One Special Night with Sophia Webster Evangeline

Last week was our 19th Meeting-versary.  We consider that day even more special than our wedding day because our meeting was so by chance and lucky and just filled with kismet and serendipity.

So special shoes were in order.

If you want to stand out in the best way possible, wear winged shoes.  People cannot get enough of them.

I paired these with a pastel-ish shift dress from Anthropologie:

And used a white and gold faux snakeskin clutch I've had for ages.

Here are a few better views...

As you can see, I was having the best time.   I have to say I'm lucky.  I'm still having fun after nearly 20 years together. I wish the same for anyone else who wants that.

: )

Neon, neon

I haven't worn this JCrew skirt nearly enough. I love the bright, almost neon, pink of the sequins. How they swish and move and reflect the light.

I paired it with a simple black top and then bookended it with Sophia Webster Daria slingbacks with the black cap and the neon orange and pink patterned straps and heels.

And this clutch just arrived from Kate Spade. The Kiss Me, You Fool clutch is a part of the "On Purpose" collection and I just love it.  I wish I'd had it to wear with the skirt and heels.

I almost never wear my midsize bags any more. It's all about the clutch and Kate Spade does do the best whimsical clutches around.

You'll be seeing this a lot come Spring.

Dots for Days

Sometimes you have to go big…

And sometimes you have to take the pattern one more step.

Always loving polka-dots, the shirt from Ann Taylor is new.

The tights are from Wolford, which I've have but haven't worn, and then paired with the "urban shoe myth" Manolo Blahnik Camparis.

Holiday Sparkle 2014

Last night was my work holiday party.

And, always looking for an excuse to dress up, I had purchased this gold sequin dress from Lulu's a little while back.  The husband looked dashing in his JCrew and Banana Republic ensemble in grey and burgundy.

When I finally got the Sophia Webster Mila's a new they would be the perfect edgy combination to pair with the sparkly dress.

They're graphic and just so cool.  Now that they've had their "debut" I plan on wearing them with tons of other skirts, cuffed jeans and cropped pants.

For a clutch, I'd had my eye on a Charlotte Olympia Pandora for a while but haven't found the perfect one.  In the interim, I got this great customized version from Estoite on Etsy.

I love the details of his combo too. They're a bit hard to see here but the burgundy shirt has white and blue dots which are picked up in the blue bow tie with white equations.  The cool tones of the blue work with the grey heathered jacket fabric and contrast with the dark burgundy.   Snazzy!

We had a fun time at the party seeing everyone's outfits and then the two of us went to our favorite taco restaurant for a delicious meal!

Fall/Winter 2013 Themes - Fallen Leaves and Pumpkins

It's time for the turn of the seasons.  It's time for my favorite part of the year - Autumn.

As in the past, I have a theme for my wardrobe as we travel into the cooler months.  In the past I've had:

Clean Collage Prep and Chromatic French
Pastel Ice Cream Sundae and Vintage Garden Party
Chic School Girl and Deep Woods Floral
Cotton Candy Carnival and English Summer Picnic

This Fall it's - Fallen Leaves and Pumpkins.

For each I typically do a Pinterest board of inspiration and things to buy/purchased.  It's great to see how I can build on each season - taking some items out and adding some in.

Before I begin, I think about the textures, patterns and colors I want to focus on, as well as what items I have that would be perfect or what I need.

For example some theme items are: leopard print, red, black, brown, aubergine, orange, oxblood, taupe, emerald, stripes, metallics and thick lace.

I'm ready to get cozy in tall boots and slim jeans, Breton strips, and faire isle sweaters paired with whimsical skirts.

It's time for crunchy golden leaves!

Ensemble du Jour - Labor Day Dressing

Yesterday we had a lovely day off and spent it trying a new restaurant and leisurley browsing at the nice mall in Charlotte, South Park Mall.

I decided to wear a dress I had not had an opportunity to wear yet - my JCrew sequin stripe dress.  I love the heavier knit and the marine shades of the multi-sized sequins scattered in an ombre pattern.

I paired this with my cobalt Celine Luggage tote - always a handy size to carry.

