Destructed White: It’s Terrific Being Green Thursday

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Outfit Mission Statement: Mix solid colors and play brights off white for pop of polished fun!

TTT Thursday outfits are Trendy, Transitional, and/or Terrific—in other words my choice. It can be whatever other outfit ideas the garment gave me. It may be something very trendy, transitional, terrific, or something else. The POW (Piece of the Week) is the cabi Spring 2016 Destructed Slim Boyfriend jeans. This week I focus on two—trendy and terrific. Bright colors are a trend and this jellybean green is certainly bright! Paired with these white jeans it even pops more. I added a few more trends—nautical navy stripes, denim-on-denim, and eyelets—all things that are very in. But, the real reason I choose this outfit is I love the top and blazer—the colors and style of both is fabulous. I wanted to show them off, and what better way than with two neutrals—a white and a navy?

The jacket was one of the first items I bought from cabi this season. I adore it. It’s a great lighter summer weight, but heavy enough it could work year round (at least in Georgia). The sleeves roll up nicely for the modern look. And it has these great bow details on the pockets (check it out on the cabi site, none of my pictures do it justice). Every time I wear this jacket I get multiple compliments.

The eyelet blouse is also a great piece. I love eyelets to begin with. But I really like how the eyelet pattern here is more modern and not the more feminine patterns I normally see—it’s almost a puzzle type of pattern. I also love the wide, forgiving shape of it. The wider straps are also nice—they easily cover bra straps, making this a great layering piece.

I combined them both with some favorite pieces—this fun bug necklace; my preppy, nautical stripe clutch; and these great espadrille wedges; plus, of course, these edgy jeans! The result is a fun, surprising, and very “me” outfit.

 

Tips:

  • Play bright colors off white jeans to give the colors even more pop
  • For a different, yet together & polished look, try mixing solids colors or very large patterns (like the striped clutch)
  • Want compliments? Wear great pieces you love
  • Don’t be afraid to dress in bright colors and a couple of neutrals—you do not need patterns to have fun with color
  • When creating outfits that are very “you” look for favorite pieces and see if they work—don’t be afraid to experiment (at the very least you will probably love it)
  • Look for pieces with unique features and details—like the box pockets and eyelet pattern—for a distinctive look that will draw attention and make you feel like a million bucks
  • When your outfit is a mix of solid colors, consider adding a fun statement necklace to add visual interest
  • I’ve said it before, and will say it again—consider rolling the sleeves on your jackets for a modern touch (and it keeps you a bit cooler in the summer heat)

 

Outfit Breakdown:

 

 

 
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Related Posts:

 

  1. Plume POW: Whites Out Saturday posted April 16, 2016. Try out the whites trend by mixing various whites in one or more garments, your, shoes, and your accessories.
  2. Fall into Spring 4: Bring Your Navy Lace Forward into Spring and Summertime! Posted May 30, 2016
  3. Michelle POW: Flutter & Sea No Place Like Tuesday posted March 15, 2016. For a casual nautical look, limit the nautical, but add a flattering cardigan and white jeans for a comfortably on-trend and classic look.

And do not forget the other terrific TTT Thursday posts!

 

Destructed White POW: Pretty in Pink & Pearls Sunday Best

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Outfit Mission Statement: Dress your destructed denim up for a special occasion look with fancy, feminine pieces for a pretty, edgy, feminine, and comfortable outfit!

 Sunday Best POW outfits are special occasion clothes for dinning, theater, opera, holiday parties, church, and other such occasions that need something special. The POW (Piece of the Week) is the cabi Spring 2016 Destructed Slim Boyfriend jeans. Ripped jeans are not what some of us would think of as an appropriate special occasion look. But, you can dress them up to make them work for at least some special occasions. The trick, as with any casual piece, is to combine it with dressier pieces, even over-the-top dressy pieces. Together the outfit averages dressier. Plus, it can be fun to mix pretty with edgy and dressy with casual! Still, these jeans may now work in some special occasion situations. If you cannot do destructed, consider replacing these with white jeans. If you cannot do jean, consider replacing these with white linen pants, such as the Piazza Pant.

