Yoga pant work pants

Inspired by my friend K-, I decided to get a pair of yoga-pant-comfy pants. Mine are from athleta. They're really just ponte pants, which means they are soft and stretchy, but they are styled like casual work pants or dressy casual pants, with a fly, front pockets, belt loops, rear patch pockets, and nice clean side seams. 

At first I planned to wear them out and about, but not to work. Then I decided to try them for work. Now I've worn them 3 times. And they work!  I won't wear them when I'm doing a presentation or anything, but for a more casual work day, they are fine.

So, pros: So so so so comfy.  The first day I wore them I actually did some squat-jumps and spidermans in my office, just to test them out - worked great.  :)  And the stretchiness means they fit perfectly (no more pants falling down mid-day).
Cons: A little more snug than typical of work wear - not so much grazing as hugging.  I took some closeups of the hip areas (lifting my shirt up a bit so it shows clearly) to give you a feel.  I think they are fine in dark colors, but I wouldn't get a light colored pair for the office.

I've worn them with longer/looser tops, and that has worked nicely.  Today's is actually the most fitted and shortest top I've worn with it.  I don't think I would ever tuck something into these - it just wouldn't look quite right I think.  But we'll see - maybe with a nice belt...  I promise I will experiment.  I forgot to take pics of my first couple of outfits with these pants, but I'll try to post more going forward.  Out of all my work clothes, I suspect this is the one that you, my wonderful readers, might be most likely to adopt for yourselves.  Pencil dresses with 4 inch heels are all well and good, but this...  Ahhhh.  :)

(Pants: Athleta (http://athleta.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=50000&vid=1&pid=439153002), red tank, flats, earrings: white house black market, White/cream sweater: Old Navy)

White dress for work

 

I love white dresses but have never bought one for work before.  The color blocking on this one makes it work appropriate though.  It's too low cut on it's own, but I owned the perfect beige cami to put underneath.  And it is surprisingly flattering for a white fitted dress.  Plus it actually works with my comfy mid-heeled wedges!  I took the blazer just in case - air conditioning, wanting to be modest, something like that.  But didn't end up wearing it at all.  It is definitely summer!

 

I think the keys to making it work for work are the fit - pencil dress but still loose enough over the hips and butt - and the thick fabric and lining which make it truly opaque and ensure that little lumps and bumps won't show.  The color blocking and meticulous seaming are the final details that make it work.  I was amazed I got this dress at the price I did - I think a lot of people were nervous about a white pencil dress when they saw it online.  But after this, I'd encourage anyone to give it a try if they're feeling bold.  (Just so you know, I basically wore a bib while eating my salad in my office today - and ordered a color-less drink when I met someone for coffee this afternoon - so there is that.)

 

(Shoes: Payless shoes source, Dress and blazer: White house black market, Purse: I'll do a dedicated post on this one soon! Tory Burch, shell earrings with silver trim: White house black market, necklace: old and from some cheaper store like Kohl's.  The matching earrings died long ago, but the necklace has survived for a long time! I'm excited I found these WHBM earrings which go so well with it.)

Summer solstice outfit

 

It has finally started to really feel like Summer here, and it happened to be Summer Solstice on Monday - a day that I have mixed feelings about.  I love the long day, but it always makes me a little sad that the days will start getting shorter.  Regardless, I was feeling very summery.  I decided to go for heels, even though I have mostly been trying to wear more practical shoes.  I was pretty comfortable, and able to run the next day without pain.  BUT, I took that evening off - I think running the same day would have stressed my calves and feet a bit too much. 

 

I got so many compliments and comments on this outfit (from my mostly male colleagues).  Everyone enjoyed how summery it was, and loved the shoes.  I'm really enjoying my white culottes.  I got them on a whim because they were heavily discounted, but they have turned out to be one of my best recent work-clothes purchases. 

