Building a Work Shoe Wardrobe

I've recently had a few readers ask about what kind of shoes I have in my work shoe wardrobe and whether I spend entire days in high heels. Short answer: I only spend the day in heels if I absolutely have to--so most days, I wear both heels and flats. (Very) long answer: settle in with some popcorn and get ready to go through several years' worth of wardrobe building. I'll be discussing all the shoes pictured above--these are all actual shoes I own and wear to work (the photos are all clickable links).

A little background: I am a full-time lawyer who goes to court 1-5 days a week. Whenever I go to court, I'm dressed "business formal," although the particular court I usually work in has a somewhat relaxed version of business formal, so there's a little leeway for bolder fashion choices. I always wear a jacket and closed-toe shoes in court.

The environment in my office is more relaxed. If I don't have any meetings or court appearances, I am able to wear nice jeans or business casual attire. Unless I have clients coming in, I am usually in flats at my office to try to save my feet a little. Read the whole breakdown after the jump!

7 Tips for Surviving a Long-Haul Flight

On our Australia trip, Sean and I flew from Denver all the way to Perth, Australia, which was 10,101 miles away from home. We didn't do it all at once (thank goodness), but we did have on extremely long flight from L.A. to Melbourne, Australia, and then home from Sydney to LAX. I was a little nervous because 1) I'm a nervous flyer and 2) I have flown some long flights, but nothing this long! It was a little intimidating.

As it turned out, the whole process wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. We arrived in Brisbane, our first stop on our trip, not overly disgruntled and only a teeny bit worse for the wear. Here's what I did to make the whole thing much more bearable.

1. Wear the right clothing. This is so important! I wanted to make myself as comfortable as possible without looking like I was wearing exercise gear or loungewear at the airport. I did my hair and makeup as usual in the morning, then I put on my black Lululemon Wunder Unders (similar in petite sizing at Athleta) and a black Power Y tank as my base layer. The built-in bra with soft cups in the tank meant no underwire or other bra hardware that could cause discomfort. On top of the tank, I layered a long, wide-necked tee that came down past my hips, and then I added a blazer in a cozy sweatshirt material. This made it easy to add or subtract layers to adjust to a comfortable temperature.

I didn't really take any pictures at the airport, so I recreated my outfit over the weekend so I could show it to you.

Here's little collage I've created for you that shows some of my favorite products and essentials that made my flight a whole lot more comfortable. For most of the items, you can just hover over, click, and it'll take you to the page where you can purchase that item. If you aren't sure where I got something or how to find it, just ask me in the comments and I'll be happy to direct you to where I was able to find it.

2. Pack things you can't afford to lose in your carry-on. For me this means:

• Medications
• Jewelry (I wear the most precious pieces on me on the plane)
• Electronics and chargers, both the plug-in ones and the charging bricks
• A change of clothes in case you spill something or the airline loses your luggage
• A bathing suit--same idea as a change of clothes. It's no fun shopping for a bathing suit while you're trying to get into the swing of your vacation.

3. Get your sleep on. The easiest way to get through your long flight is to get as much sleep as you can. It'll stave off both boredom and jet lag! In order to get some quality rest, I make sure to pack the following:

• Eye mask
• Cozy socks to keep my feet warm
• Pashmina to supplement airplane blankets and double as a wrap or scarf during my vacay
• Travel pillow
• Sleep aid of choice (Benadryl, Ny-Quil, or Dramamine are over-the-counter options)

4. Bring lots of entertainment. It wasn't possible for me to sleep for 16 hours straight, so I made sure to have plenty of things to do. I loaded about 10 new books onto my Kindle, added some TV shows and movies to my iPad, and made sure I had a good set of headphones that cancelled out ambient noise.

5. Make sure you take healthy snacks and plenty of water with you. Drinking lots of water will keep you hydrated in the dry, recirculated air on a plane. I love my spill-proof CamelBak water bottle and take it everywhere with me. For snacks, I like to bring my own trail mix of raw almonds, peanuts, dried cherries or other fruit, with a few crunchy and sweet things mixed in. It's great for tiding yourself over until they serve you the next meal. I also pack energy and granola bars for a little variety and for ease in snacking later while running around sight-seeing.

