Chicago-Savvy Shoes

So I've been thinking a lot about shoes recently. I know we ladies tend to think of shoes often (OK, all the time). During this season though, I've found that grabbing a pair of shoes in the morning has become that much more difficult. I haven't been wanting to grab my usual winter boots, and it's still too cold to expose my feet to the weather via my usual flats or heels. 

Refinery 29 Chicago took a stab at some spring solutions for us Chicagoans (The Best Shoes for a Chicago Spring). The slideshow includes a mix of ankle boots in neutrals (both heeled and flats), flats in brights and prints, and a couple of heels options. I love some of these looks (can we say ankle bootie wedge??), but I'm thinking of a slightly different sartorial direction to take me from now to summer: Oxfords. (a.k.a. brogues, spectators, etc.)

I grabbed my trusty patent black pair out of the back of my closet this morning, and saw another fabulous pair in classic brown at lunch. 

Currently I'm wearing mine with straight leg jeans and a sweater, or a dress/skirt and tights. Come summer I'll be wearing a pair with fun flirty dresses. I love that these shoes bring a little boyishness to my more girly looks.

What do you think? Will you be wearing oxfords this spring? 

Here are some options available that I love:

Non-laced option

Steve Madden Trouser ($70, available on Piperlime)

Almost an exact match to my pair!

Chelsea Crew Perforated Oxford Shoe - also available in brown ($59, available at Urban Outfitters)

For an Italian feel

DV by Dolce Vita 'Marcella' Slip-On ($70, available at Nordstrom)

LOVE this color!

n.d.c. Briar Oxford ($415.00, available at Barney's)

And if you can't bear to wear flats... 

Of course they're Frye

Frye Block Heel Oxford ($188, available at Urban Outfitters)

Winter can't be all bad, right?

Thanks to this lovely lady's outfit (photo from the Sartorialist, taken in New York), I've learned the following reasons to be OK with this cold weather:

1) Still get to wear my fur

2) With the sunshine I get to finally bring my sunglasses out of retirement

3) Time to mix spring's neutrals with my winter black basics

Photo by Scott Schulman from the Sartorialist

See it's not so bad... just needed a little bit of optimism. Wait, it's still Wednesday, isn't it.

Still waiting on some spring weather...

One of my favorite street style looks from NYFW. I love the juxtaposition of the elegant coat with the casual all jean outfit.

Photo from Refinery 29

Spring Trend: 70's

Shop Bop does it again! 

Another great lookbook from Shopbop - this time their take on the 70's trend. It's refreshing to see a real modern take, while still looking back on the era. 

I know it sounds like a broken record (ha ha)... but can't wait to try out some of these looks (and color schemes) as well!

30!!

Finally! The last outfit in the 30 for 30 remix - but I did it! Next time around I hope that there won't be a vacation in the middle of it - but either way, glad I've gotten through this experience. 

I definitely appreciate my closet a lot more - and now it feels like I have so many choices in my closet instead of nothing to wear!

Outfit #30! 3/14/11

While it's been fun sharing my closet and remixes, I'm looking forward to sharing more Chicago style that's out there - especially as the weather starts to get warmer!


What I wore: Sweater from TJ Maxx, Ralph Lauren button down, J Brand jeans, Frye boots

Spring Trend: Ladylike

We've already at this point heard to death all about the big trends for spring from 70's to the continuation of minimalism, and ladylike. But - I absolutely love this look book from Shopbop. It's their take on the ladylike trend - which coming from them always has a bit of an edge. But either way - Love! Can't wait to start trying out similar looks like this for spring! 

Moments of Grace Lookbook: Shopbop.com

For the full lookbook, follow the Shopbop link above, or click here.

Love and honor

Friday was shadow day at work for students from my alma mater. So, as I was presenting to the students and having a shadow for part of the day, I wanted to have a put together, but not too dressy. I went back to my preppy college roots wearing navy and gold - overall a good Friday outfit!

Outfit #29: 3/11/11

 

Sunshine! Finally!

What I wore: Blazer (my mom's), button down from Zara, J Brand jeans, Tory Burch flats

"You look pretty good for getting dressed in the dark"

The quote is from my boss. We had a power outage at our apartment yesterday morning, so I literally dressed myself in the dark. But not so bad, right? 

