Lookbook: Mirrors

I decided after this lookbook that the big football shoulder pads on this blazer make me look bigger than I really am.  Need to think about taking those out... Other than that, I'm a fan of this blazer.  Funny story... we stopped by this building and the windows were mirrored, like true mirrored windows, not those kinds that you can see your reflection but also see inside.  So I think "Perfect! I can check on my outfit before we shoot this lookbook."  I mean I realized that they are windows but I'm thinking that since I'm on the side of the building, I should be okay.  I'm all checking myself out when some guy walks out of the door (which is a few feet away from the mirror I'm looking at) and is like "um, even though these are mirrored, we can see what you're doing." and all I could do was laugh because they probably were sitting in their conference room or something watching me check my teeth.  LOL!  I didn't care though and we still shot the lookbooks around the building.  I'll just know for next time not to use the mirrors!  I get asked about shooting my lookbooks in public and with people watching me but I really don't care who watches.  I mean I've had cars slow down just to watch me get my picture taken.  I just ignore it or sometimes I'll smile at them and usually they just smile back and move on.  It's really nothing to be self conscious about!  Sometimes we get stopped by nice people who ask if husband wants to join in the picture and they'll help us take it.  haha!  People don't know that you are taking an outfit photo for a blog, they'll just assume that you are taking a picture because you like the area so if you take yourself out of the mindset that it's a "lookbook" photo instead of just a regular photo then you won't be so self conscious.

---

 

3.1 Phillip Lim Shawl Lapel Blazer
Such a gorgeous blazer and 50% off too!

Oooh, I love the look of this ASOS Lace Jacket.  It would be so pretty over a floral dress or with the skirt I'm wearing.  The Cropped Lace Blazer from Forever 21 is super cute too.

 

Forever 21 Rose Top

Downtown Seattle just got their first Forever 21 store and it's massive!  I stopped in the day before the grand opening on accident as I was just in downtown shopping and saw that it was open.  The sales associate told me that they didn't even know it would be open but they got it ready fast enough so they were letting people shop a day early.  It was nice since not many people knew so it wasn't the usual madhouse AND it was all clean and neat!  Two things that I never expect a Forever 21 to be :)  

Anyway, the top I'm wearing is one that I picked up while I was there.  I just got it a few weeks ago so it may be at the stores but I can't find it online.  However they have a lot of cute blouses now.   Adore this top with the texture of the lace and the floral print and the Chiffon Floral Print Top is pretty too and would look great underneath a blazer.

J Crew Swoon Skirt

They don't have mine anymore but I love this one in the vibrant blue.  Or check out the Petal Skirt which is similar and on sale.  This skirt from Lucky Brand is super similar to mine and on sale!

Miss Dior Pumps

I love the Miss Dior pumps.  I'm thinking about getting them in black too.  But you know how I like my fun color shoes so I always like to see if they bring out different colors for every season.  There are a lot of cute blue pumps.  I really like the shape of these Ivanka Trump pumps - on sale.  Or these bow pumps in the dark blue are really cute too (and on sale.)

Rebecca Minkoff MAC Clutch

I love this clutch but it's really hard to find the bright colors anymore!  I'm glad I got the blue one and the pink one when I could.  Seems like I can only find the neutrals now.  Let's hope she brings back some of her fun colors!  Also, if you are wondering, I totally gave those tassels a "hair cut".  haha!  I didn't like the look of the long tassels but then I didn't like the look of the shorter tassels too so now I just took them completely off.  

Tiffany & Co. Amethyst Ring

My wedding present from the hubs!

Wendy Brandes Diana Ring

 Zoya Kimmy

I bought all of the colors from the Summertime collection and I love all of them.  Perfect sparkly summer nails!

Tweet

Lookbook: Zara Love

Why oh why does Zara torture me by not having a store in Seattle?  I love how San Francisco has two stores within walking distance of each other (and I always go to both in case I missed something at the other store).  And even with all the amazing shopping in New York, Zara is still one of my favorite stops there.  I just can't help but love their always on trend but not too trendy pieces and although the price point isn't super cheap, it's still great for the quality and what you get.  At the very least can't they have an online store?  I need my Zara fix!

I showed you all the fun bright pieces that I got from my last shopping haul at Zara and this little striped shirt was a definite "must have" when I spotted it on the hanger.  I don't have anything similar to it and I just adore the colors.

Oh and I'm so excited to share with you guys that my sister recently started a blog!  Growing up I always wanted to wear whatever my sister was wearing and actually that still applies now but too bad she lives too far away to share closets.  If I can only convince her and her husband to move back to the west coast.  haha ;)  Anyway, I may be biased because she's my sister but she is super fabulous, so check her out here!

***Happy Friday!***

---

  GAP Pima sheer yoke striped Tee

It's impossible to find anything similar but this top is really cute and comes in several colors.  Or you could try this cute Yumi Kim striped top.  Also, this striped ruffle tank from LOFT is adorable.