6. Beautify on the go. Spending hours upon hours traveling is not really conducive to looking your best. To keep myself looking decent, I make sure to pack travel sizes of my favorite products in my carry-on:

• Makeup remover wipes--no one wants to sleep with a face full of makeup! These make it easy to wash your face without ever leaving your seat. The lavender and camomile-scented Neutrogena wipes are my favorite.
• An easy wipe-off or no-rinse mask will help you arrive looking fresh
• Facial moisturizer to keep skin hydrated
• Hand cream to combat the drying soap in airport and plane bathrooms
• A heavy-duty lip balm
• Dry shampoo (I like this non-aerosol one for travel)
• Deordorant
• Portable toothbrushes
• A makeup essentials kit--I include powder foundation and a small brush, eyeliner, cream blush, and brow gel in mine
• A compact mirror
• Comb or brush
• A small baggie with hair ties, bobby pins, and/or a headband to make hair fixes easy

7. Keep your important documents handy. Most critical rule? Don't lose your passport or other travel documents! I like to place them in a zippered compartment in my purse or in a separate, sealable pouch. You'll need them as soon as you're trying to get on or off the plane, so keep them within arm's reach of your seat.

Hope this list helps you get ready for your next long flight! Happy travels!

x, Tam

Work Outfit: the Shirt-under-Dress Look

Shirt: BCBG | Dress: LOFT (similar here) | Shoes: Stuart Weitzman | Bag: Reed Krakoff | Bracelets: David Yurman | Watch: Michele | Earrings: Vintage

Today I'm sharing a simple work look that puts a favorite sheath dress to work as a grown-up, chic rendition of the classic schoolgirl-style jumper.

I don't often wear this type of structured collared shirt with my suits because of their tendency to quickly become untucked and unkempt-looking when I'm constantly moving around a courtroom (yes, you really do have to stand up every time you make an objection or speak at all, then sit right back down). Under a dress, however, it's a non-issue, and with the sleeves rolled down and a blazer on top, the whole look is very professional and put-together.

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P.S. I am linking up with Mix & Match Fashion this week for her What I Wore to Work Linkup.

13 Favorite Outfits of 2013

[Click on an outfit to visit its post and get details. See previous year-end recaps from: 2011 | 2012]

Thank you so much for following along in 2013! It has been a great year.
Can't wait to share more with you in 2014.

Love,
Tam

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5 Tips for Painless Pattern-Mixing

I've gotten a few emails lately asking about pattern-mixing--a trend that appears to still be alive and well at the moment--so I thought I'd write a post on some of the things I think about when I style a print-mixed look. It's important to note that these are tips, not rules. The concept of pattern-mixing requires a break from the traditional rules on wearing prints, so don't get too caught up in following a particular set of guidelines.

In each of the outfits above, I've indicated on their photos which of the following tips I considered when putting them together. You can see that not every tip works for every outfit, but picking a couple for each one helps the final product look polished and deliberate.

1. Stay within the same color family. This doesn't necessarily mean the same color, although that can be an easy way to tie things together. You can also use darker tones, jewel tones, neon tones, or pastel tones to create a more cohesive color scheme. In the outfit on the top right, the neon yellow stripes, sea green scarf, and purple coat all share a springy, slightly electric tone that makes them work nicely together.

2. Use colors that are both contrasting and complementary in your look. Your outfit will look less like your eccentic grandma's coordinated loungewear if you pair one print that's lighter in its overall color and one that's darker. This seems like it might be contradictory to Tip #1, but you can easily apply both #1 and #2 in one outfit--see the beachy striped dress outfit above. The reddish-pink cardigan with its smaller navy stripes both contrasts with and complements the white base color in the dress and scarf, while the navy stripes in both the dress and cardigan tie them together.

3. Choose prints with different proportions. Pair a bold or dense print with a more subtle, sparser print to avoid overwhelming the eye. In the black-and-white dress and cardigan look above, the bold, graffiti-esque print on the dress contrasts well with the sparse polka-dot print on the cardigan, and keeping them both in the same color family makes it look like they were meant to be worn together!

4. Mix classic patterns. Sticking with classic patterns like polka dots, stripes, houndstooth, plaid or paisley adds a touch of the traditional to an outfit that otherwise eschews conventional pairings. In all three outfits on the bottom row, I've made use of this tip by pairing stripes with plaid (left and center) and houndstooth with leopard and dots.

5. Leopard print is a neutral. Treat leopard print (and similar classic patterns) as a goes-with-everything neutral. (Caution: pick one leopard-print item per outfit--you can maybe stretch this to two if one is a lighter-colored leopard and one is darker.) In the outfit on the top left, I mixed leopard-print pumps with a floral skirt, thinking of the leopard as similar to a nude shoe (but a little more exciting, obviously). In the photo right below that one, I used a light-colored leopard belt to create a neutral divider between my subtle paisley-print blouse and bolder navy polka-dot skirt.

