50 Shades of Brown

Although various shades of camel (some simply call it brown) is traditionally a color staple for trench coats and bulky fall pieces; this season this hot fall hue goes way beyond just wearing coats. This classic chic color has been seen floating across the runways of the world’s top and upcoming designers such as Celine, Martin Grant, Zimmermann, Michael Kors, Marissa Web, and Karen Walker in different silhouettes. While you are  probably used to debuting splashes of this color for fall outerwear; let’s show you how to incorporate, this color into your everyday fashionable pieces. Whether you call this color camel, rust, caramel, copper, or simply just brown these shades will always remain trendy and in style.

Wedding Season: Dress To Impress

I love wedding season! It’s the one excuse I have to put on a pretty dress with matching accessories (including my nails) and be fancy for the day. Almost like prom for grownups except the king and queen are the bride and groom; fruit punch is switched out for champagne, wine, and beer and you can dance the night away with no curfew. My absolute favorite parts of a wedding are seeing the look on the groom’s face when his soon to be wife is walking down the aisle; you can see it in his eyes how lucky he is truly is to have found the one. Second favorite? The vows because I’m truly a romantic at heart and love to hear beautiful words that are said straight from the heart.

I was lucky enough to score an invite to Kelli and Ben’s wedding in Columbus, OH last weekend; it was absolutely perfect and I was ecstatic that they finally tied the knot! Everything from the décor, the barn, and of course the bride herself, were beautiful.

The dress search for this wedding was a little difficult, I wanted to wear black (my favorite color), but my cousins fought me on this decision and clearly they won. So, I opted for a soft pink lace dress with sheer insert for a very romantic, elegant look. The shoes, it was even harder to find the perfect nude heels, but when it came down to the wire; I found a pair that couldn’t have been more perfect. My hair, since the dress had a romantic look and feel; I went with cascading curls and a mini braid. Finally, to top off my look; I went with rose gold bangles, earrings, rings, and a metallic gold clutch (not pictured).

Congratulations again, to the happy couple! Wishing you a lifetime of love and happiness!

Express: Lace Fit & Flare Dress

Dillard’s: Quin Braided Dress Sandals by Antonio Melani

Macys: Accessories (Couldn’t find my exact selection online; so I did some substitutions).

Fuchsia, Fuchsia, Fuchsia!

While the world was busy catching Pokemon's this weekend, I attended my cousin's baby shower. Maybe you can guess the gender, yes it's a girl! Since I hardly wear bright colors; I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to rock this fuschia Portofino by Express that I've had stashed away in my closet for the longest. It matched perfectly with the light pink brooch, cute party decorations, and of course my leather ensemble.

So, let's talk about my outfit! The Portofino top is the perfect button up top, that's light weight and easy to pair with just about any bottom including my leather grommet wrap skirt. Amazing, is the one word that comes to mind when I think about this leather skirt! It fits perfectly and I absolutely love the little grommet embellishment at the side. My pointy ballerina-inspired flats by Aldo helped me pull off this stylish look for the baby shower!

Tip: Make this the perfect day to night look by switching to heels, this will make your legs look extremely long in that leather mini!

Outfit Details

Brighten It Up: Spring Office Look Wardrobe

Spring is in the air! Unfortunately, no matter how nice the weather may be outside, we still have to work. So, instead of feeling down, bring the freshness and brightness of spring inside the office! This can be done by adding a pop of color to your work wardrobe. Not a fan of bright colors, just start by introducing some color slowly and work it into your style. Wear some colorful bracelets or earrings, then when you feel comfortable swap out your neutral color top for a pink or sky blue number. If color isn't your thing when it comes to bottoms, I understand. Instead, mix it up by opting for bottoms (pants and skirts) with patterns. My go-to are fitted pants with black and white patterns which make an easy pairing for your colorful spring tops. Trust me, the office will be buzzing about how radiant you look in your new spring inspired office look!

 Retailers such as J.Crew, Banana Republic, and Express offer an array of office appropriate tops,  now available in a variation of this season's most popular colors. My hands down favorite are the Portofino shirts available at Express, the hardest part is choosing one of out the 91 options (consists of patterns, colors, sleeve length, and fit) they carry. Either way, you'll be able to pair these easily with any bottoms you choose.

Retailers such as J.Crew, Banana Republic, and Express offer an array of office appropriate tops,  now available in a variation of this season's most popular colors. My hands down favorite are the Portofino shirts available at Express, the hardest part is choosing one of out the 91 options (consists of patterns, colors, sleeve length, and fit) they carry. Either way, you'll be able to pair these easily with any bottoms you choose.

Outfit details

Weekend Style Inspiration: Grunge

My go-to weekend style consists of taking it back to the late 80's with a grunge inspired look. If you love being comfortable, rocking somewhat messy hair, and a flannel shirt then this look is for you! Grunge hails all the way from the late 80's going into the early 90's when bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Alice in Chains stepped on the scene. Inspired by the grunge music scene, Seattle is known as the official birthplace of grunge. 

The ultimate grunge style is basically that "I don't care look", which consist of keeping up an unkempt appearance with messy hair. Makes sense? If not turn to music icons who embodied this look from head to toe such as Kurt Cobain and my favorite, Courtney Love.  Ripped jeans, oversized sweaters, combat boots, band tees (such as Nirvana), flannel shirts, bracelets, and a beanie are the keys to achieving this look. Once you have any combination of these pieces, it's all about layering from here on out.It's simple to rock this look, a lot of stores such as Forever 21, Express, Wet Seal, and H&M all carry the essential pieces to pull this style off without breaking the bank. Although, it's best to get your pieces from a thrift store, mall-based retailers are just fine. 

Now, let's forward to 2016 and talk about my look. Instead of opting for ripped tights or jeans, I chose a flirty fit and flare dress, an oversized flannel shirt, tan heeled booties, and a lot of jewelry. I capped this look off with a faded burgundy lip and lightly tousled hair. 

It's important to remember when selecting your pieces to choose colors that are neutral or dark. Here are the pieces to duplicate my grunge inspired look: