My friend Shannon recently remarked that her favorite date nights always tend to be the spontaneous ones, the ones were you roll down to the corner dive in your sweats because there’s no food in the house and then one laugh leads to another and suddenly you find yourself Partying, with a capital P, in the manner of rockstars. High-five, us!
Shannon, obviously, doesn’t have kids. Our date nights require a little more advanced planning these days (unless we’re using the ipod-at-the-restaurant babysitter, which is great for dinner but eventually puts a damper on Partying), but the spontaneity and casual nature she describes is right up our alley. We work too much and are (frankly) to damn tired to always be Going Out All Fancy, and my pretty-pretty dresses aren’t typically part of our usual date-night rotation.
We’re a jeans-and-tee kind of couple.
I have my big-girl shoes on, which make any outfit fancy (and Mike’s wearing his cool shoes, too – Bravo, Baby). But the rest of my outfit is predominately from Nordstrom’s newly expanded t.b.d department. As I mentioned last week, I’m in love with the direction they took. How can I not be? It’s chock-full of my favorite brands and clothes that do playground rotation just as easily as date night (with a few styling tweaks like big-girl shoes).
This whole button-down-under-a-tee is one of my favorite styling tricks, especially once the weather cools. It’s seriously comfy, easy to recreate, and looks good in almost any setting (including an office – swap out the denim for a sleek pencil skirt or wide trousers).
And that jacket. It’s feels light when on, yet it’s cozy and warm.
I’m also having a flare denim moment…..it’s a fun change-up, and with a high heel, the legs look soooo much longer, right?
wearing:
shirt: a very old Elizabeth and James button down….(see similar styles below)
tee: Ace Stripe Tee (size small for reference)
jacket: Free People Oversize Knit Jacket (size xs for reference)
jeans: J.Brand Lovestory (sold out, but see similar styles below)
shoes: Sam Edelman Palma Suede Sandal
bag: vintage, but this striped envelope clutch is seriously cool
watch: Mike’s….but I really like this understated men’s watch by Nixon (or this one if you are looking for one like Mike’s)
Here are a few different ways to re-create the look:
If you ever happen to find yourself in Marquette, MI, go check out The Steinhaus. It’s our new fav date-night place when home visiting the fam. (And where we spent several hours laughing ’till our sides hurt after taking these pics.
All photography by the insanely talented (and, as it turns out, the very funny) Vafa-Coffman Photography.
xo,
S
ps. I *think* (hope??) we fixed the problem with the shopping galleries not loading. Please (pretty please) let me know if you still can’t view them in your RSS readers. Thank you!!!!
Many, many thanks to Nordstrom for sponsoring this post!! As always, all product choices, thoughts, opinions, and life musings are my own. (Or, as little Pax would say, “MINE OWN”. )