Outfit #28 3/10/11

My beloved Frye's - I could not have gotten through this remix without them!

 Last 2 remixes.... coming soon!


What I wore: Blazer from the Limited, Shirt was my mom's (I really need to start shopping in actual stores, haha), pants from Zara, Boots are Frye

Love this look!

So I absolutely love Fashion Week - all the craziness, the new fashions, and all the great street photography that comes out of it! I especially love Paris Fashion Week. I just have this dream to dress as cool as a Parisian one day... even though I don't even have an ounce of French heritage... sigh. Anyway, I'll be giving more of a roundup of fashion week once the remixing is over, but in the meantime just had to share this photo! Style.com is one of my favorite resources for fashion week, and they enlisted Tommy Ton from jakandjill.com to take their street style photos. 

Photo by Tommy Ton for Style.com

I love this outfit for the color blocking (a big thing for spring), and the fact that I could maybe pull this off! I mean, we all need an excuse to wear our J.Crew green apple capris, right?

I have forgotten what sunshine feels like...

Yet another gloomy day in Chi-town. It'll be nice and spring soon, right? 

Anyway, how cute is this gal?

Fullerton EL stop, 3/10/11

I love the contrast of the white hat with the coat. And really, who can do wrong with an LV tote?

How did I not think of this before?

Oh right, that's what this remix is for. Had never thought of wearing this sweater this way, and it might be my favorite way of wearing it. It's kind of a bulky thing, so its nice that I can still show off my shape but still cozy on yet another rainy day (ugh - Chicago fail). 

Outfit #28: 3/10/11

Woo shape!

What I wore: sweater from Banana Republic, top from H&M, marc by marc jacobs jeans, booties from local shop in Brookfield, WI

Purple (&) Rain

 Yeah, I said it. Anyway....

Today I was comfortable but not too sloppy, all thanks to the top. Wow have I been loving this top during this remix! Outfit was great for a (supposed to be) rainy day with work and dinner to celebrate Mardi Gras with the girls.

Outfit #26: 3/8/11

What I wore: Ann Taylor cardigan, sweater top from Club Monaco, Citizen of Humanity jeans, belt was my Dad's (seems I have a parent's former clothing theme this week)

Monday...

Running out of creativity... especially since i'm doubling up on posts. No fault but my own... 

At least my outfits are showing more creativity than my words. Today I went a little more dressy, but still kept it casual. Can you tell I'm feeling a lot better? The black and brown combo made things a bit more casual, and I just like the mix. 

Outfit #25: 3/7/11

Not sure if you can tell, but the skirt is a bit too big (again stealing from my mom's closet). So instead of trying to hide it, I tried to make it look like I meant it to be this size. I cinched the belt and below the skirt line so the skirt bunched up over it. A bit Spring 2010, I know, but I think it may just have worked. 

This Park City hiatus is making these last remixes pretty tough... but promise I'm going to push on through!

What I wore: Top from Forever 21, Skirt was my Mom's, boots Franco Sarto

Starting to feel like spring!

This was outfit #24 from Friday... again I'm delayed, so I'll be doing a couple of posts tonight to hopefully catch up! 

As it was a rainy, but warm Friday, so it was time to bring out the trench for the first time this year. I know the outerwear isn't part of the remix, but I just had to snap a photo because I was so excited!

My mom's London Fog Trench from the 70's

As for the outfit under the trench, it was a nice casual and preppy Friday. Nice and simple! And nothing more comfortable when you're still feeling under the weather than boyfriend jeans. 

Outfit #24 3/4/11

And when it's Friday, and I'm sick, the way to make this outfit a bit less boring is adding fun accessories, AKA this great belt!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

What I wore: Ralph Lauren button down, Citizen of Humanity jeans, tory burch flats, belt from J.Crew

Outfit #23

The number bears no special significance except that it was the last outfit before my Park City trip. I'm now suffering from a gnar cold and therefore a lack of creativity... bear with me please. New clothes to be posted soon.. 

(note:  gnar = new over-used term, short for gnarly)

Outfit #23: 2/24/11

What I was wearing: Ralph Lauren button down, navy blazer was my mom's, citizen of humanity jeans, not in picture: gold tory burch flats