Happy Tuesday everyone!
Let me start off with a big warm welcome for anybody new here! ;) Last week I kicked off a weekly outfit series I’m calling What I [Really] Wore all thanks to a long time blogging friend of mine, Andrea, from Seasons and Salt. Andrea has been kicking butt at this original series of hers for awhile now, and was kind enough to endorse me throwing my hat into the ring. If you’re here because of her lovely shout-out to me on Sunday, thank you so much! You should know that she and I go way back in the blogging world and that I have watched in awe as she’s grown her blog into the worthy and inspiring place it is today. I hope you’ll stick around!
If you’re a regular around here but haven’t checked out Andrea’s blog yet, well what the heck are ya waiting for? In fact go ahead an bookmark her blog now — you’ll be glad you did.
In any case, let’s dive right on in and take a look at this week’s outfits, shall we?
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Like any of today’s outfits? You can shop them and support The Lovely Laura Life at the same time by using the affiliate links below.
TUESDAY
Three words: chicken photo bomb. Now that we have that covered, the first half of Tuesday was spent at home just playing catch up from an unusually busy weekend followed by a full workday on Monday. When we finally got dressed and headed out of the house for some errands, an unplanned trip to a playground, ahem, and ice cream… I was so happy that I pulled for this dress when quickly getting dressed. This is the dress I mentioned (in last week’s blog post) wearing to a family reunion last Sunday. I found it recently at a local secondhand shop while in search of a denim sleeveless dress option. It was a total score. I always feel pulled together, comfortable and happy whenever I wear this dress — so yay for having one and done outfit options!
DRESS (secondhand Target via local shop) / Similar / Similar / Similar in long sleeves (made responsibly)
WEDNESDAY
Woohoo! I actually came by a ‘real’ photo on a work day! This outfit is significantly dressier than most of my work looks because I had a meeting offsite that called for more business professional attire — boy am I glad I don’t wear heels everyday! I wore my linen button down, my ponte pant (full review here) and borrowed the blazer from my mother in law. Leading up to this meeting I actually considered buying a blazer secondhand and, although I’m still considering adding a high quality one to my wardrobe in the future, I’m really glad I thought to just ask to borrow one and not put myself on the clock this time around.
LINEN BUTTON DOWN by Everlane (fit note: I usually wear a large top. I originally ordered a size 10 in this top, worried that I would have to end up sizing up to a 12 — I have broad shoulders and usually require the extra room — but ended up exchanging it instead for a size 8, so you might want to size down) / Similar (in cotton)
PONTE PANT c/o Brass Clothing (made responsibly) (fit note: I’m wearing my usual size, large)
HEELS (old secondhand J.Crew via Ebay) / Similar / Similar (secondhand)
WATCH (old by Michael Kors) / Similar
THURSDAY
What’s that you say? The same linen button down from Wednesday? Why yes, yes it is. I must admit that sometimes on busy mornings that we have to get out of the house quickly I will thrown on whatever I was wearing the day before and try to not over think it. In this case I replaced the ponte pant with some denim shorts, for obvious reasons. And how about a top that can pull double duty? Seriously, this one knocks it out of the park in that area.
Most of the day was spent either traveling to see a college friend and her babes or visiting with said college friend and her babes (one of which is due in a few weeks!). We live about an hour and half away from each other so play dates are few and far between, even though both of our oldest our only 8 weeks apart. A few years ago we started a tradition where we we each drove half way (which just happens to be an exit with an outlet mall playground and a Chipotle) and called it a good thing.
LINEN BUTTON DOWN by Everlane (fit note: I usually wear a large top. I originally ordered a size 10 in this top, worried that I would have to end up sizing up to a 12 — I have broad shoulders and usually require the extra room — but ended up exchanging it instead for a size 8, so you might want to size down) / Similar (in cotton)
DENIM SHORTS (secondhand J. Crew via Poshmark) / Similar / Similar
FRIDAY
Friday was another total top knot kind of day, if you know what I mean. This week I wore this top fully tucked into my high waisted denim shorts instead of knotted and with track shorts (like last week’s outfit here). I polished the look off a bit by wearing a leather belt that matched my bag. Fun fact: this leather belt is the oldest clothing accessory I own, and perhaps my first ever ‘investment’ piece. I bought it when I was a freshman in high school from the men’s department at American Eagle. Haha, total rebel. I remember thinking I was insane to buy something so expensive, embarrased even! But here we are, 14 years later, and I’m still wearing the darn thing. Future Laura: take notes.
