Erika S. outfits

Summer Fridays

This post is coming a week late, but it’s a perfect example of my Friday mantra: comfortable and casual. Last Friday I wore my comfiest pair of black pants from Forever 21. You could do yoga and bike to work in these babies even though they are high waisted and marketed as jeans. My new thing this school year are clothes that trend towards the “athleisure” look. I hate that word, and it reminds me of 20 somethings in makeup wearing Lululemon and spotless Nikes while they shop at Whole Foods for prepared meals (I’m so judge-y, I’m sorry, not sorry). But here we are – I am one of them now. I shop at Athleta, I’m technically wearing a workout shirt here, and I now own more than a few pairs of Nikes. I draw the line at Lululemon though….for now.

jacket: h&m – tank: jcrew – belt: gap – pants: f21 – shoes: nike airmax

Erika S. outfits, teaching

Controversial/Appropriate or Nah

Controversial/Appropriate for school or Nah?

I know there are plenty of teachers (people) out there who might look at my classroom fashion choices, and think “that’s not appropriate for a teacher to wear in front of kids/teenagers”.  I have heard that I shouldn’t wear skinny jeans to work because they’re not professional. I have also heard that I shouldn’t show my shoulders at work because it’s too much skin. Frankly, I don’t really care what other people think is appropriate or not because I have already set my own boundaries in terms of what not to wear to school. I won’t wear anything short (one or two inches above the knee is where I draw the line), I won’t wear spaghetti strap tops, and I won’t wear leggings on a teaching day (non-student contact days though, I might). There are very vague guidelines for a dress code of sorts in our district.  I can’t even find anything that states an official dress code other than “Attire must not disrupt the school’s learning environment.” 

I find that the later in the school year it is, the more lax I get with my attire. In September, I’ll wear a lot of dresses, and nicer clothes. In May, I’m in jeans almost everyday and the arms come out. This past week I wore what many other teachers might consider too “risky” or inappropriate. There were holes in my jeans. My top was sleeveless, though I wouldn’t personally call it a tank top. The top has an open back where a tiny bit of skin peeks out. I think if I worked in a private school, this outfit would have been a no-go. If I worked in a more conservative district/area/state, my outfit on this day maybe would have been outright scandalous. But thankfully I work where I do and no one says a thing to me about what I’m wearing other than, “miss, you look cute today!” Also,  I think these jeans make my butt look good. I bought them last weekend at Banana Republic and they are so very comfortable. I’ve worn them 4 times this past week and I have them on today (Saturday) too. Highly recommend you check them out! They are a bit mom jeans-ish and many sizes are sold out online. They are cheaper in store anyway, so I’d recommend you try and find them in person.

So here is a question for everyone reading: do you think these items are appropriate for a teacher or not?

  • jeans
  • skinny jeans
  • white jeans
  • jeans with holes/distressed denim
  • bare arms
  • tops with open backs
  • tattoos
  • shorts
  • skirts/dresses that are above the knee

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top: j.crew – jeans: banana republic – shoes: sven clogs

Erika S. outfits

Feeling Wild

Hi all, today we started week two of the school year, and as you can probably imagine (and empathize), I’ve been busy, too busy to blog my back log of photos!  I have 4 sets of photos from last week with some guest appearances from other teachers, but they will have to come later. Tonight I have just enough time to talk a tiny bit about my outfit from today before I hit the hay.

At the start of summer (right at the end of my 6 month shopping ban), I popped into J.Crew to see what they had in the sale racks. I found this prim, stripe-y shirt, and bought it with out much thought. The moment I got home, I regretted the purchase. I just know that this is destined to be one of those shirts I wear once a year. It’s one of those shirts that will need ironing after each wash, and I know myself too well – I won’t do it more than once or twice a year. I’m that lazy. It’s cute enough and proper enough to be a work closet staple – if only it was one of those wrinkle free fabrics. Needless to say, today was the first day I wore it, and it will probably make another appearance in the spring, but that just might be it. Ironing is the worst!

These shoes on the other hand…ARE THE BEST. So ridiculously soft and comfortable, chic and casual, perfect for school. I’ve been watching youtube videos from Aimee Song and Lizzy Hadfield, and both of them wear their Gucci loafer slides all the time and they make them look really effortlessly cool. There is no way in flying hell I’m ever spending that much on shoes ($650!!!!!), so I went searching for a more affordable option. These Banana Republic demi slides are IT.  I’ve worn them to school 3 times in the past 2 weeks, and for someone who has a ridiculous amount of shoes, that’s got to be saying something. Right?

