Outfit post: Putting the S.W.A.P. into action, Part 1

This past Friday, the 15th, I had the fun of participating in Kenzi’s S.W.A.P. post where style bloggers were matched up and we got to give each other advice.

I was lucky enough to get not one but four cool outfit ideas from Erin of Pretty, Polished, Perfect who was helping me funkify a lil’ bit. She even based them on my Five Levels of Working Mom Outfits, yay.

Since the whole point of the exercise was to help me add new things to my wardrobe, this meant I had the perfect excuse to go shopping!

The first outfit I tried to re-create was Level One: Weekend Casual. I didn’t have as much luck finding a denim dress as I’d thought, and then I scored this adorable blue pleat-front chambray one at J. Crew. The best part? It was marked down 40% off the already marked-down sale price!

Next step was to find a jacket to go with it. I have a confession to make here: I just can’t do camouflage. It looks great in Erin’s outfit, but … Then I found this fun khaki cap-sleeve vest at H&M and I had an idea. What if I incorporated a different bold pattern in similar shades for the same feel as the camo? My compromise pattern was animal print; I got this scarf on sale at JCPenney (or is that “jcp”?).

The red bracelet was easy to copy; these 3 were only $5 at H&M. I didn’t have a brightly colored satchel, so I cheated a bit with my new Kate Spade Shady Side tote. (Hey, it’s got bright colors in it!)

I may still get the Pumas Erin picked out for me, but in the meantime I thought maybe I could emulate the look of an ankle slip-on sneaker by wearing my New Balance for Nine West mary janes with an ankle sock. I’m not sure it worked, though; what do you think?

Dress: J. Crew pleat-front chambray (I got it on sale; available for $140 at Net a Porter.)
Vest: H&M, $25
Scarf: JCPenney, $15 on sale (similar)
Shoes: New Balance for Nine West (no longer available)
Bracelets: H&M, $5
Tote: Kate Spade Shady Side tote (I got it on sale; similar, $325 from Zappos Couture)
Outfit Level: One

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Other working mom style advice you might like:

1. Warm weather outfit: Blue tank and pleated skirt
2. Outfit post: Lights and brights for summer
3. Ready to change? Here’s an easy place to start
4. 7 ways to find your personal style