What I'm Wearing: Cranberry Splash

Hello lovelies! It's Christmas crunch time! Are you ready? I am finally done shopping and I am going to start wrapping tonight. Hooray! Does anyone else love wrapping presents? I find it relaxing and fun to make the packages look pretty with colorful paper and bows! It is already getting crazy to go to the store, if you've been out recently you know what I'm talking about. I offered to take this lady's cart back to the corral for her at the grocery store today and she gave me a dirty look. When I saw her license plate read "W WITCH," I understood everything. True Story.

It was back to work with me today and it's so hard to concentrate when you know so much fun lies ahead for Christmas. But still, I had to get dressed. I was feeling the Christmas spirit a little so I decided to don me now my gay apparel - a cranberry sweater qualifies, right? I paired the sweater with a faux leather skirt, lace leggings, a pair of boots and a cute snow leopard clutch.

 Sweater, Leggings and Necklace: Kohl's, Faux Leather Skirt: H&M, 

Boots: Elder Beerman, Clutch: Wild Iris

Here is how you can get a similar look.  Every piece is $40 and under. 

Click on the image below to see the price and retailer information for each piece.

Cranberry Splash by closetintervention featuring a mesh necklace


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Five Festive Ways to Dress for the Holidays

Happy Holidays Everyone! Soon we will all be rushing from house to house, party to party, Christmas to Christmas without much time to think about how we are going to dress for each occasion. I am one of those people who are not a fan of novelty holiday clothing. Christmas themed sweaters are ho-ho-horrible. My distaste for said sweaters has become so well-known that one of my mom's friends bought me an ugly Christmas sweatshirt just to mess with me.

In the picture above I am attempting to be silly under a pile of green, red, light and garland. As you can see my doggie, Kylie, thinks I have lost it. The point I am attempting to get to with all of this is that you don't have to deck yourself out in green, red, snowmen or Santa to dress festively for the holidays. In fact, I am going to show you five ways you can dress with holiday cheer that doesn't involve wearing green or red.

Disclosure:  I took all of these photos outside while it was lightly snowing, so if my clothing looks acid washed, that's why. :)

1. Wear some Sparkle

 I realize this is a fairly obvious one, but I am going to show you how to wear sparkle casually and use it as an accent to an outfit, rather than being the centerpiece.

Wearing a sequined top with jeans and a blazer is a great way to look festive (inspired by twinkling Christmas lights), but not too fancy for your casual family get-togethers.

You can also accent with sparkles. Some people would be much more comfortable with just having a little bling in their outfit.  I used a sequined clutch and shoes, as well as a sparkly headband to add a little holiday spirit to a sweater and leggings.

2. Get inspired by the holiday's supporting cast

What do I mean by this? There are so many things in the holidays that we can get inspired by that aren't Santa or a Christmas tree. You can draw inspiration from anything from twinkling lights and stars, to food and presents.

 This outfit was inspired by the snowfall. I used cream, white and a little sparkle to represent the beauty of snow. Funny story, I didn't have any white leggings, so I turned a leopard pair inside out and the look is actually pretty cool.

This outfit was inspired by a favorite Christmas treat: Gingerbread Men. I actually bought this sweater on clearance shopping the other night because it reminded me of gingerbread. I love the color and the lace top underneath represents the icing. 

3. Put on some fur

Fur is one of those things that reminds me of glamorous holidays in old movies. It also reminds me of carolers that used to go around with fur muffs. There are so many ways to incorporate fur. You can wear it as trim on a sweater, wear a fur scarf, or get some boots with the fur. Yes, I went there. You're singing the song now, aren't you?

You can get dramatic with fur and wear it boldly in a coat. This is actually a thrifted coat that is too large for me, but I made it look more fitted by tying a faux leather belt around it. The boots add a ski bunny feel to this cozy holiday outfit.

 None of the photos of this outfit turned out. Wearing a fur vest like this one is a bit more casual and will keep you cozy at the relative's house that is freezing. You know the one I am talking about, don't you?


