Color Blocking... Sort of.

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Life has been CRAZY busy lately. I've been taking some great webinar classes after work, and freelancing some small projects, and working on a duvet-cover/quilt for my bed (you can see my progress here). So that's why I'm only sharing the look I wore on Monday today! I decided to revisit some of my favorite themes from last year's challenges, but this time making sure I'm wearing something new! This week, I revisited our color block week, well, sort of. Last minute, I threw in a striped shirt instead, so I won't claim this is a total color block, but let's concentrate on the bright green blazer and vivid purple pants, shall we? Color block gold.

Blazer: Kohls (NEW! similar styles from Kohls here) | Striped Shirt: Forever 21 (last seen here)

Necklace: A-Thread (last seen here) | Skinny Jeans: Old Navy (last seen here)

Flats: Bought on Ideel (NEW!)

I wore this to: Work, on January 28, 2013

On another note, I have to share the "Sockington effect," as I'm calling it. This tiny cute kitty, who has a tremendous following on twitter (well deserved) tweeted my cat-shirt outfit (I was wearing his face on my shirt, after all), and I got such a spike of views on that post, that my pageviews graphic looks prety funny right now:

Cool, huh? Thanks Sockington! Much love and kibble for you.

Have We Talked About my Cat-Shirt Addiction?

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Have I told you about my cat t-shirt collection? It started casually, when I got that Sockington (the most famous cat on twitter) t-shirt you see pictured on the left, and it just grew from there. It wasn't my intention to have a cat t-shirt collection, but it happened, and now I LOVE it! This weekend I wore the first and last cat shirts I bought. Hope you enjoy the outfits! 

Outfit 1: 

Cat Shirt: Sockington | Necklace: Express (last seen here)

Cardigan: J.Crew (NEW, and still on sale here) | Skirt: Loft (NEW!)

Tights: gift (NEW!) | Boots: Wanted (NEW! and still available here)

I wore this to: run errands, on January 26, 2013

Outfit 2:

Cat Shirt: Hey Chickadee (NEW! and still available here)

Bolero: Loft | Jeans: Zara (last seen here) | Necklace: Disney (last seen here)

Boots: Wanted (NEW! and still available here)

I wore this to: grocery shopping, on January 27, 2013

And now I finish by asking: what's your favorite famous cat (of the internet or beyond?)

Finding Out Your Own Style

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I think I'm a little overdue on this post, but I have been thinking a lot about the future of Occupy the Wardrobe this week. I feel like this is more than a style blog, and I shouldn't turn it into one now that I'm done with my year of no shopping. But nonetheless, the learning and thinking I did for the year I didn't shop it's worth sharing and working it through from now on. For example, one of the best things about not shopping for a year was figuring out my own style, and what I love to wear. So today, I wanted to share some tips for anyone that still struggles with it.

I'm not the most organized person in town, but I'm a firm believer that if you're one of those people that have SO MANY clothes in your wardrobe you don't even know what you own, then you're doing it wrong. If you can't see what you own, you won't wear it. Clean up that wardrobe, toss anything you haven't worn in a year, or doesn't fit, or doesn't flatter you. Toss it all out without pity, it is for the best.

I actually did the heaviest cleanings ever in my wardrobe in this year of not shopping. The clarity it gives you is amazing. If you feel it's too hard to part from something, maybe offer it to a friend who'll wear it more than you do. If not, TOSS IT.

Me, in one of my classical outfits I wore 100 times before I started this blog.

This sounds kind of drastic, but I promise it's a good idea. Mixing and matching your pieces more often will help you get a sense of what works for you, and find out about combinations that are even better than the ones you make all the time. It's basically, shopping your own closet, and looking even better than when you shop out!

Simply put: do not wear the same pieces the same way twice. You can repeat separate pieces, but not outfits. I used to do that a lot, I had my 10 favorite dresses, and basically just cycled through them every week. There was one day that I looked back and realized that I had worn the same exact outfits on the same days of the week as the week before.

So next time you reach for that cardigan you ALWAYS wear with the same pair of pants, don't. Try something new. Then try to not repeat outfits for an entire month, rotate everything you own and wear them differently every time. Now, after a year of doing that, it's almost second nature to me, and most mornings I put stuff together that I never did before. Think of the possibilities!

I encourage you to try both things and seeing how they will help you find out your own style. And please share in the comments your own ideas about style! I'd love to hear them.

Opera Night

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You might remember that fancy dress I got as a Christmas gift, and was planning to wear on an occasion like this one. So finally I had the chance! I love a shiny fabric, but there's not a lot of times when I can wear something like this with my lifestyle. But thankfully, every once in a while the friends call with an opportunity like this, and I get to take my fancy numbers out for a spin.

