T-shirt: Old Navy
skirt: JCPenney
heels: Target
necklace: Jane.com
Guys, can we just talk a second about how awesome T-shirts are? Seriously though. They're comfortable, versatile and basically the first item on every "closet staples" list ever made. I love T-shirts; I have more than I could count. A lot are stuffed in drawers--those are the shapeless participation shirts from races, the concert tees that cost $40 but somehow seem worth it, the annual show tops from my marching band and theatre and Greek life days. (Don't get any ideas; I wasn't in a sorority but I did join a couple co-ed scholastic fraternities in college.) Those tees are great, and I love them, but they're usually more sentimental than stylish and are worn more often as PJs or workout tops than as blog-worthy outfits. (Though one has made a couple of appearances around these parts; also, you're welcome for the linkback to the hilariously bad three-year-old post from the very early days of VM.)
But where the shapeless, unflattering T-shirts tend to flop, a nice fitted tee almost never fails. I have many 10 or 15 such tops in various colors and basic patterns, and of course I'm always snapping up "just one more." I think my favorite way to wear them is dressed up for work. It feels like of like cheating the dress code, while still looking professional. But seriously...comfort AND classy attire? Ultimate win.
The key to dressing up a tee for work, I think, is to make sure the rest of your outfit is ultra-polished. Find bottoms that you can tuck the tee into and that compliment the form-fitting-ness of the tee. If I were wearing this outfit with pants, I'd go for a wider leg or maybe some dress capris. If you can add a coordinating belt, you're good to go. (I didn't have any such belt for this outfit, unfortunately, but I think it works nonetheless.) Of course, heels and pearls or another classy statement necklace always lend a sophisticated air to an otherwise casual piece.
How do you like to style your T-shirts?
dress: c/o eShakti
belt: came with a skirt from JCPenney
flats: Target
Friends and Twitter followers may be familiar with my phrase, "That's a problem for Future Emma." As in, "I really want to watch this movie, but I have so much work to do. Oh well, guess that's a problem for Future Emma."
Needless to say, I am rarely a fan of Past Emma.
So imagine my surprise when I went to edit some photos for today's post and realized that Past Emma had already edited four outfits' worth of photos! Proof that Past Emma is not always a jerk to Future Emma. Now I can go back to editing the last of the Marley photos.
Speaking of, can I ask you guys a huge favor? Kellen entered my favorite shot of Marley in a Parents magazine contest. If she wins, the photo I took of her will be on the cover of the magazine! This is obviously pretty exciting for both of us, so if you have a moment, could you please vote for her here? And if you feel so inclined, you can vote from multiple computers, your smartphone, your tablet and using your Twitter and Facebook account. I think you can also vote once per day via each of these methods. She is/we are currently #28, which is amazing and definitely within the "we could win it" range. Thanks so much if you vote!!
Ah, spring. It's on our doorsteps. I can feel it. Although the temperature rise is almost imperceptible -- it's a two-steps-forward-one-step-back shuffle between 60 degrees and snowing -- it is certainly present. And with that ever so slight rise in temperature, I can feel my blood begin to circulate through my veins again, waking me up from the dormancy of winter. I'm ready for patio happy hours and lazy Saturdays by the pool and rock climbing weekend trip adventures and sunsets at 9 pm and just generally feeling like the couch and Netflix are no longer my best friends.
And, although I really do love the sweater-skinnies-boots combo, it's getting kind of stale. I've worn variations of this outfit at least twice a week this winter, if not more, and I'm ready for skirts and dresses again. For sandals. For short sleeves and short shorts and tank tops!
sweater and skinnies: The Limited via Discount Fashion Warehouse
boots: gifted (Old Navy)
GAH! Spring, y u no here yet??
Seriously though. Highs for the next week and a half, in order: 53, 37, 42, 53, 58, 47, 38, 57, 60. Who am I kidding? I'm in Ohio. This is spring. Excuse me while I go cry until summer.
Guys, spring is almost here. It's so close I can practically taste it. Today, I left the house in just my faux-leather jacket...and it was UNZIPPED! DUN DUN DUN!!! And the season being just a few weeks away (we hope) means one thing: Spring fashion is starting to hit the shelves! Today I'm sharing with you a piece from my favorite online retailer, eShakti. If you've been around the blog for any length of time, you might remember some of the other items I've reviewed or purchased. (Can we take a moment to appreciate how glorious my hair looks in that first link? Not gonna lie, it kind of makes me want to grow it out again...)
