what to wear to work

Style Diary: What I wore to work

The best part of my day was when I met one of our top customers and she immediately complimented me and my outfit saying that I was so Saks Fifth Avenue (where I work). Little did she know that I actually wasn’t wearing a single thing from the store that I work at but I wasn’t about to tell her that.

I wore a sheath dress by Calvin Klein (that I bought at Marshall’s), with a cardi from the Loft, a vintage stretch belt, and heels from Zara. Can you believe that I was all the way in Italy when I just had to stop at the Zara (only to fall in love with these shoes and just HAVE to pay the overpriced exchange rate for them)?

Now let’s talk accessories. The purse was a gift from my model friend who was in the ad campaign for this brand…which I can’t remember at the moment. They used to sell at Bergdorf Goodman..anyways, I thought the tribal feel of the handle matched well with my NY street fair find – necklace. It’s funny how this outfit came together (in a matter of minutes). I started off with the dress (isn’t everyone excited to wear a new dress?) then I added a cardigan cuz I’m not allowed to show shoulders at work – apparently that would be too risque’. That looked shapeless so I added the stretch belt and jumped for joy when I remembered this old tribal looking necklace. Then I looked at myself in the mirror and thought I looked a bit Bam Bam. I added the Wilma beehive-like bun and voila! I had a modern-day Flinstones look!

What do you think?

Style Diary: Sweet Studs

in Fashion, Style Diary

If you’ve been reading my blog, you’ll know that I’m a fan of fashion juxtapositions. I love mixing vintage with modern, girly with masculine and sweet with tough. Here’s yet another example and it has to do with studs. Back in the ’80s when studs were hugely popular (remember Madonna and her studded black leather jackets?), I never ventured into that rock ‘n roll territory. I was too much of a goody two shoes to adorn myself in such tough leather and studs. It would have felt too costume-y for me.

But I’ve since learned that I can incorporate the rocker look in small doses and in doing so can up the “cool” quotient of any of my more feminine pieces (and Lord knows I have a ton of them!)

This entry is about mixing studs, and spikes with sweet pieces like lace, skirts and dresses. The first outfit is something I wore to work today. It all started with my new H&M find, this navy lace top which I found for about $30. I brought it home thinking, I could easily wear it now this summer, and transition it into fall because of the darker color.

I paired it with this red skirt which is actually half of a Calvin Klein suit (always think about your suits as being separates for increased wearability!) and being that I was wearing red, it seemed perfect to pull out these studded red ballerina flats to match.

The Zara flats have this cute Chanel-like chained ankle strap that makes everyone take a second look. I had 2 co-workers today try to figure out whether I was wearing ankle bracelets or whether the strap was part of my shoe.

Do you see what I mean though about balancing out the girly lace with the edgier studs? It gives the outfit a little more interest than say, if I were to wear a pair of red pumps; don’t you think?

That necklace is my mom’s btw. I make a point to steal something from her closet every time I visit

Okay and now to the 2nd sweet studded outfit. This one was also something that I wore to work (last week). And this time I mixed a vintage lace sheath with a more modern Patrizia Pepe black blazer while again contrasting the girly lace with spiked belt and shoes.

Sorry the photo is a bit grainy due to the bad lighting but you get the picture (pun intended). Below, you’ll see a close-up of my spiked accessories. Hopefully, if you didn’t think you could do the punk look, you’ll agree that it is highly do-able in small doses.

You wouldn’t normally think to wear spikes with lace but I think these pictures prove that the contrast works!

By the way, I’ve been thinking about selling this Chanel leather purse. So if you want it, make me an offer I can’t refuse! It’s in great shape!

By the way, if you’re noticing what looks like Scotch tape on one of my eyebrows, that is surgical tape. Instead of getting stitches, you can sometimes use this new surgical, breathable, waterproof tape to adhere two parts of cut-open skin. Thank God for it because I’m a huge crybaby when it comes to pain and needles! Okay, so you’re wondering what happened to me… I’m sorely embarrassed to say that I was retarded enough to walk straight into a street sign. Yea, and as if that wasn’t embarrassing enough, I now have to repeatedly re-tell the stupid story of how I was so fixated on the going out of business -last day sale that I walked myself straight into a pole. (blush)

I truly am a fashion victim.

Style Diary: BCBG Metallic heels

in Fashion, Style Diary

I made a pitstop at our shoe department during the huge July consolidation sale and ended up not being able to resist a couple pairs from the sale rack. One pair was this metallic BCBG stilettos that looked both sexy and edgy at the same time. I couldn’t believe they were only going to be around $50 with my employee discount. And I loved how they looked so designer at a fraction of the cost.

