Ensemble du Jour

The Outfit
Sometimes I get asked if I pre-plan what I'm wearing each day. Most of the time, I don't. Usually there is a single item that I want to wear and that determines what I pick to work around it. Usually that's a new pair of shoes or a pair I haven't worn lately and I'm excited to wear them. But just as often a whole bunch of different variables go into what I pick. Am I tired, have I work too much black this week, is it raining, do I not want to go bare-legged, etc., etc.

Today it was that I didn't want to wear black again. I just needed some color! I pulled out a pair of hot pink tights and my white crewneck shirt from Ann Taylor. Because I wanted to be casual, I paired this with my Old Navy corduroy skirt. The boots are my Sam Edelman boots that were on Gossip Girl.





To tie the color in the tights back, I used my hot pink star pin (bought at the airport!) as a pendant on a silver chain. By the way, this shirt from Ann Taylor is so soft. It is somthing like 75% silk but the rest is nylon, I think, so its soft but flexible. And there is a row of buttons down the shoulder, which is why I bought it.



Don't these have a modern Mary Poppins-ish feel to them. I don't normally like mid-calf boots and would only wear them under pants but these have to be worn with a skirt so you can see how adorable they are.



The Focal Point
The color! I did like the outfit overall too, though. It was comfortable but a little quirky.





I'm so glad tights will be sticking around for a while. Now I just need to find a way to organize them all. It's getting a little out of hand in the armoir.

It's Sass, Right? You're Sassing Me...

What is it about the scalloped edging that is just so adorable?



These Nanette Lepore heels are an easy way for someone to venture into wearing a more feminine style and/or heels. The shape isn't too fussy and that heel is chunky enough to be stable. But they wouldn't be out of place in my closet either. Look at the details, the button and the retro-y shape.

Plus how cute is the name - I'm Not Your Baby.

How sassy! I love a shoe with a little attitude.

It's all in the Details

My outfit from yesterday, Wednesday, sounds pretty plain. A black skirt from Target and a black knit v-neck top from Ann Taylore with a pair of tan an brown heels. But in execution, this is an outfit I really like and feel good in.

The details are what take this blah to lovely. The skirt is actually a pretty standard A-line skirt but the wide delicate lace trim makes it floaty, mysterious and a little sexy.



When you walk the lace kind of billows around. I could wear this very dressy or in a business way but with the added touch to make it stand out. It's hard to believe this was an inexpensive Target find.



I paired this with one of my favorite pairs of heel. My Devlin tan and black wingtip spectators from Via Spiga. They have a sort of snubbed but pointy heel, a slight mary jane element and the mix of tan leather and black patent is super chic.



In the profile you can see the heel shape, which I am a sucker for. These shoes are one of my favorite interview shoes because they are classy yet different and they fit perfectly. They feel really secure and are the perfect height. They make me feel powerful. And what more could you want when you are interviewing.



This outfit sums up a pretty classic style for me - streamlined but with unique details to set it apart.

Saturated Colors and Plentiful Prints - Summer 08

If you've looked at any of the stores, high and low, you will see tons of saturated colors in the shoes coming out. But colors are not just plentiful in solids, they are also appearing in gorgeous prints on everything from sandals to flats.

Here's a list of pretty patterns that are just tempting me to grab a few pairs.

These just say fun, carnival to me.

Betsyville by Betsy Johnson Vivacios Sandal - $100 - Nordstroms

I adore the candy pattern on this.


Betsyville by Betsy Johnson Vixon Pump Black - $90 - Nordstroms

But I think I like it even better in white.


Betsyville by Betsy Johnson Vixon Pump White - $90 - Nordstroms

Just a few floral items from Guess here. The shapes are simple but the patterns are so pretty.



Guess Carrie6 Black VanGogh - $94 - Zappos


Guess Carrie6 White - $94 - Zappos


Guess Carrie8 Natural - $94 - Zappos




Guess Carrie8 - $94 - Zappos


Guess Empower2 - $114 - Zappos


Guess Newbury - $114 - Zappos

I heart these Lacroix beauties. They're a bit crazy but then again, so is Lacroix.


Lacroix 983906 - $399 - Zappos




Linea Paolo Sharen Slingback - $100 - Nordstroms

This sandal is amazing. How great does the blue and brown look? And a perfect flirty bow.



Martinez Valero Camila Sandal - $127 - Nordstroms

These remind me of the black and white heesl from the Lacroix SS 2008 Couture show.


Martinez Valero Candela Pump - $135 - Nordstroms

Sophisticated polka dots!


Martinez Valero Whisper Peep toe pump - $130 - Nordstroms

These, I think are my absolute favorite of the bunch. I love the fabric and the colors are so great.


