Bye Bye Snow Bunny

Facebook and all social media has been flooded with disgruntled East Coasters being fed up with mother nature and the extended polar vortex that we've endured. This post is dedicated to what I hope will be the LAST winter-wear post! Although it's been slow-moving, I am hopeful that Spring is rearing it's head around the corner and I am going to pack up my winter wardrobe and begin the season change-up. Fingers crossed for warm weather, sandals, and maxi dresses!

 Details: Vest Neiman Marcus last Call - same cut, Leather Shorts BB Dakota, Custom Made Statement Necklace Jen Hodenpyle

Back At It...

So to state the obvious, I have taken a vacation from blogging the past few weeks. To be honest I have been so busy with work in addition to other obstacles and didn't want to force my blog posts. I felt that if I kept blogging, that I would just be going through the motions and eventually something that I looked at as a hobby would inevitably become a chore or job. So... I decided to take a break and now here I am :) Thanks to anyone who sent me a message saying they missed my posts, it really made me smile.

Per usual, I feel as if I have been living out of a suitcase and constantly traveling, but I can't complain too much because I love being on the go. As some of you may know, I go out to LA for work frequently - but a typical trip consists of 10 hours of flying, ten hours of meetings, and taking the redeye back only to make it to work in glasses with limited make-up. However, this last week I was able to stay Thursday and Friday and decided to mix business with pleasure and fly my sister out as an early Xmas gift to spend the weekend.

Needless to say, my next few posts will be about various things from my trip. Below is an outfit that I wore for my second day of meetings with BCBG. The pants are from SouthMoonUnder - I have learned to love this style of pant. They are the closest thing to sweats or pajama pants that are appropriate for work! The jacket is from GAP, yes the GAP. I was shocked myself but I love the electric pink and now that I am looking online it comes in a ton of other great colors and patterns. My earrings are AUDEN - I have a slight obsession with this line and the designer. I love how his pieces are simple but edgy. I completed the look with my go-to Pour La Victoire pumps which I actually had to buy a second pair of because I had worn out my first. Go figure haha

Keepsake Hawaiian Prints

Florals always tend to be a trend when it comes to the Spring and Summer seasons but they can quickly become redundant and seem "been there, done that." Lately I have been drawn to palm prints and Hawaiian florals that are way less traditional and ironically enough - when I looked at our design boards for Summer 2014 that is exactly the direction we are headed. Mixing in bamboo, tropical wildlife, and ocean scenes with Hawaiian florals to bring new meaning and life to what we think of when you say "floral print". Here is a Hawaiian floral print by Keepsake (same print, different style here) that I wore last weekend in Palm Beach. I love that there is so much going on with the print that there wasn't too much accessorizing that was needed. Pair of Brian Atwood heels and a C Wonder bracelet Clutch and I was good to go. What do you think? Out with the old in with the new? Or stick with the traditional because it is timeless?

 

Summertime Romp

Although I do love rompers, they really can be hit or miss with whether they are flattering or not and if they aren't, they tend to make women look like overgrown babies. There are definitely different cut rompers that are best for specific body types. This BCBGeneration romper is a perfect summer lovin' outfit being that it's a fresh floral print. Dress it down with a denim vest and flat sandals or make it a little fancier with a pair of wedges, it works for multiple occasions :)

Details: Romper: BCBGeneration. Wedges: Steve Madden. Necklace: Rebecca Minkoff. Cuff Bracelet: C Wonder. Bag: R + J

 

 

Bendel Breakdown

Saturday I met up with my GBF (Gay Boyfriend) who works at the Henri Bendels Flagship store on 5th ave. we grabbed an amazing lunch and then searched the store for my favorite accessory picks. I have this theory that when women die and go to heaven, it's really the Bergdorff Shoe Department, but Bendels might be a close second since I'm accessory obsessed. If you get easily overwhelmed, this is not the place for you with the exception of maybe when the store first opens for the day. I think it's comparable to how I imagine Santa's workshop to be. I narrowed my favorite picks down to 7 items that if a budget didn't exist, I would've walked out the door with:

This amazing ostrich embossed leather clutch in electric yellow is Henri Bendel branded $250

My second pick is this gorgeous HB silk square scarf from their Megan Hess Collection $148. In the picture below I tied it around my pastel yellow bag for a cute added touch

Ring Party! My GBF and I fell in love with these Erickson Beamon fluorescent rings $148 - $268

I have a special attachment to this Dazzling Blue and Black Auden necklace because the designer Stephen is a complete sweetheart and loves to become friends with all of his clients. Each one of his pieces are handmade so he even will collaborate to make specific pieces for a customer. He also did a collection with J Crew that got a huge reaction. 

This Assad Mounser cuff speaks for itself. It looks like I am ready to go into fashion battle - $428

I found these dangling HB earrings on the 50% table and almost walked out with them before I came across...

