Weekend Wears #2

Considering I take photos of my outfits every weekend, but can barely muster up the motivation to blog them regularly, I figured that sticking to a consolidated format would work great. Going forward, I'm going to be sharing a few outfits at a time, with some exceptions. I have a few of really exciting collaborations coming up, and I'm starting to feel optimistic about keeping this up again!

As for this past weekend, it was the first one in weeks where I had virtually no plans. The last few weeks consisted of my sister-in-law's bachelorette party, my brother's wedding, and Dapper Day, so needless to say it's been a little exhausting (in the best possible way). I wanted to take it easy this week so I slept in, did some cleaning, and caught up on a lot of TV - both myself and with Jon. We watched all of Barry, and I'm so into it. I can't wait to watch more. 

On Sunday, we did some grocery shopping and photo shoots before going to a friend's place for Thai food and even more TV. This first outfit is what I wore on Sunday, and I'm obsessed with this dress. It's a bit different from what I normally wear so I had a little bit of struggle with styling it. I actually wore it out to dinner on its own during the bachelorette weekend in Palm Springs, but I felt much more comfortable wearing it with a cardigan over it. I wouldn't call myself a "modest fashion blogger," because I'm all for others sharing their skin and showing off what they've got, but I always feel a little naked without a sweater. I swear I have some skin under there though!

Dressing Professionally with Vintage Inspired Style

In case you're not aware, I work for an eCommerce consultancy. My office is small and extremely laid back, but about once or twice a week, I'm attending client meetings at large clothing brands and retailers' offices. All of this begs the question: what's a gal with vintage-inspired style supposed to wear? I've seen plenty of how "to dress professionally in your 20s" articles, but I've seriously been struggling with having a creative job and maintaining my personal style. I'm in a position where I don't have to wear typical professional clothes like blazers, but it also doesn't feel appropriate to wear puppy dresses and ice cream skirts. To make matters more complicated, I'm pretty young for the position I'm in and often meeting with way more experienced people, which means that I don't want to go out of my way to look younger.

I've been thinking a lot about this lately, and I feel like I've started to do a better job of buying items that feel like "me," but still make me feel like I can be taken seriously if an eComm executive stops by our office (which honestly could happen any day). I have a feeling others might be in a similar position, so I've put together a few tips I've picked up anyone else in that very specific niche of "dressing professionally in a creative job as a modern vintage girl":

Artsy Gingham with TopCashback

I'll admit that before I had visited, I was definitely one of those Californians who thought Iowa sounded boring. Living on the west coast, we have a tendency to generalize all Midwest states, which is something I'm not proud of. After visiting my best friend Jenn in Iowa City for the second time last week, I can safely say that I am fully convinced that Iowa City is a seriously cool place to live. It was hard to choose just a few places for backdrops for these photos, and we honestly could have stopped at any number of spots while shopping downtown for these photos. 

It turned out to be the perfect day to bust out this gingham Asos dress. As if finding a cute summer gingham dress wasn't enough to be excited about, I purchased this one through TopCashback and almost immediately received 5% of what I spent back. Considering I have such a shopping addiction, it's a wonder I didn't start doing this sooner. TopCashback works directly over 4,000 brands and retailers to offer 100% of commission back on purchases made through the website. Most of my favorite sites are already on there, including Asos, Modcloth, J. Crew, and more, meaning that any time I shop, I can go through TopCashback and get money back. I'm always looking for ways to shop on a budget, but making money while shopping is even better. From now on, I'm just going to say that I'm earning a living by buying new things. It's technically true. 

As you all know, I do my best to only work with companies that I truly believe in, and I fully recommend using TopCashback. The process could not have been easier, as all I had to do was decide which website I wanted to shop with, go through the link on TopCashback, and shop as normal. Within a day, I had money back in my account from my purchase, and transferring it into my Paypal account is just as easy, especially since there is no minimum needed for a payout (one of the most annoying parts of working with similar websites). If you're planning on shopping (and let's be honest, you are), you can sign up for a free account through this link and start earning money too. 

Flock Together: Zoology 101

I'm over at Flock Together again today, showing you an outfit I really love. I apparently can't get enough of talking about Lisa this week (or, you know, ever) so I'm styling her animal print top over there. It's a true gem. Also, I'm a little bit obsessed with these sunglasses at the moment. Thank goodness for consignment stores in Santa Monica with cheap sunglasses that happen to fit my face. It's a rarity. Hope to see you there!

Top: ASOS, borrowed from Lisa

Dress, flats: Urban Outfitters (dress via Facebook swap)

Necklace: Fifth & Mae

Sunglasses: Consignment

Missed You

You know how you never truly miss something until it's gone? Well, I never realized how much I missed this dress until it was back in my arms. I had sent it out to be borrowed as part of Flock Together and it honestly didn't faze me at all the entire time it was gone since I had worn it to death until right before I sent it. Once I got it back though, it was like Christmas morning. This was literally the day after I got the package; I just couldn't wait any longer.

