Breaking the Rules

I'm breaking the rules again today! I'm wearing white after Labor Day and I'm not matching my shoes to my hemline.

I've posted about this ponte knit white dress before (see initial review here).  You can see it styled here paired with gray, and here for a summery look paired with a coral blazer.  I recently wore it with a jean jacket, turquoise belt and booties for a very casual look that I will post soon.  It's been a great addition to my closet.  I was hesitant when I purchased it.  My stylist from Trunk Club suggested it, and I would never have considered it on my own.  White goes with everything though.  It can look as formal or casual as you want. And, contrary to passé rules, it can easily be worn all year long.

My cropped orange jacket is from J Crew.  It's been in my closet for a couple of years. It is made from a light wool herringbone fabric which helps make my white dress fall appropriate.  You can see it previously styled here with a houndstooth skirt, and here with a denim skirt.  The collarless style is so elegant and easy to wear.

Another passé rule is that your shoes and hemline should match.  Personally, I love the look of matching my shoes to my blouse or jacket, especially if it's a bright color.  I recently purchased these suede orange pumps to go with this jacket and a few other orange things in my closet.  I get lots of complements when I wear them, so that just reinforces my own "match shoes to jacket" rule!

Recreate the look:
White dress: Similar white sheath dress from Nordstrom
Orange pumps: Exact Marc Fisher Pumps
Orange blazer:  similar collarless orange jacket
Purse:  similar pre-owned one that's brown and black


This post was shared on :
http://thepleatedpoppy.com/category/what-i-wore/, 
http://50isnotold.com, 
http://notdeadyetstyle.com, 
http://www.jolynneshane.com

Leopard Skirt

I'm trying to dress for fall even though the weather still isn't cooperating.  Eventually I'll be able to get my boots out! 

I love this leopard skirt.  I recently saw another lady wearing it with a black silk blouse with billowy sleeves and black pumps; she looked so elegant.  It's a print that works with so many colors.  I've paired this skirt with black, burgundy, brown, beige, green, and pink.  You can dress it down with a white t-shirt and jean jacket, it can take you on a date with a silky black blouse like I described above, or you wear it to work like I'm showing here.

I've paired it here with a mock turtle neck in dark green and my camel blazer.  My suede shooties in dark green repeat the color of my top.  You can see the last time I wore these shoes here.  I added a long strand of cream and brown pearls to help elongate my bust, which is always helpful when wearing high collared tops.

Recreate the look:
Leopard Skirt: WHBM similar
Camel Blazer: J Crew Regent Blazer in Warm Camel
Green Shooties: WHBM Similar save, Similar splurge
Green Mock Turtle Neck: similar


This post was shared on these lovely blogs:
Jolynneshane.com, 
fashionshouldbefun.com, 
www.rachelthehat.com, 
sheelagoh.com
theclosetbychristie.com, 
www.foragefashion.com, 
poshclassymom.com, 
nancysfashionstyle.com, 

Houndstooth for Fall

 

The Houndstooth pattern originated in the Scottish Lowlands in the 1800's.  During the 1930's it became the design aristocrats used in for casual wear.  By the 1960's Christian Dior and others brought it main stream and it can now be found on all types of clothes and accessories.  My first item in houndstooth was a scarf I bought while in college that I still have. The pattern seems to be reinvented every few decades, as with most fashion trends.  The size of the pattern changes as does the color combination, but the small size in black and white is always classic.  Here are two outfits with my houndstooth skirt. 

 

I'm wearing it with this pumpkin blouse again (see how I last styled it here). This time I paired the blouse with this collarless J. Crew blazer in the same color (see previously styled here). I like this outfit formula of a matching blouse and blazer with contrasting skirt.  I tried it for the first time only a few months ago, after seeing it on Pinterst over and over.  I use this formula often now. 