Rag & Bone The Legging

Did you see the Refinery 29 Reserve deal?  $150 for $300 at Rag and Bone!  I had to get the deal as they make my favorite skinny jeans ever.  I really want one of their bright color skinnies but can't decide what color!  Should I get the mint, salmon, bright cobalt or kelly green?  Decisions, decisions!

Forever 21 Striped Cardigan

I always like to pair stripes with stripes and I don't have a brightly colored stiped cardigan like this, it would look so cute with the yellow top. Or this bright stripe cardigan too.

Michael Antonio Love Me Pump
Yellow pumps just brighten up any outfit!  If you don't want to spend a lot, these Michael Antonio pumps are a great choice, however, I do love the color and style of the Giuseppe Zanotti heels!  You can't be shy when wearing yellow shoes, they attract a lot of attention! :) 

Yves Saint Laurent Arty gold-plated glass ring

Also, if you didn't know already, Nordstrom is having their half yearly sale!  I'm not in town so I can't shop in the store but I've been doing some online shopping and have ordered a few things that I can't wait to get!  I got this adorable Joie Ruffle Sleeve Silk Blouse, I think it will look so cute with shorts or a skirt.  I also got this Marc by Marc Jacobs blouse is gorgeous for work paired with a slim pencil skirt.  And I had to add in these Alexis Bittar bangles.  I've always loved Alexis Bittar but couldn't pull the trigger because of the price so I'm happy they are on sale!  Oh and the advantage of online shopping is using ebates so don't forget to use them, they upped the Nordstrom cashback to 5%!

Tweet

Stiletto Hardware Foot Cushions (and giveaway!)

I get asked so much about how I can wear heels all day long and although I think just the experience of wearing heels all the time for a long time has helped me out, my little trick is also foot pads and insoles to help cushion my feet and prevent my foot from slipping forward which I find often is the cause of the pain.  When Kelly, the founder and creator of Stiletto Hardware reached out to me and asked me if I wanted to try out the Stiletto Hardware foot cushions, I just had to test them out as I've been using foot pads for years and wanted to see what made these different.  Plus I loved that she was a small business owner who had an idea and went out and made it happen.  Something totally admirable and I love supporting small businesses.  She sent me a few of their foot cushions to try out and I have to say, I honestly loved them all. 

They are different than the other foot pads that I've used as they have a memory foam top layer which made them super comfortable.  The Ultra Slender Ball of Foot Cushions are great for those shoes where you don't want to slip out of them but aren't too big.  These ones are a bit slimmer so they don't add that extra little bit that can sometimes make shoes too tight.  And these are not just for high heels.  I often find that flats can become uncomfortable and so that's where the Heel Cushion comes into play as they were made specifically for flats!  All of them were super easy to apply, just peel the sticker off and apply.  I was able to adjust them to my shoe for a just right fit so don't be afraid if you stick them down they will be stuck like that forever.  I highly recommend getting these for any pair of shoes that you know you'll be wearing for a long period of time!

Kelly was kind enough to offer my readers 15% off your order, just use code "STYLE-ISH" when you shop and they also offer free shipping for any orders over $10 which is fantastic!  At $7.95 each, they really are worth it to make your shoes feel a lot more comfortable.

And to sweeten the deal, we are also partnering for a giveaway!!  The winner will win a prize package of 2 of each of the cushions so 6 foot cushions total!

All you need to do to enter is to leave a comment with how you follow my blog.  It doesn't matter how you do it, through RSS reader, Facebook, twitter, Google Friend Connect, email subscription, or just visiting my blog daily, whatever it is, just let me know!  And for an extra entry, just "like" Stiletto Hardware on Facebook!  If you do that, please leave an additional comment letting me know.

Entries will be closed at 12:00AM PST on Thursday June 2nd and winner will be chosen through random draw.

Disclosure: Products were sent to me for free for review.  This review post was not paid for or promised.  All opinions are of my own.

Tweet

The Wantlist: Shoes!

Oh just doing some shoe shopping and thought I'd share some things on my "wantlist".  I need a new pair of pumps like I need a hole in the head but these pretties are too hard to resist.

'Deco' Bow Trim Pump (Gray) - on sale! | Pleated Platform Pump | Deco' Bow Trim Pump (Black)

I definitely do need new wedges as I only own a few (and to be honest, not usually a fan of them on me) but decided to give them another try this summer.  I'm loving the gray and yellow combo of the Louboutins!

Christian Louboutin Chus | Yves Saint Laurent 'Deauville | Miu Miu Stitched Wedge

And espadrilles are a "must" for the summer but I don't own any!  Time to change that!

