Guest Post: Professional Dressing in Style with The Adored Life

I'm so excited to have Alissa filling in for me today! The Adored Life is one of the few blogs of which I still make sure to read every new post, and it's because of a number of things. First is because her outfits are incredibly well put-together and easy to translate into real life, but the biggest is what a captivating writer she is. I desperately need to be her friend in real life, and I imagine everyone else agrees with me. Keep reading to get learn Alissa's tips on dressing for an office job (something I definitely help with).

Hi there! I'm Alissa and I blog over at The Adored Life! I've been blogging four about five years now and truthfully, I never even meant for people to read what I was writing. I started it as a way to look back during a hard time in college and well, I started and now I have a way to look back on some of the most formative years of my life. Blogging has been so much more than sharing photos, it's been about building a community and sharing thoughts so that maybe, just one other person doesn't feel alone. One of the hardest thing I've had to learn was dressing professionally for the office, especially a corporate office, while still showing my personality. There's nothing more sad in a professional sense than having to settle for a pair of black pants and a blazer to blend in. But on the other hand, sometimes you just have to do that! So how do I try and find a middle? read on!

The Blazer + Pants Situation

Rethink your blazer + slack outfit with a fun button down and statement accessory that doesn't feel so corporate! I wear this outfit at least once a month, regardless of the season because it perfectly balances casual with more traditionally formal items in my closet. I LOVE a good pusssybow blouse in a delicate print to break up a stodgy look.

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And yes, I do look at my own blog for outfit inspiration, in case you were wondering.

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Put a Bow on It

I will advocate for bows in any form, but especially in a pussybow form. I love that it adds so much femininity and a touch of play to ANY outfit! I used to worry that it make me look older, but I quickly got over that when I realized that a) sometimes I want to look older and work and b) life is short and if you want to wear a bow, wear a bow.  

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Find Your Signature Print

Much like a signature perfume, I think that you should have a signature print. I love hearing my co-workers exclaiming that they thought of me because they saw polka dots. I've loved polka dots a lot so I had a lot of polka dotted items, but I made an active choice to make polka dots my signature print. It's fun, youthful but you can get away with wearing it many difference ways in the office.

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I know it's not always easy to find a way to show your personality in work clothes, but I hope these tips help you! If you ever have any questions about how I try to dress for a corporate job in a fun way, email me! I'd be more than happy to chat!

Thank you Elana for letting me guest post!

Guest Post: The Soubrette Brunette's Favorite Summer Chapeaus

Today's guest post comes courtesy of one of my absolutely favorite people I've met through the Internet. Sammi is another friend from my old Flock Together days, and I've always been a tad obsessed with her style. I constantly find myself saving her vintage and vintage-inspired outfits for future inspiration, and she was the first person I went to when I was looking for help with buying a hat. Fortunately for you, Sammi is sharing her expertise on the subject so we can all wear hats together.

Hi everyone! For those who don't know me, I'm Sammi from The Soubrette Brunette. I'm super excited to be contributing a guest post here at Room 334 while Elana is away. Today's post was inspired by a conversation I had with Elana not too long ago, when she approached me for some recommendations on where she could find a good boater hat. Elana told me she had been intimidated by boaters in the past and thought she couldn't really wear them, but she ended up finding one she liked and found that she could, in fact, pull it off flawlessly. So I thought I'd like to share some of my favorite hat styles here today to inspire you to try something you may never have considered before!

I don't think every style of hat looks good on me – I have a rather large head and round face, so there are a lot of hats that don't work well on me. But through trial and error, I've found a few kinds that I really love and that really fit my needs and style. Below, you'll see some outfits I've paired with my favorite hats (and where you can find them!) that are perfect for any summertime activity.

Straw Boaters

My go-to summer hat is, without a doubt, the boater. It feels the most seasonal and looks great with everything from a 1950s dress to shorts and a t-shirt. Vintage boater hats tend to be quite expensive, but it's worth keeping an eye on Etsy and eBay for the occasional deal. I've purchased my boaters from both mainstream and niche retailers, but my main requirement is that the crown needs to be a bit bigger and that the brim should be flat and on the wide side. If you can find one with a cute ribbon, all the better, but it'd be pretty easy to attach one to any plain boater.

