{Style} Sweatshirts + Florals...

Sweatshirt- HELMUT Helmut Lang (on sale!) | floral skirt- Forever 21 | bag- Milly | spiked heels- ShoeMint | sunglasses- Cheap Monday c/o Surfdome | necklace- J.Crew | ring- Saint Laurent | bracelets c/o Forever 21 | watch- Michael Kors


 

{ Thanks for visiting! }

{Style} The Great Outdoors...

Well my friends, it's finally happened � I've officially been roped into camping. Now I realize this may be a pastime many of you hold dear, but I'm honestly freaked out by the thought of it... Although to be fair, that may have something to do with all the Slender Man I've been watching lately, but still. So this weekend while you're are having fun gallivanting and sleeping on comfortable surfaces, think of me sleeping with one eye open and a kink in my neck... Oh the things we do for love.

Happy weekending friends, and don't forget to vote for your favourite blogger (me?) on Forever 21's Facebook page! xx

Dress- Lady Dutch | belt- H&M | pumps- ShoeMint | glitter clutch- Kate Spade | necklace- J.Crew | ring- House of Harlow | bracelet- J.Crew | watch- Michael Kors

{Nailed It} Manicure DIY Roundup...

I love nail polish as much as the next girl, but lately it seems like there are more nail trends and jazzy Pins out there than I can keep up with... Man it's tough being a girl. Because I need constant reminders of things I want to try or need to do (believe me, it's a never-ending list), I decided to put together a roundup of my top five nail trends to try (helloooooo, watermelon wraps!). Hopefully this inspires you to jazz up those digits of yours, but if nothing more, it'll help keep me accountable when I deviate back to my standard red, black or neon polish... You guys keep me so honest.

1. Watermelon wraps by Scratch, $12
2. Vintage-inspired florals via The Beauty Department
3. Geometric pastels via Pshiiit
4. Nautical nails via The Beauty Department
5. NCLA Ikat nail wraps via Pshiiit, $16

Just for Fun

We had a few gloriously warm weeks here in SF, so I hastily trotted out all my most springy garments and made good use of the opportunity to wear as many of my sandals as I could before the fog rolled in again. This outfit was for a day of working at home and going to a midday appointment.

I loved all the comments on my Trends That Need to Die post, and for the most part I agree with all your choices. One of the trends mentioned was ankle pants, which obviously I have no problem with myself. I do in fact realize that they aren't particularly flattering and that men seem to universally find them to be one of the least attractive things that women wear (my husband included).

I actually derive a lot of satisfaction from sometimes wearing things that I know men find unappealing, because what I wear isn't meant to be about what men think. Cropped pants have an irreverent, playful vibe, and they remind me of some of the late 50's and 60's styles that I love. They bring to mind big floppy hats, drippy ice cream cones, and a boardwalk along the beach. Fashion doesn't always need to be about figure flattery; sometimes just being fun is enough.

Top: Bella Lux
Pants: Gap
Sandals: Gabor

Sandwiched

At last, I got to wear my fabulous new dress! The folded neckline is what really sold me on this one, and the shape and pattern are classic enough that I'll be able to wear it for years to come.

I tend to have a difficult time with springtime fashions, mainly because soft pastels don't look so great against my skin tone. This dress solves the problem by putting the deep midnight blue up near the face and right at the hem, and keeping the softer shades sandwiched in the middle. Once it warms up a little I think this dress is going to look great with bare legs or nude fishnets.

The cute teal clutch doesn't get a ton of use, so I was glad to realize after buying the dress that it would be just the thing. I love how it plays off the lighter shades in the floral pattern and keeps the outfit bright.

Dress: Karen Millen
Clutch: Tracy Reese
Pumps: Paolo

Watching From the Sidelines

Patterned pants are a trend I've been watching from the sidelines for quite awhile now. I didn't dislike the look, I just never saw a pair that really spoke to me and were the right price. My philosophy is not to spend too much money on a trend that isn't likely to see more than a couple of seasons. I found these at Gap, loved the pattern and mix of colors, and found that they fit great and were within my price criteria. Sold! I'm looking forward to wearing these when sandal weather returns.

Better still, I happened to be visiting my sisters, aunt and mom in Bend, Oregon for the weekend, so without the exorbitant sales tax that I'd normally pay in SF, it was like everything was on sale. You can bet that with 5 women hanging out together, we spent a fair amount of time in shops. The navy t-shirt I'm wearing here is from the adorable clothing boutique that my sister happens to work in. I actually brought back 3 of these shirts in different colors because I loved the long length, curved hem, and soft fabric.

