Wednesday, July 24, 2013

review: investment silk shirts

lately i've been trying to avoid cheap purchases and invest in higher quality pieces.  (seriously, who isn't trying to do this?)  anyway, one of the items that i've been looking to invest in is some slouchy-ish silk shirts for tucking into skinny pants and pencil skirts.  i ordered a few and figured i'd post my thoughts on each since i couldn't find a good side-by-side brand comparison when i was doing my shopping.  

first up, j.crew factory's two-pocket silk shirt in neon rose.  i paid $49 for this one and they usually retail for $95, but dude, they are always having a percent off sale of some sort.
july blog post, silk shirt review, shopping for silk shirts, silk shirt investment pieces, everlane, j.crew factory two-button silk shirt, neon rose
i ordered a size small since that is my usual size for tops at j.crew factory.  the fit untucked and unrolled is pretty bad.  the sleeves are really long (and i rarely have this problem, so i'm pretty sure i do not have abnormally stumpy arms).  the shirt has some nice details like fabric covered buttons and three buttons on the cuffs, but i had some qualms with the fabric.  the finish is called "polished", so even though it feels like silk, it looks like shiny polyester in person.  the fabric is super thin and sheer in a way that's more like "flimsy" than "flowy".  it looks a little bit too much like satin pajamas for my taste.  
july blog post, silk shirt review, shopping for silk shirts, silk shirt investment pieces, everlane, j.crew factory two-button silk shirt, neon rose


next up, everlane's classic band in light grey.  i paid $80 for this shipped.
july blog post, silk shirt review, shopping for silk shirts, silk shirt investment pieces, everlane, j.crew factory two-button silk shirt, neon rose
i bought a band-collar shirt from h&m (seen in this post) a few months ago and have been a big fan of how it's somewhere between a dress shirt and a henley.  i had heard good things about everlane's tees from fran and i like the idea of a no frills company that is upfront about where their garments are produced.  the finish is "brushed" and is definitely more matte than the j.crew factory one.  i also like that it doesn't have front pockets which can look too masculine for my taste.  anyway, the silk is a good weight and the shirt champed it through an epic 15-hour workday last week.  this shirt is definitely going to become a weekly staple for my work wardrobe.  oh, and this is a size small.  
july blog post, silk shirt review, shopping for silk shirts, silk shirt investment pieces, everlane, j.crew factory two-button silk shirt, neon rose


and finally, for comparison, here is a extra-small silk shirt for zara that the boy gifted me a few years ago.  their silk shirts usually run in the $60-$100 range, so it's a similar price point to the first two.  
july blog post, silk shirt review, shopping for silk shirts, silk shirt investment pieces, everlane, j.crew factory two-button silk shirt, neon rose
this shirt has been my go-to for when i need to dress a bit more professionally and the subtle contrast between the white and washed out pink color makes it a bit more interesting than a solid white shirt.  like most light-color silk shirts, this one is a bit sheer, but i've layered it with print layers in the past to keep things interesting.  
july blog post, silk shirt review, shopping for silk shirts, silk shirt investment pieces, everlane, j.crew factory two-button silk shirt, neon rose

*this post was not sponsored in any way, i just thought i'd post a bajillion photos of myself wearing untucked shirts in our dining room.  

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

dotty, a slouchy dress, and a super white vest

july blog post, summer dress with vest, summer layers, sleeveless white vest, zara vest, summer neutrals, wear to work, ootd, suzi chin dress, summer light neutrals, dude its hot outside
[wearing]
dress: suzi chin (exactly)
vest: zara (similar)
heels: merona (exactly, but they're on clearance in store)
necklace stack: diy and forever21
purse: target
sunnies: vintage (my niece wearing them)

creative: this dress is kinda shapeless and this vest can look super 80s-tastic, but the two paired together are perfect for a hot summer workday.
young: a bunch of necklaces, a quilted bag that looks like it was gift from the easter bunny, giant sunnies.  
professional: snakeskin pumps!  they're the perfect height for being comfy all day and a bit more fun that solid color shoes.  

july blog post, summer dress with vest, summer layers, sleeveless white vest, zara vest, summer neutrals, wear to work, ootd

july blog post

find all sorts of other posts like this one over here.

