New Joe Fresh Pointed Toe Flats

Tags

black and navy, J.Crew, Joe Fresh, pointed-toe flats

The other day one of my best friends was traveling back from New York and she texted me a picture of a pair of pointed-toe flats that reminded her of me, saying that they were on sale for only $20 and asking if I wanted her to snag me a pair.

Obviously. By the way, what a great friend huh?

They were a great find since my favorite Nine West grey pointed-toe flats are very tired looking and definitely will not last the entire season. And they definitely don’t look like they were $20. So, of course I just had to wear them the very next day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Top: J.Crew v-neck tissue tee. Skirt: J.Crew. Shoes: Joe Fresh.

I love the black, dark blue and grey color combo, and I kept the scarf on most of the day for a blast of color. Also there is a little bit of dark blue in the scarf that is difficult to see in the photograph, but it tied all of the colors together. Also, the flats have a little bow on the outside of the toe, which adds a cute feminine touch.

I’m curious to check out the Joe Fresh store, which opened this past Fall in New York. The flats were a great deal and they have much more structure than I expected them to. I’m not sure what their other merchandise is like, but these flats were definitely a great find.

Have you been to Joe Fresh or do you own anything from there? How do you like the clothes and styles?

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Stripes & Cheetah Print

Tags

black and brown, cheetah, cheetah print, H&M, J.Crew, Nine West, patent leather, stripes

I recently rediscovered my J.Crew patent leather cheetah-print belt and I’ve shamelessly been trying to incorporate it into every outfit. The other day I was about to throw on my plain chestnut brown skinny belt to hold up my black jeans, when I realized the cheetah belt would add much more of an unexpected statement into my outfit.

Top: H&M cotton, black and white, 3/4 sleeves, striped. Belt: J.Crew patent leather cheetah print. Pants: Black J.Crew ankle-length toothpick jeans. Shoes: Nine West grey pointed-toe flats. Ring: David Yurman black onyx. Bracelets: gold, vintage.

While this outfit would have been a nice black and brown combo with the brown belt, the cheetah-print belt is much more unexpected and adds a little something extra to an otherwise typical outfit. I love that the cheetah print is similar to a polka dot, which gives the outfit that same “is she wearing stripes and polka dots?!” surprise question as the “is she wearing black and navy?!” question. It’s unexpected, but it totally works. And, since cheetah-print is so en vogue right now, it subtly makes the outfit more trendy and current.

Also, I can’t put into words why I opted for my grey Nine West flats over my black with gold Tory Burch flats, which would have matched perfectly, but the grey flats seemed to be the unexpected choice to go with the unexpected belt.

Finally, I didn’t wear a necklace (only my little diamond) because I didn’t want anything to compete with or detract from the belt. I wanted the belt to be the center of the outfit.

This outfit will definitely be worn many more times, as it has what I strive for in every outfit: a perfect balance between going with the trends, but in an unexpected and unique way.

In what unique ways do you wear cheetah print?

Harem Pants

Tags

black and brown, harem pants, J.Crew, tory burch, urban outfitters

When harem pants first came back onto the scene I wasn’t quite sure what to think of them. Then over the summer I saw a co-worker wear them so chicly that my interest piqued and I became inspired to dabble in the trend. She wore black harem pants with a loose-fitting green top, obviously tucked in, flats and a high bun.

A few months ago I came across a pair of harem pants at Urban Outfitters and they just happened to fit perfectly. I think that unquestionably the key to wearing harem pants is that they must fit perfectly. This trend is not one of those where you can get away with trying it out just for fun even if it doesn’t look perfect. Also, I think that black is the safest way to start with this trend, simply because they won’t stand out quite as much and because black is slimming and harem pants aren’t always known for their slimming factor.

Pants: Black Urban Outfitters harem pants (with tie belt). Top: Brown J.Crew v-neck tissue tee. Necklaces: J.Crew ‘Majesty’ necklace and J.Crew pearl and gold chain necklace (doubled). Shoes: Tory Burch black leather flats with gold. Ring: David Yurman black onyx.

