Black and Grey and Spikes All Over

I love buying clothes that most people would pass over and finding a way to pull together an outfit that then those same people say "oh my god, I love that! Where did you get it?" I feel like it's a challenge, especially since it's outside of the box and could easily be a #fail.

I found this manly-quilted-lumberjack vest with a leather collar at Nordstrom on double sale for $30. This is a perfect example of the above since it had to be marked down twice. I'll admit, I wouldn't have bought it for much more, but I decided that I could give it a shot for the price. I paired it with a basic GAP grey T, BCBGeneration Legging to Leather Pants, Boutique9 Pumps (similar), and Juicy Couture spike necklace. What do you guys think? Is it pulled together? Or still not happening for you?

Polo Playin

To piggyback off of yesterday's post, I wanted to share what I wore to the BCBG Press Event on Tuesday. I think I wore this outfit because I was upset I wasn't attending a polo match this past weekend in the Hamptons so maybe I subconsciously channeled what I could've worn. I think that this outfit makes me look more like an actual polo player than a spectator but that's just a technicality.

So I wasn't exactly reinventing the wheel with sporting white on white - It's a classic summer look that always looks sharp and in my opinion MUST be worn with gold jewelry and a tan, but I put my own spin on it with this amazing BCBG Motor Jacket

The best part of this jacket is that it is canvas but the tobacco brown parts are leather. To be honest when I first walked past this jacket, I thought it was ugly on the hanger but 9 times out of 10 if I go back to those items they end up being some of my favorites! This case was no exception.

The Shirt I wore was $9.99 and the pants were $29. I am a HUGE advocate of mixing price points, not to mention it's the only way I can afford to stretch my dollar on some fun pieces like this jacket

As fate should have it, this necklace from BaubleBar arrived in my mailbox the day before the press event - It was meant to be! My FAVORITE blogger Courtney Kerr designed a collection for BaubleBar and the first day it was launched I bagged two items because she is one of my accessory idols and this necklace was one of my purchases. 

I topped off this outfit with patent peep toe chocolate stilettos by Brian Atwood - if you held a gun to my head and made me pick a favorite shoe designer I would probably have to say Brian Atwood - I've rarely met a pair I wouldn't wear.

Maxi Slits with a Bun on Top

As I mentioned in my last outfit post, high-low skirts were really big for Spring/Summer 2012 but I feel like that has evolved to the maxi skirt. I got this amazing shocking pink Jennifer Hope maxi skirt 60% off at BigDrop. Beyond the amazing color, I was drawn to this because of the slit on one side. There is a shorter skirt layer underneath to avoid any potential wardrobe malfunctions so that's a plus haha! The skirt is sold out now but here are some options from ASOS that I love: option1 option2 option3

 

I know the sockbun thing has been huge for a while now- but believe it or not I am terrible at hair styling so this is totally out of the box for me but I used an insert from Urban Outfitters- it's like the modern day bump-it!

 

I carried this adorable Rebecca Minkoff bright green crossbody bag with silver spike studs.

 

No big surprise here, I rocked my most recent Jen Hoodenpyle necklace purchase. I know, I'm an addict but I can't help myself. This one has amazing colors for Spring and Summer and the shape is so different from all the other ones I have!

 

 

Lastly I wore my Dolce Vita sandals. Every girl needs a pair- or three!

Spring High-Lows

So yesterday was absolutely gorgeous in the city and for the first time I think Spring might actually be here to stay (for 2 weeks until summer begins). I looked ahead at the forecast and decided that I was going to wear a very West Coast outfit that I had worn a couple of weeks ago while I was in LA. The reaction was hysterical. I decided to ignore the fact that New Yorkers are permanently in black and jump head first into splashed colors. I wore this tie dye high/low skirt that my sister picked out for me last year at South Moon Under. I was a little hesitant towards high-low last year because they were everywhereeee but this was my first and I love it! I looked even more ridiculous given the fact that there was a little wind so when I walked down the street I had this floating tail following behind me. Sometimes you just have to be able to giggle at yourself...

Here are some High-Low Skirt options from Lulus.com that I love: Print & Solid with Lace Panel

I wore one of my summer staples - my cropped jean vest from Zara with studded collar. Get ready to see this vest a lot because I'm obsessed with it and during the hot summer use it as a fall back to wear my "warm weather" clothes a little more work appropriate. Here is a great Denim Vest option from ShopAkira

  Since I wore a plain white sugar lips tank top underneath the vest, I decided to wear 2 of my newest necklaces layered together. The shorter necklace that says "DREAM" is a BCBGeneration affirmation necklace and the long necklace with heart and horn charm is Rebecca Minkoff. I bought the Dream necklace at Lord&Taylor but here is the bracelet version which is also adorable

As seen in other posts I also wore my Juicy white aviator sunnies and my staple summer wedges from Lulus.com

Plain T's with Ballerina Pleats

I bought this adorable BCBG Max Azria Ballerina Skirt back in December but have been waiting for some nicer weather to wear it. At the first glimpse of the 70's in the forecast I decided to take full advantage.

The skirt is ultra girly with the curly piping and the two layers that flip up

 

The body of the skirt has accordion pleats with a tonal elastic waist band at the top  

 For the rest of the outfit I wore a simple crew neck heather grey fitted t-shirt from GAP for only $10 and matching grey suede Boutique9 suede pumps. For the necklace, I wore an oversized Aqua necklace from Bloomingdales that has a black wire mesh overlay. It's from 5 years ago but here is a similar version from Baublebar.

Military Inspired

Military Camouflage is back for its 5468th round on the trend hot list. At this point it's safe to say that it's a trend that will continue to circle back around again and again. The point of difference this time is that although there definitely is a presence of literal camo- a lot of it is the interpretation of military influence. So here is my interpretation - or Zara's - that I wore to work:

 

The red pants that are wax-coated/leather-like/painted-on are from Zara. Similar found here.

 The top with the military detail shoulders is also from Zara

The white watch is a Michael Kors Mens Watch from Amazon

The necklace is from BaubleBar (as a Xmas gift from my Mom's best friend) which is an amazing accessory website that you can be on for hours. Similar option found here



Finally the pumps are my staples. They are Kelsi Dagger and I live in them at work

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!