A little bit country

Sometimes, I feel a little bit country. I think lately my urge to channel the wild, wild west is in part due to my recent cowboy boots purchase.

So... I assembled some fun pieces to wear to work the other day. Here's what I came up with: Loose star ruffle blouse, denim shorts, tights and my fave new boots.

It's sort of an odd combo of clothes but I thought it worked juuuuuust enough to pull it off. Agree/disagree? Thoughts?

Make it your own:

Top: LOFT (Similar)

Necklace: Chico's $79

Shorts: J. Crew $59.50

Boots: Madden Girl (only $59.50 at DSW!)

Tights: Target $12 for a 2 pack :)

Birthday weekend!

Hi everyone! Hope you had a great weekend!

My weekend was full of awesome food, great friends, and a good time out in Baltimore to celebrate my birthday. I wish I'd taken my actual camera and gotten higher quality pics, or even just taken more diverse photos on my iPhone because I really liked my dress and wanted to show it to you guys on GJU!

If you follow me on Twitter, you know I had originally planned on wearing a dress from Rent The Runway for my birthday night out. Unfortunately, it came and didn't work out due to a stain. Even though I was disappointed not to be able to wear the dress, the RTR customer service was stellar. I'm being fully refunded and was also given a credit to use for a future rent/purchase. Looking very forward to trying it again sometime soon!

So, since my RTR dress didn't work out, I went to Francesca's - a boutique I absolutely love - and picked up another option! The dress I chose was a pink, light satin-y material. It cinched at the waist and was just above the knee in length. My favorite part of the dress: the shoulder ruffles at the arm cutouts! I thought they were fun :)

I wore black tights and black heels, and finished off the look with a gold watch and a long, gold locket necklace.

Here are some pics from the night:

My girls! I had a such a blast with these ladies!

Me with one of my best friends and sorority sister, Leland!

Group shot.

Toward the end of the night, I put my hair back in a ponytail. I also, apparently, look a lot more tired haha.

The arm cutout on the dress went a little low on me, so I wore a neon green bra
to spice it up. If its gonna show, might as well be a pretty color.
And on that same note.. for your birthday, neon undergarments are a must! 

Last pic of the night taken with one of my best friends from high school, Britt.

Once people ( who brought real cameras) stat posting pictures to Facebook, I'll upload more to this post.

Hope you had a great weekend!

<3 GJU


Make it your own:

Dress: Francesca's, $44 (Similar)

Necklace: J. Crew $55 (Similar)

Heels: Guess at DSW $44.95

New Year's Eve in Cincinnati!

Happy New Year!!

I hope you all had a fabulous New Year's Eve filled with close friends, great food, and good times :)

I travelled to Cincinnati for NYE to discover a new city, and watch the Raven's game at Bengal's Stadium on New Year's Day. I had the best time, but somehow, managed to only take a few photos! Of those photos, only a select handful are blog-worthy, and even among those, many are questionable.

Here are the ones that made it out the least blurry :)

This one's a bit blurry, but you can still make out the main
details of the dress. For those who've kept up with GJU for a while, this was also
my dress for Baltimore's FNO.

With my sweater blazer over top.

Oversized jersey on Game Day-- my version of "Tomboy Chic"

Clouds!

Prime example of what NOT to wear on NYE. These 3 women were the Glamour Granny's of the bunch.
Please note the lady far right in the bedazzled bra & skirt duo with white fur jacket. I have no comment.

This trip to Cincy was dysfunctional. It was chaotic. It was spur of the moment. It was perfect.

Nothing is better than getting away with good friends and just going with the flow, and having a great time in a new city. I hope you all brought in the new year with the same joy that I did.

Love you all. Let's rock out 2012 in style.

All the best,

GJU

Consignment is the New Black!

This holiday season, do something different.

Don't go out and buy that black cocktail dress from the mall.... that you can pretty much guarantee 2 other people in your office will also buy. It would be a shame to show up in the same outfit to the Employee Holiday Party. A damn shame.

