Color Study - Orange

Ready for the next installment of the Color Study series?

Orange is pretty unrepresented in my closet. I cannot wear it in shirt form at all, although I really do like the color. And I only, obviously, have a few shoes that barely squeak in to the group.



Since there are only five (I don't think I've added any since I took these) it will be easy to break it down:

Top Row, left to right:

- Guiseppe Zanotti Cam Albiconna Nappa
- Hetty Rose Love Platforms
- JCrew Liz in Neon Orange

Bottom Row, left to right:

- Isaac Mizrahi Hannah Orange Flash
- Olivia Rose Tal Silvy II






The details are the best part:

I have a free weekend... maybe blues or greens next???

Ensemble du Jour

This past Tuesday the rain was pouring down all day so no even half-way decent outside outfit shots. But while I didn't get many pictures, I did stay cozy in my new favorite vintage jacket.

I love this. It has the most snuggly lining and the outside is this gorgeous coppery gold brocade asian fabric with white and pale blue flowers. When I tried this on in the store I just could not take it off. I knew it had to come home with me.



I paired it with a grey-blue sequin placket JCrew henley tee, in case I got too snuggly warm.




I actually wore this with jeans. It's rare that jeans make an appearance when I go to work but, eh!, I was chilly.

More detail shots:

For shoes I wanted something to pick up the same burnished metallic tones and pulled out my Hype Farfalla slingbacks.

The rhinestones are a great copper-orange and there is a really neat mesh fabric detail that wraps around the toe.

I bought another coat at the vintage store too but it has yet to make it's debut outing. It's a very faux fur 60s swing/chubby coat. I feel like a cross between Doris Day and the StayPuft Marshmallow man.

I may look that way too, we'll have to see.

The Air Up There

I think I've mentioned before that I am a complete sucker for certain heel shapes. Vintage La Rose are the classic 60s shape, Choo does a great heel with a squared off tap at the bottom and, of course many of Louboutin's heels are great as well.

But my new favorite is from Manolo Blahnik.

Big surprise, I know, given that I'm such a fan but when the "Something Blue" heel was introduced I was drawn to the heel immediately.



Not only is it tall and slender (both pluses in my book) but it has this great addition of a metal accent right above the tap. Shiny silver, paired with the blue, grabs the light as you walk.



I wasn't sure if this would be a one-off element as the shoe was designed for the SATC movie but I'm glad to see that it was not.

This new pair of Catalina heeled sandals are sporting the same accent, but this time in gold to match with the bright tangerine.





I'm not sure if the metal is purely decorative or if it provides an extra level of structural support. Either way, I like how the square-ish heel is offset by the round tap and that the metal calls attention to it.

Anything that draws attention to lovely shoes is okay with me.

Ensemble du Jour

As I've been stressing over what clothes to pack for my trip to NY next week, I've been trying on some items I've had packed away for various reasons. But if clothes have hung around for more than a year it's because I really really like them.

The Outfit
It's still surprisingly cool here so when I decided to wear this skirt, I was able to pair it with a lightweight cashmere sweater in a slightly different shade of grey. For jewelry I wore my jade bangle and a jade circle pendant that my parents brought me from Chine when I was a freshman in high school. Both jade pieces are more white jade than the typical dark green.



For shoes I pulled a tone from the tulip design of the skirt and wore these delicate melon suede Guiseppe Zanotti heels that were a major bargain from a few years ago.



I love the shape of the heel and the color, of course, but I think the tassles were what sold me. I think tassled shoes are so cute.



They're a great tonal mix of suede and regular leather.



The Focal Point
Now typically I'm not sure having a giant flower right at your hips is the greatest idea (and this angle would seem to attest to that) but since it's a pencil skirt it actually isn't too bad. Plus, I love the giant flower skirts that Mizrahi did for Target. I also have the white skirt with the giant pink peony.



I don't think this will come with me to NY but it's pretty cute. I'm glad it's back in the rotation. Now I just need to find more tops to pair with it.

Ensemble du Jour

The Outfit
Another new top to wear today. I got this Mizrahi boatneck top on sale at Target. I like the color combo of the pink and orange. I wouldn't have paid full price for it but, marked down, it's not bad.

I paired it with my dressy denim pencil skirt and then to keep it clean I piled on some acrylic bangles and my vintage Trifari owl necklace.




The Focal Point
I know it may be a bit matchy-matchy but I have several pink heels and this gives me an excuse to wear them. These Charles David round-toe pumps are really cute in a Barbie-ish kind of way. The color is on the purple-y pink side but what also makes them different is the pony hair.