4. Silver and Gold

These colors are actually a huge part of the holiday season when you think about it. There are so many ornaments, decorations, wrapping papers and bows that are decked out in, or are at least accented by these colors. Silver and Gold are so popular they even have their own Christmas song. Rudolph anyone?

I found this beautiful icy silver button down in my closet and paired it with a vintage pleated skirt, pearls and patterned tights for a sweet festive look.

I used a black mini-dress and black leggings as a background to really let the gold vest pop. I added a little more bling to the outfit with the gold belt and necklace. A gold or silver dress would be gorgeous for special occasions. I don't really go anywhere fancy during the holidays, but I wish I did!

5. Bows

All of the pretty gifts have one, so why shouldn't you? I must confess that I am a HUGE fan of bows, and I know they aren't for everyone, but just try and tell me a bow isn't festive! They adorn wreaths, doors, and presents during this season and are very easy to wear to give your outfit a little holiday flair! 

I've had this sweet little sweater dress a few years now and I still love it! You could get a similar look with bow-front blouses or maybe even wear a bow tie!

You can wear bows in your hair or on your jewelry. There are a lot of ways to incorporate bows into your holiday ensembles.

 I hope this gives you some ideas to change up your holiday wardrobe, but still look festive!

How will you be dressing for the holidays?

Are all of your get-togethers casual or do you have some fancy places to go?

What I'm Wearing: I Taupe You Like This

Hello lovelies! How are you all doing today? I had a much better morning, for those of you who read my post yesterday, you know what I'm talking about. I am wearing my first tights of the season so hooray for that. I love tights, they are a fun way to spruce up the color palette of any outfit. I actually went for neutral colors today, so this isn't a prime example, but don't worry your pretty little heads, you will see the bright tights at some point. I really love the taupe shirt I have on, because of the interesting ruched sleeves. Don't you love a fun sleeve, it's like normal cut shirt - check, normal color- check, then BAM! awesome sleeves. Okay, so maybe I get a bit too fired up about sleeves, I will bring it back down.

I am so attracted to shiny things. I will stop mid sentence and run toward sparkly objects in the store. This is not a joke. I saw this necklace at a booth at the Appleumpkin Festival for like $12 and I was so stinking excited. I love the various colors in it and I like how it plays with the silver metallic thread in my skirt.

Top: TJ Maxx, Skirt: Loft, Tights: I have no idea, Shoes: Simply Vera Wang via Garage Sale (Thanks, Mom!), Necklace: Appleumpkin Festival booth

Here is how you can get a similar look.

Click on the image below to get price and retail information for each item.

I Taupe You Like This by closetintervention featuring checkered tights


Do you like this neutral color palette?

What I'm Wearing: Haywire

It all started with a phone call right after I got up this morning. My boss called and said his son had the flu and would not be able to pick he and his wife from the airport. His other son had appointments scheduled that he could not break on such short notice. So who does that leave? Me, I guess. He asked me to go to his house (about a 35 minute drive from my house) get his car, and drive it the rest of the way (another 40 minutes) to Detroit Metro. That isn't on the spot at all, right?

So I start getting around, which included a complete change from the business look I was going to wear today, into a comfy jeans ensemble. In the process of getting around, the necklace I was going to wear with this outfit got caught in my hair and when I tried to pull it free, the necklace busted.  Well I will just put it back together quickly I thought to myself, but in the process I lost one of the pieces. This made me launch into a Clark Griswold-worthy rant. I go to my closet and pull out one of the shoes I have on, but for the life of me could not find the other. This caused me to be throwing shoes about like a kid tearing open a Christmas present - stuff was flying everywhere. Needless to say, I finally found it and headed out the door for my long drive in the pouring rain.

Do you ever have those mornings? I am not a morning person to begin with, so little snags are not greeted with a smile and kindness. I sound like such a nice person right now, so I think we will just move on to the photos of the outfit.

The back of the shirt is all lace, which makes for a pretty outfit detail.

This belt was a pretty cool thrift store find. I have a serious belt addiction.

Cardigan and Lace Tank Top: Maurices, Skinny Jeans: Express, Belt and Clip-on earrings: Salvation Army, Handbag: Ooh La La, Shoes: Isaac Mizrahi for Target via Garage Sale (Thanks, Mom!)