So.. where should you go to get unique, one-of-a-kind ensembles to blow the others away this winter?

My vote-- local thrift stores. Let's narrow it down even more... I highly suggest you check out Wear It's At-- my all-time favorite high-end consignment boutique located in Reisterstown, MD. 

I stopped into Wear It's At this weekend to check out holiday party outfits because my office party is this upcoming Friday. I found some fabulous ideas. I thought I'd share my top choices here on Get Jessed Up! I'll post some of the outfits today and the rest tomorrow-- whoop whoop double holiday cheer!

So... take a look! Under each outfit I told you brands and prices so you can go find these outfits for yourself!

Look #1: 

This look reminded me of Carrie Bradshaw a la Dior on Sex and the City:

Only SJP can hold that bag and not look like a tourist.

This outfit is so much fun! Pairing a bright comfy tee with a silk taffeta floor length skirt screams Sex and the City. And with SATC being one of my top 3 favorite series of all time-- this outfit brought out my inner Carrie Bradshaw/SJP spunk! This would be great for a casual, funky work environment. If you're an artist, or a graphic designer, or something where creativity is encouraged-- go this route. Take one for the team.

Make it your own:

Shirt: J. Crew, $19.99

Skirt: Carmen Marc Valvo, $98

Clutch: $21

Heels: Vince Camuto, $68

Necklace:

Look #2

If your holiday party is on the more elegant end of the spectrum, opt for an understated gown. I say understated because you don't want to show up looking like this... for obvious reasons.

I really love the asymmetrical silk pattern, and how it continues all the way around the dress.  Don't look at my elbows. Clearly I forgot to apply extra lotion. #Ashy

Make it your own:

Dress: Max and Cleo, $78.95

Gold beaded bracelet: $14.95

Look #3

For a more casual setting, a simple frock over tights will be perfect. This particular one, with the embellished collar, spoke to me. Loud. And. Clear. Not to mention the ballooned sleeves. Class meets drama at it's finest. 

This look is also great for an everyday office ensemble. Super versatile, comfortable, and makes a statement without shoving holiday sparkle down your colleague's throats (which I'm not necessarily saying is a bad thing...).

Make it your own:

Dress: Oasis, &78.95

More outfits to come in tomorrow's post: Consignment is the New Black: Part Deux!

Fall Fashion: An Ode to Naomi Campbell

An ode to Naomi Campbell...

This woman is a lot of things.

* She's certifiably crazy: She threw a cell phone at her assistant. And her housekeeper.

* She's a pioneer: First black woman on the cover of French Vogue, when she was just 18.

* She's a wanna be rockstar: After dating a U2 band member, she becomes addicted to cocaine.

But most importantly, this woman owns her fashion sense. She rocks anything she wears, and I can't ever fault her for taking risks and dressing outside of the box.

For that reason, today's outfit inspiration comes from one of Naomi's more casual looks. A simple black dress with a patterned jacket is an easy breezy look to recreate! 

Tip: This kind of outfit can be mixed-and-matched in as many ways as you like! A simple black dress can be paired with anything: a bright scarf, a fun blazer like this one, a statement necklace, a colorful belt... you get the idea!

Make it your own:

Dress: H&M, last fall, about $30

Heels: Guess from DSW, $44.95

Blazer: J. Crew Factory Store (several seasons ago)

Purple Friday! Errrrr... Wednesday!

Usually on Fridays I rock black and purple in support of my home team, the Baltimore Ravens! Woot!

However, since I'm off work the rest of the week for Thanksgiving, I decided it was absolutely necessary to bring black and purple to life on the blog today in spirit & support of the Ravens game tomorrow!

Because I'm doing Purple Friday on a Wednesday, I needed a more mid-week work-appropriate ensemble. Here's what I found-- the one and only Geri Halliwell. Don't judge me. Spice Girls live on.

And, in usual GJU style, I added in a few other colors/accessories to spice it up. 

Let me first just say that my Missoni for Target bag is major. You've got my favorite color combo representing big time (purple and green), and you've got some black, white, and a splash of pink to girl-it-up. I'm excited to work this bag into more outfits. 

