Skirts of Sparkle and Swirl

You've gotta love the ongoing sales.  If you want something, wait a day.  There's probably a coupon code for it.

With some latest promos, I've invested in the following items.

1. Red Skirt

I haven't found a great pair of red jeans for me yet but a skirt I can easily wear.  This classic pencil skirt is from Express. It's lined and you can nab a deal with their promo code or by signing up for their email.  Before coupons it is $79.

2. Sparkly Skirt

This skirt, also from Express, jumped out at me on Pinterest.  Also $79 before the coupon code, I loved the playful tiers of sequins... and you know I'm a sucker for sequins.  I'm going to dress it down with a slouchy sweater and tights.

3. Swirly Skirt

I fell in love with the City Lights Lilith skirt from Kate Spade (you can see it being designed here).  It was a bit pricey but then they had their big 75% off sale and I grabbed it.  I don't think it's available now but there are two other patterns in this style that are still on sale. Both are awfully cute as well!

Do you have a favorite skirt of the season?

Greener Pastures

It hasn't been that long since Isaac Mizrahi left us bereft at Target and moved on to new adventures at Liz Claiborne.

I for one was skeptical. I mean, wasn't Liz Claiborne the brand that was known for the bad taupe purses in the 80s. Right?

In spite of that Mizrahi has moved right in and brought his frothy pink and retro girly designs to life. The elements I loved at Target are now being made with nicer materials to go with the slightly higher price point.

I'm pretty cheap about clothes but I did buy a few of his new pieces via the online store.

First up was this silk shirtdress in a watercolor floral pattern.








I love the colors and pattern so much, I got the silk and knit cardigan as well.

But what I really liked were all of the great skirts on the site. This plaid pleated skirt came in pink and the grey. I'm going to wear this a lot over the summer with a grey tee and silver heels, but can pair it with darker grey or black tights in the winter too.

But why not get the pleated skirt in pink too, since I love pink? Well, I saw this and knew there was no competition. I had to have this gingham dirndle skirt. This skirt is amazing in person. The top layer is a watercolor gingham plain on whisper thin silk. Under that is a layer of tulle and then a stiffer liner that gives the skirt a frothy full shape. I twisted and swished and twirled around in it all day. It has such a 50s-ish feel, I just want to slip on a knit top or cardigan and dance.

I'm so excited that, even though he's gone from Target, Isaac is still out there making clothes that I can buy. I may not be able to get them as often but I hope they continue to be as fun as these.

Ensemble du Jour

The Outfit
Not that this is a good admission, but sometimes when I get downtime in meetings I like to plan outfit options. Since this "down time" happens fairly regularly I have a whole bunch of outfit options planned out on paper. This isn't that innovative but it was on the list, mainly because I haven't worn this skirt or these shoes in a while.



I love this skirt. It is a faux bois or wood print skirt from Mizrahi for Target. This was when Isaac was designing quirky whimsical items that were not priced way over all the other stuff in the store. This and the big peony skirt are two of my favorites.

I paired this with a royal purple cardigan as a top. I like pairing these two colors together. They just seem to contrast well.



The accessories I wore one of my new Moo Stickers (just for fun) and this wood bead bracelet from Target. You can barely see it but I'm wearing this really dark plum nail polish which said it was black. I think it may be a bit too dark but I'm testing it out.



The heels I'm wearing are ones that I have not worn in ages. About 8 or so years ago I was searching high and low for a pair of camel heel. Finally I found a pair I liked at Nine West and had to then search all over for my size. I was happy they were Nine West since that brand fits me so well.



They may be a little pointy but I've certainly worn the heck out of them.





Well worth their very reasonable price.

Yesterday's outfit was okay. I had a whole thing planned which focused around a pencil skirt I just got from Old Navy. But when I went to unzip it to put it on the zipper completely came apart. The teeth split and then the whole thing came un-sewn from the fabric! What the heck?!? So I have to take that back now. But since my whole outfit plan fell apart I just grabbed some stuff from the closet - a simple khaki linen skirt and a khaki-toned knit top.

I wanted to wear a darker top to play up the stripe-y stockings I was wearing. I had paired these with my new Manolos from my New York trip that I'm finally wearing.





Cute, huh? I will be wearing these a lot this fall. Maybe even mix it up with some bright tights.

Oooh! I just remembered this skirt these would go great with, especially if I find some lavender tights. Need to put those on my shopping list.

Ensemble du Jour

The Outfit
I found these really cute flippy swishy skirts on sale at Old Navy so I got 4 of them. Two polka-dot ones in black and in cream and then a solid teal and black. Today I wore the black polka-dot version and paired it with a simple black knit top. For fun I have these sheer aqua leggings (No! Not leggings... sheer tights, that's it). To pull out the color I wore my vintage bubblegum necklace.



I was going to wear mary janes but ended up with these Tar-get peep-toes in black patent.



Not leggings, sheer tights... Right?



Don't mock me. I like them. I think they're cute.



The Focal Point
See cute polka-dots. Cute flippy skirt, sheer bright (footless) tights, shiny shoes.



Well, I have this skirt in two colors so you may see a similar combo again.

Oh alright, I'll probably wear regular tights next time. Geez!

; )

Ensemble du Jour

The Outfit
I've sort of slowed on on showing the outfits, haven't I? I guess I've just been a bit lazy and not really inspired.

What I wore yesterday was kind of simple. The top is from the Proenza Schouler Go International line for Target, along with a khaki A-line skirt. Since the shirt is pretty graphic I just wore my watch as jewelry. Okay, it was really because I was running way late to work and didn't have time to think up more inventive pairings.



The Focal Point
I wanted to leverage the white accents and sort of classic almost nautical feel from the shirt so I pulled out one of my favorite pairs of white heels. I know a lot of folks don't like white heels but I just don't understand it. If they are done well, they can be so cute and classy.

I love these Charles David pair becuase they are in a great white patent and have jaunty white tassles. I adore tassles on shoes. They're so cute.













My only challenge is that the top is a bit too big, so while I love the color pairing and the details of it, I'm not sure if I'm going to keep it. I just don't have the room to keep stuff that doesn't fit as well as it should or if I'm not totally in love with it (ideally it should be both!).

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.