A Little Way to Add Bling to Your Day…

Can I please tell you how excited I am about the new J.Crew jewels?  I love a good piece (or five) of bling…and the fall J.Crew collection does not disappoint.  I also found some great pieces at J.Crew Factory and thought they were the perfect combo to add some fun to this simple shift dress from H&M.  I love navy with this purply-indigo color as a segue to fall; make sure to check out my inspiration board on Thursday for more ideas on pairing these colors together!  A few of my favorite J.Crew jewels for fall are pictured below…

Also, speaking of H&M, how exciting is it that their online shopping site has finally launched?!?  In honor of the launch, H&M is hosting a 50 States of Fashion Event where fashionistas can share their personal style in H&M, apparel represent their state, and win some fabulous prizes!  I would so love it if you voted for my look above (the dress is from H&M).  You can vote here.

Shop the post:

Dress: H&M (color no longer available, similar style here and here) | Necklace: J.Crew Factory | Bracelet: J.Crew Factory | Watch: Juicy Couture | Shoes: Steve Madden | Bag: Kate Spade, fabric no longer available, same style here and similar silver bag here)

Also, don’t forget to enter the J.Crew gift card giveaway here!

Bring on the bling…

Crystal Floral Garland Necklace

Pearl Twisted Hammock Necklace

Crystal Shimmer Bracelet

Martha Bracelet

Crystal Shimmer Earrings

Flower Drop Earrings

Chic of the Week + A Giveaway…

I’m so excited to share this week’s Chic of the Week, Ashley K, as she embodies J.Crew style in a way I only wish I could.  Jenna Lyons, meet your biggest fan.  I’m not kidding….I’ve seen Ashley hyperventilate in the office over a pop up J.Crew sale.  I mean, who else would not only do great work for you but also send you texts, instant messages, and emails regarding a new J.Crew sale?  Talk about upward management.

Keep reading to learn more about Ashley’s style.

What is your profession? I am an Executive Analyst where I support our Chief Strategy Officer with project management and analytics to accelerate cost reduction in the healthcare industry.

What is your favorite thing about this outfit? My mom used to bring this purse to work in the 80s. I like to add pieces from  different eras in to add something special to an outfit.

What is your go-to work look? I stick to the basics during the work week… pencil skirts, pearls, with a bit of bright color mixed in

If you could only keep five items in your wardrobe, what would they be? Dark skinny jeans, a statement necklace that goes with everything, pearl earrings, brightly-colored flats, and a printed top

Describe yourself in 12 words or less.  Go! Quirky, sincere, adventurous, driven,  and compassionate

Also, in honor of Ashley’s love (obsession?) with J.Crew, I’m giving away a $25 J.Crew gift card to one lucky reader!  Head over to Fashion Flirtation to enter via Rafflecopter and check out the group giveaway.

Shop the post!

Dress:  J.Crew (found in vintage shop!), similar here and here | Jacket: J.Crew Factory | Shoes: Cole Haan | Necklace:  J.Crew | Purse: Vintage Dooney & Bourke (find vintage bags here)

Want more Chic Inspiration? Follow Along!

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An Outfit + Delicious DIY Vanilla Iced Coffee

I like to fancy myself a morning person; even on the weekends I tend to wake up early and can usually jump out of bed ready for the day. But to keep that energy up, I must have coffee.  I don’t think I’ve gone a day without coffee for almost 10 years.  And as much as I love a hot pot of coffee in the morning, the Kansas summers are just way too humid for this.  Hence, I switched to Starbucks iced coffees; they’re a delicious and cool way to get my caffeine consumption without adding to the unbearable heat and humidity we’re experiencing.  If you’re an every-day coffee drinker like me; however, you know Starbucks can get expensive (and fattening!) depending what you get.  To alleviate this issue (and save more of my hard-earned money for the items on my wishlist), I devised a delicious DIY iced coffee that is easy to make on a busy morning, transportable to work, inexpensive, and super-low in calories.  Plus, it doesn’t have too sweet a flavor and the coffee-flavored ice cubes keep it from getting too watery.  What will you buy with the money you save?

xoxo, k

Shop the post!