I found that I can’t pull off the harem pants with a loose fitting top because its simply too unflattering. However, I love them with a tight fitting top and actually find them to be flattering, as they give my body an hourglass shape. I haven’t tried the pants with heels yet, but I think they look great with flats.

Overall, I’m satisfied with my purchase because the pants are a trendy twist on the traditional black dress pant. They can be worn for dressier situations, but keep the look young, trendy and chic.

Have you experimented with harem pants? How do you wear them?

Lace

Tags

feminine, gold accents, gold zipper, J.Crew, Jessica Simpson shoes, Lace, Paige jeans, Zara

One of the major trends this year is lace. It’s everywhere. However, we all know lace can be difficult to wear. Often times is can look too bridal, and other times it can look a bit too young or too conservative.

However, I also think there’s something extremely sexy about lace, which is why its perfect pairing of conservative and sexy draws me to it. Not wanting to jump on the bandwagon and buy the first lace top I found, I’ve held out for a while; but, I recently purchased my first lace item and I’m very excited about the places it can go.

Top: Zara, dark grey lace with gold zipper in back

Under top: Black Velvet-brand cotton, 3/4 sleeves with scoop in the back

Necklace: J.Crew ‘Majesty’ necklace, black

Jeans: Paige

Shoes: Jessica Simpson black patent leather heels

First of all, I love the juxtaposition of conservative from the front and sexy from the back. And we all know I’m all for gold accents, so I die for the gold zipper detail in the back. The top comes without anything underneath it, so I wore a plain black top underneath it and by pure luck it happened to match the neckline in the front and back perfectly. And, since I had the black peeking out underneath the dark grey, I chose to wear my black J.Crew ‘Majesty’ necklace.

Also, even though I claim to only wear gold, I do own two silver pieces of jewelry (three if you count the David Yurman ring that has silver and gold). One piece is a J.Crew sparkly necklace that is sure to crop up in an outfit soon (it’s perfect for the holidays). Second is a silver Tiffany cuff, which I wore with this outfit because I think grey is the only color with which silver looks decent. Of course, I wore it next to my vintage gold bangle.

I excited to wear this top in the future. I want to try to wear it with only a black bra or bandeau underneath, but I need to find a way to keep everything else in that outfit uber conservative.

Do you have any suggestions on how to wear the top differently?

Soft Prints

Tags

ballerina bun, feminine, green, impressionism, J.Crew, pointed-toe flats, simple, soft, watercolor, Zara

After rediscovering my J.Crew watercolor printed skirt, I was inspired by the soft colors and impressionistic look. Even though I’ve been on a huge black, navy and brown kick inspired by Fall recently, I decided to go for another softer look.

Top: J.Crew silk watercolor (from Factory store). Jeans: J.Crew ankle-length toothpick. Sweater: J.Crew beige wool v-neck cardigan. Shoes: Zara green suede pointed-toe flats. Ring: David Yurman black onyx.

I opted for very simple jewelry–pearl studs, simple diamond necklace on a gold chain and everyday gold bracelets–and my hair in a high ballerina bun to compliment the simple, feminine look of the outfit. I think heavy or chunky necklace would have offset the softness in the print on the top. Even if it matched, it would have looked off.

I chose to wear my green Zara flats (which I adore–pointed-toe flats always look so sophisticated) because I thought the outfit was a little bland. Even though I chose simple jewelry on purpose, it still felt incomplete. Although there is no green in the top to directly match the flats, the shade of green is in the same color family as the shades of purple and yellow, so the two pieces compliment each other and match in the same outfit. The flats added the perfect pop of color to the outfit and made it look complete.

How do you create soft, simple, feminine looks?

White Denim

Tags

black and navy, J.Crew, Rachel Zoe, The Zoe Report, white denim, white jeans

I’ve never had strong feelings about the “no white pants after Labor Day” rule. Generally, I think if you can make it work, then go for it.

Personally, I haven’t experimented much with white denim simply because I only own one pair of white jeans and they very casual and therefore limiting. However, found an article on The Zoe Report about how to wear white denim during the winter months and was inspired to give it a try.

