Skirt: Ann Taylor LOFT

Cardigan: Target

Ruffle Tank: Target

Belt: Target

Necklace: NY & Co.

Earrings: Silpada

Flats: Payless

Like the outfit? See more details here!

You ever get in a rut? I feel like this outfit, though I love it, is kind of a rut. The silver+black+teal pairing works well for me, but I wear it all the time! Sometimes I feel like that in my designs at work, too. I’ll beat my head against my desk staring at a white screen, and every configuration I come up with just looks terrible. That was how I felt yesterday afternoon while working on a design for an ad. I flipped through an industry magazine and saw so many great, inspiring, ads, but when I sat down to make my own, it just fell flat.

I think sometimes the rut happens because doing what you’ve always done has shown good results. I get compliments on this type of outfit, and I feel good in this type of outfit, so what’s the harm in wearing the same combination over and over again? This ad style has been approved by management, so why not keep putting out the same ad? I think the rut is the place where you settle for “good enough”, and never push beyond it to get to “great”.

I’ve found that getting out of your usual physical space helps you get out of your mental rut. My husband and I really enjoy different types of art, and I’ve found that live music or a museum can really jump-start my creativity. Outside stimulation increases the inputs into the brain, and more inputs usually means a different output. That’s also kind of the point about the community around style blogging. By getting the outside stimulation from other bloggers, you effectively get out of your style rut. I’ve had a few ideas recently for some creative outfits (again, for me, but still pretty tame by most standards!), so I’ll be posting those up in the coming weeks.

How do you get out of your ruts? Any recommendations for inspiration? Like the outfit? See more details here!