Sparkle for the New Year!

It's New Year's Eve and you know what that means: time to get your sparkle on! In my last post, I mentioned the impracticality of sequin dresses...but I never said anything about sequin tops! While a sequin top isn't exactly something that you might throw on everyday, it can be dressed down or up. Because of this, it's not a bad investment and gives a person just enough sparkle without going overboard! In this featured look, I am wearing my sequin top from Gap with dark jeans, so the look is a bit dressy but still simultaneously casual. (In case you really want a dress, the "crazy stripe" pattern of this top does come in a dress version too!)

I wore this top out to a pre-New Year's Eve luncheon yesterday and it definitely received a lot of compliments from ladies, both young and old. Maybe that just goes to show that sparkly sequin tops are not only versatile for different occasions but also for different age groups! This sparkle top is also something that is very budget friendly. I went to Gap specifically to look for it and it just happened to be marked 50% off with an extra 30% off on top of that, which brought the top to a very reasonable $35.

I would have worn this top on New Year's Eve, but I've decided to stay in this year. (Truth be told, I stay in most years!) Nothing is better than ringing in the New Year with Champagne, fondue, my husband and my dog! The added comfort of being in pajamas just sweetens the deal! Now if someone would only make sequin pajamas so I could be comfy and fancy simultaneously, I'd be all set!

Shirt: Gap Crazy Stripe sequin top here
Jeans: Old Navy "Rockstar" similar here
Shoes: J. Crew similar red pumps
Bag: Clare V. leopard foldover clutch here
Sunglasses: Prada "Baroque" here

Dressed for the New Year and All Year

It's almost New Year's Eve and that means that everyone will be donning fun party wear! For women, that usually involves sequin dresses. While sequin dresses are stunning, they're not exactly the most practical thing to wear on days other than New Year's Eve. Instead, I'm opting for a dress that can be worn all year long! This embroidered flower dress from SheIn is really cute and could be worn for New Year's Eve but it's also very versatile, so it could work for most any day of the year!

Because it was just a touch chilly the day I wore this dress and because the dress is also just a touch short on my 5'9" frame, just for reference, I decided to wear it with some opaque tights. In the future, I might try it without the tights or maybe with a leather jacket because it really is versatile. The other thing I love about this dress is all the lovely colors in the embroidery! The lovely colors take a simple black and white shift dress and turn it into so much more! Plus, if you look at the dress closely, you will see that there are actually some sequins in the embroidery, which give you just enough sparkle for New Year's Eve!

Dress: c/o SheIn flower embroidered plaid dress
Bag: Mansur Gavriel circle bag here
Shoes: Zara similar black patent flats here
Sunglasses: Celine

Happy in Houndstooth

Lately, I've been giving a lot of love to all of my plaid print items in anticipation of Christmas and, although I do adore plaid, I think one of my favorite patterns of all time is houndstooth! Houndstooth is a great pattern because it's classic but it's also modern as well, because it's a graphic; it's the best of both worlds! I have a lot of houndstooth items, ranging from shoes to skirts to blazers, but the one thing that was missing from my houndstooth collection was a coat! That's why I was so happy to find this houndstooth coat from SheIn, which was also a great deal at only $35! Currently, my coat is sold out, but SheIn has an equally fantastic houndstooth coat here that's even less at only $22!

Luckily, this coat arrived just in time for the "cooler" weather here in Los Angeles. Originally, I was thinking of doing an outfit featuring this coat with all black and white, which would be abnormal for me since I adore color so much. Well, I couldn't quite do the all black and white thing, so I added a few pops of colors in the form of my Kate Spade taxi cab flat shoes, rainbow clutch, and pink sunglasses. All of these accessories really pop against the black and white of the houndstooth, which just another reason why I adore this print so much, because it's so versatile!

Jacket: c/o SheIn similar houndstooth jacket here
Sweater: Zara similar jeweled collar sweater here and here
Jeans: J. Crew
Clutch: Milly similar rainbow clutch here
Shoes: Kate Spade Taxi Flat here, here and here
Sunglasses: Alice and Olivia here

Merry Christmas from Katie and the Colonel!

