I wore a suit

Goodbye business very-casual, hello business business.  I did not wear this outfit to work but rather in a different professional capacity.  I will not elaborate on the specific circumstances since the intention of this blog is not to bore you with details of my actual life (just my actual outfits).  If you are interested, you can check out: www.dogsalielooksat.com.  That isn't a real website. Sorry.  If you want me to send you pictures of dogs, I can do that, just let me know.  

To the suit: I had a similar issue with suit pants that I had with boyfriend jeans: why would women wear thigh-width pants on their whole legs?  Probably the patriarchy, but that's neither here nor there (IT'S EVERYWHERE).  Anyway, it took several hours, several reluctant salespeople, and a consultation with my mom (now there's a woman who should have a fashion blog), but I was able to mix and match sizes to find both pants and a blazer that fit and flatter!  Both are of course more restrictive than I generally expect from my floppy, flowy clothing but pain, beauty, etc.  I will add that while it has been nearly three years since my last foray into suiting (I lead a casual life), this is the first suit I've worn that did not make me feel like I was playing adult dress up.  Does such a realization mark the end of my youth?  Have I begun my dissent into the murky waters of adulthood? When will I be fully vested in my 401(K)? In this economy? IRA IRA IRA IRA IRA IRA IRA IRA IRA IRA. Who knows, maybe it's just a well-fitting suit.

Suit - Banana Republic

Shirt - Zara

Heels - Nine West

Contacts - 1-800 Contacts

Studs - Target

Folio - Lizzie

*Special thank you to Maya for lending her photography skills, apartment, and time to make this post possible.

Office or Out?

Guys, a fun and necessary thing to ask about one's work ensemble is: "Office appropriate or going out appropriate?". I don't deny that once in a great while outfits exist in the middle sliver of that Venn diagram as both office and going out appropriate. Yet, to quote the 2009 classic, He's Just Not That Into You, such an outfit is " the exception, not the rule" (What was I supposed to learn from that movie? Should I hold out hope that I am the exception, that I can change a man to make him fall in love with me? Should $40 million have been spent to make a movie based on a self-help book based on a line from Sex and the City with quasi-female empowering content (you set the rules of your relationship!) and a larger anti-feminist message (set those rules, but also your relationship with a man is the most important thing in your life)? If there is demand should there be supply? Capitalism? Do you think I’m more of a Carrie or a Miranda?*).

Right. Anyway. I asked that very question of this very outfit and decided it was the exception! So what if I'm desperate, beginning of the movie Ginnifer Goodwin? I believe I could wear this outfit to the office or out! Who knows, maybe I'll wear this outfit again Friday night! I'm empowered!

Blouse - Club Monaco (on sale, duh)

Sweater - Zara

Pants - Zara 

Necklace - Target

Boots - Nine West

*Miranda :( I love work!

New Sweater - UPDATE

Guys, I've given this a lot of thought and I've decided to come clean about something. This blog is about honestly portraying what I wear to work and I did not live up to that mission in my latest post. I committed the most heinous crime that could be committed by a blogger/celebrity/famous, public figure: I photoshopped that first picture (or rather, drew extremely lifelike sunglasses on my face in that first picture). Here is the original image. You can see in this version what I was trying to hide: my eyes are closed. I cannot tell you how sorry I am and I promise I will never bend to the pressure of the lime light ever again.

New sweater

I was thrilled to find this sweater over the weekend. It is flattering but not overly form-fitting, cozy but not scratchy, and warm but not suffocating! It is also super versatile. I wore it with boyfriend jeans over the weekend and, as you can see, paired it with skinny jeans for the office. It was a little pricey, but given the rarity with which I feel excitement over pullover sweaters, I went for it!  There was, as you can imagine, some deliberation, but I'm glad I eventually made the purchase.

Sweater - Kate Spade Saturday

Jeans - Lord & Taylor

Loafers - Aldo

Clashing Blazer

The keen, What Alie Actually Wears observer will notice that once again these pictures were not taken in front of our go-to white wall. These particular pictures were taken after work in my new apartment (close friends, I'm sorry we've all been so busy and most of you haven't seen the new place yet. What do you think? That's a new dresser).  Here's the thing: believe it or not, I feel pretty awkward having my picture taken.  I know, shocking!  How do I hide my discomfort so well and pull off such natural, flattering poses? I'm not sure, it's a gift, I'm an artist, etc.  Despite said gift, given that I've had a cold for the entire fall season and my complexion has returned to its nearly pigment free steady state, I've been looking forward to taking these harshly lit pictures even less than usual.  I will, of course, power through, I just sensed you were missing our normal white wall and I thought you deserved an explanation. 

