Hope everyone is doing well in the aftermath of Hurricane/Superstorm/Frankenstorm Sandy.
While “sheltering in place” I spent a lot of time reflecting on my experience at Power Up Weekend. In particular, I thought a lot about the words of Monica Barnett of Blueprint for Style. Throughout the conference, she emphasized that “weekends are NO excuse” and that it’s important to develop a “curated casual” style.
Curated casual.
What a phrase! It makes me think of a museum conservator, lovingly placing some historical treasure in a glass encasement with the greatest of care.
Isn’t that a marvelous image? Who wouldn’t want to dress themselves like a priceless bauble?
Now, you know from my tenets of style that I firmly believe in the importance of always being comfortable, but cute. (Those of you who follow me on Twitter know that a few weeks back I had a momentarily lapse of judgment and paid for it dearly. Went to the movies in sweats – after all it was “just the movies” and I was “just going with the girls.” Why, then, did it turn out that one of the male leads in the film – who is EXTRA foine, by the way – happened to be at the screening and I had to walk right past him to get to my seat? *palm to forehead* Lesson learned!) So yes, I fully agree that you shouldn’t stop the clock on your style game on your days off. However, I would not be honest if i didn’t admit that I do struggle at times with my weekend/casual looks. Part of this comes from the fact that I have tons of businesswear (suits, blazers, slacks, sensible shoes, tasteful jewelry, etc.), but not as much casual wear. So, I spent some time while cooped up in my apartment thinking about how I can remix my wardrobe to create my own “curated casual” looks. Take a peek at what I came up with:
(Full disclosure – I am breaking at least two of Monica’s rules in my examples above. She recommends straight leg as opposed to boot cut pants. Also, she recommends against extra long shirts and sweaters as a means to cover your donk. But hey, what can I say – rules are make to be broken, right? 
This was actually a great exercise. It showed me that this is not nearly as difficult as I thought. If nothing else, I can re-purpose the many cardigan sweaters I wear to the office in place of a suit jacket for a little weekend whimsy.
What about you, dear readers? What are some of your favorite pieces to wear for a “curated casual” look?
— curvyceo
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I have the same problem. I have tons of clothes for the office, but not a lot of what I like to call “play clothes.” Every time I go shopping to get some play clothes, I end up purchasing more business clothes. I do try to mix up my current pieces on the weekends so that I am presentable to the world. It’s a work in progress!
I am really good at this part of the wardrobe, although I admit that when I’m at home baking or doing work online I revert to yoga pants and a t-shirt. However if I leave the house I dress a little nicer. I wear something like your top item all the time, and wore an outfit similar to the bottom one to dinner on sunday.
The key is that many of the items you buy for work can be used in this type of scenario. Work cardigans paired with Jeans make an easy outfit. It seems to me that if you have some basics (jeans, simple tees, flats) you can look great with any of your work jackets or cardi’s.
This is sooo true! How often do I have no trouble pulling a work outfit together only to run around like a crazed chicken at the mention of a weekend event?! Thanks for the tips! And I’m so glad you’re nominated for the BWA…You’re fabulous!!
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