For those of you just now discovering my little corner of the internet, welcome! Real Outfit Roundup is a post I do every two weeks sharing the outfits I wore in real life along with brief explanations for each and links to shop the same or similar items.
I've been doing this series in some format since way back in 2016. A lot has changed over the years, from my job to my personal style. Back then, the goal was mostly to start back loving my body after having a baby and also share a glimpse into my life as a news producer. These days, my style is all about staying true to myself and wearing what I love regardless of current trends. Oh, and I still shop on a budget. That will probably never change!
This final outfit roundup of 2025 is a pretty mixed bag. After winter showed up for a week or two, she decided she needed a vacation and summer has been filling in. Seriously. Our temperatures have been flirting with the 80s all this past week!
On to the outfits. As a reminder, I'm 5'2" and weigh about 140 lbs. I typically wear size 6 or s/m in clothes and size 7 in shoes.
My plaid shirt is pretty old. It's an oversized flannel from Old Navy, what I think would be their boyfriend shirt now. Maybe. That's what the first similar option links to, although there's not really a pattern like this one available. The second option is to a more fitted flannel in a pattern that is a closer match.
My boots are new. I got them on a Cyber Monday sale for $20, so they were a steal, but I would have paid full price for them, too. In a surprise turn of events, these are a flat boot. I realized earlier in this school year that my heeled black boots are no longer going to work for me as work shoes. They're still great, and I'll definitely still wear them...just not all day standing on concrete floors. My hips were dying the next day! Anyway, these are very comfortable and good for all day wear.
I wore this to school on the last Monday before the break, although not exactly like this. For school, I actually had the sweater untucked but with a belt around my waist. I didn't hate the look exactly, but I wasn't particularly comfortable in it either.
So when I got home, I lost the belt, and tucked the sweater using a modified trick I saw online somewhere (I don't have one of those bungee cord things people use for sweaters). I like the way that looks so much better...and I was so much more comfortable to be honest.
Anyway, my sweater is one of the ones in Old Navy's SoSoft line. It's almost sold out -- very limited sizes left -- so I'm linking to something similar elsewhere, but I can't speak to the quality.
This skirt is one of my favorite things I've ordered from Temu. It's great quality and goes with so much that I already own, making it extremely versatile. Unfortunately, it's no longer available, and I can't find it anywhere else. I linked to a couple of really similar skirts that have the same kind of vibe. The second option is the closest color match, I think.
The only goal for what I wore this day was to be comfortable. I knew that I was going to be at my desk pretty much all day working on grades while my students watched a movie.
My Winnie the Pooh Christmas sweatshirt is from a couple of years ago. I think. I can't actually remember when I got it or where. I found some similar options for you.
It's hard to tell from the picture, but my jeans have braids going down the outside of both legs, which makes them much more interesting than just a standard pair of jeans. I usually where then with shoes that are a bit more elevated so they look a bit more structured, but like I said -- comfort was the goal here, so I went with my Converses (which will need to be replaced soon).
I'm going to be honest: this is my least favorite outfit in this roundup. Don't get me wrong. I was immensely comfortable in this getup, but I felt pretty sloppy. I think it's the proportions... I know, I know. We're moving away from preconceived notions about what is flattering, but my brain needs to catch up. It's got decades of conditioning to overcome!
On the plus side, I love these colors together. And everything in this outfit is so soft and easy to wear. The dress, however, is heavy, which may have contributed to the overall feeling I had for the look. I felt weighed down, and the long cardigan didn't help with that. I guess it just feels like this outfit is missing something.
Anyway, everything in this one is old, so I'm linking to similar options for you.
This is my favorite outfit of this roundup, hands down! That said, it doesn't mean that I always feel confident about what I'm wearing, even when I love it. I live in a pretty casual, conservative place, and an outfit like this one stands out in a crowd. As much as I share my outfits with all of y'all, I'm still not always comfortable with all the second glances I get when I'm out in public. I'm not actually sure why I shared that with y'all, but it felt important to say.
Okay, so this sweater is one of my favorites that I got this year. It came from Walmart of all places! That means it was crazy affordable, especially for fair isle, which can be get expensive. Thankfully that lower price did not mean lower quality. This sweater is crazy good, y'all! Which is probably why it's all but sold out online. I found a couple of very similar styles for you to check out.
My skirt is so much fun, y'all. It's a slimmer a-line cut, so it kind of mimics a slip skirt without being overly clingy. It's fully lined with a mesh top layer, which just gives it some added texture to enhance the absolutely beautiful pattern. This is not your traditional floral print skirt, y'all. Those are moths woven into the pattern, not butterflies. And I love them.
I wore this to go Christmas shopping with my husband. I wanted to feel festive, but it was, you guessed it, pretty warm out. Thankfully, I had this black-and-red plaid peplum blouse in my closet. I grabbed it with the very thought in my head that I needed to have something short-sleeved in case Christmas decided to feel like summer this year. Surprisingly, this one is still available in all sizes. There's also a pretty blue plaid version.
I decided to pair it with my wide-leg, braided jeans, which I admit felt very out of the norm for me. I rarely pair loose tops with loose bottoms, but I didn't hate this. I know you can't really see them in this picture, but I'm wearing my favorite Chelsea boots. Even with the heel, these are super comfortable. I regularly wear them for a full day of teaching, and this was a full day of shopping. I cannot recommend them enough.
I'll be honest, I don't remember what we did this day. Maybe it was the day we took my car to get the oil changed? It doesn't really matter, I guess.
Are these my braided jeans again? Yep. I've been wearing them a bunch lately. This go 'round, I paired them with this graphic tee. I know it wasn't very Christmasy, but I really don't have very many warm-weather Christmas clothes. Bright red is Christmasy, right? This tee is still available in limited sizes, and honestly there's nothing out there similar so I don't have anything similar to link to.
I bought these bright blue sneakers at the start of the school year and have loved them. I got them on clearance at the Skechers store, and they're not on the Skechers store anymore, but I did find the exact same shoe on two other store sites, so I'm linking to both.
I wore this to go eat Chinese one night with my mom and daughter. This is still a favorite t-shirt for me and one that I reach for all the time. It's not available where I got it from, but I did find one on Poshmark that I linked to for you.
These jeans are actually new. I got them on major sale for less than $20. They're high waisted, snug around my waist and hips, but nice and loose through the leg. They're very flattering on and give me nostalgia for my youth. I also bought them in black.
How interesting are these jeans? I got them on sale, too, otherwise I probably wouldn't have bought them. But I fell in love with them as soon as I took them out of the bag. They're straight-leg, which isn't my typical style, but I will definitely make an exception for these. They're not just patterned, they're textured.
I wore this on Christmas Eve. We met my parents for lunch, then went to the shoe store (random I know).
I got this Cherry Coke graphic tee to replace one that I got rid of recently that felt a little too young for me and was definitely not one I could wear to teach middle school. This one fits better and is more school appropriate.
This brings us to Christmas Day. I couldn't wear the outfit I had planned on wearing because it was too warm, so I had to back up and punt. This plaid dress was a nice compromise. It felt Christmas appropriate without being over-the-top. This one is mostly sold out, so I linked to some similar options for you as well.
I ordered this tie-front sherpa vest on a whim (it was and still is on major sale). I decided to try it over this dress, and I really like the way it turned out. Surprisingly, it wasn't too warm for this 80-degree day. It's lined, so the sherpa is only on the outside. This is definitely not my usual style, but I'm kind of excited about the possibilities of this vest.
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