Heart on Your Sleeve

You can wear your heart on your sleeve for Valentine's Day... but why limit yourself? Here are some of my favorite holiday themed pieces. Whether or not you choose to wear head to toe hearts is entirely up to you.

 

 A cheery printed cardigan (Forever21, $22.80)

 

A flirty pink skirt (See by Chloe, $125).

 Heart printed tights (Topshop, £8.50)

Sparkly shoe clips (Ban.do, $25).

Here's to an excuse to wear head to toe pink!

Love and Life

"Where there is love there is life." -Gandhi

Gearing up for Valentine's Day. Be on the lookout for a fun new recipe Monday!

Image via weheartit

Tortoise Watches

When it comes to sunglasses, a tortoise pair is timeless, elegant, and chic. Tortoise isn't just reserved for one type of accessory, however, as these watches demonstrate.

Michael Kors seems to be the king of tortoise watches (1. $180, 2. $195, 3. $195).

 If you're looking for a less pricey version, this Anne Klein watch is equally versatile (4. $65).

Finally, for those who prefer a minimalist aesthetic, this Nixon version is perfection (5. $60).

No sense in being fashionably late when you can be on time with such stylish watches.

Western Whimsy

I stumbled upon this photo, and while it is an outfit I can't imagine myself wearing, I love the styling. The romantic white lace is perfectly balanced by the dusty western setting. From the details, I'm guessing this is some sort of wedding dress. If that's the case, I'm extra smitten with the refreshing presentation. It simultaneously makes the dress the focus of the shot while still providing an engaging story. Simply beautiful.

Image via here

Straw Hats

I'll be honest, when I think of straw hats, I immediately imagine a cowboy hat. Blame it on growing up in a state where people own Stetsons for reasons beyond costume parties...

I've posted before about my love of hats and wish that they would become more common in everyday wear. Plenty of functional hats abound this time of year as they make snowstorms and rough winds slightly more bearable. While chilly weather reminds us that spring is still quite a ways away, I'm already dreaming of warm weather ensembles including hats. I came across this image, and the pale colors immediately set me on a straw hat tangent:

Of course, this immediately made me think of straw boaters and their particular prominence in fashion. Confused? Coco Chanel began her fashion empire not with the LBD, but with straw boaters. Chanel disliked the gaudy, extravagant hats of the turn of the century and trimmed simple straw boaters with ribbon as an alternative. Her hats quickly gained a following (no wonder, who really wants to carry a large, elaborate hat around on their head all day when a chic boater would do?) and Chanel's fashion empire was on its way.

 

This spring, I think I'll pay a small tribute to the legend that was Chanel and sport a trimmed boater. Of course, wearing it in Paris would be even better...

 

Now if only it were sunny enough to warrant such toppers. Until then, hats off to you, Coco. 

Images via weheartit, The Gloss, & weheartit

CFDA Challenge: Revisted

Almost two months ago I wrote about the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund final challenge that revolved around creating an Ann Taylor inspired look. While the decision to not produce the looks remains unchanged, the speculation that the originals would be auctioned to benefit the CFDA was correct!

Ten of the designer's looks, including multiple pieces, are up for auction on eBay. If I could afford it, that Billy Reid ensemble would be mine in a heartbeat. Karlie Kloss, per usual, is absolutely stunning in all the looks. I'm hoping there will be similar CFDA collaborations in the future and perhaps actual production of the pieces at lower price points. A girl can dream.

Mastering Marzipan

Rabbit rabbit! I can't believe it's February already. January always seems to fly by, perhaps because after the hustle of the holiday season in sets the exhaustion. By the time we've recovered and garnered the motivation to get back to our old, productive selves, well, the month's over!

Speaking of animals, I saw these adorable elephants on the Metrocurean blog today. As with most things from Dean & Deluca, they'll only be admired from afar. It is nice, however,  to see a less typical motif employed for something so Valentine's Day related. As cute as they are, bears with hearts are extremely overdone. Elephants are known for their exceptional memory span and I'm a big fan of Dean & Deluca's urge to "let someone special know that—like an elephant—you'll never forget them." It's a fresh and witty take on the holiday.
  
Until then, it looks like I'll have to add "mastering marzipan" to my bucket list.

Image via Dean & Deluca