when your outfit uniform bores you...

Can I just say that an outfit has not made me this happy in such a long time?

I'm a huge advocate for having a work "uniform" - you know, where you know you can throw on a combination of clothes that you know always works for you, especially when you're in a rush? I most definitely have one, and I bet you that you could very accurate describe it. Basically, black dress pants + looser top + flats. That's pretty close to what I've worn constantly for the past four years.

And as much as I love my uniform because it always works, man does it get boring! Which is a huge reason I have hardly blogged outfits for the past year or so. I was really busy, I was wearing my go-tos, and I kind of felt uninspired by it when it came to blogging. Like how many times could I show you guys the same combination before you guys got super bored?

But then I fell in love with this skirt as I was walking by a J.Crew, and I'm excited about getting dressed again. I was initially unsure about keeping it because it's not exactly the most versatile item in my closet but you know, not every single item in your closet should be a part of your uniform. It's boring and tedious and uninspired. Sometimes you need a little black and white polka dot skirt to mix it up.

So thank you to all of you who encouraged me to keep this beauty. You guys were so right. 

Blouse: Banana Republic [similar at Everlane]

Skirt: J.Crew [exact]

Shoes: J.Crew Factory [exact]

Purse: Mulberry [save | similar | exact]

Watch: c/o Daniel Wellington [exact]

Earrings: similar

You know who else has some really great skirts currently? J.Crew Factory! They have so many cute options right now! Below are my favorites - can you guess which one is on its way to me? I'll give you a hint: it's striped, and will go perfectly with a white tee and a denim jacket!

one | two | three

four | five | six

post valentine's day glow

If I was a better blogger, I would have posted this two weeks ago because it's very Valentine's Day inspired, right? But I trust you all knew how to dress for the "holiday", so let's instead focus on how fun this wall + top is ;)

I know I said I wasn't so sure about if I could pull off my new bow shirt in my review post, but you know, I kind of love it now! I went super simple with it the first time, but I'm excited to pair it with the various skirts and blazers in my closet. 

Blouse: Banana Republic [exact on sale - review here]

Pants: The Limited [exact]

Shoes: J.Crew Factory [exact on sale | similar]

Bag: Mulberry via eBay [save | similar | exact]

Watch: c/o Daniel Wellington [exact on major sale!]

And because my BR version keeps popping in and out of stock, below are three options at different price points for a similar version. My favorite is the Forever 21 version!

< $20 (my favorite!) | < $30 | < $90

the "I have nothing to wear" uniform

There are some outfit posts that I'm really excited to share with you guys, and to be honest, it usually involves a new piece of clothing. Blogging can really make you believe you constantly have to show new! exciting! things! all the time. But my blog revolves around my life (instead of the other way around), so many of my outfits don't always have new things to show. 

Mixing and matching what you have is harder than just wearing a new item, but I think for just about all of us, we mix and match the items in our closet way more than we wear new items. I think that's why sometimes we all stand in front of our closets and say we "have nothing to wear", when in reality, we have a ton of clothes, we're just not excited about wearing any of them. On those days, I personally will default to one of my uniforms. On this day, I defaulted to my pencil skirt + blouse (this Loft version is one of my favorites) + pendant necklace uniform. Is it the most exciting thing you have ever seen on this blog? Probably not, but it is my answer to the whiny statement of "I have nothing to wear!".

Blouse: Loft [same style]

Skirt: J.Crew Factory [exact]

Necklace: Forever 21 [similar for <$20 | more options]

Shoes: J.Crew Factory [exact]

Bag: Mulberry via eBay [save | exact]

Watch: c/o Daniel Wellington [exact]

secretariat

I'm back on a rotation where I don't have to wear scrubs (a good and bad thing - miss you, public appropriate pj's!), so I finally get to play dress up again. I still don't feel completely natural wearing more dressed up clothes, and even though I'm in my late twenties, I still sometimes feel like a teenager dressing up for my first interview or something.