ANYWAY, on to the fashion: I gave in to the loafers trend, mostly because wearing ballet flats makes me feel/look like a kindergartner. Also, the blazer is navy and the pants are black; wearing the supposedly clashing combination makes me feel hip.

Blazer - H&M

Blouse - The Loft

Pants - Zara

Loafers - Aldo

Special Saturday

GUYS, this is a special post for a BUNCH of reasons:

1. This picture was, of course, taken by my beautiful and talented photographer, but the stark, white wall behind me is not our normal, stark white wall but a different, stark, white wall. In fact, our stunning and accomplished photographer took this at her own XX birthday party (age has obviously been censored, she's a lady)!

2. While I was among coworkers/work friends that evening, I did not wear this outfit to work. Not at all. I have no excuse for that, I just didn't.

3. I am NOT wearing glasses, I think, for the first time ever in a post. This is the top half of my face. I am wearing contacts, even though my eye doctor STRONGLY suggests I never wear them and seemed genuinely sad when I admitted to her how often I do wear them. I get that she's looking out for me, but I'm my own person, you know?

Anyway, thank you all for bearing with this peculiar post and I assure you our (yours, mine, all of our) next post will be back to normal: in the office, at work, glasses squarely on or falling slightly off the bridge of my nose.

Shirt - Holly (my friend)

Jeans - Lord & Taylor

Hip wedges - Shoe store in the Haight (in San Fran(cisco))

Necklace - Target

Heels

Wow, it has been way too long. I could give you a bunch of excuses. And I will. Life has been busy, I have had a nasty cold that has barred the taking of any and all pictures, and something about enjoying the beautiful, fall weather. Anyway, here we are and I have some news: I bought new heels. Yup, picked these babies up in the "1in - 1 3/4in" heels section of Zappos.  I used to wear heels to the office semi-regularly but got out of the habit. I am trying to get back into the habit and am hoping these "comfortable yet stylish yet not too high yet comfortable" heels will help me get there. As you will see from below, I am still adjusting to them. Also, I should have ironed this shirt.  Live and learn (and iron).

Chambray shirt - Target

Pants - Zara

Heels - Zappos

Ring - Ten Thousand Villages

BELT

Can everyone just relax for a minute and let me explain? Yes, I am wearing a belt around my waist in order to better define it. Yes, in order for said belt to define said waist it has to touch said waist. YES, it is touching said waist. That is all true, but given the scoop neckline and the quasi-high/low nature of this flimsy shift dress, I had to do something! I know this is all a lot to take in, but I assure you the belt is much looser than would be totally flattering. I hope that provides some small comfort.

There are several considerations for a comfort-conscious fashionista balancing the look and wearability of a waist belt: style of garment being belted, length of wear, activities being engaged in (such as eating or creating excel tables), sitting-to-standing ratio. All of these factors contribute to how the belt is worn and whether the belt is worn at all. For example, if I was heading out for a fun, flirty Friday night at a bar to stand and sip drinks, I may go a little tighter.  If, on the other hand, I am spending all day sitting at work staring at a computer screen and coworkers, I go a little looser. As evidenced by everything on this blog to this point, that first example is almost entirely hypothetical in my case. Even when I drink at bars on Fridays, I see it as a challenge to find things to wear that are both fashionable and non-waist defining. Today's outfit was a "desperate shapelessness calls for desperate measures" scenario and so, with a clear heart and a clear mind, I rose to the challenge and wore that waist belt. I took it off within minutes of getting home to my apartment.

Dress - Club Monaco

BELT - Club Monaco

Cardigan - Zara

Necklace - Target

Flats - Steve Madden

White right before Labor Day

This is yet another outfit I wore a few weeks ago and am posting now. This particular outfit was my cas(ual) Friday look before the Labor Day weekend but it could easily be worn at a picnic or any other casual, day event. So often my work attire is more "picnic casual" than "business casual".