Anyway, back to the topic at hand. Spring is (almost) here, eShakti's spring 2014 line is actually here, and it is totally fabulous. And when they offered to have me review another sample, I was all about it. Once again, I chose a dress, but they have a ton of cute tops and skirts as well. I just really, really, really love their dresses. Seriously, it took me like two hours to find all my favorites and narrow them down to just one item. And here it is:
dress: c/o eShakti (like it? buy it here)
heels: Target
I love dresses that have a little neckline embellishment, thus eliminating the need for a necklace. It's such an easy, hassle-free outfit! Other awesome things about this dress (and most of their dresses, actually) are the pockets (woohoo!) and the built-in-bra-strap-wranglers. They might have an official name, but I like mine better. They're these little straps that snap into place inside the shoulder of the dress, and they do just what my name implies: Prevent those pesky straps from peeking out.
As usual, I used my own measurements to order a custom-sized dress, though I didn't use the "change sleeves/skirt length" options that are available. Naturally, it fits like a dream. I can't wait until spring to wear it to...well, everything :)
Oh, and if you were wondering, here are a few of the other options I considered. So much love!
Are you an eShakti fan? What's your favorite item from this season's collection? Link up in the comments!
sweater: The Limited via Discount Fashion Warehouse
khakis: Old Navy
Boots: Target
necklace: Etsy
Given the stupid-cold temperatures lately and the fact that "business casual" generally tends to frown upon sweatpants, I've been re-wearing a lot of the same warm outfits lately. So while this sweater/khaki/boots combo was shot nearly a month ago, I've worn it at least three times since then. Honestly? I'm not even going to pretend that I care. Comfort > new outfits.
Matt and I went to go see American Hustle last night, thanks to a BOGO movie ticket deal we got in the mail. (Also: Free popcorn and parking, woot!) It was pretty good, but not in the way I expected it to be. I also had a hard time seeing J.Law as anyone other than J.Law with a Jersey accent, which was pretty unfortunate. She had some good moments, though. Matt said he had a hard time seeing anything other than Amy Adams' sideboob, which was abundant. Hey, who can blame him?
And tomorrow we're doing another sort-of-cheap date night: Dinner at the Refectory (that awesome restaurant where we went for our five-year anniversary), thanks to a gift card Matt's sister and brother-in-law got us for Christmas. I'm pretty stoked.
But tonight? Tonight is even more exciting, kind of. We're going to sign a contract with our wedding venue! I'll share more details in a post next week, along with a little catch-up on where we are in the planning process. (I'm thinking I'll do some sporadic "Wedding Wednesdays" posts. Man, I love me some alliteration.)
blouse: secondhand
cardigan: H&M
skinnies: The Limited via Discount Fashion Warehouse
boots, necklace: gifted
So this outfit is long-overdue to make an appearance on the blog. Just over a month overdue, in fact; it was what I was wearing the evening Matt proposed. I actually didn't even get a chance to shoot the outfit that evening; I had to wear it again later for pictures.
Anyway, maybe it's the initial flurry of planning: guest lists, budgets, comparing venues...all the type-A stuff that I kind of flourish on. But dang, is it a lot. And no matter how much I get done, I can't quite seem to get ahead of my to-do list. Looking at the calendar for the rest of this month? It's a little nightmarish. No wonder I've been kind of sparse around here.
Which is why I'm kind of glad to be leaving all things wedding- and work-related behind this weekend, when I go out to West Virginia to visit my friend Emily over the long weekend. I don't usually look forward to, you know, ditching Matt (read: someone will be here this weekend, potential burglars, so don't get any ideas). But I have to say, it'll be kind of nice to just have girl time :)
What are you looking forward to this weekend?
sweater dress: The Limited
cardi, boots: Target
tights: Groupon deal
belt: H&M
necklace: Express
I think one of the worst parts about blogging, for me, is having news that I'm not quite ready (or allowed) to share on the blog. When it comes to my own personal secrets, I am a terrible keeper. I just get so excited and want to share that excitement with the world! (When it comes to other peoples' secrets, however, I'm a vault. Swear.) Anyway, some pretty exciting collaborations and other fun things are coming up, both here on VM and in real life. And I can't talk about most of them for, like, another month. Maybe more? One of the IRL things I actually have no idea when I'll be able to share. How's that for cryptic?
