Throwing shade

I've been wanting to switch up my shade game for a while now, so after doing some research I decided on these:

Ray-Ban Clubmaster II, $150

Earrings, Seychelles Chandeliers by Stella & Dot, $44

This is now my second pair of Ray-Ban sunnies. As you've seen in other pics, I have a pair of classic Aviators, as well.

Ray-Ban Aviator Large Metal, $145

So far, it seems the Ray-Ban brand is a good fit for me and my personal style. Do you have a favorite pair of shades? What's your go-to brand when you need a new pair? I know some of my friends swear by Michael Kors, and others won't buy anything other than Coach. How about you?

Pssst.. Local Event Exclusive Invitation!

I know not all of my readers are in the Baltimore area, but for those of you who are... I have an exclusive invitation for you!

Designer Danielle Nicole, originally from Ellicott City, MD, will be in town on Thursday, May 9 to introduce her latest line of handbags. Danielle's bags are sold at Nordstrom, Macy's, Lord & Taylor... as well boutiques in states across the U.S. Here in Baltimore you can find her collection at Sassanova in Harbor East.

On Thursday, May 9, from 4-8pm at About Faces in Kenilworth, join Danielle Nicole for a meet & greet to preview her new line of handbags, The Diane Collection, while enjoying complimentary wine, light fare, and door prizes.

Quick recap: Is there anything better than handbags, wine, food, all at the same time? I don't think so. 

Also, if you're still in search of a great Mother's Day gift, Danielle Nicole bags are the perfect present!

Want to see more of the Danielle Nicole Collection before coming out on the 9th (and maybe do a little online shopping)? Here's her website. My favorite is the Bella Crossbody in Mustard.

The full event info is below. Hope you can make it!

Thursday Trend: Patterned Pants!

In man of my posts, I've encouraged you to mix and match different patterns, colors, and fabrics in your outfits. If you've not yet tried it out, hopefully today's trend will give you some great ideas to start having fun with your clothing!

Here are some runway examples of patterned pants that I love for summer. (Tip: This trend can definitely be carried over into fall. Swap out cropped bottoms for a full length pant!)

Photo from My Look Book

I'm mildly obsessed with the Lilya and This is Genevieve ensembles above. Those pants are to die for, and I'm loving the platform heeled sandals!

The whole point of this trend is to stretch the limits of your wardrobe and dress outside of the box. Try something new. Pair a bright top with a patterned pant. There's no better time than now while the weather is still warm to experiment with fashion! And.. this trend is fool-proof! You can't mess this up. It's all about personal style and your own unique sense of fashion!

Here's my interpretation of the trend: My patterned pants have a white rope-like knot pattern on them. I paired the bottoms with a bright purple top, and added the turquoise necklace as a pop of color. (I love accenting with bright jewelry!) My Steve Madden sandals are in a similar color family so I thought they worked well with this outfit.

What do you think??

Make it your own:

Pants: Talbots (from last summer)

Tank: American Eagle $10

Sweater: J.Crew Factory $19/9

Sandals: Steve Madden $39.99

Necklace: H&M on sale for under $10 (great deal!)

Yellow, Blue, & Turquoise

I really like this outfit, so when I stumbled across this photo on Chictopia, I immediately wanted to recreate it. These colors together remind me so much of the beach... and I really love the touch of yellow in the belt to bright up the blue and teal!

For my interpretation of the outfit, I substituted the blue pants for a silk full skirt.

Trend Alert: Full skirts have been gracing the runways in many of the upcoming Fall designer collections. Fashionologie, one of my top fashion reads, noted that "Designers like Vena Cava, Marc b Marc Jacobs, and Proenza Schouler" sent this silhouette skirts down their runways.

I wore a white tank to pull in the white detail from her sandals, and added the turquoise necklace to match that color in the inspiration photo. To tie in the yellow, I wore this this great belt I snagged from Target!

[[Style Tip:  Here's a great way to avoid having to buy two separate belts: If you want to be able to wear a belt both on your hips, as well as on your upper natural waist, buy it to fit your hips (or where your pants sit comfortably). Then, wrap it around your upper waist and measure where it fits. Drill a tiny hole, and wah-lah! You can wear it both ways!]]

I just discovered instagram. My apologies in advance :)

Make it your own:
Skirt: Talbots $29.49 (on sale now!)
Top: Target $8
Belt: Target $12
Shoes: Nine West (Similar)
Necklace: H&M about $12

SJP - Seeing Red

I've been seeing a lot of photos of celebrities wearing red pants, skirts and shorts this summer. Most often, the red is paired with a white or black top to keep it simple. But since it's summer... I wanted to recreate a more colorful version of this trend.

Who better to look to than SJP herself!

It's a known fact in the fashion world that Sarah Jessica Parker has a FABULOUS sense of style. The woman can wear anything, and ROCK it!

For my outfit, I was most inspired by miss Sarah Jessica Parker's take on the red denim trend. She chose the color-blocking route, and paired her pants with a bright purple top. Adding the bright boho bag completed her look in an easy way, and made the entire outfit look casual-chic!

Courtesy of The Chic Factory

You guys know how I read/ stalk J's Everyday Fashion blog. Turns out, J recreated this look as well.. so my goal was to modify J's look with what I owned. Here's how J wore this outfit:

And now... here's my take on the outfit. I got these pants from Urban Outfitters-- they're not denim, but more of a cotton/spandex blend. This purple shirt from American Apparel is one of my all-time favorite tops! It's loose, comfortable, ad super soft (and I love the color!). To get the effect of the multi-color bag, I wore my colorful belt from Target, and added on my brown boho bag to complete the look.

Make it your own:
Shirt: American Apparel $32
Pants: Urban Outfitters $49
Belt: Target, $12.99
Bag: Target (similar) $26.99

Black, White & an Accent

I love to wear black and white. It's a color combo that will never go out of style, super easy to pull together, and looks great every time. As I was culling through my outfit inspiration photos, I noticed a lot of the looks I pulled together were black and white, with one or two accent colors that pop. A great example of this is the picture of  Vanessa Minillo on the far right. She held a red clutch that was the perfect accent color for her outfit. (Again, you don't have to wear a dress to achieve this look. Pairing a white top with a black skirt, or pair of shorts will work also!)

This compilation is from 2threads.

For today's outfit, I recreated this black and white look with turquoise as my accent color (similar to the photo below).

My dress is from a boutique in Montreal that I picked up back when I was a senior in high school (so unfortunately, I can't tell you where to get it!). The bottom half of the dress has a beautiful turquoise detail in the pattern. I love the lace on the very bottom that ties together the lace sweetheart top! In the photos above, black strappy sandals or heels are paired with the dresses. So, for my outfit, I wore black wedges in a similar style.

STYLE TIP!

When I wear tops or dress with open neck lines, I like to keep my hair off my shoulders to draw more attention to the neckline of the dress. Hair pulled up off the neck also elongates your body, and shows off your shoulders! For this hairstyle, I parted my hair in the middle and brushed it back into a smooth, low bun. It's very easy to do, and takes no time at all!


Make it your own:
Dress: Boutique
Shoes: Ann Taylor Loft (Similar)