I have a ton of A-line skirts but I'm preferring to wear pencil skirts more and more. I just like the more streamlined silhouette better these days.

Ensemble du Jour

It's cold and grey and so I'm rebelling by wearing lots and lots of color. I look like I've gone mad and am trying to turn into a SweeTart.

The Outfit
Black cropped pants to ground all the colors and show the cute sockies. Pink argyle sweater, pink patterned tabi socks. Lavender pashmina to keep me warm and black patent open-toe heels from Target. Plus I changed purses from my big brown purse to my orange Hermes.



I love orange for accessories just not for clothes (for me) as much. I want to get an orange Hermes scarf but I haven't found a pattern I'm dying for yet, so I'm using my vintage scarf.



Oh! These are the crazy sunglasses from my other post. I finally took a picture. They're so huge it's funny.



When we were in Orlando I went crazy in the Epcot Japan store and bought all kinds of cute Japanese things including four pairs of socks. They are just so darn cute! I was dying to wear them, so I wore the longer pair today. They are two shades of pink with fat white bunnies. How cute is that?



The Focal Point
I know I'm not twelve or anything, but dang! I love these bunnies. So, my focal point today are my bunny socks (and being pink!)



Wouldn't you want little bunnies scampering across your feet? I know you do!

Designer Focus - Olivia Rose Tal

When we visited Asheville, I found a small shoe store which I didn't know existed (I'll feature them later) and something amazing happened. I found out about a designer that I had never heard of! I was so intrigued and excited.

This store had a large number of shoes from Olivia Rose Tal who is a designer in New York. She too seems to have a passion for embellishment and fabric, a passion I share. I liked a number of the shoes that I saw there and it was hard to decided. I ended up purchasing these orange and brown silk mules with jeweled buckles.



They are very sparkly and richly colored in person.



In the store and on the site there are a number of other styles that I would love to have. Here's a small sampling:


Snakeskin and striped silk.


I love this brown, blue and cream silk buffalo check with a contrasting fabric insole and soft bow. I almost bought these.



These charcoal, grey, blue and silver silk mules have an amazing crystal embellishment. I really really was torn about buying these and the ones I did get. We're going back December, so if they still have them, I may get them.

The shoes run about $200+ and are really comfortable. The silhouette are reminiscent of early Kate Spade mules. They are great with pants and long skirts, like my bridesmaid outfit. Some of the styles are a little older skewing but the richness of the materials makes them stand out.

Ensemble du Jour

The Outfit
It's warm today. Again. I'm so depressed. I'm never going to get to do the seasonal clothes rotation! I have a meeting tonight for my town, so even though I don't need to be dressy for work, I still dressed a little nicely.

Actually, this is more comfortable to me that jeans or something. The skirt is very flow-y, the tights are so soft and my new Ann Taylor top (on sale) is very soft too.



I've been dying to break out more of the colored tights that I bought in anticipation of Fall, and I just got these shoes back from the shoe repair (after leaving them there for 4 months!) so today I combined dark orange with these burgundy Aerosoles. Fun, no? I've already received compliments... from guys! And what do they typically notice, nothing, right?



I love these Aerosoles. I have them in black too. They are a few years old and are a really go-to pair of shoes, especially for work. They have a great heel shape too. I have a pair of silver alligator printed Celine heels that I felt these were imitating, because they were offered in black patent too. So I got the expensive crazier ones and the more neutral styles came from Aerosoles.



The Focal Point
I've been very color-driven lately, so why should today be any different? I wanted to pull through that orange and red into more of the outfit, besides my red hair, so I wore a fun beaded ring that has a a mix of crystals in reds, pinks, golds, greens and purples. The big piece is my large felt flower from Etsy. It's about 5" wide and the color is a very rust reddish orange with tinges of pink.



Etsy is my new home for cute stuff! I just bought some great acrylic cuffs with pearls and a crocheted top hat. How fun is that?

Orange-y Pink, Pink-ish Orange

Did you ever see a color combo out in the real world and wish you could make an outfit out of it.

I love the delicious combination of my new baby's tangerine creamsicle fur and his light pink jellybean toe pads and smoochable pink kitten nose.



He's a mix of perfect pastel colors like natural salt.



The closest things I could find were these pink Delman Jessica slides with pale orange bows.



I think we need more of these candy shoes. The world needs unexpected colors.