LOOKBOOK: March 19

Dana Buchman Tracy Linen Tote, $109, Kohl's

I am not normally a fan of Kohl's handbags, they always seem to be several seasons behind.  However, I love this Dana Buchman linen tote.  It's tailored enough to take to work, and is still relaxed enough for the weekend.

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. 

Back To School: American Eagle Outfitters

When I was in high school up through my junior year of college, American Eagle was my store.  I was a major AE brand whore, a godly amount of my clothes were from there, the whole nine yards.  And then, I got tired of it.  Maybe it was just my style was changing.  I do remember about that time the clothing seemed to change somehow.  Like it didn't have the character, style, and originality that it used to.  I used to get the cutest graphic tees there, and then all of a sudden the only graphic shirts offered only had some for of "AE" "AEO" "American Eagle" etc printed on it.  I'm not a big fan of wearing logos on my shirts, as I've mentioned before.  So it's been quite a while since I've really looked at American Eagle.  Recently, I sat down and browsed the website, and I'm impressed.  It's like the original old stuff I loved so much are coming back, and that makes me excited.

Polyvore set here.

I had my little sister look over all the sets I've done here for back to school week, and while she really liked them, she said that she wanted something much more casual.  As she puts it, 12 years of Catholic school forced her to wear skirts almost every day, so now that she's in college it's jeans time.  In this set, I paired a basic pair of flare jeans (huge this fall), and a great tank.  To really turn this outfit from "ok but bland" to "that's great" I added a red infinity scarf and some adorable sandals.  Seriously, aren't those sandals wonderful?  If you don't want a scarf, go for a chunky or a long necklace and add some bangle brackets. 

Polyvore set here.

I kept the tone casual again for the study date outfit.  Yes, you can wear white after Labor Day, just be sure to not make the outfit too summery.  The wedge sandals can be worn into fall as well, the textures on them are very Earthy, and can remind a lot of people of the textures found outside in autumn.  I added the peacock feather necklace as a way to add some pops of color.  And now for the 10th time this week: tights and flat boots for colder weather.