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Sun Hats

I'm not a huge fan of floppy hats, only because I don't think they look that great on me, but I'm going to try and embrace them this summer. I do, however, like colored straw hats that retain their shape a bit. And the wider the brim, the better. I actually kind of like those sun hats with the cutesy summer sayings on them, too. Right now, I have only a couple of wide-brimmed hats that aren't technically boaters, but I think I may need to remedy this in the near future. I've found that major department stores, specialty retailers, and Amazon are often good places to go for these kinds of hats.

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Vintage or Flowery Hats

When I want pretty over practical,  I'll usually opt for a darling vintage hat covered in flowers, fruit, or netting. These are hats I'll wear year-round, but they seem especially appropriate for spring and summer when I want to spend every waking moment frolicking in gardens. And while flower crowns aren't as popular as they used to be, I'll occasionally wear one when I want to get back to nature without getting too fancy. Etsy and eBay are definitely my first stops when I'm looking to add pieces like these to my collection. They may not get as much wear as the other kinds of hats I own, but they're essential for 1950s- and 1960s-style dresses!

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Do you have a favorite style of hat or summer accessory? What about a trend you've always wanted to try but aren't quite sure you can pull it off? Let us know in the comments!

Thanks so much to Elana for letting me share some of my favorite hats today! I hope you'll come visit me over at The Soubrette Brunette!  :)

Guest Post: '60s Hairstyle with Sweets and Hearts

Hello! While I'm in Illinois, I'm lucky enough to have a few of my beautiful friends filling in for me. First up is my dear friend Erica, who I'm sure you've familiar with if you've been following along for a while. I've always referred to Erica as my "blogger friend," but that's really not true anymore. While we met through blogging a few years back, she's now my homegirl in real life. She is so much fun to hang out with, and I've wanted to steal her entire closet since I met her. I'm sure you all feel the same way. Keep reading to learn about how Erica and I found this seriously amazing dress.

Hey everyone! I'm Erica, occasional style/beauty blogger over at Sweets and Hearts. If you've been following Elana for a while, you might recognize me from the swap blog we were both a part of, Flock Together (aww, good times). We used to borrow each other's clothes. And I'm sure we'd still be into it if we weren't as lazy. Oops. Well, now we hang out IRL. Elana's off doing something SUPER FUN (lucky!), so it's pretty awesome that she's letting me take over for the day (thanks, Elana)! But anyway, it's been quite a while since I've done a proper outfit post, so I thought it would be nice to share the dress I bought the last time I hung out with her, which was at the Dapper Day Expo a few months ago. We...bought things. We were easily swayed. We were weak. There were too many pretty things. Can you blame us? We lingered a little too long at the Retrolicious booth and gave in a little too easily. We got a good deal though (really!) and I have no regrets (here's the lovely dress Elana ended up getting). I just couldn't resist the 60's hairstyle doodles (AND IT HAS POCKETS).

Outfit Details: Red 60s hairstyles dress (Retrolicious) Black leather bow belt (thrifted, Kate Spade) Black pointy-toe flats (London Rebel) Black half-circle satchel (Kate Spade Saturday)

Elana's one of the funnest/funniest people I've met and her enthusiasm is extremely contagious. We both get excited over the same things--including shopping--so it's probably not a good idea to shop with us because we'll just enable you (but you're totally welcome to...we'll even take your outfit photos for you). HUGE thanks to Elana for letting me ramble and post a few photos! If you want, you can follow me on Instagram @sweetsandhearts, or feel free to check out my blog. Hope you have a wonderful day!

Vintage Plaid and Pleats

I can hardly focus on anything at the moment other than my vacation. I'm leaving for Illinois tomorrow, and I'm far more excited than anyone would expect someone to be about a trip to a small town in Illinois. If you've missed me talking about it before, I'm visiting the town where my brother's family lives and where I went to college. I only see my family about once a year, and I haven't been to Illinois or seen most of my friends since I graduated three years ago. I'm also just excited to just have a week off from work. I'm looking forward to a week of family, friends, Midwestern food, drinks, and relaxation. Is it Tuesday yet?

The one thing I can allow myself to think about that's not my trip is this PERFECT vintage button down. I follow a ton of vintage shops on Instagram, but I always get disappointed to find that items I like are either too small, too expensive, or sold to someone else before I've even gotten a chance. I happened to see this top and a dress from Hearts and Hearts Vintage for cheap last week, and I couldn't believe how perfectly this one fit. I rarely find button downs in general that fit well over my bust, let alone vintage ones in great condition. I'm a bit obsessed. Sophia got this to me crazy fast and was super sweet, so I definitely recommend checking out Hearts and Hearts Vintage!

