When One Door Opens...

This is my first post of 2018, so I can officially wish all of my readers a Happy New Year! As the old adage goes: when one door closes, another one opens. This saying definitely holds true for the New Year. The door closing on the past year gives birth to a fresh start and a new beginning! Personally, I am not one for New Year's resolutions (let's face it, we never keep them!), however, I am excited for what 2018 has in store for me and my blog!

I am obviously using the aforementioned saying not only because it's applicable to the start of the New Year but it also relates quite nicely to the pictures in today's post! There is a great pink wall that adorns an Out of the Closet thrift store in Los Angeles. Recently, they painted a white door on the pink wall and I thought it would make for some fun pictures. Plus, it kind of ties into the whole New Year, new beginning theme, which was a happy accident!

I haven't yet said anything about my ensemble featured here! I would say it's one of my favorites of the year, but since this is my first post of 2018, that wouldn't be saying much! This sweater from Talbot's and my embroidered skirt from Boden came on the same day, much to the horror of my husband as pretty much everything I ordered for the month of December was delivered on the same day! Anyway, when I took both pieces out of the packaging, I noticed that they looked perfect together and thus an outfit was born! I hope it's a colorful and fun way to kick off the New Year at Hello Katie Girl!

Sweater: Talbot's rainbow sweater here
Skirt: Boden embroidered skirt here
Bag: Mansur Gavriel circle bag here
Boots: Nine West, similar velvet booties here, here, and here
Sunglasses: Celine
Earrings: Kendra Scott "Elle" earring here

A Thanksgiving Skirt

I was planning on wearing this outfit this year for Thanksgiving, but given that it's going to be over 90 degrees today (and probably even hotter cooking in the kitchen!), I am going to opt for something simpler and cooler. I actually wore this ensemble to an event at a winery last weekend and while it wasn't exactly cool there, at least it wasn't 90 degrees!

I lucked out getting this skirt a few weeks ago from Anthropologie. It was on my radar this September at full price, but I felt it was too expensive. When it went on sale, it sold out before I could snatch it up, but it remained in my online shopping cart. When it showed up again as being back in stock in my cart, I was both surprised and pleased because it was discounted even more to 75% off  retail price! I bought it quickly before it sold out again, so I was thankful not only to get it, but to get it at a great price!

When the skirt arrived in the mail, I thought it would be perfect for Thanksgiving, given the color palette, but, as I mentioned above, I decided against wearing it. Another reason for not wearing it for Thanksgiving is that I've vowed never to wear anything to a family dinner that I would be upset about if it were ruined. This is because of an incident several years ago at a Thanksgiving dinner that involved a family member almost spilling hot turkey grease all over me! So, to make a long story short, I still haven't quite figured out what I'll be wearing to Thanksgiving dinner, but it doesn't really matter, because, as we all know, that's not the point of the holiday! So, with that said, I hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving! (And hopefully a family member doesn't poor scalding hot grease on you!)

Skirt: Anthropologie similar here, here
Sweater: H&M similar here, here
Shoes: Nine West similar blue velvet Mary Janes here, here
Bag: Kate Spade similar gold bag here, here
Necklace: J. Crew Factory
Sunglasses: Prada

Rainbow Bright

I can't even keep track of all of the rainbow themed items I've purchased this month! My rainbow addiction is truly out of control! Maybe it all goes back to my childhood love of Rainbow Bright or maybe it's just because I love color? Regardless of the cause, I'm truly addicted! It seems like every year Gap comes out with a different version of a rainbow stripe sweater and every year I'm tempted to buy it, although it's not like a need another colorful striped sweater! Conservatively speaking, I probably have about five rainbow stripe sweaters! So this time around, I opted for this rainbow "crazy stripe" sweater dress from Gap for something a little different.