But, if you can do destructed white jeans for your special occasion, this outfit can be a lot of fun to rock! You can be pretty, edgy, feminine, and comfortable all at the same time! This may be one of my favorite outfits I’ve done here (and it is one of my favorite sets of photos!).

 

Tips:

  • Dress up your destructed jeans with fancy, dressy pieces; you can even go over the top if you want!
  • Play off the edgy destructed look with feminine, pretty pieces—think pinks, pearls, and sparkles
  • Grab a pretty shawl to keep you warm in places with two much AC or cooler nights (plus it adds to the dressiness)
  • Add a designer clutch or wristlet in a pretty matching color to add style (and convenience)
  • Dress your feet up in those sparkly, special occasion shoes and roll up your jeans to show them off
  • Put your hair up in a pretty hair accessory for an added touch of class & sophistication (plus you can show off your shoulders)
  • Look for dressy accessories with special touches, like ribbon bows in the back, for added touches of fancy
  • Choose a peplum top with a gentle ruffle bottom to hide any tummy issues and add more femininity

 

Outfit Breakdown:

 
 

Related Posts:

  1. Bardot POW: Boho Southwestern Sparkly Princess Sunday Best posted May 29, 2016. To dress denim up for a special occasion look, throw on the fancy—think tulle, sparkly gems, embroidered velvet, statement pieces, and amazing shoes.
  2. Plaid POW: Sparkling & Flannel Sunday Best posted February 28, 2016. Turn flannel elegant by adding a dressy skirt and accessories.
  3. Margherita POW: Lace & Lockets Sunday Best posted on May 22, 2016. To dress your sundress up for a special occasion look, add pretty lace, a classy mixed media jacket, and vintage accessories.

 

 

 

 

Fall into Spring 2: Mediating Your Fall Media Jacket in the Spring

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This is part two of my Fall into Spring adventure (check out Rocking Your Fall Moto in the Spring, if you missed part one). I’m highlighting six great pieces from the fall collection that you may have in your wardrobe and showing how you can wear them with the spring cabi collection or your own spring pieces. If you don’t have these pieces or if you are not a cabi fan, I’ll discuss how you can take similar pieces and rock the more traditional fall pieces this spring and summer!

Our second fall piece is the Media Jacket! Mixed media was a popular fall & winter trend. In fact, I featured this very same Media Jacket as my first POW! But the media trend is not one you need to throw away come spring. Pull out that jacket of different mediums and rock it with a flowing spring blouse and white jeans! If you did not purchase the, no longer available, Media Jacket from cabi Fall 2105, look in your own closet for a cropped jacket with mixed materials. If you don’t have anything that works, consider:

This cropped Media Jacket has a few cool features that let it slide right into your frequently worn spring list! The cropped style allows those print spring blouses to flow right down under it, creating a pretty layered look. The cropped length also cuts at a problem spot for many, masking any issues. Plus the metallic green plays nicely with popular spring colors. I love it as shown here with the Gelato Top—the greens are perfect together!  This Media Jacket could work with several other cabi spring collection blouses such as the Bella Top,  Linea Cami, Luisa Tank, Plume Top, Positano Top, and the Tivoli Top. Or, those pretty blouses in your spring wardrobe!

Style Tips:

  • Pair your media jacket with flowing longer blouses for a pretty, fluttery outfit
  • Mix your media jacket with white jeans for a trendy jolt of spring
  • Pull out soft colors in the jacket by matching them to colors in the rest of your outfit
  • Lighten your dark fall media jacket with a light blouse and white or light jeans
  • Create a long lean line by choosing one light color as the main color in your blouse, pants, and shoes
  • Brighten the fall jacket further by adding light flowy jewelry
  • Dress the jacket down with some destructed jeans

 

 

 

Outfit Breakdown:

 

 

 

 

 

Photography by Bill Ruhsam of The Evil Eyebrow. Check out more of his photography.

