One Week of Inspired Outfits: Winter Edition

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If you saw me walking down the street in Philadelphia in the middle of the workday on the way to pick up some lunch in the last 3 months, I would probably be wearing:

• The riding boots I’ve had since college that I still somehow get compliments on
• My Ralph Lauren puffer coat from 3 years ago that is losing its puffiness and accidentally got washed with the fur hood on it, so it kinda looks like a squirrel tail around my head
• The same purse that I’ve worn for the last 3 months, until I inevitably spill salad dressing in the bottom and need to retire it for a good cleaning
• Tight J. Crew legging-esque business pants with some long sweater/shirt/cardigan that covers my butt enough to be work-appropriate
• Hair down, blow-dried, with my “5-minute everyday makeup routine” adorning my face, which is blog-post-title-code for “I don’t know how to do makeup”

Are you inspired?!? Me neither. I think this is the third blog post in a row where I admit a problem that I have and then conclude by blaming winter for it. Y’all catching my drift? Let’s ban winter! So now that I’ve admitted it, winter sucks and I can’t dress myself when it is this season. There.

But alas, what would a blog post be without a solution? So to humor/inspire/enlighten myself, I embarked on a challenge. As winter hopefully starts to pack its bags, I give you….My #OneWeekofInspiredOutfits. (Copyright that.) Winter edition. A week of work where I scoured Pinterest (yo, follow me on there), copied a lot of pretty girls’ outfits, took a hurried pre-work photo, and posted it here to prove to you all that I could do it. I know you didn’t think I couldn’t 😉 Copy them. Shop the items. Share your looks with the world. Use that hashtag. It’ll be fun. And don’t let winter get you down. Wear good outfits; you’ll feel better.

Monday – 60’s Beatnik

I’m not really sure if I per say, nailed beatnik (I know I didn’t. Where are the beret, loafers, and skinny black pants?). But let’s just say I did. A little trick I have for the winter is to pop a turtleneck or collared shirt under any sleeveless dress. This helps you to use more of your wardrobe year round and to avoid covering the details of your pretty dresses in drab, shapeless sweaters all winter. This look was so simple for a Monday and the ankle straps on my Steve Madden shoes just kick it up a notch from your average pair of black flats.

Unfortunately this is an old dress from Anthropologie, but I did link some similar styles below. I also found it on Poshmark for some people asking, by searching “Baraschi Green Blue Dress”.

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Tuesday – Menswear Chic

I have an obsession with exceptionally executed menswear looks on pretty women. I’m serious. Just take a look at my Pinterest clothing board. There are flocks of them. I haven’t quite nailed it yet, but I like to think I’m getting close! These Marc Fisher block heels make me feel so cool, so that’s a start. Instead of reaching for a pair of flat oxfords, which can be a little frumpy, a pointed toe or heel adds a feminine spin and elongates the legs under baggy business pants. I was especially inspired by this look.

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Wednesday – Preppy Flight Attendant

TBH this is not at all what I planned to wear when I woke up on Wednesday. But when my original plan backfired, this is what came out of the pile of clothes thrown on my bed. Even in my immense panic, I was determined to create something good. Some pearls and a neck scarf sealed the deal. Just goes to show you what a few simple accessories can do to an originally boring outfit.

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Thursday – Monochromatic

Thursday got hard. Even though I had set my outfit out the night before, it turned into a Pinterest fail. But when in doubt, go monochromatic. I decided to pair these Zara suede pants with all different shades of tan, beige, and gold. I rather like how it turned out! In college my roommates used to make fun of me for always wearing groufits around the house (fully gray sweatshirt/sweatpant outfits). But let’s just say I was testing out the monochromatic trend. Here are some of the photos that inspired me. 1 | 2 | 3

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Friday – Winter Whites/Nor’easter (lol jk)

So this is hilarious… I was about to wear all white, wide leg pants and heels to work, and then I was like Oh nevermind, it’s gonna rain. AND THEN. It was actually a nor’easter and it took me 4 hours, a bus, a subway, and many treks through snow to get home. Wow I am glad I copped out with this outfit. I’m lucky I even had boots on!

This is a really simple, classic look. A little horseback rider, a little grownup business woman mixed into one. The tweed/plaid blazer is having a moment and I have my eye on a cool oversized one to pair with jeans for date night.

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Takeaway Message

So there it is! My week of outfits! I hope you feel inspired to reassess how you are dressing and get out of the rut of wearing the same thing all the time! Challenge yourself. Try one week and share with #OneWeekofInspiredOutfits. I would love to see what you are sporting at the office. The biggest takeaway from this challenge is that Pinterest is a magical place. You don’t need to own every thing you see, all you need is a formula for a great outfit and you can pretty much recreate anything. For example, I saw a monochromatic outfit that I loved in all gray, but didn’t own any of the pieces. So I tried it in tan and it worked. The same principles will apply in either color. And feel free to pin any of these looks to your own style boards for inspiration!

We are so close to the end of winter and it will continue to get easier and easier to style ourselves creatively and I just can’t wait. I’m rooting for you, spring! As always, thank you for stopping by and reading along.

xoxo,

jojo