This outfit was an exception though. I love my crepe skirt from J.Crew Factory - it didn't wrinkle at all today! Perfect for a pysch rotation where I sit at a desk all day. Add in a pretty patterned bow blouse and black wedges, and it's a simple pulled together outfit where I don't feel like I'm dressing for the wrong decade of my life ;) 

I look a little bit like a secretary from Mad Men, but since Joan is basically my style icon, that's okay too. 

Blouse: Loft 

Skirt: J.Crew Factory [exact - fits TTS]

Shoes: J.Crew Factory [exact]

Watch: c/o Daniel Wellington [exact]

Nails: Essie [exact]

Lips: Nars (in Roman Holiday) topped with Buxom (in Dolly)

Loft currently has a 50% off sale going on - perfect time to stock up on a few cooler weather items. Below are a few of my picks. My favorites are the tie waist cardigan (doesn't it look so comfy?!), the polka dot version of my favorite pocket blouse, and the jeggings. My pair of jeggings is on it's absolute last leg (they are 7+ years old...), the color of these is beautiful, and the reviews online are raving about them. My own review coming whenever the package arrives!

bow blouse | polka dot blouse | gingham (!!!) top | collarless blouse (comes in several colors)

tie cardigan | cute turtleneck | grandpa chic | unique and fun (see it on Jean here)

skinnies | flares | the cutest shirt dress (size down!) | perfectly preppy

linking up with what i wore to work

profesh

This is my third clinical rotation, and with each rotation so far this year, I've had different clothing requirements. On my first rotation, family medicine, I worked in a very casual environment where I had the choice of scrubs or business casual, no white coat. On my second rotation, general surgery, I was in scrubs all day everyday. Now on ENT, where I spend only two mornings in the week in scrubs, I'm in my most professional office setting yet. I wear a white coat every day, which is the first time I've really had to wear it consistently with professional clothing. 

I have found that I wear less layers because of the constant white coat, so last week when I knew I was going to spend half the day in lecture, sans white coat, I broke out my chambray blazer. I paired it with this new top I got a few weeks ago, and it ended up being the perfect outfit for both parts of the day. During lecture I was comfortable in our very high air conditioned library, and then later during the day, I was comfortable with just the top under my white coat. 

Next rotation it'll all change again on OB, and the month after that will be another change...a vacation change ;)

Blazer: Loft [similar]

Top: Loft [exact]

Pants: The Limited [exact]

Necklace: Forever 21 [cute similar]

Shoes: J.Crew Factory [exact on sale]

Watch: c/o Larsson & Jennings [exact]

Bag: Tory Burch c/o Shopbop [exact]

Blazers are the best part of fall (seriously), and some seriously cute ones are currently being rolled out. Blazers are an item I'm always okay spending a little more on, so below are four blazers in several different price ranges. I absolutely love my schoolboy blazers (with a few sizes on major sale), but this new version (in several fun colors) looks just as flattering. 

one | two

three | four

milly for all

I'm alive! After truly the worst timed cold ever, and almost a week of trying to study from bed while coughing up half a lung and drowning myself in cough syrup, I'm finally getting better. 

Today was the first day I actually got dressed, and I figured a little color was in order for such a joyous occasion ;) I was recently asked to share Kohl's newest designer collaboration, Milly for DesigNation, and I jumped at the chance because I've had a secret love for Milly for a while now. It's one of those loves where you admire from afar (and behind walls) because I can't afford any of the designer pieces, nor do I have a place to wear them, so I just stalk in the privacy of "in your dreams" land. SO, the chance to try out one of their pieces for Kohl's was exciting! The collection was inspired by Capri, which is truly on the top of my travel bucket list - CR and I are hoping to go on a European trip the month after we graduate (something has to keep us going the next two years!) and I'm insisting that one of the places we go to is Capri. The entire collection is just beautiful - bright and cheerful and inviting. Besides the skirt I'm wearing, I'd love to own this striped dress for casual days off this summer...or ya know, my future vacation ;)

Skirt: c/o Kohl's [exact - I suggest sizing down!]

