Friday Night Out: Work to Night

This Friday I wanted to create a look where, by just changing a few pieces, you can go from your day job to drinks with friends or a date night. I also took this opportunity to play with a coloured pencil skirt as it can really add vibrancy to an outfit.

View the Polyvore details here.


On the left side we have our work ready pieces. For evening, all I would do is switch our top and sweater combination for a brighter colour blocking sweater in the purple. Add jewellery that stands out a bit more, a clutch and your transition is complete. Also, this late Fall/nearly early Winter has been rather warm but don't forget the pantyhose. Just throw on a black wool coat and out the door you go.

Happy Friday! Thank you for reading and enjoy your day!

Midweek Treats: Sleek Leather Boots

This season I'm on a mission to find sleek and sturdy black leather boot to last me many seasons to come. I've been seeing this particular boot from Stuart Weitzman around for a while and absolutely love it. I had to talk my self out of buying it at the Bloomingdale's F&F sale recently. At the end of the day, this may be out of my price range (unless an amazing sale happens...obviously) so I'm thinking of going for the Michael Kors alternative here. My only concern, since I have not tried them on, is the shaft height. Being a petite, everything down to your shoes can swallow you. I do stand a slight chance as I have pretty long legs for a petite gal, so we'll keep our fingers crossed!

With divorce seeming to happen way too often in our society, this was so sweet to read.

After trying pumpkin for the first time over the holiday weekend via my friends pumpkin spice latte and muffin, I wouldn't say no to more pumpkin in my life.

Pencil Skirt Mission Part 1: All in the Details at Ann Taylor

I may have mentioned this before but I'm not a huge fan of trousers. Give me a pencil skirt and a nice blouse, and suddenly I feel alive, chic, feminine, and everything else I want to feel in my clothes. Currently, I have a simple black one from Zara but it has a whole list of things wrong with it:

1. It needs a hem of about 2-3inches to be at my ideal length (that being about 1-1.5in. above the knee).

2. It doesn't have lining. I naively bought the skirt on sale 3 years ago, and had no idea what I should even be looking for in one. Now though, lining is bordering on mandatory for me. It just gives a cleaner line and makes tucking in so much easier.

3. I burnt it with an iron, so now the front has a section that looks shiny and glossy... Not exactly what I was going for.

Anyway, this has led me to seek another, several is what I really prefer. I've been feeling blah about plain black lately, so I scoured the Ann Taylor site for one's that have interesting details. Below are some that I found that I really like, and I need your help deciding which one to get!

Ann Taylor "Crossing Paths" Pencil Skirt

I first saw it on Extra Petite and have been obsessed with it since. Sadly, at the time of writing this, the smallest size available is 0P. So this may have to stay on the back burner for a bit regardless of my liking.

Ann Taylor "Glitter Tweed" Skirt

This skirts design really reminds me of the Theory suit that has been a popular choice for the petite blogger's I follow. It's a simple dark colour but gives a bit of shimmer to brighten it up. The one thing that worries me is the length. The debate I started when finding this on the AT site is no closer to being over, and that was a few weeks ago. I'd love to get an extra set of opinions on this issue.

Ann Taylor "Tweed Power" Skirt

What the last skirt lacks, this one makes up for. The length (at least on the model) is perfect. I do wish it had more of a sparkle like the previous one but I like it just as well. It's a simple black/grey pencil skirt, and I'm imagining the fabric being a bit thicker (good thing for the coming Winter months).

If I had to narrow it down further, it would be between the first and last skirt. The first one stays in the running because it seems to have done well for Extra Petite, whom I would say is my size except her legs may be a tad shorter and she definitely has a narrower waist than I do. This means the slight issues she had with the skirt, may be a non issue for me. I like the sound of that for the sheer fact that I don't have the money right now to running off to the tailors, I've got Christmas pressies to think about.

What do you think? Thank you for reading and enjoy the rest of your day!

Morning Inspirations: Cobalt Blue Saga Continues...

Happy Monday everyone! Hope you all had a wonderful and well rested weekend! You can say mine was productive. I got started on my Christmas shopping, which naturally made me feel a tad crazy. I usually don't start until Thanksgiving with the round of Black Friday sales. However this year, I'm hoping to be mostly done by then :)

ANYWAY ANYWAY, the price on this dress is ridiculous. I wouldn't even be able to afford it if HauteLook or the Gilt Groupe ran a sale but it's so beautiful. Due to my lack of self-restraint, I am allowing my love for beautiful silhouette's be my excuse to stare at this completely chic cobalt blue (gives it so many bonus points) for hours on end. I love the jacket I paired with it as well. It has a very simple look but I can not resist that it looks like it will feel like heaven to wear, kind of like the cozy thick sweaters I have been dreaming of for weeks. I paired it with a simple black pump. I would recommend hose with in either nude or black opaque depending on the weather and your mood. The accessories were chosen in lighter colours to soften the look a bit.

Go here for the Polyvore details.

Outerwear: Debating the J. Crew Metro Coat

The start of Fall chilly weather always sends me into a frenzy about prepping for the winter months. If you were to look in my closet it consists of mostly thin Spring/Summer tops or really thick warm sweaters. I haven't seemed to learn the happy medium. We can talk more about that in another post though. To get back to the point, this is when I start dreaming about my next Winter coat investment.

My current collection consists of a puffer (and the only one I've discovered that actually looks pretty chic-thank you Zara), a cropped wool jacket in black, and a longer, almost knee length wool coat in a beautiful shade of red. For the last two years I have mostly been considering adding a J Crew piece to this collection for several reasons:

1. I like what I hear about the quality of their brand. For the most part, their items sound like they possess the quality to last seasons.

2. They offer thinsulate in many (not sure about all) of their coats. It is a great option to keep extra warm when the Winter temperatures turn abysmal.

After scouring the site for several hours, I am keeping my eyes firmly on their metro coat. I love the classic silhouette, it has the thinsulate option, and -fingers crossed- it appears to be cut in a way that will define the waist sans a waist detail such as a belt. Now that I found a coat I am VERY interested in, it's time to narrow down a colour. I'm in drooling fashion love with the 'majestic purple' that appears cobalt blue in the website pictures but I wonder if I should go with a more neutral or classic colour, given I already own a red wool coat. My neutral picks are the warm grey and the heather camel.

So, now my question is.... What do you think? Also, feel free to inform me if I am not the only one who has been dreaming of their next winter coat since September. (Yes, that was read correctly... September).

Thank you for reading and have a great day!