January 28, 2016

Part Blanket, Part Sweater

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Sweater: Evereve • JeansPaige Jewelry: Stella & Dot Bag: Michael Kors  Boots: Trunk Club

I live in this cozy sweater during the winter. I love the neckline and off the shoulder cut, but what I love the most is how it feels like I am wearing a blanket. While this gem is starting to show it's love {hello fuzzies and pilling}, I won't stop wearing it anytime soon. Well maybe if we get a wave of warm weather....but let's be real. It won't be warm until at least March. We have at least another 60 days together. And I'm going to make the most of it! 

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January 27, 2016

Essential Elements

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Blazer: Banana Republic • Jacket: Ann  Taylor • JeansPaige • Bag: Stella & Dot Boots: Ann Taylor

This outfit has a lot of my favorite elements -- black jeans {my jam}, peplum top {we've been good friends for years}, and a moto jacket {the best kind of jacket, am I right?}

In full disclosure, this outfit is from 2015 {I hit pause on this post too}. Not that the date really matters, but you might have noticed my hair color is a bit lighter these days. So if you're that detailed oriented these photos are a few weeks old. Now you know... 

But as I was kind of saying above, black denim is absolutely my jam lately. I picked up this Paige pair at Anthro after wearing them for a look in their holiday fashion show. Unlike most denim, this pair is really holding their color and the fabric feels more like a pj than denim. So if you're in the market for a pajama like pair of true black {and will stay black} denim, I can't recommend these more.

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January 25, 2016

A Belated Year In Review

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I have a tendency to get an idea and run with it. But in 2016, I'm working on slowing down a bit. And by slowing down, I mean be more intentional. I'll be the first one to tell you that my mood ebs and follows based on the people I'm around. That's "E" in my ENTJ personally. I get energized by the people around me and sometimes that leads to running and acting on things quickly.

So in an effort to slow down, I hit pause on my 2015 year in review a few weeks back. Every year I write this post {here's 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011}, and usually I spend an afternoon gathering my favorite outfits of the year and putting a few words together. So after working on this post for about an hour and in the process of hitting publish, I stopped myself, and hit save instead.

My favorite outfits aren't changing. But I wanted to hit pause and come back to this post now in mid January. The dust of the holidays and New Year has worn off and I feel like I can look back at 2015 a bit more honestly.

2015, was definitely an interesting year personally. There were a lot of ups, but just a many downs. I wouldn't say I'm usually an emotional person {see the enTj reference above}-- but if I had to sum up 2015 in one would it be emotional.

How does that relate to this blog and my style? My hunch is that's part of the reason I started gravitating towards simpler, more neutral styles. That might just be my tastes changing, but I think in general I started looking for a bit of simplicity wherever I could find it.

I also started to wear pieces I love more. My favorite clothes make me feel good. I feel more comfortable and confident. More like myself. So it's no surprise there are a lot of ankle/skinny pants in this recap.

So what's this all to say?
Well I've been putting the intentional closet mantra into practice for a few weeks now and it's sticking. So I'll be here in 2016, rocking my uniform. This place, like my favorite pieces of clothes, makes me feel good. So for as long as that holds true, I'll be here in all my ankle pants and statement necklace glory.

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January 18, 2016

Trunk Club

After cleaning out my closet and selling the items that didn't make the cut, I found myself with a much leaner closet. Capsules by Cladwell helped me identify a few holes in my closet, and after making a few extra bucks by selling items on Poshmark, I wanted to add a few unexpected winter essentials. 

When I shop, I tend to gravitate towards the same store/shapes/colors. Usually that works for me, but when I started cleaning out my closet I realized the holes I have are holes for a reason. There are items I always struggle to find. Throw in that I wanted to add in a few unexpected items, I decided to go in a different shopping route.

Enter Trunk Club.

I'd read a few blog posts about the service and I was intrigued. Then my friend Lauren signed up and gave me the 411 first hand and I was hooked. Personalized service? No styling fee? Easy returns. This is exactly what I was looking for. Unlike other services, the fact that I could return all my items without loosing any money was a big plus! I'll be the first to tell you fit is really tough for me. On a good day, I'm 2 different sizes {not to mention those sizes fluctuate during the month}... so online personal shopping services have given me pause. But with that worry eliminated, I took the plunge.  

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Right before the holidays, I signed up for Trunk Club. A few days later I had a call with my stylist Giselle. Trunk Club is a Nordstrom owned company, so it was no surprise my stylist was easy to work with and very thoughtful. A few days after our chat my first trunk arrived. Not surprisingly, we had a lot of sizing issues... I was bummed. After sending back all the clothes and giving feedback on Trunk Club's app {which is amazing btw} my stylist reached out to send a follow up trunk which arrived this week.

Now we were in business. 
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Without further adieu, here's a look at a few pieces from my 2nd Trunk and the outfits I put together from well loved items in my closet.