Blazer: Forever 21 (NEW!) | Necklace: Express (last seen here)

Dress: Jennifer Lopez for Kohls (last seen here - more JLo dresses here) | Tights: Forever 21

Heels: MIA (last seen here) | Rings: Forever 21

I wore this to: the Opera, on January 19, 2013.

In "Mint" Condition

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Another head-to-toe (almost) brand new look, or, shall I say, "mint" look? I'm not very good at puns guys, so this is what I'll go with today. I don't usually dress up on weekends, since most of what I do on my down time is to go grocery shopping, or out to grab a quick bite to eat. But this weekend Mike and I were headed to the mall (he needed pants, I wanted a new denim jacket), so I decided to make an effort and dress cute. So I attacked my pile of new purchases, and got that out! What do you think?

Sweater: Nordstrom Rack (NEW!) | Shirt: Kohls (NEW! similar styles here) 

Necklace: Forever 21 (last seen here)

Skirt: Shop Sosie (NEW!) | Boots: Wanted (last seen here)

I wore this to: the Mall, on January 19, 2013.

A New Favorite

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It's been very cold here in Salt Lake City lately. The only wat to survive this weather is to layer up. You can see on this outfit at least part of all the layers I'm wearing. This nice dark red coat is a new purchase, bought at Ideeli. Under it, I'm wearing a blazer, a sweater, a white shirt, and under it all a Forever 21 cami (best place to shop for basics, so cheap!). I really liked how this all came together, and I almost wish I had also worn a black tie to make the outfit even more masculine. Plus, I do feel very warm and cozy in this outfit. 

Coat: Coffeeshop (NEW!) | Blazer: Old Navy (last seen here) | Sweater: Loft (NEW!)

White Shirt: Express (last seen here) | Pants: Forever 21 (last seen here) | Boots: Wanted (last seen here)

Necklace: Forever 21 (las seen here)

I wore this to: Work on January 16th, 2013

J.Crew Girl

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(I wish!)

This look is pretty similar to the one I wore last week, and posted about on Friday, but let me explain why... Initially I had plan to wear this outfit with my new J.Crew skirt. But when I tried it on and took those pictures, it became very obvious the skirt was just too big, and I'll need to make some adjustments before I can actually wear it out in the wild. Sad! But it seems simple enough that I can tackle the adjustment myself, plus, I got it on a very good sale, so it wasn't an expensive item. If it was, I wouldn't dare make adjustments myself.

So please enjoy my outfit, and I promise to bring back news after I adjusted the skirt and actually wear it outside! And.. Isn't this skirt just gorgeous?? It might be my favorite new thing in my wardrobe...

Coat: Yoki (NEW! At a bargain $25 dollars at Ideeli —my favorite place for winter coats) 

Chambray Shirt: Old Navy (NEW!) | Necklace: Forever 21 (seen here, here, and here before)

Skirt: J.Crew (NEW!) | Tights: Forever 21 | Heels: ASOS (seen here before)

I wore this to: ...nowhere! Skirt needs adjustments, and I didn't notice it till I took those pictures.

This Dress? Oh, I Made It.

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I'm very excited to share this outfit with you all today because it's another one of my creations. This velvety smooth, purple-ish dress is probably the best piece of clothing I've made so far! To be perfectly honest, I got the zipper pretty messed up on the first try, but then after un-stitching everything and putting it back together (after a few cuts and re-presses too) to finally get it perfect! I love it!

The fabric is super warm, so perfect for this weather, and I think that the skirt fits very well. I used a pattern from Butterick, the B5520. It was a great pattern, super easy to figure out the instructions, and very little fabric cutting compared to other things I've made! I styled it with simple gold accent pieces. Oh, and this fantastic bag? A gift from my boyfriend's mom. Yup, I couldn't believe it when I opened the box either.

Dress: Sew Anita (made by me!) | Necklace (seen here and here before) & Ring: Forever 21

Belt: Ruche (seen here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here before)

Flats: Styke&Co (birthday gift) | Scarf: ModCloth

Purse: Coach (Christmas gift) | Nail Polish: Zoya Haley (my favorite red ever)

I wore this to: Work on January 10, 2013

I think this year, for Occupy, I'll try to make clothes instead of buying. I'll buy a few things, especially things I can't make yet like jeans, jackets, sweaters. But I'll give it a try to make dresses and skirts instead of buying new! What do you guys think? 

