I saw this outfit on one of my favorite blogs, FashionScanner.onsugar.com, and just had to post it.
In fact, Antonio Berardi’s Fall Collection for 2012 is altogether pretty amazing.
I love all the rich fabrics and textures, and of course, I adore the color turquoise. Don’t ask me where I would wear this, but it’d be nice to look at in my closet every day!
Antonio Berardi, Fall 2012 from London Fashion Week
Finally, sandals that are comfortable AND beautiful!
Here I am on the tail end of my 30′s (cough, cough) and it’s been eight whole years since I have daily, worn fabulous 4″ heels to work, while trotting around San Francisco’s financial district.
Where has the time gone? And more importantly, where has my ability to wear beautiful shoes with leg-lengthening heels for extended periods of time gone? I guess the old adage “use it, or lose it” applies rather well in this case.
So today, when I was lured in by an email from Piperlime.com to check out their sandal collection, I couldn’t resist. Much to my surprise, brands like Sofft and Kork-Ease actually make really fashion-forward shoes these days!
Here are some of my picks:
Kork-Ease Sarah Regular Price, piperlime.com $165
YOU by Crocs Thrilita, piperlime.com $130
Indigo by Clarks Luna Comet, piperlime $110
Sofft Palaiseau, piperlime.com $115
I
I am always on the hunt for a great dress – as you can see by the endless number of posts I’ve done on “the dress.”
This week, I have run across two of the most UH-MAZING, and dare I say simple in the most fantastic way, dresses. And fondly enough, they were both worn to the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
One is this navy leather shift by 3.1 Phillip Lim. The leather is so butter-soft looking, and really lets you highlight gorgeous gams because of its simplicity. It looks great here with strappy sandals, but imagine it with some fierce knee boots!
Shailene Woodley in 3.1 Phillip Lim
And what’s not to absolutely love about this Louis Vuitton frock? Elegant, simple, totally wearable for any body type and another great way to show off fabulous footwear. Although the shoes are positively covet-worthy, I probably would’ve worn it with chunky gold to pump up the stunning emerald color – buuuuut Rooney didn’t ask me to be her stylist that day… her loss.
Rooney Mara in Louis Vuitton
D G puffy dress, £208
Emanuel Ungaro trench coat, $886
Rupert Sanderson peep toe high heels, $695
Sondra Roberts satin clutch, $98
Kenneth Jay Lane ruby drop earrings, £61
Diamond bangle, $75,150
The Cool Hunter – Le Royal Monceau Hotel – Paris, $10,000
Looking Parisian-chic in stripes should be a cinch this season. Anything and everything you could ever want can be found in stripes. And this adorable blazer is no exception. It has a great fit, it’s a great weight for spring and summer, and it looks great with every color under the sun.
My Banana Republic happens to be next door to Ann Taylor, where there is also an adorable red knit dress that I would love to wear with it for going out or a day at the office. But throw it on with jeans and a bright yellow tee, and you have a cute “around town” outfit. Or choose kelly green boyfriend chinos and a denim shirt for a business casual Friday and shopping with your best girls. The possibilities are endless! (See Polyvore.com for where to buy.)
One jacket, three ways!
Have you seen the 2012 Spring/Summer collection from Gucci. It’s gorgeous. Sleek, modern, classic, elegant – you name it, they’ve done it. Here are a few of my favorites. What are yours?
Gucci GG Bamboo-Print Triangle Top, Neimanmarcus.com $550
My favorite color and the style will showcase those hard-earned shoulders and arms!
Gucci Asymmetric Dress, NeimanMarcus.com $1450
Who doesn’t love green? Especially in the Spring, when you’ve spent the last 4-6 months dying to see signs of life outside. I love the flowy style – which can be great to cover things you didn’t work so hard on…
Gucci 1970 Medium Shoulder Bag, Neimanmarcus.com $3590
What can I even say about this? It’s just beautiful. beautiful. beautiful. And not anywhere near this girl’s budget.
Gucci Delphine Mid-Heel Ankle-Strap Sandal, Neimanmarcus.com $675.00
I feel like these shoes scream, “Studio 54!” Now, I’m too young to have ever been there in its heyday, but there’s this sexy 70′s vibe with the mirrored wedge heel, and the black toe makes them scream, “Sophistication!”
What collections are you into this year? And more importantly, which ones are you going to try to emulate by wearing affordable knock-offs?
Tibi tuxedo jacket, shopbop.com $550; Lucinda Playsuit, frenchconnection.com $116; B. Makowsky Vada, 6pm.com $77; Leola clutch, ikbennett.com $115
So after weeks of searching for something new to wear, and a promise to myself that I would not buy ONE MORE LITTLE BLACK DRESS, I have found my outfit. So I will be all dressed up, with somewhere to go on Saturday night. In black.
Well, at least it’s not a dress this time! It is, in fact, a “playsuit” says French Connection – one of my oldest and dearest friends. A sequined playsuit, more to the point. And I am not a head-to-toe sequins (ok, thigh) kind of girl, but I thought I’d take a chance this time.