THLT banana republic Demi Slide 2

THLT jcrew popover short sleeve 2

THLT jcrew popover short sleeve

THLT banana republic Demi Slide

shirt: j.crew – belt and shoes: banana republic – jeans: f21

Erika S. outfits

Miss! Are You Wearing Makeup?!

I started this post about 2 weeks ago, and then promptly forgot about it.  So here it is…2 weeks later!

This past Tuesday, I wore makeup to school – like I do every day. On this day, however, it was a big deal to 3rd period. The “Do-Now” conversation turned into “Miss! Are you wearing makeup today?” “Miss! do you have a date tonight, is that why?” and “Miss! you look pretty.”  Thanks for the ego boost kids!

The truth is, I wear makeup every day, but that morning, I decided to add bit bit of eye liner – one extra step that I don’t normally do. My everyday morning routine consists of hitting the snooze about 4 times, dragging myself out of bed to brush the teeth, wash the face, moisturize said face with SPF, and get dressed. Once those things are done, it’s makeup time. I slap on a light skin base of some sort, stave off the inevitable oily sheen with some powder, run some brown goop over the brows, and dab some life in the form of blush onto my cheeks. Then I head downstairs to pour about 32 fl. oz. of coffee into travel thermoses (I set the coffee maker the night before), grab a snack bar for lunch and head out the door.  20 min later I’m on my way in to school.

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sweater: j.crew – blouse: madewell – jeans: j.brand – boots: h&m – belt: banana republic – everything old and not currently in stores

Erika S. outfits

Vote!

I voted.  Did you? I’m loving the “Secret Pantsuit”group on my social media also,  Have you seen it? Are you a part of the group?  If I owned a white pant suit, I would have worn it today.

swag2

swag

im-with-her

swag-vote

glasses: warby parker – t-shirt: thrifted – skirt: j.crew – cardigan: uniqlo – tights: h&m – boots: franco sarto

Erika S. outfits

A Don Henley Summer

It’s been HOT in Denver lately, with temps in the mid 90’s every day. There was never much of a summer growing up in the San Francisco fog, so I’ll never get used to the thick sweat/sunscreen coat I end up wearing everyday. Plus, now that I’m older, my feet swell in the heat. YAY. Who really cares though, when there is so much fun to be had in Colorado during the summer. B and I have been hiking, working on the garden, grillin, and riding bikes to breweries. We are heading on a 3 day canoe/camping trip in western Colorado this Thursday. Don Henley’s been playing in the background all summer, and I’ve been obsessed with 80’s/90’s soft rock. But seriously, how awesome is this song?

I went shopping the other day and J.Crew was having a 50% off sale items sale. This dress was long enough, and fit well, so I picked it up on a whim. It was a hit with everyone, even random strangers on the street. As I was photographing this in the backyard, B commented that it looked like a hippie wedding dress. I can live with that.

jcrew white eyelet dressjcrew white eyelet midi dressjcrew tiered eyelet midi dressjcrew eyelet midi dress

dress: jcrew – clogs: mia via nordstrom rack – sunnies: wordpress.com swag via b

Erika S. outfits

fern fancy

Today’s outfit was fern crazy.  Surprised by kids again today — no comments on the fancy tights.  huh.  go figure.  I suspect it’s because I made them sing group written songs about nutrition to the tune of twinkle twinkle little star.  It’s really great when kids can laugh at themselves.  I genuinely feel like it helps kids learn how to cope with being on the spot in an embarrassing situation.  Especially when they have a built-in support structure in the form of group members who are also in the same situation.  The group support and the entire class also signing silly embarrassing songs takes away most if not all of the horrifying embarrassment.  I wish you could have all seen it. It was amazing!

My example song that I had to sing by myself to three different health classes today:

vegies vegies oh so green, hope I eat enough of you.     So much better for my health, than a package of Cheetos….vegies vegies oh so green. hope I eat enough of you.   Huzzah!!

I love these tights.  They remind me of sporophytes running up the backs of fern fronds.  or just the leaves.  I didn’t get all OCD this morning with the lines like I usually do.  Oh well.
glasses: warby parker – cardigan and tights: j. crew – tank: target – vest and necklace: f21 – pencil skirt: banana republic – booties: nine west