lovely future sister in law who took these pictures for me!

Dress -  Boden Sandals - Naot hand me downs  Sunnies - Mosely Tribes  Bracelet - Made by Me

Cut Off

I love how the colors of my shoes and sweater are picked up in my scarf.  Now that it is spring it seemed like a perfect time to break out my tequila scarf.  Underneath all this color is the most basic of office outfits: black skirt and white top.  I used these as the basis to wear some of my more colorful pieces!

top and skirt - BR  Sweater - The Gap Shoes - Boden Scarf - Gifted Bevshots

Two days in a  row I wore blue shoes and cut off my own head with my camera placement.  Both the shoes and the headlessness are complete coincidental.  The weather continues to be spring like so I have been letting my legs and toes out to enjoy it.

To make the shoes and rolled up capri's more office appropriate I paired them with some of my more conservative tops.  A friend in the office complimented me on how I matched today.  And I'm not sure I think it was such a good thing.  Yes I stayed in the same color palate, but everything I had on had a lot going on: the pattern on the shirt, the flowers on the sweater, the rolled pans and the party shoes!  There is a not so fine line between having fun with your office wear and looking like you are going clubbing!

Pants - The Gap Shirt - BR  Sweater - Boden Shoes - Seychelles

Starting to Look like Spring

 It finally started to feel like spring this weekend.  And I took full advantage of it by breaking out my tank tops and wedges.  I actually left the house on Saturday morning in a cardigan but returned home after running some errands to put on a lighter top.  I really like how my two orange tanks layers over each other.  The warm weather was such a treat!

 Crochet Tank - BR via Maribel  Polka Dot Tank - The Gap Belt - J. Crew  Jeans - Page Wedges - Crocs

 Today I cast off my tights and embraced spring by going bare legged.  It felt so nice not to  have to worry about tights today.  I decided to embellish my basic blue Boden dress with a borrowed scarf from my mother.  I didn't want to go overboard as I love the shape of this dress and how flattering it is.  I finished off my outfit with my basic brown BR pumps.  It was so nice not to have to worry about layering for warmth today!

 Dress - Boden Scarf - Borrowed Shoes - BR

Blue Suede Shoes

 I wanted these booties from Boden since I saw them last fall even though in general I am anti-booties.  Something about the colors and the shape of these made me want want want them (Boden also styled them with striped socks which I loved).  I finally caved and bought them about two weeks ago and last Friday they arrived.  They were still a splurge at $113, but when they still had them in my size I decided to go for it.

 I tried to wear them with a pretty toned down outfit because they are out there in terms of work footwear, but I still wanted to be me.  So I paired them with green tights, a black pencil skirt, and my dark purple sweater.  So there was a lot of color going on, but it was all pretty muted.

Shoes - Boden  Tights - Anthro Skirt - BR Sweater - Gap (The only one missing from my outfit today is J. Crew to make this a classic HB combo)

Days of Gray and Blue

These light blue tights were hard to match to my clothes.  The fact that they and the skirt matched so nicely was a total coincidence!  I bought them at American Apparel a couple of months ago when I was traveling and wanted gray tights, I figured the light blue would be close enough.

I got complimented on my skirt and tights combination before I even got to work yesterday!  I love the random compliments, they make me feel so good.
Skirt - Boden Shirt - J. Crew Tights - American Apparel  Shoes - Banana Republic

I realized half way through today that not only had I worn blue for the last two days, but I had also chosen to wear a gray t-shirt both days as well tucked into a skirt.  This week has been pretty hectic so both days I threw together these outfits.  

I love this velvet mini with the button details on the front, but I would NEVER wear it with anything but opaque tights and flats to work because of its short length!

Shirt and Cardigan - The Gap  Skirt and Tights - BR  Shoes - J. Crew (Yes these are basically all my go to work clothes providers in one outfit!)

Muted

Today I ended up in all muted colors.  But I really like how the dark wine of the top and the teal of the tights looked together.  I also really like how the tights looked with the shoes.  The shoes were complimented before I even got to work in the morning.  I would be lying if I didn't say I love when strangers notice my shoes!  Its means they are doing a good job.  However, these shoes may be pretty but after a looooong day at the office my toes were killing me!

