Today’s Outfit Idea: Top-Notch Tweed Suit

All right, all you ladies who push your style aside because you’re too dang busy just trying to get your kids or your partner or yourself out the door in the morning – the Fastionista is here to ease your style fear.

It’s funny how one day of the week can potentially mean so many different things. Take Friday, for instance. Sometimes it’s the day of being casual in jeans or khakis. Sometimes it’s the day of office-to-evening wear so the fun can start right at five p.m. And sometimes, like today, it’s all about warmth and comfort. There’s a catch, though: I need to be in a suit, so I can’t just cozy up in casual wear. So here’s what’s in my closet today:

· Tweed Skirt Suit with Peplum: I'm once again pulling out one of the most warming suits in my wardrobe. It's warm not just because of the heavier tweed material, but because of the longer peplum hem (plus the suit is a warm color, brick red, which just makes me feel toastier). Also, the pencil cut of the skirt not only gives me more coverage lengthwise than a mini would, but because it’s formfitting it’s warmer than an A- or H-line skirt. This suit is one of those pieces that make me say, “Thank you for consignment shops!” Since fashion is cyclic, consignment shops, auctions, and end-of-season sales are great resources for finding garments that are back en vogue and making them your own.

· Silk Blouse: To balance the heft and pattern of the tweed, I’m going to go with a lightweight, understated layering top: a tan silk blouse. The material offers a bit of a shine, and bears a resemblance to the matte satin that’s trending right now. Plus, the brightness of the tan color offsets the saturated dark red of my suit.

· Accessories: I’ve got two thin tan metallic bracelets that I’m going to wear on one wrist, and a small silver fashion ring with twisty design. I don’t need a whole lot of additional color since the majority of my outfit is red, but I do want to add just a dash of something complementary. So I’ll finish my accessories with earrings that sport little layered blue, green, and yellow geometric shapes.

· Purse: In keeping with the idea that I don’t want to overdo color and risk competing elements in my outfit, my purse and shoes are going to be understated and they’ll match each other. Luckily, they’re both a deep chocolate brown. This will not only add some depth against the tan in my blouse and bracelets, but brown happens to be the neutral this spring. My purse is a satchel with strong, sharp angles to echo the structured style of my earrings.

· SHOES!: Chocolate brown pumps. They slip on easily. They have a quiet, rounded toe. No bells, whistles, or any other noisy embellishments. Sometimes the best way to go is the simplest.

Voila! There you have it: great fashion fast. And you, gorgeous lady, are ready to take on the world, Fastionista Style!

Shopping designer sales can be a great way to find amazing deals on beautiful pieces. Once collections are out of season the price plunges as dramatically as a Versace neckline. Of course, the catch is that by the time the sale happens, the trend has passed (at least in the ever-changing fashion world). So how can we take advantage of a great deal without looking out of style? Well, we can hang on to the piece and make a nice little home for it in the back of the closet until the trend inevitably comes back in a few years. But what I like to do is downplay the “past due” piece by pairing it with something on the cutting edge. For example, animal prints were huge this past fall, but if you happen to find a deal on leopard-print shoes, those would still work great next August paired with a structured rust-red dress (sharp angles and rust red are both big in pre-fall collections). So worry not, trendsetters, and have fun with those end-of-season sales!