Fashion Picks #1: Late Summer/Fall

New miniseries on here? yes? fashion picks? I think yes. I'm waiting to hear back about a job starting late August, so I've been browsing/window shopping for work clothes in the meantime. This job wouldn't be a dressy/business type of job, probably pretty casual, but here's my motto:

Dress for the job you want, not the job you have.

or alternatively:

Dress for the life you want.

Yeah. So I was browsing in Zara the other day, and fell in love with some pieces... Which is why all of my picks for this post are from there (except one). I'm hoping to cover some other stores, too! So. On to my picks for a late summer/fall work wardrobe...

Tops/Blouses...

Subtle and classy leopard. LOVE this.

Slinky and fresh.

I'm hoping for a resurgence of metallics this fall. Shiny sweater: check!

Blazers/Jackets...

A super fun and funky colour. I'm only 21, so I think I can pull this off!

A great way to dress up some jeans, and in a great neutral colour. Love this.

Bottoms:

J brands to replace my beloved pair that has worn through in the bum. J brand does petite very nicely.

A slight sheen on a burgundy pant screams AUTUMN!!!

Basic slim black pant. Classic.

Accessories/shoes...

Snakeskin will be huge this fall. This is a chic way to dabble in the trend!

A nice low heel with an unexpected colour! Love!

More snakeskin, this time on a cute flat!

LOVE THIS BAG. Drooled for a few minutes in the store.

Anything here catch your eye? Hopefully I hear back soon about the job, I don't want any of these pieces to be gone!

xox Chloe

the casual t-shirt club

Today's post is rather boring (I think, but I hope it isn't really). It's pretty much just me, rambling about one of my weaknesses: the v-neck tshirt. I used to own dozens of tshirts (mostly band shirts, graphic shirts, etc), but I've cut that down since my teen years. Now I have a few shirts that I wear almost every day. I don't know whether that's worse than having a million tshirts. Oh well. The point is that I picked up two new shirts from Urban Outfitters, and I'm quite happy with them. I got a white and a pink, which I'm modeling below.  They were on special, 2 for $28.

In case you hadn't picked up on it, I am quite a fan of low-cut tops. Mostly because they make me look taller, but also for the way the V neck looks. There is definitely such thing as too much cleav, but... I think I toe the line in a classy way ;) 

Untucked!

The fabric of these shirts is quite thin- it's a polyester/cotton blend burnout style, so the appropriate undergarments are necessary. I found that the first time I wore them they pilled a little bit under the arms, but I don't think it's anything a good washing can't fix (yes, I wore them before washing them, bad Chloe!). 

 

I really like the way these hang and drape. The fit is loose and forgiving, but clings in the right places. My kind of shirt. 

xo Chloe

Knits in July... Thanks Zara

So Zara was/is having a huge summer sale.. and they had a bunch of knits (??? summer ???) on sale. And I'm a sucker for a nice knit sweater... so I got two. In July. How's this for thinking ahead?

I passed over this pullover at first, but then I tried it on... and I'm now in love. I've been wearing it with my AE short shorts (yeah, a sweater with shorts), and I think I will be getting a lot of wear out of it this winter. It's made of acrylic, so I'm not expecting it to last beyond this winter, but for $20, it's a great winter (and summer?!) piece.

This was the first knit in the huuuge pile of knits that caught my eye. With my sucker-ness for knits comes a sucker-ness for white/beige/grey tops. I have a stupid amount of these 3 colours in my closet. But. I did not have a beige knit cardigan. I was a little put off by the size at first (a large, when I'm normally a small, or even extra small), but again, trying things on is the best idea ever. It looks oversized in a chic way, rather than sloppy, and while it looks a bit boxy with shorts, I can't wait to pair it with skinny jeans or leggings and a low heel in the winter.

There were loads of other colours, and while I stared longingly at them, I think these are the most practical... since I can wear them with as much colour as I want to! ... And a knit in a classic colour will never go out of fashion.

xox Chloe

a lioness in stripes... and glasses

I'll start by saying that it's incredibly hot and humid outside- which is why my hair has decided to take inspiration from a wild animal. I just went with it, I think it gives an otherwise simple outfit a little bit of oomph. The heat is also why I am showing a bit more skin than usual. Normally if I'm wearing these shorts I'll pair them with at least a t-shirt, rather than a tank. But. Comfort reigns.

Silly face, yes I know.

I did however pair this outfit with some wedges. Not necessarily the smartest move for sweat-weather, and I won't be wearing them when I go out later today, but I thought they worked well and dressed up the shorts a bit.

statement necklace!

new glasses! talk nerdy to me...

So as you can see I got new glasses. Not that you would actually be able to tell, since my old glasses were seen rarely by my blog and Youtube. I just don't like the way they look on camera usually, so I take them off (or wear my contacts... but usually I'm just blind!).

I'm also dabbling in the statement necklace here... I have quite a few of them but always chicken out whenever I consider wearing one.  This is a good start though- a neutral colour, and nice and light material (I think the beads are some sort of bean??).

Shorts: American Eagle
Tank: Zara
Shoes: Jessica Simpson
Necklace: Ten Thousand Villages
Belt: H&M
Earrings: from Peru...
Glasses: Rayban

new dress, new boots, new outfit!

