To Wear or Not to Wear: The Harem Pant

Please know that as I'm writing this post, I'm totally giggling at the photos and the topic. Feel free to follow suit.

Ok, so I braved the debut of my Catherine Malandrino harem pants yesterday, and I'm not sure how I feel about the experience. Ah, the trials and tribulations of taking fashion risks! I didn't get a single compliment at work or at happy hour, though I did receive a few of the requisite MC Hammer references (which, to be fair,were completely warranted). I even did a few Hammer shuffles just to show that I wasn't bothered by the snarky joke (even though I kind of was).

I also feel like if I lived in New York it would have gone over better, but then, maybe I'm just in fantasy land. Should I be wearing these or should I sell them on eBay? What would make them better? Higher heels? Gwen Stefani hair? I'd love to hear what you think (and I promise, I will not take offense if you think they should be left back in the 1980s. Cross my heart).

Also, they're so high-waisted (and not in a good way) that I have to fold them over--kind of adds an unnecessary layer around my middle.

Can't see well enough? Well, here's a closeup. At least there's a lot of pocket space!

Happy Friday!

The Print Dress

I'm completely inspired after a day of closet organizing and shopping for my dear friend Sara. So for the weekend post, I'm going to share some of my favorite printed dresses. First up, here I am in a Dolce Vita dress.



Here are a few out in the market that I'm coveting:

I'm completely in love with this ECI dress ($150). It would be gorgeous with a metallic gold or turquoise skinny belt (or both!). A bright cardigan and a neutral shoe, or a neutral cardigan and a bright shoe (maybe my favorite Sam Edelman) would complete the outfit.

Trina Turk Lilet 2 $320

Pure Sugar Ruffle Dress $80

Kensie Blotch Print $90

DVF Agantha Print $525

Madewell Dress $135

ECI Surplice Zebra Print Wrap $60

Top off these looks with some chunky jewelry and a blazer for a polished look.

Tommy Hilfiger $70

Rag & Bone Dinner Blazer $395

Business Travel--Part 3

For the third installation of my Business Travel series, I'm posting a couple of my new favorite outfits. I found myself in a complete scramble to pack last weekend, as I was out all day at the Cherry Blossom Festival (stuffing my face with Japanese food) and taking in the Pulp Fashion Exhibit at the Palace of the Legion of Honor. Then I went to see a live Clive Owen interview (yes, Clive Owen, in person), which left me pretty much zero time to pack.

Anyhow, back to the wardrobe—I only needed two “work” outfits this week, and I was determined to pack as little as possible (though I totally cheated on my one pair of shoes rule). First, I was really excited to create a look with my recent Goodwill find —a Dana Buchman silk leopard print blouse. I wore it with my black faux-harem pants (I call them faux because I have a real pair of Catherine Malandrino harem pants now, a huge score off Gilt). I love the way these pants look with my nude Seychelles, and I definitely needed a neutral shoe with all that animal going on up top!

I felt like I was walking straight off the set of Dallas (save my lack of shoulder pads), and I was actually in Texas. As I was about to leave my hotel, I put on my Rebel lipstick in haste, which is very fushia on me, and I looked straight out of bad 1990s Eastern Europe. I had to do a quick removal of the lipstick, because believe me, I looked like a train wreck with it on.

So here I am channeling Dallas:

The bracelet I wore was a birthday gift--it's made out of stingray! Who knew?

 

The second outfit is a new stretchy skirt with leather hip panels paired with a very old Zara silk top (again, silk travels so well!). I love that graphic prints are so big right now, because I'm a huge fan of patterns. I topped it with a Kenneth Cole silver necklace to give it a little contrast. I wore the belt again to give myself a little more shape. If I had been in San Francisco, I would have worn a chunkier, bolder shoe, but since I needed to look a tad bit more conservative, I went with my favorite pair of gray & black Bandalinos. Like I said in my last business travel post, if you work in a more formal environment, a blazer or cardigan could be layered over either outfit.

Pret-A-Coachella

What's a girl to do when it's a Monday and her co-worker says she's headed to Coachella on Thursday? She squeezes in two one-hour shopping sessions, and then miraculously manages a one-hour style & photo session, of course! Sound ridiculous? It probably is. But check out these photos before you make too swift a judgement.

Nahal had a few of these items already, we purchased a few more on Monday and Tuesday, and then I brought some accessories from my stash for our Wednesday style session. We literally had one hour, so unfortunately we weren't able to run outside to give these outfits the lighting they deserve. I'm guessing they'll get the sunlight (and attention!) they warrant at Coachella.

We did some mix & match with different accessories. I tried to narrow down how many photos to post, but I'm just so in love with all of these outfits/shots, that I could not possibly pare it down any more.

Up first: a bomb dress from Aritzia (amazing Canadian store Nahal introduced me to. It will probably be my new obsession once I have time to shop there for myself), paired with some fushia hoops and my very own fedora. The color of the dress is unbelievably beautiful on Nahal.

Next, yet another fabulous find at Aritzia, with Nahal's tourquise bikini underneath. In the first shot is a necklace I bought at a vintage store in the East Village while shopping with my mother-in-law, and in the other shots you'll see the gold belt we bought at Loehmann's. The gold belt accentuates everything!

Next, a Young, Fabulous and Broke dress Nahal had ordered especially for Coachella. It looks amazing on its own, but again, the gold belt and gold Steve Madden gladiators really amp it up.

I love this next outfit: very causal yet surprisingly adorable (and perfect for the Coachella heat).

And last, a ridiculously cute romper paired with, what else, the gold belt!

A special thanks to Nahal for letting me play Coachella dress-up! She and I will do another session soon when we can play around with her whole wardrobe and hopefully get some outdoor shots.