Category: fashion

This post is part of a sponsored campaign with J.Jill and the Motherhood.com. All opinions are my own.

Every day, every woman answers the same question: What should I wear today? This is a question that plagues me constantly. If I know I have an early morning appointment, it’s a question I have to answer “yesterday”! I think we can all relate to the what-to-wear-quandary, right?

Well, that’s a qunadary that J.Jill wants to answer for you and BE the answer to for you – and they want to make it easy. Uncomplicated, if you will. They know we are busy women taking care of all the many people and things that are important to us and we don’t have a ton of time to spend on our wardrobes. SO! J.Jill wants to uncomplicate their customers lives by taking care of the “What do I wear today?” question so we can focus on the things that are most important to us.

Keeping it simple? I love it! I’ll be honest, I’ve never explored what J.Jill had to offer until now, when the Motherhood offered me the opportunity to check out J.Jill’s clothes and particularly their Pure Jill line. I L-O-V-E their Pure Jill line! It’s fabrics and colors are inspired by nature and are soft, simple, clean, and comfortable. The Pure Jill line is full of basics that every woman needs in her wardrobe. The folks at J.Jill put a lot of love and time into designing this line and they’re really passionate about offering clothing to women that is effortless, comfortable, and polished. They’re so confident about this line that they challenged me to pick a Pure Jill piece and style it with items I already owned.

I decided to go with this Pure Jill ultrasoft Kimono-Sleeve Sweater.

And, because I couldn’t resist, I also purchased this Pure Jill striped Infinity Scarf to style it with.

I love the softness of the sweater, and the small details like the exposed seams and the rolled hem on the sleeve.

And the pockets!! Oh, I adore the pockets!

Check out how I styled my Pure Jill kimono-sleeve sweater:

I contrasted the neutral of the sweater and scarf by pairing them with a bright pink tee, and since the top is pretty roomy, wore a skinny jean and boots to balance that out on bottom. A simple medium-sized hoop earring for some extra understated bling and voila! I was good to go.

I absolutely loooooove how comfortable and cozy the sweater is, and I adore the infinity scarf. It’s so versatile, and since it’s so neutral I could wear it with just about any top in my wardrobe.

And I know I already mentioned my love of the pockets on this sweater, but I have to tell you again – they are FABULOUS and really up the cozy/cute factor!

I absolutely love my Pure Jill pieces and I can’t wait to try more of the line, especially their 3 other essential pieces (the kimono sweater being the essential piece I already own): the Pure Jill pant, ballet flat, and simple cotton tee.

What I love, love, love about these Pure Jill pieces is that they are classic. They’ll always be in style and can be “trended up” with accessories if necessary. In addition to the clothes being fab, my online shopping experience was as easy as pie. The J.Jill website is also very “uncomplicated” and shopping was a breeze!

Speaking of shopping, J.Jill is allowing me to share a special coupon code with you so you can hop on over to their website and get 30% off any one item! You know I love a deal!  Use code JJSTYLE at checkout from now until 11/24/13 to get your discount.

I am loving my Pure Jill pieces  and I can’t wait to grab a couple more! Which ones do you want to complete your wardrobe?

This week, I had the chance to be whisked to far-away Cincinnati for a meeting with a new group I’m thrilled to have joined, the Pampers Baby Board. I’ll tell you a little bit more about my trip next week, but first things first: what did I wear!??!? Since I rarely have the occasion to really dress up at home, I had a great time putting some outfits together. Happily, I just had a birthday, so I had some great things available to wear, and my friends at Lands’ End stepped into offer me a few more. Here’s how I put some outfits together with things I already owned as well as some fabulous new fall Lands’ End items.

Here I am at home getting ready to head to Cincy. I had on something new – this gorgeous Lands’ End corduroy tunic and scarf, with something old – jeans and Lands’ End leather boots I already owned. I absolutely love the look and feel of the tunic. It has a really cute keyhole neck and the color and fit are really flattering.

The first night out we had a fancy dinner to attend, and I love the chance to dress up! I decided to add something to the pink dress and shoes I wore to Mom 2.0 to make it appropriate for fall. This polka dot supima cardigan was just what I needed! It’s so soft and comfy, but looks dressy, too. Plus I can wear it with jeans, cords, or anything else in addition to this dress! I wore with with some Lands’ End pearls I’ve had for a couple of years and I love the way it all came together!

I absolutely looooove Lands’ End cords, so I wanted to get a pair to dress up for this trip in a style I hadn’t tried before. I got these fit 1 corduroy ankle pants and I of course LOVE them. They are so comfy and warm, and they look really sharp. They paired perfectly with yet another Supima cardigan. This time I went for leopard so I could wear it with these fab leopard Lands’ End flats I already owned. (I couldn’t get them in the picture, I didn’t have anyone to be my photographer!) I finished the outfit up with a patent Lands’ End belt I’ve had for awhile, too. I really felt great in this outfit!

Finally, it was time to go home. I was ready to go home comfy but still stylin’ of course! I wore all Lands’ End items I already had or had gotten for my birthday, including this fabulous print scarf, jeans, and tee. (These are my favorite tees and I have a bazillion of them!) The cardigan is from last year and I wish I had gotten it in more colors because I wear the HECK out of it!

