WInter 2013

This winter I have been wearing a lot of leggings to work. I believe these are from H&M and I snagged them from a friend. I love this shirt that I purchased at jcrew. Jcrew has some great flannel shirts and flannel shirts are always practical, especially in San Francisco. I paired it with a leather skirt I found at Banana Republic and added some color to the outfit with the red belt. I added pearls to the outfit. I think leggings like this look great with a pair of heels.

I found these pants at Zara and always get compliments on them. They are great to wear to the office and also during a night out. I paired it with a white shirt and a black cardigan from Forever 21. To add some color to the outfit I opted for a green necklace. Don't be afraid to wear clothes to the office that you might wear during a night out.

This is a perfect winter outfit. I just purchased this sweater at Madewell and wear it all the time. I wore it over a cashmere dressed I found at Bloomingdales. To add more warmth I put on some leggings and then added some leg warmers. If I were to wear this outfit to the office I would remove the leg warmers and wear black boots instead. Don't be afraid to layer and mix colors.

Sorry that this photo is quite dark!! Once again I am wearing my leggings from American Apparel. They have the best leggings and are very comfortable. I paired it with a Soft Joie Sweater I found on sale at Sak's. This sweater is just the right length to wear with leggings. I opted to wear black boots and decided not to incorporate any color. Wearing all black is always good.

Winter is here.. yet it is so warm out.

I've been wanting to pull out my San Francisco winter clothing but the weather hasn't corroborated. Not that I am complaining b/c it has been quite nice out. I hope this weather lasts through January. Below are a few examples of outfits I've been wearing over the past few weeks. I've tried to incorporate a lot of pieces from Banana Republic and American Apparel ( for example ) with clothes I've bought at thrift stores.

I was going through my closest looking for clothes to donate to Dress for Success. This is an amazing organization and takes business attire for women looking to get back on their feet and into the job market. While going through my closest I found those blacks pants from Jcrew. I paired it with a top I bought from Kenneth Cole years ago. As I've said before I am a big fan of digging through a closest and pulling out what you haven't worn in years. To incorporate some color into this outfit I added a purple belt.

I love this dress because of the huge belt and all the embellishments. This is a great day to night dress. I paired it with a pair of beige heels. Just remember when you wear something that has a lot of embellishments you can go easy on the jewelry.

I love the color yellow and don't wear it nearly enough. This is a tank top I found at a thrift store in San Francisco. I use to wear it all the time. I paired it with a pair of black jeans that I picked up from Macy's. I've also had these jeans forever!  I love how yellow and gray compliment one another. They look great together. Don't be afraid to mix and match colors.

This is a pretty stable conservative office outfit. You can never go wrong with a pencil skirt. I purchased this white blouse at Old Navy. My gold chain necklace is from Banana Republic. If you put a blazer over this you could easily wear this outfit to a job interview.

I really love this outfit b/c I love the contrast of the black dress with the tan sweater. I don't remember where I purchased this sweater but I love it. I love how this long sweater almost hits the bottom of the dress. I paired it with black tights and black shoes just so I didn't have too much going on in the outfit. I wanted to keep it simple.

As I said its been quite warm in San Francisco. What I love about this dress is I can wear it both ways.. What I mean is that what is considered the back also looks great as the front and vice versa. Just keep in mind that this doesn't work for all dresses!  When it does work it is great b/c you almost get two different looks. I believe this is actually the back of the dress that I am wearing in the front. Don't be afraid to experiment. I bought this dress at the Gap.

I am once again wearing my Macy's black jeans. These jeans are great b/c they can almost pass for a pair of slacks. I paired it with a beige blouse I found at H&M. Since I thought it was going to be cold in our office I decided to add a sweater vests. I love sweater vests and they look great with long and shirt sleeved shirts. I also wear this vest a lot with blue jeans and a plan white t-shirt.

