Over-the-knee Boots for Work & Floral Top for Spring

March 12, 2018 by Virginia 11 Comments

Hello Friends! I’m really excited about today’s post for a few reasons: 1) I’m finally sharing my new suede over-the-knee boots for work (which I love and can’t wait to tell you about) and 2) I finally found some look-alikes of my favorite floral top for spring!

*This post does contain affiliate links, which means that if you click and/or make a purchase through these links, I may make a small commission. For more information, see my privacy policy. Thank you for supporting the retailers that make this blog possible.

Over-the-knee boots for Work

One item I really wanted to get this winter was a new pair of over-the-knee boots that I could wear to work. When the Stuart Weitzman suede over-the-knee boots first became popular, I knew I wanted a look-alike pair. It took awhile for more affordable brands to come out with copycats so when I found a great pair of gray over-the-knee boots at Forever21 (featured here), I grabbed them. However, over the years they stretched out and would fall down my leg. Plus, the pointed heel just wasn’t realistic for my now more mobile job.

I went on a hunt for a new pair of over-the-knee boots for work. The great thing about buying a replacement pair is that there are so many options out there for an affordable over-the-knee boot. You can get them in flat versions and block heel versions, in a ton of different colors. My stipulations for over-the-knee boots for work were that they be wide enough for my calves (many options are made for skinny calves), a block heel (added comfort and traction for my long walks across campus), and a tie at the top that would keep the boot from falling down my leg even if it got stretched out. This Steve Madden pair from DSW fit the bill. Plus, I got them on sale (right after I featured them in this post)! They are still pretty tight on my calves and because of that, there is some bunching right at the ankle, making for a funny fit. But, I can’t even explain how comfortable they are and, for the price, I just couldn’t pass them up.

This is a great time to buy a pair of over-the-knee boots, as many retailers are starting to clear their stock to prepare for summer. You’ll get a great deal and still get quite a bit of wear out of them throughout the spring.

Floral Blouse for Spring

I bought this blouse from Shein ages ago but it’s still one of my favorite tops for work. It goes with jeans, pencil skirts, black pants (seen here), you name it! My favorite way to wear this floral top is with white skinny jeans, as pictured here. I haven’t featured it recently on the blog (even though I wear it all the time) because I don’t like featuring something that you can’t buy and doesn’t have a similar replacement. But Friday I was looking at new arrivals at H&M and found a ton of great options to get a similar look. I tried a bunch on in-store and have some size recommendations in the widget below. This version is a great, soft fabric and is on sale. Be aware that the sleeves run tight.

This is the perfect kind of spring look for me in the classroom. I feel bright and cheery and fashionable, yet comfortable. That’s a winning outfit combination! In fact, make sure to check out another way I wore these white skinny jeans in the classroom HERE.

Get the Look:

Have you tried floral blouses for work? Where did you find your favorite one? Let me know in the comments below!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Make sure to check out last week’s post on my Top 5 Favorite Teacher Shoes!

-Virginia

Valentine’s Day Outfit with Bows and Lace

February 5, 2018 by Virginia 13 Comments

I love pink bows and lace so anytime I can combine the two into an outfit, I am happy. I have to be honest, I really needed an outfit I was happy with! I haven’t been sharing a lot of work outfits because, let’s face it, when you go to bed at midnight and get up at 4:30 AM it’s hard to feel inspired! I’ve been wearing the same outfits on repeat and they aren’t outfits I’m particularly proud of. One of these weeks I will share one of those “outfit repeats” anyway but as I was thinking about what to write for this post I realized that I do have a piece of advice to share: part of finding balance in life means embracing the weekends!

This post does contain affiliate links, which means that if you click and/or make a purchase through these links, I may make a small commission. For more information, see my privacy policy. Thank you for supporting the retailers that make this blog possible.

I started this blog as a way to find balance in my life. Teaching is hard and very academic. I wanted to find a creative outlet and inspire others to do the same. So, how is that related to this outfit? When the weeks are long and uninspiring, that makes the weekends all the more important! On the weekend I have time to put some thought into what’s in my closet and how to feel put together! This really pays off because it helps me feel like a real person and gain some confidence back that might have been lost during the long week.

Last weekend as I was getting ready for church I felt so inspired to put on some color. Since I haven’t bought many clothes in months (we finally got our 1st floor unit rented but have months of debt to climb out of) so I had to get creative with what I had. This outfit was a result of that. The pink bow top is from Chicwish. I’ve had it forever and worn it a few times on the blog (for Valentine’s Day at school and here for another spring work look). It’s one of my favorite ways to incorporate a pop of color. But, my skirt options are limited right now and I wanted something with a Valentine’s Day feel. I saw this trusty white lace dress and knew I could figure something out.

