I always love a good blazer. Whether it be black, a bold color, or a vibrant floral, a blazer adds a chic touch to any outfit. We went out in SF on Friday night, and this For Love and Lemons crop top is gorgeous, but a little revealing by itself for a dinner out, so I added one of my favorite cropped blazers for a pop of color, and a little more coverage. I linked the look for less at the bottom, and I hope you all have a lovely week!

Thanks for stopping by 🙂

XO,

Stephanie

The Look For Less:

Blazer :: ShoeDazzle

Lace Crop Top :: Forever 21

High Waisted Skinnies :: Forever 21

High Waisted Belt :: Lauren Ralph Lauren

Heels :: ModCloth

Bucket Bag :: Unita Verso

Sunnies :: Asos

 

Just when I thought the warm spring weather was here to stay last week, a few days of April showers came through the Bay Area. We need as much rain as we can get in this drought, so I am thankful that the universe gave us a little more moisture before the sweltering summer heat. April is a month of flux for me. I am not much of a girly girl, but when April rolls around, I do like to incorporate florals, and pops of color into my wardrobe. I bought this Flynn Skye dress last summer and have been dying to wear it, so I paired it with my moto jacket and booties on our date night at Michel Bistro on Lakeshore. I am not ready for bare arms and sandals yet, so this was the perfect way to feel like spring, but keep it edgy. I have stayed true to the shopping my closet vow I made in January, so I will continue to post similar pieces to create the “look for less”. I hope you all have a fabulous week, thanks for stopping by!

XO,

Stephanie

 

 

 

 

Love the chandelier at Michel!

The Look For Less ::

Dress :: Melodic Day

Jacket :: Nasty Gal

Bucket Bag :: Urban Outfitters

Booties :: Restricted

 

 

Hi All! I have been posting more of my “shopping my closet” content on Instagram @oaklandblonde lately, so be sure to follow! I thought it would be fun to round up my fave looks, and give you the look for less. I am so excited about spring fashion, and I promise in the next couple weeks, I will be posting a spring themed blog post 🙂

Bold Florals

Colorful Pilates Fit

My Fave Bikini

Edgy Uniform

Classic White top, and High Waisted Jeans

The Look For Less:

Floral Blazer

Gold Broach

Color Blocked Sneakers

Tribal Leggings

Plaid Button Down

Floral Bikini Top

Cheeky Black Bikini Bottom

Moto Jacket

Black and White Printed Blouse

White Cap Sleeve Blouse

High Waisted Belt with Silver Hardware

High Waisted Skinnies

 

 

Hi everyone! Sorry I have been so MIA, I got offered a full time position at my job, and the transition took some time to find a balance between work and blogging. Roger and I finally had a chance to start shooting for the “shopping my closet” segment of my blog, that I decided to write after doing a full closet clean out in January. It was such a refreshing clean slate that has helped me rediscover some old favorites that have not gotten any love lately.

Since I started the year with a clean closet, I thought the perfect theme for my first post would be a unique take on basics. With neutral basics, I like to play with silhouette, different tones in the same color family, and texture. This can take a basic outfit from boring to chic. I am obsessed with my distressed boyfriend jeans from Allsaints that I have had for years, and have contributed to countless outfits. To add a feminine touch, I chose this Dolce Vita lace embroidered top paired with textured cream booties by Sixty Seven. A brown saddle bag is a versatile staple for style and utility, and offsets light neutral colors beautifully. I hope this helps you see your basics in a different light, don’t be afraid to get creative 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

XO,

Stephanie

The Look for Less:

Top :: Forever 21

Jeans :: Love Culture

Booties :: Sole Society

Bag :: Nine West

I am not one for New Years resolutions, I’m all about finding balance and simplicity throughout the year, and one source of stress and disarray was definitely my closet. I have been inspired by the blog un-fancy to clean out my closet, and work on a capsule wardrobe to fix this problem. Life can be so chaotic due to things I cannot control, why not do everything I can to live simply, and end this cycle of conspicuous consumption?Here we go!

My approach was in 3 catergories, it can seem overwhelming otherwise:

Step 1: Completely empty your closet, I know this seems crazy, but you will understand when you start putting the pieces that you love and would change into right now back in your closet, and you start to see the development of your personal style. This would be difficult to see if you still had all of the “maybe” pieces still hanging in your closet.

Step 2: Sort each item into one of these four piles:

• Wardrobe staple and would wear it right now! These are pieces that you get excited to wear, and have worn in the past 2 months,  put it back in your closet.
• Maybe: This is for pieces that have sentimental value, unique vintage finds that you don’t know out to outfit yet, pieces that still have the price tags on them…
• Nope: Weed out the pieces that you have not worn in 6 months or more that you cannot see yourself wearing anymore, damaged items that you have not fixed yet, things that do not fit…sell, donate or do a fun clothing swap party with friends.
• Seasonal: Little strappy sundress when it is 30 degrees, fancy party dresses after wedding season/the holidays have ended…these are pieces you want to keep but are not going to wear right now. If you have space in your closet, when you put the clothes back in after the purge, separate into seasonal sections, if you need more space, seal them in boxes under the bed and take out when you need them.

Step 3: Pack up the “nopes” you want to sell into a rolling suitcase, put together a bag of what you are donating, and set aside pieces for a clothing swap party with your friends. Now hang your staples in color families back in your closet. Then, if there is space, make a summer/spring section, and an outerwear section. If you are trying to maximize space, pack the warm weather stuff into a box, and when that season rolls around, pack the outerwear into that box.

This seems like a ton of work, but only took me about 3 hours and it feels SO GOOD now that I can see what is in my closet, and have rediscovered some old friends I forgot about in the disarray!

Next step: taking my pared down wardrobe, and putting together a capsule wardrobe, STAY TUNED 🙂

Here are the before and after shots of my closet overhaul:

Half of my closet laid out on the bed in Step 1:

The empty half, so refreshing to put my favorites back in 🙂 the crazy mess on the right…

Un-shoppable closet…

The “After” of the right side whittled down to about 80 pieces, I have a suitcase of about 100 pieces in the “nopes” that I haven’t worn in years…

Heavy outerwear:

Heavy outerwear, fancy, and spring/summer on the left

Phew! Always more work to do, but feels so much better, stay tuned for my attempt at a “capsule wardrobe” in the next couple months 🙂

I wanted to wish everyone a very Happy New Year, Yay to 2016!  I hope this year brings all of you good luck, positivity, and adventure.  I am making it a goal write down at least 1-2 positive things from each day, something someone wise told me to manifest positivity into daily life. It will also be a concrete reminder I can look back on to keep me in a happy mindset when I have a bad day.

Before the New Year, my brother in law who is great at purging and organizing came to stay with us and helped us clean, and realize how much stuff we really have. In this blogosphere, I feel like buying and conspicuous consumption, a cycle that just keeps you wanting the next thing, and not using or appreciating  what you already have is a huge issue. Monetizing a blog is essentially advertising for companies, and feeding into that cycle. So this year I am going to attempt something I have never tried before, I am not going to buy any new clothes for a year, and shop my closet. I am lucky having worked in the fashion industry for the past 10 years, so I have some great pieces to choose from, and in my links to similar items, I am going to find items on sale, and at lower price points to get you guys some deals 🙂 Or, do the challenge with me, and try to create fresh and fun looks out of your own closet!

So excited for starting 2016 on the right foot, I can’t wait to share new and exciting photos, & projects on the blog so stay tuned, be sure to follow along on my Instagram as well: @oaklandblonde

XO,

Stephanie