I love this blouse that I found at a SF thrift store. Don't be afraid of thrift stores.. At times I feel overwhelmed but I always go into one with something in mind to purchase/look for. I paired this blouse with a pencil skirt from Banana Republic.  Banana Republic has the best pencil skirts.

August weather... in SF... cold

Anyone who follows this blog and is from SF knows that August is one of the coldest months in San Francisco. The fog is out and about and when it comes to dressing it is all about layering. However, this month it really hasn't been that bad except for a few very winter like days. Check out my photos below, keeping in mind that these outfits I put together are great to throw a sweater over and then a long coat to keep you warm for cold days.

Today happened to be a beautiful day in San Francisco hence the sunglasses. I love this Zara skirt because it looks great with tights and w/out. I paired it with a lightweight blouse and then pulled the outfit together with a brownish black wide belt. I of course rolled the sleeves for a cooler look but if you have a meeting with some executives I recommend not rolling up the sleeves.

I love mixing gray and white together b/c they compliment one another so well. My entire outfit except for the shoes is from Zara. Zara is a great place to purchase clothing that you can wear to the office and out and about.

As you know I LOVE wearing all back. I snagged this vintage silver/gold belt from Grandmother and try to wear it as much as possible. Instead of wearing black heels I opted for my beige heels that I bought at Macy's. Wearing all black is such a staple for a conservative office but don't be afraid to throw in a statement piece whether that be a belt, scarf or necklace.

Once again.. all black.. I know!!! I found this dress at Bloomingdales in the Aqua area. This is a dress I would never wear without a belt b/c it looks so plain. I threw in a brownish blue belt to break up all the black. If you have a business meeting you can easily throw a blazer over this outfit.

There is something about blue and black together that works and screams office environment. I found this shirt at a thrift store in SF and paired it with my pencil skirt from Banana Republic. Banana Republic makes the best pencil skirts and they are worth the investment. If you don't want to make an investment in a piece of clothing check out thrift stores because they are the best. When I go into a thrift store I usually go in looking for a certain item otherwise I get overwhelmed.

Just to change it up a bit I decided to wear something colorful to the office. Once again my pencil skirt is from Banana Republic. I found this shirt at H&M and love the floral design. Pencil skirts.. they are great for the office!

Missing Paris

Sorry for my lack of posts...  Now that I am back in the US I promise to be better at posting. At the beginning of July I spent some time in Paris and the Netherlands visiting family and friends. I found some very cool clothing and jewelry items that I brought back with me to the states. I would have to say the trend right now in Paris is skinny jeans with flats. I saw every stylish French woman wearing them. I bought my fair share of shoes while on my trip so please check out my new posts.

This is a dress I found in Granada at H&M during their summer sale. Even though the stores are crazy busy with people everywhere I tell myself to be patient b/c I might find a great item.. and this dress is one of them. I paired it with my Minelli heels and tied a black belt around my waist. I threw on a cardigan since it is always cold in my office. If you want to incorporate some color into this outfit I would throw on a teal or pink cardigan. My cardigan is from Forever 21. 

I purchased this shirt before my European vacation and love it. It is so comfortable and I recommend everyone making a trip to Urban Outfitters to purchase one. It is great shirt to wear to the office but also on the weekends when you are out and about. I paired it with a skirt I found at Zara and finished off the outfit with my Christian Dior vintage belt. I also threw on a vintage necklace I found at Stuff which is a SF antique store.  I love the green and black combo. 

I haven't worn this dress in such a long time so I decided to pull it out from the back of my closet. Remember... always check the back b/c you never know what you might find. This is a great day into night dress. Even though the majority of the outfit is on the lighter side except for the blazer I decided to wear a bright Turquoise leaf necklace that I found in Amsterdam. Don't be afraid to throw in a color that you think might not work for your outfit. More than likely it will work out.. Take chances and change it up a bit!!! My dress is from Urban Outfitters.