Pura Lopez L481 Pump - $245 - Nordstroms

There are tons of flats out with patterns too, but these just look so sunny and fresh. Wouldn't it be a great look to mix these with a floral pattern?


Sam Edelmand Carmen Silk Flat - $95 - Nordstroms


Soooo much cuteness!

Ensemble du Jour

The Outfit
I didn't really think about it until I put this together but I'm wearing more grey today. Must be the weather. Anyhoo, I'm wearing a sparkly grey jersey top from Target and my charcoal denim skirt.



The shoes are from Target last year. They are the Dysis style and are grey suede. This is kind of a trendy shoe, which I got in black and red patent as well, so I didn't want to spend huge amounts on them. Surprisingly they are pretty comfortable because of the platform.



The Focal Point
Normally my hair is pretty flat and straight with just enough wave that it gets all fly-away when it isn't blown out. But this morning it was just of blowsy and whispy so I tried to do a "bigger" hairdo ala The Sartorialist with chopsticks and my KissCurl feather fascinator.





It probably looked more scary and messy than I perceived it as but we had some crazy tornado weather at night. I could blame it on that.

Imitation = Flattery?

In spite of them being obviously ridiculous and only for a runway show, you had to know that a shoe as recognizable as these platforms from the Dior 2007 ready-to-wear show would be knocked off sooner or later.

Well, Zinc, with their Josie platform heel, have tried their best. And I'm not saying it's a bad copy, but do you think the demand is there?

The color is pretty but do you think it's too clunky for all the light dresses and bright colors we have coming out for Spring?

Ensemble du Jour

The Outfit
This was a stressed out morning and so I couldn't think of what to wear at all. It just happened that my grey vintage peep-toes were out and on top of the stack so I quickly grabbed a few pieces to work around them. The blue and grey argyle sweater and grey pleated skirt are both from Target. I didn't even have time to grab more than my rings as jewelry.



The Focal Point
I guess I let the cat out of the bag on this one. My vintage shoes helped me to pull something together today. I would much rather have just worn my robe but hopefully this was a better option.





They are very cheery and cute so, yeah! peep-toes!

The Family Resemblance

I just happened to stop into Old Navy yesterday and was utterly surprised at the amazing range of new items that are in for Spring and Summer. The store just exploded with color and cute prints. From the shoes and bags to printed shorts and dresses everything just vibrated with color and fun. But it was also tempered with some lovely peaceful, gauzy white dresses, tops and jackets.

Some of my favorites from what I saw were the following. Almost all of these come in other colors and patterns so check them out online or in the store.

I love this color green. I think when I pull out the new stuff I've bought and all of my existing clothes, I'm going to find this color all over the place. It's such a great color green for the warmer months.


I would pair that shrug with this top and then the cute printed shorts below.



How cute is this pattern?


They had a TON of cute clutch purses, some with wooden handles like this one or that had a handle but folded over into a smaller clutch. So fun and summery. I got a pink and orange patterned one that matches a pair of the satin ballet flats.


I also got this wrap dress which comes in an aqua toned version of the pattern. I think this will be great to dress up or down with the flat black sandals I show below, which I also got.






I got this basic safari skirt in the classic khaki here and then a dark more olivey color. I'm sure they will get tons of wear during the summer with my solid tops.




You can really see the Banana Republic/Gap/Old Navy family resemblance in these printed flats. You can't beat the fact that these are less than $20 but have a good satin-y fabric and great colors schemes. I could have bought every version of these but limited myself to only two. That's not too bad, right?






Typically I'm not a huge fan of this style of sandal but it just looked so cool and effortless, I thought I would give them a try. For $15 why not, right? I was torn between the colors they had and almost bought the white as well but I had to restrain myself.




More cute color combos!






I was really surprised by the jewelry they had out. Now I know this isn't fine stuff here, but to knock about in I think it's awfully cute.

I got 3 of these white and "gold" enameled bamboo bangles and then 1 pink one I can mix in.



I came sooo close to buying this ring. Maybe I'll go back and get it.



Wouldn't this bangle be a perfect "safari chic" addition?



And I think this bracelet is just like something you would find a JCrew nowadays. So why pay $50+ when you can pay less than $10?



There are so many other colors and pieces in the store. You really have to go and check them all out.

Imitation = Flattery?

Everyone should be familiar with the YSL Tribute shoe. It was all over the place last summer. Here it is in black...



And the more recent gold version.



As we would expect, Steve Madden did a knock-off pair. Why upset his whole business strategy, right?



But now we have a new contender in the imitation realm. BCBGirls "Lora" heel. The style and shape are identical. At least they had the decency to change the color.



I'm not even sure how much I like this platform heel, so I definitely don't want the fake version.