Flashdance

When I originally put this outfit together I topped the sheer tunic with my cropped Asos top with the sheer back. It almost worked, too, and I did like the sheer-over-sheer effect. However, the way the wide neckline of the cropped top revealed the straps of the tank top just wasn't quite right; too many Flashdance memories, I suppose. Incidentally, click on over to Wendy Brandes' latest installment for the Huffington Post, featuring me and a bunch of fellow bloggers sporting sheer garments.

I bought both the pants and the shoes on an afternoon that Sal and I spent lunching and shopping with LPC. In a very uncharacteristic move, I walked into the John Fluevog store and walked out with possibly the most conventional pair of shoes they've ever produced. But a pair of basic, retro-styled black pumps has been on my shopping list for ages, and I had decided I was going to stick to my shopping list during Sal's visit and not allow myself to stray, despite there being several other pairs that caught my eye. Also on the shopping list: colorful, skinny pants. Since this purple pair had bonus leather panels on the calves, and they were on sale, it was really a no-brainer.

This outfit was inspired by this one from Sea of Ghosts, but for my version I covered up a bit more and opted for the demure pumps to make it more age and work appropriate. I love how the leather detail on the tunic pairs mirrors the leather panels on the pants.

Cardigan: Express
Tunic: Audrey Cantwell
Pants: Rag & Bone
Shoes: John Fluevog

Urban Active

Here's that other purple dress I was telling you about in my last post. It's from Athleta, a store I probably wouldn't have checked out if it weren't for the fact that Sal has put together so many cute outfits with their stuff. With a name like Athleta I'd have thought they carried strictly athletic clothes, but it turns out they make all sorts of clothes I would categorize as urban active, which is exactly what I need to accommodate my long walks to and from work.

The dress is comfortable and breathable, machine washable, and the quality is great. I took this dress with me on my recent international trip, and it was just perfect for travel.

Shown here are two different outfits with the dress; the second photo has a lot of glare from the sun but I included it to show you what the upper wrap portion looks like.

Dress: Athleta
Jacket: Shawna Hoffman
Belt: thrifted
Boots: Brako

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone! I'm back from my trip to Germany and France and have finally recovered fully from the jetlag. I spent a delightful weekend in Paris that w`s cold but mostly sunny, and filled with great food and even better shopping (photographic evidence to come!). Now that I have a little time off I'm hoping to get caught up with my blogging and post some photos from my trip.

In the meantime here's a recent outfit featuring this cute new dress that I found at a shop in on Fillmore Street; it turned out to be the second of two long-sleeved purple dresses I bought that day. Ordinarily I would've avoided buying similar items, but this one is a much lighter weight dress whereas the other is more of a winter weight, and this was so deeply discounted that I couldn't pass it up. You'll be seeing the other purple dress in an upcoming post.

Wishing you a happy holiday season!


Dress: Kew
Necklace: Manu Lizarralde
Boots: All Black