I decided to mix black with a little color. Anyone who is interested in fashion should take a trip to Vietnam b/c you can have clothes made to your size for fairly cheap. I had this skirt made while in Hoi An, Vietnam. I paired it with a black shirt since I decided to wear a black belt today with the outfit. This type of coloring on the skirt would also look good with a cream colored shirt. I went with a dark blackish green shoe to add some more color to the outfit vs wearing a pair of black heels.

I know you've seen me wear this in past posts but I love this jacket. You can easily throw it over any outfit and belt it for a more sophisticated polished look. Recently, I've been seeing a lot of these kimono inspired jackets in different stores. I purchased this one at Forever 21.

This time I paired a short gray blazer over my purple dress. I love the mixture of gray and purple together b/c I think these two colors compliment one another well. I usually like to wear black but at times I like to play with color. I found this dress at Jeremy's in San Francisco.

Now on to some finds I found while on holiday. I've worn these shoes twice since returning to the US and I love them. I found them at a store in Utrecht in the Netherlands and believe the store was called Manfield. The black on the side of the shoes are little bows. I decided to go for all black today and wore my 1969 Gap skinnies and a black shirt I found at Zara in Paris. I found this shirt on sale and it has an exposed zipper down the back of it. I wore my H&M military jacket over the shirt for a finished look. Its hard to see in the photo but I am wearing a long watch locket necklace that I found at a flea market in Amsterdam. Flea markets are the best for cheap finds.

Yes.. I am once again wearing the shoes. Today I decided to wear a tighter form fitting dress to the office. If this is showing to much skin for your office you can easily throw on a pair of tights. I found this dress at Banana Republic...on sale. Always check their sale rack b/c you can find some great reduced items.

Right now I am into blazers b/c they make an outfit look that much more pulled together and are great to throw on when you have a business meeting. Once again I am in all black but to throw in a touch of color I added a gray blazer and rolled up the sleeves to expose the pink fabric. On this blazer are brown elbow pads so I belted this skirt with a lined belt that had a brown front. The brown coloring on this belt brought the the outfit together. I like to mix new with vintage so I threw on this vintage necklace I found at a San Francisco thrift store. This blazer is from H&M.

Another blazer.. I know. I found this one at Zara. I love to mix black and white together similar to what I did in the photo above. However, to throw in a different color I went for a brownish camel heel instead of black. I found these shoes at Minelli in Paris. I LOVE Minelli shoes b/c they are so comfortable. Yes, they are more on the expensive side but they are worth it. Don't be afraid to add in a color that you think might not go with your outfit. In the end it probably will and make your outfit look a little bit edgier. My necklace is from the St Ouen Paris flea Market.

Summer weather is here.. I hope

Today it was cold out, for a Californian so I wore a sweater and paired my sequence skirt with tights. My gray sweater is a vintage sweater that use to belong to my Grandfather. I paired it with this skirt and love to mix gray and black together. I bought this skirt from Bloomingdales. 

I always say look through the back of your closest b/c you never know what you might find. This is a skirt I bought many years ago from Banana Republic that I had shortened and now wear it all the time. I paired it with a silk blouse that I purchased while in Spain. Since there is so much detail on the blouse I decided to not wear a necklace. 

As you can tell I really love my American Apparel skirt and I wear it a lot. Since it was warm out I wore it with just a t-shirt and tied a belt around my waist to break up the entire outfit. I kept it pretty simple today but yet conservative and trendy for the office. 

Today it was very warm in San Francisco so I wanted to wear a nice dress to the office. I found this dress at H&M in Spain and paired a black belt with it. I opted to go with a black belt today since I have been wearing my red belt a lot. If you have a business meeting to attend you can easily pull a blazer over this outfit. 

I felt like wearing some color today and I love this cheap bright pink t-shirt I found at Forever 21. I paired it with this skirt I found at the San Francisco Treasure Island Flea Market. Flea Markets are great finds for clothing especially because you are more apt to find something that not everyone is going to have. 

