Ensemble du Jour

Wow, it's been a while since I did an outfit post, hasn't it?

Okay maybe not sooo long and this isn't the most inspirational outfit either. But, hey, the shoes are cute.

The top is an argyle cardigan from Target with an a-line white linen skirt.


6-4-09 by Princess Poochie on Polyvore.com

The shoes though are what I really like. They're called Celeste and are by a company named Tapeet by Vicini. I've seen the brand on Zappos a bit but I haven't seen other styles of theirs I like. These I bought about 3 years ago and really like their preppy simple style. I love the mix of colors, material and then the whimsical bow.

It's hard to believe I've had these for 3+ years, right. Pris-tine.

My favorite part of them are the heels - chunky white wood. Make sure to enlarge the pic to see the details. Perfect summer shoes that are not too casual.

Store Focus: SoleStruck

I just realized that I hadn't posted a few of the other outfits that I wore last week.

I wore one of my favorite Target dresses. This was actually one of the first dresses in my "Dress Reintroduction" plan. It's a nice heathered grey wool with a two-tone green herringbone accent. inside the collar, cuffs and the reverse of the belt. I like to roll the cuffs up so you get to see the green and then I paired it with my vintage La Rose green velvet heels (which are more olive-y green) and my vintage locket.



Then, when it actually got a bit chilly I whipped out my Gap cashmere grey and black stripe dress and added lavender We Love Color tights. I also wore a matching lavender wrap so I at least had some thing to tie those tights too. And I added another new Paraphernalia piece - my Kiss pin. Oh yeah, and my Facade heels. These are my new #1 most versatile heels of the year. I'm going to wear them at least once a week I think. I seriously should have bought 2 pairs.



Not that either of those outfits have anything to do with the title of this post, but, hey, I did the Polyvores. I'm going to use them!

Anyway...

SoleStruck.

I hadn't shopped with them before. There are so many great stores out there, especially online, that I don't get a chance to go to all of them... if you can believe that! I tend to get lazy and go to the sites I use a lot. So I'm glad when other bloggers, friends and even the companies themselves make recommendations of places to check out. Also, there is a bit of a boycott going on against one of my typical shoe haunts, so I'm probably not going to be shopping there for a while.

I was actually contacted by Sole Struck about testing out their site and service, so I quickly popped over to see what I could see. And I have to say I was very interested, indeed. Like many sites, they offer free shipping which makes it much more convenient for shoe shopping. In my opinion you should not worry about ordering shoes online anymore, especially once you have a few favorite brands that you are familiar with.

Just order the shoes, they come to your house and, if they don't fit, just send them back. Free shipping, free returns... how much easier could it be? Well, my mailman (and the hubby too, I'm sure) might be sick of me and the packages but, eh, there aren't a lot of options here in Fashion Exile so, whatever.

Anyway, Sole Struck graciously offered me the opportunity to choose a pair of shoes. Hello! Kid in a candy store!

After spending a while on the site, I narrowed it down to seven pairs.

First up were this pair of Campers Twins. I liked the shiny overlapping dots and that each shoe is different. I thought they would be cute with a whole slew of tight colors for Fall.




And they have a nice sturdy rubber sole which would be good for winter weather.



But who am I kidding?

I've worn stilettos during a sleet storm in New York (okay, yes it was stupid I know that but it was more than 10 years ago and I was caught out in the storm unexpectedly. I did almost kill myself!)

So I thought I would be more practical and get a fun pair of Hunters, because I've been having a hell of a time finding some rain boots in my size and in a cute look. Wouldn't these but nice and sturdy and great for running around in the yard?



Yes, I do need a pair of boots but there were also cute girly shoes to think about so maybe I'll hold out on those this time.

I mean look at these adorable Betsey Johnson peep-toes. Bows! Peep-toes! Scalloped edges and contrast stitching! I likey!



But of course I get distracted again looking at other pink and red heels including these Jessica Bennett buckle pumps. I love love love pink and red together.




Then I see they come in a green and blue combination and now I really can't choose.



So I went back to Betsey Johnson Betseyville section to see the red and white pair and saw these wedges and knew that I was completely smitten.



I mean, seriously, look at the shape. And the adorable chunky zipper-edged patent bow. But black and green or....




or black and turquoise? I still can't choose. Maybe I should just flip a coin.



In the end, I asked for these Vince Camuto leather knot heels with contrast stitching. My favorite element of the design is how the body of the shoe is sewn to the sole. It gives them a unique and hand crafted look.



These are very comfortable, classic and well-made shoes. I was so happy with them in person that I immediately wore them on Friday to work. They are great with jeans because they are a warm medium camel color and will work well with a whole slew of colors.

I paired mine with my new Gap Classic jeans (which I'm obsessed with, by the way. They fit soooo well!) and my medium green argyle sweater from Target. I also pinned my new crest pin from my last antiques festival excursion to the hem of the sweater.



