{Style} Lady-Like Layers...

Jeweled denim shirt- J.Crew | midi skirt- Topshop | bag- Milly | sandals c/o Forever 21 | necklace- Zara | ring- House of Harlow | watch- Michael Kors

{Style} The Asymmetrical Skort...

Sweater- Zara | asymmetrical skort- Zara | silver heels- ShoeMint | hologram clutch- Melie Bianco | necklaces- Urban Outfitters + Joe Fresh | bracelet- The Bay | watch- Michael Kors

Classified

Yep, I wore the same scarf two days in a row. But when I put together this outfit I knew it needed some extra oomph, and the scarf just seemed to give it the perfect, polished-yet-funky touch. And anyway, that day I was on a TOP SECRET MISSION and needed all the polish I could get. Hopefully I'll soon be able to reveal exactly what my mission was that day, but for now it's classified. In this outfit, I felt like someone who'd have top secret clearance. Or maybe just a pistol in my handbag.

Here's a close-up of my new pixie cut, which I absolutely love. It's been awhile since I've had my hair this short, and I forgot how great it is for windy summers by the bay. There is seriously no messing up this style, no matter how strong the gusts get. Between the new haircut, my awesome Helmut Lang blazer (which is possibly the best purchase EVER), and the killer scarf, I felt totally invincible in this.



Blazer, dress: Helmut Lang
Scarf: Alexander McQueen
Bag: Foley + Corinna
Tights: Hue
Shoes: Born
Earrings: Swarovski

Let's Get This Party Started

I snagged these beautiful navy blue silk pants on Gilt for $99; they came with the original $790 price tag still affixed, which made me happy. I really wanted them as more of a fall item, having been inspired by LPC's post about party pants. If anyone needs a pair of party pants, surely it's me. I just thought I'd start the party a little early by wearing them now.

The pants need to be hemmed a few inches, but I wanted to sneak in one quick wear before I drop them off at the tailor. Tucking them into boots did the trick. It's never a party when your pant legs are dragging on the ground.

It was tough to capture the sheen and color of the fabric in these photos; it's a deep blue, metallic textured silk. Gorgeous.

Also tough to see here is the metallic sheen of my silver shirt, which created a subtle sparkle underneath the sheer chiffon layer. The fun, bobble-edged scarf added to the festivities. Click the photo to enlarge; you can see the texture better in the larger image.

Chiffon top: Noa Noa
Silver top: no idea
Cardigan: Cynthia Rowley
Scarf: Eileen Fischer
Belt: Noa Noa
Pants: Vera Wang
Boots: All Black
Bangles: Amrita Singh

Georgie tried to join in this photo shoot, but it didn't go quite as well as the last time. First I had to scratch her head to keep her from trying to lick my silk pants...

... and then she just got bored.

Built On Black

As much as I love a challenge, I just couldn't rally for Sal's Summer Black-Out for a couple of reasons. For one thing, the weather was just not cooperating when the challenge started, so it simply did not feel like summer at all. And secondly, I've been really drawn to the black items in my wardrobe lately and didn't feel I could live without them just now (it probably has to do with the black mood I'm in when I have to go to work!). So what I decided to do, rather than try to keep black clothes out of my summer, was to try to bring some summer to the black clothes.

If you've been reading this blog for awhile, you've heard me bemoan the black pants fallback that far too many people rely on to look "dressy." Because the fact is that black pants alone do not make an outfit dressy, and in fact they often counteract any cuteness that's going on in the top of the outfit. The most common mistake people make is to throw on black pants and shoes with a colorful top, without any further effort at integrating the top and bottom halves; the result being that the top is left adrift on a solid black background, and neither half of the outfit makes sense with the other.

For this outfit, I softened the impact of the black jeans by pairing them with silver shoes; the shoes are a neutral color and make sense with the black, but they also help to break up the block of darkness. I repeated the silver color with the crinkle-texture tank top, and further reinforced it by adding the pale pink cardigan with silver paillettes and metallic silver stitching. Finally, I secured the front of the cardigan with a black and crystal brooch; this not only gave me the shape I wanted, but also brought a black focal point to the top. I finished off the outfit with a bracelet and earrings that also contained some black stones.

The lightness and drape of the cardigan and tank made the outfit feel very summery to me, and I just love the contrast of the inky black against the soft, pale colors. And although the outfit isn't Summer Black-Out Challenge material, it does bring a little summer to an outfit built on black.

Cardigan: Anthropologie
Tank: thifted
Jeans: Diesel
Shoes: Born

Stevie

Here's some more asymmetrical goodness from All Saints, and an appearance from a very lazy looking Georgie. Just look at that sloppy posture; with all the sunny spots in which to lay around in the new place, Georgie has achieved new heights of laziness. For these shots she couldn't really be bothered to sit up straight and tuck her feet in, and in fact I thought she was going to slump on down to the floor.

The new top is the Bolly top; when I first took it out of the box I had a hell of a time figuring out which way it was supposed to go, so finally I went on the All Saints website to look at how it was configured in the photos. I'm about 80% certain I got it right. It looks gray here but it actually has tinges of acid-washed pink, which blended nicely with the soft shades of the 2 skirts. To give the outfit more of a colorful punch, I added a bright fuschia tank underneath the shirt.

With all these drapey, flowing layers I felt a little Stevie Nicks, which I guess isn't really a bad thing. If I grew my hair out and invested in a really large fan, I could do some fantastic photoshoots...

Top: All Saints
Necklace: Manu Lizarralde
Belt: Oscar de la Renta
Pink skirt: Anthro
Tulle skirt: Noa Noa
Shoes: Born