OTS Again

Happy belated Father's Day to all of you dads! Just kidding. I am positive that there are no dads reading this. On that note, though, my family did have a lovely holiday yesterday. I made guacamole, my brother brought beer, and we all made s'mores. My dad seemed super happy, which is really all that matters. I'm very close with my dad, so it's always nice to see him in such a good mood.

As for this outfit, I really don't have much to say about it, but I do love it. I kind of threw it together on a whim, and it turned out better than expecting. I'm still absolutely loving off the shoulder tops, so I'm wearing them as much possible. I can't get enough of the neck scarf trend, and now I just want to wear them with every outfit. Would that be weird? Let's hope not because it's happening.

I'm going to Disneyland again tomorrow night, and I'm crazy excited about going all the time now. It was so much fun being back in the parks last week, and I love that having a pass means that I don't have to try to cram everything in each time. Last week we didn't go on many rides at all and instead just walked around and ate, which was perfect. Because I grew up so close, there's something about Disney that just always like home. 

Pinata

Oh man, the Memorial Day sales got me. Part of my closet redo/mission to feel better about my style has included stocking my wardrobe with novelty print dresses. Why? Because novelty print dresses are true happiness. This pinata print one from Lindy Bop is exactly that. I knew that the recent Lindy Bop dress I wore on here wouldn't be my last from the brand, but it really didn't take me long to get another. This dress was on sale about a day after I posted that last one, and I couldn't resist. I'm pretty sure most of my posts are about me trying to justify my purchases, so if you're still reading at this point, thanks for humoring me. 

I'm keeping this short so that I can go to bed early. I'm going to Disneyland after work tomorrow with my friend Casey, and I am crazy excited. It's been too long, and you can look forward to plenty of photos this time and all future times.

Pineapples

I'm going to be honest with you here. I'm not really paying attention to what I'm writing because I'm watching the new season of Orange Is the New Black while I'm putting this post together. I've haven't exactly been loving the past few seasons, and I'm not sure how I feel about this new one, but I can't look away. So forgive me if this isn't the most eloquent post.

Why pay attention the writing anyway when this dress does all the talking? I took advantage of Modcloth's Memorial Day sale (as well as possibly a few others...) and finally got my hands on this pineapple print dress. Emily and Fin's newest collection is seriously the cutest, and I have my eyes on a few other pieces as well. I ended up stopping at my favorite thrift store, Saver's, on Saturday and picked up this cardigan, which will probably be making plenty of appearances soon. This may just be my new favorite outfit.

Other than a Saver's trip, this weekend was pretty uneventful, but nice. Some friends and I had a movie night on Friday night, and we had dinner with Jon's parents on Saturday night. The most exciting thing to happen, though, is that my work treated me to a Disneyland pass! I've been wanting one for ages, and my whole family is getting them so I can't thank my bosses enough. Despite the fact that I live right around the corner from Disney, I actually haven't been in three years. Those tickets are expensive! I'm so excited to start going all the time now. Well, as much as my pass allows. There are a ton of blackout days, so I might not be going all the time, per say. But hey, better than nothing.

Feel Good, Dress Better

If you're anything like me, you have a long list of bloggers/Instagrammers who you love, and then a handful who you essentially stalk and spend a borderline creepy amount of time looking at. Nicole from Writes Likes a Girl falls into the latter for me. While I'm guilty of not reading nearly as many blogs as I used, Writes Like a Girl is one of the few of which I still read every post. Nicole is such a captivating writer, funny, relatable, and has essentially my ideal closet, and I feel so lucky that I've been able to connect with her through the Internet. I've been on the edge of my seat waiting for her style workbook to come out, and I somehow managed to snag an advanced copy. I'm so excited to share with you a few of my takeaways from it! 