Don't worry, I'm not a complete tease here. I do have one fun thing to share with you guys. A fellow Ohio University J-school alum, Rachel, has started a blog about Generation Y-ers/Millennials. Specifically, folks that age who aren't living up to the media hype of being lazy underachievers. Her first feature? It's me! I'm so flattered; to be honest, I didn't think of my debt paying-off-ness as really a huge achievement. It was just something I had to do. Then I thought about the numbers...$18,000 in less than three years is something to be proud of. And I am. Ok, not-so-humble-brag over. Check out Rachel's blog, both now and later when she has some more features.
In other news, there are clothes pictures here too! I'm digging this outfit, though I think the tights might be a little too dark. I had the same problem when I wore them here, but I think it was worse for that outfit. Here, it seems almost passable. What do you think?
dress: Lily Boutique
blazer: secondhand
necklace: Jane (formerly VeryJane)
heels: Target
I meant to post these on Saturday, but the weekend got crazy-busy in record time. Friday night I wound up driving down to OU to pick up my sister, and Saturday most of the rest of my family came into town to watch the Buckeyes. We went to the Skull Session to see The Best Damn Band in the Land perform (other than the OU Marching 110, of course) and then most of the family went to the game. I didn't have a ticket and had a lot of stuff to do at home, so I was super-productive with cleaning and laundry and freelance writing while the Buckeyes slaughtered the competition. Then I grabbed dinner with the fam, and then it was off to Oktoberfest — a home-brew festival in which my friend and a bunch of his friends all brew beer and we all drink it. There were 60-some different beers and ciders there. It was magical. And on Sunday, I took my sister back to OU, visited some friends who just had a baby (congrats again, Maggie and Jeff!) and did some more writing. Phew!
Anyway, so this outfit post is a little fancy for a Monday — especially considering that I am seriously about to keel over from tiredness right now — but oh well. I wore it to a friend's wedding last month (congrats again, Braden and Christine!), which was an absolute blast. There was a photobooth, which was awesome. See?
Yeah, Matt and I are pretty cool.
I wore this dress to Matt's sister's wedding last year, too, and knew that I needed some sort of coverup for it. Especially since the ceremony itself was in a Catholic church and, as a former Catholic myself, the very thought of showing that much skin in a church was mortifying. I think I did pretty well...better than the girl who's dress exposed the entire back of her bra when she sat down, anyway. Sheesh. Of course, the blazer came off at the reception, but by then everyone had been drinking and I felt much less self-conscious.
So anyway, hope this little bit of fancypants (or fancy-no-pants, I guess) brightens up your Monday!
If you follow me on Instagram, then maybe you saw this photo I posted last night:
That's right! My insurance claim was finally processed, so I went out and snapped up my new Macbook. (Using the credit card that earns me Amazon points, which I will promptly pay off when my check is deposited on Friday. Free money, woop woop! Also, new computer, woop woop times infinity!)
I also decided to try to re-install my Adobe Creative Suite. I knew if I was able to install it, that would mean the pawn shop had uninstalled all my software on my old computer in addition to wiping my other info from it. And sure enough, Adobe installed! So good news all around.
It seems fitting, then, that I'm down to the last photos from my point-and-shoot camera. And they happen to be from the morning that all this ish went down. I've been kind of avoiding these pics, to be honest, and for a while I thought I wouldn't post them at all. But not posting them won't change anything, and I'm sick of letting fear and regret dictate my choices and actions. So here they are.
button-down: New York & Company
dress: eShakti
nude shoes: Franco Sarto via Marshall's
silver shoes: DSW
necklace: gifted
The top photo is what I had planned to wear to work that day. I stuck the heels in my bag because walking long distances in them is pretty awful, so I was wearing flip flops. (Yes, I tried to chase down a thief wearing flips flops and a dress.) Needless to say, those nude shoes are gone. I would up wearing the silver ones when I went to work for a few hours that day in a vain attempt to distract myself.
I suppose the silver lining to losing those Franco Sartos is that I didn't wear them much because the heel height was a bit too much for me...and my insurance pays out replacement value for items, so they gave me $95 for these shoes instead of the $25 or so I paid. So, that's cool, I guess.
Those bottom two side-by-side photos, by the way, are what I wore to my sister's high school graduation party. It's so crazy to think that she's going to college in just about a month--but she's going to my alma mater, so I'll have plenty of excuses to visit her ;)
dress: The Limited
scarf, boots: gifted (boots via Old Navy)
belt: came with a skirt from JCPenney
tights: Target
You know what they say...when it rains it pours. (Or if you live in the midwest/on the East Coast this week, you could go with "when it snows, it dumps 10 freaking inches on your lawn in March." Somehow, it doesn't roll off the tongue quite as smoothly.)
