Fall Colours #2!

Hey Girlies!

This is going to be the second instalment of my fall colours-inspired outfit posts! I hope you are enjoying them so far, as I have been enjoying putting the outfits together.

I have two more outfits for you today - both are pretty casual, and I am loving their laid-back vibes!

Here's the first one:

This outfit is super casual, and I am loving it! I have been finding myself gravitating toward larger, loose-fitting tops and jeggings or leggings a lot lately - they're just so comfortable after I get out of my work clothes!

I dressed this up with a frilly, pinkish toned leather jacket, and kept the jewelry pretty plain. I didn't want to go way over the top with the jewelry when I had already used 4 of our available colours. I used:

Rose Smoke (Jacket)
Olympic Blue (Jeggings)
Titanium (Shoes)
Tangerine Tango (Purse)

How did I get away with the four colours? In this case, the rose colour acts as a pseudo-neutral, meaning that it takes on the characteristics of a neutral, even though it is pink.

The next outfit I have for you is...

This outfit is another one that I am loving. It is equal parts girly and borrowed-from-the-boys. I am obsessed with floral leggings right now, they're so cute! BUT you do have to be careful - they can border on looking like something out of your closet from when you were 6, if you don't pair them with grown-up pieces. I would never recommend pairing these leggings with a frilly dress, but a casual, over-sized tee is just the thing to save you from an overdose of little-girl. I added a pair of booties that are kind of army-inspired, but kept the jacket a feminine shape. The green in the pants is echoed in the bag, which helps tie everything together.

I used the following colours in this outfit:

French Roast (T-Shirt & Boots)
Ultramarine Green (Bag & Pants)

I think I am going to try and incorporate some of that bright pink into our next post, as I haven't yet found anywhere to use it!

Hope you are all having a fantastic day!

xoxo,

- A.

Fall Colours #1!

Hello Darlings!

Remember in my last post I said I was going to do a whole run of posts about fall colours? Consider that promise, kept - at least for now. ;-)

A Fall colour refresher course - here is what I am working from:

I've got 2 outfit ideas for you that, I think, are fairly dressy. That said, I would still wear them on a day-to-day basis, because I think they're adorable.

The first is as follows:

I am in love with the vintage-y vibe of the lace dress and cloche hat - the military-inspired jacket pulls on another fall trend, so you get a bit of a fall fashion double-whammy. I love the unexpected punch that the glitter loafers give, too. I kept the bag classic - I love the satchel style, and the earrings add an unexpected splash of colour. Particularly if you leave your hair down under the hat, the earrings will poke out once in a while, quite literally giving you a pop of colour.

The colours I used here are the beautiful Olympic Blue, Ultramarine Green, and Rose Smoke. They make a gorgeous colour combination - especially since the rose can be used as a pseudo-neutral. I kept the majority of the rest of the outfit neutral to allow the colours to play off of one another in the best way possible.

The second outfit I have for you is still girlie, but not so vintage-y. I kept this one a lot more modern for those of you who are not into lace and over-the-top feminine detailing.

In this case, I pulled from the peplum trend for the top, which is also in Olympic Blue. I live in Canada, which means it gets cold - we needed a cardigan here, because short sleeves just will not cut it. I chose a cute fitted cardigan in Honey Gold - the blue and gold go nicely together, and each helps the other stand out. I went with another satchel-style bag - I think I may have an obsession - and kept the jewelry pretty simple. The shoes, however, are not simple. I chose Union Jack-inspired flats to pull some of the blue down into the outfit a bit more. I've also had newly discovered relatives from the UK come to town (Hello Gordon & Kathy if you are ever reading this!), so I think this may have influenced my decision slightly.

I am so excited to come up with round two of these colour-inspired outfit posts! I had a ton of fun with this one, and I hope you all have fun reading it!

Let me know what you think in the comments?

xo,

- A.

FALL-ing in Love with Autumn!

Hi Girls!

I know it's only August, but I can already feel my brain gravitating toward the autumn. I love fall fashion, so I am always excited close to labour day! This fall, seeing as how I have all of you lovelies reading about my love of all things fall things, I have decided to do a series of posts into the fall about the Pantone Fall Fashion Colours of 2012.

The colours look like this:

Photo Cred: Pantone

I would just like to take a second to enthuse about how pleased I am to see COLOURS in the fall colour report! I'm so pumped for this fall!

