Back to School: Kohl's

Since Kohl's is a department store and carries more than one brand, I thought I would have almost unlimited selection to choose from.   However, after a trip to my local Kohl's and pursuing the Kohl's website, I found the selection...depressing.  There wasn't much at all I liked.  While Kohl's isn't my favorite place to shop, I have found really nice stuff there, and I know many of my friends and coworkers love to shop there. 

Anywho, while my local store doesn't carry much of the LC by Lauren Conrad line, the website does.  I was somewhat surprised by how nice it looks.  Is it original? No, but again, it looks nice.  So in keeping with my sister's plea for more casual, I pulled together this outfit:

Polyvore set here.

Here I paired a basic pair of navy striped shorts with a great ruffled cranberry shirt.  Again, I went for items that would mix and match with items you already have in your wardrobe.  Instead of going for flats or sandals, I chose this pair of  oxfords to add interest.  I've been seeing lots of oxfords in stores right now so you may want to look into picking up a pair.  You can wear oxfords much like you would flats, just make sure to keep the soles flat, not like brogues, which look similar but have a heavier sole (think Doc Martins).  I added some bangles with cute bow accents. 

I'm going to be honest: there wasn't a single bag I liked on the Kohl's website.  While I like the style of this bag, when I looked at it in store, the materials make it look cheap.  However, I thought it gave the outfit a hint of Katherine Hepburn (my namesake!) between the purse and the oxfords.

I fared much better when choosing a study date outfit:

Polyvore set here.

While I did the back to class set with the LC by Lauren Conrad line, I decided to go more sophisticated and use Simply Vera by Vera Wang for the study date outfit.  While my overall opinion of this line is one of disappointment--this line had so much potential but ended up being some badly cut polyester blouses--there occasionally is a knock-out piece, like this skirt.  This skirt has jaw-dropping drama that I haven't seen in an outfit at this low of a price.  Since there is so much detail in the skirt, I chose a shirt with matching details on the sleeves.  Tuck the shirt in so you can show off the detail on the skirt.  For an outfit like this, go with simple hair, makeup, and accessories.  Were this just a plain gray skirt and black shirt I'd add some colored shoes or bag, but again, that would distract from the beautiful architecture.