Building an Outfit Around the Shoes

Last weekend, I picked up these Drake for J. Crew shoes for a steal. The shoes were normally priced around $300 but I paid just $45! I was so excited about them that I had to immediately build an outfit around them! I decided to go with some color blocking to make sure that the shoes were the star of the show, so I reached way back in my closet and found this pleated skirt I purchased about six years ago in addition to this bright green sweater. The coat, which I picked up last year from Banana Republic, was an afterthought that just happened to perfectly match what I was planning to wear. Luckily, a cold spell has hit the Los Angeles area so we finally have weather that's cool enough for wearing a coat! Actually, now that I think about it, perhaps the coat is actually stealing the shoes' thunder!

I wore this outfit to go to a fun murder mystery dinner. My husband and I like to go to these because the acting is always campy and over the top and the plot rarely makes sense but it's definitely a good time! My favorite part of the murder mystery dinner is when I get to write down my answer to "who done it" near the end before the detective announces what happened. I always try to come up with a funny, creative answer and I've actually won prizes (usually a bottle of wine) for doing so in the past. Sadly, this time my answer was just not judged to be funny enough and someone else walked off with the prize. I think if there had been a prize for best and certainly most colorful outfit, however, I definitely would have won that!

Coat: Banana Republic similar pink coat here
Skirt: H&M similar pleated skirt
Sweater: J. Crew Factory
Belt: Target similar here
Earrings: Bauble Bar on sale here
Shoes: J. Crew "Lucie" pump here
Bag: J. Crew Factor
Sunglasses: Celine

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Safari Ready

This January, I scored so many great deals at J. Crew that I am still posting about them! While I'd love to be the type of blogger who gets items as soon as it comes out and posts it before anyone else, I have to face the fact that I am a sucker for a good deal.  Because of this, I wait until I can buy things at a price that I feel comfortable with before I make a purchase. Luckily, J. Crew offers many similar things from season to season, so I can always share similar items with my readers. Take, for example, this deer print popover blouse: some sizes are still available, but it's mostly sold out. The good news is that  J. Crew just came out with an equally adorable shirt for spring with elephants that has a very similar print and color scheme as this one!

The elephant version of this shirt would also look great with the safari-esque accessories that I am featuring in this look! I felt that this chino skirt, also from J. Crew, would be a perfect pairing. I also have my trusty Clare V. leopard clutch that might be one of the most used bags that I own. For a little bit of glam, I added my gold ball earrings from BaubleBar and my lovely cuff bracelet from Les Georgettes. I featured the bracelet last month on my blog and explained how inside of the metal bracelet is a double-sided, reversible leather liner so you can change the color depending on your outfit. Here I am featuring the blue side, which is a perfect match for this shirt. As you can see, if you are going to go on a safari, you might as well have the right accessories and make it a style safari!

Shirt: Deer print popover blouse here, similar elephant print blouse here
Skirt: J. Crew similar here
Shoes: J. Crew almost identical red flats here
Earrings: BaubleBar on sale here
Bracelet: c/o Les Georgette here
Bag: Clare V. foldover leopard clutch here
Sunglasses: Prada

Hanging Around With These Guys

Last weekend I went to a pub to hang out with my husband and some of his guy friends. It's always a little strange being the only female in a room of guys, but I've actually always gotten along better with guys than girls. It might be because, despite my "glamorous" exterior, I'm actually somewhat of a tomboy at heart! Also, after living with my husband and my dog William, I am used to being the only girl in the room.

Of course, I found a mural in the area because that's just how I roll! This particular mural is special because it's actually on the facade of a luxury apartment complex located in the arts district of North Hollywood or, if you are an Angeleno and like pretentious names, "NoHo". The artist who did these colorful faces is Thierry Noir. He's a French artist who is best known for paining colorful faces on the Berlin Wall just before it was torn down in 1989.

A final note about my outfit: this top was another great deal this month from J. Crew. I also bought the same style in a print featuring lips on it that I am thinking about wearing for Valentine's Day this year. So even though my style might be a little girly and I am already planning out my V-day look, which couldn't be more stereotypically feminine, I think I can still blend in with the the guys, be it hanging out with them at the pub or with these colorful, cartoon dudes in NoHo!

Shirt: J. Crew ruffle-neck silk top here
Pants: J. Crew"toothpick" jeans here
Shoes: J. Crew "Audrey" flats here
Bag: Chanel similar pink quilted bag here
Sunglasses: Prada "Baroque" here
Earrings: Baublebar here

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Modern Classic Style

I'm never 100% sure how to describe my style, except that it's usually colorful! Occasionally it's a little preppy, often it's pretty classic, and sometimes it's a little bit more fun and out there. Most days I tend to take classics and give them a little bit of an edge through either really bold colors or unexpected prints. People have different facets to their personality, so why not have a wardrobe that reflects that? No matter what my style might be, one thing's for sure and that's that this outfit is pretty classic from from head to toe.

If you've read my blog, I'm sure you know that houndstooth is one of my all time favorite prints! I certainly don't need anything else that's houndstooth and I've said that a million times on my blog, however, this wool houndstooth skirt from Talbot's was deeply discounted. In fact, it was under $30, which isn't bad compared to its original $100 price tag, so at that price, who cares if I have too much houndstooth?

Last of all, the modern part of the title of this post obviously comes from this Mondrian inspired wall. I've taken pictures at this wall twice before and the lighting is never quite right, but it still makes for some fun pictures. On our most recent visit to this wall, a bunch of girls were taking a group photo with lots and lots of balloons. Apparently, they were not phased by the less than ideal lighting, so why should I?

Skirt: Talbots here
Sweater: J. Crew similar here
Bag: Gucci here
Shoes: J.Crew "Elwood" velvet bow pump here
Earrings: BaubleBar here
Sunglasses: Prada "Baroque" here

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Stripes+Dots+Leopard

Brace yourself, because I think for the next week I am going to start rolling out all of my amazing sale purchases from after Christmas break! Usually, the sales are good right after Christmas when retailers start moving out the winter stock and gear up for spring but this year the sales seem to be exceptionally good! For example, I walked out of Old Navy a couple weeks ago with four items (two shirts and two pairs of pants) and my total was $17! One of the items was this striped shirt for only $4! I was happy to find it on the clearance rack and give it a good home because I am always willing to take in an extra striped shirt and add it to my collection!

The embroidered polka dot skirt from Boden that I'm wearing is, you guessed it, another one of my sale deals from right after Christmas! I have it in another color and pattern and, as you can see. I loved it so much that I had to get it in another style! I also decided to do some pattern mixing with the dots, my new striped shirt, and, of course, a leopard belt to tie the look together. Now, every time I wear a leopard belt or bag, my husband makes fun of me for calling it a neutral, but I'm going to stand my ground on that one, as I think there are just some things men will never understand!

I would be remiss if I didn't mention that these earrings were also part of my sale haul from the last few weeks. I have a lot of earrings and, lately, my collection has stabilized because I really don't wear earrings all that often. The one thing I was missing from my collection was a pair of gold earrings. When I saw these on sale, I knew I would get a lot of use out of them. In fact, I wore them two days in a row! I think it's important to not only get things on sale, but to also get things that you are actually going to wear, as opposed to things that are just tempting because of the price. Luckily, with all three of the aforementioned items, I think I'll be getting a lot of use out of them in the near future!

Skirt: Boden here
Tee: Old Navy
Shoes: J. Crew similar gold loafers here
Bag: J. Crew
Earrings: BaubleBar here
Belt: Target similar here
Sunglasses: Celine

Postcards from California

I'm definitely head over heels in love with the postcard print that came out this summer from J. Crew! In fact, I'm so in love with it that I own three pieces that feature the print: this bow top, a blouse, and a skirt that I'll be featuring soon on my blog. I actually thought I had bought everything I possibly could with this particular print only to realize yesterday that there is also a dress! While I am tempted to get the dress to complete my collection, you can easily convert the blouse and the skirt (I think J. Crew calls that type of matchy, matchy thing "the hookup") into something that resembles a dress, so I think I'll pass...at least for now.

At first I was going to style this outfit with a graphic black and white skirt but then I decided to play up some of the colors featured in the print. I thought the addition of primary colors such as these cobalt pants and red heels gave a much needed pop of color to the look. The endless styling possibilities is one of the reasons why I adore this postcard print so much! Apparently, I am not the only one who adores the print because when my husband took these pictures outside of a small Japanese restaurant, the owner came out and applauded! Maybe she liked the outfit or maybe she just wanted us to come in and have some sushi!

Shirt: J. Crew bow shoulder top in postcard print
Pants: Old Navy similar cobalt pants here, and here
Shoes: J. Crew almost an exact version here
Earrings: Baublebar sale version here, similar here
Clutch: J. Crew Factoryyellow clutch here
Sunglasses: Celine here