By now we all know that I love a good leopard print. I also love patterned tights. But do I love them together?

Fiercest Leopard Print Tights – $15

Initially I was thinking these might look kick-ass with a simple black sheath, some killer black pumps or ankle booties and lots of gold jewelry. Now I’m thinking they might make it look like your legs are molting.

I like this dress:

Milly Imara Dress – $390

I do not, however, like it’s price tag. Also, I HATE those shoes. They’re like formal Sperrys. And while I can appreciate a good boat shoe from time to time, no one should be sailing in a four inch heel.

Why do I like this dress, you ask? (well technically I asked myself, but you know what I mean) Because this dress is a good example of colorblocking done in the most body-flattering way possible. I.e. there is a color band placed at the natural waist emphasizing a woman’s narrowest part, as opposed to say, at her hips where no woman ever wants to look wider.

So I did some online shopping time wasting research and came up with two reasonably-priced (cheap even!) potential alternatives.

First up:

Tinley Road Sweetheart Dress – $49

I actually like the color combo on this dress better than the Milly version. But once again I HATE the shoes the stylist paired with this dress. Whoever thought it was a good idea to stick a pair of heavy, horse-hooved booties on this poor girl with that dress should be fired. What is it about colorblocked dresses that causes what I’m sure are normally sane stylists to completely lose their minds when it comes to footwear???

But back to the dress. This dress works on the same principle as the Milly one in that the placement of the colorblocking accentuates the natural waistline/narrowest part of the body. The bad news is the length on this one looks a little short and it would, therefore, probably have to be relegated to non-work-wear only. Given that it only costs $49, however, that’s probably okay.

My ‘research’ also helped me uncover this dress:

Mod Cloth Dressed to the Lines Dress – $58

Thank goodness this one doesn’t have any hideous footwear attached to it for me to rant about. And the dress itself is another great example of figure-flattering colorblocking. I can totally picture this dress with a black boyfriend blazer with tights and pumps for now and with a pair of wedges or leopard-print flats come Spring and Summer.

I definitely think I love the Milly dress best – and I don’t love it because it’s the most expensive, it’s the most expensive because I love it. But I think either of the two more affordable options would be a great addition to any wardrobe. What do you think?

Well kids, we have reached both the most dreaded and most dangerous time of the year for yours truly. Dreaded because we are in the dead period of Winter where everything is gray and gross and there are no fun holidays to break up said grossness. And dangerous because now is the time all of the retailers start sending out their “new Spring arrivals” announcements and my depression over the aforementioned grossness and longing for the new season causes me to spend uncontrollably.

Happens every year. I am powerless to stop it.

Today’s torture comes courtesy of Piperlime in the form of this skirt:

Amanda Uprichard Petal Silk Skirt – $194

I think this is so pretty. And Spring-y. And blue. But is it really or am I just desperate for something bright and cheerful in my wardrobe after a Winter filled with dark neutrals?

And how would I go about wearing such a blue skirt? Here’s what I’m thinking:

For dressing it up: I am LOVING this striped blazer. Loving. It. But it is admittedly a bold statement. So I would keep the rest of the look neutral with a simple white tank and neutral bag and sandals.* Why not black accessories you may be asking? Because I think they look too heavy with this skirt. And aren’t we all a little ready to move on from our black shoes and bags anyway?

*On an “only in my dreams’ side note – how fab are those Loubs and that bag??? The day that Christian Louboutin comes out with a line at Target like Missoni did is probably the day I will go to prison for stabbing someone at a Target who dared impede my path to the shoe section.

For dressing it down: Keep the white tank and use the stripe in the gorge bag as inspiration to add a yellow cardi. Simple neutral flats and delicate jewelry complete the look.

So what do we think? Is this skirt too blue? Is it just blue enough? Or am I too blue over the never-ending continuation of Winter to adequately judge the blue-ness of this skirt? Help me decide.

