Professional and a Lovely Little à la Mode Link-Up

Monday just seems like an appropriate day to talk about work-wear, don't you think?  Often I find that my best inspiration for teaching outfits comes at the beginning of the week when I'm fresh and energized.  Last week I showed you a typical school outfit for me.  Today I'm featuring a slightly more professional look.

Truth be told, a lot of "professional" clothing feels too straight-laced for teaching.  Other teachers may disagree but I just don't feel relatable to students when I'm wearing a pencil skirt.  And I'm less apt to be walking around the classroom, helping students when I'm wearing 3-inch pumps.

One way that I do like to spruce up my work-wear, however, is by adding a blazer.  Blazers provide that extra professional touch but I still feel comfortable doing my job.  Patterned blazers, in particular are a fun way to to up the professionalism!  Here are a bunch of patterned blazers that would be great additions to your professional wardrobe (I'm particular to the plaid ones, this time of year).

I wore this particular outfit for the first night of parent-teacher conferences.  My outfit had to take me from teaching by day to talking to parents all night.  I was comfortable and I felt put-together for a crazy, 12-hour day!

What I'm Wearing:

Blazer: Macy's 

Dress: Banana Republic Outlet (similar, similar)

Necklace: Peach Jewel (exact)

Watch: JORD

Tights: Nordstrom (exact)

Booties: DSW (exact)

Now it's time to link up!

Hosted by :

Carrie/A Lovely Little Wardrobe : Bloglovin/Facebook/Instagram

Whitney/Whitney à La Mode : Bloglovin/Instagram

Casey/A Little Bit of Cheer : Bloglovin/Facebook/Instagram

Each week we choose a favorite...check out Carrie and Casey's blogs to see if it's you! Here was my favorite this week:

I can't get enough of Katie's pattern mixing!  I don't know if I would have thought to put these pieces together but I think they make for a perfectly whimsical outfit!

Now let's get linking! We like to keep things simple around here. Just link up your favorite posts--fashion, beauty, food, DIY, anything goes! Follow your hosts on social media, have fun and be inspired! Thanks for linking up!

<a href="http://www.alittlebitofcheer.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1212.photobucket.com/albums/cc454/pianoprincessdesigns/button%20small_zpsujefyz2q.png~original" alt="A Lovely Little À La Mode Link Up" width="125"
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An InLinkz Link-up

Where I'm linking-up!

Create28: Tights

No, no...you aren't going crazy.  I did write two posts about the same outfit today!  I was able to fulfill the requirements of both Create28: Fall Looks and Blogging Besties with one ensemble!  However, I have lots to say about both challenges so I decided to post about each separately.  You are currently reading my post about Create28!

Ahhh tights season, how I love you!  If you've spent any amount of time visiting Whitney à la mode you may have noticed that I'm most frequently found donning a skirt or a dress.  I really struggle finding pants that fit and I find skirts and dresses to be more comfortable, anyway.  Plus tights make skirts and dresses just that much better!  Not only can you change-up your look with different colored and patterned tights, but tights allow you to wear skirts that are just a wee bit short on their own!

While I could talk about the merits of tights all day long, I decided to focus on colored tights today because I know that I used to struggle with how to wear them!  I am by no means an expert or the most stylish colored tights wearer, but here are some tips that I've found help me to feel good about wearing colored tights!  And for the sake of this post, I'm considering colored tights to be anything except for black and brown.

For me, the colored tights struggle was always about finding footwear that didn't look funny stuck on the end of a pair of colorful legs.  The easiest way I've found to pair colored tights with shoes is to go for a monochromatic look.  Add a pair of boots or flats in the same color as your tights and you have a longer, not-so-awkward look!

My other favorite way to wear colored tights is with boots or booties!  If you are feeling really nervous about trying colored tights, I suggest a pair of riding boots because then you are really only showing a tiny bit of the tights!

And then there's this look.  But I already told you how much I love moccasins!

So tell me, are you brave enough to try a pair of colored tights?  And let's see all of your beautiful tights looks from today (#Create28FallLooks)!

What I'm Wearing:

Dress: ASOS (similar, similar)

Cardigan: Gift (similar, similar)

Tights: Anthropologie (similar, similar)

Booties: DSW (exact)

Create28: Plaid

Did you know that today is Plaidurday?  Are you wearing your plaid?

I received this cozy buffalo plaid jacket in one of my Le Tote deliveries in early September.  For weeks it was too warm to even think about wearing a jacket, but I kept my Le Tote anyways because I just had to wear the jacket before I returned my goods and received another special delivery.

While I awaited the cool, crisp morning that meant I could break-out this jacket, I thought through so many outfit options.  I ultimately decided that pairing buffalo plaid with stripes is a perfect combination of classic yet creative.

What is your favorite way to wear plaid?  With stripes and booties like me?  As a scarf?  Perhaps a plaid shirtdress?  Maybe you've checked-out Adam Lippes for Target?  In any case, show us what you've got on Insta (#Create28FallLooks) and make sure to link-up on Monday.  Here are some more plaid looks that I'm loving for fall!

Follow Whitney à la mode's board Plaid on Pinterest.

I hope you'll come back tomorrow to see how Casey styles a fall tunic!

What I'm Wearing:

Shirt: LOFT (exact)

Jacket: Le Tote (exact)

Jeans: American Eagle (exact)

Booties: DSW (exact)

Where I'm linking-up!