I wore this on Saturday to get coffee with my friends Ginny and Emily, which was wonderful as expected. It's funny because most of my good friends at school work at the paper with me, so even when I see them outside of work, it's still the biggest topic of conversation. So of course, I loved getting to hang out with Ginny and Emily, who, in addition to being incredibly stylish, care just as much about fashion and blogs as I do. Naturally, we ended up in an antique store where I scored a cool watch for $2.50.

Winter Mint

You wouldn't be able to tell from these photos that were just taken yesterday, but the snow today is insane. So insane, in fact, that my university declared it a snow day and canceled class. For as much as I hate Midwest winter and snow, I couldn't be more grateful for a day off to just do nothing but catch up on TV and blogs. And by catch up on TV, I mean continue re-watching all of The West Wing. Speaking of entertainment (when am I not?), I completely forgot to mention the Academy Awards yesterday. I despise Seth MacFarlane so I wasn't too excited about the show itself, but I'm really happy with all of the winners. Christoph Waltz won and Jennifer Lawrence looked adorable tripping up the stairs. What more could I ask for? Also, does anyone else remember how we all hated Ben Affleck and thought he was a terrible actor until he started directing and turned out to be really good at it? Memories...

Even though I love the top of this dress, I can't stop wearing it as a skirt. I love it even more against blacks and grays which is why I was so happy in this outfit. By the way, if I haven't declared my love for fleece lined tights yet, let it be known that I am utterly obsessed. Where have these things been all my life? Also, let's just ignore the fact that one of my buttons was undone for most of these pictures. Let's also ignore the fact that I wouldn't have brought it up if I really wanted to ignore it.

Little Red Dress

Valentine's has come and gone, but I couldn't resist another slightly inspired look. I mostly just wanted an excuse to throw on a red dress and sparkly collar, can you blame me? It was really bright when these pictures were taken so some of them may look weirdly edited, but it was really just the sun and my lack of editing ability. I'll get on that eventually.

I hope everyone has been having a good weekend! I went out of town for a little shopping trip with T.J. yesterday to get him some new clothes. He got three cardigans so I'm a happy girlfriend. My own shopping ban is still going strong; I only made an exception for some fantastic sunglasses at H&M. They were $10 and I haven't owned a pair in months after I lost my beloved Ray-Bans (R.I.P.) and broke another cheap pair. So really, the new pair was necessary. 

Also, I have never been more depressed than when I went into Plato's Closet. I was hoping it be akin to a Buffalo Exchange, but the clothes I found in there were awful. Plus, they took two of my items and gave me $4.50. I'm thankful for some of you Midwest ladies who help me remember that good style does exist in some places here. 

And of course, there's a giveaway going on!

Simplicity

I don't really have time to talk today as I need to leave for a work pot luck in a minute, but I had a little time to spare for a post. Here's a fairly simple outfit I wore today, and it's one of my favorites for some reason. Simple in just the right way, just the way I like it.

Feels like fall

I felt especially autumn-like (is that even a word?) in this outfit and the leaves covering the ground sure didn't hurt. This was one of the dresses I picked up at the Urban Outfitters outlet with Marlen and Katie for a whopping $10. It's a little different than something I'd normally gravitate towards (for starters, it's strapless), but I think that's kind of what drew me to it in the first place. I tend to play it a little safe sometimes and only stick to things I know work, but I'd like to start adding some different pieces to my closet. Plus, how could I say no to such an awesome print? I'm starting to regret not buying everything in that outlet.

Now that we're in full fall mode and Halloween has passed, I'm going to be one of those annoying people who counts down until Christmas. I may or may not be helping Jennifer decorate her tree this weekend and I might have already started discussing Christmas presents with my brother, Lucas. I also might be passing up purchasing new clothing and trying not to eat out as much to save my money to buy presents. I'm really big into giving good, thoughtful presents. What can I say? I'm a giver.

In other news, I'm writing this in between my last interviews and I'll have my staff for next semester decided by this afternoon. I'm excited to be the boss (though I prefer "big woman on campus"), but man, do I hate the idea of telling people they aren't being hired. If anyone wants to do it for me, feel free to volunteer. 

