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Get You a Dress That Can Do Both

This week is really flying by for us, given that we both had the day off Monday due to Veteran’s Day. We’re both endlessly grateful that we live in a country that people are willing to sacrifice for the rest of the civilian population. We honor people’s military service and thank you if you are one of them! Hopefully you caught Caitlin’s post about her new dress and booties here! They make for one killer outfit! We’re so thrilled to have received some actual tall dresses.

Caitlin and I went and got our hair done Monday – which is always fun to do together. From there, we also hit up Goddess & The Baker, which is a new cafe/bakery that people have been raving about. We topped that off with finishing out our sand volleyball season, which ended up being painfully cold. I got laughed at for wearing a pair of leather gloves, but no shame in my game. This cold is no joke and we all had to stay warm any way we could! The only upside was that the sand was frozen and I had more hops than I have ever had before, ha ha.

We’re hitting the excitement of the holiday season, with Thanksgiving upon us (and it’s Nick and my birthday the same day). I already feel the difference in people’s demeanor. It brings a lightness and dare I say, jolliness to interactions. It also makes me want to dress for the season, with more frivolous purchases, like all the metallic and sequins I can find.

Despite all the wonderful sale prices we’re being tempted by in preparation for Christmas shopping, we mentioned before that we’re not getting carried away with endless consumerism. It would be easy to buy anything and everything, but credit card debt is not something people should take lightly. We’ve been raised to be financially responsible and on a budget and we encourage everyone to do the same. Be thoughtful in your gifting this year, quality over quantity will be so much more meaningful.

With that in mind, I’m so grateful for this dress by Karl Lagerfeld Paris x Long Tall Sally. It is a total timeless tweed grey fabric, and the perfect length for tall women to be satisfied. Plus, it will see you through multiple seasons. The fabric is lightweight enough to make it work for warmer temperatures, but substantial enough that you won’t be uncomfortably cool in winter. There is the perfect amount of stretch to make sure you’re not feeling restricted but still looking tailored.

The bow is perfect finishing touch to make you stand out even more. Plus it makes it far from a boring work dress option. I’m always looking for those extra details to class up my wardrobe, and this was definitely the perfect piece.

Although it is the perfect dress for work, I would wear it to a holiday gathering in a heartbeat for a ladylike look. It’s a classy way to look like a present and appropriately festive, without having to buy said sequins and metallic occasion dresses.

I took on the challenge of styling this dress for two different seasons. We’ve been hit with some January type weather a few months too soon in Wisconsin. I’m only happy to have had the chance to report back that this dress will see you through the Winter months with ease.

For my Fall friendly look, I paired the dress with my new favorite Charee pumps also from the Karl Lagerfeld x Long Tall Sally collection. These bad boys have a beautiful block heel for comfortable wear throughout your work day. They also come in a beautiful leopard print as well. Plus the heel height is a friendly 2 inches, and I don’t even feel like I’m wearing heels, which is clutch for my shoe selection. If I’m wearing a shoe 9 hours a day, I’m not going to be uncomfortable and everything about these are fantastic!

Once Winter makes itself known (OK fine I’ll admit that it’s here), I’ll be layering a tissue thin turtleneck underneath to completely change up the look of the dress, and to keep me warm. I also see myself pairing it with a blazer over the dress for an addition look, with the bow peeking through. To finish it off, I switched out the pumps for block heeled booties to keep those feet covered up and added some black tights to keep my legs warmer as well.

Tell us below, do you transition your dresses through multiple seasons?

Real Reel – scroll back up and check out that sweet tan line difference from my ankles and feet and my legs. 

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Karl Lagerfeld Paris X Long Tall Sally X Caitlin

I love Long Tall Sally, they’ve been there for me. They were there for me when no other companies wanted to be. Okay, that may be a bit dramatic but really they go back so much further than most companies who offer tall options (and only as a side hustle). Really though, they have been providing quality products for so many years and the new collaboration with Karl Lagerfeld Paris is nothing short of excellence.

You may or may not know that on top of running this blog with Jenilee I also work a few other jobs one of which is business professional. As a taller woman, it can be hard to find timeless items that fit the bill. One of the tougher items to find are dresses that are an appropriate length to wear around the office without feeling like I am tugging it down all day. This is super unfortunate for a girl who prefers a dress to pants any day of the week.

When it comes to searching for high quality, long dresses, I additionally like to find items that are as versatile as possible. Then I can wear them for various occasions for years to come. A big thing for me right now is being able to transition from daytime to the night scene on occasion. Granted, I usually bee-line it to the gym after work, so this isn’t a huge issue. But on the days I do want to head straight from work to a happy hour sometimes I feel extremely overdressed so I have been working on how to liven up my work items for a bar or restaurant.

I took on the challenge to see what I could do with the Karl Lagerfeld Paris Sheer Polka Dot Sleeve Dress. And I can report that I am SO happy with my choice. What girl doesn’t love a solid LBD? And then add in the subtle dot detail on the sleeves and it is just a beautiful piece. Since we are well on our way to winter in Wisconsin I needed to pair this with tights right now (but will wear it many more times through other seasons without). I grabbed a pair of my black booties and I was on my way and as easy as that I am work time ready. When wearing an all black outfit I usually like to add a splash of color and that’s where my MAC obsession comes in handy!

