Color Experiment

So yesterday I was feeling very experiment-y with my color palette. My good friend Cassie is the Queen of Color and is always inspiring me to try unexpected combinations. My only problem is that I'm not as good at it as her! But I'm learning. This was my first attempt which I chickened out & didn't end up wearing:

cardi: JCrew, tank: Madewell, skirt: Isaac Mizrahi for Target, shoes: Hype, jewelry: Haute Hardware

I wanted to keep the yellow/purple thing going, but decided on a more subtle approach. Maybe next time for the skirt.

cardi/tank/jewelry: same as above, pants: Zara, bag: Rebecca Minkoff, shoes: Loeffler Randall

I'm interested to hear opinions on the first combo. Looking at photos now I'm actually kind of liking it more than I did initially.

Shoesin'

I've been on a huge shoe-buying bender for the past week or so. Gorgeous shoes keep stumbling into my path, and I'm finding it hard to say no. Take these Bally heels for example:
They have a chunky, sturdy heel with silver detailing, which you can sort of see in this next pic:

shoes: Bally, skirt: Merona, top: Sisley, bag: Miu Miu, bangles: Old Navy (red) and JCrew (B&W), silver hoops

They are sort of comfy for how tall they are, but then again it's only 9:23 am. Ask me again at 5!

Naughty Nautical

Okay, naughty may be pushing it, but whenever I think nautical I think of this pair of earrings I made a few years ago that my friend Erin & her hubby dubbed "The Naughty Nauticals." I finally ended up giving them to her, and she blogged about it recently on her fab site, Work With What You've Got.

I had a big sewing extravaganza last night & made a skirt with sailboats for my friend Kelly on MakeupAlley as well as a yellow seersucker clutch for my friend Carol. As a result, I was feeling very summery and nautical when I got dressed today. Oh, and I did watch Gossip Girl as well last night, which probably influenced this look as well (which Rod pointed out this morning!).

jacket: Isaac Mizrahi for Tar-jay, yellow top: Anne Klein, seersucker pants: Gap, shoes: Talbots, bag: Rebecca Minkoff

Let's talk about the bag a little bit - it was my first purchase from one of the online sample sale sites that I get 52 e-mails from on the daily. I finally fell prey a little over a week ago when Gilt had a Rebecca Minkoff sale. I love the full-size Morning After bag that Rod got me for my b-day 2 years ago, and I'm actually really pleased with the mini version. It's not all that mini, so it still fits all my stuffs with some room to spare. Plus I've been looking for the perfect navy bag for ages, so it wasn't super hard to justify. Here's a stock pic to see the detailing a bit better:

I've been really drawn to quilted leather lately, and I like how this one has quilted accents but is otherwise solid. The overall effect is really stunning & chic, and I feel like a million bucks carrying it. The sign of a good handbag.

Loeffler Randall Love

I've been lusting after these Loeffler Randall shoes FOR-EV-ER, and finally got my hands on a pair via eBay last week. I really love the way they look with my LR Bedelia bag, too.

dress: Martin + Osa, cardi: JCrew, Gillian heels: Loeffler Randall, Bedelia bag: Loeffler Randall, necklace: add-a-pearl from my aunt & mom <3

rainy day woman

This is an odd day for me to be jumping back on the posting bandwagon, seeing as I'm not 100% on this outfit. But in the end I decided to go with it anyway. I've been having a hard time putting together anything inspired in the mornings. It didn't help that my office gave us jeans day for the entire month of March, thus enabling me to be really, really lazy. So anyway, I kind of like this combo for its quirkiness, but I'm not sure the proportions are great.

I actually created this around these Tashkent booties that I love but rarely wear. They're kinda hard to work into an outfit, but they're so unique & fab that I have to remember to pull them out every now & then. I'm loving how they work with my bag that I got in Venice. I got it at a tiny workshop/shop where this couple makes their own gorgeous leather handbags. I had a hard time deciding between about 10 different styles I liked, but in the end went with this mixed leather satchel. The ends are alligator & the body is an ostrich-texture lambskin. It's so luxe & lovely, and the fact that it's one-of-a-kind is super awesome.

top: American Apparel, skirt: Mango (super OLD, from when I lived in Spain 10 yrs ago!), boots: Tashkent, bag: Raggio Veneziano, necklace: 80s hand-me-down from my mom, umbrella: Mini Super