Easy Does It

Silk Sweatpants: LnA "Lucas Silk Pant" (on sale from $264 to $210 here)

Crochet Top: Mink Pink "My Dream Crop Top" (for $54 here)

Shoes: Dolce Vita 'Elka' Heeled Sandals (on sale from $170 to $118 here)

Wool Blazer: Joe's Jeans 'Meredith Blazer' (on sale from $278 to$139 here)

Leather Backpack: Stela 9 ($224 at Revolve Clothing here)

I have never been a sweatpants type of person...until recently! I always thought that sweats were reserved strictly for gyms or lounging around the house but boyyy was I wrong! With the proper styling, sweats can actually be chic! Luckily in the past couple years, designers have really redefined sweatpants in a whole new way and I'm lovin' it! Now we don't have to sacrifice comfort for fashion! We can be both casually chic and comfortable when stepping out in public.

Below are some tips on choosing and styling the new and improved sweatpants.

1) Choose sweatpants in a thin & lightweight material to keep it from looking like you're ready to hit the gym. I personally choose them in silk because I like wearing my comfy sweatpants year round.
2) Make sure the pants are a slim fit and tapered. If it's too loose throughout the leg and ankles, it probably won't be too flattering on your body. 
3) Accessorize strategically. Sweatpants are easy to dress up or down with accessories. If you're going for a chicer look, choose a hemline that sits at the ankle and pair them with heels. If you're going for a more casual look, choose a hemline that hits just below the knee. Instead of heels, you can keep it casual with some cute slip-ons, d'Orsay flats, or sneakers. I personally prefer heels because I just prefer heels :) 
4) Top off your sweats with a structured fitted top or a crop top. 

Other ways that I've styled some of my other silk sweatpants: 

Don't Mesh With Me 

Cream of the Crop (Top)

I'm Back!

Asymmetrical Dress: Finders Keepers (similar here)

Velvet Bralette: Free People

Shoes: Dolce Vita 'Elka' Heeled Sandals (on sale from $170 to $118 here)

Leather Backpack: Stela 9 ($224 at Revolve Clothing here)
Necklace: Chan Luu (other styles here)

I'm finally bouncing back from the laziness that had taken over my life! Eating and drinking whatever the heck I wanted and not working out at all while on vacation in Portland last month had finally caught up to me, which explains why there haven't been any posts for awhile. I've been feeling a lot like a lazy slob lately so my boyfriend and I are making it a point to get fit together. We've been swimming, working out, and taking our dog on walks together after work instead of our usual (baking cookies & cinnamon rolls to eat while binge watching shows on Netflix until we pass out on the couch). I'm sadly admitting to this so you'd understand why I've neglected my blog for so long. I know...I suck...but I'm working on getting back into the swing of things! Hopefully that means at least 2 posts a week. Thanks again for following along, everyone! 

Slit-ther

Another "fashion rule" people are scared to mess with is "never mix black and brown". I think this is just silly so I decked myself out in black and brown from Head to Heels in order to prove that it can be done without looking like a hot mess.

I wore this black asymmetrical side-slit maxi skirt with a black and brown striped silk tank top. I accessorized with a brown floppy hat, black strappy heels, and hints of gold jewelry.

After playing around and experimenting with different shades of brown, I found that medium to light browns pair better with black than a darker chocolatey brown. You want to make it evident that you're sporting both black and brown. If your brown is too similar to your black, it'll just appear as if you failed at matching your all-black outfit and you may have possibly gotten dressed in the dark?! Lol. I'm probably being a little too harsh, but I'd just stick to lighter shades of brown to be safe.

Below are some additional simple tips for learning to break free of this silly "fashion rule". 

Tips:

1) The easiest way to try this look is to probably stick to a solid medium to light brown top with a black bottom or vice versa. Or if that's still a foreign concept to you, try a solid black or brown dress and contrast it with a belt in the other color.

2) If you're feeling a bit ballsier, try adding some prints or texture the way I did. Make sure that both your brown and black pieces aren't printed or that could create one huge disaster. I added a brown and black striped tank top rather than a solid brown top and kept my skirt a simple solid black.

3) Make sure to tie in black and brown accessories in similar shades to bring the whole look together, which I did with my brown hat and black heels. I simply tied my outfit together from Head to Heels with my accessories. Just remember that when you look at your outfit in the mirror, you want everything to simply flow together.

4) I personally think that gold goes well with both black and brown, so why not add a little gold bling to this brown and black ensemble?! I kept it pretty tame with the jewelry and embellished my outfit with a gold chain necklace, a gold cluster ring, and a set of black and gold bracelets.

If you already know how to style these colors together like a pro, feel free to leave more tips in the comments for myself and others!

