Printed Perfect

Blouse: Reformation (other styles here)

Printed Shorts: Angel Biba (LF stores)

Lucite Heeled Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell

Necklace & Leather Bracelet: Jenny Bird

Black Studded Clutch: Monserat De Lucca (other styles here)

Rings: Torchlight Jewelry (other styles here) & Vintage

Make some noise with powerful prints like these black & white, lace trimmed printed shorts from LF stores! There's nothing like spicing up a simple outfit with the perfect printed focal piece! When I style a statement piece like this, I try to stick with basics for the rest of my look. I paired my shorts with a simple mustard yellow silk blouse from Reformation, and finished off the look with some strappy heeled sandals and an oversized clutch.

The key to this outfit is making sure the proportions were right in order to really pull the whole look together. I generally like to pair long sleeves with short shorts and short sleeves with pants because I'm naturally a creature of balance, which I blame on the fact that I'm a Libra haha. Too much of anything isn't good and showing off too much skin is usually no exception...the exception being it's acceptable in my book when the temps have been reaching upwards of 110 degrees everyday! (Currently breaking my own rule of thumb as I'm writing this! lol)

LBD

Little Black High-Low Dress: Renee London (LF Stores)

Lucite Heels: Jeffrey Campbell "Affair" heels (here)

You know when you see something on sale and you just have to have it because it's such a great bargain? Yeah...that was this dress. You won't believe how much I bought it for! What was once originally $248, was mine for only $35! I know...I still can't believe it myself. That's a whopping 85% off! The thing is when I impulse buy because of a sale, I typically hang it up and forget about it. After 3 years of it being forgotten in the back of my closet with the tag still on, I rediscovered this Little Bargain Dress while searching for something to wear to my friend's wedding.

Don't Be Such A Pansy

How wild and fun are these printed trousers?! I bought these babies at the beginning of summer and haven't found the time to wear them yet. Since summer is coming to an end, I figured I'd bust them out for a stroll.

To be honest, I haven't really gone out much at all since I've moved into my new home. The boyfriend and I also haven't seen much of each other with the exception of him helping me move furniture, build my bed, install my appliances, etc. In the 11 years we've known each other, he's helped me move about 5 or 6 times! That's true love and dedication, y'all (especially because I'm kind of a hoarder when it comes to clothes and furniture) hahaha! Anyway, we haven't had any fun dates together in awhile. He's been working his bumbum off and I've been cooped up at home. So on his first free night in over a week, we went out to dinner together! 

I wore these crazy printed trousers with a simple black velvet top and my Jeffrey Campbell clear-heeled sandals. Believe it or not...I used to be afraid of prints! For the longest time, I'd only buy solid colored bottoms with an occasional printed top here and there. Now I'm all about the crazy, funky prints and patterns! I mean...I still buy alot of basics too because they're great for layering (especially during the colder months), but I'm definitely experimenting alot more. 

TIPS:

Here are some quick and simple tips for those of you that are scared of printed bottoms but want to step outside your comfort zone. Don't be such a pansy (like my pants) and try this look out:

1) Pair your printed bottoms with a solid colored top. Typically, I'd choose a top in a color that's also found in the bottom. This will help bring your look together and make it cohesive.

2) Choose a fitted top if your bottoms are looser and flowy. And choose a looser top for the more fitted bottoms. This will help balance out your whole look.

3) I would suggest wearing printed bottoms with some sort of heel to elongate your legs. The busy prints can make your legs appear shorter so throw on some heels to finish off the look.

Hope these simple tips help. I'd love to see pics of how you guys style your printed trousers so send me links or emails! I love hearing from you guys!

Top: MinkPink 'Witchcraft Velvet tee' (here)

Printed Trousers: vintage

Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell 'Affair' (here)

Clutch: J.J. Winters (here in orange boa )

Coral Necklace: vintage

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

Coast is Clear

It's no secret that lucite accessories have been all the rage this past spring and summer. Personally I am a total fan of lucite accents in fashion...especially lucite heels on shoes!  A great lucite shoe is kind of like a mullet...business in the front and party in the back! There's only a minor difference between the two...lucite heels are awesome and mullets aren't so much lol. But who am I to judge. Maybe I'll look back at my blog one day and ask what the heck I was thinking with these clear heels of mine. But at the moment, I am adoring this trend! 

I actually purchased my first pair of clear-heeled shoes about 3 years ago and people either thought they were the most amazing things ever or just super tacky. With the help of the big designers and their fabulous runway shows, these babies have become more socially acceptable. To be honest, it's not like I cared if people liked my taste in shoes or not but it's just fun to see other ladies (other than hookers) struttin' around in clear heels too lol.

For this look, I paired one of my latest lucite shoe purchases with a color blocked blouse and some gray snake printed shorts. The snake print along with the clear heel are pretty subtle details that add a whole lot of fun and excitement to the neutral colored outfit. I finished off the look with some simple accessories, which included a long Vanessa Mooney silver chain and earrings, and a Luv AJ caged cuff. 

Hope you guys are enjoying the lucite trend as much as I am!

Blouse: Olive & Oak

Shorts: Carmar (LF Stores)

Lucite Heels: Jeffrey Campbell "Affair" heels (here)

Bracelet: Luv AJ (here)

Necklace: Vanessa Mooney