CENTRAL SHIRT (secondhand Madewell via Ebay) / Similar / Similar (in white) / Similar (made responsibly)
DENIM SHORTS (secondhand J. Crew via Poshmark) / Similar / Similar
LEATHER BELT (old by American Eagle) / Similar (made responsibly)
SATURDAY
Saturday brought with it some amazingly mild temperatures! It was in the sixties for the better part of the day… in August… IN OHIO. After Nick and I spent the morning/afternoon hiking in our woods with our kiddos we got ready to head to an old friend’s wedding. I don’t really have a set ‘special occasions’ capsule that I use as a go to for wedding guest attire, etc. but I do tend to have one piece for each season that I use as my go-to special occasion piece — that can also be worn within some other sphere of life. That whole in my summer closet was filled when I found this dress earlier this season. My mom offered to gift it to me as an early birthday present and I was sold the moment I put it on. There’s something about wearing such a bold color (when you normally wearing nothing but neutrals) that makes even more of a statement and makes it feel slightly set apart — in the good kind of way. Of course I didn’t get too fancy or carried away because well, I’m me, so I kept it simple and comfy with my shoes and wore the same sandals I’ve pretty much worn everyday this summer. :)
LACE DRESS by ASOS (out of stock) / Same dress, different color (limited sizing) / Similar (made in USA)
SUNDAY
Oops, I guess Sunday’s can prove to be tough to come by an outfit photo too! Oh well…
I wore this outfit to church in the morning, a family lunch afterward and then to go look at a couple houses with my brother-in-law’s family in the evening. With temps still in the low 70’s I again took advantage of the opportunity to wear my overalls that almost never get any wear this time of year. I think overalls have a similar styling effect as that of a dress or jumpsuit. I’m essentially wearing jeans and a t-shirt but feel as if though this look covers way more bases than just ‘jeans and t-shirt’ — and I’m all about that type of phenomenon.
STRIPED PEASANT TOP (secondhand Madewell via Poshmark) / Similar / Similar (made responsibly)
DENIM OVERALLS (secondhand Madewell via Ebay) (fit note: I’m wearing a size medium) / Similar
MONDAY
Another day at the office, means another day of wearing leggings and a tee — just kidding! But at the very least, that’s how it feels when I wear this combo. You guys, I don’t mean to sound old, but when sitting in a desk chair all day? Comfort first. In fact, always: comfort first. With temps in the mid 60’s again and rain in the forecast I grabbed a cardigan on the way out the door, to serve as a jacket and (in a pinch) an umbrella. I never will understand why most indoor places (like my office) are usually colder in the summer months than the winter months, but I’m so glad I swiped it on my way out because I didn’t take it off until after lunch time.
LEIF SLUB TEE by Amour Vert (made responsibly) / (fit note: I’m wearing my usual size, large) / Also available at Nordstrom
OPEN FRONT CARDIGAN (secondhand Madewell via Poshmark) / Similar in wool-cashmere (made responsibly) / Similar in cashmere (made responsibly)
PONTE PANT c/o Brass Clothing (made responsibly) / (fit note: I’m wearing my usual size, large)
WATCH (old by Michael Kors) / Similar
TOTE c/o LiveFashionable / Similar with a zipper / Similar in black
That’s it for this week! I’ll be back every week with this series and mixing it up with all my other usual lifestyle posts. I do hope to see you around!
How do you feel about the ‘What I [Really] Wore’ weekly outfit round up so far? Do you find it useful + inspiring to see real, everyday outfits showcased? Or do you feel you might become disenchanted with seeing the same pieces over and over (and over) again?