Secondly.. although I'm not averse to taking fashion risks, I was still a little nervous to leave the house (not on a legit Purple Friday) in purple tights. Between the bright scarf and tights, and the busy patterned bag, I felt I looked a little like this. However, after seeing the outfit come together, I was pleased with the result.

What do you think-- would you wear colored tights? 

Make it your own:

Dress: J. Crew Factory

Tights: Target

Heels: Madden Girl, Loehmanns, about $28

Bag: Missoni for Target (got on clearance for under $30!)

Feature Friday: Seeing Double!

Hey y'all!

First & foremost: Happy Friday! Does anyone else feel like this has been the longest week ever? I'm relieved that it's the weekend.

Now to the fashion.

You remember I did a post on black and red a few weeks ago? Well today, GJU is featuring two fabulous fashionistas who took this trend and made it their own.

First up, we have Adellyn. She lives in NYC, and is fierce in her own right. Here's how she rocked the look:

A couple things to address. 

1) Loving those rocker boots & belt! I don't have enough spunk to pull off studs and buckles like this lady can!

2) I now need a red mini. 

3) I need to wear said red mini with a black boyfriend blazer. Smokin' hot. Hot tamale. Other red hot references. 

Loving it. All around, loving it.

Next up, Katie B. is a Baltimore girl with a smart sense of preppy style. Here's how she made Black & Red her own:

I can't handle how adorbs she is in this pic. I love the red cropped pants, the red & gold necklace, and the houndstooth. Moses knows how much I sweat houndstooth in the fall/winter months. 

Let's break this down. Here's how Katie describes her outfit:

"I think this outfit displays a nice mixture of dressing during the ever-difficult transition season of clothes-where it's not warm enough to just wear a sundress or skirts anymore but also not cold enough where you need chords and cable knit layers.

I wanted to not only figure out a good outfit that can be worn in the early fall season, but also repurpose my once summer J. Crew pants to make them more seasonally appropriate. I thought the red and the black and white houndstooth is a nice holiday, festive pairing which is perfect for early November when everyone's starting to feel the holiday soiree vibe! Plus it shows you can seamlessly take summer capris and make them more fall-worthy with the right layering!"

Top-Talbots $119

J. Crew cafe capris-$118

Flats-Nine West apx. $79

Necklace-Kim Last Design
Rings-David Yurman & Tiffany

Watch-Fossil

Bangles-Pink Crab

At this point, she should just have a weekly spot on GJU. 

Hope you guys liked today's double-trouble Feature Friday! If you want to be a featured fashionista, send me some pics of you rockin' a look, and why you chose the pieces in the outfit.

Happy weekend everyone :)

Halloween!

Oh heyyyy everyone! Sorry there wasn't a post yesterday... but that's because I needed to get pics of the outfit I was wearing to complete this post.

Today's post is all about Halloween! I'll show some pictures from the weekend, as well as how I did Halloween at work.

Halloweekend:
For Halloween weekend, I dressed up as a Princess. Every little girl, for at least one Halloween in her lifetime, is a princess. She's a Disney princess-- Cinderella, Ariel, Jasmine-- or she's just a pink sparkly princess a la Glynda (Wizard of Oz). Well, I never did the whole Princess thing and it was about time. Here's how it turned out:

Loving my wand, and tiara, and sparkly dress and jewelry.
Would dress this way everyday if I could. 

My attempt at being a Punk Rock Princess. I've discovered I'm not
meant to be "hard" or have this kind of edge. I just look ridic.

Spooky Sportswear:
I didn't dress up for Halloween in the office for 2 reasons. 1) I had a dentist appointment first thing in the morning and thought it would be awkward being worked on while in Halloween gear.  2) We'd never discussed dressing up at work, and along those same awkward lines, I didn't want to be the only one in full costume. I work in a very corporate building, and I can just imagine being in the elevator with one of the financial analysts from the floor above us. Uncomf.

