Late Summer Flare

Crochet Crop Top: MinkPink 'Cotton Fields' (on sale here from $62 to $37)

Flared Pants: Others Follow

Heeled Sandals: Jeffrey Campbell 'Encase' (on sale here from $160 to $49)

Necklace: Vanessa Mooney

Hat: Vintage

Summer may technically be over, but I tend to stretch my summer wardrobe for another month or so til SoCal temps drop lower than 80 degrees. 

One of my favorite summer items that I've been wearing quite often for the past couple months are flared pants! They're perfect for the scorching hot temps because of how thin and lightweight they are! Plus, they always come in fun colors and prints. Below are a few simple tips I always use when styling printed pants! Hope you find them helpful! 

TIPS:

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.

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)

A Hot Mesh

Mesh Crop Top: LF Stores

Chambray Skirt: For Love & Lemons

Hat & Belt: Vintage

Laser Cut Booties: Jeffrey Campbell 'Produce' (here)

With summer starting to really heat up, its mandatory to find ways to shed as many layers as possible without looking too scandalous. Lately I've been combating these high temps with one of my favorite summer trends....MESH! Obviously mesh can be a little tricky to style because if done poorly, you could quickly go from being cool and sexy to just a plain hot mess. Below are some of the tips I used when putting my outfit together.

Styling Tips:

1) A little skin never hurt nobody. Mesh Fabric + Crop Top combo seems a little daring but I styled mine with a high waisted skirt in order to show off just a sliver of midriff. Since my top was already sheer, I tried to avoid exposing too much skin. The key here is balance.

2) Layer wisely. Again, anything sheer can easily turn too sexy if you don't layer properly. Covering your little lady bits is a MUST! So I would suggest layering your solid mesh top over a cute bralette or bandeau but if your mesh has embroidery or designs like mine, you can just opt for a simple slip or nude bra.

3) Never forget that nude shoes elongate your legs! For shorter people like me, this is a very important rule to get dressed by. In this outfit, my skirt hemline is a little longer than other miniskirts that I'm used to so I completed my outfit with these Jeffrey Campbell nude booties to help create the illusion of longer legs.

*Try dresses and tops with mesh inserts if solid mesh is a little too scandalous for your taste. Or even try out one of my favorite mesh accessories...mesh heels! These can instantly add sexiness to any outfit without running the risk of exposing too much.  So no matter what your style is, know that mesh can easily be incorporated into any wardrobe. Stay cool by trying out this hot mesh trend with me this summer!

Cream of the Crop (Top)

Crop Top: Fairground 'Astra Crop Top' in Dali Lama Print - Revolve Clothing (here)

Silk Trousers: Olive & Oak - Nordstrom

Heels: Jeffrey Campbell 'Hough' (here)

Bracelets: DIY Swarovski Crystal bracelet & Vintage Bone Cuff

Ring: CC Skye 'Fools Gold' Ring (here)

Short body-con dresses are obviously sexy but silk trousers can be sexy too if you style wisely! Since the weather has warmed up significantly, I no longer have to bundle up with huge coats or leather jackets to go out. Instead, I opted for a printed crop top and some silk trousers for a girls' night out this weekend. I chose a sleeveless crop top as the focal piece of my outfit to keep things young and fun. I also kept the rest of the outfit fairly simple to balance out the busy printed top. 

Styling Tip: When going out for fancy drinks at a restaurant or bar, I personally like to choose either to expose my legs OR my arms for a sleeker and chicer ensemble. I leave the shorter skirts and dresses for the more wild and crazy parties.

Even though we "sprang forward" with daylight savings, I feel like it's 3 hours later than it actually is. I can't help feeling this way after the weekend that I just had. The last 4 days pretty much consisted of nothing but drinking, hiking, and swimming with some work squeezed in here and there. I am so exhausted that I was ready to pass out at 7pm today but then I realized that I hadn't worked out, eaten, or blogged yet. Now that that's all done....Good night, world!!!

Don't Mesh With Me

Now that it's Fall, it's time to bust out those leather jackets ladies! I, for one, am obsessed with a great leather jacket and that's why I believe it's one of those items that are worth splurging on. Like a great classic leather purse, these jackets will last you years! I've had this jacket for about 3 years now and you can't even tell that I've used it and abused it to death! I layered this poor thing over my mesh crop top and paired it with these genie-like silk sweatpants for a girls' night out on the town. I finished off the look with a pair of trusty Jeffrey Campbells and some jewelry. 

The best tip for wearing an all-black outfit is to mix it up with textures and/or prints. For this outfit, I decided to mix it up with a lot of different textures including some mesh knit, leather, sueded silk, and suede leather. Remember to keep your outfits interesting by mixing and matching textures...especially if you're going for a monochrome look like this!

Although my style changes often with my mood, my hair typically remains the same for long periods of time. I'm not really crazy about haircuts and change so I don't really take risks in the hair department like I do with my clothes and styling. My amazing friend, Emily, was brave enough to cut my hair while her fiancé force fed me cronuts and maple bacon donuts! I digress but that was my first cronut and damn was it amazing lol. I'm so grateful for both Em and her man because I'm newly obsessed with my hair and the super delicious and heavenly cronut! 

Leather Jacket: Please (LF Stores)

Mesh Crop Top: Evil Twin

Sueded Silk Pants: Maggie Ward from Nordstrom (here)

Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell 'Hough' (here)

Necklace: Vanessa Mooney 'Clearing Things Up'

Bracelets: Jenny Bird and Luv AJ

Palazzo Pants Dance Party

Palazzo pants are a necessary summer staple. They're perfect because they're light, comfy, fun, and sophisticated. I especially love them because it provides me with a nice and cool alternative to my usual short shorts. I paired my palazzo pants with my favorite lace crop top of the summer. This is the 3rd time I've worn it on the blog, which is proof that it goes with absolutely everything. I previously styled it for a music festival (here) and for a pool party (here). I kept the rest of my outfit simple with minimal jewelry and my Chloe purse.

I wore this outfit to lunch with an old college friend, Kara, and then spent the second half of the day at my boyfriend's grandpa's 90th birthday! 

Kara and I hadn't seen each other in 2 years so we spent our afternoon catching up over salad, pizza, and bottomless mimosas. I'm pretty sure this is the longest lunch I've ever had. Want to guess how long we were at the restaurant for?! We were there for 6 whole hours hahaha. I'm honestly surprised we didn't get kicked out. 

After my "lunch" with Kara, I headed over to my boyfriend's grandpa's birthday party where we celebrated 90 years of happiness and health. I had a blast with my boyfriend's family playing with the babies, eating way too much food, and dancing like an idiot with Erika. Check out the super embarrassing and goofy video of us at the bottom of the post where we're pretending like we actually know how to dance. 

 

Lace Crop Top: Millau (LF Stores)

Pink Palazzo Pants: ASOS

Purse: Chloe

Booties: Dolce Vita 'Niven' (here)

Earrings and Stack Bracelets: Vanessa Mooney (here) and (here)

Necklace: Charlene K (similar here)

 

 

 

{I spy with my little eye a cute doggie booty behind my cute little booties}

{Kara and I on our 6 hour lunch date}

{Erika and I posing for our audience after our amazing performance below}
Note: We're both wearing palazzo pants because great minds think alike.