Erika's Style Diary: floral

Showing posts with label floral. Show all posts

Monday, June 30, 2014

TST: Fab Florals

So, I know this post is really late, but better late than never I always say! ;-) I have had a hard time keeping up with the blog the past 2 weeks, but hopefully it will be better going forward! As I've said before, if only this was my main job... haha!

Anyways, I'm a big fan of skorts. It's hard to find them in regular stores (I think golf stores tend to carry them more but they are overpriced there in my opinion). I love them for going to concerts, especially outdoor ones where you have sit on the ground. They offer the cuteness of a skirt but you don't have to worry about flashing anyone when you sit! This outfit is, in my opinion, the perfect ensemble for an outdoor concert and/or music festival. I'm going to a 3-day one in a few months, so I need to figure out what I'm going to wear!

I love the cute buttons along the edge. I found this awesome bag in Chinatown many years ago when I was in San Francisco. It's been one of my fave bags to take to concerts ~ crossbody bags are the best for that because you can just throw them on and not have to deal with them sliding off your shoulder.

What I'm Wearing
Top - Target
Skort - thrifted
Shoes ~ Bongo
Earrings ~ Betsey Johnson
Necklace ~ gift
Bag ~ Chinatown in SF

Check out how the other ladies styled their florals!

The Two Cent Chick

Being Zhenya

Confessions of a Refashionista

Sandpaper Kisses

Buttons and Birdcages

Alligator Toe
Sincerely Miss J

Sistas From Cali

Snippets With Alex
Spoolish
Bethie The Boo
Rachel's Lookbook
Lipstick and Yarn
Nuttier Than Nutella

If you want a say in upcoming themes, you can vote here!

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Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Peplum and Pattern Mixing

We had a mini cold front come through last week, but now I think the warm weather is here to stay. It's definitely warm enough now to break out the shorts. I went a little crazy with the pattern mixing in this outfit: striped shorts, floral top and leopard purse. It's cool how it can all come together and create a cohesive outfit. I've been playing around with pairing different patterns together lately. It's fun to push the envelope and see which ones you can successfully combine.

I'm happy that peplum is still popular. The look is so flattering for any body type! I feel like it is going to become one of those classic looks that is around for a long time.

What I'm Wearing

Top ~ NY & Co (similar here and here)

Shorts ~ WHBM (almost identical)

Earrings ~ Francesca's (similar)

Sandals ~ Bongo (similar)

Bag ~ Kate Spade (similar)

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Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Summer Dress: 2 Ways

I know it's not quite summer for many of you ~ and you're probably just beginning to have consistent spring weather ~ but here it's been in the high 80's to mid-90's the last couple of weeks, so it feels like it's summer already. Don't get jealous if you're up north, in another month or so it will be hot and humid here and then your weather will be looking much more appealing. :)

I wanted to get a dress that had a summer feel to it and when I came across this one at Banana Republic, it fit the bill perfectly (they have a ton of really cute summery dresses out right now). I typically shy away from dresses with a drop waist as it doesn't really flatter my body type, but this one fit like a glove and looked better than I expected. I was drooling over this cute ice cream clutch when it first came out, but I didn't want to pay full price. Luckily for me, it was still available a couple months later when it went on sale and KS was having 25% off for friends and family. I love it when things work out that way!

The second look for this dress is pairing it with a cropped jacket. This is perfect for when it's still a little cool outside or at the office where they pump the AC way too high, ha. I also swapped out the necklace. It's crazy how just changing a couple things about an outfit can give it a whole new look.

What I'm Wearing

Dress ~ Banana Republic

Cropped Jacket ~ WHBM

1st Necklace ~ Francesca's (mint only version here)

2nd Necklace ~ Etsy (similar)

Bracelets ~ Banana Republic, Limited, and Kate Spade

Earrings ~ Shop Lately (similar)

Wedges ~ Guess (I really like this pair)

Clutch ~ Kate Spade

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Monday, April 21, 2014

Easter Outfit

Good morning! I hope you all had a great Easter! We had a fun time celebrating with my husband's family. The bluebonnets were still looking gorgeous this weekend when we went up to their land out in the country, so we used them as a background again. :)

I love this floral bodice top from WHBM, but I was hesitant to wear it work because it was sleeveless. I didn't like how it looked with a cardigan since it covered up the floral pattern. Then I realized I could wear a long sleeve shirt underneath it! Perfect solution. I mentioned this bag in my last Style Swoons post (which you should check out if you haven't, especially the Shirk Report link) and since it was on sale for 50% off (I think it still is, check out the link at the end of the post), I decided to go ahead and get it. It's a little bigger than the usual bag I carry, but I just love the lace detail on the front of it.

