Sunglasses

While reading through Lucky Magazine recently, their was a Michael Kors article about his Top 5 Fashion Must Haves.  I thought he gave the best tip about sunglasses so I decided I would pass it on.  He said "Aviators are the fastest shortcut to glamour  Put on a pair of aviators and suddenly you look like a movie star at the airport".  They look great on all face shapes and go with just about every outfit, just try on a few different sizes to find the ones that work for you. Michael suggested making it look like you borrowed your boyfriends, that really sexes it up! They help hide a late night out the next morning.  Or they can help you look cool as you drop your kids off at school in your sweats (don't judge...its very early!)  I have a thing about mixing gold and silver accessories, like necklaces and belts and such.  So I bought a pair with gold trim and silver trim.  It really does work!  I always feel significantly cooler wearing my aviators, or avs for us really cool folks.  I mean how cool do Jon and I look here?  (This was 5 years ago...so ahead of our time!)

Here are some pairs that I found!

These are from the Nordstrom Juniors department for only $12.  Now for most people, these won't look like you too your boyfriends because they are a little smaller.  But I have a smaller, narrow head so they work perfect.  They come in both golf and silver.  The silver ones have mirrored lenses!

These are from the grown up ladies department at Nordstroms!  A little more of a splurge...from my man Michael himself!

Amazon has tons of choices!  The only risk with an online store is that they might not be exactly perfect for your face.  These ones are Steve Madden so I would be willing to bet they are sold at most department stores.

So go on...buy some avs...be glamorous...be a movie star!  I know I am!!!

Wine Tasting and A Fur Vest

We spent this past weekend in Traverse City, with our awesome friends Gil and Sue, wine tasting up and down each peninsula!  I think we hit 7 or 8 wineries in total and had some awesome wine...and cider...and brandy!  (I thought it burned but the other three liked it so much that Gil and Sue bought a bottle!)  The views from the wineries are so gorgeous with the trees starting to change color and the water all around.  But sadly, the weather was pretty gross the whole weekend.  It was never over 55 degrees and rained on and off all weekend.  I do not think I was dressed warm enough the entire weekend, but I did really like this outfit I came up with so I wore it anyways ;-)  Forgive the poses...I am working on this modeling thing!

 

The key piece in the outfit is the fur vest.  I bought it a couple years ago so its not available anymore, but I did find some similar ones at reasonable prices.  This one from Nordstrom is on sale for $79 and its a great taupe color.

This one by Dollhouse is at Macy's for $60.  It zips instead of tying or hooking closed.  Its has a cool, funky vibe to it!  P.S.  LOVE the layering look in this photo from the website.

The blouse under my vest is a silk blouse from Victoria's Secret.  They have it in so many colors so if the blush pink isn't your style, they have reds, blues, and neutrals.  I love the blush color because it works great with everything in my closet!  Its $80 right now, but they have free shipping.

My new fall addition is the booties I have on in the picture.  I blogged about these style boots before...they are so huge right now!  I found mine at Marshalls for $30!  They have them everywhere you shop right now, from under $50 to over $200, depending on your budget.  I found some on Zappos for $50 by Gabriella Rocha.  I haven't worn this brand before but the reviews sound pretty decent for the price.

Black skinny jeans are so easy to find.  I have blogged about them a few times so I won't go into too many details again.  But I have to repeat...fit is key so find some that work for your body type.  And for skinny jeans, buy them really tight, like borderline too tight because they will stretch as you wear them.

Happy Fall Everyone!!!

Wedding Style

In honor of tomorrow being the 4th Anniversary being married to the man of my dreams, I thought I would dedicate this blog to our wedding.  I was determined to make it a wedding to remember and it was!  It was a very unique wedding and that is exactly how we wanted it.  I wouldn't change a thing.  It was the best day of my life and I will always celebrate it to the fullest...eating pizza with my husband!  (Our wedding day was 5 years to the exact date of our first date...how frickin cool is that?)  My life is completely different now than it was when we got married, but in the best of ways.

