Good Impulses

You know what happens when a cheap store does a collaboration with a famous designer? People wait in line at dawn or set an alarm to shop online in the middle of the night, and they buy a bunch of stuff without thinking because they’re afraid everything will sell out. #buyallofthethings

That’s exactly what happened with the Phillip Lim for Target line last fall. Remember the obsession over the bags? Oh man. Anyway, I was one of those people waiting in line at Target, and that’s when I got this dress that is in no way a closet staple. BUT. Can I just point out that I have now worn it in 3 different seasons?

Take that, impulse buying! If I can make it work for fall, I’ll take that as a sign that everything I ever want to buy is a good decision.

similar Dress (on sale) // another similar Dress (on sale) // similar Jacket (on sale) // similar Bag // similar Necklace* (under $8) // similar Shoes

*Necklace purchased with gift card provided courtesy of Asos.

All Work and No Play

I got this jacket in January as part of a suit and I wore it for the first day of my new internship (pictured below, far right). But as long as I’m only dressing business casual once a week, I might as well make my new “workwear” double as “studentwear.” Turns out Lucky Magazine wasn’t lying to us…you really can break up your suits and wear the blazer with jeans. But when Vogue said you could wear a feather headdress and a $2000 mesh top with no bra, it was definitely lying. (Anna Wintour, if you’re reading this, I’m totally kidding. You’re a genius. Please give me a job. Love, Sarah.)

Jacket (on sale, + extra 50% off) // similar Sweater // Jeans (under $40) // similar Boots // similar Necklace (on sale) // Lips “Plushest Punch”

Wardrobe Workhorse: Non-traditional Suit

Happy Friday, everyone! Last winter I spotted this matching moto jacket/mini skirt combo on clearance at Target and decided to snatch it up (I also got it in green tweed, but who’s counting). As suits go, this one obviously isn’t traditional or conservative, but I  had a feeling I could still make good use of it. As is usually the case, I was right.

This wardrobe workhorse has gone business casual, regular casual, winter, spring, summer, and fall. I think my least favorite look above is actually when I wore the 2 pieces together. But maybe I should give the suit look another chance soon!

I scoped out a few non-traditional suits for your shopping pleasure – some fun colors, textures, patterns, and yes…even one “shorts suit.” It’s really hard to find matching separates like this online because they’re usually not marked as “suits” so you have to look up tops and bottoms separately. If you’re really in the market for a non-traditional suit, I recommend dragging yourself to the mall to look in person!

1. Top, Bottom // 2. Top, Bottom // 3. Top, Bottom // 4. Top, Bottom // 5. Top, Bottom

Winter Brights

I decided to take the Black Out Style challenge to the extreme and bust out two super bright colors in the hopes they would play nicely off each other. I think it worked. And before you say anything, I know these jeans look black but they’re actually just a super dark wash. Just trust me. (If you’re confused, you can read more about the Black Out challenge here.)

I wore this on Sunday for brunch and a movie, and at brunch someone mentioned that my hat looked extra bright with this sweater. I just love it when people get me.

Also, American Hustle is pretty great. Not a huge surprise when pretty much everyone in the cast is nominated for an Oscar. I believe Amy Adams got an extra nomination for best acting by cleavage in a starring role, right? Perhaps I’m mistaken…somebody check me on that.

similar Sweater (on sale under $15) // similar Hat // Bag (under $25) // similar Necklace* // Bracelet // similar Boots (on sale) // Jeans (on sale under $35) // Lips “Punch Drunk”

And the award for most versatile yellow sweater goes too… (It’s the Real Life Remix)

*Necklace purchased with gift card provided courtesy of H&M.

Take One, Pass it On: Week 3 Roundup

Times flies when you’re remixing, amiright?! Week 3 of the challenge is complete! If you didn’t know I was doing this challenge, you probably wouldn’t even have noticed my repeats because these remixes were so damn good. Here, let me spell it out for you:

similar Shirt

similar Scarf

similar Turtleneck

similar Jacket (under $40)

Shoes (on sale in other colors)

Of course, I couldn’t have done all this great remixing without the other bloggers below. Well…that’s not really true. I could have done it either way, but it’s more fun with friends. Check out what my fellow remixers have been up to this past week:

• AJ Wears Clothes
• The Perfect Skirt
• Shop and Twirl
• 14 Shades of Grey
• Dance it Off
• Sam Ipsa Loquitur
• Kimbercrafts
• A Journey in Style
• My Closet Catalogue
• Librarian for Life and Style
• Quirky Britches
• VV Boutique Style
• Loop Looks
• Just Another Smith

Look what fun everyone is having! Makes you want to join in for the last week, doesn’t it? That’s a great idea. You are so smart. Check out the official “rules” here and get started!

