Page 174 – MEMORANDUM | NYC Fashion & Lifestyle Blog for the Working Girl

Fashion Week Memo: Take Two

fashion blog for professional women new york city street style work wear

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This week I thought I’d share a few more street style shots from New York Fashion Week. Of course, it means a temporary departure from my typical work-ready ensembles, but I hope you can still glean some ideas from these outfits that would just require a few alterations (particularly in hem length) to make the professional grade. The ensemble above involves the strategic combination of navy and black pieces—a concept I used to diametrically oppose. Today, the combination of navy and black is far from groundbreaking, but it’s still a concept with which a lot of people (myself included) struggle. A few short years ago, I (got dressed in the dark and) accidentally showed up at my office wearing black shoes, a black sheath dress and navy tights. I was mortified that I had mistakenly put on navy tights with an otherwise black outfit, so I immediately ran to Duane Reade to purchase some emergency black replacement tights. (Overreact much?) But as my style has evolved, I’ve come to really love the combination when executed properly. Personally, I still think the pairing looks best when it’s clearly deliberate, and not the result of a tragic combination of oversleeping and/or poor lighting in your West Village apartment. For me, the easiest way to pull off the dueling hues is to wear pieces that possess some continuity of print or texture. For example, I chose to execute that continuity via texture (fur) above by combing a navy fur coat with a black fur stole and black fur earmuffs. For another suggestion on how to bring the frenemies together, check out my recent instagram here where I combine navy and black via a little stripe action. What are your thoughts? Is the black and navy combo do-able?

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Mary Orton

February 23, 2015

Fashion Week, Creative Office Style

sjp collection, polka dots, navy and black, fashion week, street style, FASHION WEEK MEMO, faux fur, earmuffs, stole, rebecca minkoff

Versatility

fashion blog for professional women new york city street style work wear

EARRINGS: Argento Vivo | SUNGLASSES: Stella McCartney | BAG: c/o Henri Bendel | RING: Kathy Kamei (similar here) | POLISH: Nails – Essie (Vanity Fairest); Toes – Essie (A-List)

fashion blog for professional women new york city street style work wear

c/o Chicos: LACE JACKET (also similar here) | TANK | TRACK PANTS

SHOES: Topshop | BAG: Vince Camuto (similar here) | RING: Kathy Kamei (similar here) | EARRINGS: Argentino Vivo | NECKLACE: vintage but similar here

c/o Chico’s: POLKA DOT JACKET | PANTS | COLORBLOCK TOP | CHOKER

SHOES: Kate Spade (similar here and here) | BAG: c/o Henri Bendel | SUNGLASSES: Stella McCartney | EARRINGS: old but similar here

c/o Chico’s: LACE DUSTER | WHITE SHIRT | JEANS | NECKLACE

EARRINGS: old but similar here | SHOES: Saint Laurent (similar here) | SUNGLASSES: Stella McCartney

If you’ve followed this blog for any amount of time, you know that I’m all about versatile pieces that can be worn in a variety of ways and a variety of situations—both in and out of the workplace. From a practical perspective, it’s important to have pieces that can easily transition from desk to drinks when you don’t have time to run home and change before your après-work activities begin. Beyond practicality, however, having a separate office-only part of your closet comprising “work outfits” that you only wear from nine to five isn’t a great idea anyway. You should make your work-ready clothing a contiguous part of one fluid, cohesive wardrobe, rather than feeling like you have to ascribe to a “corporate uniform” of pieces that don’t really feel like you Monday through Friday. What you wear is not only representative of who you are, but also has proven effects on how you feel and perform professionally. Within the bounds of what’s appropriate in your workplace of course, there’s no reason you can’t wear clothing Monday through Friday that really represents you and your personal style. This week, I’ve teamed up with Chico’s, a brand that epitomizes exactly this concept. As you can see above, each ensemble consists of versatile pieces that can be easily dressed up or down. For example, I wore the white suit above to a business meeting last week, and afterwards ditched the suit jacket and heels for a jean jacket and flats when running to the grocery store. Similarly, I wore the all-black ensemble shopping and running some errands while getting ready to leave for fashion week, and then wore the same pants with heels and a blazer this week for meetings in NYC. One of my favorite pieces is the lace duster jacket that can be worn as styled above for a Casual Friday look, or with a dress for dinner and drinks… speaking of which, is it the weekend yet? Happy Friday!

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Mary Orton

February 20, 2015

Conservative Office Style, Casual Office Style, Creative Office Style

jeans, polka dot, lace, chicos, white suit, statement necklace, cage sandals, track pants

Fashion Week Memo: Take One

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For a momentary step outside of my typical workwear line-up, I thought I’d share a couple looks from New York Fashion Week. Today, I’m sharing the ensemble I wore to the BCBG show last Thursday morning. This white and black fringed piece is actually a dress, but I wore it more as a coat with a black turtleneck (plus a few other concealed cold-weather layers because I’m not a masochist) and leggings. The leggings could easily be replaced with a pencil skirt or black trousers if you wanted to sport it in a formal professional setting. Personally, I’d really like to see Olivia Pope make this dress happen. I feel like she could verbally assault someone and then punctuate a fabulous one-liner with a little whipping-action fringe to the face. Just a thought.

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Mary Orton

February 18, 2015

Creative Office Style, Fashion Week

fashion week, nyfw, bcbg, fringe, black and white, street style, FASHION WEEK MEMO

Spring Staples

Skirt | Sweater

Shoes | Shirt

Dress | Shirt | Belt | Shoes

Dress | Shoes | Bag

Skirt | Cardigan | Shoes

Chinos | Shirt | Belt | Shoes

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Happy Monday! I recently teamed up with Boden to talk about fresh workwear staples for spring. If you keep up with me on instagram, you know that I’m in NYC for fashion week where the thermometer currently reads 3° Fahrenheit. Needless to say, I need a little springtime pick me up. Check out the full article here!

This post was sponsored by Boden. All product selections, styling and opinions are my own.

Mary Orton

February 16, 2015

Creative Office Style, Conservative Office Style, Casual Office Style

floral, boden, spring, layers, color

Casual Friday: Chambray + Leather

SHIRT: c/o Ann Taylor | SKIRT: c/o Ann Taylor (also love it black here; and similar ivory version here without perforations; ) | MULES: c/o Ann Taylor | NECKLACE: c/o Ann Taylor | BRACELET: c/o Ann Taylor (similar here, here & here) | Sunglasses: Stella McCartney

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While the overall concept of this ensemble is not terribly “casual,” I thought I’d save it for Casual Friday because Chambray—no matter how you slice it—is a tough thing to pull off in a professional setting. This particular chambray shirt, however, has a really beautiful drape and a subtle sheen to the fabric—factors that make it polished and elevated enough for the office. What are your thoughts on chambray? Yay or nay at work? Happy Friday!!

Mary Orton

February 13, 2015

Casual Office Style

faux leather perforated pencil skirt, black leather mules, casual friday, ann taylor, chambray shirt