I paid a small fortune to have Frenchconnection.com overnight this adorable outfit to me by 10:30a.m. this morning – I guess it’s payback for all the times I’ve “cheaped out” and waited to order until shipping was free. And even before 10a.m., it was here!
I also found the formerly $120 black suede B. Makowsky’s on sale at Von Maur for $32. (I thought I was buying them for $86, so that was a huge surprise!) And I already own bezel-set earrings, black opague tights, sparkly bracelets and a red clutch.
Oh yeah, I also own the black tuxedo topper I have planned to wear over it, for a not-so-frigid January night.
Mission accomplished. And with 48 hours to spare!
… is the amount of time it took me to fall in love with this Phillip Lim 3.1 dress two years ago, when it was in his Resort 2010 collection. I wanted it then, and am coveting it even more now. And in both colors.
I have an event in a couple of weeks, and am furiously trying to decide what to wear. Everything that is turning my head is LACE – very unlike me. But ladylike lace is all the rage this Spring (of course ol’ Phil was ahead of his time!)
I thought maybe I’d find it deeply discounted on eBay (I did – in a size 2) or possibly somewhere in the cyberworld of “get anything you want” but no luck there.
This is what happens when you start planning your outfit from the ground up… you always have great shoes, and nothing to wear.
Phillip Lim 3.1 Lace Shift Dress, Resort 2010
Phillip Lim 3.1 Lace Shift Dress, Resort 2010
Let me first warn you that I am on a little bit of a rampage today. And those close to me know that this generally means, I am occasionally handing out my unsolicited opinions, in a not-so-subtle way… ok maybe more than occasionally.
First, I’m going to start out with the positive. I ordered my first pair of Pour La Victoire platform pumps. I always love the look of platform pumps in ads or on celebs, but feel a little “pole dancer-y” in them myself. But trust me when I tell you that I need the height, and these Irina II pumps are sky high, which generally means you have to be “high” to wear them!
Pour La Victoire Irina II pumps, lastcall.com Sale $175
But I am here to tell you that these are amazingly comfortable. The insole of the shoe is padded and the 5″ heel is offset by a nice 1.5″ platform. The toe is rounded, which means that your toes have plenty of room. The upper provides a snug fit, which is obviously important when you are walking around on your tip toes for extended periods of time. And since they are so high, they make your legs look fabulous as any good platform pump should.
While these are not a particularly cheap pair of shoes, they aren’t in the out-of-reach Louboutin segment of the shoe population either. And wait for a good sale at lastcall.com (read almost daily) and you can pick these up for a song.
Yep, it’s happened. Write down the day, the day that will live in infamy. The day that I, Amy Grace, am not coveting anything. Not anything in particular, anyway. As hard as I have tried today, and as many websites as I scoured while waiting for my car hatch latch to be fixed, I could not find a single thing worth posting.
So, my loyal followers, I will give you the top 10 things I do not covet today instead. Try to control your excitement!
Cry Baby...
9. It’s 48 degrees right now in Middle America, and my Mac’s weather icon says we should be expecting almost 60 tomorrow. It’s been like this for several weeks, and it looks like it may continue into the beginning of the next one. It will end sometime, and we will be repaid handsomely with snow, ice and treachery soon. I do not covet these.
8. I have work to do. My virtual boss (she’s real, but we’ve only met once in person. And she lives 10 hours away.) sent me a copywriting assignment with plenty of categories to complete. I do not covet these.
7. We generally eat 3 meals and 1 snack at our house. Coming up with something to make for 3 meals per day, 7 days per week is awful for me. I would rather jam a sharpened pencil into my palm. I do not covet these.
6. I gave up shaving my legs last fall, and started waxing instead. It’s great that the hair grows in slower and softer each time, but sucks that you have to wait for it to get long enough to be ripped out again. They are especially unsightly when I have to wear workout pants that only go to my knees. I do not covet these hairs.
5. I took another close look at the tile that is my kitchen counter top. It’s awful. No matter how much I scrub, dig and bleach, the grout is dingy and dirty. It doesn’t help that I live with 3 children (ok 2, but my husband doesn’t wipe up spills either.) And who’s brilliant idea was it anyway, to use tile and grout for a counter top? I do not covet these.
4., 3. Sadly, I was not blessed with a lithe little body or the Hollywood metabolism that keeps starlets thin without even trying… ahem, right!…so there are at least 4 days per week, when I must drag my butt to a Body Blast class, Zumba or to run rat-like on an annoying cardio machine. I do not covet these days. Or these machines.
2. My husband bought me new, super cute Uggs for Christmas. (Yes, the ones on my daily covet!) They were too big. So I reordered from Ugg.com, and they sent me a new “pair” in my size, yet one boot was significantly larger than the other. I do not covet boots in different sizes.
1. And last, but definitely not least, I have had a knot in my shoulder for weeks now. I’m pretty sure it’s from excessive typing in a non-ergonomic fashion. As I type, it’s zinging me with sharp pin-like pains, while simultaneously maintaining the ever-present dull ache. I do not covet this.
There you have it! You don’t even have to stay up late to watch Letterman tonight… you can get your top 10 and all my complaining in one sitting. Thanks for hanging in there with me!