 

(Sweater: old! Pants and belt: White house black market, shoes: Vince Camuto, from DSW (that brand is also sold at a lot of department stores, esp. Nordstroms), earrings: small boutique near my house.)

The perfect white sweater and my red blazer

I tend to wear this blazer a bit more buttoned up. Literally. But today I wore it open and casual, and the weather was such that I had it on about half the time and off half the time.  I'm also loving this sweater every time I wear it. I hope whbm makes more of these. I will even pay almost full prices for them. 

I've been making a concerted effort to gain a little weight lately, but in a healthy way. It's a slow process, but I think it's starting to show - check out my butt!  Lol.

(Pants - banana republic, sweater - White House black market, blazer - Ann Taylor, shoes - Payless shoe source)

Casual workwear

I'm wearing actual flats - pointy toe so as to be more professional, but they're still flats!  And these pants have jeans styling, though they are made of a nice trouser fabric. This is my version of casual-but-professional. 

(Whole outfit: White House black market, but banana republic Sloan pants are very similar (I have both))

Another new pair of comfy work shoes

 

Near the beginning of summer last year, I went to Payless Shoe Source to get a cheap pair of quasi-disposable sandals or flip-flops.  I happened upon a pair of nude fake-suede wedge pumps with a 2-2.5" heel.  I like the idea of a comfortable neutral summer-friendly shoe, and they were super cheap, so I bought them.

 

As my running has ramped up, I've found myself going to that pair of shoes more and more often.  The low wedge heel is comfortable, but the shoes look so much better with dresses, pencil skirts, and ankle pants, than flats do.  So I decided to get more!  After searching for comfortable practical but cute shoes at various other stores for a few months, and staring at the pair of low-heeled Ferragamo's that I bought in the fall and haven't worn once, I made another trip to Payless Shoe Source.  And sure enough, I found two pairs.  Plus a bonus pair of flats.  Not only are these comfortable so far (on day 1 - I can't imagine how much better they'll be once they break in) - but they were on clearance for $10!  The burgundy fake-patent pair I wore last week for my birthday are a little taller and a little less comfy, but still much better than most of my skinny-4"-heels.  And they were also on clearance for $10. 

 

The nude ones I've had for over a year are "deflex comfort" brand, as are these black ones.  The burgundy ones were different, but also nicely padded on the inside.  Payless shoe sources' heels are awful.  I tried a few on just for fun while I was there, and they are not well balanced, forcing the wearer to use their own muscles to do all the balancing.  But the chunky heels and wedges were pretty impressive.  The flats have no support whatsoever, and seem like they will wear out quickly, but for running quick errands, I think they'll be great.

 

SO, if you were curious about payless shoe source, this is my impression.  I've been incredibly impressed by how well those nude wedges have lasted, and I liked them so much that I ended up going back to buy these additional pairs.  That says a lot.

 

Oh, and you know Christian Siriano from project runway?  He has a Payless shoe source line!  SO CUTE!  The shoes are way too expensive at full price, given that they are still payless shoe source quality (but amazing design).  But on sale or clearance, they're really reasonable.  The flats I bought are from his line.  I'll wear them soon and post pics.  :)

 

(Sweater and pants: White house black market, Shoes: Payless shoe source.)

Culottes for summer

Culottes are undeniably comfortable. And are very much on trend. So the question is  whether they can actually look good on a normal woman in a normal setting. 

The current blogger fasion trend is generally to pair high-waisted culottes with a slightly cropped top to allow a couple of inches of stomach to show. I would not consider that a normal-setting outfit. This version created a similar proportion with the boxy tucked-in top, but is still work- church- or family-function friendly. 

I think culottes look best on long torsos or on women who look good in a-line skirts. I'm neither of those, but I think I can pull them off anyway. Hubby even liked them, complimenting me this morning, which took me by surprise. Also, if you're at all self conscious about your thighs - culottes will camouflage them completely. 

(Top: jcrew factory, culottes: White House black market, shoes: Payless shoe source)