Plaid POW: Twisting the Classics Tuesday

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Outfit Mission Statement: Twist a classic outfit by switching out trendy and fun pieces for the norm

Look! Snow! Had do take a flannel POW shoot with this backdrop! 

Look! Snow! Had do take a flannel POW shoot with this backdrop! 

Let’s dive in to our first Plaid POW post, starting this Tuesday this week, instead of the normal Monday start. No place like Tuesday outfits are casual, comfy clothes for working from home, working at home, stay at home parenting, and anything else where comfort is key and you are home. Although they will work for errands and anything were casual is key. The POW (Piece of the Week) is the L.L. Bean Slightly Fitted Scotch Plaid Shirt in Deep Evergreen Tartan. This outfit is a slight twist on a pretty normal casual flannel outfit. In fact, if you were to go to Maine (if not there already) and look around, you would see turtlenecks, jeans, and flannel shirts everywhere right now. So, this is not a surprising way to wear an L.L. Bean Flannel. But, I did say twist. Even a common outfit can be interpreted in unique ways if you think about how to apply the components. Instead of normal jeans, I added trendy destructed jeans, giving it an edgier look. I also traded out the typical turtleneck with a cowl neck shirt, which gives a very different neckline and overall feel to the outfit. The big earrings add a fun focal point and play off the casual and even rustic flannel. The side ponytail also add a twist to normal elements and makes this outfit even less common. Together we have a stylish twist on a classic casual and cozy look.

 

Tips:

  • Take a common outfit and update a few of the pieces different with trendy or fun variations for a stylish twist on a classic 
  • Choose big, bright earrings that play off your clothes for a bright, fun update to an old standby
  • Want some edge? Go with deconstructed jeans instead of regular jeans
  • Change out that turtleneck for a cowl neck shirt for a different neckline and a less uptight feel
  •  You can even add a “twist” to the common ponytail by making it a side ponytail or doing some other modern take on the classic.

 

Outfit Breakdown:

This snow stuff is chilly

This snow stuff is chilly

 

 

Want to twist a more spring look? Grab the boutique-styled denim Bardot Shirt, the Gathered Tee, and either of the destructed jeans in the cabi Spring 2016 collection—Destructed Slim Boyfriend  or the Destructed Skinny (in Curvy or Regular). Go with the white Slim Boyfriends if you are new to mixing denim or the darker wash if you are not shy about mixing. Add Shine Chaser’s White Sea Glass Wire Wrapped Earrings and the Bird Cage shooties for a fun twist on the classic denim shirt look.

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Love POW Week 2: No place like Tuesday in a Blouse

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Outfit Mission Statement: Chose a trendy jean and a personality-reflecting blouse for a casual, up-to-date outfit that says a lot about you

 

Welcome to the second week of our love POW series. Remember, POW stands for Piece of the Week, where I show off a week’s worth of outfits focused around one piece, styled seven different ways. I break this “week” of outfits over two weeks, in part to prevent too crazy of a posting schedule! This week I will be posting Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Sunday I will then post the next POW. Check out last week’s post for Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday, which focus on career clothes, date night clothes, and special occasion.