Skirt: Boden, $40 Sweater: The Gap, $20  Tights: Spain years ago  Shoes: BR, gifted

Crocheted

Today I decided to try to mix my natural HB style with my HB office style.  I love this orange shirt for its crocheted details that give it a vintage feel.  The top itself is quite voluminous and I am always trying to figure out what to do with all that volume.  Today the solution was to tuck it into a skirt!  I really liked the look, but this top is actually quite low cut when you take into account the crocheted part, so I was actually showing more decolletage at the office then I usually would.  I hope nobody noticed!

Sadly I didn't take a picture of my coat today.  I say this because if I had, I would have hit basically all of the HB staple stores: BR, The Gap, Maribel and Anthro.  Sorry J. Crew, you just haven't reached that level yet!

Shirt: BR via Maribel, $11 Cardigan: Boden, $23  Skirt: The Gap when I was 16  Tights: BR, $5 on sale  Shoes: Stuart Weitzman, gifted from my coolest A

Shorts

 Although I know that I have to stop going to Anthropologie or I will have no money left and tons of clothes that I have no occasion to wear, I couldn't pass up these winter shorts!  I have been wanting a pair of shorts to wear in the winter time for ages.  Lucky for me, I live in California and this is actually a viable look (sorry frozen east coast).  A good friend is in town for the NFC Championship game so we went out for low key drinks last night and I couldn't resist breaking out my new babies!  I paired them with my Cashmere sweatshirt, black tights and my high T-Straps!  I also threw on the bracelets that my Coolest A gave me because I love them and wanted her to see that I really do wear them!  Overall this was a fun low key look that I can't wait to wear again!

Shorts: Anthropologie, $30 Sweater: J. Crew via Maribel, $45  Tights: BR, $5 (usually $15)  Shoes: Boden, $95  Bracelets: Gifted from my coolest A

Basics

 Today was supposed to be about the zig-zag patterned tights I got for Christmaskah from my marm.  But when I got them on my legs this morning they were a far subtler pattern then I had anticipated.  Up close you can tell they are patterned, but from far away they simply look like opaque black tights.  My outfit ended up being pretty low key today, which was okay.  I had lots of fun little things going on: the subtle zig-zag, the gifted bracelets from my coolest A, the T-strap shoes!  It was a tame outfit for me, but every once in a while I figure I just look like everybody else in the office.  Sometimes its okay to embrace the basics.

 Sweater: BR, $25 Skirt: The Gap from when I was 16  Tights: Gifted Anne Kline Shoes: Boden, $95 Bracelets: Gifted from my Coolest A

Check out my leggy legs in all their ziggyzaggyness!

Seeds

I had this outfit in my mind the whole long weekend.  And although its okay, in my mind it was better.  My waist looked smaller, my dress looked fuller.  Oh well, you win some, you lose some.  I did love the necklace that I wore with this dress.  It was my grandmothers, and it is made of different seeds and nuts.  The ironic thing is I used to have a seed necklace and I passed it along to Miss P because I never really wore it!  I guess I was meant to have a necklace made from seeds.  It made today's outfit much better!

Sweater and Tights: The Gap  Dress: Boden Belt: Borrowed Shoes: Leifdottir via Anthro  Necklace: Gifted

Safari

 Today I emerged from my vegetable-like state long enough to get dressed and run errands.  One of these errands was swinging by a friends house.  What was supposed to be a brief hand off of some sunglasses that I had inadvertently taken and endangered turned into a photo shoot!

 Lucky for me, my friend Maggie of Margaretedith takes excellent photos and I think actually improved the calibur of the this outfit.  I put this outfit together based on its level of comfort.  I love my zebra dress for its fantastic pattern and adorable yet comfy shape.  I threw on my cashmere cardigan over it because it is both SO soft and also not to crazy a color with the bold print of this dress.  Leggings were a must since its January!

 My teal flats and the green scarf were added to add in some color to my otherwise neutral outfit.

 The best part of Maggie taking these pictures is as a blogger herself she took these awesome detail shots which I can't usually do very well with my tripod system.

 Dress: Boden, $35  Cardigan: The Gap, $30  Legging: BR, $5 on sale  Shoes: L.L. Bean, $35  Scarf: Gifted from Mrs. V via Italy

Special Thanks to Maggie for taking these awesome pictures.  My outfit wouldn't have had the great safari vibe without you!