1st Look
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Trunk Club A 2

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Blazer: Zara • Top: Trunk Club Jeans: Madewell Jewelry: Stella & Dot  Purse: Trunk Club

2nd Look
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Vest: Anthro • Sweater: Trunk Club Jewelry: Stella & Dot • Purse: Stella & Dot Boots: Trunk Club

3rd Look
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Trunk Club B 3

Trunk Club B 2

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Top: Trunk Club Jeans: Paige via Anthro Jewelry: Stella & Dot • Purse: Stella & Dot • Boots: Trunk Club

Which look is your favorite? Leave your comments below.
And if you're interested in trying out Trunk Club, I highly recommend Giselle!
You can sign up here.

This post is not sponsored by Trunk Club. I'm just a fan :)

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January 15, 2016

Cincy Chic - New Year, New You

Next week I'll be participating in the annual Cincy Chic's New Year, New You Event!
If you're local to Cincinnati and want to check out OTR's newest venue and some amazing local businesses, be sure to stop by this event next Friday.

Details , and better yet a DISCOUNT, below ...

Cincy Chic New Year New You

I'll be there with {surprise, surprise} Stella & Dot! Our new line launched this past week and I am so excited about the new collections. As a long time shopper, it's one of my favorite collections to date. My favorite collection has to be the Morocco collection. I love the intricate, hand worked details and marble stone throughout the pieces. 

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26 and Counting readers can receive 50% off admission. Just head to  https://nyny15.eventbrite.com and use code STELLADOT at checkout to get half off your ticket.

Hope to see you there!

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January 12, 2016

My Closet Clean Out & Poshmark

So that closet clean out, it was no-joke. After trying on, sorting, and then re-trying on, I had a rather large pile of clothes. Nothing against the clothes, but I just did not love them anymore. It wasn't the their fault though, really. We had a nice run of it. Some were due to changes in style. A lot was due to fit. Others were just pieces that I bought on a whim and didn't really need. After 2 days of trying on all my clothes, I ended up with a pretty spectacular discard pile.  

Poshmark

Rather than go to my local consignment store, I opted to sign up for Poshmark. My friend Preeti really tipped my hand when she explained how easy and simple the site was to use. And she was absolutely right. I signed up, started listing clothes, and before the weekend was over I had 4 or 5 sales. I will say uploading my 90+ listing was definitely time consuming, but it's definitely been worth the effort. 

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If you haven't used Poshmark, I highly recommend it for shopping or selling. And if you're looking for any gently used size 10/12 pieces check out my closet. And if you're interested in signing up for Poshmark yourself, use code JHDJS to save $10. 

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January 11, 2016

Capsules by Cladwell

Having a blog for as many years as I have, you start to realize a few things. Be it trends, favorite silhouettes, shopping habits, outfit mishaps {lots of mishaps}. There is a lot of STUFF out there.

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And towards the end of the year I started thinking about 2016. What I wanted to focus on personally, professionally, blog wise, the whole gambit. I'm not big on "resolutions" per say, but I definitely was feeling the urge to make some changes. One particular theme I kept finding myself coming back to was simplicity. 

In blog terms {and personally as well}, simplicity in dressing AND shopping. I'll be the first one to laughingly tell people I have a shopping problem. I say it with a laugh, because it cuts the tension. But the truth is, I kind of have a shopping problem. Before you get concerned, it's not a SERIOUS problem. But I like to shop. It's a hobby. It relaxes me when I'm stressed. It's part of usual routine and life. I like shopping, A LOT. 

But I've reached a point now where my closet and my clothes are overwhelming. It's almost suffocating really. I need to pair things down. And what's funny {or odd you might say} is that I've been wearing a streamlined version of outfits for a few years now. But that hasn't really changed my shopping habits. 

By now, I'm sure you've heard the idea of a capsule wardrobe. I've been there before {see the thread of 30x30 outfits from years ago}. I'm not particularly interested in being that regimented about my sartorial choices. However I'm very interested in overhauling my current closet and my consumption habits. That's where Cladwell comes in. 

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Cladwell is Cincinnati based start-up {hey neighbor, hey} that focuses on doing away with clutter. SIGN ME UP.

And that's what I did. I was contacted Cladwell about their business and the timing couldn't have been more perfect. I was overwhelmed with the thought of de-cluttering and Cladwell was part of the solution. They provided the inspiration and encouragement via videos. As well as the tool to analyze what I had and what I didn't {which honestly isn't much see shopping problem above}. I provided the leg work and my apartment ended up being the unfortunate backdrop {aka large mess} to what became a 48 hour overhaul of my closet. 

But before the closet clean out could happen, I sent the night with Cladwell. I poured over the videos and Capsule Tool.

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And their mission? It's basically summarizes my rambling post in 4 simple points:
1. Know And Accept Yourself
2. Shop Intentionally
3. Create Awesome Outfits From Your Closet
4. Buy Quality Over Quantity

So I hunkered down, went through {almost} every item of clothing in closets, my 2 dressers, under my bed, and in storage. I set aside everything I did NOT love. I thought it would be hard, but it was a lot easier than I thought now that I was committed to the concept.

The next step of the capsule tool was identifying my color palette and completing their assessment tool. I record the activities in my life, what types of items I wear {or want to wear} for them, and how much variety I need for each. And in the end it gave me a guide for how many items I need in certain categories. And one step further, it came up with a shopping list for the {few} holes identified.

Coming up next, what I did with the nearly 100+ items that didn't make the cut... 

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