All in all, I'd recommend checking out Sole Struck. They carry a number of really great lines, including favorites of mine like Chinese Laundry, Charles David, Report and a bunch more. And they have great customer service.

Personally I'm keeping those other pairs in my shopping cart. I think I'm going to have to go back in there and get those wedges. Green? Blue? Both?

Yes!

Ensemble du Jour

The Outfit

Sorry this took a while for me to get up. I actually wore this outfit on Tuesday, but didn't get a chance to take pics of the Corso Comos until now.

The outfit is a new argyle sweater from Target (I usually get a few new ones each year. I'm glad they did v-necks this time), the flippy black skirt from Old Navy and black back seam stockings.



For shoes I wore my new Corso Como Dodies. They're so comfortable. And seeming to be finding fans all over - from Nubby to AsheMischief. Plus, their chunkiness tones down any kind of tights or stockings you wear.






I love the chunky ribbon ankle ties. I think they really make your ankles look even more delicate, since they're big and satin-y.



The Focal Point

It was all about my new "Poochie" nameplate from Paraphernalia. I just adore it! I wish I had ordered it sooner.



Miss Vanda did a great job on all of my pieces. I've worn three of them already. I can't wait to wear the rest!

Week In Review

What's been going on this week? Well, I've had a ton of work so I've been running around. I'm also trying to keep up with my "chores" during the week so I don't have to spend all weekend staring at a huge pile of laundry while I watch 10 hours of The Tenth Kingdom.

And then I get sucked into Twitter and goof off on Flicker, so I've been slack about playing on Polyvore or updating with outfits and all.

On Monday I wore this outfit - light weight argyle sweater from Target and Gap denim pencil skirt.



Yes, I'm wearing argyle again! I want Fall to get here already. I'm pining away for cool weather and sleeping with the windows open.

I wanted to wear my new Report heels with their cute little v-notch so everything was around the grey of these.



Yesterday I remembered I had these cute micro-fishnets in pink so I decided to wear them with a black jersey top and my flippy black skirt from Old Navy.



I have some pink and black kitten heels but in the end I wore my grey Head over Heels bird pumps in all their super-soft grey suede lusciousness.





I'd just sit there and stare at them all day if I could.



Today's outfit is in honor of Miss WendyB and how she is on the forefront of the "bringing rolled-up jeans back" trend.



I just used my Gap jeans and, since they are long despite being Ankle length, they could stand to be rolled up. I pulled out a weird mix of clothes and accessories to wear with them.

First of all is this crazy vintage necklace of winged serpents. I've had this piece since early high school. No "now we know it's vintage!" jokes, I just had a birthday. Don't rub it in.

Maybe I really had Miss Wendy on my mind when I pulled this out of the back of my jewelry drawer.



I liked the shiny brassy gold color and was pairing it with a textured 3/4 sleeve jacket, so yes, let's layer on some very patterned shoes. Why not!



See.... rolled up!

Okay, who's next?

Ensemble du Jour

The Outfit
I've decided that I don't care if it's technically still summer. I want to wear some argyle and tights! It's cold enough in my office to wear this very comfortably and they're bright colors so they're still sort of in keeping with the season, right?

Argyle v-neck and skirt from Target. Orchid Pink tights from WeLoveColors.com and black Louboutin slingbacks! My favorite comfy heels. Seriously!



The Focal Point
I had just bought four pairs of tights from the We Love Colors site because I was thinking about how I wanted to wear those brown linen Manolos with lavender tights. They have a huge range of colors and I just thought these were all lovely. They are - light grey, orchid pink, lilac and lavender.



Since the tights are sort of match-y with the sweater, I wanted to keep from a dark blue shoe - which would be way to match-y since the skirt is a dark denim color. So I went with the black Louboutins - high, comfortable, shiny and the dark color grounds the tights.







And I thought the glimpse of red might be a fun nod to the pink. This is such an odd color pink but I love it paired with the black. And I can't wait to wear more and more tights. When will Fall get here?!?

Ensemble du Jour

The Outfit
After the high heels, I wanted to wear something a little more comfy. I had not had an opportunity to try out the Tibi ballet flats, so I thought it would be a good day for them.

I wore a blue and grey argule sweater and a black pencil skirt. The grey flats, of course, and my Tahitian pearl necklace.



There is another sweet story behind my necklace. I should take a picture of it, because the setting is kind of hard to explain.

One of the stops on our honeymoon was St. Paul de Vence, a medieval village near Nice. We didn't really know how to get there but somehow we made our way. When we got there we were charmed by the different shops and restaurants, as well as the twisty cobblestone streets. The city also has an amazing cemetary and view.

This was the first stop on our honeymoon trip and we were enjoying visiting all of the artists and art galleries which are there. We came to this one tiny tiny store named Atelier Perles which was filled with Tahitian black pearls. Which I just adore.

