September, 2016 - It's All Chic to Me | Houston Fashion Blogger

Month: September 2016

Work Wear Wednesday: Leather + Peplum

September 28, 2016

Business chic style: leather pencil skirt + peplum top

Photography by: Banavenue

It has been way too long since I did a Work Wear Wednesday post! Today I wanted to bring you all one of my favorite outfit combos for work: the pencil skirt and peplum duo. It’s not new news that I am a fan of peplums. I think they are so flattering for all body types and add extra dimension to any outfit. I specifically love peplums paired with pencil skirts for a few reasons.

You don’t have to tuck any material into your skirt! GENIUS. Any other type of top that you wear with a pencil skirt will require you to tuck in your shirt. The less time I have to spend in the morning getting ready, the better. I think we all know how long it can take to get your tuck just right. You then have to pull a little out, make it look a little less straight laced and not so proper, you all know the drill. I’m telling you, peplums are the way to go, friends!
A little extra room. Who else loves a top that you can hide a food baby in? You would be lying if you said no! Peplums add a little “fluff” in the belly region so after lunch food babies are a worry of the past!
Great all year round. Peplums work for more than just a cute Summer top. For cooler temps (or a chilly office), peplums pair great with a light sweater or cardigan. My office is usually pretty cold so you would find me pairing this look with a cardigan, similar to this one.

Ok now let’s talk about this faux leather skirt for a minute. I’ve had serious doubts if leather is appropriate for the office. My answer is yes but hear me out. Moderation and feminism is key. My simple rules of thumb are this. 1) If you would consider wearing your outfit out to a bar, it is not appropriate for work. 2) It cannot be tight or short. Like at all. If you are still scratching your head after those two rules, I promise I will have a more in depth post up about wearing leather to work at a later date!

As always, feel free to add a pop of color into your outfit with your accessories. Since my top and skirt were both neutral colors, I knew that this purse would be the perfect pop of red. A big thanks to Macy’s Backstage for gifting me my purse and heels. Macy’s Backstage is such a great way to get designer items for a steal! Y’all must check it out if you have not heard of it yet.

I should be back with another work wear post in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, I would love to hear from you what all you would like to hear about concerning anything about business. I love sharing my office outfits with you, but I also love sharing and tips and advice that I can as well. If you think of something you’d like to read about, please let me know! Have a great day, friends!

*Thank you Macy’s Backstage for making this post possible. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.*

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NYFW, Outfits

New York Fashion Week – Day 4

September 26, 2016

NYFW street style: fringe skirt + choker top

Top: Express | Skirt: Similar (under $15) | Shoes: Johnston and Murphy | Earrings: Kendra Scott | Sunglasses: Similar

Our 4th and final day of the trip was possibly the busiest of them all. Gotta go out with a bang right? We woke up early to take pictures because lord knows you take as many pictures as possible when you’ve got that pretty New York skyline backdrop. Several outfit photos later and it was time to pack up all of our luggage. Considering it looked like a bomb went off (and that is putting it lightly) in our room, the fact that all 4 of us were able to get everything packed up and cleaned up in under 20 minutes was a NYFW miracle.

11 am: Bauble Bar showroom appointment– Bauble Bar is a jewelry company that I have always loved. Their jewelry is always so on trend and full of personality. After visiting their showroom, I’m convinced it is what pink dreams are made of. The cutest set up I have ever seen and I even got to bring a couple goodies home with me! I picked out these tassel earrings and blush choker.

12 pm: Irina Vitjaz fashion show– This show was so much fun to experience. The collection had such a whimsical appeal and I loved how each piece brought movement into the garment. From puffy sleeves and skirts to deep V necklines, the collection had a broad scope of beautiful pieces.

1 pm: Verdad presentation– This was our only presentation of the trip. The good thing about presentations is that they are usually for a lengthy period of time and you are free to come and go as you please. We were able to see the Verdad collection up close and personal which was really cool considering we had only been to fashion shows before this and those you don’t get to get as close and personal with the clothing. The Verdad collection consisted of a modern spin on denim so almost all of the pieces included some cool way to incorporate denim into a high fashion garment. I think it’s safe to say that denim will never go out of style!

3 pm: Leanne Marshall fashion show– We definitely saved the best for last. The Leanne Marshall show was hands down my favorite show to attend. Leanne Marshall was the season 5 Project Runway winner. Her collection consisted of bright colors, crop tops, flowy materials and sheer dresses. I loved how feminine and truly gorgeous each piece was. There were many other shows that we saw that I liked a handful of the collection, but I can honestly say I loved every single piece from the Leanne Marshall show! Especially the finale dress. O. MY. GOODNESS. Carrie Bradshaw would own that dress for sure.

4 pm: Charming Charlie appointment– I have been working with Charming Charlie for months now and wanted to finally be able to put a face to a name so this was one of my most important meetings. We had to reschedule multiple times throughout the weekend but I am so glad we got to meet the PR ladies and check out the huge New York shop. It was AMAZING! 2 stories full of clothes, purses and jewelry! I was in heaven 🙂

I can’t forget that we also had to make a pit stop for lunch at Shake Shack (yes, that’s 2 days in a row). I made sure to get a burger WITH meat and fries to make up for the day before. If you are in New York, you have to add this one to the list!