The peach tank top is far more neon than it may appear in the photos. That bright a shade is not the most flattering to my skin, however letting just a small amount peek through under the t-shirt is a fun way to incorporate the neon trend without it being overpowering.

Tank, pants: Gap
T-shirt: Bobi
Shoes: Cole Haan

Finicky

 

I'm back from my extended travels, which took me to Edinburgh and into the Scottish highlands, down to York, over to Liverpool as I mentioned in my last post, on to London, over to Strasbourg for the work portion of the trip, and finally to Paris for the last weekend. I had a great trip and though I've only been back since Monday I feel remarkably recovered from the jetlag, perhaps because I had enough time over there that I wasn't still suffering from the first round of time zone changes.

I'll have a follow-up travel post or two after the Thanksgiving holiday is over, but in the meantime I have a couple of outfits from before the trip to share. This one features a new pair of boots that I recently found to fill a specific wardrobe gap: low heeled, mid-calf, medium brown boots that are comfortable enough for walking.

Initially I thought I might take these boots along for the trip, but they weren't quite broken in enough to be safe for 3 weeks on the road. As it is, even my most trusted pairs will start to get uncomfortable after several days of walking on cobblestones, which in fact is exactly what happened. I was forced -- forced, I tell you! -- to buy another pair in York when the two that I brought were becoming unbearable (you can see the new ones in Not Supermum's post). Curse you, finicky feet!

In this outfit I've layered one of my tulle skirts underneath the dress, which mitigates the problem of the dress being exceedingly floaty. Since I haven't yet bothered to work on weighting down the hem, I figured the next best solution was to wear something non-floaty underneath in case of a breeze. Problem solved, in layering weather at least.

Dress: eShakti
Cardigan: Anthropologie
Belt: a gift from Mom
Skirt: Noa Noa
Boots: Born

{Style} The Basics...

In a season filled with falling leaves, cheerful holidays and pumpkin-flavoured everything, you know what makes me happiest of all come September? Tights. And the more I have to choose from � be it colour, texture or both � the better. Grey is my tight colour du jour, mainly because it was the first pair I could find before rushing off to work, but also because it makes for a surprisingly versatile basic... Move over boring black hosiery; there's a new tight in town.

Outfit details: dress- Loft 82; denim shirt- Topshop; leather jacket- Zara; booties- Michael Kors; necklace- Forever 21; bracelet- the Bay; ring- vintage; watch- Michael Kors

Executive

It's been so long since I took this photo that by now the blue color has completely washed out of my hair. It fades out after only about a week, and since I'm not taking photos every day anymore I only caught a few outfits where you could still see it.

This was an outfit for a presentation I had to give in front of our executive team. I wanted something that looked polished but not too business-formal, since hardly anyone in our office ever dresses that way, even the executives.

Dress: All Saints
Cardigan: Anthropologie
Belt: a gift from mom
Bag: Coccinelle
Tights: Hue
Shoes: Calvin Klein

Caught in the Rain...

This week has been all kinds of dreary, which doesn't exactly bode well for those needing to take photos outdoors of say, oh I don't know, their outfits or something... So if you're listening rain, I have two words for you: how rude.

Happy Thursday loves, and wherever you are, I hope you're toasty dry... xx

Creamsicle

This skirt started out life as a strapless dress, which I found at the Goodwill in a size 2; way too small for me to ever hope to fit into. But I loved the fabric and the print so much that I decided to buy it anyway and figure out later what to do with it. After languishing over the winter months in my closet, I finally took it to the tailor and had them convert it to a skirt. Isn't it delicious? I love the saturated orange and creamy white together; it reminds me of an orange Creamsicle, which was one of my favorite treats as a kid.

Converted skirt: Banana Republic
Cardigan: Noa Noa
Top: Michael Stars
Sandals: Paula Urban (from a shop in Lisbon)
Dog: Georgie

Fishing

This is the first time I've worn this dress in a summery way and not all layered up for colder weather. I totally love it as a warm weather dress, however I forgot one key thing about San Francisco this time of year: it can get rather windy. And since this dress is made of a very lightweight silk, it pretty much floats up into the air in all directions in the lightest of breezes. I think I just need to figure out a way to weigh the hem down a little. I'm sure that attaching some of those lead sinkers would work, but that might look a little odd, or at least give the impression that I'm really crazy about fishing. If you have any more aesthetically pleasing and/or effective ideas, please pass them along, because frankly I don't even like fishing.