I had so much fun putting outfits together for the trip! Thanks, Lands’ End for allowing me to pick out a few new things to mix with the old!

What’s your favorite thing I wore? Do you get the chance to dress up often?

We’re a little late to the back to school game around here – my kids just started school today. They had a fantastic summer, but both of them were excited to start a new year. We’ve had a blast getting everything ready – Kate and I seriously love shopping for school supplies and clothes!

One of the most important things we were on the lookout for was the perfect outfit for the first day of school. I’m not sure why, or how the tradition got started, but the first-day outfit is a big deal. Lands’ End realizes that too, and they have an entire Back-to-School Collection filled with stylish, durable, comfortable clothes that kids can wear all year. We had the opportunity to check some of them out, and we all loved them!

Take a look…

Kate’s wearing the Girls’ Solid Curved Hem V-Neck T-Shirt in Tidewater. This is part of the Knit Kit collection – tops, bottoms, dresses, leggings, etc. that are made from comfortable fabrics, have a no-itch construction, and come in all sorts of colors. This shirt is perfect for my comfort-loving girl! She really liked the v-neck and curved hem. Over that is the Girls’ Color Border Heart V-neck Cardigan. It’s 100 percent cotton and has the cutest heart-shaped patch on the elbows, as you can see in the picture below. The Girls’ 5-pocket Bootcut Denim Jeans fit her really well, and I love how well made they are – I know they’ll be in great shape when we pass them down to Sophie in a couple of years!

This is Kate in the Girls’ Solid Curved Hem V-Neck T-Shirt once again – this time in Dried Papaya. She’s wearing black Girls’ Flare Yoga Pants, which are super soft and comfortable but have enough Lycra to make sure they maintain their shape. They also have a wider waistband that doesn’t pinch her around the middle!

Kate’s very favorite part of both these outfits? The boots! The Girls’ Lacey Bow Back Tall Boots, to be more specific. She absolutely loves them – they look adorable, and the sherpa lining inside makes the comfortable. I love that they’ve got a durable rubber outsole. Kate picked the Dark Fawn color, but they also come in Chocolate, Magenta, Bright Aubergine, and Soft Silver Metallic. At $59, I think they’re a heck of a deal, too.

Of course, school shopping isn’t complete without a backpack, and Lands’ End is the place to find the perfect one. Their 2013 backpack collection features:
— Four distinct lines including ClassMate®, FeatherLight™, Dash and My First.
— More solid colors that are easy to personalize with embroidery options.
— Innovative design and superior durability at an incredible value.
— Small, Medium and Large size options to ensure proper fit.
— Colors and prints designed with the tastes of boys and girls in mind.

Kate picked the FeatherLight Backpack in Cabbage Purple Scatter Print.

The first thing I noticed about this backpack (other than the fact that is it super cute) was the shoulder straps – they have foam padding that makes them extremely comfortable. That’s important, because we all know how heavy kids’ backpacks can get! The back panels are mesh and make it breathable. There are two inside pockets and one is even padded for a laptop! (No one tell Kate what that one’s for, k?) The bungee strap on the front and the clipping loop on the side gives space for extra things like a jacket or lunchbox.

There’s pretty much room for everything.

How cool is that?

And now for Sam.

My little baby is a kindergartner! I don’t know how that happened. He’s not so little anymore, but dang is he not cute in his new Lands’ End clothes??

I know everyone thinks buying girl clothes is a zillion times more fun than boy clothes, but not me – I love boys’ clothes! Seriously, could this outfit be any more adorable? He’s wearing the Boys’ Super Hoodie in Vibrant Cobalt. It’s made of soft, breathable cotton, and I want one for me. For real. He’s also wearing the Boys’ Classic Fit Iron Knee Jeans. Everyone knows the knees are the first place on a kids’ pants to go, so Lands’ End not only doubly reinforces the knees, but they do it in a way that’s invisible. You’d never know they were Iron Knee pants – except for, you know, the lack of holes in the knees! Good Housekeeping magazine even gave Lands’ End’s Iron Knee Pants with a 2013 VIP (Very Innovative Product) award. Brilliant! I became a big fan of the Iron Knee Pants about 20 seconds after we were done taking pictures, when Sam managed to fall and scuff up his knees. He must have wanted to really make sure they worked as promised! Sam’s also wearing the Boys’ Landon Low Sneakers, otherwise known as the cutest shoes I have ever seen in my life.

And then there’s this.

I die.

Lands’ End’s collection of boys Graphic Ts and Poplin shirts combine to make the most adorable layers, as you can see. The 5-Pocket Corduroy Pants complete the look.

Sam is in full-day kindergarten, so for the first time, we’ll be packing his lunch this year. We’ve had great luck with Kate’s Lands’ End lunchboxes in the past, and I’m glad to have one for Sam this year too. He picked the ClassMate EZ Wipe Lunch Box in Rich Red. It’s insulated and will keep food cold for up to 5 hours, and the interior wipes clean easily. It’s leak resistant and PVC free. I love the monogram – my Sammy!

It also makes a great shield, as you can see from the pictures!

So there you have it – my kids are all ready to head back to school thanks to Lands’ End.

What’s your back to school must-have?