shoe of the day

anthro-lily
Originally uploaded by c_noel.

I am going to keep the Anthropologie love flowing, since I spent all my free time at work today on their site. They actually had a pleasant surprise...a new collection of heels for $78, which is low for an Anthropologie non-sale shoe. These gray Lili Peep-Toes are an adorable example. Also look for yellow slingbacks and purple bow-topped sandals.

summer dressin'

I have been pretty, well, preoccupied as of late, trying to find a new job and coordinate a cross-country move with myself, that man I live with, and a little brown dog. This is a good preoccupation, and I am very excited, it just hasn't left me the time to transform this fledgling blog into the witty, glamorous, popular blog it otherwise would have been. Right.
I know there are a lot of bad things to be said about living in Florida, the constant throng of tourists being one of them. But you can pretend you're always on vacation (at least on weekends), hop over to the beach for a day, or sneak into a fancy hotel's swimming pool. And you don't ever have to worry about bundling up (except for those couple weeks in January when it dips into the dangerously low 50's). As I am planning my move back to the Sunshine State, I can't help but think of what I'm going to wear. Anthropologie has answered my question with a few new dresses (under $200) that I can't help but love.


Oh, how I love Tory Burch. Oh, how I hate high prices. This dress (they call it the Billie Tunic) echoes Tory but is more affordable. Whether you wear it over jeans or with bare legs and strappy sandals, this print is chic enough that your accessories can be simple.


The Topographic Dress just oozes summer comfort. After a day sunning by the pool (that you may or may not have snuck into), throw this dress on with some flats & a headwrap and look like a relaxed vacationer out for drinks.


The Berry Bowl dress by Anna Sui has such a beautiful color of red. You could literally do anything or go anywhere in this dress with the right accessorizing.


This perfect LWD is is on sale for only $60. Again, I love a dress that is so versatile. I'd get a lot of use out of this one.

Now if only I can convince myself to wait til next week, when I am actually inside an Anthropologie store.

shoe of the day: get a wedgie

I just realized that almost all my featured shoes have been wedges. There is no denying that heels are sexy, but wedges are sturdier without giving up the height. I have more than a few wedges in my closet: some of my pairs are even more comfortable than flats.



Unique and versatile. I can picture them easily with jeans, capris, or a sundress. Kenneth Cole Reaction, $79, at nordstrom.

confession

Some fashionistas get their inspiration from lookbooks, some from the runways, some from celebrities. I look to all these places, but I am especially inspired by a certain series of tween novels. Yes, one of my guilty pleasures is the Gossip Girl series. My younger sister got me hooked on them when they first came out, and I have waited impatiently for each new release. Even though the main characters are 17/18, their lifestyles are enviable...especially their clothes! They talk about their DVF dresses, Tod's and Marc Jacobs shoes, Pucci bikinis, Chanel bags, Milly and Chloe shirts, Tory Burch tunics. Their teenage lives are much more glamorous than any life I'll have- drinking Stoli and Dom Perignon at the Chelsea Hotel probably isn't in my near future. I will just have to sit around and read about the gorgeous, fictional high schoolers that I not-so-secretly envy.

I'm not an Anya Hindmarch.

When the Anya Hindmarch hype started, I was all about it too. I am really into environmental issues...and fashion, of course. Combine the two and I am one happy shopper.
Now that everyone and their mom has blogged about this bag, I am getting around to it! I still love the bag, but now that it is going to be sold at Whole Foods, does that make it any less special or desirable?

I may still try to snag one, but in case it doesn't work out, here are some more great, fashionable, and earth friendly shopping bags. Don't you know that being green is so in this summer?



All of our favorite stores are jumping all over this trend. You can find a cute, affordable, earth friendly shopping bag anywhere you shop! I'll see you with yours at the checkout line.

from top, l to r: target, urban outfitters, ae, forever 21, ann taylor loft, j. crew

shoe of the day: bottega veneta

So I have a thing for Bottega Veneta. Their whole s/s collection is full or gorgeous pinks, mauves, and lavenders that all work together. I wanted every single piece that came down the runway. The clothes drape beautifully, and I love the basketweave/smocking details.
These sandals are just great. They have the signature Bottega details, and as such, are far out of my price range. Once I was so crazy about some sandals that I tried to DIY....don't ask...but I don't think I'll try (& subsequently butcher) these perfect summer shoes. Fantasizing will have to do!

$540 at net-a-porter.com

shoe of the day: the search for a summer boot

Although it is still getting down in the 20's at night here where I live, I definitely have summer on my mind. I think I have dreamed about the beach almost every night lately. I know many fashionable people think that it is much easier to be stylish in the winter, when you can pile on boots, cute coats, trousers, and scarves. I happen to love summer style and it always lifts my mood a little to see the first sundresses of the year on magazine pages. I love the simplicity of summer fashion, and you can finally wear layers for their look and not for their utility. You can wear dresses and skirts and not worry about freezing cold legs. Anyway, I have been looking for some boots to wear for this summer. After my perfect pair disappeared from anthropologie (promise, this is the last time I mention them!), I have been on the hunt. Here is what I've found so far.

