Summer Work Wear

It's been awhile since my last post and I know summer is more than half over but better late than never right ;)

This summer has been ridiculously hot, 30+ everyday!  And as someone who walks to work it has been a challenge to put together work outfits for the summer.  So I thought I'd share some of my summer work wear tips that have helped me cope with the weather :)

• Lightweight and breathable fabrics (silk, cotton etc.)
• Loose dresses/skirts
• Tanks/sleeveless tops
• + Don't forget a cardigan for the air conditioned office!

Here are some of my picks:

1. Equipment Sleeveless Signature Blouse  2. Wilfred Sabine dress (printed versions on sale, 1, 2, 3, 4)  3. Zara Lace Dress  4. Forever 21 Essential Circle Skirt  5. Ann Taylor Striped Sleeveless shirt  6. H&M Cardigan  7. Elizabeth and James Yumi Top

And remember dress below from this post?  I'm so glad I bought it as I've been wearing it on repeat!  It's perfect for this hot weather :)

What's your go-to summer work outfit?

Loving Summer Work Wear Lately,

Amy

Pastel

{Shirts- Banana Republic} 

{Jeans- Hollister}

{Shoes- Aldo(old)}
{Bag- BagInc} 

{Sunglasses- Ardene}

{Jewelry- Necklace, Joe Fresh and bracelets, DIY}
{Watch- Guess (old)}

Last weekend was a disappointement weatherwise but I still managed to take these pics before it rained.  I've suddenly built quite the dress shirt collection so I've been looking for new ways to wear them.  Right now I'm loving this combination with the checks peaking out at the collar and cuffs.   I'm looking forward to a {hopefully} more sunny weekend :)


Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!


Loving Dress Shirts Lately,
Amy

Menswear

{Blouse & Belt- Club Monaco (old)} 

{Blazer & Bottoms-  Aritzia}

{Shoes- Spring (on sale!)}
{Bag- Thrifted} 

{Sunglasses- Unknown}

{Jewelry- Necklace, AE (old) and bracelets, DIY}
{Watch- Guess (old)}

Oh how I wish spring would come back!  The above photos were taken last week when I decided to take a cue from the boys and pair my favorite boyfriend blazer with those cool brogues ;)  That was before winter decided to make its return (pic via my instagram, @amy_lovinglately).  Still can't believe it snowed in April! 

Loving Menswear Lately,

Amy

* Please bear with me as I try to make improvements to the blog, for now if you like to reach me you can do so via e-mail at whatimlovinglately@gmail.com

Blush

{Blouse- SmartSet} 

{Top- Gap (old)}

{Skirt- Moon via the Bay (old)}

{Shoes- Zara (old)}
{Bag- Danier (old)} 

{Sunglasses- Ardene}

{Jewelry- Necklace, random and bracelets, DIY}
{Watch- Guess (old)}

(The first blossoms of the year!)

While it still doesn't feel like spring yet (with the wind it's been hovering around 0 degrees celcius), at least the sun's out!  I hope you all had a relaxing Easter weekend.  I didn't do much, spent time with my family and did a little shopping.  This is what I wore to church on Sunday.  I picked up this blouse during a quick shopping trip with my mom and while I normally I don't find anything at SmartSet the crochet detail on the shoulders of this blouse caught my eye.  The sleeves are a little long but that's nothing new to me.  SmartSet has a great promotion going on, spend $50 or more and receive a $25 giftcard towards your next purchase of $50 or more, and there's an extra 25% off a pink tag sale items, so go check it out!


Loving Easter Weekend Lately,
Amy

Bare Legs

I'm loving this warm weather!  With the temperature staying around 25 degrees Celsius I was able to pull out one of my minis from the back of the closet for this quick photo before the sun set.  I hope the weather stays like this for a while :)

{Blouse- Club Monaco (old)}

{Top- Gap}

{Skirt- Forever 21 (old)}

{Shoes- Gap (old)}
{Bag- Vintage} 

{Sunglasses- Ardene}

{Jewelry- Necklace, AE and bracelets, DIY}
{Watch- Guess}

Loving the Weather Lately,

Amy

Casual Chic

{Sweater- Alfred Sung Pure}

{Top- Joe Fresh}

{Pants- Gap}

{Shoes- Zara}
{Belt- Club Monaco} 

{Sunglasses- Ardene}

{Jewelry- Random, DIY, Aldo}
{Watch- Guess}

Simple and comfy outfit with a splash of color.  With the warmer weather I finally got to wear those beautiful Zara heels (read the story behind the purchase here)!  And I borrowed my sister's sunnies so there's no more repeat of this, but I had to battle a bit of a breeze this time!  Can't wait to plan outfits for this sunny weekend!  

Loving Casual Chic Lately,

Amy

Tickled Pink

Wish I were wearing...

