A word from Whitley...

Hello lovelies!  I'm Whitley, and my little corner of creativity is Simply Whit in a Sequined Life, where I like to share my personal style and obsession for anything plaid...

or striped....

or polka dotted...

I just really love patterns :D

I am so excited to be guest blogging for Elizabeth while she enjoys time with her little munchkin (isn't he ADORABLE??), but I know she's excited to be getting back with you all pretty soon!

When she asked me to guest blog for her, I was of course happy to say yes, afterall she did blog for me while I was gallivanting about Germany!  But then I had to think of what I was going to share with you all....I thought about coming up with a genius complicated outfit with lots of patterns and colors, and then I thought about writing a "How-to" style post like how to style stripes for work...And then I thought why not  mix a little bit of both worlds??

Challenge accepted. :)

On most days, I stay pretty buttoned up (no pun intended) because as a teacher, I must look professional.  On the weekends, however, I am more than happy to ditch the pencil skirts and blazers for something easy and comfortable while running errands (I once went to the laundromat in heels...um, why did I do that, again???).  Although I am eager to be as comfortable as possible, I still want to want to look put together (I am a girl, after all)! :D

With the weather (THANKFULLY) getting warmer, thin knits and shorts have finally come out to play...Guess it's time to start shaving my legs on a daily basis!  (Who else has glowing white carpets for legs??)

The Deets:

striped top:  Target (in stores), similar here & here | gingham:  Gap | shorts:  American Eagle, similar

crossbody bag:  Louis Vuitton, love this one | shoes:  Keds, similar | hat:  Target, similar here & here

flower brooch:  ban.do c/o Crystal Feather Boutique | sunglasses:  Kate Spade, similar

If you are like me, and have to dress up for work, and would like let your hair down on the weekends; or if you would just like to step your comfy weekend outfits up a notch, it's a lot easier than you think!    Let's do a breakdown of my outfit: -basic tee -button down -shorts -sneeks -crossbody bag -hat -sunglasses Pretty simple pieces that I'm sure most, if not all of you, already have in your closets!  I took two colors from the same color family (the blush striped shirt and the coral shorts) and then broke them up by using a second color (the mint gingham).  Added a crossbody bag for comfort (anyone else's shoulders get tired from carrying a giant tote all the time??), threw on some sneakers for comfort, and topped it off with a hat to keep my hair from getting tangled by the wind.  The mint flower brooch was a fun piece to add to the hat because it just so happened to match my gingham shirt. :D This look would work with just about any colors; don't have a mint colored shirt?  Try a navy or a yellow, or even another pink shirt in a different shade!  Or try pairing different shades of blue and purple together like this outfit.

This spring, I've really been drawn to playing with different shades in the same color family.  While I still love mixing contrasting colors together (sometimes with not-so classy results....oy!), the more simple the color palettes, the more appeal they've had for me.  Something I've slowly learned this past year in blogging is that you don't have to pair three different colors together to appear fashionable; more often than not, less is more! Thank you so much for having me here on The Book of Leisure, today, it's been fun taking over for Elizabeth! :)  Stop by Simply Whit in a Sequined Life to say hi, and you can always follow along on Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. :) Stay Classy! Bloglovin' / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Pinterest