Jewel Toned Velvet Blazer

 

In my previous post this week, I wrote about how much I love wearing plaid for the holiday season. Today's post is devoted to another fabric I adore this time of year: velvet! There's just something so luxurious about velvet, especially when it's in a jewel tone color like this one from Zara. My husband and I debated the exact color of this blazer. I think it's more of a purple color while he sees it as more of a burgundy wine color. Regardless of what color it is, we both think it's gorgeous! Below, you will find some other gorgeous velvet blazers for this holiday season!

 

As you can see, I found a way to sneak in some plaid into this outfit because it is now December and during this time of year, one can never have too much plaid! In addition to my plaid shoes, I also accessorized my outfit with my one of a kind Loren Hope butterfly brooch! A few times each year, Loren Hope, a jewelry designer from Rhode Island, creates a series of one of a kind butterfly brooches that sell out in a flash! I was lucky to snag this one a couple years ago. I think she's coming out with a new series of butterflies this December, so I'm hoping that if I am good, maybe Santa will bring me one for Christmas!

 

Blazer: Zara similar here, here and here

Sweater: J. Crew here

Jeans: J Crew Factory here

Bag: J Crew similar lavender bag here

Shoes: J. Crew

Brooch: Loren Hope similar butterfly brooch here

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Plaid Shirt Dress

 

I like to wait until Thanksgiving is over before getting into the Christmas spirit. (I'm always a little dismayed to see Christmas decorations going up in October!) While Christmas decorations and Christmas music can wait, one thing that you can never do too early is start planning your holiday wardrobe! Once stores release their holiday line of clothing, everything seems to sell out very quickly, especially this year. For example, while waiting for several holiday clothing items to go on sale this year, I was shocked to see that they had completely sold out well before I could grab them during a Black Friday sale! Luckily, my wardrobe is pretty well stocked when it comes to plaid and other holiday attire. One of my favorite staples in my holiday wardrobe is a classic plaid dress. I found the one I'm wearing here deeply discounted at the J. Crew Factory last year but I have linked to some other gorgeous plaid options below that are still available in most sizes...but perhaps not for long!

 

 

To be honest, I did wear this dress a couple of days before Thanksgiving last week but I know many people like to wear plaid for Thanksgiving. Actually, I kind of like that idea because there is such a short window for holiday plaid that you might as well enjoy it for as long as you can! I also really enjoyed seeing this festive Christmas tree up in Costa Mesa. So, while I guess I'm a bit of a stickler when it comes to no Christmas attire or decorations before Thanksgiving, I suppose I am coming around to the idea of it starting just a little bit early!

 

Dress: J.Crew Factory similar here and here

Shoes: J.Crew similar bow shoes here

Bag: Clare V. here

Headband: Anthropologie similar here

Sunglasses: YSL similar red heart sunglasses here

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Butterfly Shift Dress

 

This weekend, I decided to bring some major Parisian vibes to the streets of Pasadena! Now that I think about it, I should have put a French baguette in my purse and you might have thought I was strolling down a street in Paris! I'm not sure if shift dresses are particularly Parisian but I think pairing them with a smart-looking white button down blouse gives off a classic and chic French vibe. I definitely fell in love with this butterfly print shift dress when I first found it on Anthropologie's website. At first, it seemed to sell out in most sizes but now it's back and restocked, so I made sure to snatch it up before it was gone. I didn't want a dress this cute to fly away!

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The one thing that is certainly Parisian about my look here is, obviously, the beret! To be honest, I've been a little obsessed with berets lately! (I guess I am not the only one because I'm seeing them at a lot of stores these days.) My obsession started when I found a cute pumpkin beret that I purchased this year for Halloween. The obsession was then cemented when I saw the 1967 movie Bonnie and Clyde. While I might not be able to pull off the beret as glamorously as a Faye Dunaway did in her portrayal of Bonnie, I think it definitely adds a chic, cute look to any outfit! Clearly, this outfit is more Emily in Paris than Bonnie and Clyde but that just goes to show that the beret transcends different times and places and is, therefore, a classic!

 

Dress: Anthropologie here

Shirt: H&M similar here

Shoes: J. Crew here

Bag: Dooney and Bourke similar here

Beret: Zara almost identical yellow beret here

 

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Llama Sweater

 

Everything llama related was all the rage a few years ago. Llamas are super cute, so I was definitely all on board with this trend! I suppose the llama trend is still going strong because I recently found this llama sweater at Banana Republic! The llama on the sweater looks very reminiscent of an ad campaign put out by Banana Republic when I was in college. (That was kind of a long time ago!) I remember loving the ad then and I still love the llama in the ad now! The only thing that I wish was different about the sweater is the scarf on the llama because the llama in the ad had an orange scarf on, which I think should have been used in the sweater for a pop of color!

