An Artful Duster

 

It's almost September and fall is right around the corner. I usually don't get around to doing posts about fall wardrobe items until December because it's so hot here in Southern California but I was so excited to share this amazing, colorful duster coat that, despite the 100+ degree heat here this week, I just had to photograph it and share it with you before it sells out! There are certain items that I will wait for a discount or sale before purchasing and then there are items that I buy right away because I am head over heals in love with them. This duster coat definitely falls into the latter category!

 

While I only wear coats like this for a short window of time here in Southern California, I think coats are probably one of my favorite items of clothing to buy! I think it's because coats make for great statement pieces, especially if they have artful prints like this one! This coat is a pretty light, cotton fabric, so I hope it will be a fun piece to throw on for cooler mornings. With September almost here, I also hope those cooler mornings come sooner rather than later but I have a feeling I will be waiting at least a couple more months before I can break this coat out again and wear it for a longer period!

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Coat: Anthropologie here

Jeans: Old Navy similar distressed boyfriend jeans here

Tee: Target here

Bag: Louis Vuitton similar yellow bag here

Shoes: Christian Louboutin similar pink shoes here

Headband: J. Crew similar pink heels here

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New Coat for a New Year

I am not usually one to make resolutions but one resolution I should make for the New Year is to not buy any more coats! I have always loved coats, which made sense when I lived on the East Coast but since moving to Los Angeles, coats are something that I very seldomly wear. Sadly, this hasn't stopped me from acquiring quite a collection of coats! This year, for whatever reason, I purchased several coats, including, most recently, this gorgeous lilac coat from J. Crew. It was such a great deal, not to mention my favorite color, that I couldn't resist! You might recall that I also purchased this Boden coat and this Kate Spade coat in previous posts from a couple of months ago. In my defense, I think designers have really come out with some gorgeous coats this year, so it was difficult to resist temptation!

 

Because purple is my favorite color, nearly everything in my wardrobe goes with this coat. For one of my first outfits of the New Year, I paired my new coat with a striped cashmere sweater that I purchased at the end of the season last year at J. Crew and some yellow pants. I also pinned my new star Loren Hope star brooch to the coat because it turned out the be the perfect accent to give this winter outfit just a touch of sparkle! My hope is that the weather cools off a little for the next couple of months so that I can get more use out of all of my recent coat purchases, either that or, maybe, I should just move to a cooler climate!

 

Coat: J. Crew here

Sweater: J. Crew similar striped cashmere sweater here

Pants: Old Navy similar yellow pants here

Shoes: J. Crew similar silver pumps here

Bag: Chanel

Brooch: Loren Hope here

 

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Another Colorful Coat

For someone who lives in such a mild climate, I sure do buy a lot of coats! You might remember a couple weeks ago I posted about this gorgeous pastel check Kate Spade coat. Today, I am featuring another colorful check coat, which is from Boden. I love that this coat is classic, yet colorful, which is a perfect match for my style! A fun fact about this coat and these photos is that I actually wore this coat in the snow before taking these pictures. My husband and I went to Apple Country here in Southern California. My original plan was to take photos there in the winter wonderland but it was a literal storm of snow! While it was beautiful, it did not make for good pictures, but I will say that this coat, while being somewhat light, did keep me fairly warm and dry! Once my hair and coat had dried off, I was able to take these pictures, which sadly are just in front of a bland white wall as opposed to falling snow.

 

 

Below you will find some of my favorite winter coats, most of which are on sale and none of which are bland and boring! Hopefully you live in a climate where you can actually wear winter coats or, if you are like me, you can just get a bunch and wear them when the temperatures drop to 60 degrees, as that's what passes for cold in Southern California!

 

 

Coat: Boden here

Sweater: J. Crew similar yellow sweater here

Jeans: Old Navy similar here

Shoes: J. Crew here

Sunglasses: Yves Saint Laurent Budget friendly version here

 

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Colorful Coat

 

Earlier in the week, I mentioned that I would be featuring some coats for the cooler temperatures that we've been experiencing here in Southern California. I think I'll start with this bold, colorful plaid coat from Kate Spade that just might become my "signature coat"! One of the reasons that I fell head over heels in love with this coat is that it combines all of my favorite colors such as purple, green and pink! The color palette pretty much goes with everything in my wardrobe, including my new purple bag! I have my fingers crossed that more cold days will be in our future so that I will have lots of opportunities to wear this colorful coat!

