goldenpig

I like doing variations on a theme, so here are two versions of another FFBO formula: Magic dress + statement necklace + flats. Very comfy yet dressy at the same time. I wore these both to work, and the first one to a Mom's Night Out as well. The first dress is a Nine West "magic dress" that I bought on eBay, and the second one is from Bluefly. Who knew these would be the perfect postpartum dresses? Both of them are forgiving of my postpartum apple tummy. Both have a colorful busy print, which is great for hiding pumping leaks and baby spit-up. ;) And my nursing bra doubled as a cami (although I seem to have developed some new cleavage, LOL!). Both of these necklaces are new from White House Black Market. I've been getting a little bolder and more statement-y with my necklaces lately. What do you think, do the bigger necklaces work or are they too overwhelming?
1-3. Nine West "Magic dress" from eBay
WHBM lagoon necklace and bracelet
Cole Haan turquoise stripe satchel
Stuart Weitzman burgundy ballet flats
4-7. Laundry by Shelli Segal dress from Bluefly
WHBM black and white bib necklace
Ralph Lauren black doctor's satchel from TJ Maxx
WHBM pointy black flats

Day off today! I had only 5 min to get dressed so I grabbed this outfit (dresses are my FFBO) and ran. I wore this to drop DD off at school, and later tonight am going to go out to dinner with DH. I volunteered at the AM carpool line at DD's school this morning and one of the other moms who was there with me (who is one of the dressiest ones, actually...wears a lot of Kate Spade & Tory Burch etc) asked me if I was going to work--when I said no she was surprised and said I looked so dressed up. Hm, really? Jean jacket and sandals doesn't seem like a work outfit to me! Anyways, this outfit reminds me of the ocean and beach with the "swirling ocean" aqua dress and "misty whitecaps" white jean jacket, sand colored sandals, bag with sandy brown leather and watery turquoise stripes, "ocean waves" bracelet and "beach glass" turquoise and grey necklace. I took pics with my iPhone today, since even my peacock case matched the color scheme. Can you tell I love matchy matchy theme dressing? ;) I feel like I'm at the beach with a pina colada in hand today!
Thanks for your comments!

AE white denim jacket
Michael Kors turquoise agate dress
Cole Haan turquoise stripe satchel
Banana Republic Trina Turk bracelet
White House Black Market lagoon necklace
Naturalizer nude flat sandals
New pink lipstick! Maybelline "Let Me Pink"

1-4. The first outfit was for MOTG. I bought some polka dot jeans from White House Black Market. I'm not super fond of the top because the neckline is too wide and exposes my bra, and my tummy looks lumpy, but I seem to have a relative lack of casual tops (other than loungewear T shirts). I like this necklace because it reminds me of polka dots, so it's matchy matchy with my polka dot jeans. And my diaper bag is polka dots, and my nursing cover is a similar black and white floral pattern to my Japanese floral sneakers. Check out DD's striped peplum top and floral jeans from H&M--I would love to have an adult sized version of her outfit! She's got Paul Frank sneakers, and DS1 is matchy matchy with his Thomas socks and boots. DS2 is 15 lb already at 2.5 months, so he is a little big man!
Anthro pink top
WHBM polka dot jeans
Kate Spade Tretorn Japanese floral sneakers
WHBM polka dot necklace

5-8. The red python shirt debut. Wore this to work.
The Shirt red python blouse
Gap Real Skinny black pants
White House Black Market pointy black flats (I exchanged for a new pair)
MK black studded satchel
Black bracelet

OK, this isn't really an orphan, but this new gold lame blouse got very little love on the K/R thread and Denise said it could be on the fast track to the orphanage. So, since it's a hard item to style I figured it qualifies for the orphan challenge. What do you think--worth keeping or not? Do you like it better styled? DD and DS loved the shirt (DD said "Oooh, gold and shiny!" and DS said "Just like Bob the Builder and the Golden Hammer!"). DH wasn't a fan, but he didn't ask me to take it off either. I'm wearing this to work--it's Disco Friday. LOL!

