The Reasonably Prudent Law Student

This is a guest entry submitted by Abigail, posted by Huma.

Hello to all the Reasonably Prudent Law Student readers! This is a look I put together when I saw Huma’s invitation to guest bloggers for the BCS series. I’m a big fan of Sophia Bush, and when I saw this picture from one of her photoshoots, I wanted to do something similar for work. I work as a paralegal at a small law firm in Houston, and we cater mostly to musicians/composers and artists. We’re a pretty young firm, too; our senior partners have just hit the middle-aged mark! We reflect that in our firm, and we try to keep things fun (but professional) and artistic and creative to cater to the needs of our fun, artistic, and creative clients, several of whom we’ve been with since the beginning of their careers in the music industry.

Here’s the picture from one of Sophia’s shoots:

I made a few alterations. We can wear short sleeves to work without worrying about covering up because it gets really hot here, but my boss frowns on tank tops, so I’ve never bothered. And I don’t like leggings at all.

This is what I came up with and actually wore to work last week:

Floral Lace Top (white) ………. $19.99
Tall Ann Boot Leg Double Weave Pants (black) (SALE) ………. $9.99
N.Y.L.A. Virginie Kiltie Bow Flat (brown) ………. $19.94
Fab Metallic Floral Wallet (gold) ………. $9.50
Circa 78 Wildflower Necklace ………. $38

I got the top from Charlotte Russe. I have gotten many of my tops from there just because they’re cute, in style, and less expensive. They’re not the most durable in terms of clothes but that doesn’t matter. I get rid of them a year or so later anyway. The white top I bought is really soft, and I love the lace details. It’s delicate and girly, though, and I don’t really do girly like Huma does, ha ha, so I like to wear other things that are a little edgier and rougher.

The pants I got on sale from Ann Taylor recently. They weren’t marked down this far, though! I’m tall, so it’s hard for me to find pants that fit me, but I have better luck at stores like Ann Taylor and Macy’s. The pants are comfortable, not stiff like some of my other trousers are no matter how many times I’ve worn them. I can spend a whole day in them at work and then come home and keep them on while I do errands, and not even notice because they’re that comfy.

The wallet is just because Huma said we needed a bag. I have this great kinda-metallic brown hobo bag that I usually use, and the leather is really soft and buttery, and it fits everything I need. This wallet from Forever 21, though, is really all I need. It holds my work ID, my drivers license, credit cards, and cash. I keep lipgloss and a tiny thing of moisturizer in my desk drawer, so I don’t need to tote around a lot of makeup, and since I carpool with my boyfriend who’s our firm’s accountant, I don’t really need keys or anything. My phone usually stays in my pocket or in my desk drawer, so I can easily get by with just a wallet.

The flats are brown with plaid and shiny leather at the back, and I love the mix of textures/patterns. They’re super comfortable, too, and I can run around in them all day. I’m 5’10″ so I basically stick to flats.

The necklace is my favorite part of this outfit. My best friend got it for me from Urban Outfitter’s on my birthday and even though I don’t wear a lot of gold jewelry I had to make an exception for this. I love Sophia’s necklace, too, and I really love how she incorporated it into her style. The rest of the outfit is really subdued and that lets the necklace really stand out on its own.

I dress pretty casually outside of work, but I don’t like to just stick to the jeans and t-shirt look. I’ll always add a colorful scarf or a statement necklace like this one.

That’s my look! Thank you for reading!

Abigail is a paralegal at a law firm in Houston, Texas. She loves her job because of the client base and is an amateur photographer. In her free time, she likes to knit, garden, and head out on her dirt bike.