 

 

Houndstooth skirt - Albert Nippon (similar)
Orange silk blouse - Joie (similar)
Orange blazer - J. Crew (similar)
Black pumps - Ralph Lauren (similar)
Handbag - Celine Nano (similar)
Belt - Hermes (exact, pre-owned)


For my second outfit I paired my houdstooth skirt with a cobalt blue blouse and a black blazer.  Until I saw these pictures together I didn't realize that I always wear my Hermes belt with this skirt! The skirt doesn't have belt loops, but it does have a defined waistband, so I guess in my eye that needs a belt.  My blazer has a subtle snakeskin print.  A bolder print would have been too much paired with the houndstooth, but this is subtle enough that it's not overpowering.  I finished the look off with my awesome suede cobalt heels.

Houndstooth skirt - Albert Nippon (similar)
Cobalt blouse - The Limited (similar from Target)
Black blazer - Tahari (love this similar one)
Cobalt pumps - French Connection (similar and cute)
Belt - Hermes (exact, pre-owned)

Charity - I use affiliate links in this blog.  That means each time you click on a link to a product I get a few cents, even if you don't purchase anything.  I have a full time job and I keep this blog purely for fun.  All proceeds I make here I donate to charity, so please click away and know it's for a great cause! Also, please tell me what your favorite charities are in the comments.  I will donate to the ones that are most popular. Many thanks!


This post was shared on:
http://www.thefabjourney.com/

Three Color Combinations

Creating outfits with two colors has always been easier for me than outfits with three colors. Of course there's black and white which can be paired with any number of third colors, but once I depart from that it gets a little tougher.  In my experimenting I've found that it works best as long as you use one or two neutral colors, and use colors in the same tone.

In this first outfit my navy blazer is my neutral color, and all three colors are deep jewel tones. I wore my burgundy ponte pants that I got last year.  I'm glad to see this color is still going strong again this year.  If you don't have anything in ponte yet, it's a very thick knit that offers lots of stretch while still maintaining it's shape and it's wrinkle resistant.  That translates into being comfortable and looking good all day, even if you're traveling!

On top I wore a teal blouse with a front zipper.  This is a great alternative to the more common button down shirt.  The zipper pulls the fabric evenly all the way down, preventing any gaps that tend to happen when I wear button down shirts.  I matched my shoes and purse to my burgundy pants to keep things simple.

Blazer - Brooks Brothers, similar

Top - Lafayette 148, similar from Ann Taylor

Ponte pants - White House Black Market Similar, similar

Purse - Via Spiga, similar from Tory Burch

Shoes - French Connection, exact

 

In this next outfit I wanted to wear my olive green blouse.  I love all shades of green paired with navy so I opted for my navy pencil skirt.  I could have added a navy blazer, but in an effort to practice putting three colors together I chose to go with my camel blazer instead.  Since the camel blazer and navy skirt are both neutrals I felt like I could do a little more with my accessories.  I wore these peep toe pumps, a Louis Vuitton purse, and a Tigers-eye necklace that all have multiple shades of brown in them and blend with the camel.

Camel blazer - J.Crew, similar

Olive top - White House Black Market, similar, similar

Navy pencil skirt - J.Crew, exact

Shoes - Monolo Blahnik

Purse - Louis Vuitton, exact but pre owned

 

How about you, what are your favorite three color combinations?

Charity - I use affiliate links in this blog.  That means each time you click on a link to a product I get a few cents, even if you don't purchase anything.  I have a full time job and I keep this blog purely for fun.  All proceeds I make here I donate to charity, so please click away and know it's for a great cause! Also, please tell me what your favorite charities are in the comments.  I will donate to the ones that are most popular. Many thanks!

Feeling Nautical

I haven't worn this white jacket in probably over a year. I've almost gotten rid of it a couple of times, but somehow it always made its way back into the closet from my donate pile.  My Stylebook Closet App manages to keep everything in my closet top of mind. Since getting the app I've managed to wear a lot of items in my closet that haven't been in rotation!  It's a great feeling. 

I got this J Crew navy skirt on eBay at the beginning of May and have already worn it 3 times. I'd been looking for a navy pencil skirt for sometime. You'd think it is such a wardrobe basic that I would be able to find one anywhere...and how do I not already own a navy skirt to begin with!? I even asked Sheila, my personal shopper at Trunk Club (Post 1, Post 2) to send me one, and

Automatic Permalink

Custom Permalink

.html

Title Link ?

Enclosure Links ?

