Week 33: Ombré Outfits

Man, guys. This is crazy. I’m past my halfway point. I said I’d commit to doing this for 1 year. 52 weeks. I think I’ll probably have some bonus posts that’ll push me beyond 52 total posts, but 52 weeks of themes. and I’m already more than halfway there. It’s just cool for me to think about. Anyway, let’s talk about this week.

Ombré outfits was a fun week! And I got a lot of really positive feedback from this theme.

 

Just so we’re on the same page, Ombré literally means “shaded” in French. It is the gradual blend from one color hue to the next, usually from light to dark using tints and shades. I chose to use a very specific definition to create outfits for this week. A lot of times you see ombré hair that goes from darker to lighter, that’s still considered ombré. And you can also do ombré between two entirely different colors. I chose to stick to a very specific form of the word, because I think the effect of that is better when I look at the week in its entirety. So all outfits will start with a base hue. The top of my looks use a light tint of the base color and transition into the darkest shade at my shoes. This was fun and challenging; I ended up really liking it, though.

 

Monday

Purple Monday. I had a hard time color correcting this picture. The skirt I’m wearing is true indigo, but for some reason, my camera always interprets it as kind of a royal blue in this lighting. But I still think you can get a sense of the effect in the picture!

I technically transitioned from purple to black, but I think it’s pretty good.

img_20190715_161329 Top: Frank and Oak, Skirt: J.Crew, Shoes: Tahari, Necklace: Charming Charlie’s

 

Tuesday

We are very obviously green today. I know this picture looks a little washed out, that’s because I had to jack up the brightness to show the green in the shoes. They are only *slightly* darker green than the skirt’s color, so I wanted to make sure you could see the ombré effect.

img_20190716_160540 Top: New Look, Skirt: J.Crew, Shoes: Calvin Klein

 

 

Wednesday

This was probably the most stark transition I did. I didn’t have perfect shoes/pants to make it as effective as I’d like. But I still think it’s a fair attempt at a pink ombré

img_20190717_172232
Top: Dex, Pants: Asos, Shoes: Dr. Scholls

 

 

Thursday

Blue transition. I think this went pretty well.

img_20190718_191530 Top: Ann Taylor Loft, Skirt: J.Crew, Shoes: Antonio Melani

 

Friday

At some point, you sort of run out of colors to ombré. I did gray for Friday. I had planned a potential yellow ombré outfit, but I didn’t love the skirt to shoe transition. I think, honestly, the gray ombré ended up being my favorite outfit of the week. I just love muted color schemes.

img_20190719_200251 Top: J.Crew, Pants: Gap, Shoes: Rothys

 

 

Hope you all enjoyed this week as much as I did!

Week 32: All White

This week was recommended by Sophia. I think an all-white theme is perfect for the summer. And it was a fun challenge, since I’m much more inclined to black color schemes.

I don’t own an infinite amount of white, so I tried to include neutral light beiges and grays when I didn’t have the correct white piece. I hope you all enjoy this week. It made me feel very, very tan, which I liked.

I was sick Monday, so I actually had two outfits on Friday, one for work and one for getting drinks with friends.

 

Tuesday

I think this dress kind of goes perfectly with these loafers.

img_20190709_134610 Dress: Vince Camuto, Shoes: Com+Sens

 

 

Wednesday

img_20190710_145248 Shirts: Truly 4 U, Pants: Asos, Shoes: 1.State

 

 

Thursday

I liked this one. I’ve come to appreciate grays a lot more in the past year. I think it can be very striking against my skin tone.

img_20190711_141708 Top: Gap, Cardigan: Banana Republic, Skirt: J.Crew, Shoes: Asos, Necklace: Vintage

 

Friday pt 1

Looking at this week, I probably need to start taking pictures of my outfits at the beginning of the day. Lots of folds and creases from sitting and moving around during the day. But regardless, this was a strong white outfit to finish the work week. I think the gold slide loafer go really well with the outfit.

img_20190712_145502 Dress: J.Crew, Blazer: Ann Taylor, Shoes: Adrianna Papell, Necklace: No idea

 

Friday pt 2

We walked about a mile to Krog Street Market, and I just bought these shoes. I probably should have broken them in more before immediately walking a long distance in them. Oh well, they’re very cute and I love them.

img_20190712_182059
Top: Forever21, Skirt: J.Crew, Shoes: SOREL, Purse: Asos

Week 31: 70s, 80s, 90s, and 00s

Saddle up, everyone. This week is weird. Each outfit is based on a different decade. I’ll break my thoughts down on the decade per outfit so read on, folks.

