What I’m Wearing (kinda)

Welcome to another  – ‘what I wear and why’ post. Lets start with the first one that I’m calling ‘circus chic,’ for obvious reasons. It could also be called ‘circus crazy’ which is why I need your help deciding. I insta-storied this ruffle shirt when I was trying it on the other day and all of America messaged me with either ‘YOU HAVE TO BUY THAT’ or ‘THAT IS HIDEOUS AND I’M UNFOLLOWING YOU.’ I figured it was a great challenge to see if I can pull it off in an actual outfit – because I was super drawn to it.

Here’s the deal – I have to go to a lot of events where I’m photographed and I really want to look like someone who is stylish and yet have an outfit that can be camera friendly (aka a little black shapeless dress – which I love to wear – doesn’t read well on camera). I wear the same things over and over, and typically they are things like this – a statement splurge or something vintage. Now (are you still reading this?) it is actually not that flattering, it’s a little TOO many ruffles (I love the ones around the collar but not the ones on the side that add bulk), and ready for this? It’s $450!!!!!!

But I really wanted to photograph and post about it, so I made up an excuse to do this fashion post (and then I’ll return it :))

Now, I don’t think I would actually wear this shirt with hole-y Madewell jeans, but pretend that they are not that hole-y. I wore my hair in a bun, which is different for me. Then topped it off with my Nisolo shoes, Giving Keys Necklace and a Parker Clay bag which are such great staples by socially conscious companies, who make beautiful products, and are helping the world (that is my favorite bag because it fits my laptop, can be zipped and yet is small enough that I can take it out like a cute bag, not a big slouchy thing).

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Next up. This is an outfit I would wear all the time on the weekends – especially now that it’s spring/summer. Those jean shorts are AWESOME, from Levi’s and they keep all my mom bits in because they are cotton, not stretchy, and are high waisted. The jacket is the swinging army jacket from The Great, but I think that Madewell has a much cheaper version of it. The shirt is a great JCrew red and white stripe linen that is cool and easy to wear (plus not everything in my life can be blue).

The shoes are my comfy nude suede Dr. Scholl’s that I’m OBSESSED with, and that backpack is by Parker Clay, again. It’s such a beautiful caramel leather. One request – can someone please design a backpack that has side pockets for sippy cups but isn’t a huge diaper backpack? I just want something simple (probably not leather) that looks slightly ‘Portland hipster’ so I can go on bike rides with the kids without liquid spilling all over the inside.

Next up is this new super simple boxy cotton dress. I am so not selling this very well in this photo and yet I LOVE IT. It apparently isn’t terribly flattering because of its boxy shape and yet it’s so easy and cute to wear every single day. That brand, The Great is expensive (they now give me a deal because I wear/post about them all the time, although I used to just stalk their site for sales). But I find that I wear their clothes daily because they are very much my style and are cut well for me. But, we linked up a cheaper version because $340 for a simple dress is too much. Madewell often has the same style like 6 months later, which is both good and bad, right?

Speaking of Madewell, that bandana is theirs and for $12 it’s pretty great. I have a few different colors and wear them very often (as you have seen on my stories).

Next up. my ‘daytime meeting’ outfit.

On top I have my new favorite shirt by TIBI. Why is it so great? Because it’s simple but special (which is my life quest to find in every form). It’s tailored on top, then balloons out, while the sleeves have cute elastic and there is a zipper down the front. It’s flattering, tailored, and is best with skinnies or something simple on the bottom. Plus it will not wrinkle and yet isn’t stiff.

Again, it doesn’t look that awesome of shirt, but it is. Those pants are Victoria Beckham for Target (which might be sold out online but are often still in store) and they are GREAT. Think about how many chambray tops I have – those tops have been begging for a patterned yet not crazy summer pant. Did I just say ‘summer pant’? Do I now write copy for the LL Bean catalogue in 1982?

I finally got that cute Ban.do circle bag which makes this outfit a bit more playful and the shoes are my favorite mules from Rachel Comey.

*P.S. are capris coming back??? All of our cropped/frayed pants are looking similar to the capris of my high school years.

This one is my ‘swiss-school-girl look’ and it would be for a brunch or summer daytime meeting. Those shorts are pretty great and flattering and I’ve worn them a lot since I bought them. The shirt was a splurge which I rationalized because it has pretty detailing at the top with the embroidery which is good for camera (most video shoots are just from my waist up so I try to find shirts that have something special about them, but aren’t too busy).

Ironically I tried to wear it in a video shoot yesterday and Brian said it was too white for camera and I was like NO IT’S NOT, IT IS VERY GOOD FOR CAMERA. I now realize I may have been wrong. Thank God I got it on a huge 40% off sale (sorry, we couldn’t find it online but it’s Isabel Marant, here is a similar one).

The hat is my favorite from Equal Uprise and I wear it very often.

Lastly – I finally found some culottes that I love.

They are powder blue and are medium rise and one could even call them ‘slacks’. I tried a few shirts tucked in but felt best with a tailored longer shirt as it had too much stretch up top to look flattering.

I’ve had that shirt from Madewell for FOUR YEARS – I wore it when I was pregnant with Charlie! Hopefully you guys aren’t sick of seeing those shoes – they are still my favorites and I wear them almost every day.

So that’s what is happening in my closet these days – and here is everything linked up! Not everything was available online so some of these are similar to what I was wearing. If you find any of the items that we haven’t been able to find online be sure to comment below and we will add them in for everyone.

1. Denim Shirt | 2. Light Gray Hat | 3. Light Blue Pants | 4. Tan Bootie | 5. Key Necklace | 6. Black Leather Tote | 7. Blue Strip Ruffle Blouse | 8. White Jeans | 9. Black Bootie | 10. Army Green Jacket | 11. Red Striped Jacket | 12. Jean Shorts | 13. Blush Suede Sneakers | 14. Blush Round Purse | 15. Dark Gray Hat | 16. Peter Pan Collar Blouse | 17. Blue and White Striped Ruffle Shorts | 18. Camel Mule | 19. Light Blue Jean Dress | 20. Dark Blue Denim Dress | 21. Red Bandana | 22. Leather Backpack | 23. Navy Puff Sleeve Blouse | 24. Buffalo Check Pants | 25. Rachel Comey Mules

If I had to call out my ‘must haves’ it would be the white Madewell jeans (they are my first white jeans of my life), the pink Dr. Scholls, the Parker Clay black bag, Levi shorts and the Equal Uprise hat.