Today I felt dressing on the more professional side but trendy. As I said before pleats are in and I decided to pair this pleated skirt with my black blazer. I think this blue coloring looks great with gray so I wore a gray shirt underneath my jacket. I purchased this shirt from the gap and my skirt is from american apparel. Where the jacket falls on this outfit is perfect. Not very short and not very long.  

I found this dress at H&M at the end of last year. It is very light weight and looks good with a splash of color... like a red belt. Since this dress is on the shorter side I wore black tights with the outfit. My boots are from Barefeet Shoes.

Black with a little color

I love the color of this dress and it always good to throw in some color vs wearing all black. I found this dress at a San Francisco thrift store and tied a black belt around my waist to break up all the purple. Instead of wearing black heels I went with beige which looks great with so many different colors. I am wearing bandalino heels which you can buy at Macy's. 

Today was casual day at my office so I decided to wear dark jeans to work. I made a big cuff at the bottom vs rolling the jean leg a few times. My tank blouse is from H&M and my blazer is from United Colors of Benetton. I once again rolled the sleeves for a cooler/hipper look. My jeans are from Gap's 1969 line and they are very comfortable. Instead of wearing black heels I went with beige heels to bring out the colors on the shirt more. 

With this outfit I wanted to see what blue on blue looked like and overall I liked it. I decided to switch it up and not wear a black pencil skirt with this blouse and go for something different. I found this blouse about a month or so ago at Forever 21. It is actually a 3/4 length blouse so getting it to stay in the actual skirt was a challenge but it stayed. My skirt is from theory. I think the blue on blue works for this outfit b/c it is two very different shades of blue. My black heels are by Michael Kors. 

I found this dress at Banana Republic and love the silhouette. I try to find dresses that have a little bit of creativity to them vs being plain and straight. I love the shoulders on this dress and sleeves. In the back there is a zipper that zips up the entire way. I wore this dress with my Miz Mooz heels. Once again, another great dress to wear to the office and after to a work event. 

I purchased this dress at Bloomingdales and it is very very soft.. Cashmere!! If you are going to make an investment in a piece I would make sure it is spent on an outfit you can wear to work, wear out to an event and any other possibilities. I wear this dress a lot to work and also to after work events. In the winter time I usually wear it with tights.. I tied a belt around the dress to accentuate my waist a bit more. I found this belt in Singapore. To make this outfit even more professional you could put a black blazer over it. 

I LOVE American Apparel and find their clothing very comfortable. I purchased this pullover from American Apparel and wear it to work and also on the weekends. I put a blank tank top underneath the pullover since there is not much material to this piece. My black pants are from H&M and I wear them a lot. I am sure you have seen them in older posts. A good investment and they were cheap. I am wearing Bandalino heels. A beige heel is essential b/c you can wear them with just about anything. Always a good investment. 

I love this skirt that I purchased at Banana republic and wear it with tights when it is cold out. My shirt is a plain t-shirt that I purchased at Forever 21. In past posts I said it always good to mix something cheap with something expensive. I believe this shirt cost me $5.00 and the skirt was a lot more. I snagged this belt from a pair of pants that the belt came with. I am wearing Enzo heels. 

I love wearing skirts but it suddenly felt like winter again in San Francisco so today I opted for pants. I purchased these pants at H&M and wear them all the time. They are great to wear to the office and can easily be paired with a blazer if you had a job interview. My sheer sweater is from Elizabeth and James. I love this line but it is so expensive so I always try to find their items at thrift stores. I found this sweater at Jeremys in San Francisco. I wanted to add some color to the outfit so I pulled out my red belt that I purchased from FCUK. I love wearing all black but I am always a big fan of adding a pop of color to any black and/or dark outfit. I just purchased these Enzo heels at Nordstrom. I love the height and they are pretty comfortable. My necklace is from Modcloth.

Even though this section is titled black with a little bit of color I thought I would change it up a bit and wear this blue pleated skirt from American Apparel. The other day I attended a fashion event and they said that the color of the skirt above was the new trend color for the season. I love this skirt and overall love American Apparel merchandise. My blouse is a vintage YSL blouse that I snagged from my grandmother. I love pairing something vintage with something new. Fashion advice to all those fashionistas out there" Always mix old and new together." I pulled the outfit together with a belt I found for $5.00 at Forever 21. 

