Comfy Fridays

     I love Fridays!  It signals the end of the week, sure, but it also means I can go to work in something less than court attire.  In my county, at least, we don't generally have attorney court on Fridays.  It *is* possible that I'll do a plea or have to run to court real quick to continue a case, but more than likely (like 99.9% likely) I'm not going to be standing in front of a judge on a Friday.  Thus the comfy/casual Friday look you see here.  Now, don't get me wrong, its not like I'm wearing yoga pants to work.  And if I had to appear in court I always have a blazer and heels in my office to transform whatever casual outfit into a court appropriate outfit.  In fact, whenever I wear jeans to work on Fridays and I think I just *might* need to appear in front of a judge, I always bring a pair of pants to change into.  
     But I think I'm getting ahead of myself a little bit, so let me explain a bit about "court appropriateness."  Generally, I wear a suit or suit separates to work Monday through Fridays.  The reason being that I more than likely will be in court and thus in front of a judge.  Now, there is no dress code nor are there hard and fast rules for what is appropriate for court, but there are lines in the sand that I personally draw.  For example, I will always have a blazer or a jacket in court because to me, at least, its a nod to the formality and importance of the court.  I'll also not wear mini skirts or short dresses to court either for the same reason.  My goal in court is to be professional and represent my clients with the utmost respect for the court.  To me, at least, showing up to court looking sloppy or half exposed just doesn't do it for me.  In the end, it really just comes down to: what would my client like me to look like when I represent them?  

Balancing Act

     I can't believe its May already!  Or hell, past the first week of May even!  Last time you heard from me I had been sworn in.  Since then I've gotten to actually practice law.  Its been pretty cool.  I feel a lot more comfortable going to court now that I can actually do things in court.  That and since I got sworn in I've pretty much been only wearing suits.  Before I got sworn in I would wear suits every now and again when I knew I would be seeing a client, but lately, suits have been a daily outfit choice.  That's not to say that I've gotten completely boring and *only* wear suits and button downs, however.  Instead I've gone for suits with interesting details.  For example, this blazer is the jacket half of a skirt suit I bought last weekend.  Unlike other black suits that I own, this one is short sleeved, which is perfect for the warmer weather.  Its also makes a more casual outfit more formal without going all the way to formal (if that makes sense?).  

    In addition to buying the suit that this jacket belongs to, I also bought this blouse (and a couple of others) as well as these heels.  It doesn't seem like the most responsible thing in the world, but I've needed new work clothes for a while, so I let myself have a mini-shopping spree.  I didn't go buck wild and in fact stayed at only one store.  I bought the one suit, 2 blouses, 1 embellished tee and 2 pairs of heels.  A pretty awesome take if you ask me.  The way I see it, its an investment in my image and place as an attorney.  There is a certain look I think I need to cultivate that is primarily formal but definitely personal.  I don't want to be a lawyer in a cookie cutter suit, so personal style is a must.  At the same time, however, I definitely want to maintain the right amount of formality.  Its a fine line, I think, and one that I'm figuring out as I go along.  

The Details:
Blouse: Anne Klein
Suit Jacket: Rafaella
Pants: Gap
Heels: Nine West  

Oh and hey look, I accidentally ended up doing the Everybody/Everywear challenge on the right day too! 

Swearing In

     Sooo its been a crazy 3 weeks since the last time I posted.  I promise I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, its just that life has been spectacularly busy.  The big news since the last time I posted is that I got sworn in!  It was pretty great.  I made my sister and The Fiance hold the Bible for me and all the staff from the office got to watch too.  Here are the pictures: 

In the office getting ready to head to the courthouse.

Everybody standing just after the Judge walked into court.

My Sister and The Fiance holding the Bible as I take my oath.

I just got sworn in!

My super proud and supportive (and cute!) Fiance

My Wonderfully supportive little sister

Green!

     Happy St. Patrick's Day!  This outfit is from Tuesday, but since I wore my green sweater vest, I decided to save it until today.  
     Looking in my closet this morning, I realized that I don't have much in the way of green.  Sure I have plenty of turquoise, but anything that most people would call green? not so much.  I'm not entirely sure why either.  I've never been one to shy away from color, but at the same time, I've focused on basics a lot lately.  I think this has resulted in my having tons of black and white and cream and a few other colors, namely turquoise and red, and very little of other colors of the rainbow.  This is going to have to change.  While I'm all for basic colors for suits, its tops and shoes and sweaters that tend to bring more interest, ie color and pattern, into my wardrobe.  Next time I want to get a new top I'll just have to put black, white and cream on the no-go list (unless of course its something spectacular).

From: Here

     So the inspiration for this outfit came from 2 very different sources.  The first is a probation officer that works in our court system.  He dresses beautifully every time I've seen him.  This last time I saw him, he was wearing a suit, and rather than wearing an overcoat to stay warm, he had on a sweater vest.  His outfit was in shades of black, gray and white with a red tie.  It was tailored and just plain put together.  So that got me thinking.  Then I went home and watched part of Love Actually while I rode my stationary bike.  If you've seen the movie, do you remember Hugh Grant's assistant's first outfit?  (pictured above).  While entirely too low cut and tight, I've always liked the idea of it.  In the end, I feel like I combined the two to make my outfit.  Where do you draw inspiration for outfits?