These two lovely pieces came into my possession yesterday, and I'm very very excited, as both were on sale! I put them together when trying on the dress in the store, and thought, "Hey, that looks pretty cool!", so I wore these together today!

I love this dress so much. I'll do a post a bit later on my dress-buying checklist (which is very important!). I can just roll it up and toss it in my bag, and it looks great. I'm also in love with these boots. Hopefully my feet will forgive me once I've broken them in a bit. I like the way they toughen this dress up a little bit. And how my neon pink nail polish goes with them :P

Stuff:

Dress- Free People
Shoes- Miz Mooz
Belt- H&M

xox Chloe

Shoe lust, courtesy of Kate Middleton

In keeping with the "Royal Visit" theme (on my beauty blog I've posted about Bourjois' Rose Lounge nail polish), I'm going to share with you my most recent shoe lust. This has been going on since April 30, and has yet to simmer down. Kate walked across the lawn of Buckingham Palace in these shoes the morning after her wedding, and I was immediately obsessed.

grabbed off the LK Bennett website

These are the LK Bennett Maddox espadrille wedges. Apparently LK Bennett is a high street shop in England. I don't remember it from the summer I spent there, but to be honest, I was 15 and obsessed with Topshop, Oasis, and Miss Selfridge, and didn't have nearly enough money to even consider going into this store. I still don't, actually. Anyhow, I've perused their website and if/when I (a) have any money or (b) find myself back in England, I think a trip to one of their stores is in order. I believe they've opened a few stores in the states too... either way, these shoes do not exist in my country. 

I've been looking everywhere for even a close dupe for these, the closest I've found under $100 is the Jessica Simpson Jackson wedge, but it's much more of a platform and less ladylike/princesslike.

Jessica Simpson Jackson Wedge (photo from Piperlime)

The LK Bennett ones go for £165, which is roughly $250 CDN. I could save up for that. But what kills me is that the shipping for these babies is £45. Which is $70. Which pretty much goes against all of my principles when it comes to online shopping. And they are perpetually sold out, because obviously I'm not the only Kate Middleton fashion groupie out there. And those other groupies most likely have deeper pockets than I do.

Now accepting donations of cash, or the shoe itself. I'm looking at you, LK Bennett.

Kidding :) ... kind of...

I'm debating whether it would be inappropriate to ask her for her shoes if I am lucky enough to shake her hand on Canada Day. We have the same size feet, so I don't see why it would be a problem...

That sounds a lot less creepy in my head.

My final thought of the night: Oh how I wish Hot Harry were coming on this Royal trip.

xox Chloe

OOTD: Vintage lace + denim

Salut les filles!

It's crazy hot here today, so I put this breezy and casual outfit together.

I'd totally forgotten about this shirt, so when I found it in my closet I was really excited to wear it! I bought it years ago, probably 5 or 6, from a vintage sale for $10. I really like the way it looks with high-waisted denim shorts (although these are more of a mid-rise... still higher than what I usually wear!). The only annoying thing about the shirt is that because it's vintage lace, the button holes are very loose, so I have to secure each of them with a safety pin so I don't flash people! A minor inconvenience, though.

Items:

Top- vintage
Shorts- American Eagle high waisted shortie
Belt- H&M
Bracelets- africa (large beads), Pandora (black lariat), unknown (red and grey crystals)
Shoes- Marc by Marc Jacobs


xox Chloe

Thank you Marc Jacobs...

... for creating these adorable shoes.

Hi girls,

I'm really really pumped- I tried these shoes on a month ago, and have been dreaming of them ever since. Finally, they are mine! Marc by Marc Jacobs mouse flats!

Box and dust bag (!!!)

Mice!

I had seen these (or earlier versions) on some blogs a while ago, and at first thought they were kinda... strange. Apparently one of the earlier versions had red eyes, which sounds really creepy. I like the dark on dark aspect of these. The eyes and ears are a dark, patent navy blue, so it's a subtle contrast to the black leather of the shoes. I also really like that these have the slightly elastic heel. I find this type of style much easier to wear and break in than the rigid heels of most flats.

I'm most excited to see how many ways I can wear these! They're subtle and soft enough to wear somewhat formally, but they jazz up basic jean shorts and a top because, well, there are mouse faces on them!!

What do you think of Marc Jacobs' design? Weird or totally awesome??

xox Chloe

Wish of the Day: Coloured Jeans

Hello lovelies!

Just a quick post today, sharing something I've been thinking of for ages! I think it was the May or June issue of People StyleWatch that first published this photo of Cameron Diaz:

google image search

Since I saw this, I have been obsessed with finding these jeans (or, rather, a similar but much much less expensive version). Alas, I have found one! But... my size was nowhere to be found.

These elusive pastel pink jeans can be found at Zara! And while I didn't get their pink ones, I did buy their mint green option a few weeks ago. I've been wearing them a lot (last night, actually, which reminded me of my quest for the pink ones...), and only take a few rolls at the ankle to be the right length. But I think this type of jean- coloured and summery- really lends itself to a rolled cuff. It adds an easy, laid-back vibe.

image from Zara

I'll definitely be checking Zara again this week to see if they've restocked these... oh, and did I forget to mention these were only $40? And on the Zara website, it seems as though they're now on sale for $30. Hopefully those pink ones are as fabulous as I remember them to be!

I'll be posting an OOTD with these very soon! 

Bisous,

xox Chloe