The date: Sunday, January 8, 2012

The place: St. Charles Ave. trolley, New Orleans, LA

The crime:

The description: I can forgive a lot of fashion crimes in the name of college football fandom. (Roll Tide and congrats boys – you made us proud!!) But wearing three inch-heeled prom shoes at 11 a.m. on your way to spend the day in the French Quarter is not one of them. And as you can barely see at the top of the photo, she was wearing them with denim capri pants.

I wish I could have gotten you a pic of this lady’s entire ensemble, but the number of people crammed onto that trolley barely allowed me to breathe, much less position my arms in such a way as to take a covert photograph. So instead, I will list for you the other things this fan had on her person:

– the aforementioned denim capri pants

– an Alabama t-shirt

– giant houndstooth hoop earrings

– a houndstooth jacket slung over her arm

– a houndstooth purse with an embroidered red ‘A’ and red feathers sticking out of the top

All of the above was tacky, yet not unexpected. But for the life of me I could not figure out why she would be wearing those shoes to walk around on what have to literally be the worst streets in America.  In fact, after I showed this pic to the husband of the couple I was there with, he turned to his wife and said “I would kill you if you ever wore shoes like that to walk around New Orleans.” Because he knew, as well as I did, that within about thirty minutes of getting off that trolley that woman would seriously be regretting her footwear decision and her husband would be the one who would pay the price.

The lesson: Was this particular pair of shoes the worst thing I saw (sartorially or otherwise) in New Orleans last weekend? No. But was it the most ridiculous? By far. (And that’s saying a LOT for a city full of drunken LSU fans.)

So remember kids, friends don’t let friends wear prom shoes to walk the French Quarter.

Dear casual Friday,

I love you. And I’m sorry I’ve neglected you for so long. It’s really not my fault. For some selfish reason, judges always schedule court on Fridays which means I have to wear a suit to work while everyone else is spending time with you. So even though I’m stuck at my office all day today, at least you, me and my blue skinnies are finally getting to spend some time together. Here’s hoping we get more quality time in 2012.

XOXO,

Shea

This time last year I practically lived in my blue skinny jeans. After much trial and error, I was pleasantly surprised to discover my perfect pair at the Gap (cut for me AND reasonably priced – that NEVER happens). But this year I’ve spent almost all of my winter months clad in my black knit legging jeans (also from the Gap and previously discussed here), which I’m starting to realize won’t be as versatile come Spring.

So with that in mind I came across some new colored denim options in the Gap’s spring collection and I need to know what we think about them:

1969 Mid-weight Legging Jeans – $69.95

After some earlier indecisiveness about colored denim, I think I’ve come down on the side of loving it (for the most part – there are obvs exceptions to every rule). But how do we feel about red denim? Celebrities make it look so cute:

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And Reese (of course) looks adorable in hers (as always):

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PS – I would sell my soul for that bag. Call me if you’re interested in working out a trade.

But even with these cute examples in mind, I have a hard time envisioning how I would wear red jeans. In theory I like the idea of wearing them with a black and white striped top, but worry that in reality that would make me look like a Venetian gondolier. I also like the idea of pairing them with navy blue but then think that might make me look too 4th of July.

Maybe some sort of light gray or lighter blue, like a chambray shirt, might work instead? Or are red jeans in general just a bad idea for us non-celebrity, regular folk? What do you think?

By this point, you should all know my friend Emily. And if you don’t, you should get to know her – she’s awesome. (And I swear I’m not just saying that because she is basically Brown-Haired Shea thereby making me awesome by extension.)

This is what Emily would refer to as a “Big Girl Shirt”*:

Bellatrix Long Sleeve Blouse – $78

*And by “Big Girl Shirt” she means a grown-up shirt – not a shirt you wear when you’re feeling fatter than usual.

“Big Girl Shirts” are what most of us would refer to as silk blouses. And my dear friend Emily recently confessed to me that she is afraid of them. Not afraid of them as in ‘they will come to life at night, venture out of my closet, and stab me in my sleep’ afraid of them, but afraid of them as in ‘I have no idea how to wear them’ afraid of them.

