A little clarity

Have you ever done the flamingo?  Ya know, “this shoe or that shoe?” while holding up one foot in the mirror and then the other.  That’s what I was doing this work morning!  A bit fuzzy at first, but I made my decision and found a little clarity!

 

I paired this dress with other color accents such as pink in the past, but today, I just wanted to keep with the basics.  Next time I’d like to try red accents.

see my shoes?!?

Webbed Snakeskin Shoes!

Ruffle Dress: WD NY.  Cropped Sweater: Old Navy.  Shoes: MIA girl.  Belt: Love Couture.  Bracelets: Charming Charlie.

  

I continue my “detail love” as normal.  At first glance this look may be just a dress and a sweater, but at second glance you hopefully notice the colorful blue, silver, and green bracelets, the contrast of the gray belt against the black ruffles, and the snakeskin “web” detailing of the shoes. 

I adore these shoes.  I think they’re really fun for work because the heel is not too high / skinny, yet they have such fun detail and uniqueness to them.

As luck would have it, I got caught in the rain for a short while - thus, my shoes were caught in the rain - but thankfully they remained unharmed and will live to be worn another day (many days!).

Charming

 Ruffle Top: Chadwicks.  Skirt: Love Couture.  Shoes: Gianni Bini.

No worries – this was definitely not a work ensemble!  I wore this outfit for afternoon weekend shopping with a friend.  We went to Charming CHARLIE and found tons of really cute affordable accessories.  I wouldn’t say this store is the place to go for long standing quality items, but it’s great for trendy items like belts, jewelry, etc… and even have fun clothing and shoes.

 

 

 

 

Color Mixing Classics

Red ruffle cardigan: INC.  Brown Ruffle Top: Antilia Femme.  Skirt: The Limited.  Shoes: BCBG.

 

It’s very common place (and beautifully classic) to see red, white, and black paired together – but I liked adding the brown for a different take and I think it worked nicely.  

Yep, I wore my sassy BCBG shoes to work again.  From my Too Sexy for Work? post, these bad-ass heels got a vote of 77 (63%) who said they were work appropriate and a vote of 45 (37%) who said they were not work appropriate.  I went with the majority vote!!

I only wear these shoes with a skirt or dress as (in my mind) they are really meant for “show” and just wouldn’t be done justice hidden under pants!  So, I just make sure the dress or skirt is conservative enough to work with a sassy shoe.

Sassy Work Shoes

After much debate (and a fun “too sexy for work?” post), I wore my red suede ruffle shoes to the office.  Not only was I concerned about the flair overall, but was a bit concerned on the heel height.  Don’t get me wrong – I love a good 4+ inch heel any day of the week, but comfort after 10 hours is not expected.  Surprisingly, I survived and they really weren’t that uncomfortable!  I wouldn’t run a marathon in them, but at least I know I can make it through a basic day (good thing I sit a lot for my job!).  Also, everyone at work seemed to like them and I didn’t get any funny “that’s inappropriate” looks.  As long as stand-out heels are paired with more conservative clothing items, I definitely think sassy work shoes are a DO!

 

 

Dress: INC.  Necklace: Newport News.  Heels: Quipid.

Update

While viewing votes and comments from my shoe dilemma post, I remembered these amazing shoes from Newport News!  They remind me of Paris Hilton Spelled Evening pumps, and I think they could potentially be perfect with my dress -- and wouldn’t cost me an arm and a leg (less than $50!!).

I’m going for it.  Wish me luck – pictures coming weekend of Sept 4th.

If they don’t work out, I’ll probably go with the black and hope the crystals cut some of the otherwise heaviness that the black would carry.

Shoe Dilemma

I’ve decided to wear this dress to an upcoming wedding.  It will be my first time wearing it and I am having a little difficulty determining what shoes I want to wear with it.  Do I try to match the blue or purple?  Do I accent the black?

I’ve dug through my closet and through all my favorite shoe sites, and below are my top picks.  The Badgley Mischka shoes are my ultimate favorite, but I’m not sure I’m willing to pay the price since they would only be a special occasion shoe… Maybe just stick with the shoes I already have… See my dilemma! 

What would you choose?  VOTE HERE!

1. Badgely Mischka $200
2. Nina $70
3. rsvp $70
4. rsvp $90
5. Steven by Steve Madden (free! already in my closet)

Too Sexy for Work?

Anyone who has read this blog for more than 2 minutes will know that I love shoes.  I’m a shoe lover of all shapes and sizes, colors and fabrics – yes, you could pretty much say I’m a shoe slut. 

For all my love of shoes, I have quite a few that don’t get regular wear.  It’s not because I don’t adore them, but I just figure they’re a bit impractical or just too sexy for everyday wear.

That said, when did pretty shoes become unprofessional work wear?  At the end of the day my body is covered and I’m still wearing professional attire, so why should a fabulous high heel shoe be deemed inappropriate?

What do you think?  Vote and let me know if you think a few of my shoes should come out of hiding!

   

Qupid Red Ruffle Heels: YES OR NO

 

Steve Madden Luxe Purple Snakeskin Heels: YES OR NO

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve Madden w/ Flower Bud T-Straps: YES OR NO

Black Leather BCBG Heels: YES OR NO

Jessica Simpson Cutout Heels: YES OR NO

Aldo Clear Heel Wedges: YES OR NO

Steve Madden Sky High Suede Blue Pumps: YES OR NO

Studded Marc Fisher Pumps: YES OR NO

Wild Child

Pants: Younique.  Boyfriend Beater Tank: Target ??  Heech Wedges: Nine West.

Not the normal look for me, but it felt so fabulous!  This is more of what I wear around the house – tank tops and comfy pants or shorts (minus the heels…)

Nope, I did not do my hair – unless you call flipping my head upside down for 20 seconds with a blow-dryer hairstyling…  And nope, the make-up was hardly there either. 

I was meeting a friend of mine for Sunday brunch and final-day-of-the-weekend sales shopping, and just went natural – with the addition of fabulous shoes of course.

What a difference shoes make!  Sometimes they’re all you need to pull an outfit together.

Business, Black, &… Boop!

Striped Tank: Banana Republic.  Blazer: H&M.  Pants: INC.  Shoes: Guess.  Necklace: NY&Co?

I was toga / Greek inspired with my necklace today and Betty Boop / pin-up inspired with my shoes.  Other than those couple of fun details, I was pretty business basic today.  Yes, you can probably tell when I am running a meeting at work, can’t you?  …LOL…  I always seem to go for black or black & red on those days.

One more khaki round-up

I just realized this look is somewhat similar to my last khaki dress post, only – this look is professional work appropriate!

Vest: Express.  White Tee: INC.  Skirt: Moda Int’l.  Blazer: H&M.  Shoes: Guess.

  

 

Uber amounts of pictures today… I’m not sure why… guess I was just picture-happy this morning.  Well, for those of you who love detail shots – here ya go!

 

I originally wanted to stay matchy-matchy with this look, but it ended up just a bit too one-tone for me.  So, to mix it up I brought in the bright pop of color with the blazer.  It finished off the look and allowed me to be colorful or not depending on my mood.