Uhh...where was I? Oh yeah. Raining and pouring. That's how my workload has been lately. I feel like I simply cannot catch up this week. A series of last-minute tweaks to the fashion article I mentioned last week have been sucking up a lot of my usual blogging time, and I'm trying to get back into a workout routine again. (My ab muscles can at least testify that I've been doing okay on that effort—oof, it hurts.) And of course, there seems to be a million other things going on, too.
I guess I can't complain, really. Maybe by the time things settle down, it'll be warm and springy outside and I'll actually feel inspired to do new outfit pics on a more regular basis!
dress, necklace: The Limited
blazer, wedges, belt, tights: Target
This outfit features several of the items I bought during my previously mentioned shopping spree. The dress, the tights and the shoes are all new, and let me tell how much I am loving these shoes: A LOT. Seriously, they're my new favorites. They're closed, so I can wear socks and keep my feet warm. They add height, so they give me the appearance of being classy. And they're wedges, so I can actually walk in them without wobbling. Ladies and gentlemen, it's the trifecta.
The dress is pretty great, too. This photo is of an outfit I wore to work; I wore almost the exact same thing to Thanksgiving festivities. (The Thanksgiving version featured black tights and no blazer or belt...gotta love Indian summer days!) Anyway, I got a lot of compliments on this dress from my family. And the best part? I bought it on clearance, when The Limited was having a 40% off storewide sale, so it only cost me $20. Ultimate win.
dress: c/o eShakti
heels: Franco Sarto via Marshall's
bracelets: handmade in Uganda (fundraiser purchase)
ring: TaDa.com
First, I know that this dress looks gray, but it's definitely purple, I promise. Someday, I'll photograph it proper light, I swear. It's frustrating when outfits don't show up on camera the way they do in real life, isn't it? (Where are my fellow bloggers? You know what I'm talking about.)
Anyway, I wore this last Friday to Matt's sister's wedding rehearsal dinner. Even though this dress is wool, it's surprisingly light and comfortable, which is great because dinner was a several-hour-long gathering filled with wine, good company and great conversation. (Come to think of it, I feel like those three tend to go hand in hand, don't they?)
Saturday was, of course, the wedding. It was so unbelievably gorgeous; Matt's sister, Beth, looked like she came straight from 1940s Hollywood. I didn't get a chance to get a photo with her (she and her new husband were busy socializing with the other 150 guests, of course), but after the ceremony I pulled Matt aside for a quick snap of my outfit with my phone.
dress: Lily Boutique
scarf-as-shawl, necklace, clutch: Target
shoes: DSW
bracelet: Forever 21
ring: TaDa.com
This dress is actually kind of the reason why I don't shop online very often. When I first saw this dress on Pinterest, I immediately fell completely in love. I waited literally four weeks for it to come back in stock, then pounced on it the second it was available. On the mannequin, the dress looks great. Classy. Elegant. On me, it looks so short as to be almost a little...wel...inappropriate. Almost.
But when I wrapped this scarf around my shoulders, shawl-like, it added some modesty to the outfit and kept it from showing too much skin. Low(er) heels helped with that, too. Maybe next time I'll try it with a pair of opaque tights, to balance out the shortness, and leave my arms bare. Hm...
tank: secondhand
cardigan, flower: H&M
skinnies: Forever 21
flats: Target
necklace: gifted
Some of my favorite outfits are ones that can go from day to night. I got inspiration for the "day" version of this outfit (above) while wearing the "night" version (below) at my friend's bachelorette party last month. It was an unseasonably cool night, so I had to pop into H&M to buy this cardigan. While I was there, I also snagged this flower pin.
heels: Target
headband: H&M (I think?)
I actually wore the "day" version of this outfit to work for casual Friday...though in retrospect, the top might be a tad too low-cut for work. Oops :)
Oh, before I forget. One of my sponsors, eShakti, is offering a promo code to Verbal Mélange readers! From now until August 31, you can use the code VE24ART to get 10% off anything in the shop, excluding overstock items. And the best part? You can use it as many times as you want before the month is over. (Disclaimer: I get a small compensation from purchases made with this code. Hooray, transparency!)