These guys love going up to the country property where they can run around and play all they want!

What I'm Wearing

Long Sleeve Top ~ Limited

Sleeveless Bodice ~ WHBM, similar

Skirt ~ Limited, similar

Purse ~ Limited

Shoes ~ Bongo, similar

Earrings ~ Express, similar

Sunglasses ~ Vera Wang

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Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Bluebonnets

Bluebonnet season is in full bloom here in Texas and I decided to take advantage and get some pictures with the gorgeous wildflowers. They seem to grow everywhere, small patches here and there, along freeways and roads, parks and yards, but out in the hill country you can find entire fields of blue. It's breathtakingly beautiful. Bluebonnets are only around for about 6 weeks, with the peak lasting about 2 weeks, so you have to pay attention and be ready to go if you want pictures with lots of them. It was really neat to learn about bluebonnets when I first moved to Texas almost 8 years ago and it's become an annual tradition to get pictures with the flowers. Funny story - when I first moved here, I got the flowers mixed up with the ever popular Bluebell ice cream and called them bluebells (seems legit, right?). My husband still loves to give me a hard time about that. :)

Even the dogs love getting their pictures taken with the flowers. How sweet are those faces?

I hope you enjoyed seeing a slice of Texas heaven!

By the way, many times people will squat in the flowers when taking pictures, so as not to damage them. Someone decided to make fun of that pose by adding a little something extra to those pictures... it's hilariously wrong. Check it out and be prepared to laugh!

What I'm Wearing
Dress ~ Maude (from a local boutique), similar
Belt ~ WHBM
Shoes ~ Steve Madden, similar
Necklace ~ Express, similar
Bracelet ~ Express, pretty option here
Earrings ~ ? (cute pair here for under $6!)

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Thursday, March 20, 2014

Thrift Style Thursday: Perfect Pastels

I'm excited to announce that I have been asked to joined Thrift Style Thursday, which is a weekly feature where I'll showcase an item found secondhand, based on that week's theme (chosen by the participating bloggers). As I mentioned in an earlier post, you can find great fashion pieces anywhere, including second hand stores. They are typically in good shape and an added bonus is that they much cheaper than what you would pay for something similar that's new!

In participating in Thrift Style Thursday, I am joining an awesome group of ladies that have very cool blogs. I have listed links to their blogs at the end of the post. Please be sure to give them a look and see how they interpreted this week's theme of perfect pastels. :)

So, let's talk about thrifting. Honestly, I don't know why I haven't done it sooner. I had always thought about it but never went. Then I came across Justine's cute blog over at The Two Cent Chick and got inspired by a couple of her awesome Thrift Style Thursday posts and decided to go. A friend and I went and we found some good stuff at unbelievable prices. I mentioned it to Justine and she invited me to join her and the rest of the girls that participate in Thrift Style Thursday each week! This will be a fun weekly challenge as you never know what you'll find when you go thrifting! :)

This week's theme was perfect pastels, which was, well, perfect since today is the first day of Spring! Little did I realize that most pastels (at least at the first 2 places that I went to) would be limited to old-fashioned grandma style tops, haha. I wasn't sure what I was going to do, but then I came across 2 great finds at the third store I tried. I decided to get both and see how they worked when I styled them. I ended up loving both, so I decided to show you both!

Outfit 1: My thrifted item is the pastel pink polka dot dress. I found this on the 50% off rack and scored it for only $8!

Outfit 2: My other thrifted item is the pink blazer (I'm sensing a theme here, ha!). I decided to go all out and pair a bunch of pastel items together for this outfit!

The bows on the pockets were a cute detail and what ultimately that sold me on this. Also, the brand, Nanette Lepore, sounded familiar, so I googled it and found that most of her blazers sell for around $400. I was sold ~ what a steal at $25!