BEAUTY MUST-HAVES

KEEP IT SIMPLE: WEAR A UNIFORM

I cannot believe that I of all people am standing before you, encouraging you to wear a uniform this season. But hey, people change! And I am all about ease these days because I am focused on my family and building a new life in Atlanta. While I strongly believe in looking your best as much as possible, my priorities are aligned elsewhere at this time and I bet yours are, too. As we get older, different things start to matter more than others – like how much time we spend getting ready each day. So what am I getting at? Well, I’ve been trying something new – wearing the same thing whenever I head out for a day of errands around town or whenever I work from home. Don’t get me wrong, the look I’ve chosen is fabulous, feminine and put together, but it’s also easy to clean, easy to wear and easy to pull off the hanger every. single. time.

So what have I chosen for my uniform this season? A knit short-sleeved neutral-colored sheath dress, a denim jacket, some summer-to-fall ‘shooties‘ (worst word ever), and a small cross-body bag in a bright color. Why?! Wearing a dress makes you look one cut above everyone else’s casual attire and adds a light layer of elegance. The denim jacket is an off-duty wardrobe staple and brings the look down a casual notch to be weekend-appropriate. The cross-body bag gives you hands-free and easy movement. And the shoes – for me – are where I add my Elise-ness to it by having a high heel. But I think this look would be equally as charming in a nice pointed-toe flat. In fact, this whole thing is inspired by one of my blogging superheroes, Mary Orton of Memorandum. She wore a similar look with flats and KILLED IT. 

As for hair, makeup and accessories, I keep it simple too. If I don’t have time to do my hair, I’ll wear it in a smooth low ponytail. For makeup, I go with the easy summer-to-fall makeup routine (just blogged about it here last week!). And I choose simple gold jewelry to match the hardware on my bag, and sunglasses. Et voila! The perfect fall uniform!

Dress: LOFT // Jacket: J. Crew // Bag: If Chic (c/o) (similar here) // Shoes: Steve Madden (via DSW, similar here) // Sunglasses: Silvano Apparel (c/o) // Jewelry: my own

Do you have a uniform you love to wear? What do you think about my version? Let me know in the comments below!