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Style Diary: BCBG Metallic heels

July 17, 2011
What I Wore to Work

I made a pitstop at our shoe department during the huge July consolidation sale and ended up not being able to resist a couple pairs from the sale rack. One pair was this metallic BCBG stilettos that looked both sexy and edgy at the same time. I couldn’t believe they were only going to be around $50 with my employee discount. And I loved how they looked so designer at a fraction of the cost.

I immediately put them to good use the next day and wore them to work with my Calvin Klein charcoal sheath – something that I find so comfy and glam at the same time. It’s stretchy and never wrinkles which also makes it the perfect travel dress. Because of all the glitz, I toned it down for work with a chocolate, half-sleeve cardigan that I bought at (gasp) Target! With all the sparkle and shine, I figured I didn’t need much in terms of accessories. So I just added my sunglasses and a brown tote and I was off! What do you think?

Frugal and Fab: 1 $15 dress worn 3 ways

July 13, 2011
1 item styled various ways , Style , What I Wore to Work

In one of my earlier style diary posts, I wrote about how Olivia Palermo’s outfit inspired mine that day.

And it all started with this H&M cheap and chic find from the sale rack for only $15. In the above picture, I’ve winterized the classically cut sheath with tights, booties, a hat, cardigan and belt. (For outfit details see earlier post).

As you know I try to never wear an outfit the same way twice. It’s my somewhat ineffective way to keep myself from getting bored of my clothes. How do you keep from getting bored of your fashions?

I constantly need to edit and update my wardrobe. Perhaps it is a side effect of working in retail. After all, there is constant temptation by the latest, newest and more fashionable items. You’re constantly in want of what’s new and suddenly the old clothes sitting in your perfectly fine closet at home just don’t seem good enough or enough period. But really, before I worked in retail, my personal obsession has always been fashion. I’ve always struggled with being satisfied with the overflowing closet already at home. It’s so easy to tire of what’s in your closet, isn’t it? Aren’t you always craving the next new thing? I never understood how people could stand to wear the same thing over and over, year after year. My husband wears out his clothes until he bores holes through them and even then, he’ll practically throw a fit if you try to convince him to stop wearing it. I. do. not. understand.

To keep my budget in check and to keep the inevitable boredom from setting in, the personal styling challenge helps keep things interesting! Here are a couple more ways that I’ve worn the same dress throughout the past year.

For work, I’ve paired the dress with my black blazer as well as my more summery white blazer (also from H&M). It’s pictured here.

I got these crazy white/black heels while on a trip to Shanghai, the black biker cuff was from Claire’s of all places, and the purse was a gift that I’ve since given away.

For the summer, I took the same dress and color palette as the first outfit except I switched out the winter accessories for bare legs, sexy stilettos, a BCBG suede belt and then ditched the cardigan.

I find this dress to be so versatile and am happy to report that I’m not quite done with it yet. I can do so much with the black and white graphic print. Add a pop of color with the accessories, purse, shoes or cardigan and you have a bolder overall look. Layer a shirt on top of the dress and convert it into what looks like a graphic skirt – in fact I think that will be my next fashion move. This $15 investment is going a long way!