Playing Dress Up

It is finally fall here in St. Louis!! Bring out the sweaters and boots!! This is also the time of year when it is socially acceptable for adults to play dress up - Halloween. I heard somewhere that the Halloween industry gets bigger every year. It is no longer just a children's holiday. Adults my age seem to enjoy dressing up more than ever and have turned Halloween into a giant party. We have outgrown the need to use Halloween as an excuse to wear slutty clothes. Instead this is a true competition of the creatives, cultivating unique costumes sourced on Pinterest, and ordering bizarre merchandise from Amazon Prime. I had a blond wig and peter pan collar at my house in 48 hours!

I like to play dress up all year long. Sure there is an element of  personal style that is tied to your authenticity and true expression of yourself, but the other side of that coin is playing dress up, trying on different costumes, experimenting with new looks and having fun!

I played dress up this morning for church. I bought this grey skirt from Ann Taylor at the end of the season last year and couldn't wait to wear it now that is finally below 80 degrees. I started with black tights, grey skirt and a black shirt. I told Jason I thought I looked like a nun (no disrespect, just not the costume I was going for). So I added some accessories: some sassy over-the-knee boots, sparkly statement necklace, tartan plaid shawl, wool hat, and finally THE purse - the one from my first return to the blog. My parents are amazing and they surprised me with this purse.

I swore I would never wear the over-the-knee boots. I thought they made my legs look even shorter than they are. Sometimes a trend wears me down and I give in. I'm only human. I loved this costume!

Go play dress up in your closet. Challenge yourself to wear something you haven't worn in awhile or dare to differ from your normal uniform. You might be surprised to find out how much fun you have!

a new day

a new day  or and ea wy

Have you been to Target recently?  This is their new clothing brand and it is adorable, despite confusing the hell out of me with the name.  Read vertically..... see what they did there? Apparently I'm not the only one. I tried to tell my friend Lori about these cute ponte pants I thought she would like from Target and was confused about the brand.  She found the explanation on Facebook

Anyway, of course I went to Target for a 3-ring-binder and some vitamins, and just cruised by to see what was new. There was a whole new clothing line, and it is great! It is current, but not too trendy and perfect for work or play.  My only criticism is that it is not quite cut for a petite frame.

I am terrible at taking selfies. It is one of my least favorite things about trying to share my love of clothes with you. So here are some cute outfits laid out on my floor - and clearly I'm not that great at staging these shots on the floor of my closet.

I love this printed blouse - it gives you so many colors to build your outfit. I show it with the navy ponte pants. If you're not sure what those are, check out my old post: all leggings are not created equal. Gold sweater and jean jacket are super old. Metallic Gold shoes are from paperdolls - perfect way to add shine and this men's style loafer is gaining popularity.

This jade, jewel tone top is one of my favorite colors for fall. I tried it on and it made me look a bit too stocky, but I loved the style. Same pants and shoes from above.

I had to show this navy dress . Although, as I'm linking to this product, I could have just showed it on this girl. Oh well. So it is a midi dress - and that length will never be worn by me. I'm 5'2" on a good day, if I stand up really tall.  You can see it is too long for me, but I thought it was so adorable. I'm obsessed with navy - it is my black.

Target also had this adorable new fitness line called Joy Lab. So cute! By the time I made it back to this department, I was in a hurry.  Jason would know if I was at Target this long, surely I was buying more than I "needed". I quickly felt a few pieces and they seemed like great quality! I snagged this Moto jacket. You wouldn't even know by looking that it was performance fabric. It has great wearability.

There. I just did a style blog all about clothes from Target! Husbands - you're welcome.