Let's Face it, People

Let's face it, people, tomorrow and next week many offices, or in my case schools, will be hosting ugly Christmas sweater parties. I'm not sure exactly when this became a trend or how it started, but it really has become quite a phenomenon during the holiday season. I don't own any ugly Christmas sweaters, but I do own my fair share of offbeat, quirky or, to use a word that has a more positive connotation, "whimsical" sweaters. One of my favorites in my collection is this one featuring a lady clad in a big puffy coat and matching fuzzy hat. She even has green stockings or boots to match the buttons on her coat.

This sweater has, hands down, created more conversation between me and strangers, not to mention colleagues and students. The conversations have ranged from the nationality of the woman (is she Russian or French?) to people stopping me and asking if I post my outfits on Instagram. I've featured this conversation starting sweater several times on my blog, but today I am playing it up with lots of color and graphic pants for something different. (If you want to check out my other outfits with this sweater you can find them (here, here, here, and even here ... I wore this sweater a lot more than I thought!)

Unfortunately this sweater is no longer available from J. Crew, but another designer, Alice + Olivia has a similar asthetic with their "Stace Face" or Stacey designs. The character has some big, over-sized sunglasses that are pretty much just like mine, which I adore. In fact, I adored the image so much that I just bought my first Alice + Olivia piece a few weeks ago and now I am smitten with the brand. Below you will see some of my picks from their current collection featuring many of their iconic Stacey designs.

1. Striped Sweater, 2. Beaded Clutch, 3. Flats

4. Pumps, 5. Stacey "Triple Threat" Sweater, 6. Stacey Sweater,

7. Glasses Skirt, 8. Feather Skirt

Sweater: J. Crew
Shirt: Ann Taylor
Pants: J. Crew Factory similar here
Shoes: Christian Louboutin "Simple" 70mm here
Bag: J. Crew Factory similar here
Sunglasses: Prada "Baroque" Round Sunglasses

Linking Up With: Throw Back Thursday, Fun Fashion Friday, Fabulous Friday
Flashback Fashion Friday,  Fab Favorites
Passion for Fashion , How I Fall, Still Being Molly, Shoe and Tell