Living out of my suitcase... (long and pic heavy)

I just returned from a week long business trip and decided to make an inventory of my travel wardrobe - maybe somebody will find it interesting too...
I had 6 work days including the first day - plane-to-office and one day just for travel back. Even though I worked in the bank my dress code was business casual as I worked in the IT department and did not have any business meetings to attend.
This is what I packed:

Bottoms:
- 1 black sleeveless Tahari sheath;
- 1 pair of slouchy trousers (Long Tall Sally);
Tops:
- 1 white Tahari button down;
- 1 animal print blouse;
- 1 BR black t-neck;
- 1 BR white t-neck;
- 1 BR striped navy / cream sweater
Jackets:
- 1 Danier leather blazer;
- 1 leather outdoor jacket (Danier)
Footwear:
- 1 pair of SE suede putty booties
- 1 pair of red heeled loafers (Trotters)

All my things fit into a carry on bag with a room to spare (it was taken on the way back by the bottle of French cognac from a duty free :-)
Pic 1
This was a very long day - 7 hours of travel followed by 8 hours in the office and no ability to change in between. I needed something comfortable for the flight and in the same time acceptable for the client's site. I have decided that my slouchy trousers should be perfectly comfortable for the flight and I was right. Actually I think they are perfect for travel - do not constrict you anywhere while you sit for hours and do not wrinkle at all. Just perfect! I have paired them with my new BR black t-neck and white studded belt and booties
Pic 2
Black sheath and a striped sweater layered over it with patterned hose and red patent loafers. I have added a b/w polka dot square scarf for pattern mix (and because the dress kept peaking from under the sweater :-)
Pic 3
The same trousers with an animal print blouse, leather blazer and booties. Sorry for the grinning in this shot - I wore a black tee under the blouse for warmth.
Pic 4-5
Sheath dress layered over a white t-neck and under a leather blazer. I really like like different greys in the blazer, hose and booties work together here. I found that I prefer these booties with skirts to my python ones because they are lower contrast.
Pic 6
Striped sweater layered over a white button down worn with slouchy trousers.
Pic 7
Last day at the office and I could not decide if I want to wear a t-neck or animal print blouse with the dress. Then I remembered Angie's outfit from February NYFW and that was it. I layered a black t-neck over a white button down with cuffs and collar visible and then wore a dress on top. I wore nude hose with suede booties that day as red loafers gave me blisters and booties was my only option but I liked how they added an unexpected twist here. When I came to the office one of my co-workers called this "tuxedo dress" and then I got compliments from two bank employees I just met in the hall so I guess this outfit was not a complete bust :-)
Pic 8
Travel home so of course trousers were in order. I decided to wear a white t-neck with them - after all it would go into the laundry at home anyway. I was really surprised how much I enjoyed wearing white while I was in transit. Usually I never do it because it is no t practical but it really lifted my spirits and made me feel good!

So this was my week out of a carry on suitcase. I have another week of business soon so I better start planning soon!
Any thoughts / suggestions / critiques are greatly appreciated as usually!

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WIW - my humble contribution to Blogger Copycat extravaganza!

I was planning to participate in MaryK's Blogger Copycat challenge this week but circumstances prevented me from doing all 5 outfits: I was sick at home on Tuesday, have a day off tomorrow and leaving for a business trip on Friday morning. Actually maybe I will still do it for the next couple of days select different outfits matching my conditions...
Anyway here are the two outfits I managed so far. Both of them were inspired by Jessica Quirk from http://whatiwore.tumblr.com/page/6
1-2 Polka dot and burgundy
I like the simplicity of this outfit and unexpectedness of burgundy tights with black. I don't have a moto jacket yet so I settled for my brown leather blazer. Also I tried this outfit with black shooties like Jessica did but in the end decided that Iike burgundy booties better here.

3-4 Sparks and denim
I have seen several versions of this outfit on different blogs but I picked up Jessica's again. Although I have worn a version of this outfit in the spring but it was with a dress shirt so denim felt like a change. I had hard time deciding between python and putty booties but python won in the end. My vest is not as sparkly because it is a lurex, not sequins but I think the general idea is here. (waving to Janet who did a very similar look today)

It was really interesting to play along. I picked up images which resonated with my style and elements for which I had in my closet. However reading Suz's post yesterday I suddenly realized that literal outfit copying is not the only way. I am going to do it again with a 'new' approach and see if it can get my creative juices flowing. Thanks for the inspiration, Suz!

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WIW - still experimenting with loose trousers...

I feel so tired after my crazy business trip that I did not have any energy to play in my closet or take picture for the most of this week. However I managed to take a couple of pictures in the end of this week and here they are.
#1 Still experimenting with loose fitting trousers. This is a crazy pairing of them with a cropped top used as a vest and a BB button down. It is hard to see but I have some pattern mixing here too - polka dots of the scarf, stripes of the shirt, mini-houndtooth of the trousers and "no name" pattern of the top. What do you think - was I crazy to leave the house like this?
#2 This is my new BR turtleneck - I hope this yellow is passable on me. I really like to pair yellow with grey instead of black, it is softer this way.
This is an old silhouette of a above the knee dress, leggings and boots which I have been wearing for several years now but I still like it.

Sorry I am really sporadic on the forum these days, this work gets better of me. :-(

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Is this a happy ending for my quest for tall black boots?

You may remember my fiasco to find tall black riding boots at NAS this summer:
http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....in-one-day
Two weeks ago I was send to a business trip to US and decided to take advantage of it and order some shoes (surprise!). At first remembering my NAS boot pain I thought to pass on tall boots but then decided to try another pair of Blondo boots. The ones I tried on NAS (Vergara from Angie' picks) fit me well in the foot but were a bit narrow in the shaft and bunched too much for my liking around ankles - in other words they were not 10. This time I decided to take a scientific approach: I got Vergara's shaft length and calf width and reviewed all Blondo's tall boots against these measurements. There was only one style which potentially could fit me so I risked to order them:
http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/bl.....ltback=398
Long story short - I kept them and even wore them the last day of the trip to work and on the flight home. They passed the comfort test with flying colors - do they also pass YLF style filter?
They fit really well in the calf and the length is right I think. They could have been 1" longer maybe but I think it is good as is. They are waterproof and insulated so I hope to wear them in my Canadian winter with the snow!
The only concern I had was the fit in the ankle. They fit pretty close in the ankle but right above it have a bit of volume going on - I don't know how to describe it properly but you can see in the pictures. What do you think- passable or too sloppy looking?

I am going to do a separate post on my shoe order extravaganza tomorrow - so stay tuned!
ETA: just checked on the Nordstrom website and my size is gone! I am glad I did not wait until they go on sale :-)

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