The thing I love about this sweater dress, in addition to all of the colors, is how versatile and comfy it is! I wore this look to go to see a musical in Downtown Los Angeles with my husband. It was somewhat cool and overcast on the day that we went to the theater, so the wool blend material of the dress was the perfect choice given the weather. Also, it was very comfortable for sitting for a long period of time! In the future, I might pair the dress with some navy tights to make it more work appropriate.

Last of all, I'm obsessed with these blue velvet booties from Nine West. I wore them in the following post called Blue Velvet where I linked to some of my favorite velvet boot options for fall. Just like the dress, these booties are very comfortable and easy to wear, yet instantly chic at the time. Plus, who doesn't like velvet? They were definitely the perfect accessory to wear walking around the streets of Los Angeles.

Dress: Gap Crazy Stripe dress here
Booties: Nine West similar here
Bag: Coach similar pink bag
Watch: c/o Wristology here (Save 10% with code katie10)
Necklace: Kate Spade
Sunglasses: Celine here

Trying to Get That Fall Feeling

While this outfit probably doesn't scream "fall" or "Halloween", I set it amidst the backdrop of a pumpkin patch to give it more of a fall feeling! You'll have to be somewhat forgiving of the fact that I am not in a flannel, boots, or wrapped in a scarf, as last week we experienced temperatures that were well over 100 degrees here in Southern California! (Luckily, however, this week for Halloween the temperature has cooled off quite a bit!)

The good news is that if you are living some place with warmer temperatures , there are a ton of sales that you can take advantage of on summer clothing that you can wear now. Or, if the temps have cooled down by you, then you can at least get some bargains and store stuff away for next year. Just don't forget about them! This striped tie skirt from J. Crew is a good example of a bargain on summer clothing, as it was only about $30. J. Crew seems to have quite a bit of stuff left over from summer that is deeply discounted right now on their website.

These white earrings were also a steal from J. Crew. In fact, I bought six pairs from them last month (all in one order!) and the total came out to be under $50! I guess it pays to wait until the end of the season to get the best bargains! So while nothing about this outfit might scream "fall", and certainly not "Halloween", I hope it will inspire you to take advantage of some of the great bargains out there. The deals are frighteningly good!

Skirt: J. Crew button-front striped skirt here
Tee: Target here
Shoes: Nine West here
Bag: Clare V. here
Earrings: J. Crew similar here
Sunglasses: Celine

Blue Velvet

So, I have to confess that I actually got this boho inspired dress from SheIn to match the blue velvet booties I bought at Marshalls a couple weeks before. I know that's insane, but maybe not as insane as the fact that I also bought a Mary Jane version of these booties too! Yes, I am that in love with velvet and, more specifically, blue velvet. (On a side note, this title is also an allusion to the David Lynch movie by the same name for you movie buffs out there!)

Let me say that even though my impetus for buying this dress was to have something to match my boots, I really, really love this particular boho style dress. It's definitely something that's out of the realm of what I normally wear, but it's always fun to step out of your comfort zone. For under $20, which is what the dress costs, it's fun to take a fashion risk and try something new! Plus, I love the floral print of this dress too and it will look great with tights and maybe a denim jacket once the weather cools off a bit. It's one of those things that you can just throw on with a cute necklace and pair of boots and you're instantly chic!

A few thing about these boots: first they were only $36, so just like the dress, they were a great deal! Second, they enabled me to have what teachers like to refer as a "teachable moment" with the sales associate about different types of materials. When I went to check out, the sales associate asked me if the boots were suede or velvet. I said that they were velvet and tried to explain the differences between the two materials. She then said that she wasn't sure she would want to wear velvet shoes because she might get dog hair all over them. That's definitely I concern that I have too, although it turned out that dog slobber was a bigger issue, as William walked right up to them and pressed his nose directly against them!

Dress: c/o Shein here
Boots: Nine West similar here
Bag: Clare V. leopard foldover clutch here
Necklace: Banana Republic similar tassel necklace here
Sunglasses: Prada