Paloma Barceló America | Paloma Barceló Natalia | Tory Burch Striped espadrille 

So, should I go for the pumps that I would wear all the time (but already own a million pumps) or the wedges/espadrilles that I may only get to wear during the summer but would add a good mix to the shoe wardrobe?  Which ones would you get?

---

My latest post on the smarter blog is up!  See my tips on styling summer dresses including how I styled this little number 2 ways!

Tweet

Lookbook: Pink Pantser

Thank you guys so much for all the nice comments about the new format of my lookbook photos!  I'm glad you guys like them and the change was good for me.  It's funny, when I first started documenting my outfits 2+ years ago, the other style bloggers (there was way less of us back then!) were like me.  No fancy backgrounds, no fancy shots.  It was just purely about the outfit.  Along the way, sites like lookbook.nu and Chictopia started up (which I've never joined, I have mixed feelings about them) which I think sparked the model like poses and editorial like shots.  The no smile, eyes down, really moody kind of poses against a grungy background/empty field/brick wall.  Well, that's certainly not me so I went on my merry way with my non model-like outfit shots and was fine with them.  I resisted the change because I liked my plain jane, no frills lookbook shots but as my blog grows, I've gone through some changes (this is my 3rd blog design I'm on!) so I thought about it and thought that it was time to get with the times.  Hang out with the "in crowd" :)  So I requested a different way to shoot my lookbooks and my ever so patient husband, obliged my every request on what needed to be shot and how to shoot it until we were happy with the style that was shot. I also owe my husband a big thank you for he's the one that came up with the idea of adding "What I'm Wearing" to the photos and I got a lot of feedback that you guys love it.  (Hubs also came up with the silly title of this post.  lol!)  Being a blogger for as long as I have, it's only natural to go through some changes and I feel as I've been stuck in a rut for a bit so I'm ready to change it up.  I'm not sure what else I'll be changing, I think I'll just be adding a variety to the type of posts I write (not just style/fashion related) so if you have any suggestions of what else you'd like to see, feel free to let me know!

Onto the outfit!  I searched high and low for pink pants and my first stop in San Francisco was Zara where I had a suspicion that they would have them and they did!  They had 2 pairs that I really wanted but I ended up just taking these home as I thought 2 pairs of pink pants may be a bit excessive (but now I want the other pair. haha)  My outfit was inspired by an outfit I saw in a magazine as I loved how they styled the pink pants with the ribbon belt so that's exactly what I did!  It's just a fun twist to the usual belt and I'm loving it.  Just go to the fabric store and buy a ribbon that's long enough to fit your waist!  Super easy and cheap too!

Have you joined my ebates giveaway yet?  Read here for the details and if you click here to join ebates, you'll automatically be entered in my $100 Giveaway!

---

J Crew Tuxedo Shirt

I like the pleated detailing in the front of the shirt.  The tuxedo henley is similar but a bit more casual and it's on sale for $19.99 with 30% off all sale items. (use code LOVEIT, expires on Wed.) and don't forget to ebates it to get cashback as well.  Or just get the boy shirt for the same look without the pleats

Ksubi Super Skinny Jeans

These are a more loose fitting trouser in the same fun pink color or these ASOS skinny jeans are super similar to mine (but limited sizes).  Delia's also has a cute pair, for a whopping $9.99!

Miu Miu Leather pumps

I mentioned on a previous lookbook how much I love these pumps and I still do! If you are a size 6.5 you are so lucky as Bluefly.com has the same pair for 20% off!  I'm also dying for these two tone peep-toe pumps. So pretty!!  The Cole Haan Air Talia pumps are great for a "designer" pump but at a better price point.

WGACA VINTAGE Chanel Quilted Lamb Clutch

"What Goes Around Come Around Vintage" bags are always in fantastic shape but they are all still really expensive.  Still, I do love looking at their selection of bags and jewelry.  And if you haven't read my post on my tips of where/how to buy vintage Chanel, click here!

Tweet

Easy DIY! Make your own cocktail rings

I had a few sharp eye readers notice my vintage earring to ring DIY that I occasionally wear on my lookbooks and ask for a tutorial.  It's really quite easy and not much skill is needed except the ability to use pliers and glue! :)  When I go vintage shopping, I often find pretty brooches or earrings and I think "that would look fabulous as a ring!" which is basically how I came up with the DIY.  I stumble upon a lot of vintage clip on earrings that I love but wouldn't wear as earrings so this is a terrific way to make good use out of them.