And my style has evolved since then too, but as I look back, some of it was pretty rockin!  I read that Eva Longoria wore white the whole week before her wedding and I loved the idea so I wore white everyday that week.  And I found the most perfect white sheath dress for the rehearsal.  (Thank you to Janelle for the rehearsal veil too!)

(How stylish is my dad in his Tommy Bahama!)

My other unique style choice was pink flats under my wedding dress instead of wedding shoes.  I found them on the clearance rack at Nordstrom for $50.  They were the most comfortable shoes I have ever had and I wore them til they literally fell apart!  You can see them here as we rode the chair lift up...yes we took the chair lift to the top of Crystal Mountain for the ceremony!  Even all our 80 something year old Grandmas!

And our greatest discovery for the wedding was our clear tent for the reception!  I will always love this tent!

"Once in awhile, right in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives us a fairy tale."  And we lived happily ever after!  I love you baby!

Leopard shoes!

For those who don't know, it was New York Fashion Week last week.  Someday I will be able to sit in those tents and watch the new collections rock the runway.  But for now, I just look at hundreds of pictures online.  Besides the looks from the different collections, there is also tons of pictures online of what everyone was wearing to attend the shows.  And so many of them were bloggers!  How cool is that!  I decided to take my inspiration for this blog entry from one of those who was attending the shows.  I love this look for two reasons...its so simple to put together and I LOVE leopard shoes.  I have actually been eyeing this Jessica Simpson pair for a few weeks so I decided I will base the outfit around the shoes, just like in this photo from NTFW.

Here are the Jessica Simpson heels that I coveting.  They are on sale at Lord and Taylor for $56 with free shipping if you buy them online.  (I think its a sign I should buy them!)

I found this really sexy red lace top at Victoria's Secret for $50.  Its a bit more fitted than the one in the above picture, so if you like the looser fitting look, just order this one size bigger.  I also really like that this top is a darker red, which is so big right now for fall.  I would also layer this lace top with a simple black or red cami underneath, unless you are headed out to the club.  A way to get more from this look is to simply add a blazer over top if the weather is getting too cold.  The blazer is also a good way to take this look from day to night.  Just take the blazer off after work and let the sexiness of the shirt take over!

Black skinny jeans are everywhere!  You just need to find the right pair for your shape and budget.  I just found a really great pair by J Brand on ebay that I am so excited about.  But I know ebay jean shopping is not for everyone :-)  The Gap always has a great variety because they come in petite and curvy, and they always have them on sale or clearance.  My favorite skinny jeans are from Armani Exchange.  They are $98, which sounds high, but you will get so much use out of these for years to come.  And they are actually very comfortable.  If you are willing to splurge, Nordstrom has a a great selection of designer jeans for $150-$200.

 


 I found a great little cross body purse to complete the look from Macy's for only $26.

Have fun!!!

Vera Wang Princess

So, I went on a little bit of a shopping bender tonight.  Now mind you, most of the things I bought were gifts for other people.  And I did a bit of consignment shopping (which I will blog about at a later date when I can get photos.)  But I wanted to let everyone know about this great new collection I discovered at Kohls.  I was looking for a gift for my 11 year old cousin and all the clothes in the girls department were too babyish.  So I wandered over to the juniors and found the Vera Wang Princess Collection!  I have to tell you, every single piece in it is so adorable!  I was so over stimulated and just kept picking up different things I liked.  Now most of it is too young for me, but if you are shopping for a teen or preteen or even low twenties, its perfect.  And I have to admit, a couple of the blazers I was really tempted to get for myself :-)

Here are some of my favorites!  You can find them all at Kohls stores or online here.  Its 55% off right now! And you can see in the pictures how easy it is to mix and match all the pieces.  I'm a fan!!!

Oxblood

Doesn't that title sound sexy and intriguing?  Well its the new color for fall!  Its pretty close to maroon and burgundy so you can go with those too.  Its been on everyone from New York Fashion Week so I decided to do a little scouting and find us some oxblood that we can work into our wardrobes for a decent price.  Here are some of my favorites!