Dress: J. Crew (sold out, similar here) | Top: J. Crew | Shoes: Kate Spade (old, similar here) | Watch: Anne Klein | Bracelets: Tiffany & Co | Bag: Rebecca Minkoff

Want More Chic Inspiration? Follow Along!

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Wonderful Wednesday: Summer Sorbet & Lucite

I was inspired by all of the summery, sorbet colors and the lucite trend during a recent shopping trip this weekend, especially the orange/coral and yellow blend.  These typically bold colors look soft, fresh, and feminine in more muted, sorbet-style tones.  Speaking of shopping, I also couldn’t believe how many stores had fall things out already!  It’s only the beginning of July and I’m already seeing berries and hunter greens filling prime retail locations in stores.  Not that I’m complaining; fall really is my favorite season and I love fall clothes.  The greens and berries were beautiful and a nice change from the recent orange, navy, and browns that have been popular recently.  Looks like I’ll be starting my fall wishlist soon 🙂  For now, though, I’ll enjoy a bevy of sorbet colors and (hopefully) some milder Kansas City weather.

Shop the post!

Hair ties: J.Crew | Top: Banana Republic | Skirt: Nordstrom (on sale!) | Earrings: BaubleBar | Nail Polish: Chanel | Shoes: Windsor (en route to me!) | Bag: Tory Burch (on sale!)

Bargain Hunting…

M and I hit up the Legends Outlet mall over the weekend to pick up some Father’s Day gifts (and maybe some gifts for me, too 😉 ). In the past, M has frequently tried to “hide” certain stores from me; for example, until this weekend I had NO IDEA there was a J. Crew Factory store in Kansas City! I only found out after randomly looking up the closest store location online and saw that there was one within 50 miles…hmmm. Similarly, M also told me that Halls, an amazing department store on the Plaza owned by the Hallmark Company (similar to Saks) was a giant Hallmark Store. And yes, for two years I believed him. It wasn’t until Fashion’s Night Out last year that a friend set me straight.

Anyways, I was so excited to go to the J. Crew Factory and the Off-Saks. Off-Saks is full of great finds; you can find these here and here.

After a successful shopping trip for both my dad and me, we spent the rest of the day getting ready for the week ahead. I’ll post some of my purchases tomorrow 🙂 Stay tuned!

xoxo,

k

Dress: The Webster Miami (for Target) | Wedges: Michael Kors | Bag: Louis Vuitton | Bracelet: Apparent Project 

Weekend Chic: TGIF

In honor of the weekend I’m sharing three looks from my favorite weekend activities: brunch, laying by the pool, and a date night at the local wine bar.  I’m at least going to lay by the pool tomorrow; hopefully this will help my pasty pale skin! I guess next week’s pictures will tell!  Tonight we’re opening a bottle of wine at home and sitting outside enjoying a beautiful Kansas summer evening.  Now that we have a wedding next year we’re trying to save a little extra money, so it will be an at-home wine bar this weekend rather than a night at Cafe Provence.  If you’re looking for a good brunch place in Kansas City, we went to Story last Sunday and had an AMAZING brunch.  I would definitely recommend checking it out.

What are your plans this weekend?

xoxo, K

Brunch:
Dress: Lilly Pulitzer | Shoes: Sperry | Purse: Kate Spade | Necklace: C. Wonder

Wine Bar:
Top: Lilly Pulitzer | Clutch: Clare Vivier | Capris: Joe Fresh | Heels: Aldo

Beach:
Swimsuit: J.Crew | Hat: J. Crew | Flip flops: Coach | Sunnies: Prada  | Cover up: J. Crew Factory

A Retro Feeling

A summer afternoon is the perfect time to have a little retro fun with fashion.  I was watching some old movies and was inspired to wear the scarf and dress up a little to pick up the keys to my new apartment.  So exciting!  More details on that later – back to the clothes.

