Peplum + Lace

20120813-115005.jpg

20120813-115031.jpg

20120813-115101.jpg

20120813-115202.jpg

20120813-115228.jpg

A casual peplum top was on my wish list (no really – it was official), and I happened to find this at Zara when I was in Chicago last month. What luck! It zips in the front so it can be worn open like I did here, or closed. When it’s zipped up, it shows off the peplum shape more, so that’s on my to-wear list (I don’t have an actual to-wear list, although that’s totally something I would do).

I wore this out to dinner and a comedy show last Friday. I actually wore the same thing to work that day, but with flats and a full-size bag. We’ll just skip the cliche part where I tell how this outfit “goes effortlessly from desk to cocktails” or some crap like that. Let’s just say it’s cute and call it a day, shall we?

If you want to see how I wear this (and many other things) next, be sure to follow me on Bloglovin’.

If you’re a style blogger and you’d like to see your face – and your link – on this blog, check out my outfit challenge.

Everything Old is New Again…and A CHALLENGE!

20120809-191327.jpg

20120809-191348.jpg

20120809-191406.jpg

20120809-191435.jpgHave you ever seen those features in fashion magazines and blogs where the writer shows you how you can take something you already own and mix it with a current trend to make it current? Valuable, sure, but I’m here to argue that you don’t even need something new necessarily. Sometimes you can make a totally modern outfit by remixing old items in new ways.

Everything I’m wearing here (excepting my new watch, which seems to be stuck on my wrist) I have had for at least 3 years. Tulip skirts had a moment a while back, which is when I picked up this skirt at H&M. But considering how big florals have been recently, I could have bought it yesterday! I don’t even remember where the necklace is from; probably one of those cheap teenager stores (I mean stores that sell cheap stuff and are geared toward teenagers, not stores that sell cheap teenagers), but I’d say this falls into the “statement necklace” category, and is also something you might find in stores today. As for the nautical striped top, well, those will never go out of style.

I know these shoes are a little nerdy, but they were one of the first pairs of “grown up” shoes I bought when I got my first job out of college (wow…that was FIVE years ago). Since I had already created an outfit based on old favorites, it only seemed right to take these guys for a spin. They hadn’t been out in the world for a while – I literally had to dust them off.

The Challenge:

OK, fellow bloggers! I CHALLENGE YOU to come up with a brand new outfit made entirely of pieces that are at least 3 years old. (To be fair, I’ll let you wear one newer bracelet or watch if you must.) If you accept my challenge and post the outfit on your blog, please include in your post a link back to this post, and leave me a comment (or email/tweet me) with your own link! I would love to see what you come up with, and I might even feature my favorites back here next Friday. 🙂 Aaaaand….Go!