The Sweatpants Skirt

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The outfit I'm wearing today has a few new pieces to it, like the chambray shirt and the skirt. But the one I want to focus on, is the skirt. It was a Christmas gift from my boyfriend's sister, and one that I was slightly confused about when I first opened (and no, it wasn't because it was wrapped in Justin Bieber paper, there's nothing confusing about ironic wrapping paper), because I saw the elastic band typical of sweatpants, but there was not enough fabric to be sweatpants... it was a skirt! 

I've got to give it to American Apparel, they do come up with the nicest things in basic and comfy fabrics. The quality of their products always impresses me, so I was happy to try out this little skirt. And it turns out I love it! It's dressy enough I can wear it with a nice shirt and boots and rock it at work, and at the same time, it's warm and comfy like... well, sweatpants! And who doesn't want to work in sweatpants sometimes? 

Mike's sister, Lizzie, said she already has five of those in her closet, all in different colors. I see the appeal. The bad news is, I can't find this skirt on the website anymore, so if anyone sees one of those in the wild, let me know so I can try to hunt another one down for me. They are nifty! 

Skirt: American Apparel (NEW! Christmas gift) | Chambray Shirt: Old Navy (NEW!)

Boots: Wanted (seen here before) | Necklace: Forever 21 (seen here, here, and here before)

I wore this to: Work on January 9, 2013

The First Thing I Bought.

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So, I guess you've all been curious about what I have been buying this year... after ONE YEAR, one very long year, of shop-fasting, I'm trying to be conscious and not go crazy. Kind of like when you diet, you spend so long without eating, you'll just gorge yourself and end up fatter than before you started your diet! I don't want to spend all the money I saved by not shopping a year, on shopping in a month! So I gave myself a budget, and even though initially my goal was to shop only local and avoid super cheap stores (I am sorry Forever 21!!), I guess my resolve kind of failed when I realize how much things actually cost on those stores... What can I say, I'm just not willing to spend that much on a single piece of clothing, but I'll try my best after this small splurge.

On the bright side, on just a bit of money spent, I was able to get a lot of new things, especially things I have learned through this past year that are my essential pieces: pleated skirts, blazers, and skinny pants. Things I'll avoid buying at all costs: dresses. I just have too many, and yes, I love them, but I don't need any, so I'll survive. And my 4-year-old, only-child and reliable snow jacket needs to be retired soon, so I'm in search of a new winter coat to last me through the next 4 years. I would also love to get a nice denim jacket, but so far had no luck.

But let's talk about the first thing I purchased after my year of no shopping! So, can you guess what is new in this outfit? The pants! Yes, I scored this purple skinny jeans (that's been on my wishlist for, oh, I don't know, eight months!) at Old Navy for just $11 bucks, and it made me very happy. The blazer, almost a twin to my favorite Express blazer, is also from Old Navy, another steal for $16 dollars, and very necessary since I wore my two black blazers to the point that one is already out in the trash (it wasn't even in a state to be donated...), and the other, well, let's just say it has seen better days.

Blazer: Old Navy (NEW!) | Scarf: Ann Taylor Loft (seen here before)

Shirt: Ann Taylor Loft (seen here before) | Necklace: Express (seen here and here before)

Jeans: Old Navy (NEW!) | Boots: Wanted (seen here before)

I wore this to: Work on January 8, 2013

First Week of Shopping and KUTV Interview

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Some people can't barely wait till the next day to wear a newly purchased outfit. I used to be like that too, I guess, but now 8 days in the new year that I can shop, I have not yet worn not even one of my new purchases yet. I think I'm still attached to my old closet, since the both of us had such great moments in 2012, it's been hard to let something new in!

Obviously I have already blew out my January budget for shopping, so I guess I'll now wait till Spring is actually here to shop again (might as well keep some semblance of Occupy the Wardrobe alive). In the meantime, I think I'll slowly take the new items out of the closet and mix them up with old ones. I'm making sure to only buy things I know that I absolutely love (like blazers, pleated skirts, and chambray shirts!) and that will match a lot of what I already own. So expect to seem them in my outfit posts for the next few weeks!

In the meantime, let leave you with this short interview about Occupy the Wardrobe on KUTV, and the outfit I wore for it (no new pieces, except for the necklace that was a birthday gift)!

I was pretty nervous, but it was a lot of fun to be on KUTV! Thanks for having me!

Leather Jacket: ArdenB (seen here, here, and here before) 

Chambray Shirt: Ralph Lauren (seen here, here, here, and here before)

Skirt: Loft (seen here, here, and here before) | Tights: Target (seen here before)

Heels: Nine West (seen here, here, and here before) | Necklace: Threadsence (birthday gift)
Belt: Forever 21 (seen so many times here I didn't have the patience to link!)

I wore this to: KUTV for an Interview about Occupy the Wardrobe, on January 7, 2013