1-3. This used to be one of my favorite blouses pre-YLF. I haven't worn it in a long long time, and now I know why. The worst shape ever for post-partum apples. Hello potbelly! Uggh. Off to the donate pile! (I'm only posting in the interests of honesty for the challenge).
4-6. I'm never quite sure if this skirt looks too dowdy or not. Plus the cat peed on it and while the smell washed out, I still can't forget and am a little skeeved out. Nevertheless, I think this outfit worked fairly well, and the skirt stays for now (but hung up away from the cat!). Do you prefer the shirt tucked or untucked?
7-8. Rust colored pleated skirt. Meh. Paired it with my bee blouse. Yes it's a little too autumnal of an outfit and I feel like a secretary from the '70's (even more so if I could have found the pussy bow tie), but do you think the skirt should stay or go? The one cute thing was that I matched the baby!

Sona helpfully posted about this company called The Shirt that makes button down shirts with extra buttons to prevent gapping at the bust. I ordered some to try, since my nursing bust has been at odds with my current button down shirts. Which of these do you think I should keep? I'm pretty sure I can make the first two (red snakeskin and black and white ink spots) work in my wardrobe easily. The gold lame was a bit of a stretch--I don't know why, but I wanted to try something new. But is it too tacky/disco to wear to work? It would be a challenge for sure to style, but it might be a lot of fun. Those three were all size M. The fourth shirt is a tunic style and the website said to size up on this one so I did order a L but I think the sleeves are too long and so is the shirt. It's also a very pale blue which I think is not my best color.

Thanks for your opinions!
1-5 Red snakeskin
6-10 Black and white paint splotches
11-16 Gold lame
17-20 Light blue tunic shirt

Here's my first outfit for Karie's Orphans to Outfits challenge. I was rushing out the door to work so I did not have time to sit and think about this outfit. I bought the lace bomber that Angie has and wore so well in this outfit, and this is sort of a copy of her outfit with the lace bomber over a full skirt. But for some reason I am just not feeling like this outfit is "me". I'm finding this lace bomber so hard to style with my other tops and dresses, because most of them are patterned themselves and kind of clash with the lace pattern. Plus the silhouette of the bomber with its lack of waist definition makes me feel a bit frumpy. Help, please analyze what went wrong with this outfit, and I'd love suggestions on how to wear this bomber because it still feels like an orphan to me. I only wore the jacket for a few minutes to go to work and then took it off inside (basically wore #2), because I wasn't sure if it looked professional enough (plus it was hot today).
Thanks for your comments and suggestions!
Lace bomber
WHBM white blouse and blue pleated skirt
Born silver flats
The Sak black purse
Pewter bracelet and pearls

1. Was not 100% happy with this outfit--I threw in on as I was rushing out the door to work. I kept thinking I looked like Michael Jackson in Thriller! Suggestions? (Besides putting on a single leather glove)?
Tahari black leather jacket
Ann Taylor black and white floral top
Gap red trousers
Black Rieker booties
MK black studded satchel

2-6. I couldn't wait to get started on Karie's Orphans to Outfits challenge, as I was inspired by Sona's button-down shirts post to pull out this ancient orphan. It's from (don't laugh) Casual Corner, so it's got to be at least 15 years old. It's a size 6, but it was boxy and I like fitted silhouettes so last year I bought a similar blue and white striped button down shirt from Banana Republic (size 8 but it's super slim). But now the BR shirt is too tight because of my increased bust size, so I pulled this one off the donate pile and lo and behold it's just right! I thought I don't look good in pastels, but I like the light blue shirt and white pants combo--feels very spring-like to me. And I rescued another orphan--a necklace from BR that I rarely wear, but the light blue matches the shirt perfectly. I threw on some leopard flats because it felt more me with some pattern in the outfit (although I guess you could count the stripes in the shirt and croc texture in the bag), and plus that seems like a very preppy thing to do (I see I wore the blue striped shirt with the leopard flats last year too!). I feel like I should go hang out at J Crew today! Even though this is not my typical style, I'm very happy with this outfit! I think I'm going to have fun with Karie's challenge--I think it will help me with keep or purge with my orphans!
Casual Corner blue striped button down shirt
Gap white tank
Kut from the Kloth Diana white skinnies
Stuart Weitzmann leopard flats
Kate Spade grey croc tote
Banana Republic light and dark blue necklace

I find that I'm doing more black and white and neutral outfits and fewer riot of bright color outfits. Maybe it's because I'm into graphic patterns and matchy matchy, so there's still plenty going on to keep me from getting bored, even with the lack of color.

