Floral Brooches

 

With the recent spell of cold weather and the winter storms hitting much of the country over the last couple of weeks, one thing seems certain: everyone is ready for spring! While hopefully warmer temperatures will be here soon, in the meantime, there are definitely ways to infuse some spring vibes into your wardrobe! One way to add some spring into your step is with pops of color, such as wearing a brightly colored coat or sweater! Another way would be to put on floral accessories that hint at the blooms that we will hopefully see soon with March just around the corner. Recently, I purchased these floral brooches from one of my favorite jewelry designers, Loren Hope. I think they are a great way to pay homage to spring!

 

While I am looking forward to wearing these pins on a denim jacket or a light sweater in the upcoming months, I also think they are perfect on a heavy coat like this very ladylike red coat that was purchased years ago (before I even had a blog!) from J. Crew. While it's obviously not available anymore, I have linked to a similar red coat below. For a vintage ladylike look, I paired my coat, bedecked with my new brooches, with some leopard pants and a cashmere sweater. I wore this outfit on one of the last "colder" days here in Southern California. I probably shouldn't mention this, but it's going to be in the 80s here next week, so I think I might be putting away my winter coats and sweaters for the foreseeable future soon!

 

Coat: J. Crew similar red coat here

Pants: J. Crew similar wideleg leopard pants here

Sweater: J. Crew here

Shoes: J. Crew Factory similar mint shoes here

Bag: Kate Spade similar gold bag here

Brooches: Loren Hope here

 

Shop the Post

 

Rainbow Skirt

I posted the outfit I'm wearing in this post on Instagram this week and my caption alluded to the fact that my wardrobe contains a lot of rainbow skirts, which is an indisputable fact! I guess the rainbow skirt has kind of become one of my signature items over the last several years. While I'm trying to be more careful about what I buy in terms of not buying items that are similar to what I already own, I found this colorful striped skirt from Boden too stunning to pass up! (There's also a dress version here.) Between the color palette and the cinched bow belted waist, the skirt is somewhat similar to some of my other pieces, but I still couldn't resist! This skirt, due to the pandemic, took a while to get to me due to issues shipping overseas (you can read about the saga in this previous post) but it was well worth the wait!

One of the other pieces that I purchased in the last couple months is this straw camera bag from Kate Spade. I was debating between getting the bag in white or this turquoise color but I'm glad that I opted for the latter because it goes with just about everything in my wardrobe! Additionally, the color really makes it pop, making it even more of a statement piece than it already is! It's currently on sale at the moment at Kate Spade, so now is a good time to "snap" it up if you can!

Skirt: Boden here, dress version here
Blouse: Zara similar pink ruffle top
Shoes: J. Crew similar gold sandals here
Bag: Kate Spade here
Earrings: c/o Zenzii here (save 25% off with code Katie25)

Shop the Post

Work Outfits on Pause

Like many of you, I will be staying home for the next few weeks or maybe more depending on what happens. My school announced, along with most of the schools in the Los Angeles area, that it would be closed due to the threat of the Coronavirus. It's a pretty confusing time, mostly because of lots of uncertainty, but my current mindset is to just enjoy my time staying home by doing things around the house, watching a lot of movies, reading, playing games, and relaxing because, at this point, there's really nothing you can do except to try to distance yourself as much as possible from other people. This means that I'm pretty much going to be in sweats and PJs throughout the day, which, despite my love of dressing up, I definitely don't mind! Therefore, for this post, I thought I would share two looks that I wore to work recently that I really loved.

One thing that I've been really into lately is color-blocking because it's just so easy and fun! This outfit with my pink pleated skirt and mint blazer is an example of my recent obsession with color-blocking for spring. What really tops it off, however, is my new Loren Hope dragonfly brooch! Loren Hope has become my new obsession lately! It started with acquiring one of her one-of-a-kind butterfly brooches a couple of months ago and now I don't know when it's going to stop because her pieces are just that good!

Shop the Post

The next outfit was inspired by someone that I follow on Instagram. One of the things I love about the blogging and Instagram community is that so many people share my love for J. Crew and have similar pieces in their wardrobe, so it's really easy to recreate a look! I recreated the look in the outfit below, which consists of a yellow cardigan and a pleated rainbow skirt. (While this rainbow skirt pops back up every once and a while on J. Crew's website, there's a similar one here at Boden that I also love!) Now that I think about it, pleated skirts just might be one of my other favorite trends for spring!

Who knows what the next few weeks or even few days will bring but I'm going to try to keep up with my blog and posting pictures on Instagram as much as I can. Although we have to physically distance ourselves from one another at this time, with social media, it's possible to reach out to people online, which is a way to feel connected despite the physical distance. It might be shallow but looking at everyone's happy, colorful pictures or even seeing what people are doing to pass the time, brings us all closer together, even though we are far apart!