No work on Thursday, so it’s only a 4-day week.

 

Monday

70s. There’s just something about this semi-floral, slightly psychedelic cut-out sleeve dress that screamed 70s to me. Similarly, I think I could have seen someone during that time wearing these chunky ankle-strap sandals, as well. Added a blazer during the day to formal it up a bit.

70s style contained a lot of midi a-line skirts, big-lapelled blouses, and of course the ever popular bell bottom trouser. I think I could probably do a couple days of 70s-inspired outfits. Really liked this day.

img_20190701_165646 Dress: Vince Camuto, Shoes: Nurture

 

Tuesday

80s. Oh, the 80s. The primary stereotypes of 80s fashion are florescent colors and spandex materials. This combination is obviously not work appropriate, so I had to dig in a little more. Apparently, for the more work-minded of us during the 80s, we focused on statement blouses (strong patterns, metallic materials) and it was the beginning of the masculine-wave in women’s fashion. Power dressing, as they called it. It still feels pretty Miami Vice, but I really enjoy this, and I got stay pretty true to myself while embracing this decade. Also, BIG OLE SHOULDER PADS.

img_20190702_151247 Top: Vintage, Skirt: J.Crew, Blazer: Ann Taylor, Shoes: Calvin Klein, Necklace: Asos

 

Wednesday

The 90s. We’re starting to get into the decades of fashion I lived. I certainly wasn’t going to work in the 90s, but I distinctly remember some of the younger, grungier fashion trends of this decade. Now I looked up professional work attire in the 90s. It’s a terrible thing. It’s either completely inappropriate for the level of formality I require at the bank, or just… horrendously ugly. So I’m going to remain inspired by the grungy 90s I know and love. I hope you can get that sense with today’s outfit.

img_20190703_102737 Top: Southern Lady, Pants: Frank and Oak, Shoes: Monki, Belt: Nations Leather; Necklaces: New Orleans tent sale

 

Friday

And you thought the shameful days of 00s fashion was behind you. Nope. It’s back. Not sure if you remember. Primary fashion trends (for women) included: low, low, LOW-waisted bootcut jeans. Stupid tiered, ruched miniskirts made of polyester. Anything from Hollister. Crop the shit of those tops. Matching velour track suits.

I really tried to find what people wore in the early 2000s when they had to go to work. But something interesting happened in the 2000s; the tech boom.  As tech companies were built out, the “rules” of professional clothing started to fracture. What became appropriate in one office, no longer suited the culture of another.

Also, apparently in the 2000s, there were two distinct revivals of 1980s fashions. Why? What is going on 2000s? Who hurt you?

So really.. what happened is I settled on a fashion trend I distinctly remember being a part of. The scene kid. So here is my attempt at professionalizing an altogether not-even-a-little-bit-professional fashion trend.

Got the tight jean fit, except I went very high-waisted instead of very low. Got my slip-ons, but dressed up. Even did a little scene kid tie with this Vince Camuto belt. Oh my god. I’m back in high school again, but with more expensive clothing.

img_20190705_144844
Top: Forever 21, Pants: Alexa Chung, Shoes: Everlane, Tie: Como Blu

Week 30: Nautical

Hello everyone. Krysten suggested this theme. What I tried to do was incorporate some of the stereotypical styles and fits of like… old-school sailors and also things you might see some WASPy woman wear on a boat. It’s primarily just stripes and boat neck tees. I hope you all enjoy. I very much did.

It was only a 4-day week for me, so All Aboard!