I immediately put them to good use the next day and wore them to work with my Calvin Klein charcoal sheath – something that I find so comfy and glam at the same time. It’s stretchy and never wrinkles which also makes it the perfect travel dress. Because of all the glitz, I toned it down for work with a chocolate, half-sleeve cardigan that I bought at (gasp) Target! With all the sparkle and shine, I figured I didn’t need much in terms of accessories. So I just added my sunglasses and a brown tote and I was off! What do you think?

Style Diary: Cloche Hats

in Fashion, Style Diary

I have a few cloche hats, one red, one green and each with a bow and another simple black one featured in a different style diary entry. I love the retro shape and how they easily take any outfit to the next level.

Here was my work outfit today which included a 2-piece semi-formal dress by Kathlin Argiero that the designer herself gave to me for free, Burberry heels, a Sinclaire trench, H&M cardigan and St. John tote.

The classic color combination of khaki, black and a pop of red is so Burberry. My Burberry plaid (on the shoes) sort of just tied them all together.

I fell in love with this trench coat at Saks. The girly bow plus the fact that I could buy it at 44%off the already reduced sale price was simply irresistible. This was the first time I wore this Kathlin Argiero black, 2-piece dress out to a non-semi-formal occasion. I made it a work look by pairing it with a simple puff-sleeved black cardigan and wearing it with work heels. What do you think? Did I get away with making this dress work overtime?

The necklace I wore was a cheap find. I liked the edgy metallic chains mixed with the oversized bling.

My green cloche hat is something I’ve featured before. Here it is again but with a more work/fall look.

What do you think? Would you wear a cloche hat? If so, how?

Style Diary: Inspired by Olivia Palermo

in Fashion, Style Diary

Do you ever see someone’s outfit and get inspired to wear something similar i.e. copy someone else’s look?

I find that this sometimes happens subliminally. You see a red dress on a co-worker and for some reason the red dress in your closet pops out at you the very next day. Sometimes though, you admire someone’s outfit and pick it apart, analyzing the pieces that correspond to your own wardrobe, teaching and reminding yourself that you could create a similar look. That’s what happened when I ran into this photo of Olivia Palermo – one of my style inspirations.

I was inspired by this because though I’m a fan of the cardigan+dress+belt work look, I would not have thought about pairing the camel color with the black/white dress. So here is my Olivia Palermo inspired work outfit using my own patterned black and white H&M dress (bought on sale for $15), paired with a vintage belt and camel colored cardigan from Express(bought on sale for $19.99). Booties are from a NY boutique.

The necklace is from Bloomies.

Can you see the inspiration? What do you think of my outfit?

And if you haven’t already, don’t forget to enter my blog’s vintage dress giveaway!

Style Diary: Work Wear

in Fashion, Style Diary

I bought this crazy Miu Miu purse ages ago during a Barney’s Christmas clearance sale and ever since have affectionately called it my “puppy purse.” With the Mongolian hair sticking out from the sides, people always wonder whether I’ve got a poodle in there.

Usually, I refrain from using it unless I’m heading to a fashion-oriented event like fashion week or a NY art party where my puppy purse works as a conversational piece and where people don’t think I’m entirely insane for carrying such a freak show of a purse. Now that I work in fashion, I don’t need any outlandish events to rationalize my purse choice. I can actually carry it to work!

Here I am in a couple outfits both utilizing the cardigan, sheath dress, necklace and belt combo while carrying the infamous puppy purse.

purse – miu miu
sleeveless brown dress – Ann Taylor
cardigan – Express
shoes – lovely people
gold chain necklace
ring – bought at off 5th

dress – Escada (sample sale)
cardigan shoes – Fergie
tote – Miu MIu (Barney’s sale)

This is today’s outfit. I tempered down a semi-formal dress with a more casual cardigan.

dress – Bebe $50 (bought on sale)
cardigan – Target around $20
suede and alligator boots – Franco Sarto (got them for free on a modeling gig a long long time ago)
necklace – Forever 21 $around 20
ring – Off 5th $30

Do any of you have any fashion items that are too wild to wear on a normal day or even night out? If so, I wanna hear about it!

What to Wear to Work

in Fashion, Style Diary

With this new job in the fashion/retail industry, I’ve sort of been taking special concern over what to wear to work. Work has these rules where you can’t show your shoulders, can’t wear leggings, jeans or sandals and even rules about always having to have a mani-pedi. (as if dressing well for a fashion job wasn’t pressure enough!) Plus they blast the air conditioning so you’re also restricted with thoughts of how best to layer.

