Pants and Pumps

For someone who claims to prefer skirts, I'm wearing a lot of pants lately.  My new uniform is fun pants and awesome shoes.

Red Old Navy pants and spiked Louboutin Pigalles…

Black diamond Old Navy pants and mint Kate Spade Karolina Bow pumps..

Jcrew olive military-inspired tuxedo-stripe pants plus old Jimmy Choo Thunder slingbacks…

Old Navy red print pants plus Manolo Blahnik red sequin heels...

Plaid pants and red Valentino Rockstud kitten heels…

I think I can make it through winter like this.

Ensemble du Jour: 7-9-11

I couldn't wait too long to wear the red version of the black & white dress from the other day.  I paired it with an olive embellished cardigan, also from Target, a skinny patent yellow belt and this cool vintage purse.

The purse was from an antiques fair I go to twice a year.  There a few favorite vendors that always have the best stuff.

The purse is strips of wood and opens from the top.  Perfect to take to our group lunch event.

The heels are Manolo Blahnik Uliepes - the perfect pump - and an awesome yellow.  They're so pretty I took a bunch of shots so they'll get a post of their own.

I had to redo my nails so I chose a neutral dark taupe - Zoya's Pasha.  It's a bit conservative for me so I'm not sure it'll stick around for too long.

This was for a group lunch with folks I hadn't met before.  Fun, comfortable but with some interesting color matching.  I hope I don't bore you, because I love these two dresses and they are going to be fun to play with.

Two Sides of the Coin

I need some opinions here.  I have my company holiday party tomorrow (Saturday) night and I'm trying to decide what to wear.  This is a pretty low-key event - just a cocktail party at a local, nice restaurant with our small group plus spouses.  But since I feel like I never get out of the house, part of me wants to go a bit crazy... at least by North Carolina standards. 

To put it in perspective, I wore fake eyelashes last year and caused quite a stir.  So yeah...

Anyways, I've narrowed it down to two options.  One a bit "crazier" and the other an outfit I picked up today that I really like which also happens to be a bit more elegant.  So here are the choices -

Option 1 - Short dress with added crinoline, cardigan and uber-high heels.

The black and white petticoats I bought a long time ago.  The dress is from Forever 21 about a year ago and the cardigan is Twelve by Twelve also from about a year ago.

I hate going sleeveless so I would add the cardigan no matter what, but the fact that it's chilly means it's going to be necessary.

I love these fabric rosettes and the rhinestone buttons. Gives is just the right amount of shine.

Now, if it wasn't winter I'd be totally wearing my Alexander McQueen rose heels.  They are just too smashing.  But, even though bare legs and these peep-toes look great with the short, short skirt, I think I would look ridiculous as it is 20 degrees out.

So I was thinking of these sheer black tights with the thigh bow detail from Cynthia Rowley (bought from Gilt Group - really loving the tights they get on there).

And pairing them up with my Manolo Blahnik Campari black patent mary janes.

So that's my wacky options. 

Option 2 is a bit more subtle. 

I walked by a New York and Company store today and, which I never do, decided to pop in.  They merchandised well because my eye was caught by this paillette skirt right off the bat. Not surprisingly of course.  I love the muted olive-y green sheen and had to have it.  I wanted to keep it low key but glam so I found a heathered bronze v-neck sweater and, just in case, a taupe cami for layering. It seems a bit loose here but the look is more relaxed and slouchy, contrasting with the fitted gleaming skirt.  I probably wear just a simple necklace and maybe my watch.

To keep the neutral elegance going, I was thinking of my Le Silla Stardust heels. 

They have a beautiful, almost retro shape, handcrafted heel details and a subtle metallic gleam as well.



Of course, the second option would be more comfortable but I kinda want to wear the more silly dress.

What do you think???

Ensemble du Jour - 10-6-10

So 10 years later, it seems I've finally bought into the whole military-olive-green jacket trend.  But I swear I bought this way earlier in the year.  It's just been too darn hot in NC to wear it until now.  But I love it.  I found a long jacket with the great color and all these wonderful details.

Of course, being a bit more girl-y, I paired it with a tonal Michael Kors sequin tank and a denim pencil skirt.  I love sequins.  There, I've said it.  You didn't know, did you?

Isn't it cute?!?  It's by Kayla and I bought in sale on YOOX.

Lots of pockets, which are great, but what got me is the knotted cuff detail.

Here's a better view of the tank, which came from Macy's and is now on sale (darn it!).  The sequins have a bit of a camo pattern that I think you can see in my picture above.

I paired this with my camo Manolo Blahnik Sedaraby d'orsay heels.   They're the perfect green and combine the same mix as the outfit - satin, camo, crystals.

Here's a better view:

I hope we keep enough of the Fall weather so I can get some more use out of the jacket before Winter really sets in.  At least it is a piece that I can wear forever.

Week In Review Redux

As I've been looking through shome of my shoe shots and uploading things to Flickr, I see shoes that I haven't worn for while. I get sad... why have I been neglecting them???

So I've been trying to wear some old loves and give them the attention they deserve.

On Monday I wore a white v-neck and linen skirt with a skinny red belt from Target.



The center of attention were my Louboutin gold and cork Prive peep-toes.



Red!



It's amazing how high they are and yet how comfortable. That hidden platform really does it's job.



On Wednesday I had a client meeting so I wore something that I knew would look good and be comfortable - this black dress which I think I've worn about 5 times already. And to keep me from totally freezing, I wore my cropped olive cardigan. The dress is Target and the cardigan is Old Navy.






Oh, yeah... and these gorgeous vintage brocade heels.



Classic, classic retro shape. One of my favorite heels shapes of all time.



This is the good stuff.



And today, I just wanted to hav fun. I mean, I'm not going to be doing much but work work work, so why not?

Grey jersey top with metallic threads, khaki pencil skirt, sparkly silver knee-socks and vintage liquor tag necklace from Etsy.



My favorite part of this is the fact that the silver is a bit worn off. It gives the tag and extra dimension and shows it's age.



Sooooo cute!



But for fun, it was all about the socks and shoes. I always find Delman shoes to be a bit big but I just didn't care. These pink silk stripe-y oxfords were just too adorable.



Yes, I'm wearing them with super sparkly silver knee-socks. That's right. I'm mature.



Oh, yeah. And pink fluffy pom-pom sock garters from Sock Dreams. Pink! Fluffy! Pom-Poms!





I got these from Anthropologie. They called the Parrotfish Oxfords. They look like candy to me. I like. I need to get some baggy khaki pants, suspenders and a white shirt to get all 1920's Garden Party.

Or a cute white swiss dot sundress.... wait! I think I have one of those. I'm off to go search through the closets!