Jeans: J.Crew bootcut, slightly destroyed
Belt: J.Crew patent leather tortoise
Top: J.Crew black v-neck tissue shirt
Shoes: Black leather Tory Burch flats with gold
Ring: David Yurman black onyx
Scarf: Navy blue pashmina

I chose to pair the white denim with black, navy and brown because I wanted the dark colors to winter-ize the ensemble so that I wouldn’t look seasonally confused. I thought if I wore lighter colors it would look like I wore a summer outfit during the winter, which is definitely not the right way to wear white denim during the off-season.

Clearly I’m still in a black and navy state of mind.

Also, I took The Zoe Report’s advice and threw on the patent leather tortoise belt, which is another forgotten gem that I must add into my rotation.

 

And, to top it all off I threw on my grey wool double breasted J.Crew blazer.

I must admit, I did notice a number of stares throughout the day which I obviously attribute to my wearing white pants after Labor Day, but I thought it was funny to see more than a handful of people so surprised.

What do you think? Would you wear white denim after Labor Day? How would you wear it?

Forgotten Gems

Tags

Fall, feminine, green, impressionism, J.Crew, Oscar Wilde, printed skirt

Like most of you, I’m sure, there are certain items in my wardrobe that I gravitate towards and certain items that slowly get pushed farther back into the closet. Yesterday while rifling through my skirts I found one of those lonely, forgotten pieces and, to my excitement, it was a perfectly adorable J.Crew silk “watercolor” skirt. Since purchasing this skirt over a year ago I’ve only worn it twice, so finding it yesterday was like finding a brand new skirt! WIN.

I don’t know how this skirt became a forgotten gem because I absolutely adore the print. I’m a huge fan of impressionist art (I could spend DAYS in le Musée d’Orsay), so I love the emerald greens and deep purples blended with lighter shades of green, off-white and light pink. It reminds me of a quaint English garden from an Oscar Wilde play. (Hence why I had to wear the pearl necklace even though I’ve been over-wearing it recently.)

I paired the skirt with my green cotton Ella Moss three-quarters sleeve top, J.Crew pearl and gold chain necklace, David Yurman black onyx ring, my everyday gold bangle and gold links bracelet (passed down from my grandmothers), black leather with gold Tory Burch flats, and a high ballerina bun.

Last year I remember pairing this skirt with a black top, but I was surprised at how well the green on green combo worked. I have a whole slew of J.Crew printed skirts and I generally wear them with solid black or white tops to make the skirt the center of the outfit. However, I think the green top, as opposed to black or white, complements the skirt in a way that makes this pairing more of an outfit,in that the entire ensemble looks more complete than it would with a simple black or white top. If I had worn black tights, a black top would have completed the look, but thanks to these glorious warm New England Fall days, I was able to go bare-legged and experiment with other colors.

Black, Navy and Brown

Tags

black, black and brown, black and navy, brown, J.Crew, navy, OPI, Pierre Hardy, tory burch

Ever since I wrote my post about black & navy, I’ve been in a serious dark neutrals moment. See two recent outfits:

Top:
Zara navy blue sheer button down with waist tie.

Pants:
J.Crew black ankle-length toothpick jeans

Shoes:
Grey Nine West flats

Jacket:
J.Crew grey double-breasted wool blazer with black buttons

Also:

Top: J.Crew black silk sleeveless with asymmetrical ruffles. Sweater: Black J.Crew wool v-neck. Pants: J.Crew chestnut brown ankle-length toothpick corduroys. Shoes: Black leather Tory Burch flats with gold. Necklace: J.Crew pearl with gold chain (wrapped twice).

Even after posting about a week ago that I was into my dark red OPI nail polish, I changed to my Winter go-to Midnights in Moscow by OPI (a dark brown).

Then, I came across these gorgeous Pierre Hardy suede boots (pictured right) that sum up my love for black, navy & brown together.  The reason why these boots are a perfect combo of the 3 colors is because the light brown stripeperfectly serves as the accent color in the predominantly black and navy boot, almost as if to say, “yes, black and navy are here on purpose.” Also, notice the brown stripe separates navy from black to ensure the distinction between the two colors stands out.

Oh the places I could go with these boots.

