summer style sneak peek.

mondays are hard. tuesdays back at work after three-day weekends are sometimes even harder. add some gloomy weather and a lonely house while my husband is in miami, and it's pretty much a formula for a miserable day.

lucky for me, i had a sweet little surprise waiting for me at the door, thanks to bcbgmaxazria. and the ups guy was nice enough to shade it from getting soaked too.

want to know what's inside? here's a hint...i took a trend from the fall 2013 runway and am putting it into action early.

flavor of the week: green tea.

after the seemingly endless photos of fashion and ferris wheels across the @pretaporterpb instagram feed last weekend, there's a part of me that is wishing i was in cali right now rather than jupiter, fla. the other part of me is looking forward to the yoga-filled midtown peace, love & wellness music festival with my sister today, and the palm beaches' own version of coachella in a couple weeks...sunfest.

to get a head-start on both events, i filled up on green tea and a fresh, homemade juice of energy-boosting fruits and veggies this morning, while putting together another board inspired by the famous steve madden troopa boots and the current flavor of the week. 

flavor of the week: green tea. by pretaporterpb

hollister co. crop top / bcbgmaxazria harness belt / forever 21 high-low skirt / steve madden troopa boots / vanessa mooney wrist-to-ring bracelet, urban outfitters / leather wrap bracelets, urban outfitters / bcbgmaxazria aviator-wayfarer sunglasses / essie nail polish

in my opinion the best part of this outfit (besides the boots, of course), is the leather harness belt from bcbg. i think it's time i add one of these to my closet...in time for sunfest, of course. 

the next best is the bike. did you know that sunfest has a bike valet? it's sponsored by the west palm beach downtown development authority, and while i may be a bit biased, i think it's a pretty cool program that gets you close to the entrance, while avoiding gas, traffic and parking fees. plus you'll get even more of that florida sunshine on your way downtown. now i just need a pretty green beach cruiser like this...because my purple road bike and red-trimmed tri bike don't really match my outfit.

flavor of the week: pistachio.

earlier this week, one of our readers, rachel, asked about the difficulty of styling the new lace-up steve madden troopa boots my husband bought me for my birthday. i think i've been walking around in them literally every weekend since they were gifted to me, and her question had me thinking about how i could probably be getting even more creative with the way i wear them.

so to answer her question and make my weekends a little more interesting at the same time, i curated a few inspiration boards for the beloved boots. to start, here's the "pistachio" board for an outfit that would be fitting for a festival like sxsw, coachella or palm beach county's very own sunfest coming up (that is, if the temperatures are aligned!):

flavor of the week: pistachio. by pretaporterpb

want to get this look yourself? make it happen with a little hair chalk and these pieces from free people, bcbg, top shop, ralph lauren, joanna laura constantine and more:  illustrated people printed shirt, top shop, free people scalloped shorts, ralph lauren denim and supply, joanna laura constantine jewelry, dannijo cuff, bcbg max azria natural stone ring, profess xtra l hair chalk in funky orange.

a different kind of meditation.

following an ayurveda consultation with my aunt this weekend - only hours after running myself into the ground training for the upcoming loggerhead triathlon - i tried to take a few things away from it to get myself more in "balance" with more grounding, calming activities. this of course included yoga with my favorite instructor, priyanka, at the mandel public library in downtown west palm beach tonight.

it worked in that i felt happy and less stressed when i left...but it could actually be that during my sun salutations and "meditation" i couldn't take my mind off bcbg max azria's foster laser-cut pumps. i know that defeats the point of yoga, but can it really be so bad when lace-inspired wooden heels are on your mind?

i've been eyeing them for months at the cityplace store and learned yesterday that they're now 60 percent off plus another 20 percent off (along with so many other distractions they have in store). i think this is a valid excuse for the mind-wandering...and possibly an excuse to spend some of this week's paycheck.

namaste.

a's back and so are the cool clothes.

i think my fan status should be demoted since it took me a whole day to catch up on the season 3 premiere of "pretty little liars," but i don't think it was a big error on my part since i have to say the first episode from my dvr tonight was mildly disappointing. a's back...shocker. that being said., the cast wardrobe was not one to disappoint and i, of course, will continue to tune in each week.

as usual, the costumes were on trend but eclectic. aria and hanna continued to pull off the best looks (minus the hair...both sported new 'dos and i'm not a fan, even though i typically love shorter hair), and i pulled out two pieces from the show that i've actually been eyeing to purchase myself.

not sure why she was sleeping in them and her lace-up combat boots other than that they made it easy to run to the cemetery, but aria's ikat denim skinny jeans by joes were the first to catch my eye...both on tv and at anthropologie at cityplace. printed denim is obviously hot, and ikat seems to be the new chevron, so this was a calculated move by pll's stylists.

next was hanna's brightly colored blazer, the natalia cropped jacket by bcbg max azria, which is marked down to $160 online right now. it's nothing new from the brand - i've been eagerly looking it over next to the other color-blocked patterns and pleats throughout the cityplace store for a couple months now, but the style team spiced it up by throwing it over a lace dress. i may have to pick one up and pair it with my new lace dress by rachel rachel roy.

what were your favorite looks?

yes to the dress?

i took a peek in macy's on my lunch break to look for the white blazer that's been filling my wardrobe dreams lately. i couldn't find one and got a little off track, however, because the cityplace location has an unbelievable impulse section that always catches my attention.

today, it was the rachel rachel roy vita dress that sucked me in with all its white lace and fringe gorgeousness (you may remember my undying love for the rachel line at macy's from a past post). against my better judgement i tried it on, knowing i shouldn't spend the money.

one problem: i think i am in love. what's a girl to do? yes to the dress at $129? it's actually a pretty decent price for designer standards, but my husband's heart might skip a beat...at which time i'll remind him of the new adidas soccer cleats he just bought that i'll share with you later this weekend ;)

thoughts??

p.s. the mint free people skinny jeans in the background were unfortunately too tight, but only $50 if you're in the market. the blue bcbg max azria wide-leg dress pants were oppositely too big, but equally cute at $100. plus, both are on sale and an extra 20 percent off if you have macy's wow pass this week.

update: i bought it!! i have a feeling you will be seeing this hot little white number again very soon...