Back at work and already on call again. I'm at the hospital all week, including this weekend, so these are all work outfits. Though I did go to the park in #7. Baby is having issues with reflux due to dairy allergy (and possibly soy), so he's waking up more at night and I'm having a hard time finding things to eat (dairy and soy are in everything!) Between work and taking care of the kids and pumping at home/work and nursing at home and waking up at night with the baby and answering pages in the middle of the night and waking up early with DS1, I'm super exhausted! And hungry! This is my only fun outlet though, so I'm still posting WIW's. Thanks for looking and commenting!

1-6. DH surprised me with a gift card to White House Black Market before the baby came so that I could buy new clothes after the baby--so sweet. I finally had the chance to shop there and got a bunch of stuff. My Anne Fontaine white shirt is too tight across my nursing bust now (buttons kept popping open) so I was glad to find this substitute. I also bought some shorts and jewelry. And these flats, but within 10 min of wearing them the paint already chipped off the point of the toe on one of them, so I'm considering taking it back for return/exchange.
WHBM white poplin shirt with rolled sleeves, black and white chevron stripe skirt, cap toe black flats, and black dot necklace. Michael Kors black satchel.

7-10. This dress is great for access for pumping and nursing with the snaps (although I forgot to button it up after nursing at the park--how embarrassing!). It also works equally well in spring/summer (with sandals or booties) and fall (with tall boots and leather jacket). I went to the park with the boys after work to pick up DD who was with a friend all day for a playdate. I was so glad that the friend's parents and my MIL were there to help out, because I simultaneously got paged to call the hospital, DS2 started crying wanting to nurse, DS1 said he had to go potty RIGHT NOW (with no bathroom at the park), and DD was with her friend hiding somewhere in the big play structure. I can't keep all the balls in the air by myself...definitely need lots of help! It's a three ring circus around here for sure!
H&M safari shirtdress, Linea Pelle belt, Rieker booties, Fossil floral satchel, F21 bronze bracelet and Alexis Bittar orange leopard pendant (love the matching orange in the bracelet and necklace).

11-12. Hope you're not sick of my match matchy polka dot craze! I love the necklace I just got from WHBM (#4), because it's like a polka dot necklace! It's a more subdued variation of the J Crew bubble necklace, so it's a lot more wearable. I can't believe these dotty snake shoes and bag weren't part of a set...they're like long-lost twins! And these shoes are one of the most attention-getting compliment-generating shoes I own! All of my patients and the hospital staff love them. I tried to purge my closet but I keep pulling things out of the purge pile, like this jacket (that I thought was too wrinkly), because I need them to complete an outfit. This was the only topper that worked (matches the color of the shoes/bag, plus the buttons match the polka dots), and it was perfect for the foggy weather. I'm having second thoughts about purging my closet, because I keep rescuing everything from the purge pile!
WHBM cream and black jacket
Casual Couture black polka dot top
Halogen pencil skirt in emerald
All Black fish bow pumps
Marc by Marc Jacobs dotty snake bag
WHBM dotty necklace

Back to work! More super matchy matchy--I like matching my accessories to my outfits and to each other. I think I would have been as happy as a clam if I had lived in the 1950's when matchy matchy was de rigeur! And my dot obsession continues unabated...

1-2. Anne Fontaine white blouse (the button at the bust came undone several times during the day--unfortunate consequence of nursing rack--will have to buy a bigger white blouse ASAP!)
Banana Republic navy and white polka dot skirt
Ann Taylor polka dot bracelet
Marc by Marc Jacobs dotty snake purse
All Black dotty snake shoes

3-6. White House Black Market ink blue jacket
AF white blouse
Anthro liquid acres pencil skirt
Kate Spade turquoise clutch and pumps
Banana Republic turquoise bangle