On Friday, I had the incredible honor of being named a finalist for an Inspiring Success Award given out by Junior Achievement.

This was the second year for the award/luncheon, organized by the Junior Achievement Young Professionals Board, and it was such an incredible event. There are so many amazing young professionals in Pittsburgh working hard to make an impact and affect change on their community – I love that Junior Achievement recognizes that and wants to highlight it, and could not feel happier to be included in that group. I think that my favorite part of the day was the focus on helping each other achieve our goals. Even though there was a winner from each category, and people could have been really competitive, that couldn’t have been further from what actually happened – everyone was so willing to offer their help to the other finalists.

Top: Madewell, similar here Skirt: J.Crew, similar here Bag: Mateo New York, here

This next part is going to sound a little superficial, especially after the sincerity of the last paragraph, but once I found out that I had been chosen as a finalist, I immediately started figuring out what I wanted to wear. I realize that I might sound like being vain, but I think that everyone feels more confident when they’re wearing something that they love. I wanted something appropriate for the occasion, but not boring, either – so of course, I turned to something leather.

I had been searching for a leather midi skirt for a year now, and ended up lucking out and finding one on sale at J.Crew. It’s basically sold out now, but this one from ASOS is pretty similar! I paired it with one of my favorite Madewell blouses (that I shared in this post) – it’s sold out now, too, but you can find it in a really pretty starry pattern here. I already know that I’ll be wearing this skirt a lot – I can’t wait for the weather to warm up so I can wear it without tights!

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