This shirt was one of the first purchases I made after transitioning from income-less college student to income-d, young professional. Being that it cost ~$20 more than I would normally spend on a shirt, I spent a long time in the store trying to decide whether I would wear it enough to warrant the cost ("I could wear it to work and also to picnics or other casual, day events, right? I could even wear it out with dark jeans and heels!" she said to no one since her shopping companions had long since exited the store. "It's good to have a few quality pieces to mix in with your lower-end items. It's totally worth it. I think it's worth it. I'm going for it!" she continued, again, to no one.  Her deliberating continued a while longer, her reasoning becoming less logical and more insane (she said something about sensing either a divine or supernatural presence in the pattern), until she finally resolved to purchase it. She proceeded to the check-out counter. There, as she handed her well-worn debit card to the bored, Zara employee, she accidentally touched his hand with her palm. He grimaced as he felt the sweat that had formed there. After the transaction was complete, he handed her the bag, and she left with the weight of her purchase in tow. Anyway, I think it was worth it.

Shirt - Zara

Jeans - Urban Outfitters

Necklace - Phish concert

Toms - Toms

Selfie in a skirt

Another exciting change of scenery! A few weeks back I forgot to ask Photographer Lizzie to take pictures but, since wearing a skirt is so rare for me (skirts necessarily touch your stomach or waist), I felt like I should still try to document the look. I definitely didn't do a great job, my feet look weirdly small and you can't see my face, but you get the basic idea. This is an unusual ensemble for me not only because it's half skirt/torso-touching, but also because the other half is light pink. I didn't mind the change of pace but certainly rewarded myself with a black, baggy outfit the following day.

Shirt - My mom's shirt from Target

Skirt - THE LOFT

iPhone - Apple

iPhone case - internet

Necklace - Sweepstakes

Sandals - Target

Casual Saturday

I had to do some work over a weekend, so I figured I would share the outfit I did that work in. I should clarify that this outfit is actually from a few Saturdays ago.  I spent the majority of this past weekend, Labor Day weekend, moving into a new apartment. The old soccer shorts and college t-shirts I wore for that experience definitely do not warrant a post of their own.

This outfit marks my first foray into the thrilling world of 'boyfriend jeans', despite their having been trendy many seasons ago and maybe not since. I avoided them for a long time, since I could not wrap my head around why women with three-dimensional legs would want to wear intentionally unflattering pants that made their legs look wider and shorter. I mean I understand the concept of casual/relaxed being flattering (hello, my dream shirt would have zero style lines and would float an inch above my torso), but casual/relaxed shirts work because the way they fall generally accentuates attractive aspects of the body. I could not imagine boyfriend jeans doing anything other than making women's legs look like long thighs. This is all to say, I was wrong. Boyfriend jeans are so comfortable and I love them. They are of course not actually cut like men's jeans, they still conform to a woman's figure where they need to, and they forced me to wear a slightly different silhouette than I normally would (you can almost see the contours of my torso). I have a suspicion that this particular outfit is "normcore" but I will have to check with my friends that lived in NYC for 6 months to be sure. Ryan/Rachel, if you're reading this please let me know.

Boat shirt - Forever 21

Boyfriend jeans - Gap

Hair elastic/bracelet - Alex gave it to me

Sandals - Marshalls

Who Wore it Better?

While we are all still reeling from that beautiful Queen Bey/Jay Z/Blue Ivy moment that confirmed that true love and family are not yet dead, we must not forget another very important aspect of the Video Music Awards: the red carpet! And since walking the red carpet is a just another day at the office for celebrities, I decided to do a little comparison between one of the most VMA-y looks of the evening and my most recent work ensemble. I mean there are definitely similarities and differences. Similarities: J. Lo and I both have brown, longish hair and are wearing shoes and clothes. Differences: J. Lo's dress has at least 10 cut-outs on the front alone that in aggregate look like a net made of flattering, slimming style lines. I'm wearing a sweater with three-quarter length sleeves. J. Lo complements her head to heel glittery silver with simple eye makeup and a neutral lip. My sweater and sandals are two different shades of tan. J. Lo channels the "high-low" dress trend with a slit that shows her entire left leg. My jeans are dark wash.  

J. Lo:

Dress - Charbel Zoe

Bag, jewelry, shoes - Super expensive/probably not Marshalls

***

Alie:

Shirt - Banana Republic outlet

Sweater - My friend Alex

Jeans - Lord & Taylor

Sandals - Marshalls

On the go

Hope you guys don't mind the change in scenery.  Since I forgot to ask Lizzie to take pictures at work, Creative Consultant Tim had to fill in and shoot them in the oh so charming Central Square T stop.  I'm actually pretty happy with the backdrop as the tile stripes on the walls sort of match my dress.  I should clarify that the pictures are capturing my modified commuting ensemble.  At work, I was also wearing a long, orange cardigan (an almost too short hemline, bare shoulders, and sandals do not a work appropriate outfit make).  As is the goal with most of my outfits, work or otherwise, adding the cardigan makes it difficult to ascertain where I end and the drapey fabric begins.