Okay, so some of you may be thinking this is pretty and all, but it’s not that exciting if you don’t work in a business professional setting. That’s where the few extras I toss in my car for the evening come in handy. On my way out I ditched the tights, added my(sister’s) Long Tall sally leather Jacket (Old-and sold out, sorry!), and my Karl Lagerfeld Paris Saxe Ankle Boot (I have black). Changed up my makeup a bit and I felt like I was in an entirely different outfit for the night.

I just need to take a moment to praise these boots. I loved these bad boys from the moment I saw them but it wasn’t until they arrived that I realized how much. I love the unique heel detail since it is like no other shoe I own or have seen. Also, I cannot stress the quality of these boots enough. They are HIGH QUALITY. In fact I am certain they are easily the nicest pair of shoes I own. Living in the messy winter weather of Wisconsin, the cleated soles are so appreciated and necessary. These are going to be a staple for me this winter.

If you haven’t gathered yet I am so delighted with these items. Karl Lagerfeld Paris x LTS you have my vote. I hope some of you will give some of the items a look and love them as much as I (we both) do!


Have you shopped with Long Tall Sally before? If you have I would love to know what items you recommend most!

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YAS QUEEN

Surprise! We have a bonus mini post this week. The idea struck and we had to run with it. We will  start posting more frequently through the holiday season to help y’all out with some holiday guides and sale alerts-so stay tuned!

This post isn’t going to be as outfit based as most of ours typically are but if the shirt fits, wear it? We went and saw Bohemian Rhapsody on Tuesday and it was incredible. I went into the movie pretty blindly personally so each and every fact was new and interesting to me. After seeing the movie I read that some people were mad about them not accurately portraying Freddie Mercury’s life. It made no difference to me but out of curiosity it did spur me to do some research of my own after the movie.

Most of the things I read that people were displeased with didn’t bother me to find out the real truth-it’s a movie, sometimes you have to cut things out that aren’t necessary to truly expand on how they happened. For instance the fact that they shortened the timeline of some events-NBD to me! I am no movie mastermind but I will never understand how some movies receive bad ratings when they are this good. I mean I had goosebumps, I caught myself smiling at the screen, and overall just left pleased.

Those men certainly led a very interesting life. And made some AMAZING music while they were at it. If you have any interest in Queen’s music, I cannot recommend this movie enough. And while you’re at it see A Star Is Born also because that is equally as good. However, you will cry and then cry some more so bring some Kleenex. And then save the playlist on Spotify because it is incredible and I have been playing it on a loop.

Anyways-as you may not know we are a huge movie family. Jenilee is an maniac at the theater compared to me and sees them as often as possible. If y’all are interested we are happy to share mini reviews here and there just holla below if that interests you.

I ended up buying this shirt before we saw the movie and actually used it as part of my Halloween costume (Garth Algar-See below), but also bought it because I can’t say no to a good band Tee. They are so easy to wear with leather jackets/flannels, jeans, anything. They are something I am constantly grabbing for in my closet, you can see one of my other favorites here (and it is deeply discounted right now!). This day I tossed on one of my favorite denim jackets, some Gap jeans, and my slip on sneakers. Easy, comfortable and just so happens to promote this movie.

Do any of you have big weekend plans? If not, maybe you can add a movie into the mix! 😉

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Tall Friendly Sweaters

Welp, it seems we’re pretty firmly entrenched in sweater season. The season has given us the cold shoulder. Even Wisconsinites are cancelling on sand volleyball. Some of us ahem, still showed up but we’ll gladly take the free wins. There really should be a cut off point for outdoor volleyball and I’m thinking the first week of November sounds about right. This is the second year in a row we’ve been playing into the second week of November and I don’t think it’s healthy!

We’re concurrently at the point where it’s in your best interest to go anywhere with at least a light jacket on and probably not shorts (directed at all you hardcore Wisconsinites), which leads us straight to sweater weather! Give us all the sweaters, we sure love us some coziness.

Today’s post is about tall friendly sweaters and we can’t talk about those without mentioning H&M. Over the past few years, I’ve had some great luck with doing a try on session in store and finding a great selection with long enough sleeves. Did you know their parent company owns & Other Stories as well? I know we don’t have many stores in the Midwest, but I checked it out in New York and adored all of their offerings. We’ve got a piece from there we’re featuring soon on the blog!

Tall girl tip – Pay close attention to sleeves that are folded over and can potentially be snipped to unfold and give extra sleeve length, like the blue sweater from this post!

Another spot I’ve had surprising luck with, is Forever 21. Obviously you really have to hype yourself up to enter into that chaotic mess. If you browse online and have an idea of which ones you’re looking for – we find it makes the process a little less stressful. There are definitely reasonable gems to be found within their vast offerings.