Shop the Post

Pale Pink Jeans and Heart Earrings

I'm continuing with this week's theme of Valentine's Day and hearts with a pair of pink boyfriend jeans and a super soft striped tissue turtleneck tee. While the outfit doesn't exactly scream "Valentine's Day," standing in front of a heart wall and wearing a pair of heart earrings definitely helps! I really love these heart earrings from Zenzii, which come in a variety of colors. As I have stated before, hearts are something that I enjoy wearing all the time, so these earrings will be getting a lot of use from me, not just in the month of February but for many months to come! Also, my readers can save 25% off of these earrings, plus your entire order from Zenzii with code Katie25 at checkout.

A couple years ago I did an entire post about where to find the best heart walls in Los Angeles and this one, located in Eagle Rock, California definitely made the list! Believe it or not, here around Valentine's Day, some of these heart walls can get pretty crowded with people! One of the reasons why I love this particular mural is because it's a little off of the beaten path and not known to that many people. I guess it's my little secret! So, if you're in the Eagle Rock area, definitely seek it out for cute and colorful heart pics!

Top: J. Crew here
Pants: Old Navy here
Earrings: c/o Zenzii here
Shoes: J. Crew here
Bag: Clare V. here

Shop the Look

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

Shop the Post

Brocade and Gold

I hope everyone had a Happy New Year! It's really hard to believe that the holidays are already over, as both Christmas and the New Year passed in the blink of an eye! Even though the holidays are over, I'm still wearing some of my plaids and glittery items, including this lovely brocade top from J. Crew. While it might be a little depressing to think about the passing of the holidays, not to mention going back to work soon, one thing that always cheers me up is a little "retail therapy", especially when the sales are so good! While I purchased this particular top a couple weeks before the holidays, it's now 25% off along with a lot of other wonderful items at J. Crew. I'm trying to show some restraint in purchasing new clothing items but the sales are so tempting that it's hard to resist! I think one of my resolutions for the New Year should definitely be to shop my closet more and enjoy the things that I already own!

One of the things that I love about this top is how rich and sumptuous it looks! In fact, my father-in-law even said that the fabric looked like something straight out of Versailles! To play on this, I paired the top with some glittery accessories, such as my gold glitter flats (a holiday favorite!), my pink turban knot headband (I can't get enough of these lately!), and my new gold earrings from Zenzii. While the earrings are glittery and gold, they definitely won't break the bank and you can save an extra 25% off of them and your purchased from Zenzii by using code Katie25. I will definitely be wearing them, along with all of my other accessories, a lot in the New Year!

Top: J. Crew here
Jeans: Old Navy similar boyfriend jeans here
Shoes: Butter similar gold flats here
Earrings: c/o Zenzii here (save an extra 25% off your order with code Katie25)
Headband: J. Crew here
Bag: Clare V. here

Shop the Post

Out on the Town

Last week, my husband and I went to dinner, which was the perfect occasion to wear my new floral Boden dress and bracelet from Les Georgettes by Altesse. This particular dinner happened to be about eight courses, which is not only a lot of food but also takes a considerable time to eat, especially when it's a weekday and you basically just want to go home, put on your PJ's, and get into bed! Although I might complain about the calories and the time sacrifice, it was really a lovely dinner.

Speaking of lovely things, one of the things that I adore about this Les Georgette bracelet is that it's  made in France, so the craftsmanship is excellent. Additionally, the company offers a unique design concept: all of their bracelets feature an interchangeable, reversible band that comes in different materials and colors.  I chose leather and am showing here the red side, which matches my dress. The other side is a lovely blue and I only realized later, after the sun had set and I had finished a cocktail, that it would also match my outfit perfectly! Had I realized this sooner, I would have taken some additional pictures with this blue side showing.

As you can see, the reversibility aspect of the bracelet makes it incredibly versatile and a fun way to change up the accessories in your wardrobe. It also adds a lovely pop of color to any outfit, not that this particular dress needs any more color, but, then again, one can never have too much color! Of course, one could also wear the bracelet without the color insert for a more subdued look. Truly, though, this bracelet, regardless of configuration, will go with any style, mood, or occasion, just as they say on the Les Georgette website. I am definitely going to be doing a followup post on it where I will reveal the lovely blue reverse side of the leather strap, so stay tuned!

Dress: Boden here
Shoes: Banana Republic
Bag: Louis Vuitton similar yellow bag
Bracelet: c/o Les Georgette by Altesse here
Earrings: J. Crew similar here
Sunglasses: Prada "Baroque" here