It's been awhile since my last outfit post and as I don't have my camera for another week I decided to put an outfit together from the web.  Feeling a little bored from my usual work attire I've put together a simple casual outfit that I wish I could be wearing right now.  Unfortunately this is totally inappropriate for teaching so I will have to wait till the weekend!  Only a couple more days :)

Party time

Here's what I would have worn on NYE if I had gone out.  Instead I opted to stay at home and plant myself on the couch.  My sister and I made some yummy appetizers (a few pics here) and we spent the night watching the US/CAN hockey game (CANADA WON btw!) but unfortunately we lost last night's semi final :(

This dress has a nice subtle sheen to it, see photos below.

DIY bracelet and glittery nails.  

I love this bright orchid nail polish, a new purchase with my gift voucher from here.

I love this school boy blazer especially the buttons!

My best find from 2011, read more about it here.

{Dress- Jack by BB Dakota}

{Blazer- Aritzia}

{Bracelets- DIY}

{Shoes- Vintage YSL}

{Nails- Deborah Lippmann Flash Dance}

I still have about a week before I go back to work (school's still out), but I'm looking forward to all the new and exciting things that will happen this year!  I also want to thank all of you for your thoughtful comments.  I read every single one and truly appreciate it!  Remember if you love my blog then please follow on Google Connect Friends or Bloglovin :)


How did you spend NYE? And what did you wear?

Loving Low Key New Year's Lately,

Amy

P.S. Slowly working on some changes to the blog so stay tuned!

Holiday Recap [update]

I hope all of you had a wonderful time during the holidays!  Although this year it was much quieter for us I still found that it went by too fast!  I can't believe it's already 2012.  Here's some bits and pieces of my holidays. 


[update: more pics now available on my facebook page]

Some ornaments

Good food :)

One of my favorite meals, mussels in white wine sauce and pasta!

Delicious home made apple cake (recipe found here)

Outfits

The boots (I've been wearing them non stop!)

Boxing day purchases

Didn't actually buy a lot but manage to score some needed dress pants for work!

More food

Yummy appetizers for our low key New Year's Eve at home :)

Loving the Holidays Lately,

Amy

PS. you may have noticed there's been an upgrade in photos, this is a result of a Christmas gift to myself!

t+j designs Style Challenge: Holiday Outfit

So at the last minute I have decided to enter the t+j designs style challenge.  I wanted to restyle this statement necklace for the holidays as I almost always wear it with a LBD for parties.  
*I apologize in advance for the quality and size of the photos, if I had more time I would have used a better camera and edited them.

Here's what I came up with...

Silk Blouse: Banana Republic, Pleated Skirt: Moon, Heels: Vintage YSL, 

Bag: Vintage, Headband: Aldo necklace (shown in first pic above)

Bracelets: Van Heusen and DIY, Rings: Aldo and Gifted, Earrings: Forever 21

Firstly I wanted to incorporate color because as mentioned above, LBDs are my go to party outfits.  I chose this teal silk blouse as jewel tones are perfect for the holidays.  I paired it with a pleated (hard to tell in photo) black skirt to balance it out and added the electric blue pumps for an extra pop of color. 

To change up the necklace I turned it into a headband as my black hair is the perfect canvas.  Initially I tried to use it as is, but since it's layered it wouldn't sit flat against my head.  Instead, I wrapped the necklace around a thin white headband which turned out even better!  I love how it looks like beads are intertwined with the chains.

Man I have a lot of flyaways! 

To keep the focus up near my face I decided against a necklace and wore simple pearl studs.  I added some simple bracelets and rings (sorry I forgot to take a close up them).  To balance things out I kept the chunkier bracelet and ring on one hand, and thinner ones on the opposite.  Here's a look at all the jewelry minus the studs.  I used different shades of gold to mix things up.

I love the overall look, it's perfect for the holidays.  Can't wait to wear this to some parties in the next few weeks:)


Loving the t+j designs style challenge,
Amy

Studs

Still recovering from a busy weekend so today's post is a little late and short.
I found these gorgeous flats on sale at Gap this weekend. Although I already own too many pairs of flats I couldn't help myself!  They're super comfy and I love the studded bow :)  

I braved the cold weather and paired them with my studded Danier bag for dinner with the family.

{Blazer- Forever 21(similar here)}
{Top- H&M}
{Jeans- Forever 21}

{Handbag- Danier}

{Flats- Gap (PS. cheaper in stores!)

{Watch- Guess}
{Bracelets- DIY (white) and random find (black)}

Loving Studs Lately,
Amy

Camel and Stripes

My first outfit post!  I wore this outfit to a birthday party 2 weeks ago-my lovely new bag along with a stripe dress I bought recently.  I really like the faux leather collar and tabs on the sleeve, it gives this simple dress a little edge :)

{Stripe dress- Dynamite (on sale- plus extra 30% off)}

{Handbag- BagInc}

{Boots- Kenny Loves Penny}

{Watch- Guess}

Unfortunately this photo is not the greatest....I took it when we got home using a cellphone because I almost forgot to take one!  But I'm sure you'll see this dress again.  Have a great weekend eveyone :)

Loving Leather and Stripes Lately,
Amy