The Classy Academic

Happy belated Easter everyone! I can’t believe that I didn’t post sooner! So, this post will serve as a two-fer. In a recent post I talked about that Easter marks the season of wearing white, and I am SO happy! Nearly half of my closet is white, so I feel like a weight has been lifted off of having to figure out what to wear every day.

I’m going to start off with talking about spring outfits that are appropriate for work or the office. With the weather warming up and the spirit of spring and summer fashion, necklines and sleeves disappear and hemlines rise with the temperature–basically, skin is in. However, although these outfits and sundresses are adorable and to die for, and are just simply comfortable, they may not be “work appropriate”. In the work setting, you want to exude confidence and be comfortable, and nothing checks both of these boxes like spring and summer wear. But, you still need to consider, “is this outfit professional?” I get it, though. We want to show off our best assets and be trendy, but there is a time and place for everything. As young professionals, our closets aren’t filled with corporate office attire, but rather items we wore in college and on weekends. However, don’t panic if your spring and summer closet isn’t “work appropriate” because with just a few essentials, you can still wear them, be trendy, and rock them at work.

Spring style is about wearing bright, fun colors, florals, and other prints. Like I have said before, I think wearing one item that pops is key to a great outfit, and spring definitely offers so many opportunities and options for that “pop”. That “pop” also goes for physical features as well. It is my rule of thumb to only “feature” one body part in an outfit. For example, just show off your legs, cleavage, shoulders, waist, or booty (for those of you who have one!). Now, for the office, showing off too much cleavage or booty or even waist is a big no-no. But, since we all have items in our closet that do these things, you can still wear them, just be sure to layer a blazer over the top, wear cute pants, and wear flats to tone down the outfit.

Now, back to that spring “pop” of color. I’m so happy that I can officially wear white again, because it pairs SO well with bright colors, prints (Lilly prints especially), and florals. In this outfit I am wearing a floral lace shell by Kate Spade over a white tank top and I paired it with a pair of awesome pink ankle pants from J. Crew Factory (Winnie Pant Style) and flats by Frye. I got so many compliments on the color of these pants and this outfit!

Now to Easter! My best friend and I threw on our Lilly and bunny ears to celebrate spring and Easter! We had so much fun! My dress is a great example of what not to wear to work, but Hailey’s dress is perfect! What did the Easter bunny bring everyone??

 

It’s officially the first day of Spring, and I couldn’t be happier! With Spring, comes allergies, and my favorite way to combat them is to head out on the water. It’s still a little cool, so this amazing sweater (which I have worn several times in my blog) is perfectly cozy for that cool breeze on the water. I paired it with some white shorts, classic Sperry boat shoes, and bracelet and earrings from Kiel James Patrick, which I’m obsessed with.

Nothing completes an outfit better than a smile shared with your best friend. Hailey is wearing Mike’s Ernest Shackleton shirt and her gorgeous pearl sunglasses strap from Kiel James Patrick.

I am so happy that warm weather is officially here because now I can really start breaking out my favorite outfits for the office and the weekend! Stay tuned for more working girl looks!

Cheers, Kelly

There’s nothing better than spending the weekend on a boat with your favorite people, drinking champagne, and wearing Lilly and KJP.  So, we threw on our best and popped a bottle of champagne and hit the seas!

I love this super classic look. As I’ve said before, nothing goes better together than navy, white, and gold. I love this Suzette shift dress by Lilly Pulitzer because it’s classy and long enough to wear to work!

What are your favorite weekend plans?

I’m sure you’re all familiar with the fashion rule to not wear white after Labor Day or before Easter (this goes for shoes, too!).  Southerners would even consider doing this as having bad manners.  My husband would even go as far to say that seersucker shouldn’t be worn before Easter, too.  However, if you in the South (especially Florida) warm weather comes much earlier in the year, presenting the temptation to break out my spring and summer wardrobe which consists mostly of white, seersucker, and Lilly Pulitzer.

So, the “white fashion rule” is one that I absolutely try to strictly follow (although I’m guilty of breaking it on the rare occasion), but it made me think…”When is it Lilly season?” I know true Lilly’s would say Lilly can be worn year-round, and Lilly Pulitzer herself quoted, “Despite the forecast, live like it’s spring,” and “It’s always summer somewhere,” but I feel that the bright, whimsical colors and prints used in Lilly clothes are to be worn in seasons that reflect the spirit of the brand–summer and spring. I asked my husband and best friend Hailey (who also has a Lilly packed closet–check out her blog here!) and they had different responses. My husband said that I should wait to wear Lilly Pulitzer until Easter (March 29th, 2018) or at least the first day of spring (March 20th, 2018), while Hailey said Lilly season starts on the first day of spring. Hailey and I later justified that we live in Florida and it’s already warm, so we declared March 1st as the first day Lilly season! Also, most Lilly tops, shorts, and skirts look best paired with white (other solid colors that compliment the print work, too!). With that considered, I won’t wear Lilly before Easter unless it’s a dress or if I have another solid colored item to compliment my shorts, skirts, or tops.