First off, summer is the perfect time for ankle boots.

this Jeffrey Campbell pair hits all the summer trends: bootie, mod, and yellow. Perfect with a pencil skirt or a shift dress. Is it obvious yet that I have a thing for shoes with bows??

a year-round staple, Frye boots are especially appropriate in summer.

With dresses so in right now, nothing balances out a pretty, girly dress like these Engineer boots. I like this style because they are a little shorter (no hot, suffocated calves) and brown shoes go great with warm-weather clothes.

I am so happy that Wellies are in style right now. They look great on the sartorialist and on j.crew.



I want some because summers are so rainy where I live, and I hate walking around in wet sandals. They can add some color to any casual outfit whether it be slim jeans or patterned shorts.

Here is another pair I can see myself wearing year-round.



Again, great with dresses but even more versatile than the Fryes. If these ever come back into stock in my size, they will be mine!

shoes 1-2 from zappos.com, 3-4 from urbn.com

multiple choice

The name of this product by Thayer is the Rachel Dress/Skirt. So, are they asking me to choose? In that case, my answer is Skirt. Definitely skirt. The model even looks uncomfortable with that skirt band hiked up around her chest, like "guys, no one is going to believe this is a dress. Who are we trying to kid?"

oh no!

A girl's worst shopping nightmare, and it happens to me all the time. You plan, and save money, and arrange your current wardrobe to make a special purchase, only to find that your coveted item has been sold out! I went to buy the yellow boots at anthropologie, and yep, all gone. Can I stress again that This Happens To Me all. the. time. Maybe I am too reasonable; this is sign that I need more impulse buys, no?

Here is one purchase, however, that I have (sadly) talked myself out of.


the alice + olivia sequin dress. I have wanted it so badly, but I have to think- for $440, will it even be in style and wearable next year? Since I don't live near an H&M (to get a Madonna sequin dress) and they don't sell online, I haven't found a cheaper version yet. Forever21, I'm waiting!

shoe of the day

12th Street
Originally uploaded by c_noel.

I have been lusting after these shoes since I saw them in the January Glamour (in one of my favorite spreads EVER). They are 12th Street by Cynthia Vincent at shopbop.com. I found a cheap version at Old Navy (I have never seen them online, only in the store), except mine have a strap where the bow should be, they are slingback, and the wedge is raffia. I have been trying to figure out a way to add a bow without making it look too horribly DIY...hmm...

finding inspiration

Fashion inspiration is hard to find around here. During tax season I am in the office 10 hours a day with some of the most unstylish people on earth. Employee A is a lady who, on a daily basis, wears carpenter style chinos about 2 inches too short, white crew socks and skechers or hiking boots. The only other twenty-something girl in the office, Employee B, also wears skechers daily but adds polarfleece on the top. An otherwise cute Employee C has a great body but covers it with calf-length denim skirts, white opaque tights with an ankle bracelet over the top, and the ever present skechers. And today Employee D wore a strange, tapered incarnation of purple Hammer Pants with a purple sweater. Maybe this is why I go into withdrawal if I don't log onto a fashion website every hour at work.

This is not the only way the internet has saved my sanity; if I could not shop online, I'd be decked out in Vanity and Sears.

I have lived here in Idaho for about 8 months now, and I have to admit that moving here has sparked my deep love of fashion. I have always been interested in clothes, and even considered design school because I love making clothes & accessories. But being in this fashion vacuum has really made me realize how much I love the art of clothing & styling. I try to find inspiration everywhere...well, everywhere except my office.

things you will and won't find in mid daho

things you won't find:
a decent pair of black heels
vegetarians
a dog park
independent movies
frozen yogurt
any stylish clothes for men
newscasters that have any idea what they're doing
people who have lived outside of idaho/utah


things you will find:
people who have never used the internet
cowboy hats & bolero ties
an enormous wait at olive garden, the newest and most popular restaurant in town
people who find it acceptable to go out to eat in pajamas
the coldest wind on earth
a large selection of proenza schouler at target, because no one cares about it
diesel pickup trucks making up 70% of traffic at any given time
one girl who misses living in a city.

shoe of the day

yellow boots
Originally uploaded by c_noel.

I am seriously considering buying these now that they are on sale at anthropologie. I can imagine them scrunched over my dark wash cigarette jeans , or with leggings and a skirt. I don't look the greatest in yellow, so I have to add this season's best color any other way I can!

first

While many of you are out enjoying your new spring dresses, flats, sandals, and flowy tops, I am stuck in a sub-zero office watching SNOW fall in the middle of April. I have been wearing the same sweaters over and over for the past few months, because a Florida girl like me just hasn't invested much in wool (or anything long-sleeved for that matter). I shop online whenever I have downtime at work, because the mall here just doesn't cut it. The most chic store they have is the Gap, and they are hyping up the grand opening of their newest store...Wet Seal (ummm...?) Needless to say, I don't go there often. At work, I was mourning the loss of my shopping trips to Sephora, only to hear the 2 other secretaries say "Sephora? What's that?"

Where am I!?