No place like Tuesday outfits are casual, comfy clothes for working from home, working at home, stay at home parenting, and anything else where comfort is key and you are home. Although they will work for errands and anything where casual is key. The POW (Piece of the Week) is the cabi fall 2015 Love Blouse. The Love Blouse is not inherently casual, but can be part of a casual outfit with the right touches. Combine a romantic blouse with ripped jeans and you have a pretty and edgy look that can be the basis for many an outfit. This is not only the base for this Tuesday casual outfit, but also for the Spicy Sweet Friday Night Drinks outfit! Thus, you could go from day to night with a few adjustments. For the casual look, I added a casual lace-up sneaker/tennis style shoe and some simple earrings. Nothing fancy. But this is a cute casual look that works well at home, running errands, playing with kids in the park, going to a practice, shopping, checking out a farmers market, and more. While casual, this outfit does more than the tee shirt and jeans that you might wear instead. This is more flattering and it tells us something about you without using a word. Depending on the blouse, it may say you had a soft side, a creative side, a fun side, or some other side they may want to know. It says you value yourself and possibly whatever you are doing enough to put something a bit nicer on. It also says you are stylish. The jeans add a bit of street to the outfit, creating something trendy, pretty, and lifestyle friendly!

 

Tips:

  • Think about how you can take a blouse and pair of jeans and dress it down for day and turn it up for nigh
  • Go beyond the mom jean and tee shirt by replacing the tee with a pretty shirt or blouse
  • Consider ripped jeans or some other fashionable jean trend instead of the classic blue jeans for a more up-to-date and memorable look
  • Choose a blouse that says something about who you are—romantic, creative, sporty…
  • If you are rocking one trendy item, like ripped jeans, make the other clothing items more classic pieces to give the outfit depth and personality
  • Look for comfortable, cute sneaker/tennis style shoes for added comfort and to work best in a busy lifestyle 
  • Do a messy jeans roll for the added touch of casual street
  • See the Spicy Sweet Friday Night Drinks post for more information on choosing and wearing ombré blouses

 

 

Outfit Breakdown:

The clothing items in this outfit are all cabi Fall 2015, and no longer available. Contact me if you must have something and I may be able to direct you to a stylist who has it. Look for substitutes from your own closet or check out the alternatives below. I normally will make the POW a currently available item, but my blog launched later than planned and I wanted to share these outfits. The next POW will be of an available item, I promise!

  •  Blouse: This is the cabi Fall 2015 Love Blouse. To find a substitute from your own closet, look for a feminine blouse with a special feature. If you don’t have quite the right blouse to substitute in your closet, consider these cabi Spring 2016 alternatives: 
    • Vita Blouse: This gorgeous draped blouse is also sleeveless, and has a sexy cutout in the back
    • Bella Top: This feminize, fluttery blouse has a similar feel to the love blouse
    • Plaza Top: This classic, flowing blue and white blouse has a cute Henley collar
    • Tivoli Top: This fierce black and taupe blouse has plenty of cool features
  • Jeans: These are the cabi Fall 2015 Dark Destruction Slim Boyfriend, and yup, no longer available. However, there are two great cabi Spring 2016 options: 
  • Shoes: These are an older leather version of the BeanSport Lace-up Shoes. I love the comfort and coolness of these shoes. L.L. Beans has a bunch of other shoes in this comfy chic sneaker/tennis shoe lite style.
  • Earrings: These are rose gold wire wrapped crystal earrings by Shine Chaser Jewelry. She does not currently have any available on her Etsy page, but you may be able to commission some. She does currently have these similar White Sea Glass Wire Wrapped Earrings and others that will nicely work in a casual outfit (or any type of outfit!).
 

Love the ideas for this casual Tuesday style? Want a similar outfit you can purchase now? Consider the Plaza Top, Destructed Slim Boyfriend, BeanSport Lace-up Shoes (in tan), and the White Sea Glass Wire Wrapped Earrings


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POW Tuesday Edition Week 1b: No place like Tuesday in a Jacket

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Outfit Mission Statement: Integrate dressy jackets into your casual style, by keeping the other elements casual

Welcome to the second week of our first POW series. Remember, POW stands for Piece of the Week, where I show off a week’s worth of outfits focused around one piece, styled seven different ways. I break this “week” of outfits over two weeks, in part to prevent too crazy of a posting schedule! This week I will be posting Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Sunday I will then post the next POW. Check out last week’s post for Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday, which focus on career clothes, date night clothes, and special occasion.