 

Monday

Hellooo Sailor!

img_20190624_150645 Top: J.Crew, Skirt: Theory, Shoes: Adrianna Papell

 

Tuesday

Felt like a true salty sea dog on Tuesday. The G.H. Bass & Co shoes really scream boat to me.

img_20190625_113410 Top: Southern Lady, Pants: Everlane, Shoes: G.H. Bass & Co

 

Wednesday

This was like.. objectively the best day. This top is amazing. And I straight up felt like I should be in a naval-based movie from the 50s as a deckhand singing and holding a mop. There’s an actual scene in a movie I’m thinking of, but for the life of me I can’t come up with a name.

img_20190626_161354 Top: Boden, Pants: Spacegirlz, Shoes: Kelsi Dagger

 

Thursday

Thursday felt the most formal and modern of nautical looks. The blue blazer felt very captain-like. And I really like the jogger pant with these slip-ons. Felt like a very put-together fall boating outfit to wear in Maine.

img_20190627_161543 Top: Forever21, Pants: Ann Taylor, Blazer: J.Crew, Shoes: Everlane

 

 

That’s all I have this week, folks. Bon voyage!

Week 29: Metallic

Guys, I don’t own metallic clothing. I don’t know why I did this week. It’s ridiculous. It was very hard for me to find pieces they constitute metallic (of the appearance of polished metal.) Most of my outfits are supplemented with metal jewelry, but I still think they’re a little lackluster- pun intended. Also, I noticed that some of the pictures make my “metallic” piece look not that metallic. I swear, the pieces I chose to fit the theme are quite metal-shiny in person.

Oh well, I still enjoyed it. I hope you do, too!

 

Monday

I think this outfit was probably the most obviously metallic. The bronze shirt does a very good job of that. Plus the gold mules. Pretty on theme.

img_20190617_165053 Top: Vintage no idea, Skirt: J.Crew, Shoes: Adrianna Papell, Necklace: Charming Charlie

 

 

Tuesday

Really liked the necklace with this silk green top. I think it feels petty metallic. Plus the gunmetal skirt and there’s a sparkle in the gray heel weave.

img_20190618_122959 Top: Kleveland Boutique, Skirt: Theory, Shoes: Marc Fisher, Necklace: Charming Charlie

 

 

Wednesday

Really liked this outfit. Just got this blazer, which is amazing. I think it added some cold metal feel to the already metallic purple shirt

img_20190619_173407 Top: J.Crew, Pants: Everlane, Blazer: Unique 21, Shoes: Tahari, Necklace: Asos

 

 

Thursday

I’m not sure if you can tell, but the skirt itself has flecks of sparkle in the weave pattern. I feel like the yellow top, which I swear is a shiny metallic appearing yellow, plus the sparkle in the skirt is completely on theme.

img_20190620_163804 Top: Ann Taylor, Skirt: Tahari, Shoes: Dr. Scholls

 

 

Friday

This top really is quite shiny. It doesn’t always come across in pictures. Figured I’d add a statement necklace and the shiny leather loafer sets off the outfit.

img_20190621_121442 Top: Ellen Tracy, Skirt: J.Crew, Shoes: Kelsi Dagger, Necklace: Vintage

Week 28: Waist Accentuating

As most of you know, I have a pretty straight body type. Not a ton of curves going on. I thought it might be fun to do a week dedicated to creating the illusion of a larger waist-to-hip ratio. Lots of belts, high-waisted skirts, and cinching were used to attempt this. I think it was at least mildly successful.

 

Monday

This one I should have done a belt with. While the pants have a high-waist, they don’t really “cinch” in my waist as much and I would have liked. Plus I thought the outfit was a little plain. I would probably like to add some kind of either texture or pattern next time.

img_20190610_125512-1 Top: J.Crew, Pants: Asos, Jacket: Olivia Grey, Shoes: 1.State,

 

 

Tuesday

Tuesday’s outfit very effectively got the waist accentuating goal, I think. The skirt does a great job of creating some shape on me that doesn’t technically exist. Also, this jacket is so dope.

img_20190611_130648 Top: Topshop, Skirts: ModCloth, Jacket: Tahari, Shoes: Kelsi Dagger

 

 

Wednesday

I think these pants do a great job of highlighting the waist I do have. I think the looser, boxier fit of the type is a good shape contrast to the pants which sit high and tight around my waist. I think this outfit was a complete success for the theme.

img_20190612_112950 Top: Lumiere, Pants: Anthropologie, Shoes: Dr. Scholls

 

Thursday

I really like this outfit, because the dress does all the work. The detailing at the waist highlights where it needs to be and bell shape of the skirt of the dress really accentuates the hip to waist ratio. And outfit-wise, the turquoise necklace and blue houndstooth heels look great with the white.