Dress - Just an adorable, little boutique in Chicago you've probably never heard of

Briefcase - H&M (Men's section)

Necklace - Whole Foods

Sandals - Marshalls

Summer rain gear

Hey guys! It's time for this week's Sunday Night Theme Post (a convention that didn't exist until now and may not exist again in the future). This week's theme: summer rain gear!  Here are a few simple tips that will make your rainy, summer commute a little more manageable:

1. Opt for a dress and sandals over pants and boots. This will allow your legs and feet to get wet without saddling you with damp pants all day. I guess you could pair boots with a dress and achieve the same effect but rubber boot on bare skin freaks me out.

2. Wear a rain jacket! If you don't, make sure your sweater is "hides wet spots" dark, because even though you had an umbrella, it didn't look like it was raining that hard when you left your apartment, and there's a really low probability that you'll run into anyone important on your way in, it was and you will and your sweater will be wet.

3. Make sure the umbrella you took from your boyfriend that he thinks is maybe his roommate's isn't broken!

Dress - Banana Republic outlet

Sweater - Zara

Bag - Matt & Nat

Necklace - Children's Place

Umbrella - Tim found it when he was cleaning his apartment

Sandals - Marshalls

Proportions

This long, flowy sweater probably hasn't seen the fluorescent light of the office since my internship in the summer of 2010 (posting outfits to the internet has forced me to dip a little deeper into my "reserve" work wardrobe).  If I weren't wearing my glasses (ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM/BLOG), you could tell that this sweater matches my eyes, sort of, which would be nice.  I bought this dress, which most certainly cannot be worn without a sweater, that same internship summer. It does touch my waist. Luckily the stretchy, synthetic fabric is forgiving.  The proportions of this outfit make me look like I have giant arms.

Dress - Jasmine Sola

Sweater/shrug/shawl - Nordstrom, tween section

Necklace - Lost and found

Sandals - Marshalls

Summer white/off-white

Over the last several weeks, I've gotten as tan as is possible for me (assuming responsible sunscreen application, of course! I'm not some crazy, wild person who ignores the likely consequences of my actions on my future well-being!). Since tan for me is not very tan, I've been wearing white all the time to exaggerate the illusion of a healthy complexion.  I also really like the line of this particular white/off white dress and the fact that the cap sleeves mean I can get by without a sweater. This dress does not work as well in the winter because my skin blends in with the fabric and those same cap sleeves look like football shoulder pads under most sweaters.

Also, I decided to do a little posing for this shoot, that's why my hands are holding my shoulders I think.  

Dress - suburban vintage store, H&M

Necklace - Target

Sandals - Marshalls

Blouse

The keans made their second appearance in 2 weeks with a blouse* I sort of ironed!  This is a pretty good work blouse: cool embroidery, not see-through where it needs to be, even a flattering yet appropriate neckline.  Unfortunately, despite (or perhaps because of) the conservative neckline, the "back neckline" (nape-of-the-neckline?) is lower cut than most, begging the question "how much back is too much back for the office?" While I normally punt on this issue by adding a sweater, I went sweater-less this time.  I will probably wear a sweater next time.

Blouse - Banana Republic

Keans - American Eagle

Necklace - Target

Sandals - Marshalls

*Blouse (as defined by Wikipedia): a loose-fitting upper garment that was formerly worn by workmen, peasants, artists, women and children #uppergarment

Jean Thursday

It's never too early in the week for some denim. I mean, it's Friday somewhere.  I love this outfit because the top is peplum and doesn't touch my stomach and the jeans have spandex in them. 

Top - Madewell

Jeans - Lord & Taylor

Water bottle - refrigerator

Badge - Small office in the basement of a mall

Necklace - witch

Sandals - Marshalls

New dress

When you own ~4-6 dresses that are suitable for work and it's this sweaty hot for this long, you may have to buy a new dress once in a while.  I was in that situation and this is that new dress, from Madewell (hello fancy dressing room curtains).  I'll call this waistline semi-flattering and this hemline too long/too short for any occasion other than the office.  You'll notice my shoulders are bare.  If you think I own a cardigan that would look not weird with this silhouette, you're nuts.  

Dress - Madewell

Necklace - Museum of Natural History

Sandals - Target