the hoodie sweater dress

hello, spring!

SPRING HAS SPRUNG! whooo here we are.. hopefully on the other side of TX winter stormsā€¦ but now worrying about hurricane season. itā€™s always something! iā€™m a little late on this post but i thought it would be fun to style a hoodie dress! i've always like the look of a hoodie under a blazer combo so when i saw this sweater dress i thought itā€™d be fun to style it under a coat for a dressy outing but ALSO, it can be styled casually like sporty spice!

to style this sweater hoodie dress casually, pair it with some white sneakers and a belt bag to make it fun. this one adds additional texture with the sherpa! for hair, iā€™d put it up in a high ponytail and aviator sunglasses. to style it for a night out, trade out the sneakers for some knee high suede boots (again, more texture adds dimension!) and layer it under a jacket with hoodie out! also trade out the belt bag for something more elevated like a leather bag.

i have always wanted photos infront of ā€œAustinā€ and lucky me, @janeyunphoto agreed and made it happen (sheā€™s great!) despite all the construction going around there with the Blanton Museum.

option 1 // casual style/sporty spice with white sneaks & sherpa belt bag for added texture!

side ramblings: UM, so much. first, i think the universe nudged me pretty hard to stop talking about launching my styling business and to actually do it. the time is now, right?! thanks universe! haha. i turned in a couple of ā€œdeliverablesā€ over to my first two clients and itā€™s been a process. coming up with tools and workflow processes (while over-thinking it all, the INFJ in me). nonetheless, i found myself looking forward to it ā€” iā€™ve missed it. second, home improvement projects have commenced (iā€™m telling you, itā€™s something to do with spring that makes you want to get back to work!). team daddy & i changed out the dining room light and in the process of replacing hallway and bedroom lights to recessed lighting! lastly, some #hellyes collaborations opened up with

  • @SĆ©zane ā€” french clothing brand, i LOVE everything and choosing an item made me miss paris so much! i picked out the Asianne dress! itā€™s a pretty blue floral dress and looking forward to styling it two ways. iā€™m all about the versatility!

  • @DavinesNorthAmerica ā€” hair product company known for sustainability. they sent me one of the biggest PR packages iā€™ve received in a while!! here are a couple of hair care products they sent me to try (the whole box smells so divine!):

currently on my playlist: all for nothing (iā€™m so in love) by Lauv

currently reading: the unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren! i also finished black cake by Charmaine Wilkerson since the last blog post and it was so good. reminded me of real hardships our parents faced back then. in my 30ā€™s i have an even greater appreciation for what my parents went through. itā€™s funny i planned on documenting their life story and this book was yet another gentle nudge by the universe to DO IT!

option 2 // date night. styled under a coat (hoodie out), knee high suede boots and a leather bag (so much textured goodness!!)

READ MORE

option 1 // sporty spice

dress | Amazon ribbed and hooded sweater dress in light brown (wearing size S)
bag | lululemon everywhere belt bag in light ivory ā€” great amazon dupe for $23 // non-sherpa amazon dupe for $15
shoes | Keds ace sneakers in white leather ā€” also eyeing the Veja // target ones with a little platform for $35!

option 2 // date night

dress | Amazon ribbed and hooded sweater dress in light brown (wearing size S)
bag | Red Dress Boutique polished and poised bag in black ā€” similar on amazon in a more classic leather pattern
shoes | Sam Edelman uma knee high boot in black suede (i also loved them so much i got them in the bootie version) ā€” similar in the Ursula on Zappos // similar in the Ursula on Sam Edelman

thanks for stopping by!,
JD


photo credit: @janeyunphoto

the cropped sweater & OTK boots

my first pair of OTKs. eeeppp. (not to be confused with office tool kit).

i finally got around to purchasing my first pair of over the knee (OTK) boots. i've avoided these because i have very large calves (but the suede offers stretch) and i'm pretty short (5' 2"), so i felt like these would make me look even shorter. what excuses! Stuart Weitzman is a huge influencer in terms of OTK boots, but i ain't got a money tree, so these Unisa OTKs were such a good dupe of the SW highland boot (retails for $798 USD)! these are a little high for me and there isn't much arch support but i definitely don't plan on wearing them long distances. i'll be purchasing some flat OTKs for a more comfy alternative. any suggestions?! 

i can't wait to try these OTKs with a skirt or a dress but it was cold, so i went with LAYERS for this shoot. this itchy cropped sweater never gets worn, so i solved that problem by layering it with a button down. the best part is that this is a NON-IRON button down (yes, please!). let me tell you how i am not a fan of ironing so thank goodness Banana Republic has a great line of non-iron shirts for people like me. honestly, i've never ironed so much in my life!! #bloggerlife #thestruggleisreal

i'm also trying out a new way to shop my posts visually. let me know your thoughts!

currently on my playlist: me, myself, and i by G-Eazy & Bebe Raexha
y'all, i am totally loving this song right now!! i often think that during the hardest times in our lives, we usually find ourselves alone. that's why it's so important to count on yourself to pull through #nomatterwhat #memyselfandi

READ MORE

sweater | Banana Republic cropped cowl neck sweater (old) -- similar / similar
button down | Banana Republic non-iron windowpane shirt (old) -- similar in white / similar in black with polka dots / similar from Ann Taylor
jacket | Forever21 textured faux leather moto jacket 
denim | Hudson nico mid-rise skinny jeans in abbey (favorite wash and cut)
shoes | Unisa saranaa over the knee boot in black suede -- similar from Target!
bag | Celine micro luggage tote in navy -- good dupe 
sunglasses | Prada round oversized sunglasses in black -- good dupe
earrings | Kendra Scott alex earrings in black
rings | BaubleBar arrow wrap ring / BaubleBar diana midi ring / BaubleBar ice chevron midi ring / Kendra Scott martiza cocktail ring in ivory pearl (old) / Etsy stacking & midi rings
lips | Tom Ford lip color in casablanca
nails | essie nail polish in frock 'n roll

rock the OTK boots and day two of a blow out,
JD