No place like Tuesday outfits are casual, comfy clothes for working from home, working at home, stay at home parenting, and anything else where comfort is key and you are home. Although they will work for errands and anything ere casual is key. The POW (Piece of the Week) is the cabi fall 2015 Media Jacket. As this is a dressier item, there was some challenge in dressing it down, which was fun. I love this result! I added two very casual items: a causal tank and ripped boyfriend jeans. The two dress down the jacket for an overall fun and casual look. I added some booties for a few reasons—they look great with the rolled jeans and I don’t have great casual black shoes (something I will have to work on). These are comfy wedge booties, but you may want to go with something easier to chase toddlers in. One thing I like about this jacket is that I could see just wearing the jeans and racerback tank around the house and then throwing the jacket on to go get groceries or go pick up a kid at daycare or school (possibly hiding any bra straps that might be showing) and looking put-together, but still comfortable and casual. Also, the ripped jeans add a trendy edge, more so then regular jeans would. They also bring back some memories of how cool and “bad boy” (or “girl”) I thought ripped jeans were when they were in last time.

 

Tips:

  • Make a dressier jacket work for a casual outfit by combining it with very casual pieces
  • Grab a nice jacket and throw it on over a casual home outfit when you need to run errands, get kids from school or the playground, or decide to meet a friend last minute for lunch or coffee
  • Consider the very trendy ripped jeans to tone down the dressy pieces and add more edge than regular jeans
  • If you have a casual life, don’t rule out the dressier jackets that may scream “career” or “office job” to you, you can find ways to integrate them into a casual wardrobe

 

Outfit Breakdown:

The clothing items in this outfit are all cabi Fall 2015, and no longer available. Contact me if you must have it and I may be able to direct you to a stylist who has it. I offer ways to substitute from you own closet or alternatives below. I normally will make the POW a currently available item, but my blog launched later than planned.

  • Jacket: Shown is the Fall 2015 cabi Media Jacket, which is now unavailable. From your own closet, you can substitute a cropped jacket and/or a flashy jacket in a shorter style. Or, if you want to purchase, here are a few other cropped jackets to consider instead: 
  • Tank: The tanks shown is the Fall 2015 cabi Horizontal Tank, and no longer for sale. However, cabi has two great replacements in the Spring collection: 
    • Asymmetrical Tank: This tank comes in white or gray and has a great asymmetrical hem. Either color would work, but the grey might be more casual
    • Limoncello Tank: This sporty, yellow and gray tank, has wider stripes on back, for a different look coming and going and has a cool back with modest cutouts. This may be the best replacement for the horizontal tank shown.
  • Jeans: Shown are the very popular Dark Destruction Slim Boyfriend cabi Fall 2015 jeans. If you like this particular look, there are many boyfriend style jean out there right now. For a Spring variation, consider: 
    • Destructed Skinny: A soft skinny with rips like the jeans shown. It’s also available in Curvy. 
    • Destructed Slim Boyfriend: Or, if you like the shape of the jeans shown, try the ones from this Spring in white! 
    • Or, for a non-jean casual pants, the Traveler Pant could work: These are olive green with an elasticized ankle hem and flap pockets.
  • Booties: These are old Aerosole. Here are some current ones that could work: 
    • Sundae: The black wedge boots have an elastic cross strap
    • Duble Trouble: These low heeled (1”) ankle boots that look like you could keep up with twins wearing them 
    • Soterday Night: These Oxford-style ankle boots are also wedges
  • Earrings: I kept it simple with gunmetal gray hoops. I bet you can find something similar easily. These were from Charming Charlie a few years ago. A Spring cabi option are the understated but cute Dolce Charm Earrings--perfect for a casual outfit

Want an outfits that follows the same rules, but with spring pieces? Consider the cabi Spring 2016 Piazza Jacket, Asymmetrical Tank, Destructed Skinny, and the Dolce Charm Earrings, with Soterday Night boots from Aerosole.