img_20190613_102219 Dress: J.Crew, Shoes: Antonio Melani, Necklace: Charming Charlie

 

 

Friday

This was my favorite outfit of the week. It’s the most me for sure. I loved the color complement of the green top with the red belt. I even wore this out after work to a friend’s party. I normally never wear work clothes out for weekend fun.

img_20190614_124709 Top: Anthropologie, Pants: Alexa Chung, Shoes: Monki, Belt: Asos

Week 27: Floral

It felt wrong not to do a floral pattern theme. I don’t really love floral patterns. I think most of the patterns I have are some kind of perversion of actual floral patterns. In fact, one of the patterns that I picked for this week arguably isn’t floral at all. Which I didn’t realize until the day I wore the dress. Oh well. It was still a fun, summery week. Hope you all like it!

 

Monday

This is a fun floral. It’s asymmetric geometric prints on a white dress, with the print within the geometric shapes being floral. It’s only incidentally floral. Which I think is why I like it. The teal belt was a good pop of color, too. Felt very summery.

img_20190603_153854 Dress: Vince Camuto, Shoes: Dr. Scholls, Belt: Boden

 

Tuesday

This is the pattern. I realized that when I took a close up picture of it, it’s actually just overlapping circles as the pattern of this dress. But the overlap creates the appearance of flowers, so I’m going to count it. Also the color in the left picture is not very true to life. It’s more accurate on the zoom in.

photo_2019-06-04_11-10-14_am Dress: Closet London, Shoes: Adrianna Papell, Necklace: Forever21

 

Wednesday

I like this “toned down” floral look. Every time I think of a floral look, the colors are always primary and vibrant.. which really aren’t adjectives I lean towards. This pinky-nude fit was much more my speed.

img_20190605_160700 Top: Lush, Pants: Asos, Jacket: Olivia Gray, Shoes: 1.State

 

Thursday

img_20190606_125506
Dress: Ann Taylor, Shoes: Madewell

 

Friday

Lol. This outfit isn’t me at all. It’s cute, and it’s casual, so it works for my now more casual Fridays. But it’s so feminine, which really isn’t me. I still like the silhouette and the idea of the outfit.

img_20190607_143535 Top: Loft, Skirt: Skies Are Blue, Boots: Lucky

Week 26: Denim

Hello everyone, this week was very short for me (two days). So I decided to go with a very simply theme: denim. I’m not doing denim-on-denim for the outfits, but I did want to focus each day on a denim piece. It was easy and fun, which is good since I’ve been busy planning my trip to Boston/Cape Cod with friends.

It’s really nice that I can get away with the casualness that is denim at work. I’m finally starting to get comfortable in balancing myself and the traditional culture of SunTrust. Hope you like it!

 

Monday

I wear this dress a lot. If you’ve seen my past posts, you have probably seen this dress. But that’s because it’s very me while still also being a work-appropriate dress. I love the raw edges of this denim dress, the sheath shape, and the large square front pockets. This week I paired it with warm accents. Burgundy shoes, brown belt and cardigan. I think the dress actually looks great with those pieces, and it’s one of my favorite looks I’ve done with this dress in a while.

img_20190520_132722 Dress: Daisy Street, Cardigan: J.Crew, Shoes: Dr. Scholls, Belt: No idea

 

 

Tuesday

Chambraaaaay. Love it. Everyone should own something chambray. Now I know what you’re thinking. ‘Grace, chambray isn’t technically denim’ and to that I say “plbbbbbhhhhbhh”.

Chambray is similar to denim. They’re both made by weaving cotton fabric together (along with a ton of other textiles). But where they differ is the type of weave. Chambray uses a “plain weave” as opposed to denim’s “twill weave”. Plain weave is what allows chambray to feel soft and lightweight. I won’t get too into the detail of these types of weaves, but simply enough, a plain weave uses a right angle weave pattern, whereas twill uses a diagonal pattern creating a more robust texture. So yes, little bit of education for us all there.

Anyways, This outfit was so easy and comfortable. Love the blue and bright cool-orange contrast. Always a good combo.

img_20190521_154841 Top: Gianna Bini, Pants: Everlane, Blazer: Gianna Bini, Shoes: Franco Sarto

Week 25: Pastels

In honor of spring, it felt wrong not to do a pastel week. So here we are.

