Fifty Shades of Grey

Striped Top: Bec & Bridge 'Elements' Top 

(on sale from $120 to $84 here)

Coat: Joe's Jeans

Jeans: Ditto Brand

Lucite Heels: Jeffrey Campbell "Affair" heels

Necklace: Chan Luu

 

An achromatic color scheme, which means "without color", is probably the easiest for anyone to pull off. No need to hassle about whether or not this colored top pairs well with those colored shoes because black, white, and grey always pair well together! It's a foolproof way of getting dressed. I know on days that I'm feeling lazy and uncreative, I can just simple throw together a monochromatic black outfit or an achromatic black & white outfit in little to no time and still look chic. 

Stripe Hype

Striped Top: Bec & Bridge 'Elements' Top (on sale from $125 to $84 here)
Silk Shorts: Parker 'Pacific Kane' (on sale from $223 to $78 here)
Wool Blazer: Joe's Jeans 'Meredith Blazer' (on sale from $278 to$139 here)
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 (similar here for $155)

What's the hype with stripes you ask?! They're simply a perennial and versatile staple. You can style them with just about anything all year long ...which means more bang for your buck! Plus, they can easily be dressed up or down. 

That's why I'm currently obsessed with this Bec & Bridge 'Element' top. It's my ultimate go-to piece at the moment. When I'm feeling lazy, I just toss on this top and pair it with some jeans, shorts, skirt, or pretty much anything. It honestly goes with everything! Unfortunately there aren't any pictures showing the back, which is what sets it apart from other simple black and white striped tank tops. It has an adorable open tulip-style back with contrasting stripes, which shows just enough skin to keep it classy and a little bit sexy. 

Choosing and Styling Horizontal Stripes:

1) Choose a top with thinner black stripes than white stripes. This will help counter the illusion of making you look wider when wearing horizontal stripes. 

2) Break up the stripes with solids. As the name of the top suggests, use the stripes as an 'Element' of the outfit because full stripe outfits will create the illusion of a wider frame. For example, I added my solid black blazer to break up the impact of the stripes, which helped slim my figure a bit. 

So just remember that horizontal stripes are not the enemy. If styled strategically, it could easily become one of your favorite go-to pieces too. Andddd...this amazing top is on SALE! So hurry up and get yours before it's sold out!

*Just as a side note, this was taken while I was in Portland where the weather was significantly cooler than Los Angeles. I wouldn't be caught dead wearing a wool blazer in LA right now...it's too damn hot!!! 

50 Shades of Blue

I kind of went a little overboard with the blue yesterday lol. Not only was my flowy chiffon tank top already like 50 shades of blue, I paired it with some cobalt blue shorts from Joe's Jeans and a light blue overshirt from LF tied around my waist. I finished off the look with some white Jeffrey Campbell shoes, and blue and silver Vanessa Mooney accessories. Talk about overkill huh?! Hahaha

I wore this casual monochromatic outfit to hangout with some friends downtown. We spent the day just relaxing and catching up over sandwiches, pasta salads, and mimosas. After Miley Cyrus' annoyingly catchy song "We Can't Stop" played about 4 or 5 times, we decided to spend the rest of the day outside. We trekked over to Grand Park for some water splashing fun in the fountain, some hypnotic and repetitive sounding music that started to put us all to sleep, and a wide selection of food trucks. All in all, it was a good day spent with great people! Happy Monday!

Tank Top: Olive & Oak

Shorts: Joe's Jeans (here)

Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell 'Fontane' (here in white)

Overshirt: LF Stores

Necklaces: Vanessa Mooney (here)

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