P.S. this post is dedicated to a good friend of mine, Chris, who likes to give me crap for pairing black and brown together! :P

Tank Top: Sam & Lavi Los Angeles

Asymmetrical Skirt: LF Stores

Floppy Hat: Free People (here)

Shoes: Dolce Vita 'Elka' heeled sandals (here)

Necklace: Vintage

Bracelets: Vanessa Mooney (here) and Jenny Bird (here)

Ring: CC Skye (here)

Color-Block Party

When it came to getting dressed for dinner and a friend's birthday party, I was feeling a bit lazy and uninspired due to the hot weather. Then I luckily came across this beautiful silk color-blocked dress in my closet by Staple the Label. It was perfect because I was looking for something I didn't have to style much, that would keep me cool, and that was still cute and trendy. This dress was the obvious winner for the night.

 

Staple the Label is probably one of my favorite Australian brands because their clothes are so simple and relaxed, but also chic and stylish. They start with a basic and tweak it a bit to keep it fresh and new. They play with the silhouettes, colors, and hemlines, which makes their basics more unique and fun.

Like I said, I didn't have to style it much. All I really did was add a vintage Versace belt to accentuate my waist and add some accessories to complete the look. As for my hair, I did something a little more special than just my usual topknot. I braided it and then made a bun hahaha (I have to be the laziest person when it comes to hair). My hair is so difficult to manage because it's so thick and heavy. The only way I know how to beat the heat is by throwing it up and plopping it on top of my head. Anybody have any tips or summer hairstyles for long thick hair? I need help!!!!

Silk Shirt/Dress: Staple the Label

Shoes: Dolce Vita 'Elka' (here in black/silver)

Purse: Miu Miu (here)

Belt: vintage Versace

Necklace: Vanessa Mooney

Bracelets: Vanessa Mooney (here) and Luv AJ (here)

Rings: TomTom (here) and vintage

Twisted Tie Dye

Yesterday, I spent the day with my man running some errands and just enjoying the fact that we had the whole day together. We went to brunch with his family and then walked around the area a bit when we decided to go explore this little lake. We've driven past it many times but never really walked around. Since we had time to just hangout, we took a stroll along the walking trail and admired the beauty of the place and the different types of wildlife around. We spotted about 20 turtles or so and some big cranes (or what I thought were cranes hahaha)! We then spent the rest of the day making pizza and hotdogs, eating girl scout thin mint ice cream, swimming, and watching Despicable Me at home (to prepare for Despicable Me 2 on our next movie date).

I wore a twisted tie dye drape top over a crisscross bralette with some black leggings and my Dolce Vita 'Elka' sandals. I paired the outfit with my Miu Miu crossbody bag and piled on Vanessa Mooney, Luv AJ, and TomTom jewelry. Hope you all had a great and relaxing weekend like I did. Happy Monday, y'all! 

 

 Tie Dye Top: Costa Blanca

Crisscross Bralette: LF

Leggings: Costa Blanca

Heels: Dolce Vita 'Elka' (here in black/silver)

Purse: Miu Miu (here)

Jewlery: Vanessa Mooney (here and here) , Luv AJ (here), TomTom (here)

 My boyfriend.

 I spy with my little eye 12 turtles in this picture...how many do you see?

Crane...maybe?

Cold Shoulders

My boyfriend decided to surprise me with a really nice 'dinner and a movie' type of date. Without telling me what we were doing or where we were going, I put together this outfit. I figured since the weather in LA has been in the 100s lately, I'd throw on something that I wouldn't overheat in.

I'm really not a fan of surprises but this was such a fun date! It's rare that I get to go on nice dates with my boyfriend because of our conflicting work schedules but this worked out perfectly for us. He took me to this luxurious movie theater about 45 minutes from where we live. You may wonder what's so luxurious about it that we'd drive so far.  So let me just start with RECLINING LEATHER SEATS! Yeah...you read that right! He planned ahead and reserved our seats online earlier. Once we got there and were seated, a waitress came and took our order for dinner. Honestly, this was the fanciest movie theater I have ever been to with gourmet food AND cocktails! All I had to do if I wanted to order more food or get a refill was push a button on my seat and our waitress came to us in a matter of seconds! To top off the amazingness of this place, I was able to put the armrest between us up and snuggle comfortably with my man.

Because I wasn't expecting to go to the movies, I wasn't prepared for the cold air conditioning. But that was fine because my boyfriend just simply pressed the button and ordered a blanket for me to keep my 'cold shoulders' and legs warm.

Overall, I give my boyfriend an A+ for this date. Perfect movie (Monsters University...since I'm a total sucker for any and all animated/family movies), perfect atmosphere, perfect dinner, and perfect boyfriend. Can't really complain about any of that. 

'Cold Shoulders' Blouse: Finders Keepers

Silk Patterned Shorts: Greylin (Nordstrom)

Shoes: Dolce Vita 'Elka' Sandals (here in black/silver)

Purse: Miu Miu (here)

Necklace: Chan Luu (similar here in grey Swarovski crystals and black leather)

Rings: TomTom Jewelry (here and here)
Cross Bracelets: Vanessa Mooney