The best website for variety and price is Asos.com.  They have so many options!  I love this whole outfit.  It encompasses so many trends in one look...peplum, Jaquard, cropped trousers, ankle strap heels, and oxblood!  The pants are only $69.  The only downside is they are no longer available in small sizes.

This scarf is only $20!  You could wear this with anything, any color and it will work from fall to spring so you will get so much use out of it.  It's a subtle way to work the new trendy color.

You could also go with a cool pair of patterned tights in oxblood.  I found these on sale at Piperlime for only $15.  They would look great with a pencil skirt or dress.  

I bought a very similar top to this in black...but now I think I need to go back and get it in red...i mean oxblood!  Its from Nordstrom by Lush for $48.  Another option is to wear the black version with oxblood skinny pants or skirt.  I will get on that and take a picture if I find some cool pants in my size! 

Now don't forget the shoes!  These flats from Nordstrom by Report are so awesome! And they are on sale right now for only $50!  Cap toe shoes are so in right now and these are cap toe with sparkles!!!

Or how about these studded oxblood heels???  They are from Topshop and are $100.

Bringing the Midwest to Dallas

Hello everyone!  Can you believe its already September?  While I am sad to see the summer end, I am so pumped for football season!!!  We have season tickets to the Lions and plan on attending as many Michigan football games as possible.  Which is what brought me to Dallas this past weekend.  Sadly, the football game was the low point of the trip.  But the rest of the weekend was spent touring the Dallas/Ft.Worth area and enjoying lots of good food with my husband and in-laws.  One thing about Dallas during Labor Day weekend...its HOT!  I mean, I don't think I have ever been that hot in my whole life HOT!  Which made getting dressed to spend the day in 105 degree heat a bit challenging but I took some photos of the results to share with you all.  I basically just stuck to shorts and tank tops but I tried to get creative with them anyways.

I found this tank by Patterson J. Kincaid at a TJ Maxx for only $30!  I took the bottom picture so you could see the back because its the best part...there is one panel of black lace and one panel of the blue fabric and they criss cross.  I have been searching for a similar one but I can't find one with the lace back like this one.  I did find a couple options from Nordstrom's that would work.  One is by Halogen for $59 and the other is also Halogen on sale for only $24.90.  The shorts are from Express, last summer,but they have a similar pair right now for $59.  I still haven't found a way to wear these in the colder weather, but I am working on it!  

Side note - this photo was taken at Southfork Ranch where they film the show Dallas.  This was the first time I wore this outfit so hopefully it is as cool as I think it is!  This black tank top is one of my favorites.  I got it at Express a couple years ago and wear it all the time.  It works as a cami under low cut dresses and tops.  I wear it often with my fitted blazer as one of my go-to outfits. (I'll take pictures next time I wear that.)  This time I wore it with my vest because its a little low cut boobalicious and it was daytime so I thought the vest would make it more casual, less club.  I found one like it at Victoria's Secret for $24.50.  The vest is really old and I can't remember where its from.  I found a very similar one at Macy's by Bar III for $50.  The shorts are from last summer at the Loft.  Its a tough time to shop for specific shorts, but if you are flexible you can get great deals on them right now.  I found a cool pair on Piperlime by Free People on sale for $34. They also have a ton of jean shorts in every color on sale right now.  

This dress is SO fun!  I found it at Dillards on clearance last spring and couldn't resist. I also wanted to zoom in on the shoes here to show the mixed patterns with peacock and snakeskin.  The shoes are neutral enough that when worn like this, they make my legs look longer and the dress still takes center stage.  I looked everywhere but its no longer available.  I did find this dress, also by Kensie, that would work perfect with this look and be a great transition piece for colder weather because of the sleeves.  It would look great belted with the snakeskin heels, but also with some brown tights and knee high boots.  I can't find these heels with the bow but I found a really cool pair by N.Y.L.A on Piperlime for $79.  


Hope you enjoyed my modeling! :-)  I promise to make these a more regular thing on here.