Monday, July 22, 2013

dotty, sundresses, and saturday scones

july blog post
[wearing]
dress: target (similar)
necklace: stella and dot
flats: old navy (exactly)
sunnies: ray-ban (exactly)
purse: marc jacobs/neiman marcus/target collab (similar)

[three things]
1. this dress has survived many closet cleanouts because when it gets really hot and humid outside it becomes the best thing ever.  
2. the boy finally had a non-working weekend (yay!) so we had time for some of our typical weekend food excursions....friday sushi and saturday morning scones.  yesssss!
3. as much as i love me some layers, the dress+necklace combination is just so easy peasy!  

july blog post

july blog post

july blog post

Thursday, July 18, 2013

dotty, pencil skirt remixing, and mirrored spots

july outfit
[wearing]
shirt: spense (similar)
skirt: target (similar)
wedges: elie tahari (really similar)
clutch: marc jacobs/neiman marcus/target 
bunch of necklaces: forever21, diy, etc

[three things]
1. this pencil skirt always seems to remind me of heidi (the queen of print pencil skirts) since she is quite the expert remixing pencil skirts.  
2. i've been carrying around this clutch quite a bit lately and then just dropping it into a bigger bag to go to meetings.  it works pretty well and avoids the giant purse+work tote=bag lady problem.  
3. the other ways that i've worn this skirt in the past wear definitely more adventurous, but i definitely like it with a basic black shirt too.  

july outfit, leopard skirt, pencil skirt outfit, ootd, business casual, what to wear with, office style, leopard and black

[previously on] leopard pencil skirt
july outfit, leopard pencil skirt outfits, animal print outfit ideas, office style, business casual

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

dotty, boots in the summer, and redness

july outfits, how to wear suede ankle boots, summertime boots, business casual, summer layers, ootd, what to wear to work, dash dot dotty, style blog, boots in the summer
[wearing]
dress: cos
jacket: h&m (similar)
scarf: forever21 (similar)
bag: j.crew (exactly)
suede boots: target (similar)

[three things]
1. i took advantage of a slightly cooler morning the other day to wear some summer boots.  
2. this jacket might be nearing the end of it's lifetime in my closet since it's showing some pretty serious signs of wear.  a similar higher-quality jacket with a similar texture is definitely going on my wishlist for the fall.  
3. this dress is awesome, but it has those trendy giant armholes which make it definitely not work-appropriate without a jacket.  boo.

july outfits, how to wear suede ankle boots, summertime boots, business casual, summer layers, ootd, what to wear to work, dash dot dotty, style blog

july outfits, how to wear suede ankle boots, summertime boots, business casual, summer layers, ootd, what to wear to work, dash dot dotty, style blog, j.crew brompton, bright red hobo

Monday, July 15, 2013

dotty, summer scarves, and that dress

july outfits
[wearing]
dress: madewell (exactly)
scarf: forever21 (exactly)
flats: old navy (exactly)
big red bag: j.crew (exactly)
sunnies: ray-ban (exactly)

[three things]
1. let's talk about how awesome summer weekends are for a second.  on saturday, we drove out to starved rock for some easy hiking-to-see-waterfalls.  when we lived in vegas we were so close to a bajillion state and national parks and i definitely miss our weekend hiking excursions.  
2. i get to use comp time exactly four times a year (and only on fridays in the summer) and this friday is one of my days!  i've got tons of meetings to prepare for/not yawn during before i get to friday, but i'm still super excited about my four day workweek.  
3. this dress is definitely a blogger favorite and i totally understand why.  it's the dress equivalent of wearing a tee shirt, but minus the part where you have to figure out what pants to wear.  i have a strapless j.crew dress with a similar gathered waist and pockets (seen here) and it's been one of my summer weekend staples for the past few years.  

july outfits

july outfits

july outfits

Friday, July 12, 2013

friday five: newness around here

dash_five

dash dot dotty
1. new summer cotton blanket from target with gray and white chevrons.

dash dot dotty
2. the yellow dinosaurs from our wedding reception have been popping up all over the apartment.  

dash dot dotty
3. bright knotted headband.  (exactly)

dash dot dotty
4. a surprise post-wedding awesome tray gift.  (exactly)

july outfits
5. my new bright favorite nail polish.  (exactly)