I found the scarf for $1 in a vintage shop and have worn it with lots of different outfits and in my hair, around my neck, tied to a purse, etc.  I think scarfs are a cheap (sometimes) and easy way to brighten up your outfit, so I have a lot of them.  As far as the rest of the outfit, I recently unearthed all of my spring clothes that had been packed away and have been waiting for a nice day to wear this halter.  I debated between navy high-waisted shorts and the skirt – they would both have been cute – but it just seemed like a skirt kind of day.  I really wanted M to have a little 1950’s inspired picnic with me… clearly that didn’t happen.  So there you have it.  Side note: I was going to wear cream and nude wedges, but the heel was so high that with those plus the short skirt and halter top, I looked borderline hooker.  Be careful of lengths and heel heights.

Thanks for reading! I hope you are inspired to wear some retro fashion.  For more ideas, check out some of my favorite movies: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Charade, Pillow Talk, and Funny Face.

Top: Lily Pulitzer

Skirt: J. Crew

Wedges: Kate Spade

Clutch: Clare Vivier

Scarf: Vintage

Sunnies: Kate Spade

Spring Chic

Good morning!  I’m guest posting this post over at Cbiji Collection today as well and would definitely recommend checking it out!  Christine’s blog showcases her beautiful jewelry collection which is not only trendy but also budget-friendly.

I wanted to talk specifically today though about mixing silver and gold — usually a big fashion “no”.  I, however, like to break the rules and have a little more fun with my outfits, plus, when the shoes or bag you want to wear with your outfit has gold hardware and the jewelry you want to wear is silver, it’s time to come up with a solution.

To mix silver and gold, in this outfit I started with the chain link necklace that uses both of them.  I think the best way to mix these two tones in an outfit is to have a piece that brings both of them together, and then let everything else work from there. For example, the hardware on my shoes and bag is gold, but my bracelets and belt are silver.  The necklace kind of brings them all together, right?

The other trick is to wear an outfit that would look good with either gold or silver.  I thought robin’s egg blue and pink looked great with both — so I combined them for a pop of color and went with an ivory tank and ivory shoes to keep the outfit from being too much.  I wore this to look at wedding venues (just got engaged!) and it was perfect for a mild, 70 degree day at home touring venues and playing with my puppy.

If you’d like to shop the post, I’ve included links below.

xoxo

Cardigan: J.Crew

Skirt: J.Crew

Top: Kate Spade

Sandals: Tory Burch

Clutch: Clare Vivier

Earrings: Tiffany & Co.

Necklace: Charming Charlie

Bracelets: Tiffany & Co. here, here, similar here and Gap (pink bracelet)

Weekend Chic: Country Club Plaza

M and I had a busy weekend working around the house (inside and out), running errands, and spending time with family. We planted flowers, weeded, and got some much-needed spring cleaning out of the way.

One of our favorite places in Kansas City is Country Club Plaza; I love the great shopping (is anything better than shopping at Halls, plus the Kate Spade and J.Crew stores are right there too) and M loves the restaurants. The weather was beautiful Saturday so we soaked it up after the week of rain and took some time to relax and explore as a reward for getting all our chores done – thank goodness!

Top: J. Crew Factory (old)
Capris: Kate Spade
Sandals: Tory Burch
Bag: Marc Jacobs
Jewelry: Tiffany & Co
Belt: Target
Sunglasses: Kate SpadeHappy Friday – hope you have a great weekend! If you’re a KC gal, go enjoy some great weather and shopping on the Plaza.

Office Chic: Channeling Chanel, LBD Series Part Two

It’s back…the infamous little black dress (last seen here).  I had some big meetings today where I needed an extra boost of confidence, so I channeled Chanel with my LBD and layers of black & white.  The secret to pulling off an all-black look?  Make sure you have different textures and opacities with your clothes.  Here, I paired my LBD with a stretchy black and white jacket and sheer tights with polka dots.  I kept my makeup simple except for a high-impact red lip.

I’m traveling this week and have limited purses (a carry-on will only hold so much), but if I could have included this gold + black Leonardo Delfuoco bag, that would have really set the outfit off.

Dress: Banana Republic, similar here

Jacket: J. Crew, similar here and here

Shoes: Tory Burch

Tights: Target

Bag: Leonardo Delfuoco

Thanks for reading!  Hope you are having fun styling your LBD’s.

xoxo