For shoe, I'd thought about wearing my marine sequin Louboutins but decided to be more neutral and tie in with the color of the creme fabric.  I ended up wearing my lacy Enzo Angiolini Eamaxino peep-toes.

Found a few cute tops for Fall, which I'm eagerly anticipating!

Hurry up cool weather!

Ensemble du Jour - 7-9-13

My outfit yesterday was a mix of soft pink and snake print with added glitter and shimmer.  So subtle, huh?

I love this pale pink cardigan and it goes so well with the pencil skirt - both from JCrew.

The glasses are my pink Miu Miu sunglasses.  I love these so much I have them in red glitter too. 

The shoes are Jimmy Choo's Sissy sandals from about, oh, 7 years or so ago.  They're such a pretty shimmery taupe.

This outfit is pretty much my work "uniform" - simple top, pencil skirt in a fun pattern with a boost from shoes and accessories.  You can never have too many print pencil skirts, right?

Ensemble du Jour - Six Years!

I hope you had an awesome 4th of July weekend.  I took off Friday and was able to get a bunch of errands done, including finally dropping off the huge pile of clothes and shoes I had to go to the consignment store and Goodwill.

We also went to see a ton of movies  - 4 in total with one more tonight.  As we were in chilly theaters all weekend, I threw a cardigan of the ModCloth At The Dog Park dress I wore out.  I was going to pair this with the Bass x Rachel Antonoff black/clear Maebird oxfords and sheer/black polka-dot socks but when I looked in the mirror it was a bit ridiculous, so I had to quickly switch to my sequin ballet flats.

I'm also considering having this dress hemmed shorter.

Other than nap all weekend, watch movies and eat out,  we had ourselves a small tea party in the library.  Our chess table is the perfect size for a two person tea so we think this will be our new Sunday afternoon tradition.

I made Lavender Sables (a French butter cookie like shortbread), tomato-basil and cucumber sandwiches and we also had berries sprinkled with vanilla sugar. We're like the Finer Things Club over here.

Oh yeah, and just one small thing... Shoe Daydreams turned SIX this weekend.  I know posting has slowed down some since those early days, but we're keeping on.

Because there's always more shoes to dream about!

Ensemble du Jour - June 20, 2013

Oh my house...

It's determined to not let me get any good outfit shots.   That's what you get with an old house that isn't well lit.   But you can sort of make out that I'm wearing a white JCrew button-down, white brown belt and khaki pencil skirt.

Right?  Right?

Paired with a pair from way back - Ralph Lauren wingtip cap-toe slingbacks.

I do love these.  I've always thought they were so classy.

It hasn't been too horribly warm here yet, so I'm enjoying actually being comfortable outside.

We'll see how long that lasts!

Enjoying Leopard and Red

It finally hit some real summer heat here today and just now a huge thunderstorm has rolled through.

Because it was so warm (I had I just given myself a fresh pedicure with dark red polish), I slipped on a favorite pair of Jimmy Choo sandals from... oh.... 6 years ago? I paired this with dark red skirt and dark khaki top and jewelry in gold, opals and rubies.

I started thinking about how much I like this sometimes tricky combo.

Case in point - a winter version with a red sweater leopard skirt and red Rockstuds.

Then I was just browsing for pretty inspiration...

I have a vintage leopard coat.  I think I need some red pants to go with it.  I love the wellies combo too!

Ensemble du Jour - Graceful in Greenery

I am so excited to be wearing my Spring/Summer dresses. I'm sure I'll be complaining about the heat soon, but as of right now, the weather was balmy and the sun was bright.

I paired my ModCloth Graceful Greenery dress with a lavender cardigan and for shoes, I wore it with chartreuse Manolo Blahnik Sedarabys (for work) and then lupine Converse Chucks (for play).

I love the photo print of a cool floral-filled and wooded glen...

A vintage purse goes perfectly with this dress...

I hope you had a great holiday as well!

Seeing Stripes

I'm finally able to wear some of my new Spring dresses.

 I loved the classic black and white broad stripe dress from The Limited. It will be perfect to combine with tons of colors and other patterns.

I paired it with a bright pink JCrew cardigan and my JCrew Liza Peep-toe heels in the Cherry Blossom print.

It's going to be dresses all Spring and Summer, with lots of color!