P.S. Congrats to Julia of Lemon Stripes, the winner of my Cambridge Satchel Giveaway! I can't wait to see you style it.

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Work Outfit: Need for Tweed

Suit: Ann Taylor Factory | Sunglasses: Prada | Shoes: Nine West (similar style here) | Bag: 3.1 Phillip Lim (currently available at Barney's and Otte) (read my review) | Bracelets: Tiffany, Swarovski | Earrings: F21 | Watch: Fossil

Confession: I'm terrible about going to the tailor. My strategy is usually to buy the best fit I can off-the-rack and have my mom do a hem or shorten shoulder straps if need be (thanks, Mom!).

With suits, however, tailoring is almost always required. In the professional world, being competent and professional is not enough--one has to also look competent, confident, and professional. This is especially true for petite women.

This suit was a Christmas gift from my parents, and while it looked passable off-the-rack, I knew it could look great with a slimmer, more fitted silhouette. I had the jacket's sides slimmed, sleeves shortened, and armholes brought up. I had the skirt taken in at the waist, which made the length more flattering since it now sits higher on my waist, plus it has the added benefit of more reliably keeping a tucked-in blouse or shell where it's supposed to be. These seemingly minor tweaks changed the look of this suit so much, and I felt very confident and put-together when I wore it for an exceptionally challenging day at work yesterday.

For anyone who might be looking for a tailor in Denver, the one I've been seeing for the past year or so has done a marvelous job with every piece I've left with him and his lovely wife. Erol and Filiz of Erol's Tailoring are so kind and talented, and they work quickly while still making sure that you are getting exactly what you're hoping and expecting. I've sent some friends with wedding dresses his way in the last few months, and it seems they have been very satisfied.

P.S. Don't forget to enter here to win my hot pink Cambridge Satchel! This giveaway runs through April 3, 2013.

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5 Ways to Wear Yellow Pants

[Click on each outfit for additional photos and details.]

One of my favorite things to see on the blogs I read is how other ladies re-style their wardrobes, especially when it comes to seemingly hard-to-wear pieces. (I'll also admit I've always been a big fan of People Magazine's "I Really Love My" feature.) I thought I'd share one of my own with you today.

I'm considering making this a regular feature. What do you think, readers? Do you love seeing re-styled pieces as much as I do?

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Winterizing a Summer Dress

Blazer: H&M | Sweater: Abercrombie (old) | Dress: H&M (see it styled for summer) (similar here) | Scarf: Target | Tights: Hue (similar style here) | Belt: Ann Taylor | Sunglasses: Chloe (currently at an amazing discount) | Boots: Nine West (old, similar here) | Bag: Rebecca Minkoff (similar here) | Necklace: Jenni Jewel

It's about this time of year that I begin to feel a little tired of my winter wardrobe and begin looking longingly at my summer dresses as I pull on my usual sweater, jeans, and boots. The dress I'm wearing here was one of my favorites this summer, and I'd been wanting to restyle it for winter for quite a while. A few layers later, my summer dress was winter-ready, and I was a happy girl.

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Snowcat & Cabernet

Jacket: ZARA | Blouse: LOFT (now 40% off) | Pants: J.Crew (or try Crew Cuts if you're petite like me)(now an additional 30% off the sale price!) | Sunglasses: Karen Walker Perfect Day | Shoes: Ann Taylor (similar by Sam Edelman or Valentino | Bag: Rebecca Minkoff | Necklace: Amrita Singh | Bracelets: J.Crew (similar pyramid stud bracelet here), Aldo, F21 | Rings: Vintage

I decided to hop on the cabernet/burgundy bandwagon and picked up this pretty pleated blouse from LOFT a couple weeks ago during a 50% off flash sale. As of today, it's marked 40% off online (no code needed), as are a bunch of great work-friendly pieces that can do double duty as chic weekend attire. Other picks that fit the bill: the polka dot blouse from this post and this black dress (available in regular, petite, and tall sizing) that will be making an appearance here soon.

Occasionally, I feel like wandering through the Crewcuts (kids') section at J.Crew is worth getting a little bit of the side-eye from their sales associates. Case in point: the snowcat-print pants I'm wearing here, which were essentially the same as the adult version, but cost less, fit better, and had an adjustable waist. If you are a fellow boyish-figured petite and are feeling frustrated with too-long, too-roomy pants at J.Crew, I'd definitely suggest seeing whether a reasonable duplicate of the pants you want might exist in the Crewcuts section. UPDATE: these pants are now an additional 30% off the sale price at J.Crew, making them only $27.99 for the Crewcuts version and $48 for the adult version with code OURTREAT (and free shipping, too!).

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