Gingham on Gingham

I decided to go a little preppy with today's outfit by combining my new gingham dress with my favorite pair of gingham espadrilles! (Okay, they're my only pair of gingham espadrilles!) I guess you could say it's a gingham on gingham look! One of the things that has been really nice about summer so far is that the temperatures have been cooler than normal. In fact, the day I wore this outfit, I packed a cardigan in my bag and actually needed to wear it after I took these pictures. The other thing that I am really enjoying about summer is the great summer sales, which are already taking place! This dress from the J. Crew Factory was a steal at only around $25! It's nice to stock up on summer staples before the summer has even really started!

In addition to my gingham espadrilles, I also decided to accessorize my new dress with one of my favorite bags, which is this orange tote. I love that it's big enough to carry all of my essentials and then some, plus it adds a fun pop of color to any look! It also ended up being a perfect match with some of the flowers that are in the backdrop, which was actually a happy accident!

Dress: J. Crew Factory here
Shoes: Old Navy similar gingham sandals here
Bag: Prada similar orange tote here
Sunglasses: Celine

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Two Way Tuesdays: Pink Gingham Skirt

I thought I would start a new limited series of posts about how to wear a particular item of clothing in two different ways. This occurred to me because I will often wear an article of clothing once for my blog and photograph it once but after that I never feature it again to show how I restyle it for subsequent wearings and different occasions. Today's post is meant to remedy this and it features this beautiful gingham pencil skirt from J. Crew styled in two different ways.  In other words, this is my first Two Way Tuesdays post! Today's post is dedicated to this pretty pink/purple gingham print skirt, which is one of my favorite patterns for spring. In fact, I just recently purchased the trench coat version of the print as well!

Because the weather has been unseasonably cool lately, I decided to pair the skirt with my new cashmere star sweater and a leopard clutch for this first look. The pink in the stars is the perfect match with the skirt and it also offers some playful pattern mixing! I adore this star sweater, which is another recent purchase and I was happy to have the opportunity, thanks to our cooler weather, to wear it before storing it away for next winter. The addition of the springtime gingham definitely makes the sweater seem more appropriate for spring!

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Next, you will see my second styling of this gingham skirt with a floral print blouse. As you may have noticed, I am very much into pattern mixing with this skirt! This was actually the outfit that I wore a few weeks ago for Easter, which now seems like a very distant memory! I thought the pastel colors and the floral print would make for the perfect spring/Easter look, although it was a little restrictive when it came to participating in our annual family Easter egg hunt! (I still was able to win!)

These vibrant purple flowers were vividlly in bloom for these photos a few weeks ago but, sadly, have lost much of their colors in the last couple weeks. It was really spectacular to see the "super bloom" that took place this year in the early spring months! They did, however, prove to be the perfect complement to my floral top!

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One More Floral Skirt

I love floral prints but not all floral prints are created equal! Some floral prints are just okay, while others seem to have that certain "wow" factor. This floral skirt from J. Crew featuring a print from their Liberty collection definitely has a "wow" factor, mostly due, I think, to the exquisite color palate that is used for the flowers. (There's also butterflies on the print!) I purchased this skirt recently at J. Crew during one of their promos on full priced items and I am happy to say, at least for the sake of my readers, that it's now on sale! Since this floral pattern is also featured on a shirt and a dress, I'm now tempted to get all three because that's how much I adore the print!

One of my favorite things to do with a floral print is pattern mixing. Lately, I have been loving the gingham and floral combo that, I think, is very reminiscent of J. Crew circa ten years ago. It's a way to make the floral print really come alive, in my opinion, and also a way to have some fun with the print!

Since I am dedicating this post to floral prints, I would be remiss not to point out that I have been really enjoying all of the real life flowers in the Southern California area lately. For those of you who have been keeping up with my blog and Instagram, you probably will have noticed that I've hit all of the super bloom locations in the area from the poppy fields to the desert flowers; Los Angeles has never looked lovelier! Even on the freeway, there are flowers galore! So, yes, it's the perfect time to wear a floral skirt and to take in some real flowers!