Lilly Pulitzer is more than just clothes–it’s a lifestyle.  Any Lilly lady can be spotted a mile away, not just by the bright, unique clothes, but by their confidence and radiant smile. I always feel so happy and confident when wearing Lilly. What’s great is that most Lilly items can be worn to work or in the office setting. As long as you make sure the length of the dress and skirts are appropriate, then break out the Lilly! I believe that the clothes you wear and how you present yourself gives you a confidence boost that you can accomplish anything. Wearing Lilly to work will turn heads and will send others’ the message that you are happy and fun, but gives you the confidence to take on any task and get work done!

So, to kick off our unofficial “First Day of Lilly” for the year, Hailey and I threw on our Lilly dresses and headed out to the pier! The dress that I am wearing is the girl’s Sophie dress in this season’s “Pier Pressure” print. I’m so happy that I can fit in the girl’s XL because it’s half the price of the Sophie dress in the ladies size. It is the same length as an XXS, but is a little wider and boxier. When buying the Sophie dress in the ladies, I go back and forth between XXS and XS. They are the same length, but the XS fits just a little looser so it’s really just whatever look you’re going for. Hailey is wearing my Marlowe dress in the Indigo Sunset Swim print in XS. She usually wears a S, but as you see the XS fits her just fine! Again, it’s all about preference and what you’re going for!

We were SO excited and happy to finally wear our Lilly this year! So, what are your thoughts on when “Lilly Season” begins? How do you style Lilly at work? What’s your favorite prints?

My Dress: Girls XL Sophie Dress by Lilly Pulitzer

Hailey’s Dress: XS Marlowe Dress by Lilly Pulitzer

All Jewelry: Kiel James Patrick

Mike’s Outfit: Shirt, Belt, & Shoes: Kiel James Patrick | Pants: Brooks Brothers

 

Mike and I love to take weekend trips. Right now with both of us in school, it’s really hard to take big trips. But, we decided that we are going to try and take weekend trips as often as we can to satisfy our desire for wanderlust. This past weekend we traveled to Raleigh, NC to visit my sister to shop for her wedding dress and to check out the city.

Right now, Mike and I are scheduled to graduate at the same time, which means we will both go on the job market at the same time. We have to find a place that has both a university for me and a good legal market for Mike. We know that we want to stay in the southeast (but are willing to try other places!), and have always been interested in Raleigh. You see, the area of Raleigh is known as the “Research Triangle” which consists of Duke University, University of North Carolina, and North Carolina State University–pretty much the holy grail for me! So, we jumped on a good opportunity to visit Raleigh to see if its the place for us.

Our main purpose for traveling? FOOD and DRINKS! We love finding the best local spots where we are visiting, and, oh boy, Raleigh did NOT disappoint! We grabbed oysters and dinner with my sister the night that we got in town, and then bar hopped and explored on Saturday. There are so many breweries and bars in Raleigh, and each one is unique! I must say my absolute favorite quality about Raleigh is that there are SO many local businesses, and they all support each other. Although common corporate businesses were there, their presence was not apparent and in your face.

On Saturday I set out on a search for macarons. My sister mentioned lucette grace, so we decided to check it out, but before then we went to brunch at Clouds Brewing. The food was so amazing, but I thought it was really neat that they had a wall of local beers that was self-serve! Afterwards we barhopped into downtown, but not before we grabbed coffee and macarons at lucette grace. Although I am completely spoiled by the always delicious macarons from Laduree in NYC and nothing could ever compete with them, these were very tasty and great! But, my favorite menu item was the coffee! Like, WOW! The coffee was amazing! My sister says that they have amazing pastries there, so next time I will have to check those out.

It was a bit chilly in Raleigh at the time we went, so I was so happy that I had my classic navy peacoat by Calvin Klein to keep me warm. But what I loved most was my sweater from Kiel James Patrick. I loved showing it off (and semi-twinning with Mike all day) everywhere I went. I have been wanting one, and I am so happy that I finally bought one. It’s absolute perfection in a sweater. It’s not too heavy or bulky, but it is incredibly cozy and keeps you so warm! I highly recommend buying one!

Our experience in Raleigh was certainly a strong and lasting one. Raleigh has such a laid-back, local feel, and also offers all of the resources and shopping of a big city without the heavy traffic!! Before leaving, we said to each other that this is the place for us and that we are going to work hard to make sure that we end up in Raleigh!

Peacoat: Calvin Klein | Sweater: Kiel James Patrick | Pants: Southern Tide