Categories
Fashion

Summer Closet Refresh

Hey everyone! Happy Wednesday! I hope you are having a great week so far!

At the start of the summer season, I did a bit of a closet refresher for some work clothes. Whenever I am out and about I always see what dresses or tops are in stock at Marshall’s or T.J. Maxx, but back in May, I made a trip to the outlets to get some deals and get a few clothing staples.

Here’s a bit of a summer clothing roundup of outfits I have been loving this season and wearing to work. This is a mix of dresses, tops, pants, and blazers. I got a number of items of clothing for the fall season too and will share those once the weather gets cooler, but why rush the warm weather and sunshine? We all know the cold weather will be here soon enough. 

Here’s some of my favorite new clothing items from a recent shopping haul.

J. Crew pink dress– Pink has been my go-to color for summer. I wore this dress for my birthday back in May and it has easily become a new favorite dress. I got it from J. Crew. It’s professional enough to wear to work, but could also be a great dress to wear to a bridal or baby shower, a cocktail hour or even a wedding depending on the dress code. Some of my favorite details include the V-neck top, and the flowly-ness of the bottom. You can dress it up with a pair of heels or dress it down with sandals. I would tend to dress it up for a fun summer occasion. 

J. Crew Coral Pants and White Blazer-I teased this outfit a few weeks ago, but here’s a full look of this blazer and pant combo. Both the white linen blazer and coral/pink pants are from J. Crew. The black and white top is a few years old from Calvin Klein.  I have been adding more blazers to my collection. So far, I have a black, navy, tan, red and now white blazer, all great colors to mix and match with dress pants. I think this white linen blazer is great for the summer season. I paired it with the pink pants which just makes the outfit fun, but you can pair this blazer with navy or black pants. 

These pants have been so fun to mix in with my wardrobe. I told you pink has been my color this summer. It can be a hard to find a top to go with a pair of bold pants, but I have found neutrals go best. I wore the black and white top with it, a plain black top and a plain white blouse. 

I typically go with neutral pants, but these bold pants are fun for summer and are professional too. Once again, I wore white heels from DSW to match the blazer and white piping in the top, but you can wear a neutral or even pop of color heel with them too. If you are looking for a more comfortable look, you can dress the outfit down with sandals or a white or black sneaker too.

J. Crew Sweater Set-This next look is a bit more conservative and would probably be best worn in the office. I love a classic sweater set and light blue has been my other go-to color this summer (remember the tennis skirt and dress from Amazon?). I love the matching short sleeve and long sleeve sweater. I am always cold no matter the temperature outside, you can catch me with a sweater on most days at my desk. This matching sweater set kills two birds with one stone, not only is it professional, but comfortable and you can shed a layer if the temperature changes through the day. Once again, I wore white pants with this sweater set, but you can wear navy blue pants or maybe even a tan, depending on the color. You can also match this sweater set with a navy skirt too.

Ann Taylor Floral Top-Back with the pink, but throw in some white. I really love Ann Taylor for their tops. They always have so many different prints and colors to add to a dress pant or even blazer combo. In this outfit, I paired this floral top with a pair of navy blue pants and heels. The top is sold out, but here is one similar. You can pair this top with a pair of white pants, black pants or even a neutral skirt. I love the colors in the top and the little bow too. This would work great for a day in the office as it pairs well with suits and skirts, but I still think you could pair with some capris if you want to elevate a casual look.

Ann Taylor Purple Top– When I saw the color of this top, I knew I had to get it. I have purple tops and pink blouses, but not this shade of the two. I am always on the hunt for bright tops and patterns, and this certainly checks the boxes. I actually have this same top in white and when you find something you like and that works for you, there’s no shame in getting it in another color or two. Unfortunately, it’s sold out, so I don’t have a link for it. Because it’s a brighter and bold color, I would recommend a neutral pant or skirt, white would be best in the summer and black would work well in the winter. As far as skirts go, any neutral works well. If you want to dress up a casual look, you can pair this top with some fun jewelry and capris (I would recommend white capris or jeans), then add some fun sandals or made a pair of cute sneakers.