If you somehow don't obsess over Nicole's updates like I do and are unfamiliar with her workbook, Feel Good, Dress Better is a comprehensive guide to transforming your closet to better reflect your personal style. Filled with tips and worksheets, the guide is a helpful way to start looking at your closet as an extension of how you feel. I always stay away from style guide books because most present a set of rules that are impractical and don't take personal style and preferences into account. Feel Good, Dress Better is more about using your clothing for self-expression, body positivity, and confidence. This honestly could not have come at a better time for me, as I've mentioned that I've been doing a lot of thinking about this. I've been struggling with defining my style, gaining weight, and spending an obscene amount of time on Instagram comparing myself to others. Some days I feel like I'm letting people down if I'm not "on-brand" and wearing all thrifted clothes. Other times I think that I look like I'm trying too hard by dressing in a vintage style. I also find myself wanting to define my style by who I follow and building my closet around what will get me close enough to looking like them. But what I've finally decided doing lately is just saying: fuck it. I'm going to wear what makes me happy. Feel Good, Dress Better's closet cleanout section proved to be a huge help in this. I started getting rid of clothes that I don't feel good in or don't fit (which meant being more honest with myself about my weight gain). I stopped saying that certain trends weren't for me or being worried that people were judging me for anything, and I've started buying things that make me happy. 

In this process, I've been wondering how I define my style. It hasn't exactly strayed far from what I've always worn, but I've felt so much more confident in what I've been putting on lately. Feel Good, Dress Better has a great section on creating your personal style ID that proved helpful. I took a list at Nicole's word bank and chose a few that I felt like I identified with: colorful, consistent, feminine, modern, and vintage. To sum it up: colorfully feminine with a vintage-inspired twist. In all honesty, choosing a style ID felt so silly at first (why do I even need to define it?), but actually has really helped me think about it while I'm shopping. Does this fit with my style ID? also translates to will I actually wear this? or will I feel like myself and/or confident in this? 

More thoughts below the jump!

Dogs and Cats

Phew, what a weekend! It feels like it was a crazy busy one, but in reality, most of it was spent relaxing and doing nothing. I did go to a wedding on a Saturday night, which was the same night that two of my very best friends got engaged, so one could see why it felt like a whirlwind. My parents' friend, who also happens to be my old neighbor and my friend's mom, got married, and it was lovely. I grew up a few doors down from my friend Kylie (we figured out that we've been friends for 18 years) so I always felt like part of her family and she was part of mine. Her mom's wedding was at a winery in Temecula, so obviously it was gorgeous. Happy people, free wine, and my oldest friend - what more could you ask for? 

...well, finding out about two other friends getting engaged could do the trick. They haven't officially announced it yet so I should probably be considerate and not go into detail (even though I'm positive the only person reading this who knows them is, well, one of them. Hi, Copy Chief). Basically, all that you need to know is that my heart is so full of joy and I can't contain my happiness at knowing that two of the best people I've ever known are getting married to each other. I'm worried that I'm already being overbearing and annoying, but when your best friend gets engaged, what else are you supposed to do? Probably give them some space, but whatever. That's just not my style.

On to more important things: this dress. This dress, you guys. I'm not convinced that it's legal for something this adorable to exist. The silhouette itself would be perfect enough, but puppies in baskets? I can't handle it. I got it while it was on flash sale from Dangerfield, and I still can't believe at how cheap I scored it for. I don't have any dog pins yet, but I thought it still felt appropriate to wear my cat pin with it. I wore this to celebrate my brother's birthday yesterday, and while my niece did point out that I had puppies on my dress, she wasn't nearly as excited as I was hoping she'd be. Psh, kids these days.

Self Love Club

I am so excited to share that I officially an ambassador for Heartman Clothes! I found Heartman through Instagram a little while ago, and I was immediately in love with the brand when I learned that they donate proceeds from all of their items to worthy organizations. I included Heartman in my Guide to Makers Who Donate Money, and I've been following along with them ever since. I don't usually enter ambassador searches, but I really love the shirts Heartman makes, so I decided to give it a shot. Turns out, the love was mutual! I'm pumped to get to be part of the team and share more with you all.

I had such a hard time choosing my first shirt, but I ultimately had to go with the Self Love Club tee. I feel passionately about all of the causes that Heartman donates to, but it felt appropriate to go with something that represents confidence, body image, and feminism. 10% of the proceeds goes to I AM THAT GIRL, an organization that helps girls with self-doubt and provides a safe space and honest conversation. I'm definitely guilty of thinking of "adult" issues when it comes to feminism (like the wage gap, abortion, etc.) that it gets easy to forget that feminism has to start early. You can read more about I AM THAT GIRL here and donate directly here. 

You can also get 15% off at Heartman Clothes with the code ELANA15. Get yourself a cute tee that does some good!