OOTD 10/12/12

OOTD 10/12/12 by alldressedupnoplace2go featuring printed scarves

J Crew long sleeve shirt
jcrew.com

Blazer
anthropologie.com

Joe s
anthropologie.com

Enzo angiolini shoes
heels.com

J Crew printed scarve
jcrew.com

John Lewis blue belt
$19 - johnlewis.com

OOTD: A remixed blouse

Just an old OOTD I wanted to share with you all from about a month ago (Yes, I am that behind on posting.  For shame.).

Blouse: Lemon Liftoff Blouse, Girls from Savoy, Anthropologie, sz. 4 (remixed here)

Cardi: Merona, Target, sz. small

Jeans: Joe's Jeans, Anthropologie, sz. 28

Shoes: Cole Haan Air Lyric, sz. 7.5

Pin: Vintage

Earrings: Target

How darling is that little owl pin?  I originally bought it to turn into a necklace earlier this fall, but I think I may keep it as a pin.  I felt very Emma Pillsbury-ish in this outfit.  Not a bad feeling, in my opinion. 

Have a great day!

I've been published!

Well, sort of.  Earlier this week, I received an email from our awesome wedding photographer friend Leeann from Leeann Marie Photography letting us know that our engagement pictures have been featured on the Delighfully Engaged blog!  Pretty excited about that.  You can see the post here. 

Since I'm talking about our engagement pictures, I figured I'd take a couple of minutes to finally show you all what I wore and explain my choices.  All of the following images are taken from either the Delighfully Simple blog or from Leeann's blog, and all were taken by Leeann of Leeann Marie Photography.

Outfit 1:

Dress:  Mompos Dress from Anthropologie, size 2

Shoes:  Red leather heels from some random store in Italy

Bracelet:  Target

Earrings:  A gift from a friend (part of our bridesmaid jewelry set from her wedding)

This was my first outfit choice, and it was slightly Alice-in-Wonderland/Dorothy-inspired.  I knew that no matter what else I wore, I would wear the Mompos dress.  The dress has a slight print, but it isn't too busy, so the focus remains on us instead of the print.  Plus, it comes with a built-in crinoline.  What says "I'm having a glamorous reading by the lake on a blanket" more than a crinoline? 

I paired the Mompos dress with red shoes because I love seeing a pop of unexpected color in photos, and I know that Leeann has a shoe fetish that rivals my own.  Plus, I wanted our pictures to be whimsical and storybook-ish, and you really can't get more fantastical than a pair of red patent-leather peep toes in the middle of a field.   For about half a second, I contemplated replacing the built-in belt with a red patent-leather belt, but I realized I wanted the shoes to stand out on their own, so I kept the belt as-is.

For this outfit, I kept the accessories classic and minimal.  Again, for engagement pictures, the focus should be on the couple, not on the clothes and accessories.  I kept the future Mr. AllDressedUp in a neutral complementing outfit.  He's wearing a Brooks Brothers shirt and tie combo that features understated light pink and sky blue.

Outfit #2:

Shirt:  Gathering Tank from Anthropologie, size small

Bracelet:  "I Read Banned Books" bracelet from Kards Unlimited

Jeans:  Joe's Jeans from Anthropologie, size 28

Shoes:  Cole Haan Air Nike Peep toe pumps, size 7.5

Again for this outfit, I wanted to keep the concept relatively simple.  The gathers of the gathering tank brings the eye right to the face, and I figured the green color would blend with the surroundings to bring out our faces even more. 

While I don't recommend trying to camoflauge yourself when dressing for photographs, but I do recommend wearing colors that complement your skin, hair, and eyes.  I felt like this shirt did all three relatively well.  Plus, green is one of our wedding colors, so I wanted to give a slight nod to that in the engagement pictures.  I wore the bracelet because it has several shades of green in it, but also because it matches the literary theme of our photos and of our wedding.  The shoes jeans and shoes acted as comfortable neutrals.  I put the fiance in a Banana Republic blue and green striped white button-down  and jeans so that we weren't exactly matching, but our outfits again complemented each other.

