Ensemble du Jour

The Outfit
So, new shoes today, but also lots of crummy rain. And it looks like we're to get rain all week. So in an effort to wake myself up I'm wearing one of my very few, if not only, yellow tops.



The cardigan is a postard pattern from JCrew and Ipaired it with a wide-pleat dark grey skirt from Target. The shoes are my new Kelly & Kate ombre peep-toes from DSW.



It's kind of hard to tell the color variation here but t is darker on the toe than the heel.



I never used to wear open toe shoes, now I have a whole slew of them.



And I obviously can't get enough of the grey.

The Focal Point

I would have to say it's the yellow. This is the yellow flower charm necklace I got at Target. Doesn't it have a Louis Vuitton feel to it?

And here's a close up of the cardigan. I like the almost busy print and the mix of colors. I think the grey tones it down but it's still pretty bright.

I'm still sleepy however. This weather is hard to overcome. Maybe it works better if you're looking at it rather than just wearing it.

DSW is the Devil

Over the weekend I went to DSW not one, but two times! I haven't been to a DSW in ages. There wasn't one close by and in the last several years I have not had much luck finding stuff in my size that I liked.

But they just opened one in the shopping area not far from me. My dear friend Miss S's birthday was Saturday so we decided to make a day of it. We went to DSW and then lunch and some of the other stores like JCrew and Ann Taylor that were there also. I gave Miss S a lovely multi-stone necklace and earrings in green and, as always, she looked beautiful.

What's fun about going shopping with S is that we wear the same shoe size. But, we don't compete for the shoes. Our taste is a little different, but it's fun to both try on the same pair. Not that they always fit the same.



We made the rounds and hit the sale room and then camped out in one of the many booth areas to try out our spoils, of which there were many, and narrow down the selection. Here's our pile in progress.



Miss S found some great items like these adorable yellow retro-y peep-toes. I may just have to borrow those! They're super cute. She also got some great Nine West sandals and some vintage looking shiny champagne sandals to wear with her vintage dress. They are so perfect.



I actually went there looking for a particular style of shoes. I had decided I needed a pair of wide strap brown heeled sandals to wear with my new Target blue and white dress. I found this great pair of Franco Sarto "Million" sandals. I like that they have a texture too. They're just perfect and just what I wanted as well as being comfy.



My other buy on Saturday was from the sale room. These I don't need at all but how could I resist a pair of opalescent pink oxfords on a white stacked heel. Plus, they were on major sale. They are just Poochie-tastic!

On Sunday, my other friend Miss C wanted to hang out and since she had not been to the mall the DSW is in, we decided to head over there. Plus, who can't use new shoes? Apparently me because I got two more pairs while I was there with her. What the heck!?!

I was totally seduced by patent leather and cannot be held responsible for my actions. Plus, I had 30% off coupons both days so bar-gain!

Just ignore all of those shoe boxes the new shoes are sitting on. They are completely irrelevant.

; )

I ended up getting these grey ombre patent peep-toe heels by Kelly & Katie. I tried looking this brand up online and found out that this is one of DSW's store brands and I think they are actually manufactured by Liz Claiborne. I'm wearing them to work today and they are really comfortable. Plus they were pretty inexpensive. If I ever get around to making my ombre stockings I might pair them up. I am totally on a grey kick. What is this #4? Yikes!

Then I got these double strap mary janes from Nine West. I had seen these on Saturday but had dismissed them because the smallest size they had was a 6 and I am a pretty true 5 in Nine West shoes. But they were so shiny and sparkly and so red that I had to try them on and see if I could make them work.

Sadly, they were so frickin' gorgeous on that I had to get them. What's just as bad is that I convinced Miss C to get a pair too and she looked hawt! I promise to get better pictures of all of these. It's really crummy and dark out and the photos do not do them justice, especially not the red ones.

Miss C did not fare much better. She got these saturated teal little mary janes (so adorable), some bright grass green flats, the smoking red Nine Wests like mine and some sexy brown and orange floral satin heeled sandals that Miss S and I had been dying over the day before. Sadly they didn't come anywhere near our size (so we were out of luck). Therefore, Miss C was not allowed to leave without them.

I had been safe for a while but now that DSW is in town I am in a dangerous position. They need to hurry up with that birthday coupon!

Imitation = Flattery?

Here's a quick equation.

Take one shoe that stirred up a lot of interest and "excitement" during the runway shows -


Marc Jacob's backless "too small" heels



+ one designer not really at the top of the game right now. What does that equal?



= a very very similar looking shoe.



Kate Spade Gracie

Coincidence?

