Blue Velvet

During a few recent shopping trips online several velvety items have really caught my eye. Today, Ashley was wearing the cutest flouncy jacket made of a slate-blue velvet. She styled it perfectly with colorful accessories and playful heels.

This jacket is perfect for going out, but Ashley paired it with skinny jeans and a flowy blouse to make the look more casual and work appropriate. Her necklace adds a nice yellow and green splash to brighten up the outfit and a unique snake skin, petal-like patterned wedge gives her an edge.

I'm definitely a sucker for vintage jewelry and Ashley rocked her vintage thin gold Seiko watch with a 21st century bracelet by Melinda Maria. These classic pieces along with the bold statement necklace keep her looking chic and simple. Her ring is also vintage; an heirloom from her grandmother.

The blouse has beautiful detail but doesn't distract from her jacket and accessories.

Outfit head to toe: Earrings from a boutique in Atlanta, necklace from Anthropologie, blouse from LOFT, jacket by Hinge, vintage Seiko watch, bracelet by Melinda Maria, vintage ring, jeans by Paige, and shoes by All Black.

Prints and Prince!

Fall is here and it's definitely my FAVEorite season. A chill in the air let's me break out the best accessories including tights! They make everything better, coming in unlimited patterns and colors. To keep warm I paired a plaid skirt with these brown leopard tights. This works easily because leopard can be treated as a neutral. It compliments black well with contrasting tan and coffee tones.

Leopard heels and flats are a great way to introduce some animal print into you wardrobe if you don't want to commit to tights or a bold printed dress.

To complete the look, I kept it simple and wore a deep gray thermal and added a splash of color with my yellow vintage necklace. It may be fall, but that doesn't mean color has to leave our wardrobes!

Outfit from head to toe: Free People thermal, Ann Taylor skirt, H&M tights, and Frye oxfords. Oh, and the ultimate accessory; Prince's "Purple Rain" album.

All Things Sweet

What's better than strolling through a classic candy shop and getting free toffee from the owner!? Gail was kind enough to let us take a few pictures at her store in downtown Chicago called the Confection Connection.

My look includes a top I bought on sale at Anthropologie last summer, which I haven't worn it much because it's a busy pattern. So on Friday when I was out of dresses and skirts that I wanted to wear to keep cool, I threw on this breezy blouse.

I paired it with my favorite pants from Free People that are a cotton/spandex blend that look great dressed up or casually.

But my favorite part of this outfit are the shoes and accessories. A few stacked silver and gold bracelets are simple and not too flashy, keeping the blouse the main part of the show.
The necklace is my favorite and also a gift from Anthropologie. It's hard to see in the pics, but has a pink and green crystal pedant on a gold chain and keeps me feeling sparkly every day.

The shoes are the highest platforms I've ever owned, and definitely make me tower close to 5'11" in a blush tone suede. They are definitely comfortable, but I must say I walk slowly so I don't roll my ankle and fall flat on my behind.

Outfit from head to toe: crystal pendant necklace and jungle print blouse from Anthropologie, riding pant from Free People, vintage bracelets, and shoes by Chinese Laundry.
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Fashion for Many Functions

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to have multiple plans in one night, including my friend's photo exhibit and a late night fashion show. Oh, and I had to go straight to these events from work. So what did I wear to make a look go from day to night and keep it appropriate for multiple locations?

Layers! If you're like me, you'd love to wear heels during 8 hour days, but then you are crippled with pain or develop unsightly bunions. Instead, I opt for boots, oxfords or ballet flats as my staples.

My office is a pretty casual, business casual environment so I was able to "corporatize" my silky tiered dress with a black blazer and leather boots.

For the evening look I traded the boots for my lace-up wedges, ditched the blazer and brought a feathered broach with me to pin in my hair if I felt like adding more glamor to my look.

The key here is layering and making slight edits to the outfit throughout the day. I just left the blazer and boots behind at work and went out for a night on the town!


Outfit from head to toe: necklace from Tiara Love, black blazer from H&M, sequin dress from Urban Outfitters, black boots by Geox, black wedges from Urban Outfitters, and ring from Rudy's Roundup.

"Effortless Eco Style" - GreenheartShop.org

From clothes, to home goods, Greenheart is a must for eco and trade friendly goods. I had the pleasure of being a guest stylist for Greenheart's "Look of the Week". Check out this video for a simply chic look that can take you from day to night. Thanks to the wonderful ladies at Greenheart for being so great to work with. I had a blast!


Outfit from head to toe: Gracie Dress by Ethos, earrings by Feisty Elle Feather Earrings, bracelets: available in-store only at 1911 West Division Street, Chicago ring available in-store only, belt from Ann Taylor LOFT, tights from TOPSHOP, and lace-up wedges from DSW by Levity. 

Not So Normal Neutral

In Chicago, weather dictates a lot of what we wear, and it's pretty difficult to achieve fashion and function. Hence, during the winter most of us are in boots 24/7 so that we can be prepared for the rain/slush/snow/thunderstorms. I can't remember the last time I wore any of my heels!

With boots, it's hard to pull off anything other than brown or black, but what about slate gray? I've been eying different pairs of gray boots (even though I have about ten pairs of black boots. It's a problem), but I just can't find a pair that I want to commit to. Emmy caught my attention with her gray suede riding boots with accents of brown and a perfectly coordinated neutral outfit.

Her outfit is well balance with multiple tones of gray that complement the navy stripe button down. I also like that Emmy wore a gold watch and bracelet. It contrasts with the gray rather than blending together like silver.

Love her look, and she always looks chic!

Emmy's outfit head to toe: button down by Michael Kors, skirt from J.Crew, watch by Dolce & Gabanna, tights from Banana Republic, boots by Franco Sarto

White Hot Winter

I'm probably going to ruffle many feathers when I say that I do not agree with the rule "no white after labor day". There is a way to do it and it involves creamy and non-bleached whites that will be less abrasive in the cold winter months.

My sister, Elise, and I are lucky to be spending the holidays in Florida. A light jacket is all we need to be comfortable in the perfect holiday weather, and Elise pulled off this look flawlessley. What I love about Elise's outfit is that we had two places to be in one night and by simply changing her shoes, she made the look appropriate for each destination.

Lace is all over the racks this winter, and this flesh tone crop top flattered her so well next to black crop jeans, a white blazer and her pick of black shoes.

For our Uncle's 60th birthday party, she went with studded black flats. Then for our friend's house party, she threw on sky-high snake-skin heels. Not to mention, Elise's hair was perfectly wavy with adorable pearl pins to keep her hair out of her face.

Elise's outfit head to toe: White blazer from H&M, nude lace crop-top from H&M, black jeans from PacSun, black flats from the resale shop Crossroads Trading Co., and snake-skin heels from ALDO.