Well, we were looking at all of the beautiful pieces when we spied this amazing pearl pendant in a case. The pearl was absolutely perfect and perfectly round - a deep glossy black with lots of blues and greens. The owner showed us how translucent it was by putting in a cup of water and letting the sun shine through it. The jewelry designer did not want to mar the pearl so the setting was made of a thin gold wire that kept it in place with its tension.

So, yes, I was all excited and basically in love with this pearl. We asked the cost of the pearl and the owner said X00. We thought, X00 francs, what a great deal. Then he said, no, dollars.

Yeah, we were young and ignorant, what do you want?

So, a little sadly, we put the pearl back and left the shop. As we walked through the town, I promise I wasn't moping about the pearl (the husband confirmed this). After a few minutes, he told me to stop and wait where I was for a second.

He then went back to the store and got me the pearl.

My Sweetie, he's a good one. Tell him I told you that. ; )

The Focal Point
I was looking for comfy shoes and boy, these are it.

The insole is very soft leather and the suede is very soft and delicate as well. And I love how the sheen of the mother-of-pearl buttons play off of the matte of the shoes.



They are nicely cut low on the sides as well. I can highly recommend them.

Spring Cleaning

I mentioned that I went to Target on Friday and went a bit out of control. There were tons of things that I liked and so I took several large bag-loads home. I think I scared the register girl a bit.

But mainly I just don't like to try things on in the store. That and I get stuff home and change my mind about them. That's why I never take the tags off right away. Sometimes I need to look at them for a while before I really commit to keeping them.

At the end of the day I'm taking back a dress, 8 shirts, a bunch of jewelry and two skirts. But what I ended up keeping were these lovely summery items.



I'm not a huge dress wearer so I'm trying to find more dresses that I feel comfortable in. I like these alot, especially the blue and off-white print dress. The 3/4-sleeve cardigans are right up my semi-preppy alley and the two light t-shirty tops will be good basics too. And I love the fun jewelry. I've already worn the pink bubble necklace. The elephant charm necklace has a retro/JCrew sense too it. And the green chain one is actually all made of beads, so that's pretty cool.

If you click on the image it will take you to Polyvore where you can link to each of the items.

You can kind of tell where my colors are going for Summer: white, black, grass green, teal/aqua over khaki, white and black. Accent colors of pink, yellow and orange/coral.

I got a few headbands and footless sheer tights which are both super cute. More pics to follow. Once this crazy weather warms up a bit.

Ensemble du Jour

The Outfit
So, inspite of trying to not buy more clothes I did get a new pencil skirt from Target. It's like a dressy lightweight denim and has a cute slit up the front. It's the same shape and length as my regular denim skirt but cleaner and nicer.

I paired it with an argyle v-neck sweater in purple and tan tones. The dark blue denim goes really well with the dark purples.



The Focal Point
I wanted to pull out the cool tones in the clothes and also wanted to wear my new Champagne necklace again. To tie it together I decided to wear my silver Miu Miu double-strap mary janes. They are not overly shiny, more like burnished silver, so they just gleam.



I don't know how I could get tired of this necklace!



Happy Friday!

Ensemble du Jour

The Outfit
Today's outfit has a mix of patterns and colors. I'm wearing an argyle v-neck sweater and a black skirt with my new black andwhite graphic heels.



The sweater is a bright royal blue with an aqua, green and cream pattern.



The Focal Point
I think it's the mix of patterns today. They tie together with the colors but are contrast-y with their patterns. I actually added one of my shoe clips in green to tie the shoes to the sweater.


By the way, these shoes are just as cute in person and actually pretty comfortable.

Ensemble du Jour

I'm in a much better mood today, thank you. I went home, had a pedicure last night (chipped polish is such a downer) and ate some yummy chicken pot-pie and salad for dinner. It's a still cold but sunny day so I awoke much improved in mood.

The Outfit
Did I wear black all week or did it just seem that way? I wanted to finally wear some color. But it's still cold out so, yes, I'm actually wearing leggings. I know, I know but I'm not wearing them as pants (a la Lohan) and that's okay, right? Brown v-neck sweater, denim skirt, brown leggings with bright teal/aqua accents. I'm wearing a vintage bubblegum necklace, a fringe-y wrap and then my funky argyle shoes.



I actually saw these shoes through Polyvore when I was looking up argyle stuff the other day and the color was so bright and fun I thought I would get them. They are a brand I have never heard of, Not Rated, and they are pretty inexpensive. These are not high-end heels by any stretch but for a just-for-fun buy I didn't want to pay a lot. I actually got these through Endless and they were only $35 once they applied the $5 off, but they are also available on Zappos too, albeit for $46. But you can try and do the price matching policy Zappos has.



They're pretty cute, right?






I love the pattern and I really love the lacing on the front. It's one of my favorite details ad so cute on a round-toe pump. And I love love love the color. Such a cheery blue to help keep me in a good mood!