After our last meeting of the day, Britt and I made our way back to the hotel to grab our things and race to the airport. Racing around seemed to be a reoccurring theme for New York but we somehow made it out alive. We barely made it onto the plane before both of us passed out from exhaustion. Mouths wide open and sweet dreams of the past 4 days filled our minds as we dove into a deep slumber.

NYFW was hands down a dream come true for my fashion-loving heart. I grew up watching Project Runway, sewing my heart out (pajamas being the only successful thing I ever made), playing “dress up”, and wearing high heels for as long as I remember. I’ve always had a love for fashion and putting clothes together. It’s an art and I am so fortunate to have been able to witness first hand where all of the magic begins. From runway shows to brand meetings and let’s not forget meeting some of my favorite fashion icons, NYFW went well above any expectations I had going into the week. I’ve said it once before and I’ll say it again, if you are a fashion lover and you don’t have NYFW on your bucket list, your dreams aren’t big enough!

Thank you SO much for reading my NYFW recap series. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to relive each day through these posts. I will be taking a short break and then will be back for my tips and tricks to attend NYFW so that you can be with me there next year 🙂

*Thank you Johnston & Murphy for making this post possible. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.*

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NYFW, Outfits

New York Fashion Week – Day 3

September 23, 2016

Photos by: Laurel Creative

Andddd I’m back! I decided to give y’all a little break from the New York Fashion Week madness before sharing the rest of our amazing trip. Day 3 was definitely different from the rest, mostly in part to the date – September 11th. We had to wake up early this day to be in the city. The streets were completely quiet and now that I think about it, we didn’t run into a single person until probably 10 o’clock. Nobody was on the streets and the sun was not shining yet. It was almost an eerie feeling compared to the normal hustle and bustle that we were used to over the past couple of days. We stopped by a flower shop and all I could think about was where I was at 15 years ago on this day. The feeling of not completely understanding what was going on, but knowing that something was terribly wrong. Well 15 years later and this city and our nation stand strong. We will never forget.

Being that it was the 15th anniversary of September 11th and a Sunday, you could say that day 3 was much more calm than the rest. That being said, we still managed to squeeze in a photoshoot, hair appointment, fashion show and getting lost in Times Square. I may have said calm, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t still a fun and busy day!

9 am: Photoshoot with Laurel Creative– Margret, Britt and I met up with sweet Lauren to take a few photos because lord knows we didn’t already have enough! I am so happy that we got to connect with Lauren because these pictures are some of my favorite from the trip! I’ve always wanted a picture on the streets of NY with a taxi in the background and Lauren made my big apple dreams come true 🙂

12 pm: Lunch at Shake Shack– Yes, I am putting lunch on today’s itinerary because it was THAT good. So good we ate it twice. Literally. You will see that it will appear on day 4’s itinerary as well. If you get a chance to stop by while you are in New York, make sure you do! PSA- just know that the mushroom burger does not in fact contain meat. Total letdown.

2 pm: Explore Times Square– Britt and I had a few hours to spare so we took off in search of Times Square. We stopped by Hershey’s long enough to take a picture with a life sized Hershey bar and then made our way to Radio City Music Hall.

4 pm: Caravan Stylist Studio– Britt and I headed here to get our hair and make-up done. To say it was an experience would be the best way to put our appointment (long story!). My hair turned out great with a super cool, braided updo. You can see more of it here. One takeaway from NYFW this week was to definitely put more effort into booking hair/make up appointments next year because they are so much fun! What girl doesn’t like getting pampered… fo free!!

7 pm: Rosenthal Tee show– This show was located at the pier and was the only show we had at this location. We had hoped to arrive a little early to take pictures but of course we were running late so that was a fail! I had a great time and loved the entire collection! Rosenthal Tee’s line was the perfect mix of feminine, floral and modern.

Britt, Dede, Riane and I ended the night by going to The Smith for dinner and indulging in a few cocktails and truffle gnocchi. This was by far the best meal of the trip and I was so sad because I didn’t even put a dint in my gnocchi.

We had every intention of going out on the town after dinner but after a few cocktails and blistered feet, our LAKE pajamas sounded far more appealing than a bar. I was VERY easily persuaded to call the night early.

If you missed my day 1 and day 2 recap, be sure to check those out, especially if you are interested in attending NYFW in the future! I will have one more post up for my 4th and final day of the trip on Monday and then all of my tips for you fashionistas that are wanting to go one day, so be sure to check back!

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Outfits

Saying Goodbye to Summer

September 21, 2016

Summer Style: crop top + culottes

Top: Similar | Pants: Dillard’s (under $25) | Shoes: Similar | Purse: Rebecca Minkoff (newer version) | X-Ring: Nordstrom (12!)

Photography by: Banavenue

I now interrupt your regularly scheduled New York Fashion Week post to bring you this very important Summer outfit attire. Ok I am kidding, but I figured that both you and I could use a little break from all of the NYFW madness. Also, tomorrow officially marks the first day of Fall so I felt obligated to hurry up and get this long overdue post up!