The Details:

Blouse: Zara Similar

Sweater vest: L.L. Bean

Pants: Gap

Heels: Nine West in Brown Croc

Pearls: by me Similar Color

Blazer: Loft (no longer available Similar

Polka dots!

Ready for Court

     I got these tights late last Spring at a time when I didn't feel like wearing tights anymore.  Nonetheless, I've been dying to wear them and finally was able to a few weeks ago.   

Closeup of Tights

Silhouette

The Details:

Cardigan: 

Blazer:  JCPenney

Blouse: The Limited

Skirt: NY&Co.

Belt: Target

Tights: Target

Heels: Aldo

Baubles & Ruffles

Sorry this is so late today.  Normally I try to post by 8:30 am on MWF, but we had a deposition yesterday (my first) and I got home late.  I did not want to stare at a computer screen, so this post is going up late.  Sorry!

     About 2 weeks ago I was scanning slickdeals.net because the Fiance had shown me a great tupperware set and I was considering buying it.  Cute, right?  So as I scanned the site, I saw that there was a red wrap from Coldwater Creek for about $8 with free shipping.  Of course I went straight to their website to see what else they had on sale.  Well,  I found this jacket and a couple others.  I fell in love with the tweed.The ruffles just had me.  And the paisley!  As you can see, I bought the jacket.  With all the little specials it cost me $29.09 including shipping.  Pretty great deal if I so say so myself.  

My go to court outfit

     When it got here, I was a bit hesitant.  As it had been squished in transit, the ruffles just didn't ruffle.  And I wasn't sure that it fit well.  I tried it one with a skirt to wear on Monday, and it just wasn't working for me.  So I left the tags on it hoping I could find a way to wear it.  Tuesday rolled around and I tried the jacket on again, but this time with pants.  And that was apparently all I needed in order to decide to keep the jacket.  I'm actually wearing the jacket again today (Friday) but this time with jeans which work equally well with the jacket.  I'm going to have to try the jacket + skirt combo again to see if it was just that one skirt that didn't work or if all of my skirts won't work with the jacket.  By the way, am I the only one that does the whole "let's try the piece on with different outfits" when deciding to keep or return an item?

Notice my super pretty hair? <3 Hana Shine Shield!

    As the title of this post suggests, this isn't just about my brand new ruffle-y jacket.  Its also about this necklace.  It might surprise you, but my uncle made this necklace.  And I love it.  Part of me doesn't want to put it on etsy, but I know my aunt and uncle need the money so I'll be putting it up this weekend, hopefully.  This necklace has a distinctly different look to it than the other ones my uncle has sent me.  It feels as timeless and classic as pearls, but a bit quirky because of the color of the clay beads and the stones.  Also, way less expensive than pearls (it'll be priced about $24).  

My around the office comfy outfit

Ruffles! Paisley! Tweed!

The Details: 

Jacket: Coldwater Creek

Pants: Old Navy

Heels: Aldo

Cardigan: Target

T-shirt: Old Navy

Necklace: Tio Gordo

Go Tigers?

    I've worn this suit before, hell, I've worn this entire outfit before.  The reason?  It's comfortable and I really like this blouse with this suit.  Also I can't go shopping for more blouses or suits.  So I'm stuck with what I've got.  But I *can* make it more interesting.  
     To be honest, a suit really isn't all that interesting and shouldn't be all that interesting.  At least when an attorney is wearing a suit, the point is to look professional but forgettable.  The last thing anyone wants is for their attorney to be remembered instead of their case.  So, my suit outfits are and probably will be boring forever.  

    HOWEVER, what isn't boring is what happens when the suit jacket comes off.  Or at least it shouldn't be boring.  Because when the suit jacket comes off is generally when I'm in the office or in the car or anywhere else where I don't have to look court appropriate.  This is where I get to have fun with my outfits and enjoy dressing.  In this particular outfit, this would be the scarf worn as decorative belt.  

    Since I know that I've worn this exact same suit + blouse combination about 3 times since I got it, I wanted it to look different, special if you will.  While pondering this the night before I wore it, I happened to remember this scarf.  A couple of months ago, my parents were in town and my mom asked me to store some of her winter clothes for her.  I recently unpacked the box and stored all the scarves in said box in my closet.  (I'm borrowing them, or something like that.)  So I wondered, while planning this outfit, would the scarf work as a belt of some sorts.  Of course there's no other way to find out than trying it on.  So I did, and I loved it. 

     By now you may be wondering about the title of this post.  Well, one of the judges that rotates through district court here is a huge Clemson fan.  In fact, his "magic words" aren't please and thank you, they're "Go Tigers!"  Knowing this and having had to exclaim it earlier in the week, I decided to "promote" the Tigers a bit more deviously.  Cue the picture to the left.  I painted my nails a very dark purple, almost black, to "support" the Tigers.  The judge looked at me funny and laughed when I showed him, but he understood it as harmless fun.  See? Attorneys aren't ALL boring.

The Details:

Suit: JCPenney
Blouse: The Limited
Heels: Nine West
Scarf: Mom's (New York Style)
Nail Polish: Sally Hansen in Pat on the Black