St. Louis VIP Blogger Lounge + Two Fall Casual Looks

Jeez,  I'm so behind in posting this!  Between attending some of the St. Louis Fashion Week events, several family members' birthdays, my day job, and an upper respiratory infection, I haven't felt too much like blogging or even posing for pics.

That said, I have so much I want to share!
 

The Friday before last, I attended the Well Dressed Midwest VIP Blogger Lounge as part of St. Louis Fashion Week.  Local vendors were out showcasing their wares, and it was a great opportunity to introduce ourselves to various brands as well as meet up with other bloggers.

Jeans:  The Limited Petites (Similar here)

DJ TrashTalk provided us with tunes, while guests were treated to yummy flatbread pizzas, desserts, and other fare by Scape American Bistro (hosts for the event).

Sara's Social Booth made for fun photo ops, like this one with fellow St. Louis blogger, Michelle of Creature Type.  Seriously, if you don't know her blog, check it out.  She's one of the good ones, y'all.

Guests had the opportunity to try out flash tattoos like the one on my wrist here.

c/o Glik's

The Hive Alton

Zettie's Confections

While I had fun checking out the clothing and food vendors, I was most intrigued by the shoes!

Vogue Footwear and Lookie Lou - a vegan shoes company, left me with a serious desire to dress up my tootsies!

The Blogger Lounge was presented by Well Dressed Midwest, an amazing network for Midwestern bloggers to meet and connect with each other and various brands. 

Guests were treated to free t-shirts, which I'm wearing here today.

Blazer:  The Limited (Similar here)

Boots:  Payless (old)
Bracelets:  Target, The Limited, Ann Taylor

I've been remarking to myself and others that I need to build a more casual wardrobe that works well for weekends running around with the kiddos but that still feels stylish and like "me."

Purse:  The Limited
Ring:  Ann Taylor

Necklace:  Torrid

The Blogger Lounge helped me twice in that endeavor. 

Leggings:  c/o Glik's (Available here)

In addition to these nifty t-shirts, I received a free pair of fleece lined leggings from Glik's. 

Glik's is a local chain store, headquartered in nearby Granite City, Illinois.  I grew up occasionally shopping at Glik's as a kid, but as an adult, I no longer associated it with hip fashion.

Sweater:  The Limited (Available here)

To my surprise, I learned that several of the stores have a boutique atmosphere and offer brands like Stuart Weitzman.

Rings:  Torrid
Bracelet:  New York & Company

Now, about those fleece lined leggings...they are so incredibly soft and comfortable..  I was very skeptical when I learned that they were one size fits all.  While they likely wouldn't work for anyone over a size 18 (and hence, are NOT one size fits all), they have incredible stretch which makes them an extremely comfortable fit for me as a size 12.  The fleece lining makes them warm for fall, while also providing some heft so that these are more pants than tights.

I've always been a proponent that leggings are pants, but ONLY if worn appropriately - with shirts that cover crotch/bottom and if in a truly opaque fabric, hopefully with some amount of weight (ponte knit, for example).

These leggings are perfection.  I even wore them to a dinner out to celebrate the birthday of one of my sisters. 

Do you consider leggings to be pants?

For the jeans in other looks, see here, here, here, here, and here.

For the blazer in other looks, see here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

For the sweater poncho in another look, see here.