all tied up

Thursday, September 8, 2016 2 style Permalink 2

one of the best tips of style advice i’ve really come to embrace in my 30’s is the concept of emphasizing the parts of your body you love best (and forgetting about the parts you don’t love as much). for me, that means showing off my waistline. therefore, i tend to choose pieces that nip in at my waist to give the illusion of an hourglass shape.

so when i spotted this cozy tie-waist knit on j.crew factory’s website a couple weeks ago, i knew i had to make it mine (plus the fact that it was an additional 30% off didn’t hurt either). having picked up a similar one at madewell last year and getting a ton of wear out of it, i figured it wouldn’t hurt to have an second option. truthfully it’s just a sweatshirt wrapped in a bow (literally), but i kind of feel like the bow makes it both feminine and slightly dressier. for that reason, i love pairing with midi skirts for work, and skinny jeans on the weekend. and after chicago proved to be a lot chillier than expected on our visit last spring, i learned that it’s also a great layering piece -over a chambray or a plaid button-down.

on saturday i met my mom for a midday pedicure right after my classes. i was desperately overdue for one plus it gave us an excuse to sneak in a little quality girl time. the weather was chilly enough to warrant long-sleeves but not too brisk to make wearing shorts a bad decision. plus if you’ve ever gotten a pedicure you know that wearing shorts makes the whole process a lot easier (trying to push skinny jeans up and over your calves is in and of itself a workout). as if the day couldn’t get better, S treated me to a date night at blue ribbon, an artisinal pizza place in downtown encinitas (well “pizza” could be used loosely for my cheese-free gluten free pie) and we finished the evening with three episodes of all of nothing, a docuseries on amazon that followed the arizona cardinals 2015-2016 season. it’s like hard knocks on steroids. and i’m obsessed.

other things i’m obsessed with? simple, comfortable outfits that also make you feel good about yourself at the same time. this ensemble did just that.