Skirt: J. Crew here
Shirt: Target here
Shoes: J. Crew mint pumps here
Bag: J. Crew similar lavender option here
Sunglasses: Gucci here

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Lemons and Gingham

When I first saw this lemon print blouse at Anthropologie I passed it by, not because it wasn't adorable, but because I knew I already had one too many lemon print items hanging in my closet! It wasn't until my husband pointed the blouse out and said he liked it that I decided to give it another glance.  My husband is usually very picky about stuff (especially clothing) and most certainly thinks I have too many clothes, so if he thinks I should get something than I know it's good!

When I tried the blouse on in the fitting room at Anthropologie I had gingham shorts on and I loved the way the blouse complimented the pattern. I was officially sold! (For a slightly dressier look I opted for this J. Crew Factory gingham skirt in this outfit.) If you read my post entitled Pencil Me In you will discover that I bought this same blouse in two additional prints because the prints were all amazingly quirky and fun. I am not sure if my husband was thrilled with me getting three versions of this blouse, (Who am I kidding? He was definitely not thrilled!) but I am pretty thrilled because I think these blouses are classic Anthropologie and I'll be wearing them for years to come!

Shirt: Anthropologie "Colloquial" blouse here
Skirt: J. Crew Factory here
Shoes: Target here
Bag: Zara similar round bag here
Sunglasses: Celine

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Making a Splash in Gingham

The gingham skirt is a classic but it definitely seems to be having a "moment" right now. They seem to be everywhere for spring! While I already have some gingham skirts in my closet, I realized I was sadly lacking when it came to anything in black and white gingham. For that reason, I went ahead and purchased this tie-waist version from J. Crew Factory.

If you know anything about me, you know that I am seldom content with just a simple black and white outfit so, obviously, I wanted to add some color to this black and white print. To do that, I decided to do a little pattern mixing with a multi-colored polka dot tee. I also added my new favorite sandals for summer which are these suede bow heels. The feminine pink bows are the perfect complement to the ruffle featured on the skirt.

Last of all, this color streaked wall is one of my all time favorite walls. It has every color in the rainbow, so it will always match what you are wearing. The only issue, or at least so I thought, with the wall is that it's a parking lot, so sometimes a car will be parked in front of the part I want to use as a background. Well, I was recently told by someone who came to take photos of her kids here that a security guard is now on duty telling people that they need to have a permit to photograph the wall! This made me nervous but I decided to try anyway. Luckily, we took some quick pictures and drove off the premises before we could be stopped, so it all worked out. I guess these walls are really getting high security!

Skirt: J. Crew Factory here
Tee: Zara
Shoes: J. Crew here
Bag: Louis Vuitton
Sunglasses: Celine

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Oops, I Did it Again!

Yes, I have this check dress in two colors! It's just that good! (To be honest, if they had it in a third color, I'd probably get that one too!) About a month or so ago, I posted this same dress in green and white and today I'm featuring the black and white version. I feel as if the black and white version works a little bit better for fall. Of course in some parts of the country right now it might be too cool for a short sleeve shirtdress, but here in Los Angeles it's just right!

As I mentioned before, I find black and white check or gingham to be a pretty versatile pattern. It can be worn with a variety of accessories and it transitions well from season to season. Below are a few of my other favorite black and white check items for fall from SheIn, all of which will give you a great bang for your buck due to the fact that they are all under $20!

 1. Crossbody Bag, 2. Belted Shell Top, 3.Bowtie Pants, 4. Fishtail Skirt, 5. Billow Sleeve Top

 

Last of all, speaking of accessorizing with gingham, how awesome is this pom pom clutch? Again, it's something that has sort of a summer feel due to the straw fabric and bright, colorful pom poms but because I got it in black, I think it can work for fall too. As you can see, I'm really trying to find ways to transition my wardrobe into fall, which can be tricky when you are seeing others on social media and on blogs in plaid scarves and sweaters already, but I'm still dealing with temperatures in the 90s!

Dress: J. Crew Factory here
Shoes: J. Crew "Gemma" similar yellow sude flats here
Bag: here
Sunglasses: Celine here