Here is how you can get a similar look.

Click on the image below to find the price and retail information for each item.

 

How are you all doing today? 

Are you digging this look?

Would you pretty please with a cherry on top
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Haywire by closetintervention featuring lace tank tops

What I'm Wearing: Wild Child

Hello Everybody, I've reverted back to my color comfort zone: Black. Do you have a color you just tend to gravitate towards in the store? For me, that color, or lack thereof in this case is black. Me and my mom always joke that we aren't going to buy any black and then we end up with a cartload of it. Oh well.  I can't help myself, me and black need each other like Lindsay Lohan needs rehab. Too soon?

I found this fun tiered ruffle skirt at the bottom of the stack on my shelf. That mama hadn't cruised the town in awhile so I took her out for a joy ride. I paired it with gunmetal metallic leggings, a striped top, sassy over-the-knee boots and funky jewelry. The jacket was thrown in the mix because it was cold. Like the last kid picked in dodge ball, it was just there to fill out the team.

Jacket: K-Mart, Top: A'gaci, Skirt: INC via Macy's, Leggings: Express, 

Boots: Second Chance Consignment, Necklace and Bracelet: Wild Iris

Here is how you can get a similar look.

 Click the image below for price and retailer information for each item.

Wild Child by closetintervention featuring a layered skirt

 

How do you like this look?

What I'm Wearing: Shades of Blue

 

Greetings fashionable earthlings. I hope this Monday didn't steal your soul. That would be bad. 

Has anyone hit the panic button on buying Christmas gifts yet? I started to get nervous today when I realized there are only 13 days until Christmas. Is that nuts to anyone else? I could hardly say I didn't know it was coming since retailers have been shoving it my face for 2.5 months. I just woke up and realized that I will be in a  load of trouble if I don't get my butt in gear ASAP.

Today I was going for casual comfort as it was just a lock myself in my office and get as much done as possible day. I got this pussy bow (Did you just giggle? It's okay if you did. I do too) blouse at the Goodwill with the tags still on it. I love vertical stripes, they make you look long and lean. Who doesn't want that? I paired it with a cobalt cropped blazer, turquoise and cognac belt, jeggings and some slouchy comfortable boots. I didn't even wear any jewelry today, which is a feat in itself as I tend to want to pile on the accessories. 

Blazer: Love Culture, Striped Top: Goodwill, Jeggings: Maurices, Boots: The Shoe Dept., Belt: Michael Kors via Clothes Mentor


Here is how you can get a similar look.
 Click on the image below to get the price and retail information for each item.
All items are $40 and under!!

Shades of Blue by closetintervention featuring knee high boots

How are you liking this ensemble?

What I'm Wearing: Pleats for the Streets

Happy Sunday to you all! I hope your weekend has been amazing. Yesterday I was tied up for 12+ hours between a Christmas get-together and a fun night with friends. Is there any better time than the kind you can spend with family and friends? Rarely. :)

I've actually been dying to wear this cute little pleated dress for awhile now. I've had it about a month and it has just been benched in my closet - time to get this beauty into the game. I absolutely love the color of this dress and it is the first pleated number I have tried on that doesn't make me look like I am smuggling things in my hips. Does anyone else know what I'm talking about here? If you have some hips, you probably do. Anyway, I bought this dress at Nordstrom. Did you just gasp? Yes, the cheap lady said she bought a dress at Nordstom. Guess what racks I look at when I go in there? Did you guess clearance? If you did, you know me too well. I don't even look at regular priced racks in that store. This beautiful little dress was $20! Victory is mine! You can take my $20 Nordstrom, but you'll never make me pay full price! FREEDOM!!! Was that over-the-top? Maybe just a little.

Dress: Nordstrom, Cardigan: Thrifted (Thanks, Mom!), Leggings: Express, Boots: Elder Beerman (2 + years old), Necklace: Vintage from an Antique Shop

Here is how you can get a similar look.

Click on the image below to see price and retailer information for each item.

pleats for the streets by closetintervention featuring h&m jackets

Is this a look you would wear?

Hope you all are having a wonderful day!