I was genuinely confused by her confession. To me, you wear silk blouses like you do any other shirt – with skirts or pants and layered under cardis and jackets when you need a little extra warmth. But Emily’s confession got me thinking – if she is intimidated by “Big Girl Shirts” maybe others are, too, and unjustly so.  Every girl should have at least one BGS in her wardrobe. They’re super-easy to dress up for work or dress down for the weekends. For example, here’s how I would wear the one above:

To dress up – balance out the flowy nature of the skirt and top by adding a structured blazer and tough-girl ankle boots.

To dress down – leave the top un-tucked over skinny jeans and toughen up the girly floral with a kick-ass leather jacket and a striped scarf in the same color palette as the BGS.

And because I can’t bear the idea of the BGS getting a bad rap, here are two other BGS-es I’m loving and how I would wear them. First up:

JCrew Silk Pintuck Blouse – $128

And here’s how I would wear it:

To dress up – I figure we can still get a few more weeks out of the color-blocking trend so tuck this BGS into a brightly-colored pencil skirt, add a neutral trench and bag and don’t forget to toughen up the look with a chunky gold necklace and leopard-print booties.

To dress down – leave loose over black skinny jeans tucked into your fave pair of brown ankle or knee-high riding boots and keep the accessories simple by adding a multi-colored charm necklace.

And finally:

Maeve Halfsies Blouse – $178

And here’s how I would wear it:

To dress up – I kept it straight-up girly with this one by pairing it with a 1950’s-inspired patterned skirt with pastel shoes, a pink bag, and delicate silver earrings.

To dress down – tuck this blouse into a pair of boot-cut jeans, add ankle boots, a fun detailed belt, a wrist full of bangles and top off with your fave brightly-colored loose cardi.

So for all of you Emilies out there, face your fears and embrace the BGS – I promise it will embrace you right back.*

*And I don’t mean that in a creepy, trying to squeeze the life out of you kind of way.  🙂

For what is most likely to be my last post in 2011 I thought I would bring us something to look forward to in 2012 – Spring. Or at least, Spring fashion. Now ordinarily once Christmas is over I have zero tolerance for Winter and long to just fast-forward straight into March and April. But – knock on wood – so far this Winter has been a mild one* and I haven’t yet fallen into my annual seasonal depression.

*I’ve probably just jinxed us all. Apologies in advance for the three feet of snow we’re about to get.

In fact, this Winter has been so mild that I’m actually longing for it to get a little colder. Not because I like the cold, mind you, but because I bought some amazing Winter pieces that I haven’t gotten to wear yet. Like this awesome sweater:

Blanched and Buckled Cardigan from Anthro

And this gorge tweed skirt:

JCrew No.2 Pencil Skirt in Vintage Tweed

So I guess what I’m saying is Dear Winter, Could you please help a sister out by dipping below 50 degrees in Nashville for just long enough for me to wear my super-cute new outfits? That would be a huge help. Love, Shea

In the meantime I”m going to go ahead and start looking at some fashions made for warmer weather. Like this tunic:

Fiets Voor 2 Macrame Argyle Tunic – $248

In theory, I think this tunic is uh-may-zing. In my dream life I would wear this with white linen pants while I strolled through some Grecian bazaar with my hubs Ryan Gosling. In reality, I think this tunic would probably make my hips look ginormous – a suspicion that is strengthened by the fact that Anthro chose to have the model in this tunic pose in a position that obscures her hips which I’m sure are tiny:

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So for now, given the season, the hip-widening potential, and the price of this tunic, I think I’m going to hold off. Especially since I have plenty of other new items in my closet waiting to be worn.*

*Seriously Winter – just like one or two weeks of cooler temps. That’s all I need.

Welcome back kids! I hope everyone enjoyed way too much food, family and general merriment over the Christmas break.

And when you can’t fit into your pants for a few weeks as the result of all of that merriment, the sensible decision is to opt for a forgiving knit dress instead – that way you won’t get any of those pesky, judgmental pink marks on your Christmas belly that even stretchy pants can leave behind.

