Broke Girl's Work Wardrobe: The Pencil Skirt (should YOU be wearing petites??)

Wearing pencil skirts I used to always feel like a kid dressed in grown up clothes- they just didn't seem right and always hung somewhere around mid-calf (Kay, I know you feel me on this one). Until, that is, a miraculous blow out sale at Banana Republic in which I learned about petite pencil skirts (this is the one that popped my petite skirt cherry). I've always had in my head that "petite" means tiny/skinny, and I've always had a booty that would not be considered tiny or skinny, but that day I learned that "petite" is a length thing, and if your body is 5'4" in length or shorter you should be wearing petite. Old Navy has this nice graphic to explain it on their website, and Old Navy is Banana's cheap/poor red-headed sister so this goes for both:

So here is my round up of my fav affordable petite pencil skirts for the spring. I mean summer. I mean, whatever season it is right now that involves temperatures that are 48 one day and 88 the next day.

1. $17.99 @ JC Penney || 2.  $19.99 @ JC Penney || 3. $25.77 @ NY & CO || 4. $54.99 + 40% off = $34.99 @ Loft || 5. $26.99 @ Macy's (seersucker! Hello summer! use promo code "memdeal" for an extra 15% off) 6. $24.99 @ Gap

My fav pencil skirt looks via Pinterest:

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I think nothing tops off a good work pencil skirt like pointed flats (or heels if you don't have to walk all over the falling apart streets of DC). I just ordered these taupe flats and also love these and these. 

QUESTION:  What are your summer work wardrobe essentials? 

Linking up today at Little Friday, Lovely Thursdays, Look What I Got, Tres Chic Fashion Thursday

Broke Girl's Work Wardrobe: The Pencil Skirt (should YOU be wearing petites??)

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Essential Summer Runner Wardrobe Pieces

Oh hey, summer! I thought you forgot about us here in DC, but you showed up this week nice and strong with 90 degrees and about 100% humidity! And of course yesterday as I was moving a million boxes with no AC hooked up yet, you decided to crank up the humidity again. Of course you did. So here are my essential summer running items:

C9 Women's Running Short

$16 C9 by Champion Women's Running Shorts @ Target: Surprise- Target is number one on my list! I have had these shorts for years and they have endured hundred of miles running with me. They're durable and they don't ride up (big booty girls rejoice!). They run true to size and come in lots of colors.

$13 Under Armour Victory Tank Top: Under Armour how do I love thee, let me count the ways...sweat wicking technology, affordable prices, no chaffing, and you fit normal sized people. I love you, Under Armour. I order a lot of Under Armour gear via 6pm.com - it usually runs about 50% off.

Running Socks

$10 Saucony Women's Ultra Cushioned No Show Socks: $10 may seem steep for socks, but when it comes to running socks it's actually a bargain. Saucony is a trusted running brand, and the soft wicking material pulls sweat from your feet (ew have you ever finished a run and had PRUNY FEET IT IS DISGUSTING) which keeps your feet dry and prevents blisters and calluses and all that other beautiful stuff that comes with being a runner's foot. I prefer the cushioned socks for a little extra padding, but that's just me.

running tank

$16 New Balance Run Racerback Tank (2 panel): Another must-have from 6pm.com. I like the semi-fitted nature of this shirt because it lets your midsection breathe a little more than with the tighter tanks.

Sports Bra

$7 C9 by Champion® Women's Reversible Compression Racer Bra: Again, Target. And again, a sports bra that has been with me for hundreds of miles and never let me down. Plus it's reversible. And it's sweat wicking for $7. I really don't have anything else to say.

Running T for a Cause

$15 New Balance Short Sleeve Pindot Tee: And again, 6pm.com via Susan G. Komen Foundation. A portion of the proceeds go to Susan G. Komen Foundation, plus it's a good running shirt!

Running Headband

$12 Athleta Running Headband: It wicks, it breathes, it stretches, and it keeps your hair out of your sweaty face while you're running. I like these headbands a lot because they also look pretty decently normal for running headbands. Also check out Jasmine from Fleurty and Fit's Etsy Store where she sells her Fleurty Bands- I bought this one- they have velvet on the underside so they stay in place! OBSESSED.

$24 Asshole Tank Tops: These aren't sweat wicking so I wouldn't actually wear them running due to the fact that I sweat like some kind of wild animal and I'm pretty sure I could possibly drown in my own sweat without the wicking material. Anyway, these are fun and I do love them.

Linking up today with Little Friday, Lovely Thursdays , 

Essential Summer Runner Wardrobe Pieces

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Spring Wedding Guest Dresses Under $30

I'm currently packing my bags to fly out of DC for a bachelorette party in Milwaukee (yes, you read right- Milwaukee, Wisconsin) for one of my best favorite friends and I am so freaking excited!!!! I'm going to be reunited for a whole FREAKIN WEEKEN with my two best friends from my year in Rhode Island- we lived AND worked together- and it's going to be a blast. Plus I've never been to Milwaukee! Any suggestions? Anything I can't miss while I'm there? Food I HAVE to try (it's a cheat weekend)? Drinks I have to drink?

So all this pre-wedding fun has me thinking about how the heck I'm going to afford to dress myself for all the weddings this summer. So many weddings! So much money going towards airfare/bachelorette parties/gifts/showers/that little thing that is MY wedding/renovating a house, I got approximately $0 to spare to look nice. These are my favorite finds for $30 or less (PS what did people do before online shopping?): 

 1. | 2. | 3. | 4. | 5. | 6. | 7. | 8. | 9. 

Things I'm obsessed with: the patterns, #5's details, #6's lace, #4's black insets, dreaming of being tan enough to wear #3 and #7, and everything about #9. Every last thing.

I have a few formal weddings coming up too and am going to order from Rent The Runway . I went ahead and got the premium membership for $25/year which gives me free shipping (for TWO dresses at a time- get it, like I order a size up for back up, but only pay for one rental), free insurance for the dresses plus a free birthday dress (which is hilarious considering we call my birthday Lindsay de Mayo since it falls 2 days before Cinco de Mayo, and it's just a big ole Mexican style sh*t show...Nothin wrong with a sh*t show in a pretty dress!) Also, when you select a dress you can see other people (aka real humans aka people with bodies and curves not just skinny models) wearing the dresses- um YES PLEASE why hasn't every online store caught onto this?! My friend ordered the most beautiful dress  for her rehearsal dinner and I was sold. For my upcoming formal weddings I'm thinking this and this or maybe this?!?!.  Which one should I pick??! Help (please)! 

And a little #TBT to honor my bff whose bachelorette party (and the other one I'm about to be reunited with) I'm about to go to- this is us meeting Leslie Hall, a rapper from Iowa who also happens to hold the Guiness World Record for Largest Gem Sweater Collection. This is real. Just a tiny claim to fame. And if you need a good laugh check out her website.

Also note my hair straightening phase and overplucked eyebrows phase I went through for a few years..

Check back tomorrow for a guest post from the wonderful Southern Komfort, but for now:

Where do you shop for wedding guest dresses? Sites I don't know about??

Linking up today at Little Friday, Lovely Thursdays, Look What I Got, Tres Chic Fashion Thursday

Spring Wedding Guest Dresses Under $30

Thursday, April 24, 2014