Bay Area Fashionista

Spring 2022 capsule wardrobe

Casual spring 2022 capsule wardrobe from top left: yellow/white stripe tee / pink tee / beige classic cut jeans / G buckle belt / boyfriend jeans / green puff sleeve tee / green long sleeve tee /

Spring feels different this year. Perhaps it is because we are moving away from the pandemic, dropping the mask mandate, and enjoying the scent of spring. Aren’t the cherry blossoms beautiful? Also, the pear trees; despite the allergy inducing pollen they create, those white blossoms are so pretty! I am so happy spring 2022 is here! Yay!

Since spring has sprung, and the blossoms are everywhere, it is time to talk about my spring 2022 capsule wardrobe! I have two capsules this spring season, one casual capsule wardrobe, and one power suit capsule. Normally my capsule wardrobe builds on itself from season to season, but I am down forty pounds since last April, so I was forced to replace most of my wardrobe, and this means my clothing capsule is mostly new. While all that shopping is fun, the point of a capsule is to build on one’s wardrobe each season without buying all-new; but this season I had no choice. Moving forward, these pieces will be built on each season since I am stable in my weight now and will maintain my current size.

For the spring 2022 season, my capsule wardrobe consists of classic boyfriend jeans, colored jeans (because this is a huge trend), and brightly colored tee’s. Color is in! I love the cheerful look these pieces bring to my closet. I love mixing and matching these pieces together for a cheery spring look. The only mix and match I am not doing is the yellow tee with the beige jeans, I don’t like that look. The beige jeans look fabulous with green, neutrals, and pink. Love!

Spring 2022 power suit capsule

Spring 2022 power suit capsule from top left: single breasted black blazer / double breasted blue blazer / black trousers / blue trousers / green one shoulder blouse / black layering tee / white layering tee /

I am sure you have heard; the power suit is back. The power suit is perfect for a capsule wardrobe since it can be broken up into so many different outfits! I decided to invest in one classic black suit, and one trendy blue suit. These pieces can be mixed and matched into four different suit combinations. Plus, the blazers can be paired with jeans and shorts later in the season. This green top is perfect for adding some spice to a suit. It can also be worn with trousers or jeans for a going-out-at-night look. It’s a great evening top to keep as part of a spring and summer capsule wardrobe.

You cannot go wrong with layering tees. These black and white tees’ fit nicely underneath the blazers, and don’t add bulk or warmth. That is perfect for warm spring days. One huge trend with power suits right now is to wear a cropped top underneath the blazer. While this looks fabulous on some people, it isn’t really my style, so I am sticking to layering tee’s.

The look for jewelry right now is simple and understated, which means a blank neckline. Since I wore power suits back in the day, a blank neckline is weird to me. I have the urge to pair my blazers with vintage neckerchiefs from the 1990s, so stay tuned to see how that plays out. Since I wore suits all the time to work in the 1990s, I also have the urge to pair blazers with necklaces, but that isn’t a thing right now. Think simple and chic. Let the brightly colored blazer do the statement-making. Let’s see if I can do this without a scarf or necklace. haha

Shop my spring 2022 capsule wardrobe online:

My spring 2022 jewelry and accessories capsule wardrobe:

Are you excited for the return of color? Also, the return of the power suit? I know I am!

Stay tuned for my shoe and handbag spring capsules next week!

XOXO
Cathy

Tempe Arizona recap

Wearing and squinting into the sun: statement earrings / yellow and white stripe tee / cross body bag / G buckle belt / spring nail polish / boyfriend jeans / golden ring / platform sneakers /

During ski week, we took a quick trip to Tempe, Arizona. Much like our Boulder trip, it was quick, so we didn’t do a lot of site-seeing. What we did do, was enjoy the weather and eat at a lot of really good restaurants! Another thing we loved; Tempe didn’t have a mask mandate when we were there. It felt weird at first, but we loved shedding our masks!

Sushi and ramen from Shady Park in Tempe, Arizona

The city of Tempe is integrated into ASU, so there are plenty of affordable and delicious restaurants within walking distance of a hotel. We stayed at the Westin Tempe, which was right in the middle of town and had a rooftop bar where you could watch the dessert sunset. Love!