Outfit #3:

Dress:  Vintage 1950s polka dot dress

Shoes:  Same red heels as above

Necklace:  Pearl necklace (stolen/inherited from my mom)

Earrings:  Silver hoops (a gift)

Again, simplicity is key.  I brought this dress along, not sure of whether or not I'd need it.  Leeann spotted it and gave me the go-ahead to bring it.  That's why she's awesome.  She understands that sometimes you just need another dress.  :)  Anyway, I kept my accessories simple once more with a pearl necklace and small silver hoop earrings.  The fiance remained in his outfit from before.  He's not as high-maitenance as I am, apparently.  ;)

I noticed while writing this post that I only wore 1-2 accessories per outfit.  That's probably a good rule of thumb to stick to when you know you're going to be photographed.  Now, if only this post had been published before Nicki Minaj went to the 2011 VMAs at the end of August:

Source

Oh well.  Maybe she'll take note for next year.  ;)

Macy's Sip 'n Scan: OOTD

My fiance and I went to our first wedding registry event last week at what Macy's likes to call a "Sip 'n Scan."  Macy's brings in a local catering company, a DJ, a makeup artist, a cookware specialist, and anyone else they can dig up to represent the services needed at a wedding.  Not a bad idea, really.  We got to eat yummy food, sip some punch, listen to fun music, and play Charlie's Angels with the registry gun.

Initially, I was really excited, but when we had been pointing and shooting for about 25 minutes, I had a slight emotional breakdown.  The idea of asking people for anything always really bothers me.  Everyone in our lives is extremely kind, but it was still unnerving to register for a $399 KitchenAid Mixer and a $600 Dyson vacuum (both of which I fully plan on buying myself after the wedding using the post-wedding registry discount).  We registered for lots of much less expensive items, too, but I just felt really uneasy about it all.  It didn't help that we're registering for most of our bigger items through Macy's, and then using Crate and Barrel and Target for our smaller, less expensive items.  Perhaps we should have started there instead to avoid my mini-psychosis.

I eventually recovered, we registered for a few more items, and we headed home with food in our bellies and smiles on our faces.  Here's what I wore:

Blouse:  J.Crew Blythe blouse, size 2

Scarf:  Simply Vera by Vera Wang, a gift from my future mother-in-law

Jeans:  Joe's Jeans, Anthropologie, size 28

Bag:  Prada

Shoes:  Cole Haan Air Lyric heels, size 7.5

I have a feeling this is going to be one of my favorite outfits for the transition to fall (although the weather the past few days here in western PA have made it pretty clear that there is no longer a transition happening...fall, along with its cold temperatures, wind, and rain, has arrived.).  I love the look of a blouse tucked into flared jeans with a fun accessory and heels.  I've worn variations of this look several times over the past few weeks as the weather has become cooler, and it's just effortless and polished. 

Have a wonderful day, everyone!

OOTD 9/9/11: Simplicity

Blouse:  NY & Company

Jeans: Joe's Jeans, Anthropologie

Shoes: Cole Haan Nike Air Peeptoe Pumps

Belt: Loft

Necklace: Target

A closeup of the belt:

A better shot of the necklace:

I love how this necklace sits with this blouse.  I wore the two together in an August OOTD with shorts.  Sometimes, when I find a pairing that I like, I wear it over and over again.  Do any of you guys do that, too?

I wore this outfit for our first jeans day at school.  Most Fridays, we can pay $5 for a specified charity, and we get to wear jeans.  The jeans were a welcomed break, as I'm just getting used to dressing up every day again. 

I got so many compliments on this outfit, and I'm pretty surprised, because it's relatively simple.  At the end of the day, the French teacher, Valerie, came up to me in the hallway.  (Side note: I absolutely love this woman; she's a complete sweetheart.  She was born and raised in France, and her style reflects it.  Her outfits are always well put-together, but she keeps them simple.)  When she approached me, Valerie said, "I just love zees outfeet.  Zees eez a very Valerie outfeet!"  Let me tell you, I could not have been happier!  There is such a je ne sais quoi about the way French women style themselves.  There have been countless books on the subject, but none of them seem to exactly pinpoint what it is that French women do that we American women can't quite grasp.  The fact that I achieved it, even if it was for only one day and one outfit, made me feel awesome!  Just thought I'd share my little style victory with you all!  :)

What do you think it is about French women that keep them looking so fabulous?