The first day felt like I was the new kid at school having all eyes on me as I was made to introduce myself to everyone and later wonder who I was going to sit with during lunch. And just like school, the first day of work’s first outfit is all-important. I wore a simple gray sheath cowl neck dress with matching metallic belt from Calvin Klein (bought at TJ Maxx), a lace blazer designed by Compagna bought at a Korean boutique, and studded heels from Good Choice (bought at a NY boutique). And I thought I’d play it safe with this silver chain and pearl long necklace which I get tons of compliments on (bought at a NY boutique). Overall, the entire outfit cost only about $150 or so (none of it was new, just old finds from my closet though).

After wearing so much neutral, I felt the need for color and what is bolder than red? I usually shy away from candy apple, primary color red but this Escada sheath dress that I found at a sample sale was just too good of a deal to pass up. I’m not wearing it in the picture but I tempered it down with a camel cardigan (so the fashion police wouldn’t ticket me for showing my shoulders at work). And I wore the camel cardigan over the dress and belted with a dark brown rustic belt. This is me at the end of the day after weathering the suffocating 90plus heat. I couldn’t be bothered to put back on the cardigan and belt.

The bag was bought at a NY consignment store and is by Emanuel Ungaro. I love it ‘cuz it is pony haired and has the softest texture. The shoes are Steve Madden – don’t they look much more expensive? And the chain necklace that drips down into a v is a statement piece that I bought super cheap – can’t remember where.

During my first couple weeks, I also traded off the cardigans with lightweight blazers being careful to avoid being too suit-y. I did this by pairing them with fun printed skirts. See the below outfits.

Here I am trying to pass off a cheap H&M fitted blazer for something a little more luxe by pairing it with a nicer Tracy Reese designer skirt and Chanel purse. The beaded necklace was a freebie from a NY fashion week goody bag and the shoes are a fun Marc Jacob knockoff with cutout hearts found at one of my secret favorite shops – Forever 21. I added the ceramic teddy bear to the purse – ‘cuz there’s still a kid in me and my recent trip to Japan helped make me unashamed of loving the cutesy.

I also paired a Tahari printed fuller skirt with a Chanel purse – this time in butter yellow with some similar colored heels with studded flower accent. And this time I skipped the traditional blazer in favor of a military inspired ruffle blazer.

I did bring out the simpler black blazer (with puff sleeves) later when figuring out how to make my gray tiered dress more work-appropriate. The blazer is from H&M, the dress from Philosophy, the purse is Prada (brand new with my store discount) and the trendy lucite necklace is from years ago.. Perhaps the best part of this outfit other than my new (bought on sale) Prada is the suede black peeptoes that were a huge find from a MI thrift shop. It seems that Midwesterners don’t know the worth of Ferragamo ‘cuz I practically stole these slingbacks at a shocking $5! hmm that cost sort of balances out the cost of my purse, right?

What outfit is your favorite?

Work Wear

in Fashion

Do you ever stress out over what to wear to work? At my last workplace, every day looked like casual Friday and made Joe Shmoe in his khaki/button down combo seem like best dressed man of the year next to the tee-shirt and jeans creatives around him. Fashion very obviously never entered the minds of my co-workers in my last advertising/marketing agency.

I’m in a whole new world now. My new job in the retail sector has me feeling a curious sense of pressure to look my best and never have a hair out of place. Usually, I enjoy styling myself so dressing for work is often an excuse to dress up. Now dressing for work has turned into a test to prove I belong in the fashion industry and prove that I’m worthy.

Suddenly my workforce (where fashion and image is everything especially since I work in the marketing / PR department) is causing me to be self-conscious. I’m trying to get used to co-workers readily inspecting and immediately judging my outfits. Though I suspect I’ve been talked about behind my back (I am the new girl in town after all), I also recall several instances each day when my outfit, accessories and shoes have been the topic of direct conversation. I’d walk down towards LV and the fine jewelry department and a co-worker would catcall out how she loved my shoes. I head down the makeup aisle and someone stops me to say hi but really to examine my makeup and hair. I take the escalators up to the designer floor and I feel the eyes staring down my purse. As the new girl at work, I’m like a poor science lab animal pinned down, inspected and ready for dissection. It’s a strange phenomenon. Never before have I been given the once over so frequently, so obviously, and so shamelessly. And never before has this happened at work.