That’s a peak into my closet with my summer wardrobe for work clothes.

Tell me, have you made any fun clothing purchases recently? What stores or brands are you loving?

Let me know in the comments below! 

See you on Friday for another edition of Friday Favorites!

Categories
Fashion

Business Casual Summer Outfits

Hey guys! Happy Wednesday! Iโ€™m back with another fashion post for you. Last week, I shared some of my favorite summer dresses. As I was working on my list of summer outfits, I had a lot that werenโ€™t dresses but still cute summer ensembles, hence the two-parter post!

This post will be more geared towards bottoms and blouses. These pieces can work for work, networking events, job interviews or a more polished summer look.

Iโ€™ll share the links with as many pieces I can find. Without further ado, hereโ€™s some of my favorite summer ensembles.

Pop of pink for spring

This first outfit is perfect for the early spring days. I got these soft pink pants from Gap a few years back. One of my favorite things abut them is the straight cut. It can be so challenging to find pants that are straight cut, not skinny and not a flair and these fit the build. I opted for a soft pink for a pop of color. 

I did a big shopping haul from Ann Taylor at the start of the summer and got a lot of things on sale. This white top was one of them. I love the accent with the sleeves. I think it really elevates this top and adds a bit of flair to the outfit. I also like the detailing with the piping down the front too.

I also wore a pair or soft pink mules for shoes. Sometimes, I wear heels with pants, but other times I prefer a flat or loafer. Even though I chose soft, solid neutrals for the outfit, I like the pop of design for the shoes.

Bright and bold in the middle of the summer

This next outfit features more pink! I got this soft pink short sleeve sweater from Ann Taylor.

I love the bright pink color. It can be paired with a pair of dress pants or a skirt. I really like it gives off some early fall vibes but still summer with the short sleeves.

These tan pants are a favorite staple in my closet. One of the things I learned from my mom is to invest in those staple articles of clothing. These could be things like nice dress pants (I have good quality pairs of pants in blue, black, and tan), a few blazers (I have a gray, black, and blue that are must-haves especially for business and work events) and some nice blouses. I have some crisp white blouses along with some fun colors too that are great to pair with different pants and blazers. I got these pants from Ann Taylor and I wear them in all the seasons, they work great in the winter with a blouse and blazer or summer with a bright colored blouse.

I wore a brown pair of mules with this outfit. Although, itโ€™s a slightly different shade, they still work great together. I got these shoes from DSW, my favorite place for shoes!

This next outfit says hello summer. I was on the hunt for a pair of white dress pants for a long time and I finally found them this summer at none other than Ann Taylor. I took this picture during the golden hour, hence the sun setting glare.

I really love that these pants donโ€™t feel too much like a summer pant that you would wear on the beach. They are made of a thicker material that can work in the summer months. My favorite part about these pants is that you can pair them with almost anything, any color, any pattern or any style.ย 

I opted to pair these white pants with a bright yellow top from yet again, Ann Taylor. I told you I took advantage of a lot of sales this year. I love the sleeves and the bright canary yellow. I plan to wear this top with black skirts, navy dress pants and black dress pants to change things up. You can even wear this top into the fall and in the spring. I really love the versatility that comes with this top.

I wore a white pair of heels with this outfit. I got these heels from DSW and I love the style and how comfortable they are. I was so pleased that I got them in black and navy too.ย 

Another outfit I put together with these same pants but a different top was this combo.

This outfit is a bit more casual with the pin stripe top, but still professional. I got this top from J.Crew and I love how crisp it looks with the white pants.

Once again, these pants are from Ann Taylor.and the shoes are from DSW. I love how the pants are tailored and cuffed. This is the perfect summer combo with the blue and white and great for an even by the water.

Thatโ€™s just a quick roundup of some other alternative outfits you can wear to the office, to events or a business casual meeting.

What are you wearing and loving this summer? Let me know in the comments below! Happy Shopping!