HATtastic Felt for Fall

I'm back! I went MIA in the blogosphere for awhile, but am excited to get back into things and share some new outfit inspirations!

So let's talk about my latest fall obsession piece....my black felt hat. Expect to see this little guy pop up in quite a few posts this fall. I recently went on a vacation to the East Coast and although I didn't wear the hat as much as I would have liked throughout the trip I thought it was fitting to wear it during our travels back. For comfy traveling I paired the hat with a maxi and simple black crop top. I'm excited to transition all these pieces to fall with a comfy sweater and pair of boots too!

Hat, Urban Outfitters; Crop top, Zara; Skirt, TJ Maxx

You're Wearing a Two-Piece Dress?!

In my group of friends I would venture to say I'm the risk taker when it comes to clothes. Sometimes my friends like my choices, sometimes they think I'm crazy, but this outfit was a hit! My best friends husband couldn't get over the fact that I essentially had a two-piece dress on. Of course this plays into my crop top addiction too, so that didn't hurt. I wore this out for a Saturday evening for dinner and culture, as we hit up a local art walk after a day at the beach.

This outfit also goes back to tendency to look for deals, as I randomly found the top and matching skirt during a trip to Marshall's. It goes to show that you just have to do some digging to find great things at stores like these, because I found these two pieces in totally separate areas of the store.

Crop top and Skirt, Marshall's; Necklace, Forever 21, Cardigan, H&M

New York State of Mind

On the way back from errands before a client event in New York recently I came across this boutique in Little Italy called Lady Bug Fashion and had to get my hands on this adorable color-coordinated combo. A pleated pale yellow, ankle length skirt, and lace top. At first I was hesitant about the odd length of the skirt but it's been a great in-between option, I even recently bought a leopard print ankle length maxi dress and am in enamored with that too. :)

Alright, Alright, Alright

I swear I should have been born in the 70's, I love the style of that era's fashion so much! So when I saw that lightweight, high-waisted, 70's inspired pants are back in style I couldn't wait to jump on this. Plus the great scenery at the Lafayette Hotel in North Park couldn't have been more perfect for this shoot. We all know I have a serious crush on crop tops this summer, but if you're not quite there yet, these pants go great with a flowy top and either wedges or heels.

 

  

I found the top, pants and sandals at T.J. Maxx so check out one near you to score this look, just make sure you're in the 'searching' mood since you might have to spend some time combing through the racks to find those perfect pieces.

Matchy, Matchy + Crop Tops = Amazingness

My fascination with crop tops and matching outfits is no secret, in fact I recently posted about this exact outfit in my 'Spring Lust List' post. This is another Top Shop NY purchase (why don't we have any of these in San Diego?), and the pieces are also great separately. I even paired the pants with a loose fitting white tank and white jacket for a business meeting.

If you don't have matching top and bottoms in a fun print you can find them pretty much at any store right now (I actually just saw a few at Target.) Or if you're trying to save you can easily recreate your own matching outfit by pairing similar colored pants and a top, or skirt and a top, together, two of my favorites for summer are mint or pale yellow pairings.

Blossom Is That You?

Fashion is such a cyclical thing, everything that was once cool, or even maybe uncool comes back into the style-sphere and turns things upside down. That's how I'm feeling about the come back of overalls! They remind me of my youth (did you get the Blossom reference?), and I'm loving the pair I picked up at Top Shop during a recent work trip to NY. I've worn them to the office a few times with heels and just around town with flats on the weekend. I'm especially pumped to throw them on over my bathing suit or a crop top now that summer is in full-effect.

If you haven't jumped on this trend yet, try it out! Just make sure you look for a fitted pair with a skinny leg so you don't look like you've just stepped straight out of the early 90's.

Solstice Celebration

It's officially summer! And I picked out this little combo to celebrate with some friends. I wasn't sure how often I'd wear this leather shirt when I picked it up from Zara, but it's quickly become a staple in my closet.  Pairing  the rough look of the leather with girly, flower printed shorts is a great way to wear a piece like this year-round.

Top, Zara; Shorts, Forever 21; Shoes, Jessica Simpson

Aztec Stripes

Lunch time shopping always proves to be amazing for finds for fashion, but not so much for my wallet! This dress was one of those finds when I tagged along with a co-worker on a Forever 21 shopping expedition. Not only did I love the color (green is my favorite after all), but was really digging the cut too. For work, I threw on a black and white striped tank underneath, but could do a bandeau for non-work wear. I also just so happened to have a black and white stripped pair of wedges that went perfectly...I love when fashion fate happens like that!

By-the-way, how cool is this backdrop? It's a tiny little Mexican restaurant a few steps from my office! Love!

Dress &Necklace, Forever 21; Tank, Old Navy; Shoes, DSW, Jessica Simpson brand

Maxi's & Crop Tops

Maxi skirts and crop tops will definitely be a summer staple in my wardrobe, so here's the start of my summer style crush. I found this amazing canary yellow pleated maxi at a shop in Little Italy during a recent work trip to New York called Lady Bug Fashion. Since then I've paired it with a number of shirts from a black and white plaid, to this crop top which I bought on a recent trip to T.J. Maxx. Plus this photo shoot with my friend Liz at the Lafayette Hotel in North Park, a San Diego neighborhood, was the perfect spot to shoot this outfit.

Skirt, Lady Bug Fashion; Shirt, T.J. Maxx, Shoes, Zara

Leopard For Days

I've said it before and I'll say it again...leopard and leather go together like peanut butter and jelly! So for a client meeting today I thought that was the perfect option. And of course the top, pants and shoes are all from my favorite store, Zara!

Edgy with Plaid

I was feeling a bit edgy the other day so I pulled out my high-waisted plaid skirt and paired it with a plain white tee, jean vest and wedge's. Plain and simple!

Skirt, Zara; Vest, Kohl's

Picture Day

Today at work was picture day! Yeap, just like the picture day you had back in school. The pictures will eventually be cropped to only include a shot from about the shoulders up, but nonetheless it was an opportunity for me to throw together a fun outfit! Yay, as if I need an excuse for that!

So in the spirit of the goods,ole school days today's lesson is about pops of color in a black and white outfit. I paired two black and white tops, a striped tank with a flower patterned kimono. Then, I threw on a pair of mint jeans, a sparkly necklace to match, and a fuchsia lip.

Kimono, Brandy Melville; Tank, Old Navy, Necklace, Zara; Jeans, Zara; Shoes, Nordstrom Rack

Treasures of T.J.Maxx

I'm a bargain shopper,always have been, always will be! On a recent trip to T.J.Maxx I hit gold in the form of a daisy printed jumper! It was one of those outfits that I wasn't sure of by the looks of it on the hanger, but something told me to try it on. The result was a glorious jumper I couldn't do without, and for only $15 it was a no brainier! I decided to dress it up for a bit by throwing on a leopard print belt and some killer heels (purchases a few months back from another fav, Nordstrom Rack).

The only downside to a jumper? Basically getting completely naked every time you go to the restroom, especially when you add a belt. The things we do for fashion!

Jumper, T.J.Maxx; Belt, Target;  Shoes, Steve Madden via Nordstrom Rack