 

Speaking of a pop of color, because this outfit is head to toe brown with brown boots, a brown tweed skirt, and, of course, my brown llama sweater, I thought I would add a little pop of color with my accessories. One easy way to add color to any outfit is with a fun, colorful bag! I recently got this bag from the Salvatore Ferragamo outlet last month. When I saw the patchwork of bright colors on the bag, it was love at first sight! I love that it's colorful but in a way that's perfect for the fall and winter months due to the slightly more subdued colors. I guess you could say this bag was made for me!

 

Sweater: Banana Republic Outlet here

Skirt: Brooks Brothers similar skirt here

Boots: J. Crew similar boots here

Bag: Salvatore Ferragamo similar bag

 

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Pink, Green and Leopard

Unfortunately, the weather here has become very, very hot! In fact, if you didn't look at the calendar, you would most definitely think it was the middle of summer in Los Angeles instead of November! I would prefer that the weather felt more like fall for a lot of reasons, one being that I just purchased a few sweaters for the holidays and I have been anxious to wear them and finally enjoy "sweater weather." Well, for the sake of publishing this outfit on my blog, I did wear this pink and green floral sweater last week, despite the 90 degree weather. (Truth be told, I brought a tee shirt to change into after the photos!)

I'm a big fan of a lot of color combinations but pink and green is probably one of my favorites! I know that this particular color combo is usually associated with spring but I think Boden did a lovely job with making this a beautiful sweater for the spring, fall, and winter months, as it's a nice heavy material (although not good for our hot weather!) and the beaded embroidery gives it a little sparkle to make it somewhat festive! I decided that this particular sweater would look lovely with leopard silk pants for a more luxurious look. Once the weather cools off, I can't wait to wear it again and I'll probably pair it with some dark washed jeans. Hopefully, the weather will cool off soon so that I can give that a try!

 

Sweater: Boden here

Pants: J. Crew similar leopard pants

Shoes: J. Crew  similar suede pumps here

Bag: J. Crew similar pink clutch

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Embellished Insect Cardigan

 

I really love a sweater with unique details, especially in the form of embellished details. Luckily, around the holidays you start seeing these types of sweaters pop-up everywhere! This unique embellished insect cardigan with beaded scarab beetles was right up my alley. While this sweater was a little on the pricey side, one thing I was really impressed with was the quality of the sweater and the embroidery. Even my husband liked it, despite the price, and he's a pretty tough critic when it comes to many things, my clothing included!

 

I decided to go for more of a preppy look when styling this sweater. I purchased these blue and white flared pants last year and I actually hadn't yet worn them. (Keep in mind that I spent most of last year on Zoom, so dressy bottoms were non-existent!) I thought these pants were the perfect complement to the navy sweater. With the gold accents in the scarab embroidery, I also decided on some gold loafers and a gold headband to top things off. Like I said, this outfit was a hit with my husband, who likes more classic styles. I like to think that this style is classic, with a quirky and fun twist!

 

Sweater: Boden here

Pants: J. Crew here

Shoes: J. Crew similar gold loafers here and here

Bag: Prada similar blue tote here

 

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Party Polka Dots

 

I love a good polka dot print but when you throw color into the equation then it really takes the polka dots to the next level! I also really like clothing that is comfortable, in addition to being colorful! So, as you can imagine, this polka dot dress from Target is just perfect because its cute, colorful and comfy, thus fulfilling all of the above criteria. Essentially, it's like a sweatshirt dress, hence the comfort, and, as you can, see the polka dot print is a fun purple and coral combination. The other good news is that it's been marked down and is now on clearance!

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Speaking of the fun color combination of this dress, I thought this mural, which is located behind a children's museum, would be the perfect complement to my dress, because the colors of the rainbow match the colors of the dress. I'm also wearing my favorite pair of shoes, which are rainbow flats from Salvatore Ferragamo. These shoes seem to go with just about everything in my closet, not to mention the rainbow mural! I guess it's rainbows all around, which is never a bad thing in my opinion.

 

Dress: Target here

Shoes: Salvatore Ferragamo similar rainbow flat

Bag: Chanel similar quilted bag here

Earrings: J. Crew Factory similar coral earrings here

 

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