Add another enclosure link

and she came up empty too. So I headed to eBay, filtered by my go-to brands like J Crew and Banana Republic, and got this one for $37 including shipping. I love a good find! 

The yellow top was one of the items I kept from my first Trunk Club trunk that I got in April. It is so soft, like your favorite t-shirt, and the square neck keeps it looking like a blouse. Square necklines aren't flattering on everyone, but I've always liked them.

Navy pencil skirt - J Crew

 Yellow top - Lafayette 148

White jacket - Alfani

Blue silk stripe pumps - Badalino

 

Here's a close up of my shoes. I love them and wear them a lot. They are by Bandalino and I got them at DSW. Don't they look like they are made of neck-tie material? I love menswear inspired items. The only funny thing about them is you can hear me coming and going; the chain clinks with each step!

 

Casual Friday

This denim pencil skirt from White House Black Market has become a workhorse in my wardrobe.  When I bought it I though it would just be a weekend skirt, but styled correctly, it looks professional enough that I can wear it to work on Fridays too.  The a dark wash, pencil skirt style, and small slit in the front all help elevate it to work appropriate. The denim has a lot of stretch in it so it's comfortable all day long also.

I've paired it with this white and beige chevron stripe blouse by Laundry, and this orange J Crew collarless blazer. I've accessorized with my Celine Micro Luggage bag, Hermes belt, and these navy suede Stuart Weitzman wedges.

I kept seeing these navy wedges on Princess Kate and after a little research (Kate's favorite shoes) I was able to find them.  They are my first pair of shoes in this brand.  I originally bought them in my usual size 7M, but they were too long and narrow. I exchanged them for a 6.5 wide and they fit well. I've since read reviews that this brand tends to run narrow. They took a couple of wears to break in, the outside edge of the shoe rubbed against the top of my foot, but I now wear them without any trouble.

Happy Friday!

If at First You Don't Succeed, Try Black

Sometimes the outfits I put together in my Stylebook Closet App look better on my phone than on my body.  I intended to wear this outfit today, but when I put it on the top and the blazer just didn't look good together.

While the colors in the picture look like a perfect match, in real life they clashed, and the silkiness of the blouse didn't coordinate with the twill-type fabric of the blazer.  I wanted to wear the same general outfit with the blazer and skirt, so after trying 3 other blouses with this outfit I ended up in this, a black button down.  Black is so good at coming to the rescue!

J Crew Campbell Jacket

Mossimo button down blouse with ruffles 

White House Black Market skirt (I had to size up)

Halogen Rockstud look alike shoes

Don't you love these shoes! I've been seeing these Valentino Rockstud shoes all over the blogger-sphere lately, but at $995 I knew I wouldn't be talking them home with me any time soon. I asked my Trunk Club Stylist, Sheila if she had anything close with a more friendly price tag, and she sent me these (here's the post about that trunk ). They are by Halogen and only about $80.

What I love about them, is that even though they are black and nude they wear just like a black shoe. The nude part just blends in with my skin and looks like I have on black shoe with some extra bling. I also have these similar shoes with the colors in reverse, that I love and get tons of complements on,  but they don't wear like a black or a nude shoe and are much more difficult to style (Last worn with this outfit).

Outfit of the Day

This jacket and navy skirt are both JCrew and I bought them both on Ebay.  I've had great luck buying JCrew staples on Ebay.  This jacket and skirt were both practically new.  JCrew is pretty good about having standard sizing, so I know what size I wear in the brand and when I order that size it fits.  This has been a fun jacket to own; the 60's vibe is fun without being over the top.  I've worn it to work and to evening work events.  Here I paired it with my Celine Micro Luggage bag, which works perfectly!  I'm also wearing Manolo Blahnik's that I bought at a high end resale store here in Houston called The Little Bird.

 

 

Outfit of the Day

Today I wore this black jersey knit T Tahari wrap dress, J Crew camel blazer, and these black and camel t-strap Ivanka Trump pumps. Do you like black and camel together?

I'm still working through my closet using my Stylebook Closet App (see my post about it here ). My list of items "never logged to calendar" is still pretty long, but I'm on a mission!