Purpling

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There were purple stripes in the scarf, so I figured why not throw in some purple tights too? I’m just purpling like there’s no tomorrow. Funny story about purpling: My freshman year of college, I lived on a co-ed floor. Boys on one side and girls on the other, separate bathrooms, but it was all one hallway. In our very first floor meeting, the RA explained that once upon a time, the boys’ bathroom was painted blue and the girls’ was pink. The only rule? No “purpling.”

Obviously, the rule was meant to prevent any debauchery that may ensue from combining two sets of raging teenage hormones in a shower stall.  I guess I might have taken the “no purpling” rule a little too seriously when I married one of the other girls from my floor, though…

similar Scarf* // Dress // similar Shirt* // similar Tights // Boots (on sale in brown) // similar Watch (got mine at Target recently – not online) // Glasses // Lips “Plushest Punch”

*Scarf and shirt provided courtesy of H&M.

Take One, Pass it On: Week 2 Roundup

A look back at the remixing magic that took place this past week…(and don’t forget to check out my fellow remixers at the end of this post).

^^ I’m a fan of those 2 photos side by side because it looks like I touched my hair and magically transformed it. Witchcraft!

New Remixers this Week:

• The Perfect Skirt
• NCsquared Life
• 14 Shades of Grey
• My Closet Catalogue
• Librarian for Life and Style
• The Posh Blog

Still Going Strong:

• AJ Wears Clothes
• Quirky Britches
• Shop and Twirl
• Sam Ipsa Loquitur
• Kimbercrafts
• Style by Stef
• A Journey in Style
• Skinny Jeans and Chanel Dreams
• Dance it Off
• VV Boutique Style
• Loop Looks
• Just Another Smith

I know I said it last week, but I’ll say it again: If anyone has been following along and regretting they didn’t try this challenge…FEAR NOT! We’re only halfway through the month. Join in at any time to have your blog featured in the weekly roundup (there will be 2 more)!

If you’re already participating, be a doll and follow me on any and all of the following social media platforms. Tag me in your TOPIO posts so I can keep up to date! (I usually don’t have time to check out everyone’s blog every day.)

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Take Two, Pass Them On

We all know them: annoying overachievers. In my case, the most annoying overachiever I know is myself. If you saw Tuesday’s outfit post, you might have already noticed I “passed on” the polka dot tights AND the ankle boots. Partly because I’m an overachiever – why take just one and pass it on when you can take two? But also partly because I really liked how the tights and booties looked together. This time I added some socks to make it a little more casual for school – plus it just looks cute.

Oh, and in case you don’t follow me on Instagram, surprise! I got a haircut and went super blonde!

Dress (on sale) // similar Jacket // Bracelet // similar Necklace // similar Tights //Boots (in black suede)

P.S. Today is the last day to enter the Enza Essentials giveaway! At last count, there were less than 30 entries, so your odds are good to be one of the 2 winners!

Psychic Style

As you all know by now, I’m doing this remix thang where the point is each day to re-wear something from the day before. Well, for this outfit from Saturday evening I re-wore something from Saturday morning. There’s no rule that says you can’t double up the remixing sometimes. You know how I know? Because I wrote the rules, bitches (I use bitches as a term of endearment).

I wore this for a friend’s birthday house party. I feel like dressing for house parties is tricky because you never know if they’re going to be casual or dressy. I usually just think about the style of the host and go from there. Something told me a leather skirt would be perfectly appropriate in the home of this particular friend. And wouldn’t you know it – the birthday girl herself was wearing a leather skirt, too! Not only am I stylish; I’m also psychic.

Oh, a quick reminder: The Enza Essentials giveaway ends on Thursday! Don’t forget to enter.

Shirt // similar Skirt* (on sale) // another similar Skirt (petite sizing) // similar Tights // Boots (in black suede) // Cuff* // Link Bracelet (extra 30% off w/ code BIGSALE) // similar Necklace // Lips “Plushest Punch”

*Skirt purchased with gift card provided courtesy of H&M; cuff bracelet provided courtesy of House of Gemmes.

Windblown

I am so pissed at the wind right now! I was having the best hair day but you can’t even tell because the breeze is blowing my softly cascading waves behind my head like a superhero cape (if a superhero didn’t know where the cape is supposed to go). Such a shame. You’ll just have to take my word for it. I woke up, rolled out of bed…and my hair looked fabulous. Oh, and the “…” is short for “shampooed, conditioned, towel dried, combed, applied product, blow dried, curled, sprayed.” It takes a lot of work to look this windblown.

On a more upbeat note, the Take One challenge continues! I’m remixing these fringe booties you saw in my last outfit. In case you missed it, I also posted the Week 1 Roundup on Friday!

Sweater* // Jeans (on sale) // similar Boots* // similar Necklace // similar Coat // Lips “Crush”

*Sweater purchased with gift card provided courtesy of Asos; boots purchased with gift card provided courtesy of H&M.