Back to School Fashion and the 10 Minute Closet Challenge!

Hey there Seedlings! Megs here. I can't believe summer is nearly at an end already!  It's been a busy summer for our little family, and while I'm sad for summer to end, I'm excited about the Fall (which is one of my favorite seasons!).  I'm not sure about your household, but ours is trying to balance back to school needs (I work on a school district calendar, so heading back to work full time this September from a lovely part time summer) with end of summer budgeting.  Unfortunately, it's not looking like back to school shopping in the "traditional" sense is in the cards (or budget) this year; every other year I invest in a few substantial, year-round wearable wardrobe items with staples like jeans, dresses, and undergarments.  This is my "off" year.  Fortunately, however, I have some GREAT refashioning ideas (thank you Pinterest!) so that I can go shopping in my own closet and maybe rediscover some hidden gems.

My resolution for this back to school season is to buy nothing brand new and stick to a budget of $60.  I'll blog next weekend on how my thrifting adventures go :D  Buying nothing new will stretch my dollar with  the options of thrift stores, consignment stores, garage sales, and (the root of this blog post!) clothes already hanging in my closet.  Last year I rediscovered a love of A-line dresses, so I have a closet pre-stocked with gorgeous frocks that I can pair up with boots or flats for instant comfy chic.  I work with preschoolers and often meet with parents in my job (and I have a two-year old!) so I have to balance function with professional dress.  I often spring for dresses with leggings, and it's a surprising win-win; leggings provide the coverage I need when sitting at circle time or running on the playground, and the dresses are comfortable and lend a more formal air to what would otherwise be a very casual wardrobe.  That said, I am usually pretty boring with dresses; I tend to pair them with a matching flat colored cardigan and call it good.  I wanted to try something new for fall, so I first looked at Pinterest for some inspiration, then dove into my closet with a timer set for 10 minutes.  Here is the inspiration picture, from Pink Pistachio:

http://www.pinkpistachio.com/mixing-it-up/

And here is what I came up with after 10 minutes rooting around my closet: 

Dress: eshakti

Necklace: groopdealz

Jacket: Marshalls

Earrings: Me

I love the idea of florals and stripes, and "inverted" the look in my inspiration photo based on what I had on hand.  I love how it turned out, and I will definitely be wearing this in the Fall.