I’m sorry to be such a tease. If you’re here for the beach vacation outfits you are about to be sorely disappointed as we did not go on any sort of spring break vacation this past week… unless you count a staycation as an “official” vacation.
I honestly don’t know how some of the other bloggers go on so many vacations with their kids… even if we could I wouldn’t even want to. I’m sorry, but I just feel like I’d rather wait for my kids to have all outgrown the over stimulated meltdown phase before we attempt anything close to multiple trips a year (although I haven’t grown out of that phase so maybe I’m thinking a little too positively).
However, now that I say that I’m about to eat my words because we’re going to Florida in June with our entire family and the MN North Shore in July so… although I don’t really count our yearly camping trip as traveling as it’s kind of our home away from home.
Okay now I’m just making excuses for why I’m allowed to judge people who are doing things that I don’t understand so it’s time for me to move on with this blog post for all of our sakes.
We did actually have a spring break last week and we did actually do a staycation so I got out of the house with my kids way more than I normally do, which means I’ve got some outfits for you! When I’m home I’m mostly in sweats, but it does feel good to have an excuse to get dressed up a bit more and make a bit more of an effort.
So with that said, I’ve got six outfits for you guys today, and without any more rambling to do let’s get to it:
To be honest, most of this outfit was a gift and I am eternally grateful to the brands who continue to send me their beautiful clothes even after I’ve scaled back so much of my time here. Whenever I share my Brochu Walker pieces, I get mixed feedback from you guys – some of you seem really upset about it because of the price point and some of you really love their timeless style. And look, I get it that they are a luxury brand and that makes them very expensive which means they are not in everyone’s budget, but I’ve always had the mindset that less is more when it comes to my wardrobe so if something is really special I’m willing to save up and go without in other areas. If that’s not your mindset then cool. You can move on, but I happen to adore Brochu Walker pants, expense and all and I’m willing to go without any other clothing purchases for a few months to save up for them. I realize everyone’s budgets and priorities are different so I want to acknowledge that, but I also get positive feedback about their clothes and I do happen to love their clothing so I’m going to continue to share the pieces that I own and love. And yes, these pieces were gifted, but I have purchased from the brand as well. I hope that didn’t come off as sassy… it wasn’t intended too, I just hope we can all agree to disagree when we might have different ideas of what’s doable or not budget wise, but at the same time I do want to acknowledge that I know they are a luxury priced brand and I’m not suggesting everyone go out and blindly/impulsively purchase from them. I hope that makes sense!
If the Brochu Walker pants above are never going to be in the cards for you I always recommend Madewell pants! The pair I’m wearing here are the denim version of their classic pleated pants. Their denim version is unfortunately no longer available, but you can find a bunch of colors in the twill version here. I also linked a few other affordable options above including a very similar denim vibe from Madewell.
I just love an oversized button down over a pair of wide leg pants, and it’s a combination I come back to over and over again year after year. I do love making it a bit more fresh with this pair of mesh flats from Sezane (also gifted). They’re incredibly comfortable, but definitely stick with your true size – the website says to size up if in between sizes, but I find that they run very true to size.
One of my favorite details is the little tiny wood heel, it elevates the flats so much more than the other mesh flats I’ve seen and gives them a more finished look which I love.
I’m wearing some version of this outfit 75% of the time during warmer weather. I just can’t seem to get away from a tee and jeans with sneakers. My trick to make this combo a little more interesting is to reach for versions of these classic styles that have interesting silhouettes… like these extra wide jeans, and the gum sole sneaker.
I have no idea how many times I’ve worn these sneakers, but I’ve had them for years and they are in constant rotation in my closet. I really pared down my shoe collection this past year, and I’m currently wearing a select group of shoes on heavy rotation, with spring and summer shaping up to be the same. I know that may be boring for you guys, but I’m just so happy with the shoes I have that anything else feels really superfluous at this point and I’d rather spend my money elsewhere (like I mentioned above)… I guess I’m just past the point of spending money on clothing just to add something new – if I’m buying something it’s because it adds something genuinely new and different to my wardrobe.
Oh and just a tip for these shoes if you have flat feet like I do: the insole that comes with them is made for people who have a much higher arch so they’re pretty uncomfortable right out of the box so I replaced the insole with one that doesn’t have the arch support included and now they’re super comfortable.
When in doubt just stay in your pajamas. 😄 For my birthday I wanted to go on a hike in our woods and that’s just what we did, but I still wanted to be super cozy. This is an outfit I wear super often when I’m having a lazy day. I just love a comfy cotton sweater and knit wide leg pants.
I used to be a huge legging girl, but in recent years I’ve been reaching for looser fits more and more and tight, restrictive leggings less and less – pants like these are my absolute ideal.
This cardigan from J. Crew is also a staple for me. I live in cardigans like this, and I swear by my opinion that J. Crew makes the best sweaters… especially their cashmere and cotton sweaters. This cardigan is super soft and it has the prettiest fit for spring and summer. It’ll look great over shorts and as a swimsuit coverup on summer evenings – it’s very classic 90’s J. Crew and I’m here for that vibe all day every day.
Most days I’m casual, but there are days when I need to dress up for meetings etc. this is a very typical dressed up look for me, and I love that it’s an outfit that I could very easily dress down with sneakers or flats. I adore these boots (they were gifted, and I’m so, so thankful because they are expensive. Like take a deep breath expensive… so I linked a very similar pair for less), but this winter I realized I ended up with only boots in this silhouette, my Ugg boots, and my knee high boots. I think for next fall I need to diversify a bit and find a pair of boots that fits somewhere in the middle of pointy/heeled and Ugg boot. I’ll let you know what I end up with.
I was gifted this cropped trench coat from Sezane last month and honestly I wasn’t sure how much I would wear it, but I’ve already worn it a ton. I’ve wanted a shorter trench for several years now, but was in shopping paralysis when it came to choosing one (this happens to me a lot… anyone else?) so it was honestly so nice to have Sezane make the choice for me. 😅 I’m glad they did because their version is beautiful as I’m sure no is surprised by. Biggest point for it? It’s wrinkle resistant (my biggest beef with a lot of trench coats) so I don’t have to steam it every time I want to wear it. It also has the perfect tone: not too cool and not too warm. Plus I love that the style is very classic without a lot of bells and whistles (I.e. belts, wide collar flaps, extra buttons, extra). Even though it’s a cropped length, the classic shape of it will make it a style that stays stylish forever.
Finally, this feels like a quintessential spring outfit for me which makes me giddy with excitement for warmer weather. We’ve had a few days in the 70’s and some of the spring flowers are starting to poke their heads out of the ground so I’m hopeful that we won’t get any more super cold days.
I’ve definitely moved away from some of the ultra feminine silhouettes I used to wear and love, and I wasn’t sure how much I would like this very sweet pointelle knit cardigan, but I really, really love it. It really depends on how it’s styled, but I love how it looks when it’s styled with really minimal pieces. I think it will be stunning paired with my white maxi skirt and chunky sandals when the weather really warms up… in fact I think I might have to do a styling post in the next couple of weeks because I think it’ll be fun to play around with different ways to style a sweet top for warmer weather.
and one last note about these jeans… these have been a real closet staple for me since I got them last fall. They’re so incredibly comfortable, and they just seem to go with everything + they make every outfit look that much cooler. I also want to do a post about my favorite jeans for spring so stay tuned for that as well.
Well that’s all I have for you today! It’s been awhile since I’ve shared an outfit roundup and it was fun to talk through some outfits and to chat about personal style with you guys.
I hope you guys have a wonderful weekend… hopefully you are seeing some signs of spring wherever you are as well!
Until next time,
Karin