Dress: UO

Cardigan: UO

Boots: Target

Scarf: ASOS

Ring: Jewelmint

Bracelet: H&M

Junkyards and peter pan collars

Meet Jennifer: 

I don't even think I need to explain why this is my favorite set of photos I've posted on this blog (thus explaining the photo overload), but I'll tell you why anyway:

• My friend, Jennifer (photographer-extraordinaire) took them.
• This junkyard behind her apartment complex was almost too good to be true.
• The light was perfect.
• We took them as the dough for these cookies was chilling in the fridge. 
• Everything about this outfit just screams, "me." Peter Pan collar, cropped sweater, riding boots, kitty ring, utility jacket, colored tights, my favorite thrifted bag.... Everything I love.
• I managed not to get any dirt on my white dress. I did however get plenty of cookie crumbs on there later that night at a friend's apartment. 

Enjoy this while it lasts, because after today, I'll back with lower-quality photos behind the newspaper office. For now, though, let me bask in the glory of this beautiful post. 

Also, while I have you, don't forget to check Flock Together for more intro posts this week!

Lastly, if you're interested in swapping buttons (since I finally decided that was a thing I should do), just email me at elanakat@gmail.com!

Dress: Nordstrom Rack

Sweater: ASOS

Jacket: From a swap

Boots: Modcloth

Tights: Target

Bag: Thrifted

Ring: Ebay

The big 100 and where you can find me

"Pick that thing up and pretend it's a shield!"

"This thing is really disgusting..."

"Stand in front of all those bugs. They won't bite you, you'll be fine."

Even though these photos were only taken a week ago, it's already hard to fathom going outside without tights. The weather dropped suddenly this weekend and it's been tights, boots, and sweaters from then on. 

I'm so in love with this dress. It ended up being a slightly different red than it looked in the photo, one I'm not quite sure I can pull off, but I like it anyway. I decided to surprise T.J. with a tie from ASOS a couple of weeks ago (he's been very stylish lately, take my word for it) and decided that I couldn't just get the tie so I scoured the sale section and ended up with this dress for myself. I, of course, adore the shape, but I really just love how different this color is for me. I immediately thought of a million different ways I wanted to wear it when it came in and layering it over this polka dot shirt won the honors of being first.

In case you aren't tired of seeing my face (how could you be?), you might care to visit me in a couple of other places today and take a tour through some of my past outfits. First, I get to be the lucky first blogger to share my intro post on Flock Together. I really can't explain enough how excited the other bloggers involved and I am about this project. It's been so much so far and I really do hope you all check it out- and possibly even apply yourself! Then, if you're ready for even more of me talking to myself, head on over to Dus' blog, Cuddly Cacti, where she was nice to enough to have me over for a guest post! You can't get rid of me, wherever you go!

Also, I've reached 100 followers! I'm probably a bit too excited about this, but I don't even care. Sometimes I can't believe that anyone would want to read what I have to say or care about what I'm wearing so I just want to thank everyone who has done so. I really appreciate the support I've received from my fellow bloggers and the friends I've made, here's to 100 more! (And 100 after that...and that)

Dress: ASOS 

Polka dot shirt: Forever 21

Cardigan: Target, via Of Corgis and Cocktails

Shoes: UO

Belt: Thrifted

Tights weather and short skirts

We call this one "the double."

There are too many things that excite me about this post. The first is the obvious one: I'm wearing tights. It's since warmed up a bit, but when I checked the weather yesterday morning to see a high of 61 degrees and a low of 42 (or something along those lines), I went straight to my dresser to grab a pair of tights. 

Then, there's every other fall element about this outfit. I'm wearing my favorite motorcycle boots that I got from Target last year. I got to break out my cropped sweater. I layered. Needless to say, I was just in a good mood in general all day.

I'm a little torn on this skirt, however. On one hand, I absolutely adore it. It's a Jack by BB Dakota piece that I got with tags for dirt cheap on Ebay. It's actually one of two really exciting skirts I scored on Ebay last week, but I'm going to keep the other one a surprise until I put up the photos. I'll give you a hint: it's by a beloved designer. Back to this skirt, though: as much as I love the colorful floral print, it's slightly too short on me. It's not that it's inappropriate, especially with the tights, it's just unflattering. I still haven't decided, but I may end up selling it or putting it the swap group. (Swap group, you say? All you have to do is add me on Facebook (Elana Katz) and I'll add you to it! We really need more people to make it work.)

Besides the outfit itself, I'm also excited about these photos. When my friend Jennifer, a co-worker of mine at the paper, and I were discussing my blog, she offered to help me with photos. In addition to being wonderful in general, Jennifer is also a fantastic photographer. I'm still not sure she knows what she's getting herself into- I'm probably going to harass her to take my pictures as often as possible until she pretends to break her camera to get rid of me. I'm very pleasant to be around. Also, Jennifer is working on creating a blog of her own. Once she does, I'll expect each and every one of you to follow her. One of my many demanding requirements of being a reader of my blog.

Cropped sweater: ASOS

Skirt: Jack by BB Dakota, via ebay

Collared shirt: H&M, via consignment store

Tights: Target

Boots: Target

Ring: Jewelmint