So I went the black and orange route. I wore a wool, short-sleeved J.Crew dress, and tied in the holiday spirit with an orange scarf.

 When I got home, it was time for Bruiser to get dressed up on his first Halloween. He was a pirate. Aaargh!

I literally can't. His little face melts my heart. And when I pick him up
he hugs me and squeezes so tight/probably b/c he's scared for his life,
but it's precious. He's the best!

I hope you all had a fabulous and fashionable Halloween! I'd love to see your pics if you care to share :)

Make it your own:

Outfit 1:

Princess Dress: Charlotte Russe (I got it an addt'l 50% off from the clearance rack- $7!)

Leather Jacket: Similar $78

Heels: Madden Girl from Loehman's, about $28

Outfit 2:

Black Dress: J. Crew Factory Store (Similar) $118

Scarf: Orange Pashmina Scarf, about $15

Black Boots: Similar $69.95 

Tuesday Color Combo: Kiss and Tell

Happy Tuesday!

First of all.. I want to say thank you to my readers who nominated me for TWO Baltimore Sun #Mobbie Awards! I was nominated for Best Lifestyle Blog, as well as Best New Blog! Voting starts on October 31 (I think), so I would LOVE if you guys could show some support Get Jessed Up. It would mean the worldddddd!

Honestly, I'm totally honored and flattered for just being nominated-- winning would be the icing on the cake!

Now back to fashion...


Today I was really inspired by the color combo of red & black. I always think of this duo as dark and mysterious.. but I've been proven wrong. Red and black can be classy, bright, and a great choice for an outfit that transitions from day-to-night! For fall, these are perfect colors to work with, eapecially since the average pair of tights is an opaque black (it will always match this look... always)!

Here are a couple ways to mix-n-match these hues, and incorporate tights for the colder days:

 

 

So, now it's time for my take on the trend. You guys know I love color, but I'm also not afraid of patterns. Thats why for this particular look, I took it a step further and Jessed it Up with a lipstick-patterned dress versus a solid red or black.

Do you like this dress? I think the way it ties on the upper waist makes for a super flattering A-line silhouette-- perfect for women with curvier mid-sections like me!

To the front, to the front... To the side, to the side...

Without the sweater; I love the frilly over-hang
on the top!

Lipstick Kiss pattern up close 

Make it your own:

Dress: Lipstick Kiss A-line Dress, Charlotte Russe $28.99

Sweater: Gap (I got it a few years ago when Gap had the (One) campaign clothing in-store.)
Heels: Tahari from Marshalls; about $25
Earrings: c/o Every Occasion Designs
Bracelet: Urban Outfitters, $3

Feature Friday: Kate Middleton Knows What's Up

It's time for another feature Friday! WHOOP WHOOP! Thanks everyone so much for sending in pics of yourself All Jessed Up. That's really awesome that you take what you see on GJU and apply it to your everyday style. Seriously. Really. Effin. Awesome.

Anyways..

Today's post is by Kelly M. who was inspired by this pic of the one and only Duchess Middleton. (Gorg!)

Here's Kelly's outfit explanation:

Plaid skirts are in this fall, and Kate Middleton knows what's up (we expect nothing less). The most advantageous aspect of "Make it Your Own" is you get to add your own personal flavor to the mix. For instance, above is a photo of Kate, clothed in a red paid skirt and black turtleneck. I decided to stick with the key ingredient of the plaid skirt, and work my way to a colorful, fall purple turtleneck instead. To top it off and to give the outfit a bit more spirit, I added a pair of yellow tights. Perfect for the office, yet spunky enough to be considered casual Friday wear. 

Make it your own:
Blouse: Guess, $49.99
Skirt: Lord & Taylor 52.99
Yellow Tights: American Apparel, $25.00 
Necklace: White House Black Market, $28.00

Kelly looks fierce in those yellow tights.. definitely something I want to try! And P.S. I sweat that metallic royal blue nail polish she's sporting.

Want to be fashionably featured on a future Friday?! Send in pics of you all Jessed up :)

Have a great weekend <3