Caitlin was doing some casual browsing at Nordstrom Rack recently, where she hoped to luck out with a new pair of shoes. Instead, she happened upon this lovely leopard print sweater. Once she tried it on and realized the sleeve length was good, she sent me a picture and we knew she had to bring it home! It almost made up for the Rack slacking on their larger shoe game.

She paired it with her favorite jeans from Gap, which have plenty of length in the inseam for anyone taller than 5’11. Although the Rack hasn’t had great offerings in town, we were able to find her some beautiful new loafers in New York. The cream color is a perfect neutral to wear with anything.

My sweater find is from H&M and I love how the mock neckline isn’t super high but still enough to keep me warm in the winter. So many of H&M’s sweaters are reasonably priced, that you can stock up easily! I decided to throw on a headband now that they’re “back in style,” because I used to wear them often and have missed them. I’ve been eyeing some bow ones and am just waiting for a price I can’t pass up!

I paired it with my Madewell jeans, which I can’t stress enough how nice they are! Check out their “taller” inseam because these jeans are the ultimate in comfort and style. I grabbed my new favorite pointed toe loafers from Nordstrom Rack as well (also found in New York) and my favorite aviators and had a perfect Saturday outfit.

We were excited to have Sarah, Caitlin’s roommate and best friend to join us! You might remember seeing her featured on the blog before in the post here. Plus, she’s been a fabulous photographer for us many, many times before. She is the lucky one who pretty much fits in all of the inexpensive H&M sweaters, and that is where she found this classic striped option! All of you ladies who might be able to get away with the mainline range, consider yourselves lucky. She paired it with some dark wash skinny jeans from Express and her favorite booties that she’ll be able to wear all winter long.

Tell us below, where do you find your favorite sweaters for the winter? Where have you had good luck with main line options for sweaters?

Check out the Real Reel below for a giggles!

Caitlin’s Outfit Details

Jenilee’s Outfit Details

Sarah’s Outfit Details

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Being Maroon(ed) Isn’t so Bad

Walking into Nordstrom Rack the other day, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Front and center were all the Christmas decorations. I know Halloween has passed but I still wasn’t emotionally ready to see that Christmas is upon us. Let’s just get past Thanksgiving first, shall we? Maybe that’s a little bit of an exaggeration, we all know we have to spend a bit of time before Thanksgiving prepping for Black Friday, especially if we’re trying to get a good deal on gifts.

Now that I worked through my feelings on Christmas being upon us, I can let y’all know we’re planning on putting together some information on the best sales to shop and then further down the road some tall friendly gift guides. Stuff to look forward to!

We definitely won’t be inundating you with tons of gift stuff, have no fear. Our intention is quality over quantity. As the years have past our family has made the move towards more intentional gifting and less about quantity of gifting. In fact, in the past couple of years we’ve chosen to do a trip as a family instead of big gifts. This year we’re still deciding if we’ll exchange gifts with everyone and do a specific budget limit, or if we’ll pick a name, etc.

It makes the season a little bit easier on our family and relieves a bit of the stress and/or pressure that comes with trying to pick the perfect gift. As Christians, we try to keep the reason for the season at the forefront and it’s so easy in our materialistic society to get carried away with wanting to impress people with more, more, more.

Apparently I swung past not being ready for Christmas season straight to discussing all things related, so let’s bring it back to no snow being close – because that’s something I’m not prepared for either. It was in the forecast this last weekend when we were up north, and for once the forecast was glaringly right, and that was pretty rude. We’re just trying to enjoy the fall colors and here comes snow trying to cover it up. 

Regardless of that, it’s so wonderful to experience four seasons up north and on a lake. There is a peacefulness that we don’t find anywhere else but there. Plus it is even better to spend some time with our Grandma and cousin doing little things, like working on a puzzle, playing card games, and going for a walk in the woods.

Seasonal dressing – which sounds like something you serve at Thanksgiving is what we’re all about right now. We’re doing our best to keep wearing our skirts as the temperatures continue to dwindle and hang onto the minimal days left of tight-less legs. Once we start, it will be too many months of wearing them continuously to reflect on right now.

For Caitlin, being the queen of comfort; she makes sure her skirts have a good amount of stretch/elasticity to them to make them bearable to wear 9+ hours a day at a desk. Her office setting is more business professional, so they still need to be semi-structured to keep her looking polished. A black pencil skirt is a must have in your closet to mix and match to your hearts delight. She paired it with a cable knit sweater, which never goes out of style, and some heeled booties.

My look is an old silk/satin fabric skirt from H&M I’ve had great luck with their skirts, and think that the fabric always looks so much more expensive than the price tag. It automatically ups your game. I paired it with a mock neck ribbed top I picked up at Uniqlo for SIX DOLLARS while in New York. If you haven’t checked out Uniqlo yet, definitely get to it. They have great basics, including skirts that are definitely long enough for us leggy ladies. I paired it with my new favorite booties from Nordstrom and my Rebecca Minkoff purse that I won off of a radio game! And as always with a skirt in the windiness of a big city I quickly stuck a Dress Down on so I wouldn’t have to worry about my skirt blowing up.

We’d love to hear your personal Christmas traditions or how you choose to share gifts, if at all!

Outfit Details

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