Bloggers Do It Better: Neon + Neutral

It’s time for another “Blogger’s Do It Better” challenge… YAY! Even though this is only my second time partaking in the BDIB challenges I have quickly grown to love them and I can’t wait to have fun stepping up to these challenges. This time around the challenge was to combine neon colors with neutrals. I have to admit it took me a few days of trying on different outfits before I finally decided that this one was what I was going to go with.  I really don’t have many neon pieces in my wardrobe so I’m not sure why it took me so long to put something together. I guess that’s part of the fun, mixing and matching things to see what looks best.

I went with this very bright yellow number because like I said it’s one of the few neon items that I own. It’s actually a dress that I’m wearing as a shirt. Hey who says that you have to wear something only one way? I love wearing my clothing in multiple ways dresses as skirts and shirts, skirts as dresses. I believe that there is always something more you can do with an item you just have to get a little creative. Besides, I want my money’s worth.  I mixed the tan colored skirt in because I felt that black was too much of a contrast and I just wasn’t in the mood to do a black combination. The khaki jacket I added as a way to downplay the brightness of the yellow. But I actually like the pics without the jacket better than the pics with the jacket. This challenge was also the perfect opportunity to break out my snakeskin wedge sandals that I got from Payless about a month or so ago. They were part of the Christian Siriano (aka former Project Runway winner) collection. I love his partnership with Payless, his shoes and purses are so amazing.

Dress & Skirt: Old Navy
Jacket: Gifted
Shoes: Payless

Gimmie Gimmie: Summer Wedges

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4.5.

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7.8.

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10.   11.

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       13.   14.

1. Aldo: "FORWOOD" $90

2. Aldo: "AFFINA" $64.98

3. Tory Burch: Lucian Crochet Wedge $395

4. Aldo: "SHAMPINE" $80

5. Payless: Lela Rose Isidro Ankle Strap Wedge $64.99

6. Bakers: "CADABBY" $69.99

7. Nine West: "Braxton" $99

8. Steve Madden: "TRINIDAD" $63.95

9. Old Navy: Blue Print Espadrille Wedges $14.99

10. Lulu's: Jeffrey Campbell Sunny Orange Wedge $148

11. Steve Madden: "WICKED" $149.95

12. Steve Madden: "WOWZERR" $139.95

13. Lulu's: Angeles Nevaeh T-Strap Basket Wedge $49

14. Steve Madden: "WILDD" $129.95

Now that the weather is heating up here in Wisconsin, I've been wearing a summer staple of mine... wedges! I live for wedges so I thought I would do a special post for some of the ones I'm lusting after (especially #3, I better start saving my pennies). Besides coming in many styles, shapes, colors and patterns most wedges are super super comfy. Wedges are a great compromise for women like myself who at times want to wear heels but don't want the pain. Personally I think espadrilles and cork wedges are the most comfy styles. When I can make it through a 12hr shift at work and my feet don't hurt after wearing a pair of wedges all day long then I must profess my love them. And they can come in all different price ranges too, the Old Navy ones #9 are only $15 bucks. At that price you can't afford not to be stylish. Happy Shopping!

Thanks for stopping by... S.I.W.

Back to Basics...

Ever since the weather started being sunny on a more consistent basis I've been wearing more color in my outfits, which I love! But in wearing more color and prints, I've realized that I need to expand my summer wardrobe to include more subtle colors and pieces. Now of course I love me some bright shades in various colors, as well as a whole lotta loud prints and patterns for the warm summer months. Although every once in a while I like to take a step back from all the wonderful color and just do an outfit with the volume turned down. Not to worry I'm sure I'll be back at full blast very soon.

So I thought I'd change things up today and go with some neutral colors i.e. an all black and white ensemble. Plus I had been dying to wear this stripy top for a while now. I bought it a year or so ago and I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it on the rack, the stripes and then those big oversized white buttons just drew me in and I was sold. The shirt is actually a tube top and I was wearing this outfit to work so I needed arm coverage. I went with the white cardi to give a hint of brightness to the outfit. I picked the black skirt because the bubble hem had more of flair to it. I also wanted the bottom to be loose and fall away from my body since the top and cardi were fitted.

Thanks for stopping by... S.I.W.

Cardi: Old Navy
Top: Lane Bryant
Skirt: Gifted
Wedges: Steve Madden

This Is How I Color Block

One of my favorite trends as of late especially for the summer is, (drum roll in my head)... Color Blocking! There are endless variations and options to try in your own wardrobe, just think of wearing different colors as your main pieces. But beware the bright color combinations really stand out and call for attention, so be prepared to get noticed. I gotta say thinking in a color blocking way really made me more aware of all the different possibilities in my wardrobe. On a previous post I unknowingly put together a color blocked outfit which you can see here and I wasn't at all trying to color block that time. That's one of the great things about this trend, everyone already owns some color pieces in their clothing and you don’t have to try too hard to create an outfit.

So long story short, I thought I'd purposely give it try and here's what I came up with. This time I went for loud color combos by pairing green, orange and pink together. I did add a neutral accessory in the mix with my shoes only because the skirt is on the short side for me, and anytime I wear something that short I like to do flats or low heels (I know the skirt may not look that short in these pics but I didn't post any shots from the side). Since I'm really loving this trend I'm sure there'll be other color blocking variations in my future. 

Thanks for stopping by... S.I.W.

Cardi: Shopko
Shirt: Gifted
Skirt: Old Navy
Shoes: I forget where I got em