Our favorite restaurants included Zipps Sports Grill, and Shady Park. Zipps offered American casual fare and I enjoyed a veggie burger with onion rings. Shady Park was a Japanese restaurant which had really good sushi and ramen. If we ever return to Tempe, we will eat at these two places again! I highly recommend!

We took a walking tour around town and found many architecturally significant buildings, which was really fun. I loved the Frank Llyod Wright theater on the ASU campus, and the Tempe City Hall. If you love architecture, this is a great place to check out!

Wearing: statement earrings / black tee (sold out, also love this top) / cross body bag / spring nail polish / G buckle belt / wide leg jeans (old, also love this pair) / platform sneakers /

I wish we had more time in Tempe, we were only there for a day and half. I would love to return someday and check out their hiking trails and historical spots. It’s an easy place to travel to from the Bay Area, and the weather this time of year is perfect!

Have you ever been? What did you enjoy?

What was in my Tempe Arizona suitcase:

Thanks for stopping by! Stay tuned! Spring capsule launches on the blog next week!

XOXO
Cathy

Boulder Colorado recap

wearing: earrings / lined leather gloves / spring nail polish / foldable jacket (has hood, which I took off for the picture) / long sleeve black top / cross body bag / wide leg jeans (sold out, also love this pair) / G Buckle belt / faux fur boots (on sale, avl in other colors) / (I’m wearing my mask outside because it kept my face warm in the negative 1-degree weather! haha)

Snow! My kids had ski week last week so we decided to take a couple of quick trips to states they had not visited before. Plus, I have only been to the Denver airport, I have never set foot on Colorado soil before! So, we decided to head to Boulder for a couple of days.

This was my first time on an airplane since the pandemic hit. I was a little nervous, but everything went smooth. I wore a KN95 on the plane and brought a package of masks with me since the mask mandate differs from city to city. Here in Santa Clara County, we still have to wear masks everywhere, so I had no idea what to expect in other areas. Boulder seemed like it was half-masking. Restaurants had masks until people took them off to eat, and business seemed as if they were optional. They were optional in our hotel.

Well, you know you are from California when you leave 70-degree weather and land in negative one degree weather. No joke, the temperatures toggled between 3 degrees and negative one. To say it was a wee bit cold, is an understatement. Brrrr!!

My daughter wore two pairs of sweatpants, and I layered up! We felt the cold but were able to manage it. I even drove in snow. haha, yay me!

Since we were visiting Boulder, Colorado, we had to check out Aloy Thai Cuisine. This Thai restaurant was featured on Guy Fieiri’s “Drive-in’s, Diners, and Dives.” It sounded really good, so it was the first place we ate at when we arrived on the first day. We had fun walking from our hotel in the snow. Yes, we were those tourists making footprints in the snow and laughing the whole time. I think a few people thought we were nuts. haha

Aloy Thai Cuisine had a large menu, and thankfully our hotel room had a refrigerator because we definitely overordered and had to bring food back to our room. We enjoyed the pot stickers, chicken satay, BBQ chicken, Pad Thai, Fried Rice, and a noodle soup with chicken in it, (I forgot the official name). The food was delicious! Guy Fieri was right! Our favorite dish was the chicken satay, which had the best peanut sauce I have ever tasted. Yum! If you visit the Boulder area, be sure to stop in, this restaurant is amazing! The other places we ate at didn’t really wow me. Maybe Aloy Thai Cuisine spoiled me. It was so good!

Normally we do a lot of sight-seeing when we go on vacation, but this time around we used our ski week for a couple of quick trips to just get out of town. Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of activity ideas to share, just snow, and yummy Thai food!

I will give a shout-out to this jacket. It is a packable jacket which was ideal on the plane since it rolls up really small and fits nicely in my backpack. If you plan to fly somewhere that is cold, I highly recommend this jacket!

What was in my Boulder Colorado suitcase:

Stay tuned, I have one more trip to share!

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO

Cathy

Spring 2022 power suit capsule

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