'pretty little liars' trending in more ways than one.

aha! see, it's not just me (or my lovely past roommate who started my addiction). i just read on mashable that "pretty little liars" - which you may have recently read took the place of "gossip girl" in my heart - made twitter/tv history monday night. according to socialguide, 1.6 million tweets were sent by 667,000 users during the day leading up to the season 2 finale, with 50 something topics trending.

what do i want to see trending from the show? more of the cast's clothing. here are a few of my favorite looks from this season:

hannah's black blazer with white sleeves, paired with a sheer, hot pink bcbg maxi dress is at the top of my list. i really need to add this jacket to my wardrobe asap; i heard it's from h&m, which probably means it's long gone now. aria's pleated leather mini skirt from the same scene was one of my favorites too. i have a similar one in black from bcbg maxazria...too bad it's already in the upper 70s in florida so i won't get to wear it much longer!


aria's sheer slip-dress by pins and needles from urban outfitters. i just ordered a similar black skirt from brandy melville and can't wait to wear it!



spencer's to-die-for yellow dress from free people and "peter pan" collar necklace from bcbg.


aria's denim studded-sleeve dress.
 

aria's separate pieces were some of my favorites all through the season, but hannah's overall style is my favorite. spencer's clothes were certainly creeping up on me towards the end though, and emily always kept it casually cute with her baggy tees, leather jackets and boots. hopefully there's much more to come next season!

heartbreaker

"you're a heartbreaker, dream maker, love taker. don't you mess around with me."

ok, so maybe my dress won't be breaking hearts while i'm wearing it to work the palm beach heart ball tomorrow, but it didn't break the bank either and i am in love with its tiered ruffles. i bought it online during bcbg's intense sale a few weeks ago - like every other dress i purchased for events recently - and at only $120 marked down from $368, i think it might be my valentine this year.

out of the closet: in my yellow skirt

ok, so i'm a little behind in my posting, but in my last post i talked about my mom's holiday dress, and my easter outfit turned out to have a story too.

i typically wear this forever 21 faux silk skirt to work or out at night, but because of the yellow color, i thought it might work for easter too...which got me thinking (and experimenting!)...there are actually a lot of ways to wear this gold skirt...

on sunday i wore it with a white ruffled shirt and accessorized it with gold coach sandals, a gold bangle from forever 21 and gold hoops (not seen here) from anthropologie. this dressed-up daytime look is good for a brunch or afternoon tea.

this is my favorite because the colors don't really match, but it works anyway. i also love all of the pieces separately, which helps. they include a red ruffled tank from zara, black michael kors gladiator heels and a simple black bangle from forever 21. this look is good for going out to dinner and then wherever the night takes you.

with an intricately patterned, silk bcbg blazer, kenneth cole satin shoes and layered gold chains, this look is good for a dressed-up work event because it takes a simple suit up a notch.

so this is one i was experimenting with...i thought it would be fun to wear the bright blue leggings with the shiny gold skirt. the plaid jessica simpson wedges add the perfect touch for a summer night out, while the white, sleeveless tommy hilfiger top and vintage pendant are just extras to the already color-energized outfit.

if you like lsu, this one's for you! as a former nole, i'm not necessarily a fan of the school myself, but purple and yellow have always been my two favorite colors. i put this look together because i love my purple converse, but it's hard to wear them without looking like a little boy. dressed down with the bright skirt and girly graphic tee though, it's good for a day of shopping, meeting up with friends or even a football game!

this final look is better for fall or winter florida because i was just too hot even modeling it outside! i paired the skirt with a black lace camisole, a pleather bomber jacket i bought online from sears for $9.99, and suede ankle boots from banana republic. i think this look makes you seem a little dangerous, but still feminine.

what do you think? which was your favorite style, or how else would you wear it?

peacock prints & snakeskin shoes

animal prints have gone in and out and then back in style again over the years. first leopard print, then zebra, then even cow...but all i wanted for years was to find peacock patterns (those of you who know me understand why...). sure there were a few here and there - feather earrings at urban outfitters and a "proud peacock" shirt at hollister, but that was all i could find, just a few lame pieces.

finally this year i got my wish and peacock prints are popping up everywhere! two of my recent favorites include this betsey johnson necklace my boyfriend gave me:

and one of two feather-patterned dresses from francesca's collections, which i scoped out and purchased during the first few weeks of its opening at cityplace in west palm beach. i like the atypical color palette used in this particular dress, which makes the proud peacock in it a little more subtle:

my other current craze is snakeskin. it's a difficult pattern to work with because, like many other animal prints, it can come across as trashy if it's not done right. with just a touch of it here or there though, it can be edgy or sophisticated.

my favorite python piece of the moment is this pair of shoes, which i snaked for less than $30 from nine west. i love the innocent, double-strapped mary jane style mixed with the daring print and they look stunning with an lbd or a high-waisted, red pencil skirt:

and just for good measure, even though it's a little off the topic of "peacock prints and snakeskin shoes," i had to get in one of my favs for leopard print...i am obsessed with this classic a-line, wool and silk skirt that i bought at 70 percent off from bcbg at cityplace: