My Take - Slip-On Sneaker Mini-Trend

Last week I covered some Resort 2014 trends that caught my eye:

Resort 2014 Color trends

Resort 2014 Trend - Sweatshirts

Resort 2014 Trend - Birkenstock-like slides

Resort 2014 Trend - Snakeskin

Resort 2014 Trend - Windowpanes and Squares

Today I'm going to touch on an emerging mini-trend for Fall that caught my eye and that I can totally get on board with - slip-on sneakers! Actually my best friend sent me an image of some amazing leopard print slip-on sneakers - I was hooked.  Then I ran across this image on Pinterest:

How perfect are these little numbers from Celine?  But alas, they are Celine and not in any way affordable for us regular folks.  I kept noticing more and more high end slip-on sneakers like the ones below:

1.  Givenchy - $495

2.  Givenchy - $650

3.  Marc by Marc Jacobs - $248

4.  Givenchy - $530

5.  Prada - $420

Okay, those are nice but way too $$.  So I hunted down some affordable options.  There are some great ones out there!

6.  Tory Burch - $165

7.  Donald J. Pliner - $50

8.  Gap - $60

9.  Michael Michael Kors - $66

10.  Sperry - $75

11.  Tory Burch - $56

12.  Vans - $45

13.  Vans - $45

What do you think, is this one trend you are excited about?

For more Resort 2014 check out my Resort 2014 Pinterest board.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

Pattern - Leopard vs. Cheetah

You know I don't get all preachy on here, but I'm going to get a little preachy today.  I'm not trying to be hateful, I'm just trying to be helpful.  I'm a fabric designer, a designer that deals with a lot of prints and patterns.  And this makes me so anal about terminology , I'm anal because getting a placement depends on the proper communication of what is desired by a customer.  Or on a more practical level, what I'm looking for when I go shopping for clothes/shoes/home furnishings.  Lately there have been a slew of missteps when it comes to what is labeled as "leopard print".  I'll see things that are obviously not leopard print being labeled as "leopard print" (like one snakeskin print jacket recently - really?) but more often than not I'll see a cheetah print being labeled as "leopard".  While they are similar, they are not alike.  A quick big cat lesson:

First up - the leopard (snoozing in a tree - aren't cats all the same on some level? They love to get their nap on.)

Leopards have the distinctive spots that are known as "rosettes".  Tan ground, black spots surrounding a darker brown spot.

 Next is the jaguar - has the same rosette spots as a leopard

Basically, interchangeable with a leopard print.  Work it, you jaguar, you!  Meow!

Lastly - the cheetah (aka the fastest land animal)

The cheetah has a tan ground with just black spots - I would say like an almost irregular polka dot.  None of that third color rosette stuff.

Here are some examples of the patterns out in the retail world:

 While I love them both, I'm a bit partial to the leopard because of that third color that adds a little more depth and sophistication.  Now both of these patterns can be used as neutrals and make for outstanding additions to your wardrobe (I always encourage everyone to own a pair of leopard shoes).

What do you think?  Do you prefer Leopard or Cheetah?

Images of the cats via National Geographic

My Take - Chris Benz Resort 2012

After yesterday's my five post, I almost immediately received a request to take a stab at recreating this look:

Yay!  Love this outfit, and those leopard sneakers - shut the front door!  Here you go!

Button Front Tops by Eddie Bauer
Bracelets by Stephan & Co

Coats by Merona
Flats by Steve Madden

During my search I ran across these adorable shoes (which would be great with the outfits above or just jeans and a tee) - check 'em out!

4 of 30 - Denim, Leopard and Flowers

Finally!  I cut the tags of this Tucker for Target blouse and wore it - I mean it only took months.  Sheesh.  What is my problem?  I absolutely love it, it's comfortable and easy to wear.  I'm not one for a ton of prints, especially floral prints.  I think it comes from years designing residential fabrics, you start looking at prints and see them on sofas and chairs and not on clothes.  Must be why I wore so many neutrals early in my career ;o)  Anyhoo, I decided to mix it up with my leopard flats and jeans.  Can't go wrong with either of those.  In fact, you could probably take any of my tops in the challenge and pair them with the jeans and leopard flats and do just fine.  Which means you will be seeing them again - ha!

Top - #9

Jeans - #15

Shoes - #27

Necklace (shaped like a fish) - Lucky Brand

Uniform Dressing 6:1

Time for another installment of Uniform Dressing!  I'm going to mix it up a little this month in honor of Valentine's Day - every Uniform Dressing post this month will feature something red!  Red is a great addition to any wardrobe, it's a nice pop of color that isn't too crazy and comes in so many variations from bold to subtle.  We'll start out the month with a red coat/jacket.  I love a red coat, my favorite winter coat is a lovely berry.  It's nice to have a bright cheery color in the grey days of Winter.  Dress it up or dress it down.  Away we go...

Skinny Denim by Gap
Flats by J. Jill

Black Dresses by Ann Taylor
Pumps by Steve Madden

On a related note - I popped into Ann Taylor last week and they had the most amazing ikat leopard print featured on dresses (see above), skirts, and (my personal favorite) the shirt below.  Trust me, it is pretty much perfection.

More Ann Taylor...

My Five - Celine Pre-Fall 2011

Chic, chic, chic collection!  Here are my picks!

Seriously, this look is killing me - swoon!

Images via Style.com

My Five - Giambattista Valli Spring 2011

First of all, thank you all so much for your get well wishes, I so appreciate them!  I'm trying to feel better, but I'm still having trouble talking because I'm so hoarse (which everyone around me is loving - lol!).  I took a new antibiotic which promptly made me so sick to my stomach, so I had to start another type.  This bug really knocked me flat out, I haven't had a sinus infection this bad in years.  It's not good when the doctor looks in your nose and says "Oh my gosh!".  Hopefully I'm going to quickly get better (just in time for a midterm) and I fixed my "uploading-pictures-to-Blogger" issue so I figured I would do a quick "my five". 

Here are my picks from this collection, a couple more than five are here, but I have good reason.  Love the leopard, love the orange and love the flats.  Enjoy!

Images via Vogue.com