So, here's my thought - because of the amount of colour to choose from this fall, I am going to show you how to centre outfits around these shades. Sometimes I will mix them together, and sometimes I will just let one stand on its own.

I look forward to creating all of this for you, and I totally hope that you are as excited as I am!

xo,
A.

Cute-bicle

Hey girls!

So, as most of you know (or... maybe you don't?), I have spent the last 7-8 months of my young adult life working full-time. I work in an office, and, to that end, I sit in a cubicle.

I don't like my cubicle. It's a reddish-tan desk with icky greige (grey/beige) carpeted walls. On its own, it's a nasty looking mess. I'm sure a lot of you are in the same position, so I have devised some ways for all of us to cute-up our workspaces.


I started by finding some colourful and adorable wallpapers for my computer. I used wallpaperswide.net to find the ones I use, and my coworkers compliment me on them pretty frequently. I change my wallpaper up a lot, which I also find helps.

The next thing I did, was I found myself a really cute bag (or... bags) that I use to take my things back and forth to work in. I generally leave my bag on my desk, and, because of its pretty pastel pink colour, helps to bring some more life into my space.

I found some other examples of pretty, yet office-appropriate bags for you to take inspiration from. They are from an assortment of places, and the prices vary - you can find cute laptop bags at Wal-Mart, too - they don't all have to be Coach or another luxury brand.

The next thing I did was bring in photographs of my friends and family so that I am surrounded by people who make me happy at work (other than my co-workers, of course!). This allows me to feel more positive, particularly when I am feeling stressed out.

I just stuck mine to the wall of my cubicle, but I also think it's a cute idea to bring in some pretty and colourful picture frames that fit your personal taste. T-Pins are not everyone's cup of tea!

Last but not least, I would suggest bringing in some of your own office supplies and storage. Don't go crazy about this - most offices will supply you with some storage, but you might want to consider adding in a few things here and there that, again, fit your style and make you happy! I love things that are floral, and nature-inspired. I also seem to have a thing for owls.

Cute pens and pencils will also help - you can use their cuteness to influence your mood, which will influence your work!

When my office is finished its renovations, I will be following through with my own advice! You can also use these tips for your desk at home, if you are still in school - I know I always used cute school supplies while I was doing school - they really do make me feel better, particularly when I'm bored!

What do you think? Will you be using any of these tips for your work or your school work?

xo,

- A.

Lace-y Love

Hey girls!


As given in evidence by this blog, I totally LOVE girlie things... as if you didn't already know that! As a result, I totally adore lace. I don't think that lace is just for summer, or just for winter. The two outfits I am about to present to you can be worn now, when it's hotter than hot, and later, with some extra layers and whatnot so you don't freeze to death! (For goodness sake, please do not become my reader-cicles!!)


The first look is as follows:

This look is VERY vintage-inspired. It may have something to do with my current obsession with historical fiction novels... but that is a post for later. This is now. The dress is entirely a beautiful cream/blush toned lace, so I tried to centre the accessories around it. I used a cute 1920's inspired cloche hat with a pretty flower detail, and the vintage cameo ring and oxford booties to keep that vintage vibe going. I threw it off just a bit by using the modern flower ring, bib necklace, and studded bag. The ring and necklace keep you from being overly "Downton Abbey," and the studded bag adds some necessary edge - you won't look like you're playing dress-up in your Granny's closet when you add these accessories.

It is super easy to warm this outfit up for the cooler months that are coming (can you believe how quick this summer has gone by?) by adding some dark, opaque tights, and a cardigan, blazer, or even a leather jacket.

The second outfit I've come up with for you girls is a lot more casual than the first. I love the lace tank, which you can (sort of) see has a cute keyhole detail in the back. Because lace can look a bit fussy, I tried to find some less-fussy accessories to tone the whole thing down.

I kept it a bit girlie with the earrings and pearl bracelet, but the slightly distressed jeans, studded shoes, and stacked friendship-type bracelets keep the outfit cute and casual. I also love the scalloped hem on the top - the bit of jeans and skin peeking through is a bit sexy, too.

To winterize this outfit, simply add a jacket on top. You could even swap the loafers for some boots if it's really cold.


I hope this post encourages you to try out some lace next time you get dressed! I love lace, and as you can see, it doesn't have to be stuffy and really frou-frou girlie - you can toughen it up significantly if you add just the right accessories.

Let me know what you think!

Hope you're all having a great day.

xoxo,

- A.