Reinvention

Do you know what's really strange?
I'm not going back to school at the end of the month.
It's weird as hell, you know? Not being a student anymore. My whole life, I've identified myself as a student. I'm an "adult" now. I'm a "working professional" now. Dude. It's just so weird.
I swear in the past month I've become an entirely different person. Well, not so much different as just a more mature version of my former self. I've been through some rough stuff and some really great stuff but through it all, I've had the pleasure of being surrounded my wonderfully giving people. I consider myself unfathomably lucky to have the friends that I do, each of whom are unfailingly generous with their reminders of how much they support me. If you don't have friends like this, find some. Stat. You're missing out.
In addition to attempting to become a more positive-thinking, generous person (I've spent way to much of my life prioritizing myself. Thank God that mentality is coming to a close.) I've been spending a decent chunk of my free time strategizing how to revamp my wardrobe.
I think my last semester of college was about the lowest I'll ever go in terms of physical appearance standards -- I rarely left the house in anything that wasn't leggings, a belted, over-sized button-down, and greasy hair. But now, much to the relief of all people who have to look at me on a daily basis, I'm starting to feel like myself again.
I've entered the corporate battle field armed with a troupe of pencil skirts and slim-fitting button downs. I adore dressing up.
I'm giving myself a few more weeks to save up money and allow the King of Prussia mall to empty of back-to-school-shoppers before I head out to purchase my fall wardrobe. But because I graduated from a large research university, there's not a single thing I do without doing heavy-duty investigating first. So naturally, I've been spending hours pulling from magazines and blogs and retail sites. I have a large stack of tear-sheets on my desk, which I will eventually get around to gluing into my inspiration book. In the mean time, I'll share my digital mood board with you (click to see it full size):

At the beginning of every season, I have the same realization: Preppy-with-an-edge never fails to appeal to me. My style has upgraded a lot over the years, but essentially it's still the same. The retail choices this season are hitting the nail right on the head for me -- classic items, nothing too trendy, very fit-conscious.
My shopping list as as follows:
-Utility jacket
-Fur collar
-Leopard print handbag
-White blazer
-Navy suit
-Grey jeans
-Turtleneck dress
-Leather jacket
-Black straight cut pants
-Boxy tweed jacket
-Wedge utility boots
-Motorcycle boots