Tee: Ann Taylor

Trench: Burberry [save | splurge of all splurges]

Wedges: J.Crew Factory [exact]

Also planning for a vacation, or just looking to add a bit of color to your wardrobe? Here are my favorites from the collection:

one | two | three | four

five | six | seven | eight

nine | ten | eleven | twelve

Disclosure: Thank you to ShopStyle for sponsoring this post! 

little red dress

I've been looking for a sleeved red dress for ages (does it feel like I say that about a lot of things? I'm always looking for something...), but apparently they are much harder to find than one would think! A few weeks ago I was perusing Nordstrom's dress section (a weekly habit) looking for a dang dress for that wedding next month, and I spotted this one. The ratings spoke very highly of it, so when I had the opportunity through ShopStyle to try out a dress from Nordstrom, it was the push I needed to order it because what's the worst thing that happens, I use the free return shipping and send it back? 

The reviews say that if you are between sizes, which I am, to size down, so I'm wearing a 10 here. It's a beautiful thick fabric that isn't stiff at all. The lining helps hold the shape of the dress, and I think the cut is so flattering. It's form fitting without being tight. I wore this on a quick dinner out with CR before settling down at the library (after changing into yoga pants...). I loved having a chance to get just a little dressed up by pairing it with my favorite wedges and tassel necklace (I felt very Joan) but I do think it's a bit short on me with heels in more professional settings, so I'll be wearing it with flats at school. It's like the perfect dual occasions dress!

Dress: c/o Tahari dress [exact - comes in a bunch of colors!]

Necklace: Forever 21 [exact]

Wedges: J.Crew Factory [exact]

Watch: c/o Daniel Wellington [exact]

Below are a few more "dual occasion" dresses - I adore the polka dot wrap dress!

one | two | three | four

five | six | seven | eight

nine | ten | eleven | twelve

Thank you to ShopStyle for sponsoring this post!

purple rain

If my flattened hair didn't give it away, it just started sprinkling when we started taking these pictures. I kind of forgot that with the beautiful spells of sun and 65 degrees comes random thunderstorms...

On a completely different, non-boring weather, topic is the subject of Rocksbox. If you guys follow on instagram, you've probably seen that I've been wearing various pieces of jewelry from them lately. There are literally hundreds of different subscription boxes out there - make-up, nail polish, clothes, snacks, you know the drill. I've tried a couple of them, like Birchbox and Le Tote, and wasn't the biggest fan. The concept of Le Tote is wonderful, but if you are outside of their standard sizing, the clothes didn't fit all that well - everything was always shorter than I wanted it to me, so it wasn't worth the cost of the box for me.

You know what looks good on everyone? Jewelry. Rocksbox asked me a few months ago if I wanted to try out their jewelry subscription box, and hey, who doesn't like to wear free jewelry? The concept of Rocksbox is for $20 a month, you basically get an unlimited amount of jewelry - well, you really get 3 pieces at a time, but if you don't like it, you can send it back and have a new box at your house in just a few days. Rocksbox gave me a subscription for three months, and I was thinking about if I would spend my own money on it, and you know, I really would. I have a large collection of necklaces I don't really wear. I wear them a few times and then I'm kind of bored with them. There are definitely exceptions - certain items I wear over and over again, but I definitely have more that I don't wear. When I got this Juliet + Co. necklace in a recent box, I was so excited because it's so pretty...but it's also a very "statement" pieces that I know I wouldn't wear as often as the cost would make me feel like I had to. So I wore it with an outfit I loved, and then sent it right back. Best part is that now I have a new box coming my way with a few pieces I think I will really love, and if it turns out I want to wear them again and again, I can buy them from Rocksbox at a discounted price (plus they give you $10 every month that goes toward a purchase, so it's even cheaper). 

Rocksbox isn't paying me to say any of this, but I wanted to share my thoughts on their subscription box. If you'd like to give it a try, you can get a free month with the code "franishxoxo". If you've signed up, or do in the future, I'd love to hear about your opinions on it! 

Blazer: Loft [exact | review here]

Tee: Boden [exact]

Pants: The Limited [exact]

Necklace: borrowed from Rocksbox

Watch: c/o Daniel Wellington [exact]

Shoes: J.Crew Factory [exact]

Nails: Essie [exact]