Fall florals
I love wearing sweaters with skirts or sweaters with shorts, even though the look is inherently incongruous. I'm not the only one, either--just yesterday, Nicole posted this darling outfit featuring a sweater and (floral!) skirt. #twinning I wore this outfit to the last outdoor farmer's market of the season, and then to the coffee shop to indulge on a blended chai--my favorite drink, though undoubtedly not my first choice when temperatures drop. (I recently had a hot pumpkin chai, though, and it was so good! I definitely like that better than the PSL.)
I realized I haven't yet talked about the results of my reader survey from a month ago! First of all, I want to thank all of you that shared your thoughts with me. I had a huge response this year (over 20 replies, though I did learn that Chris took the survey, haha...he was the only one to like the cat-related posts the most, unsurprisingly), and I was so excited to learn some more about what you like/don't like or what you'd like to see more of on here. Outfit posts were the favorite type of post, though general style posts, life-related posts, and budget posts tied for second. It was really cool to see how many of you have purchased something I've worn--I hope you love those items! :)
I got a suggestion to talk more about the fit and quality of items that I wear, and I will try to do that, though I tend to forget about things like that unless I mention something about poor quality (and then you won't see that item again). I tend to rave the most in my budget posts. I don't specifically do review posts mostly because I don't have the time to go to a store (or order a bunch online, which usually costs a lot), take photos/write up a post, and then return most if not everything to the store. I rarely purchase things when new collections are released so I would feel terrible returning an entire order. Plus, a lot of other bloggers do it better than me.
The majority of my other suggestions involved grad school--whether it was deciding what to wear or choosing outfits for conferences or budgeting beyond clothes. I like the ideas and will try to talk/post more about what I wear to conferences or other professional events. I briefly mentioned conference wear in this post about packing for conferences. I don't talk much about choosing outfits for grad school in particular because any outfit you see on here is one I've either worn to school or one I would wear to school (unless I mention otherwise). I do not have a dress code nor do I work in a lab. Most of my colleagues are in casual or athletic wear, so even outfits such as this one would seem relatively dressed up. I also don't talk about budgeting beyond my clothing budget because I suck at it. Honestly, I don't have a budget. I have a rough idea of how much we spend on groceries per month, and I pay the bills...but I don't budget. I know I should, though... (It doesn't help that car problems over the past two months have really eaten a hole in my pocket.) I'm also in a potentially unique situation--as a grad student in my field, I make a salary and I don't have to pay for tuition, and I know that isn't the case for a lot of other grad students.
Anyway, I didn't mean for this post to be so long! Oops. I just want to say THANK YOU again for taking the survey, and I hope to spice things up around here while still keeping the outfit posts coming since they are definitely my favorite to put together. :) If you ever have a question or post suggestion, feel free to leave a comment or shoot over an email!
Everlane sweater (exact in tan or taupe) / Amour Vert skirt via Piperlime (similar from Forever 21; last seen here) / Vince Camuto loafers (old; similar by Aerosoles) / BaubleBar necklace (old; similar from Nordstrom) / LOFT sunglasses