Friday, July 2

Business Meets Pleasure

Today I had the rare opportunity to spend some quality time over lunch with a dear friend and follower of FASHION du jour, Eboni Ife (The Fashionista Next Door).  We treated ourselves to Panera Bread for a mini pigout session.  Although Eboni and I work together, in a busy office setting like ours, we hardly ever have the chance to go out on a lunch date.  I guess I'm partly to blame since lunch hour for me typically consists of preparing my posts, making calls and running errands.  Needless to say, this long overdue date was time well spent.

See More of Eboni here:
The Fashionista Next Door

In all the fun, we forgot to get the Who and What of each others outfits, but if you leave me a comment or send me an email, I'd be happy to give you the rundown.
vest: CAbi as seen here . denim shirt: Old Navy as seen here. cami: CAbi . necklace: F21 . earrings: Urban Outfitters . bracelet: CAbi . bangle: Indian store . watch: Fossil . jeans: James Cured . shoes: Jessica Simpson as seen here . clutch: Aldo . glasses: Ralph Lauren

However, our time together was not frivolous.  We had a purpose.  We wanted to put together two simple business meets pleasure looks built around one key piece.  After some thought, we realized that we both had this cute little black vest and the fact that it's a pretty basic piece that anyone could pick up practically anywhere, we figured it would work best. 




As you may be able to tell, I went for the business look as per usual...kinda.  Eboni went for the pleasure look.  My vision for this look was something that a working girl could very simply reach for on a casual Friday. Whenever I'm deciding what to wear, I always try to keep in mind the typical staple items that most girls have in their closets. In this case, I went with the jean chambray-ish button down shirt, the white cami, and the white jeans.  Okay fine, not everyone owns a pair of white jeans and trust me it took a while for me to find a pair that didn't make me look like a water buffalo wait, do they?  Nevermind, don't tell me.  I'm fine living in denial, but I happened upon these jeans many moons ago at a sample sale when I used to be rich irresponsible and could shop all day long.  The only bummer about these jeans is they fit like a glove in the morning but by the end of the day, I've got a bad case of the saggy booty blues.  Not cute.  All in all, I think I was able to come up with a go-to look for that stylish working girl with little time or patience to loiter in the closet for hours on end deciding what to wear.  Mission accomplished?  You be the judge.





Isn't she the cutest?  Miss Eboni is rocking a fierce leopard print sheer tunic under her vest.  She is wearing a gold layered necklace that I had planned to rip off her neck but thought better of.  Her shorts are a silky fabric that are THE perfect length for showing off those summer legs.  Her Michael Kors pumps finish her look of very nicely.  Ladies how well do we know that a pump can transform most any woman's leg into a thing of beauty.  Don't believe me?  Pull out some pumps and a pair of shorts and hop yourself in front of a mirror.  You'll see the difference.  Along with the necklace I wanted to rip off, I also wanted to swipe her sunglasses.  Super. Cute.  Eboni's sun hat is the perfect compliment on a sunny afternoon.  



I want to take a moment to thank Eboni for lighting a fire under me some months ago.  When I started this blogging hobby back in March 2009, I wanted to keep it a secret.  For quite some time no one knew about it.  I didn't want anyone to know what I was doing due to my insecurities and fears of hurtful criticism.  When Eboni happened across my blog and told me how much she enjoyed it and was inspired to start her own, it gave me the reassurance I needed to know that the time I was putting into my hobby was worthwhile not only for me, but for others as well.  Miss Eboni's blog is flourishing and it's so much fun to watch.  She's always giving me tips and sharing her ideas.  In fact, she recently did a clog feature spotlighting yours truly.  Click here to take a look.  She's a gem!



Today was a good day!