Comfortable women’s shoes for work and walking, aka shoes that will not betray you at conferences

Comfortable women’s dress shoes are so hard to find, especially if you need to be on your feet all day at a work, for travel, or at a conference. Seriously, why are office shoes so terrible?? I’ve run through boxes of bandaids trying to avoid blisters in the past and am now committed on 3-4 pairs of shoes that will never betray me at work. Here they are.

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5 Leopard Skirt Outfit Ideas

I have really loved my leopard midi skirt–I bought it last fall and have worn it many ways since then! At first, I only wore it with white or black t shirts, but I’ve been surprised by how versatile it is. My skirt is a slip skirt but I think these would work well with any length, including mini skirts or pencil skirts. The trick is figuring out what colors to pair with leopard and how to layer items for added interest! Here are some outfit ideas for both winter and summer!

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I tried copying Dakota Johnson’s outfits for a week

Last week Pinterest showed me an outfit from Dakota Johnson (yes, of 50 Shades of Grey). It was the type of outfit that made me say “hey, I can make that!” so I pinned it. By Friday, the Pinterest algorithm had decided I had an unhealthy obsession, and was ONLY showing me Dakota Johnson street style. But all the outfits were pretty cute and casual (not to mention she has an amazing loafers and sunglasses collection). So here I am, deciding to remake as many Dakota Johnson outfits as possible…

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Style on a budget: Sezane lookalikes for cheaper

If you don’t know about Sezane you should probably skip this post, because I think the cool French clothing company is out to steal my whole wallet. They’re unsuccessful, though, because $120 for a shirt is noooooope not happening on a graduate student budget. 

….but that doesn’t mean I can’t look. 

Looking at expensive clothes is actually a hobby of mine. It could be purely painful, but I actually like looking at the inspiration and then keeping a phone note of items I want to find on sale or thrift. In the spirit of that, here are some Sezane pieces I have been coveting, along with cheaper “dupes” of those items. Now updated for 2022!

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Shopping J. Crew winter clearance for business wear

Shopping the J. Crew Sale

Every December/July J. Crew does a 50% off sale on clearance items. This is the only time I buy anything from them, and has helped me to slowly build a professional teaching wardrobe. Here are some of my favorites this time around:

1- Sweater (I bought this in cabernet for $30 yesterday)

2- Velvet blazer

3- Cashmere sweater (I will probably save up for a couple months and make this my next big purchase…additionally, Steinmart has cashmere sweaters for $35 right now. Run, I say!)

4- Dress pants (I love that these come in fun colors, I might buy these in blue)

6- Necklace (J. Crew is my go-to for I-am-presenting-at-this-conference-and-I-need-a-power-necklace)

7- Flats

8- Dress