Party Glam - Owls, Sequins and Mohawks

On Saturday night, we went to a local "runway" charity event.   So since the event has a fashion-y spin to it, we decided to get a bit glam and have fun with our outfits.

The husband wore his new tux and I donned a shiny sequin patterned dress from LuLu's.

(insert obligatory bathroom selfie here!)

I wanted to be equally fun with the shoes and bag.  I mean the Kate Spade Night owl bag is always an adorable addition but how often can you really wear the YSL Mohawks.  They're just too kick-ass for everyday mortals.

Such a fun dress in person!

Even with a bold dress, at the end of the day the heels are still the star of the show.  I mean, I fell in love with them from just this image.  How can you resist in real life?

As per usual, we were a bit too much for the rest of the attendees, I'm sure.  But we certainly had fun!

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.

Ready for Ready-To-Wear

My favorite shoe designer, Miss Henrietta "Hetty Rose" is bringing her custom-crafted bespoke shoes to a wider audience by launching her ready-to-wear line.

Hetty has made a name for herself by creating beautiful designs and pairing them with unique vintage kimono fabrics sourced from Japan and antique jewels and embellishments.

I have been lucky enough to purchase several of her pieces - the Ella mary jane, the Love platforms and the Amalie pump - all crafted with the most amazing fabrics ever.

And while Hetty is continuing to create and craft her bespoke lines, she has not created ready-to-wear shoes that have the same adorable style and gorgeous fabrics.   The line is made up of 5 of the top favorite styles and they are all still made using vintage kimono fabrics.  They are manufactured in a small family-run factory in London and will be available in UK sizes 4, 5, 6 and 7 with prices starting from £180.

Yuki 

Haruka 

Mika 

Kiki

You can see all of the styles and detailed images here.

Pre-ordering is starting now for deliveries in October/November so make sure to drop her an email to get the process going and reserve your pair today!

Enseble du Jour - 6-25-10

After pink three days in a row, I turned to neutrals on Friday.



The top is a v-neck cardigan in taupe paired with a feather printed skirt from, you guessed it, Anthropologie again. I used to shop at Anthropologie a lot obviously. Yikes.

I do love the pattern of this skirt. It's all different tones and tpes of feathers and had overlapping seams with raw edges.



But who am I kidding... it was all about the shoes.



I put up a quick post on Friday about them but here are some prettier shots.



You can open these up to full size.

They really are spikey and wonderful.

You can see why I felt that they were much more fabulous than I was that day.

The cardigan top is from Target, the skirt from Anthropologie and the shoes are Christian Louboutin Freddy oxfords.

Fashion Forward?

I had sort of a sad encounter yesterday.

I was at Panera grabbing a bagel and a lady commented on the fact that she liked my tights. I love to wear tights, especially colorful ones. They are the easiest way to create a new outfit or add a pop of color and, frankly, I wear tights and stockings all year round. So, getting a appreciative response is always fun.

I said "Thank you" and went on to say how I had wanted to dress cozy and comfortable that day. It was raining/snowing out and (being still sick) I had dressed pretty simply - black sweater dress, the tights and black patent mary janes. Nothing to crazy or over the top at all.

The tights I was wearing were this pattern:



The lady went on to say how she wished she could wear tights like that and I said "of course you can! I have a ton and wear fun and bright tights all the time!" But she dismissed this saying she was worried she would look like she was trying to look like her teen-aged daughter.

I tried again to assure her she could wear them - heck, she couldn't have been that much older than me - but she acted as if there was no possibility she could pull it off. This made me so sad.

First of all, I don't think colorful tights are that crazy or pushing the envelope. I mean, you are just as covered as if you were wearing tan hose or black tights, which most ladies would not bat an eye at. Plus there are all ranges of colors and patterns. I can see how some patterns could be considered too strange but there are people I know who are unsure about wearing solid color tights in any color outside of black, brown or grey.

Is it that colors outside of the "safe" zone are too attention-grabby? Is that a bad thing? Why do you think many women feel they can't or shouldn't wear fun colors and resign themselves to blending in versus standing out? Even when they want to?

Week In Review

Since I've been slack in the outfit recapping department lately, I thought I would put a few of the latest ones in one big post.

The other day I wore a really comfortable green wrap dress from Target. Mine was a bit lighter green than this one but it conveys the idea. I wore a white camisole under mine just to be safe.



I wore my green jade bracelet and for shoes I wore my Sinamon sandals from Nicole Brundage.








My favorite part of these shoes are the pinked edges to the straps.







They're also very interesting due to how the straps wrap around. They are attached to the heel, go over the instep and twice around the ankle.



Yesterday I was very casual in my denim pencil skirt, a lavender tee from the Gap and my Jessica Simpson silk madras wedges.





Yes, I know. Jessica Simpson shoes. But, hey, I like the colors and think they are cute. I've come to grips with the shame.




On Wednesday I wore one of my favorite outfits. A simple 3/4 sleeve white knit top with the Mizrahi huge peony print skirt. I just love love love the giant floral print on this. So big and bright and pink.



For jewelry I wore this dainty littke necklace made of crystals and pink topaz briolettes.



For shoes I wore these little fabric mules from Kate Spade. These are back when I thought Kate Spade was doing some really fresh, unique and pretty designs. I have this same shoe in two other fabrics - a tan & black zebra and a muted mulit-stripe. But this is my favorite of the three.

And these shoes are a testament to how I treat my nice shoes with care. They are a very light color fabric shoe. You'd think they'd get dirty very very easily. And they could. But I've had these shoes for at least 9 years. And while they may be due for some new heel taps, they are almost pristine.





Kate Spade - make more pretty things like these again!











I also like how they fit right on the front of your foot. They're almost retro slipper-y in shape and, I think, ultra-girly. Another version of flower feet.

Ensemble du Jour

The Outfit
I was all dressed this morning and on my way to work. I had planned on wearing my Alexander McQueen skirt from YOOX, then, as I started to leave I felt something hitting my leg.

Yeah. It was the stupid security sensor tag!!!!!

And I can't take the frigging thing into a store to get it taken off. So, as much as I wanted to wear it today, I had to do a last minute switch to what I actually wore.

I pulled out this little skirt from Anthropologie and my scoopneck tee from Target.



What I liked about the skirt was the feather pattern and the overlapping pieces of fabric with distressed edges which give it more of a texture matching the pattern.



I also added one of my new Target beaded necklaces. I like the texture but this does tend to lose little fibers as you wear it.



The Focal Point
I can't say that I have one really because I was so annoyed by the stupid stupid tag. The skirt pattern set the tone for everything else. I haven't worn this skirt since last summer and I may have actually worn these sandals with it. Hmmm...

These cute Jimmy Choo sandals have a funny story with them. We were visiting Orlando with my in-laws a while back. I love the Jimmy Choo store there and we just had to pop-in to see what they had.

Uh oh, big sale.

I was trying on these leopard print sandals and another pair of these cafe au lait sparkly sandals and just couldn't decide which to get.





My M-i-L surprised me by saying she would get one pair so I could get the other. Whoo Hoo!

As we were paying the hubby and my F-i-L walked in and essentially were like "Aaack! What's going on here?!?"

Busted!

I had to profess my innocence. I swear I didn't do any mind tricks or anything.







Then later that night they were asking us how much the shoes cost (always a dangerous question, right?). When we finally 'fessed up, my F-i-L said, "I thought the would have been more."

I said, "Let's go back to the store right now!"





Aren't they delightful? I soooo love them. Thanks again, guys!

Smooches!