Blogger Spotlight: Emma from Verbal Mélange

Hey guys! I've decided to start a new series on the blog where each month I'll be featuring one of my favourite bloggers! To kick things off I've asked Emma from Verbal Mélange to write a feature.  Emma is awesome. Period. She's a thrifty gal who blogs about fashion, shopping on a financial diet, and how to look great for less. Like I said, she's awesome. Thanks again, Emma!

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First, I just want to say how excited and flattered I am that Kelly asked me to kick off her guest blogger series! She’s such a sweetheart, and she actually braves the cold Canadian outdoors for her outfit photos. That’s dedication right there. Mad respect for that :)

So anyway, today I’m here to talk about remixing daytime outfits into nighttime ones. If you’ve ever read Verbal Mélange, you’d know that my general take on style is that it shouldn’t cost a lot to look good. I’m on a pretty tight budget, so I thrift most of my clothes or make do with the ones I already have. Maintaining a style blog when you don’t buy new clothes very often is a great challenge, and it’s definitely taught me how to remix my closet more than ever.

Any time I buy a shirt, I try to think of at least one day and one night option for wearing it. In fact, a lot of the clothes that I wear to the office every day eventually get worn to the bars or to parties as well, and vice versa. Take for example this outfit. I re-styled the same sweater and boots to be worn to work on casual Friday, then later to a sketch comedy show with some friends.




 
 Day version. Sweater is from H&M, long sleeve shirt from Target, skinnies and bracelet from Forever 21, boots from Old Navy. 
   
 Night version. Shorts are from The Limited, tights are from Target, hoop earrings were a gift.

I made a few key choices in converting this outfit to be suitable for each situation. For daytime, I kept it casual and toned down, going with the always popular loose-sweater-jeggings-and-boots combo. I also covered up some more skin with the long sleeve shirt, since my office is cold, but that had the dual effect of looking a little more modest. I pulled my hair up into a messy, casual, curly bun, and kept the makeup simple.

For the nighttime switch, I washed and straightened my hair, wearing it down to up the sexy factor a little. I also used a smokier eyeshadow and red lipstick. The hoop earrings also up the sexy factor without being too in-your-face. And finally, I ditched the pants. I was going to go with no pants at all, but this sweater doesn’t quite cover my bum, so for the sake of modesty I threw on some black shorts. These rust-colored tights are actually tights, not leggings, so something had to be done regardless. 

And there you have it! Using the same pieces for daytime and nighttime wear is a snap, thanks to a few simple switches. Go all out and try re-styling your favorite little black dress for work, or try to incorporate a blazer or pencil skirt into your typical evening wear.