First wardrobe addition of 2016! - Lou & Grey Mix-up Cardigan

Here's my first wardrobe addition of 2016 =) And it was a gift from my parents! =D

Lou & Grey Mix-up Cardigan

I love this cardigan - it has the colors that I chose to build my color capsule around and it is soooo cozy, like a giant hug. I absolutely love it. My parents bought it for me while they were helping me kill time, waiting for my car to be serviced. Even though I'm an adult now, they still spoil me <3

I wore it on my recent trip to Vegas and it was perfect for the cool weather they were having, jumping in and out of cabs and between hotels. When I was inside, it was just right and didn't leave me too warm. I would have been too cold at night if I were to walk the strip, but during the day, with the sun out, it wasn't too bad, and when I got a little chilly, I just wrapped it around myself and it really was cozy.

My introduction to LOFT

I've heard many great things about LOFT and they finally opened their stores in British Columbia and I made my first purchase!

This year, I purged a lot of clothing and filled in some missing wardrobe staples. I'm starting to aim towards a more simplified and streamline wardrobe and having identified the staple colors I want to stick with (black, ivory/white, gray, and blue/navy), I am now on the look out for more staple pieces. 

I chose the following items and am very happy with them. I tried them on with my work staples - pencil skirt, slim fitted trousers, (and even my drape pants!) and they all looked great! The 2 dresses - well, I can never give up a well-fitted dress haha; the black and white striped one is going to eventually replace my black sheath dress which is going to have to go in the donate pile soon as it's getting a bit stretched out for me, and the flare dress, because I don't have anything like it, and it seems fun for both work and play.

Since this was my first time at LOFT, I tried on everything in all neighbouring sizes to find the right size for me. Their sizing seems to be all over the place compared to other stores I go to; they also seem to fit a little bigger than most places so I sized down for all my pieces except for the striped dress which I bought in a medium-petite. Usually I'm a small/medium in tops and range from 6-10 in dresses, but usually a solid 8. At LOFT, at least in this flare dress, I'm a 6P.

May color capsule summary and showcase!

N and I have just completed our second month of color capsules! In May, we decided to keep to our basic colors and we each added a color for the start of Spring - she chose peach, and I chose pink!

Here is a summary of our outfits!

Mine - 

I've highlighted my favourites in green. So far, I'm still loving this color capsule concept versus a pre-chosen number of items. With a color capsule, I'm allowed more flexibility but it still keeps my numbers to a manageable amount. Although I introduced pink into the mix, I only used 3 items in that color and the rest of the items are still coming from my basics - black, white, gray, and navy. 

N's - 

Again, I love N's choice. Peach looks fantastic on her and she seems to have incorporated more of her additional color into her outfits than I did. Her clothes always have an interesting pattern or detail to them, and always look feminine; she always uses some fantastic accessories too! 

For the month of June,we have both chosen to add blue, of the brighter variety =) Stay tuned!

April color capsule summary and showcase!

Well, April is over now and N and I have stayed true to our pact and goal. We have been sticking to a color capsule of black, white, navy, and gray for our work outfits. Here's a look at our outfits!

Mine

I highlighted some of my favourites - It was a lot of fun and the only hard part was sometimes I found myself reaching for things that weren't in my color capsule. It wasn't because I couldn't find anything to wear, it was because they happened to be there; instead of giving in, I saved those items for the weekend. I found that I used my Michael Kors skinny belt a lot and it made a big difference - prior to this month, I rarely used the belt but it's now quite a staple of mine. I also tried out a scarf that was sitting in my closet and fell in love with it. My white GAP tunic got lots of wear (still so pleased about this purchase!) and take note, of the variety in shoes - yup, I'm getting quite good at changing up my shoes! Next month, since we are entering warmer weather, I will be adding pink to my color capsule.

N's

Loved all of N's outfits, especially her scarves and this awesome white top that she has, shown in the first outfit, and her fantastic blazer. Seeing hers makes me want a longer blazer as mine are quite short and seem to make me look a bit heavier than I am. She also has fantastic accessories!! For next month, she will be injecting peach/beige to her color capsule. (PS - N went on vacation and we also had a 4 day long weekend. We're not slackers lol). 

April purchases

Last week I went to Banana Republic for a little window shopping and came home with two great finds!

 

I mentioned in a past post that I have issues with wearing items that tie around my waist, due to a short waist. I should note that, while those don't work, dresses with an elastic waist work wonders for me. I love this one because it's light weight and sleek looking, and my favourite thing in the world for dress and skirts - POCKETS!!! This item is not fussy in cut or color, and I know it will look classic for years to come. I look forward to pairing it with bold color shoes, and pulling a sweater over top when the temperature drops.

I LOVE this sweatshirt. I've already broken it in and can already tell it is going to be a favourite. I love so many things about it - the feel of it, the lack of a hood, the price I got it at ($8.99!!!), and especially the finish - I don't know if you can tell but it has a slight sheen/metallic look to it (it's called a 'foil' sweatshirt) and it just looks so much more grown-up than any other sweatshirt or hoodie I currently own. It has made me want to clear out more of my sweatshirts and hoodies. 

Both items are in-line with my color capsule and will work for multiple seasons, as well as professional and casual outfits (I love the pairing of the sweatshirt with a skirt - maybe an idea for business casual Fridays); I'm so pleased!

Color capsule attempt - Black, White, Gray, and Navy

After my Tuesday post about our dreary Spring, I decided to try a new approach to my wardrobe. When I began my purge, I organized my wardrobe by colors and let go of anything that didn't look good on me. I am going to take it one step further and try to stick to a color capsule of only black, white, gray and navy (blues). 

Why the sudden change? I'm bored by all this rain and also find myself distracted with what I have - it's been harder the last while to put together outfits and I need to re-focus; also, my purging has really slowed down and I find I'm getting tempted to make purchases (I haven't! but I'm tempted!). Since my attempt at a capsule wardrobe didn't work out, I'm hoping this will help me stay focused but allow me to still be flexible. Also, it's a great way for me to wear more of my shoes - since I got so many new pairs lately, I've been working on creating outfits around my shoes (I have a really bad habit of starting with awesome shoes and then changing into flats the second I get a chance)

I discussed my plan with my co-worker (I shall call her N) and she suggested that I only do this for work, or I might get bored or feel restricted. I thought that was a really good point, especially since I still love color, have great pieces, and am still trying to perfect my weekend wardrobe - perhaps I can shift anything outside of the color capsule into my weekend and voila, perfected! (We'll see, haha) 

Also, she loved the color capsule idea so much, that she joined me on my challenge to wear only black white, gray, and navy for the rest of the week. Here are our outfits:

My outfits:

(Shoes: BCBG gray patent pumps; Nine West Swaymeso kitten heels; Nine West leopard pumps)

N's outfits:

I loved all of N's outfits - she looked so perfectly put together for the office and made it look so easy! For myself, I definitely love the idea but I need to actually organize my closet and think about outfits. Since it started out as a whim idea, I wasn't super prepared but we decided we loved the idea so much, that we're going to take the challenge into April - we'll be sticking to the same set of colors. Also, my husband is returning soon (yay!!!) and I will have use of my Stylebook App again (bonus yay!!!).

Did you notice my shoes though? hehe. I think if anything, although I wasn't super happy with my outfits, I AM super happy about my shoes and their rotation.