DressLover read that most people want to spend $100 or less on Fall fashions this year. Clearly these are not Nordstrom Anniversary Sale shoppers! 

Mrseccentric was impressed with Angie from fashionmeblog, a charming Mom on the Go in Greece who is dedicated to acquiring quality garments and remixing her wardrobe items. 

Kendall Farr’s blog always gives Joy food for thought. 

Liz Y loved Sal’s article about her evolving style because the thoughts and ideas are also applicable to things other than clothing.

Vani is going to give Luvees Coveralls a bash in order to combat the annual chub-rub situation in hectic Florida heat.  

Annagybe loves these specs but not the price. I love the hat. 

Debora likes dappered.com, a mens fashion blog that was particularly helpful with it’s top picks list for the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale. 

Sarah is besotted with actress Sasha Alexander’s chic dress and trench coat style on TV Show Rizzoli & Isles.

Kyle recommends Outblush as a fun distraction. It showcases featured items in categories like fashion, home, beauty and life. 

Rae has no idea why these pictures count as a Fashion Week Campaign, but she thinks that the “Lost-Meets-Lord-of-the-Flies” clothing is killer cool. 

CocoLion was inspired by advanced style because she’s been thinking a lot about aging and age appropriate dressing lately. This superb blog was created by a young man. 

Inge questions whether all paper shopping bags should be thrown away. Why not frame some and pop them on your wall!

Marianna found it interesting to browse through the top customer rated items of the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale. 

RoseandJoan was happy that the UK Advertising Standards Authority decided to ban two L’Oreal’s adverts for using unrealistic and unachievable images to sell their cosmetic products.

Modgrl enjoyed this discussion on how to wear coloured denim. 

Last but not least, I enjoyed seeing how very glam Kelly creates her spiraled tresses. She makes it look so easy! 

All of Seattle was elated last Sunday as we enjoyed a sunny and hot 83 degree day (28 degrees Celsius). This year’s dismal Spring and Summer weather made it an absolute pleasure! I couldn’t wait to bust out a sleeveless top and wear it without an additional layer. 

I wore a casual outfit that day because I caught up on admin at home, ran a couple of errands, and joined Phoebe for her photo shoot in the afternoon. I wore my newly repurposed clamdiggers and am pleased with how they turned out. Somehow, they actually look better as clams than as skinnies. I rolled them up because they haven’t been hemmed. 

I matched up my clams with a sleeveless grey pinstripe Winter dress that I usually wear with over the knee boots and hose, or over skinny jeans. Ironically, I actually prefer wearing this grey frock in the Summertime because I like it best worn on it’s own. No under layers or outer layers. It has a complex collar that’s aching to take centre stage, and the dropped waist looks most effective when it drapes as a single layer. 

I’m one of those people who can handle the heat. When everyone else is in sandals, I’m the one in closed shoes because I find it more comfortable (my feet generally do not like the straps on sandals). Adding my flat oxfords to this outfit is an acquired taste, but I like the arty vibe. It’s strong, simple and makes a statement. 

I added a black polka dot floral pin to bookend the black of the shoes. My black and white specs and white watch also match the peds. I finished off the outfit with a very colourful satchel and left off the pearls. I could comfortably dash around styling Phoebe and Kai for the photo shoot in this outfit and I wasn’t too hot at all. 

The proportions and combination of items here are unusual. A dropped waist worn with clams, WITH high vamped, high contrast flat shoes is not everyone’s cup of tea. Neither is a dressy Winter dress worn over very faded denim. But the playful combination works to my eye and I felt fab wearing it — bright white legs and all.

A pair of 7 For all Mankind “Roxanne” skinnies and a pair of Marc Jacobs straight leg jeans were rescued from the donate-pile last Sunday morning. The Roxanne’s were awfully faded and had a tear in the bottom left leg, while the MJ’s were never quite the same after being laundered at a hotel. So I got out my fabric scissors and transformed the two pairs of jeans into cropped clamdiggers. I cut them a few inches below the bottom of my knee cap so that I can roll them up to a flattering length. At this point I’m not even going to bother with sewing in a proper hem because they are super casual. 

I bat for Team Wear, so I wore the cropped Roxanne’s right away under a sleeveless dropped waist grey pinstripe sheath dress with flat oxfords. It was fun to repurpose two pairs of premium denim jeans in this way. I certainly didn’t turn up my nose at two pairs of free clamdiggers! 

Our business casual readers often say that they wish they could wear more fashionable clothing combinations to work. They feel that fun fashion trends are often inappropriate or too casual to wear in their professional and often conservative work settings. 

Well, I think that the addition of the right leather or pleather jacket is a great way to inject a bit of variety and fashionability into a corporate look. If you need to maintain a professional appearance, don’t choose anything too moto-esque, bomber-ish, distressed, heavy or overly embellished with zippers. Stick to LIGHTWEIGHT leather jacket styles with clean lines that can be worn indoors in place of a blazer or cardigan. Of course, if you work in a creative business casual environment, you can choose a more daring leather jacket style. 

Over the last few seasons, 95% of my business casual and business formal clientele wear the right leather or pleather jackets in their professional work settings. They match them up with anything from dressy trousers and pencil skirts, to cigarette pants, slouchy trousers styles and sheath dresses. They keep the tops and footwear dressy. 

My business casual clients run the gamut and some are required to look more formal than others. Some wear leather jackets on days when they don’t need to wear suits or see clients. Others wear leather jackets when they see less conservative clients. Others leave the look for Casual Friday when they still aren’t allowed to wear denim, but suits are not required. 

I vote yay. As long as you keep the leather jacket refined, lightweight, dressy, sophisticated and crisp, you can wear a leather jacket in place of a blazer or cardigan for corporate business casual settings. Remember that you can also take off your leather jacket during the day if you feel restricted or too warm. What’s your verdict?

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