The Miu Miu Purple and Pink Sunnies totally sang "Take Me Home Steph" and after I saw that the case for them was pink velvet, I couldn't help myself. I've become a little bit of a sunglass addict but they are just so practical and can totally change your look. I was lucky that this was the ONLY item that I walked out of the store with after my Bendel Breakdown :)

Tuxedo Pants and Citrus Pops

I've been eyeing tuxedo pants for a while now and I finally bagged these amazing black & white tuxedo pants from ShopAkira.com. They are currently sold out but here are two of their newer options: seamless two faced pant & peplum tuxedo. Although Black & White Monochromatic is a huge trend right now I really wanted to add some color and print to this outfit. Here's how I rounded out my work-wear

 

The print on my outfit came from my shoes. These Calvin Klein calf hair cut-out heels were purchased at Macy's. Here's a little shopping trick for people who live in New York, if you have an ID from a different state, you can go to Macy's Herald Square or Bloomingdale's 59th Street and get a 10% off card by showing your ID at guest services. When I had my VA license I used this trick all the time. Unfortunately I have a NY ID now :( Here is another version of the CK heels on sale on 6pm 

 

  The citrus pop - was this awesome Gilber Gilmore Neon Yellow Blazer that I got for 60% off from BigDropNYC. It's no longer available and the original ticket price was $279 but here is an amazing one from Target for only $29.99 (you're welcome)

  My main piece of jewelry for this outfit once again was a custom made Jennifer Hoodenpyle statement necklace. This was a great black with ombre gold necklace that Jen made for me and I thought that it offset the leopard shoes perfectly.

  Here's the complete look

Naughty n Nice Pastels

For Holiday 2012 the main color palette which brought about newness was dusty pastels. Seafoam, pale pink, lavender, and the list goes on. Of course the "naughty" side of the palette still featured the traditional neutral and metal tones being black, ivory, silver, and gold. With the weather being less than Spring-like, these pastels have made a great lead into brightening up your wardrobe with still wearing weather appropriate clothing. This BCBG Max Azria Pastel Leopard dress is a perfect example of this:

 

I paired the wrap dress with opaque tights and then Pour La Victoire Booties from Zappos

 

I love these BCBG wrap dresses for work because they are a very similar cut to DVF wrap dresses but half of the price. Here is a similar one from the Spring Collection that I love: BCBG

 

Since the pattern on this dress is so bold, I kept the accessories fairly simple with these pale pink Chanel Stud earrings

 

Here is a close up of the print. The yellow studded bracelet is Rebecca Minkoff  

Keepin it Comfy & Casual for Friday with Wedge Sneakers

You can't wear high heels everyday... So that's why they made wedge sneakers! Just kidding (kinda). Today I wanted to spotlight a trend I'm seeing everywhere. Sportswear hit New York Fashion week by storm this September and from it emerged wedge high-top sneakers. From Aldo to Bergdorf Goodman this trend is showing up at all levels of distribution. I would say the most popular brand going after this trend is Ash. They have the cutest silhouettes in the most vibrant pop colors. But let's be real... Are wedge sneakers going to be in next Fall? Or are they going to go into my Good Will pile when I go to transition my closet next year? Who knows.... But I wasn't keen on spending $165-$225 and upwards on something I wasn't sure was sticking around for more than a season. I went on Amazon and sure enough I was able to get a pair for $45 and a pair for $58. If your are looking to test the waters with this trend at an affordable price I suggest you start there. But here are some other links of designer brands and their interpretation of the trend: Ash, Ash2, Giuseppe Zanotti, Prada, Jimmy Choo, and the list goes on

Here is how I wore my wedge tennies on casual Friday. Kept it simple with a zip up sweatshirt from Nordstrom years ago & AG jeans. If you have a body and struggle with finding the right fit in jeans, BUY AG! I'm totally hooked. They have them at Bloomies, Nords, L&T, Saks, Neimans, but if you're looking for a deal I've seen them and purchased them off of online flash sites like rue lala, ideeli, and Hautelook. They are definitely worth the original ticket price though.

 

My pop of color in this outfit comes from the accessories - Gold and Pink. The bracelet was a Xmas gift from my sister and its by Jennifer Zeuner. I love the evil eye and haven't taken it off since I got it (even when I wear silver jewelry). 

The Ring was a birthday gift from my Dad :) It's by Dara Ettinger and he got it from Henri Bendels but you can find a lot of her stuff on one of my favorite jewelry websites Max and Chloe

 

 Lastly the earrings are from C. Wonder 

 

 

Friday's Fashion Fix

Today I wanted to spotlight the designer of some of my favorite jewelry pieces Jen Hoodenpyle. I found her through my best friend Erin's blog Erin's Currently Coveting (Check it out she's amazing & the person who pushed me to start my own blog!)

Anyway- Erin featured one of Jen's necklace in an outfit on her blog so I went to Jen's Etsy shop and fell in love with all her pieces. She buys vintage jewelry and then custom paints them so no two are alike. The best part is- she LOVES collaborating and custom designing a necklace specific to her customer! Jen and I typically message back and forth sending inspiration pics or color ideas until 2am- and she's been known to pass out on her work table slaving away at some of my amazing necklaces (her husband must hate me). Here are some of the custom pieces that I've purchased:

 

Here is a little background on Jen - She is a proud mom of 3 in Texas and when she's not racing around with them she is working at a local boutique called "The Shoe Closet" where she is admittedly OCD over the displays. The jewelry is a hobby and true talent of hers. I included a pic of Jen and her fam because this really shows how out-of-the-box and fun she is! Long story short you NEED to swing by her Etsy shop!