As I’ve shared previously, one great way to get more wear out of the dresses in your closet is to wear them as skirts! I’ve done that with this dress in a few different ways. This outfit was a little more complicated. I wore the pink bow top over the lace dress and then added a belt over top of the pink blouse. I pulled out the top so that it rested over the top of the belt and kept the belt hidden. I would very much prefer to have a lace skirt but when that’s not an option right now, I think this worked out very well! One of the girls at church told me I looked like a Valentine’s Day card!

Lesson learned? Get creative when you can, even if it’s on the weekends, because that little bit of extra oomph will go a long way towards helping you get through the week!

Get the Valentine’s Day Look

Pink Bow Top, Chicwish. (I sized up 2 sizes!)
White Lace Dress, Amazon. (Ordered my regular size!)
Nude Pumps, Nordstrom. (Love the look of these but they scuff so easily! Try these or these instead!) Plus, how cute are these!?
Sugarfix by Baublebar Earrings, Target (old). Try these or these!
Michael Kors Two-Tone Darci Watch, Areatrends.
Quilted Bag, Target (old). Similar here and here.
Essie’s Pink Diamond, Target.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

-Virginia

My Weekend Wishlist: Great Sales and Teacher Outfit Finds

January 15, 2018 by Virginia 9 Comments

Hello friends! Today’s post will be short and sweet! Since our rental units have been empty for the last 6 months, my fashion budget has become pretty much non-existent. I read other blogs but I have tried to stay away from the mall and haven’t done a whole lot of online shopping. You know, kid-in-a-candy-store and all that! But it has been SO HARD! After Christmas is one of the best times for sales as merchants are trying to clear the shelves and start to transition into spring items.

Weekend Wishlist Great Sales Teacher Style Blogger

This weekend I found myself drooling over and dreaming about a ton of items on sale and decided since I spent all this time researching and saving items, just because I can’t buy them now doesn’t mean someone else can’t take advantage of my “research” and try them out! I wish I would have posted this early because a lot of great weekend sales have ended or items have already sold out (like this amazing blazer for spring). But, with everything on my plate right now I’m trying really hard not to beat myself up if I can’t do everything!

When I saw Kileen sharing this Gucci dupe, I knew I wanted it. As soon as our other units get rented, it’s going in my cart!

Teacher Outfit Wishlist

My teacher work wardrobe is starting to feel stale. I’m really missing being able to wear jeans to work. Last week I got the idea that maybe I need to add a pair of coated skinny jeans to my wardrobe. They’re comfortable like jeans but look more classy.

Then, I started browsing on Shein and boy oh boy…talk about heading down the fashion-rabbit-hole. Forgive me for all the links without pictures but it would have taken me way too long to show all of them in the image. I’m obsessed with this high-neck peplum blouse, and I would totally try this Chartreuse dress if I had any idea where I would wear it! This white ruffle top is probably a little too sheer on its own but how fun would it be for work?! Definitely a different take on the white blouse! This ribbed peplum top comes in three colors and is les than $15! The stripe skirt from the image above gets all the heart-eyes from me but probably my favorite find is this yellow bell sleeve blouse with bow for less than $15! Last but not least, I have seen pants with this kind of belted/tie waist all over. What do you think? Wearable for work or too much for a classroom teacher?

What I Did Buy

The only buy I did end up making this weekend, against my better judgement and which will probably get me in trouble with my husband, is this pair of OTK boots. Ever since I got rid of my gray OTK boots from this post, I’ve been looking for an alternative with a tie in back so they will still stay up even after they get stretched out. I tried these on in store last week and couldn’t BELIEVE how comfortable they were, even with the heel. I dreamed of all the ways I’d wear them here in New England as we struggle through the cold weather on our way to spring and so when DSW’s 20% off clearance event meant I could take an extra $10 off the price I went ahead and ordered them. These were pretty comfortable too, without a heel. These are similar to the ones I ordered and are available in grey, but they weren’t available to try on in store and I wasn’t quite willing to risk them not fitting.

Lastly, how cute are these tassel earrings?! They’re only $6 and free shipping! Jump on that!

Ok, that was longer than I planned…ha! Apparently I had more items on my wish list than I realized! What are you drooling over right now? Or, even better, what sale finds did you snag this weekend? I’d love to know!

-Virginia

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