Ensemble du Jour

The Outfit
Yeah! It's finally warm enough today to wear some of my new stuff. I'm wearing my red Gap light knit v-neck top, which is so flattering that I should have bought several in all the colors, and my denim skirt. To add a bit of tonal craziness, I'm wearing my Paraphernalia Anatomica Heart necklace.



I love how this thing freaks people out.


It's so weird. I love it.



The Focal Point
White shoes before Memorial Day, OMG! Hey, it's warm enough, it's not raining and they're new. So there. I'm a rebel, Dottie.




But how could you wait to wear shoes as cute as these?



You just can't!

You will be seeing a lot of these babies this Summer.

A Bloody Mess

Do you remember the hideous Raspail tote from YSL?



I've found a shoe that's its perfect match made... in hell! Mwah-ah-ah!

Why did this seem like a good idea, Sergio Rossi? Especially for $464.

Yeah. That pretty much sums it up.

Worst. Copy. Ever.

Enjoy!

Luv
Poochie

Ensemble du Jour

The Outfit
This is what I wear to do a showroom installation - my JCrew scottie sweater, Target peep-toes and my Gap Long & Lean jeans. Which must work, because the folks there asked if I just lost a bunch of weight. I may wear them every. single. day.



They are comfy and I don't even like jeans that much. I'm a convert.

The Focal Point
Probably nothing really special, but my bright pink toenails did look awfully cute. So I'll say they were the focal point.



Luckily I was mostly there in a supervisory capacity, not doing a whole lot of install myself. These are good peep-toe sort of dressy options without having to worry about them getting messed up since they are so inexpensive. Gotta love the Tar-get.

Rain, Rain, Come Back Today

I am a sucker for a crystal embellished high heel. And these sandals from Alexander McQueen look like they are covered in sparkling raindrops.



And the nude color further enhances the feeling that you were running through a misty meadow. Is that too cliche of a picture? Too bad commercial-esque? Okay, probably, but they do have an amazingly delicate feel to them.



I would wear these with jeans or with a very very neutral outfit. Something like a crisp fitted white shirt and a khaki skirt, with only diamond studs for earrings. Basic but gorgeous.



Gah! They are amazing. They remind me of my Clichy heels. Of course, all this beauty comes at a pretty steep price - $1689 on Zappos. But, if I had the money, I would be all over these in a hot minute.

Le Sigh!

Ensemble du Jour

The Outfit
I wish that I had a mid-height skirt in brown, black and khaki. I think my skirts are either too long for the look I want sometimes or they're too short for work. I wanted to wear some of my knubby socks before the weather got too warm for it. But I think my skirt was too long for the effect I was going for.

I paired my swingy brown skirt with a brown corduroy blazer over a pink beaded camisole. All three are from Target.



To pick up some of the tones in the shoe I wore my khaki acrylic bracelet with pearls from Etsy.



I love these O Lovlies socks from Sock Dreams. They're very soft but I think the bottom edge of the skirt needs to be higher than the top of these to show them off to the best advantage. The ones I wore are a light pink.



The Focal Point
My colorful Miu Miu brogues. A lot of folks didn't take to the "wings" on these but I really liked them. I thought it gave them a neat element. I like so many things about these heels. They have great interior cushioning, the colors are cool, and I love the masculine elements of the wingtip design.





These were good with the muted tones for Fall, but I they should work well in Spring too. The colors are right for some of the delicate tones. They're a little chunky but the patchwork design and the patent helps them transition a bit. Although I think I will wear them bare-legged, not with any of the sheer hosiery coming into play.

I'll Fly Away

I saw these heels from Head Over Heels over on the Schuh's website a while back but they didn't carry my size so I sort of forgot about them. But then I was on the Shoewawa site and they were featuring them so I decided to take a quick peek at them again.

I'm still smitten and they carry my size. They're winging their way to me now.

I'm not going to fill this with a lot of words, just take a look at how adorable they are. That's pretty much all you need.















Adorable round toe, pink and grey bird pattern edging and lining (I love the secret pattern) and the bird applique. They are pretty close to perfect.

The only problem is that it was hard for me to choose the grey or the black, which is equally cute.





In the end I chose the grey. Maybe I'll end up getting the black pair too. Too cute!

Eeeewwww!!!

I am seriously at a loss for words here. Yeah, it's midnight and all but what the heck are these monstrosities and why did someone think they were a good idea.

No seriously, what is the deal here?





I just can't even comprehend them. I'm speechless.

Veronique Branquinho booties (or sandals or platforms or something) - $575 at Saks