Dress: eShakti
Cardigan: Noa Noa
Flats: Fly London

Surprise

I've been waiting ages to wear this dress. I found it for $9 at the thrift store, brand new with tags, just as we were heading into winter. Since this color is really only suitable for warmer weather, it lurked in my closet packed away with all the rest of the summery stuff that I boxed up to make room for my sweaters and wool skirts. I had pretty much forgotten about it in fact, so it was a nice surprise to open up the box and find a brand new dress waiting for me.

Cardigan: Anthropologie
Necklace: Dana LeBlanc Designs
Dress: Calvin Klein
Shoes: BC Footwear
Bag: Coccinelle

Bridge

You've seen a very similar outfit to this one before, but I had to post it again to show you this coat, which has been a lifesaver during our cold, rainy spring. What's interesting about this jacket is that although I bought it in 2005 (I remember because my sister was visiting at the time and helped me pick it out), it seems to get more and more current as the years go by. The bold, graphic floral print and mix of colors seem very fresh to me, and I've worn it a ton over the last couple of months. If I saw it in a store today I'd surely buy it all over again.

The jacket helped to brighten up this otherwise somber outfit. The colors blended perfectly with the deep purple pants, and helped to bridge the pale pink cardigan with the darker pieces. I hated having to take it off once I got into my office.

Jacket: Liquid
Cardigan: Anthropologie
Tunic: Audrey Cantwell
Pants: Rag & Bone
Shoes: John Fluevog
Jewelry: Metal Pointu

Spring Fling...

There's just something about throwing on a bright, "check out my bad self" kind of outfit to pick yourself up on a on a blah day... And in my case, I spared no expense in achieved said brightness. From florals and a neon necklace, all the way to my burn-your-retinas bright dress, this outfit is anything but boring... After all, nobody likes a blah-ger.

Happy Monday, lovelies! xx

Outfit details: dress- Forever 21; blazer- H&M; clutch- vintage YSL; kitten heels- Zara; necklace & ring- Forever 21; tights- Joe Fresh

What I Wore:

Mr. AIF had to go to Toronto this past weekend, so I was left alone to my own devices... In other words, sweet treats, non-stop Golden Girls reruns and a much-needed nail painting sesh� What can I say, I lead a glamorous life.

Happy Monday, lovelies! xx

Outfit details: dress- Decapolis (old); vest- Old Navy; belt- Betsey Johnson; cowl, bag, boots & watch- Michael Kors; bracelet- Marc by Marc Jacobs

A Whole New Look

It was really only a matter of time before I started digging up older outfits, swapping in a couple of items such as these fab new boots and jewelry, and calling it a whole new look. I've actually done this quite a bit lately, partly because I'm at a new job and nobody has seen any of my past outfits anyway, so why not recycle the best ones? And partly because as crazy as it sounds, I actually want to get to work in the mornings and therefore don't linger as long over what I'm going to wear. One of the real benefits of maintaining a daily wear blog for so long is that I can search the archives if I'm pressed for time and come up with an outfit in a snap.

And hey, if you haven't already done so, please consider becoming a backer for fabulous designer Stacy Lomman's fall line. After successfully funding her last Kickstarter campaign, Stacy put on a great runway show for her spring "Biohazard" line, and has since been named a finalist in the 2012 Rising Star Awards. Not one to let the grass grow under her feet, Stacy immediately set to work creating her next collection, called Modern World. Being a huge fan of mod myself, I simply cannot wait to see the new line. The project is more than halfway funded, and every little bit will help Stacy to reach the finish line.

Dress: Aryeh
Jacket: B. Bella
Boots: Brako
Jewelry: Metal Pointu

Prediction

This was a festive outfit I put together for the last day at work before the holiday break. I loved the way the burgundy cardigan brought out all the rich reds and browns in the floral pattern of the dress. As you may recall, I predicted that this dress would work well with several different color schemes, and so far my prediction is holding; it worked with mustard yellow, and here I've taken it in a more wintry direction with the burgundy and olive green (the tights are olive green, though it's difficult to tell from the photos).

One of my favorite times of the year is almost upon us; it's only a couple of weeks until both the Noir City film festival and the Edwardian Ball. Soon it'll be time to get costumed up and hit the town. You can bet that my fabulous 50's dress will be making an appearance at one of the Noir City shows this year, but as of yet I haven't decided on any of the others.

Cardigan: American Eagle Outfitters
Belt: a gift from mom
Dress: eShakti
Tights: Foot Traffic
Boots: Bata