ring-ing in the new year

my current craze is oversized cocktail rings, and i've found it increasingly difficult to pass them up. apparently my friend and work "roommate" aly feels the same way so it has become dangerous to take our lunch breaks together.

we're just on our way back from stopping in francesca's collections at cityplace to pick up some fashion tape for an event tonight (read about it here), and we walked out with these for $18 each. not too bad and i plan on wearing it tonight and to the heart ball next month, which was my purchase justification.


francesca's has a bunch of other options too, including another even larger and very cute pink peacock feather ring my vp and secret santa jennifer bought me for christmas.

you'll also want to check out the jewelry sale table today too, which has drastic markdowns and even better deals if you buy two pieces. earrings are now two for $5, necklaces are two for $10, and rings are somewhere in between.

ahoy matey!

i practically grew up on a boat so when nautical pieces start popping up each spring or summer, i'm excited. though anchors, sailor stripes, beach blues, white linens and other navy-inspired pieces don't necessarily ever go out of style, they are definitely in style for spring '09.

this white blazer by dex in the window of rhythm clothiers caught my eye while at cityplace in west palm beach. the navy blue trim and embroidered anchor give it a casual yet classy feel that's great for day or night this time of year. the striped vest, also by dex, and chunky necklace give it the full yacht-appeal without going overboard.

one of my other favs is the dress below, purchased from banana republic, also at cityplace. i had been looking at the dress, which also came in a gray and white striped version, for a few weeks until i noticed it went on sale and then i pounced! unfortunately for me it doesn't come in a petite and was too big for me, but as you can see below, it fit my mom perfectly and looks amazing on her! she wore it for our easter brunch, perfectly paired with her neutral, very palm beach jack rogers sandals and my layered silver and teal style & co. necklace (which i bought on sale for only $6 from macy's at cityplace).

it looks fabulous on my mom, but beware! she is a skinny mini and horizontal stripes unfortunately do not look as good on all people as they do on her. if you are particularly busty or broad in the waist or hips, you may want to try the nautical theme in some other fashion rather than stripes.

another way to dive into the marine theme is by sporting boat shoes or even keds. decked out in a non-traditional plaid and tweed-like pattern, i'm planning on purchasing this pair i found online from forever 21 for only $18.80.

what do you think of the nautical theme, are you embracing it like me, or is it over-played?

peacock print update: katy perry wears them too!

as an update to my first blog, i saw that katy perry likes to sport peacock prints too. according to instyle.com (http://ow.ly/2xMk), katy wore this short feather dress with black tights to paper magazine's "the beautiful people party." the dress is from british designer matthew williamson's collection for h&m.

although i normally admire katy's crazy fashion ensembles, i really don't like this particular use of peacock prints, especially with katy's choice of makeup and hairstyle. too many colors going on for me and the dress is not flattering.

gray is the new black

ok, so i know i'm not really ahead of the game on this one considering i only discovered gray nail polish in january and am just now posting about it, but i am still loving it. gray was a hot color for winter this year, but as a paler and less harsh version of black or silver, i think it can be incorporated into spring and summer fashions too.


my favorite is the above "on the prowl" color from mac's hello kitty line, but it's apparently everyone else's too because it's sold out online and at every store i went to! in the meantime i found a way to get my fix from mac's darker metallic "nightfall" and a bluish-gray l.a. girl polish i got from urban outfitters for only $5 (also sold at forever 21).

i was excited when i first learned of the gray polish trend because i had already been using sephora's wet & dry pale gray eye shadow for a while to line my lids. i had always heard purple tones make green eyes really pop, but since using this product i noticed that gray has the same effect.

gray is also good when i'm stuck in an outfit and neither black or brown quite matches...which is why i purchased this puffy jill stewart handbag that gets me through at least half of the days in a week. there are some great stone-colored chloe handbags on bluefly.com if you'd like to get one of your own, but if you're not sure you want to throw down $1,000 or even a few hundred like me, old navy and target have a few good picks.


lastly, here is a way i found to incorporate gray into my spring outfit. mixed with white checkers and subtle pink lines, this shirtdress from forever 21's new heritage line is perfect by day with gray or pink opaque footless tights and sandals, or by night with my washed out gray jeans (of course!), silver heels and dressed up accessories.


what do you think...can gray be a spring/summer color or is it strictly for winter? how would you wear it?

no need to hit the gym

i guess i can skip my run for the day if i buy into one of the newest trends in dresses - optical illusion. this futuristic style is slimming and eye-catching and i can't wait until it moves around the rest of the industry so regular people like me can wear it.

i first noticed the illusion patterns when seeing a photo of victoria beckham wearing a black and white alexander mcqueen design, which i heard was a gift from the man himself. usually a fashion from the 80s i prefer to leave out of my wardrobe, mcqueen's degrade dress features angular shoulder pads that add even more curves and become the cherry on top of an already fabulous dress. it sells for $1,595 on the designer's web site and you can check out how it looks here in a photo of victoria from people magazine:

though i love mcqueen's carefully thought-out pattern, in my mind, herve leger by max azria actually perfected the trend in his spring 2009 collection. i would do anything to step into this not-so-dizzying version kristen stewart wore to the adventureland premiere, which i saw on instyle.com:

the coral-colored ombre mini hugs the body creating a perfectly feminine hourglass shape with its out-of-the-ordinary vertical lines. and with a backless cut-out, the dress is just as sexy from behind:

i need one of these asap!

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: