Casual Chic Outfit Basics | Dark Wash Skinny Jeans

Casual Chic Outfit Basics | Dark Wash Skinny Jeans

Jan 31, 2014

Casual chic.

Honestly, I’ve never thought of the word chic to describe my style.  My goal has always been “not frumpy”.  So you can just imagine how thrilled and surprised I was when so many of you described my style as casual chic.  Over and over again in my reader survey, a lot of you said that’s why you’re here.

Here are a few of your answers to the question “What keeps you coming back every day?”

  • “Alison’s casual chic mom style.”
  • “You take casual up a notch to chic.”
  • “I love your chic SAHM style.”
  • “You add chicness to mommy-hood.”

Therefore it was a no-brainer to include the word chic in the title for my new Friday series Casual Chic Outfit Basics.

CASUAL CHIC OUTFIT BASICS | DARK WASH SKINNY JEANS

If you’ve been following my Daily Style Diary posts, then you know one of the building blocks of my daily style is dark wash skinny jeans. They’re universally flattering for all body types, they look great with any kind of footwear – sandals, ankle boots, ballet flats, riding boots, and you can easily dress them up or down for a day of errands or a date night.

Here are a few of my recent outfits featuring two of my favorite pairs of dark wash skinny jeans.

Repeat after me:  Every woman NEEDS a great pair of dark wash skinny jeans.

Here are some of my favorite pairs of dark wash skinny jeans – at price points for every budget.

HIGH END

At the high end are my Paige Premium Denim jeans.  I have the Skyline Skinny in the Carson wash.  They are made incredibly well, fit perfectly and are worth every penny.  When I want that perfect fitting pair of jeans that makes me feel like a million bucks, this is the pair that I reach for.

[Paige Skyline Skinny – Carson Wash]

MID-RANGE

A nice mid-range option is this pair by Articles of Society.  They have 33 five-star reviews.

[Articles of Society ‘Lana’ ]

If you’ve been around here long, you’ve heard me gush about my Kut from the Kloth jeans too.  They have a nice mid-rise, not too high nor too low. And I’m not their only fan, this pair also has near perfect reviews.

[Kut from the Kloth ‘Mia’]

Of course Gap always has some great skinny jeans.  I have this pair and love them.

[Gap ‘1969 Always Skinny Jeans’]

LOW END

On the other end of the spectrum are my trusty dark wash skinny jeans from Forever 21.  When I say these are dirt cheap, I mean it.  I have a few pairs of them to swap out when they start to fade or if they’re in the wash.  They are just an all-around great everyday jean.

Forever 21 Dark Wash Skinny Jeans[Forever 21 – Dark Wash Skinny Jeans]

Old Navy is also a good choice for bargain jeans.  The Rockstar is a great mid-rise jean.

[Old Navy ‘ The Rockstar Mid-Rise Skinny Jean]

CHIC OUTFIT PAIRINGS

Here’s even more outfit inspiration.  I might have to copy a few of these myself.

Casual with Flats

Dark Wash Skinny Jeans Outfits 2[1/2/3]

Plaid Dressed Up or Down

Dark Wash Skinny Jeans with Plaid[1/2]

More Chic and Simple

Dark Wash Skinny Jeans Chic[1/2]

Come back next Friday for the next installment in the Casual Chic Outfit Basics series.

Be sure to stop by on Monday because I’m invited to be the special guest at Shay’s Pajama Party for February!  It’s seriously like getting invited to the cool girl’s sleepover.

PJ Party - Shays Graphic

Getting my pretty on withThe Pleated Poppy,  Fashion Friday and Getting Pin-spired with Sheaffer , Shay and Mel.

I Feel Pretty | Age Appropriate

I Feel Pretty | Age Appropriate

Jan 30, 2014

Having a 14 (almost 15) year-old daughter in the house is actually pretty great for helping me dress my age.  Every time I try a new trend, I ask for her input and she’s more than happy to give it.  I do this not only because I want to look age appropriate, but also because I don’t want to embarrass her with what I wear.

Alison Aubrey Swings 2You’d be surprised at what humiliates her these days.  I can’t do the robot in the car anymore, she hates it when I sing in the aisles at Target and she was completely dismayed when I danced in a flash mob at her high school pep rally.  OK, I need to defend myself on that last one.  In all fairness, humiliation was the goal but her older brother was the intended recipient.  The senior football moms wanted to do something really memorable for our sons at the last pep rally of the year.  We chose maximum embarrassment by doing a flash mob.  It worked really well.

Alison Aubrey SwingsAt any rate, I won’t embarrass her or myself by dressing inappropriately for my age.  That’s where I draw the line.  But where is the line between looking on trend and dressing too young? It gets a little blurred especially when we sometimes shop at the same stores and share clothes.

But I’ve discovered that the key to keeping pieces age appropriate is really simple.   It’s all in how you pair them up.

Let’s take this sweater for example.

Fashion Back Hole Knit Sweater [Back Hole Knit Sweater]

Mother/Daughter Style

Black Sweater Full CollageAubrey and I each styled it in our own age appropriate ways.  I picked out more sophisticated pieces like plum jeans and a long necklace with ankle boots, while she opted for a youthful look with bright jeans, a scarf and combat boots.

Alison Black Sweater Full[On Alison: Sweater:  c/o Persunmall/Jeans/Necklace (Similar)/Earrings]

Black Sweater Aubrey Full[On Aubrey: Sweater:  c/o Persunmall/Scarf/Jeans/Boots]

Black Sweater Half Collage

Alison Black Sweater Back

Ettika Black Tassel Bracelet[Bracelet:  c/o Ettika – Get 25% off site wide at Ettika.com with coupon code EXCL25]

It’s Your Turn:  How do you define age appropriate style?  Share your tips in the comments.

I FEEL PRETTY

It’s the day of the week at GYPO where we celebrate what makes us feel pretty. Whether it’s a new outfit, hairstyle, or makeup, the I Feel Pretty link up is about anything and everything that makes your life prettier. Even if you’re not a blogger, you can still play along. Just tell us what made you feel pretty this week in the comments!

I Feel Pretty
There are just a few simple rules:

1. Follow GYPO. (Bloglovin‘, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest)

2. Link up your pretty post.

3. Link back to my blog (using the button above or your own link).

4. Visit other pretty peeps.

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Getting my pretty on with Fashion Friday.