Alright, pastel. Let’s harken waaaaay back to our color theory conversation in week 6. Pastel is considered “desaturated” color (i.e. reduction in saturation), with high “lightness” aka “value” aka “tone”. So if your hue is pink, and we add light gray (making a tone), that tone would be a pastel pink.

I, personally, am not really a pastel person. I find that my tan skin tone works best with darker, more saturated colors. That’s not to say I don’t wear pastels.

This week I will explore color schemes I don’t normally gravitate towards. Ideally, I don’t look like an Easter Egg the entire week.

I actually really liked this week, and apparently a lot of my pastel clothes are from Asos? So that’s an interesting realization.

 

Monday

img_20190513_134156 Top: Anthropologie, Pants: Asos, Shoes: 1.State

 

 

Tuesday

img_20190514_143812 Top: Gap, Skirt: J.Crew, Shoes: Marc Fisher

 

 

Wednesday

img_20190515_103054 Top: Frank and Oak, Pants: Asos, Shoes: Asos

 

 

Thursday

img_20190516_124459
Top: Ann Taylor Loft, Pants: Gap, Shoes: Rothys

 

 

Friday

img_20190517_142108
Top: J.Crew, Skirt: Asos, Shoes: Kelsi Dagger

Week 24: Movie Puns

Yeah, dude. It’s gotten that bad. I’m so deep into themes, I’ve come up with this one. Fashion-based movie puns. This theme is loosely based on a request from Derek who suggested to me back in April that I do a week dedicated to puns.

One thing I tried to do was both fit my pun and the tone of the movie. Hopefully that is clear. This was one of the most fun themes I’ve come up with. It’s obviously silly, but I think (for the most part?) I made it work!

This was one of my most positively reviewed themes so far. Except from my best friend, who has never seen any movies and understood less than half of the actual movie references.

 

Monday: It’s a Wonderful Loafer

So obviously, Frank Capra’s film “It’s a Wonderful Life” is well known to most people who have experienced Christmas before. I tried to fit the aesthetic of my outfit to 1940s women’s fashion (when this movie came out). And, of course, loafers.

Mary  img_20190506_142351 Top: Madewell, Skirt: Clearance from Dillard’s, Loafers: G.H. Bass & Co

 

 

Tuesday: Harry Potter and calf-hair prints

This was the hardest reaching pun I have. But I think I made it. Outfit features the eponymous calf-hair heels. And also an “6th year Draco”-inspired fit. Also. I loved this outfit. Straight up. One of my favorite outfits I’ve done so far.

Draco 2

img_20190507_150723 Top: J.Crew, Blazer: Doc & Amelia, Pants: Ann Taylor, Shoes: Calvin Klein

 

 

Wednesday: Caturday Night Fever

Think John Travolta meets quirky cat girl. That’s this outfit. Slightly 70s-disco-inspired cat fit. Lol I think this was my silliest look by far.

John Travolta img_20190508_145446 Top: Anthropologie, Blazer: Ann Taylor, Pants: Spacegirlz, Shoes: Com+Sens

 

Thursday: Need for Tweed.

You guys ever watch the 2014 film “Need for Speed”? Yeah, me neither. It’s apparently based on a video game, which is based on a line from Top Gun. But it’s actually a pretty good cast? (What’s up Aaron Paul, Rami Malek, and Michael Keaton?) So obviously, there’s tweed involved in this outfit. But I also used Imogen Poot’s character as inspiration for the outfit. She’s a British, punk rock love interest of protagonist Toby (played by Aaron Paul).

Imogen Heap img_20190509_123138 Top: J.Crew, Jacket: Tahari, Skirt: Peter Nygard, Shoes: Madewell

 

 

Friday: Eternal Short-Sleeve of the Spotted Kind

Let’s take a second to bask in the glory of this one. This is such a great movie, and I was really pleased with myself for coming up with the pun.

I tried to pull inspiration from most of Clementine’s fits in the movie. Which were a combination of like… slutty manic pixie dream girl and off-work construction crew. It wasn’t easy. So mostly I just tried to do a slightly casual young-person fit? And also the spotted-short sleeve top.

Clementine img_20190510_131843 Top: Gianni Bini, Pants: Everlane, Shoes: Rothys