What’s your favorite way to wear black, navy and brown?

A Night on the Town

Tags

black, Black and white, classic, gold accents, J.Crew, pearls, polka dots

Lately my evening wear has been inspired by classic, romantic and feminine black and white photographs, like this one:

Photo credit: pushthemovement.tumblr.com

So, for a night on the town, I chose a relatively plain black ensemble with some classically inspired jewelry.

Top: Black with beige polka dots H&M semi-sheer button-down. Skirt: Black H&M. Shoes: Black suede platform pumps from Target. Necklace: J.Crew black “Majesty” necklace circa Fall/Winter 2009. I also wrapped a long gold-tinted pearl strand around my right wrist for a bracelet, with my black onyx David Yurman ring on my right hand and an antique red cocktail ring (hard to see in the picture) on my left hand. I also carried my new J.Crew envelope shoulder bag with the gold chain strap.

I always hesitate to wear a tight black bandage-style skirt because when worn incorrectly they can look exceedingly tacky. However, they key to wearing skirts like this one is to pair it with more conservative pieces. The loose fitting, three-quarters sleeve top balanced out the tightness and shortness of the skirt, and my jewelry gave the outfit a more feminine and timeless feel.

My goal in nighttime outfits is to look sexy and feminine, while keeping the look as close to classic and conservative as I can get away with. Balance is always the key.

What rules do you live by for nighttime outfits?

Black & Navy

Tags

black, black and navy, J.Crew, navy

We’ve all been told that blasphemous phrase before: Black and navy don’t match. OOOH it pains me to just to look at it. Ever since I first became interested in style I have loved black and navy together. And I mean LOVE. Separately they are two of my favorite colors to wear. Together, they are divine.

Of course, not all black and navy outfits match. Men especially need to be careful with the two colors.

The key to wearing black and navy and making it look bold, daring and chic (read: not an accident) is to include accent colors in your outfit. Accent colors for black and navy outfits include white, grey and brown (all shades). The accent cannot be your shoes; it must be somewhere central so that people can see it and see that yes, you wore black and navy on purpose. 

Allow me to elaborate:

Top: H&M, black and white stripes. Scarf: a rich navy blue. Jeans: J.Crew ankle length toothpick jeans in midnight wash (circa Fall 2009). Belt: J.Crew skinny natural brown leather with gold buckle. Necklace: J.Crew pearl & gold chain. Flats: Tory Burch black leather with gold. Ring: David Yurman black onyx.

In this outfit, the white pearls and gold chain are the accent to the navy scarf with the black and white top. Yes, I probably could have gotten away with wearing the outfit sans necklace since there is white in the top, but it helps tie all of the colors together. In my opinion, this outfit would be incomplete without the necklace. Additionally, the thin brown belt is an accent piece because it breaks up the monotony of the navy scarf blending into the navy jeans. Finally, the outfit is wholly tied together by, once again, gold accents in the necklace, belt and flats.

Finally, to achieve the perfect harmony that can only be found in outfits featuring black, navy, brown, white and grey in an outfit at the same time, I threw on my grey J.Crew double-breasted, wool blazer (black buttons also help tie outfit together).

Remember, there will always be haters who will try to tell you that black and navy don’t match. Quick anecdote: I’ll never forget a moment during my first summer job in high school that my coworker and new friend who I still look up to and whose style I still adore to this day asked me, “are you wearing black and navy?” in a disbelieving tone that sounded more like “you are not wearing black and navy right  now.” I was wearing a short black cotton Chloe trapeze dress with a navy J.Crew Jackie cardigan, navy with white trim Jack Rogers sandals and the same pearl and gold chain J.Crew necklace pictured to the left. I was slightly taken aback as this was the first and still the only time I’ve ever been called out for wearing black and navy. I looked at her and just said “yes, because it matches.” We had a little debate, myself rattling out some version of the above argument, but I could tell she remained skeptical. Fast forward five years and last week when I tweeted “I boldly wear black & navy” she retweeted it. #win

Black and navy can and do match. Beyond that, when worn correctly, they are the ultimate embodiment of bold, daring and timelessly chic.

Expect many more black & navy outfits to come.