Summer is officially coming to an end. Literally, tomorrow and now the weather report is saying we could have 60 degree weather next week so I think that means it’s about time to officially say goodbye to Summer. While I think this is the first year I am actually excited for some cool weather, I still hate pushing all of my favorite Summer wear to the back of my closet. I always feel guilty not getting as much use as I can out of those late Summer purchases, anybody else?

Now, being that it is the end of a season, is the time to stock up on items that you can use for next year. Stores are needing to clear out last season’s clothes in order to make room for all of the new Fall attire. That means “last season’s” clothes are priced for a steal because they just need to get those clothes outta there! A lot of the time you will find that there are even current season items that are marked way down so now is the time to pounce!

I know it can be hard to think about the future. Believe me, unless you are talking about my next 3 meals, that’s about as far into the future as I like to think about. But I have slowly learned that stocking up at the end of the season is a HUGE money saver and is the perfect time to add a few pieces to your wardrobe that you know you will wear without a doubt next year. So what am I stocking up on? Some items include basic tees and tanks, denim, sandals, wedges, comfy rompers and dresses, and swimsuits. I rounded up some of my recent purchases and other items I have my eye on below. O and I think you will be happy to know that all of my picks are under $25!!

Basic Tees/Tanks

Tops

Denim

Dresses/Rompers

Skirts

Swim/Shoes

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NYFW, Outfits

New York Fashion Week – Day 2

September 16, 2016

New York Fashion Week street style: Blue vest + wide leg pants

You would think it would be easier to wake up when you are in New York, surrounded by your gal pals, and having the best time of your life.. well that was not the case for this girl. After getting 2 hours of sleep the night before, surviving a full day of walking around the city and then going to bed late the first night.. my body already hated me and it was only day 2. Thank God for strong coffee because I needed an IV of it.

Day 2 was probably my favorite day for many reasons. Number one being that it was the first day I had a real meal and if you know me at all, I don’t skip a meal (like ever), except apparently when it’s fashion week because you are running around like a mad person to make it everywhere on time and you still seem to make it everywhere late. No wonder all of the New Yorkers are so tiny and cranky- now that I think of it they must all be hangry!

Anywho day 2 went a little something like this…

10 am: Dan Liu fashion show– Being that this was my first show of the trip, I had no idea what to expect but this surpassed any expectations! I was originally seated on the third row but close to show time a lady came around and told me I could move up to the front row. I was freaking out inside but told myself to play it cool. I called Margret who was not originally seated front row and told her there was a spot by me, so we ended up sitting next to each other for our first show ever. Love that we got to experience it together 🙂 After seeing the rest of the shows through out the trip this one was not my favorite but it still was a great show and I loved all of the Parisian themed dresses.

On the way to the next event we ran into Christine from the Hello Fashion blog. This was our second “celebrity” blogger spotting if you will and she was a doll! My phone was plenty charged this go around and so I snapped a selfie for picture evidence!

11 am: Shopstyle Social House event– Y’all. Shopstyle knows how to throw down. They had everything from a hair and make-up bar to designer gifting stations to drop dead gorgeous waiters waiting on you hand and foot. I’m not leaving any of the little details out, can you tell? 🙂 Those boys were smokin and they were feeding me rose, so to say I was a happy camper would be an understatement. They had 2 floors of fun which meant double the rose, double the gifts, and double the views. Those views were something out of the movies. The floor to ceiling glass windows that overlooked the Hudson River made for an incredible view of the city and even better pictures! I brought home so many great goodies including the Gigi NY bag that you will see in many of my photos, a pair of Sam Edelman heels, several cute Hallmark cards and tons of photobooth selfies!

3 pm: Namilia fashion show. Needing a good laugh today? Go google the Namilia fashion show. If you are taking my advice, maybe view it on a personal device and not a public computer. It’s bad- like rated R bad. We were so excited to actually be invited to multiple fashion shows that we didn’t even bother googling the designer who we were going to see. Big mistake and lesson learned.

We had planned a blogger meet up and then were supposed to attend the Armani party for the rest of the evening but that whole not having had a real meal thing (because $1 pizza and street hot dogs do not count) just wasn’t working for me. Margret and Britt suggested that we head to Central Park and a nice dinner. You don’t have to tempt me with anything more than good food and I’m in so off we went.

It was the only time of the entire trip that we were able to actually enjoy New York and see something other than a runway. Don’t get me wrong that was what we were there for and I enjoyed every second of it, but my sanity needed a little break from the hustle and bustle. We went to Fig and Olive for dinner and then Serendipity 3 for dessert. Britt and I shared the frozen mochaccino. It was $15 and the size of a small human. We sucked that bad boy dry-it was THAT good!

Before we knew it, 6 hours had passed and the sleep deprivation and blistered feet won us over. We called an Uber back to the hotel and called it a night. I love quality time spent with my blogger babes, especially when it’s in a new city doing what we absolutely love!

If you missed it, my day one recap is here and you can find day three and four recaps up in the next couple of days! Thank you for following along with me!

NYFW street style, girl gang, Sex and the City, Community over competition