WORK STYLE: STRIPED TWIN SET AND MIDI SKIRT

I’ve always thought that I wasn’t great with inconsistency and change and yet my life is full of it and I do fine. So I must not be that bad at it. These past couple of years in New England have definitely taught me to go with the flow a little more. It’s not unusual for the weather to swing from perfect and sunny to a torrential rain to a sudden 20 degree drop in temps all within the course of a week. While you have to pretty much have your entire wardrobe at hand all year it’s been a fun challenge to keep up with the whims of the weather. This day was extra windy on top of the rain. I can’t tell you how many times my umbrella almost flew out of my hand but kudos to the manufacturer that it didn’t suffer the dreaded inverted-umbrella fate that cheaper ones do.

TANK: J.CREW | CARDIGAN: J.CREW | SKIRT: J.CREW | UMBRELLA: SHEDRAIN | BAG: MARC JACOBS | PUMPS: OLD similar HERE or HERE or HERE | SUNGLASSES: FOREVER 21

I know way more about umbrellas now that I live in Boston than I ever thought I would. Seriously though, if you live in or are visiting a place that gets a lot of rain a good quality umbrella is everything. This was my first time trying this brand (my usual brelly of choice is Hunter). I was seduced by the black and white polka dot print, which works so well with any kind of stripes and livens up all the classic neutral-colored outerwear.

This skirt has been on repeat since I bought it (last seen here). It’s total perfection if you love color, appreciate a skirt with pockets and like detail. The texture of the skirt with the little clip-dots as J.Crew describes them is so fun and not at all susceptible to snagging as is sometimes the case with textured material.

It’s been many years since I wore a twin-set but this one pulled me back into the game with the classic navy and white stripes and the bright orange trim on the arms and hem. I love that it’s a no-brainer for work with any pair of neutral trousers or a pencil skirt. And it’s a great work to weekend set since both tank and cardigan can be worn separately and would be so pretty with summer whites. I grabbed both pieces on sale and they’re available online at an additional 40% off the sale price, making the cardigan around $40 and the tank under $30 – crazy good.

After a few months of searching I finally found the perfect light-colored neutral bag, which I think everyone needs for the summer or any season really. This one is between white and ecru and I love the subtlety of the shade versus plain white. The bag comes in two sizes. I grabbed the smaller one but I linked the larger one below for those who need more room. The smaller Gotham is unfortunately sold out in the white with red/blue strap but I linked the larger size with black/white strap below and two other Marc Jacobs bags I love. The camel leather Gotham Bauletto is classic and gorgeous – I would grab that one on top of my white one if I could!

I’m a total fan of Marc Jacobs – both the original line and the old Marc by Marc Jacobs line, which as you might know has been phased out. You can still get Marc by Marc bags at various discount stores including Nordstrom Rack. So there’s only one brand-name now – Marc Jacobs. The good news is they’re making so many bags that are right around the $500 price point, very similar to the old Marc by Marc line. I’ve owned several of these bags over the years and they seriously last forever. The leather ages so well and the quality of the bags are impeccable. I think this new brand consolidation makes so much sense for this company and hopefully we’ll continue to see more of stylish, affordable and thoughtfully designed bags coming our way from Marc Jacobs.

Have a great weekend and thanks so much for visiting!