Merry Christmas everyone! My T-shirt says "Live a Little" and I decided to do just that by taking some holiday pictures with my pup, Colonel William van Winkle in the park! Well, the problem was that William didn't feel like having his picture taken on this particular day (he's such a diva!) and instead wanted to play and chase things in the park! (I guess I can't really blame him for this because, after all, he is a dog and not a fashion blogger!) So that's why even though we took around 40 pictures, only three with both of us made it in the blog! I think I'm going to post the outtakes on Instagram, so stay tuned for some hilarity!

Luckily, I did take some pictures sans William to fill up this post. Plus, I really, really, really love this blazer and I kind of wanted to show it off! I wore this ensemble on the last day of school right before winter break and so while I'd normally dress the blazer up a bit more with a button down shirt, I decided to go the casual route with just my "Live a Little" tee. I'm glad I did because this was kind of my mantra for the day, as it was a little hectic. I just kept thinking that if I could get through it, I'll finally be able to "live a little" during winter break!

I hope that no matter what you are doing for Christmas, it is filled with good times with family, friends, and maybe even crazy pets! Also, if you have a little vacation time, enjoy a well deserved break! I know I will, spending some quality time with my husband and, yes, even William!

Blazer: Smythe similar plaid blazer here, here
Tee: J.Crew here
Jeans: Old Navy similar here
Shoes: ASOS similar silver loafers here
Clutch: Clare. V here
Sunglasses: Prada  here
Reindeer Antlers- 99 cent Only Store!

Leopard and Plaid for Christmas

It's hard to believe that Christmas is right around the corner! Christmas vacation starts tomorrow for me and I couldn't be happier! At the same time, however, there is still so much to do in the next few days that it doesn't seem like much of a vacation! I just finished putting together my shopping list for groceries because I am in charge of the entire Christmas dinner from the roast to the dessert. I have a shopping list that's longer than Santa's naughty and nice lists and I am just hoping that I can get out early enough to beat the crowds.

With my outfit here, I'm doing some holiday inspired pattern mixing with a leopard sweater from Target and a plaid skirt that was from last season at J. Crew. For a mandatory dose of sparkle, I also have on gold flats, which I simple adore wearing around the holidays. Sure, I wouldn't wear something like this grocery shopping or making Christmas dinner, but it was the perfect ensemble for a nice lunch out with my husband. As for my official Christmas outfit, I'm still in the midst of planning it, so stay tuned!

Sweater: Target here
Skirt: J. Crew similar here, here
Bag: Gucci similar here
Shoes: Butter similar gold flats here, here
Sunglasses: Prada "Baroque" here

All Decked Out

Warning: the following outfit has a lot of details and embellishments! From my bedazzled denim jacket down to the crystals on my plaid shoes, there's a lot going on with this ensemble! I bedighted myself with this bedecked outfit to go Christmas shopping at the mall last weekend. One of the sales associates even asked me if I was a designer, to which I regretfully responded, "No". Secretly, I think being a designer would be a really fun job to have but, unfortunately, when it comes to clothing, I can't sew to save my life! The sales associate probably thought that I made the jacket myself but, sadly, I am not that talented! Now that I think about it, however, I probably could have made this jacket with one of those bedazzler guns from the 80s!

Speaking of denim jackets, I have honestly lost count of how many I own! When I saw this particular jacket, however, I reasoned that, of all of the denim jackets I own, none have pearls and rhinestones for embellishments, so that made it okay for me to add it to my denim jacket collection! As an added bonus, it was a really great deal from Anthropologie, as it originally sold for $158 but was marked down from that and featured an additional percentage off. That brought the bedazzled denim jacket's grand total price to around $50! While this jacket is, unfortunately, no longer available online, you might be able to snag one in store. This one was the last one left at my local Anthropologie, but you might get lucky at yours. It sure seems as if a lot of designers have followed the embellished denim jacket trend, so I've linked to a few more fun options below!

Last of all, I couldn't believe how many people liked my shoes when I was shopping at the mall! These shoes were a splurge from last year, and I do love how they have only a small heel and, of course, the crystal embellishments makes them extra special! As I wrote in one of my previous posts, I don't get a ton of wear out of my seasonal plaid shoes but I do get a lot of enjoyment from them, and that's all that really matters!

Jacket: Anthropologie similar pearl denim jacket here
Skirt: J. Crew here
Top: J. Crew Factory here
Bag: Gucci similar here
Shoes: J. Crew similar embellished plaid shoes here
Sunglasses: Prada"Baroque" here