Today I had a conference to attend for work so I wanted to wear something that a. kept me warm since it took place in a conference center and b. looked professional. I ended up wearing this today and threw a black button down cardigan over this shirt so I wasn't freezing. Over the weekend I purchased this shirt b/c I thought I could wear it to work ( with a sweater over it ) but also over the weekend. I love the coloring of this shirt b/c all of these colors stand out. I purchased this shirt for $14.00 from H&M. My skirt is from Zara and my tights are from the Gap. This would also be a great day to night outfit. You can easily pull of the sweater and show some skin.. :-) 

Today it was casual day at my office yet I still try to dress in a professional way that is appropriate for business meetings. Skinny jeans are the best and look great on many women. If you don't have any I recommend purchasing some in many colors. My jeans are from the Gap, 1969 line. I love them and wear them all the time. I purchased this oversize shirt at Jeremy's in San Francisco. I am a huge fan of the military look and wanted a light jacket to throw over the outfit since it was warm out. I found this jacket at H&M and love it. It looks great over an oversize shirt and also a shirt tucked into a pants outfit. My heels are from Ann Taylor.

 I purchased this skirt many years ago from Banana Republic and recently had it shortened. I encourage everyone to dig to the back of their closest and pull out those clothes that you don't always wear.  I love the color blocking on this skirt. I paired the skirt with a shirt I found at the Gap. The coloring of the shirt goes well with the overall colors of the skirt. To add a hint of dark coloring to this outfit I added my brown vintage Christian Dior belt. My necklace is from Forever21. This is a great outfit for the office and looks professional for a business meeting.

I really love this outfit I wore to work today. I think its the pop of color and the contrast of the white blazer that pulls this outfit together. I have been dying to purchase a white blazer b/c I think they look great with an outfit similar to above but also with jeans. I found this blazer at Zara and of course rolled the sleeves for a hipper look. My shirt is from Forever 21 which is always a great place to purchase cheap t-shirts. I purchased this sequence skirt from the Aqua department at bloomingdales. Aqua clothing is great b/c it is stylish to wear out to an event, bar or club and yet not too over the top that you can't wear it to the office. My owl necklace is from modcloth. 

I really love this dress and I don't remember where I purchased it from. I think it was from Shotwell in San Francisco which is no longer in business. I love the huge belt that came with this dress and all the beads that are covering the belt. I like to wear this dress to the office when I have an event to attend after work. This is a great day to night outfit. If your office is very conservative I would wear a funky pair of black tights with this outfit to still give it some edge while not showing so much leg. If you are trying to incorporate some trends into your outfit this dress is great b/c it is not a typical straight black dress but one that has a lot of character. My heels are miz mooz and so comfortable.

This dress was a cheap find I found while in Granada, Spain. This dress is very light and can easily be worn over the weekend for a relaxed look. When I wear it to the office I always throw a belt on to make the outfit look a little bit dresser. With an all black/gray dress a colored belt is great b/c it always adds a pop of color. I decided to wear beige heels instead of black to break up all the black. I am a firm believer that beige heels pretty much go with any outfit. My necklace is from the goodwill. 

I love blue and black together and I love how this shirt adds some color to an otherwise all black outfit. I found this shirt on ebay and love that it is an oversize shirt I can wear to the office and also on the weekends. I rolled up the sleeves for a more relaxed look. My skirt is from Zara and my black tights are from the Gap. I like the large elastic top portion of this skirt because it makes everything come together and accents my waist.

As I said in a previous post I love going through my closet to see what I haven't worn in quite some time. I found these pants that I use to wear all the time so I thought I would wear them today. I love how it has a high waist band and then the pants flare out. I purchased these pants at United Benetton. My shirt is from a store in Uruguay. This outfit is great for a business meeting.