1. Find the pieces that you'd like to turn into rings

2. The tools: Glue | Pliers | Felt | Ring Base

3. & 4. The earring you want to make into a ring + the ring base

5. Take the clip of the earring off by gently removing the entire piece with pliers

6. Cut out a piece of felt that just covers the base of the earring

7. Glue the felt to the earring with glue (I used Beacon Gem-Tac Glue)

8. Glue the ring base to the felt (I used Aleene's Jewelry & Metal Glue)

Hold the ring base down tightly to the jewelry for a few minutes

9. Voila!  A new ring for you to wear!

A few notes: 

• I used 2 different glues because the Gem Tac glue is a lot less stronger and glueing the felt to the earring doesn't require a super strong glue, whereas the ring base is really light and can fly off really easily so I used a much stronger adhesive to glue the ring base on.
• I searched high and low at all the craft stores around here for ring bases and came up with nothing so you may have better luck at the stores near you.  If not, I went on ebay to get mine.  I don't remember the seller I bought them from, but these are the same bases.  ($8 for 100 bases so not expensive at all.)  I like that they are adjustable so I can wear them on any finger.
• The pliers I used are a jewelry pliers that also cut wire and other metals.  Really effective when you have earring bases with posts or a pendant where you want to clip off the loop where the necklace goes.  For the clip on earrings you can use regular pliers too.
• If the earring back (or whatever you are using) is smooth, you can probably skip the felt part.  That's just so you have a smooth surface to glue the ring base on.  

You can make rings with anything that you find that can be stuck on the ring base.  Here are a few that I made: The flower was previously a pendant that I found at the craft store for like $2.  And a bow that I also found at the craft store for really cheap and came with a pack of 6 bows.  Both make for cute rings for very little cost!

 

These two are my favorites that I've turned into rings.  The blue rhinestones are my mom's earrings that she wore back in the 80's.  I rummaged through her costume jewelry box and found lots of fun jewelry to either just wear as is or make into something new.  The gold one on the right is a vintage find from an antique mall that was previously a clip on earring.  The nice part about having earrings is that you always have one to give away to somebody!  My mom loves having her old earring that was just sitting in her jewelry box as a fun ring to wear now.

Have fun with it and even just look through your own jewelry box for things that you stopped wearing long ago and see if you can upcycle them into a pretty cocktail ring for your finger!  Just a caveat that this is not the most effective way to make into rings as the glue can become loose and it can fall off so I do recommend using very strong glue when making these and also jewelry pieces that aren't too pricey/meaningful in case something does happen to them.  I've had to re-glue a few that have come loose after a long day of wearing them and accidentally smacking them into things but really, a dab of glue is not so hard to do so it's worth it to me!

P.S. A few new posts from me over at the Smarter blog!  Check out my favorite accessory to add a pop of color to your outfit and my tips on how to style pleated skirts!

Tweet

Lookbook: Miu Miu Bow Bag

First lookbook for the Miu Miu bow bag!  I <3 this bag so so much.  I haven't stopped carrying it since I got it.  It's the perfect size for all my stuff and just so cute!  These pictures are the first day I got it so the leather is a bit stiff (the top flap is suppossed to flap over but it wasn't cooperating because it was too stiff) but now it's all nice and smooshy and gets smooshier by the day.  I love smooshy leather.  And just saying smooshy in general.  LOL!

This little dress is one of my all time favorites and I actually wore it around this time last year.  (Boy was I tan!  I just got back from Jamaica in that photo which is funny because I'm off to Jamaica again soon.)

---

 

Theory Alexandra Striped Silk Dress
I can't find anything similar to mine with the ruffles, but lots of fun stripey dresses to choose from!  This Theory one is really pretty but also loving the Minkpink stripe mini dress (on sale for $32!).  Also adore the Vince maxi dress.  I think I need a striped maxi dress to add to my summer wardrobe.

Heritage1981 Crest Nautical Cardigan
You can't see the back of my cardigan but it has stripes on the back.  I love the look of the nautical cardigans though and Forever 21 has some good options for great prices like the one above or the Nautical Open Front Cardigan.  This Striped Cotton Cardigan would also look cute with a striped dress and only $17.

Christian Louboutin Simple 70 leather pumps
I've had a few readers tell me that they had luck finding the Simple 100 pumps (the ones I'm wearing) by stalking the stores or having a sales associate stalk the inventory for them, so they definitely still are available!  I can only find the 70 (which means a 3 inch heel) so if you like the shorter heel, snap these up! 

The Corso Como "Palomar" Platform Pumps are a great "look for less" option! Or I love these Vince Camuto Missie Pump with the studs on the back!  Also, if you love a super high heel, check out the Dolce Vita Dorothy Pumps!

Miu Miu Bow Bag

I took a long time deciding which color I wanted and I was slightly worried about this gray but now I love it.  It's neutral enough to go with everything but still stands out with the outfit.  If you are looking for something similar and not as pricey, check out the Kate Spade Cobble Hill, the shape is really similar!  I think for the same type of satchel shape, the Badgley Mischka Melissa Turnlock Satchel is also really cute.

Yves Saint Laurent Arty Too ring

I love the Arty Too ring!  It's still a statement ring but more delicate than original Arty ring.

Tweet