Here’s the most recent knit dress I’ve been mulling over:

ASOS Knitted Dress in Aztec Pattern – $72.72

Why we love it –  You can never go wrong with a good knit dress. And this one isn’t black, which is a nice break from my current winter-dress wardrobe.The tribal-inspired print is totally in season and the simple shape can be dressed up with heels, or dressed down with boots like so:

Why we’re hesitant – The horizontal banding of the pattern might make you appear wider than you are. Also, this dress might be the color of baby poop.

Despite the potential for a poop-tacular failure, I think I’m going to give this dress a try.  If the color and pattern of this dress look as good one me as they do in the picture, then I think this could be a versatile and valuable addition to my winter wardrobe.

But what do you think?

Oh holidays. Cheesy movie on Lifetime about girl learning the meaning of Christmas by helping secret millionaire (who of course has secret terminal cancer) be secret Santa to the needy + bottle of wine  = There Will Be Tears. So I’m going to distract myself by looking at jewelry.

Namely these new David Yurman necklaces which I came across in the most recent edition of what I think was Marie Claire:

David Yurman Malachite Dog Tag Necklace – $675

Now this is ostensibly (fancy word of the day!) a dude necklace. But I’m going to confess what I hope is not a controversial general rule and say that I am anti-dude-jewelry of any kind. Except for wedding rings. And then I am anti-men who are anti-wedding rings.

Because when I think men who wear jewelry, I think of this guy:

image credit (although why anyone would want credit for this I do not know)

And fellas, you do not want your girl thinking of this guy when she looks at you. Trust.But is it wrong that I think this necklace might be TOTALLY wrong for dudes, but maybe kind of right for me? We all know how much I love a good pendant.

However, I do know what is NOT right for me and that is the “girly” version of this necklace:

David Yurman Rhodonite Tag Necklace – $975

Blech. This one looks like something that one of those girls on MTV’s Sweet Sixteen show would wear with her age-inappropriate Herve Leger bandage dress to her Marakesh-themed party where she feigns surprise when her parents give her a brand new white BMW 3-series with a big red bow on top. (Okay – rant over.)

But what do we think of the green one?

Fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la!!*

*This is me trying to maintain my Christmas cheer by singing loud for all to hear.**

**But luckily for my co-workers I am only singing loudly in my head.

And it must be working because today, on this dreary Monday, I find myself pining for this tropical red and green striped dress:

BCBG Jerico Striped Dress – $238

This dress makes me long to live somewhere in the southern hemisphere – like Australia – where it would be acceptable to wear something like this on Christmas day. And where Santa delivers presents via flying surfboard pulled by kangaroos:

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But I’m thinking I could make this dress work for the holiday season north of the equator as well – like so:

The what: Layer a black turtleneck and tights under this dress for warmth and then add brown leather  knee boots and belt. For extra fun don’t forget the gorge handbag in a contrasting pattern but similar color scheme.

The why: Sticking with black and brown accents here lets the color and pattern of the dress be the stars of the show. Great way to add summertime colors to your wintertime wardrobe.

Now sometime around January 1st, 2012 I will begin to feel as though Winter is a never-ending plague brought upon humanity to punish us for our consumerism-driven sins during the holiday season. But eventually Winter will be over and we’ll be the envy of all southern-hemispherians everywhere. And when that day comes, here is how I would wear this dress in the Spring:

The what: I am obsessed with the idea of a red trench coat for Spring and it’s a great match for this dress. Keep the jewelry and bag simple so as not to compete with the colors in the dress, coat and shoes.

The why: I know the only real question any of you are going to have about this one is why the yellow flats. And to be honest, I don’t really know why. I just love them with this dress. Probably because I HATE the matchy-matchy-ness of the red and purple pumps the designer paired with the dress and I’ve run screaming in the other direction. Whatever the reason, yellow flats = fab.

So what do we think, kids? Do you love this dress as much as I think I do? How are you maintaining your Christmas cheer? Is Santa cooler on a surfboard? Help me decide.