 

Not only does this coat match most of my wardrobe, it's also the perfect match for this lovely rose mural in Pasadena. Last week, I talked about the growing art scene in Pasadena, including all of the new murals cropping up in the area. This rose mural, located on the side of Dots Cafe, was created just last year. While the roses featured on the mural are beautiful, they remind me of the fact that the Rose Parade that's held in Pasadena every year on New Year's Day will be canceled this year. While I will miss watching the event, I'm trying to look at things with rose-colored glasses and be optimistic that it will be back next year. Who knows, maybe I can even go in person to the Rose Parade and wear my colorful plaid coat for the occasion!

 

Coat: Kate Spade here

Sweater: J. Crew here

Skirt: H&M here

Shoes: J. Crew similar silver pumps here

Bag: Chanel similar color quilted bag here

 

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Zebra Blouse and Floral Coat

 

I thought I would highlight a couple of my favorite outfits from last week. The first outfit features this fun zebra blouse from Zara. While the blouse is no longer available, there is an almost identical one that also is green and features Zebras! I thought this green blouse would look amazing with pink, which is why I paired it with a pleated pink skirt. To top everything off, I opted for my rainbow flats that go with just about everything!

 

Blouse: Zara almost identical version here

Skirt: Target similar pink pleated skirt here

Shoes: Salvatore Ferragamo similar rainbow shoes here and here

Bag: J. Crew similar blue satchel here

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The second outfit that I am showcasing is this colorful floral coat from Frances Valentine. While this coat actually came out in spring this year, I'm planning on wearing it for the winter season. As you can see from the pictures below, we still have lots of flowers here, making it still feel a little like spring. The good news is that the weather here is cooling down so I can start wearing light coats like this one. I'm looking forward to featuring some more cool weather looks and coats in the upcoming weeks on my blog!

 

Coat: Frances Valentine similar floral coat here

Sweater: J. Crew here
Jeans: Old Navy

Shoes: J. Crew similar lavender suede pumps here

Clutch: Clare V. here

 

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Copy Cat Coat

Believe it or not, I actually have this Daphne tweed topcoat from J. Crew in three colors! That's how much I adore it! The first two colors, green and yellow, were acquired last year. This year, I loved this pink color so much that I had to purchase it yet again. The fact that the coat was marked an extra 60% off also factored heavily into my decision to buy it yet again! Once it arrived, I couldn't wait to wear it, especially once I got some inspiration for how to style it. This particular outfit with the Burgundy sweater and pink pants was inspired by a mannequin that I spied last weekend at J. Crew. When I came into the store and saw my coat and this lovely color palette, I whipped out my phone to capture the look for future reference. As it turns out, it was pretty easy to recreate the outfit, as I already had most of the pieces or similar ones in my closet!

I did, however, add my own touch to the look. For example, the idea of adding the leopard loafers was all me! The other thing that the outfit on the mannequin lacked was this gorgeous butterfly brooch! My husband was skeptical that I would get much use out of this particular purchase, which he deemed overpriced, however, I would like to think that I have proven him wrong because I've already worn it several times since it arrived last week! It's truly the perfect accent to any look, be it pinned on a scarf or on the collar of a coat like this one. I also love the way the butterfly seems right at home among this wall of pretty, yellow flowers!

Above, you will see the inspiration for the look I created in this post! As I stated before, except for the coat, all of the other pieces I already had in my closet. All in all, I think I did a pretty good job recreating the look and I think I'm going to be on the lookout more often for inspiring mannequins!

Coat: J. Crew here
Sweater: similar cashmere sweater here
Pants: similar here
Shoes: here
Pin: Loren Hope similar here and here
Bag: Mansur Gavriel here

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May Showers

The weather here in Los Angeles truly can't make up its mind and it's very frustrating wardrobe-wise! Take, for example, last week. It started off cool and rainy with temperatures in the 50s and 60s but now it's close to 100 degrees and sunny! I've been vacillating between sweaters and jackets and shorts and tank tops! On the bright side, the couple days of cool and rainy weather gave me the opportunity to wear this new polka dot coat that I just picked up on sale from Anthropologie. While it's not a raincoat, it's perfect for cold rainy days in May.

Although the polka dots are super cute on their own, I think my favorite part of this particular coat is the embroidery down the right side. It definitely adds a nice bit of "extra" to the coat and brings a bright pop of color to dreary days like the one we had when these photos were taken. In fact, just like what happened for a previous photo session that I wrote about last week, the rain let up just long enough for us to take these photos in the park before it started raining again. I guess the blog gods are smiling favorably upon me!

Coat: Anthropologie here
Jeans: J. Crew similar distressed style here
Shoes: Target
Bag: Clare V. Alistair here
Sunglasses: Prada

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