Trina Turk 20th

Trina Turk is celebrating its 20th Anniversary. And while sometimes her prints are a bit bold for me, I've been a long-time fan of the brand. It makes me want to mix a cocktail and attend glamorous Palm Springs pool-side fetes. For the big birthday, she designed a capsule collection that is screaming my name. And while lately I've been on a minimalist kick, there's just something about a big, bold floral.

 



I would pair this oversized jacket with solids - dresses, shirts and pants...you name it. Talk about a statement piece. I'm a true believer that you can wear bold prints as long as you don't go overboard. So while I wouldn't carry this purse...

Or wear these shoes with the jacket, they would add that little extra punch to any solid-colored outfit. I'd love the shoes with a cobalt blue dress. 

Happy 20th Anniversary Trina Turk! 

Got the Gimmies

In case you are wondering who is the winner of the Merin Designs Ketchum bag...well, you will have to read this post to find out!

I've got a major case of the gimmies (anyone else read the Berenstain Bears Get the Gimmies as a kid?).  And I decided instead of exercising my Amex, hopefully this blog post will do the trick and I'll be cured (unlikely, but one can hope). It's not specific to one area...pretty much runs the gamut.

Holiday decor for Thanksgiving and Christmas...

Turkey Pheasant Wreath

Mark and Graham Preppy Plaid Napkins

Clothes for work...

5th & Mercer Long Sleeve Dress

Zara Top with Detailing on the Shoulder

And of course, for play too...day and night. 

Hunter Original Tall Rain Boot

J. Crew Buffalo Check Shirt-Jacket

Trina Turk Edda Jumpsuit

If I had to just buy one thing, the blue dress might be the one...although the Zara top looks pretty cute.....

Gimmies still present.

Oh, and the winner is.....drumroll please....Dawn Keenan. Congratulations! We will be in touch!

What I Wore: Put a Bag On

The "cherry on top" of any outfit is a great handbag. You know I'm a huge fan of Danielle Nicole (check out my previous posts here) and her fashionable and affordable bags. Danielle recently hosted an event at Cusp in DC and she picked out this amazing bag for me. She knows me too well (Thank you!) The Scarlett Satchel is classic, with that little bit of something something to make it stand out. And, to top it off, there was someone on hand to monogram the bags for us. I do love a good monogram. 

What I Love about a great bag, is that it takes a basic outfit - in this case, a black sheath dress and black jacket (both Trina Turk) - to the next level. Perfect for day to night last week when I went right from work to a dinner event. 

The gold hardware made it again the right pairing with this Hunter Dixon blouse with gold buttons.

I know I'm going to get a ton of use out of this - if it can beat out my black Adeline Satchel. 

What I Wore: A Little Leather Goes a Long Way

One of this season's biggest trends is leather. And I'm definitely embracing it - both real and faux. Let's start with the faux since you know we love a good splurge vs. save at Cardigans & Couture. 

ASOS Body-Concious Dress with Leather Look Panels and Short Sleeves

I'm a huge ASOS fan. With free shipping and returns, I usually order several pieces, knowing that I'm going to send many of them back. There was no way this dress was getting returned. I ordered one size up since it's really fitted, and I love it. The faux leather feels and looks much more luxurious than the price. 

While faux is good, sometimes you need the real thing. And when it comes to leather, it's definitely worth the investment if you know it can stand the test of time. Which leads me to this.

Trina Turk Alfred Jacket

Thank you Trina Turk for making the perfect blazer with buttery leather sleeves. Whether for work with a skirt or dress, or on the weekends with jeans, this jacket is a wardrobe staple. I also picked up the Mandahl Dress (now on sale) which is the perfect sheath dress to pair with my new jacket (excuse the bad photo). 

Are you bringing leather into your wardrobe this season? Here are a few ASOS and Trina Turk pieces I'd recommend if it's on the table.

Trina Turk Gelsey Dress

Trina Turk Stovepipe Pant

ASOS Sweat Dress with Faux Leather

ASOS Vesper Dress with Faux Leather Waist Detail

ASOS Pencil Dress with Leather Look Panels

ASOS Mango Leather Look Legging

Trina Time

I've been a fan of Trina Turk for years. Her line is full of great patterns, bright colors, and signature prints. You aren't wearing TT if you want to go unnoticed. I recently picked up this multi-colored print long sleeve dress (on sale). It's great for the weekend or work, with or without tights, and heels or boots. Last week I wore it to work on a snowy day. 

Add a necklace (similar) and I was ready to go. 

Here are some of my favorite current Trina Turk pieces.

Flagimi Dress

Firecracker Dress

Gallery Top and Pencil Me in Skirt

Kinder Top

Sniper Top and Pistol Trouser

And you can never go wrong with her swimwear (I've often seen it at TJ Maxx).

Summer of Love Twist Bandeau & Shirred Hipster

Mayan Bandeu & Surf Hipster

What I Wore - Totally Tartan

I love the holidays. And I LOVE tartan. A co-worker wore this incredible blazer to work for our holiday lunch. I don't normally buy the same thing as my colleagues, but this was too good to pass up. I've already worn it twice in the last week. 

It isn't available online, but here are store locations nationwide. It runs a little small, so you might consider going up a size if you're broad-shouldered like me. 

And if you can't find the jacket, these might peak your plaid interest. 

C. Wonder Wool Double Logo Ballet Flats

J. Crew Red Tartan Cafe Capri

Topshop Tartan Blazer

Trina Turk Dress

J. Crew Perfect Shirt in Tartan 

Are you mad for plaid?

Today is the last day to enter our Angela Caputi giveaway. Get the details here and tomorrow we'll announce the winner. 

What I Wore - Napa Wedding Weekend

Nearly two weeks ago, my +1 and I took our first vacation together without the Mini Fashionista. We spent four fabulous days in Napa, Ca wining, dining and celebrating the wedding of our friends. I spent a lot of time planning my weekend wedding wear, so I thought I would share a few of my outfits.

1) Travel clothes: Zara blazer, Old Navy striped blouse (which I blogged about here), Zara jeans and Cole Haan Wedges.

2) Wine tasting: Tory Burch blouse and shorts (Consign design) and Target wedges. 

3) Sunday Brunch- Polka dot J Crew dress (borrowed from my dear friend SW), NY&Co wedges (from Seams to Fit) and Kate Spade Franca cat's eye sunglasses. 

For the wedding I was so close to getting a dress from Rent the Runway, but I decided to shop in my own closet and save the money. Instead I wore this Trina Turk that I've only worn once (nearly four years ago). I paired it with my gold Ferragamo Sandals (also from Consign Design) and an Angela Caputi chain link bracelet. It's not my favorite dress, but no one was looking at me anyway.  The bride was stunning in Monique Lhuillier, so I guarantee no one cared about my 4-year old dress!

Bali Bound

For our honeymoon in just over six weeks we are Bali bound! Of course it has me yearning for bright patterned tunics, light-weight dresses, and new bathing suits! Thankfully we're getting married at the end of the Summer, just in time for everything to go on sale. Here are a few things I've got my eye on.

Yumi Kim Dress from Bloomingdales

Tory Burch Print Silk Long Caftan

J. Crew Silk Dervish Paisley Tunic

Gap Tribal Print Top

Old Navy Geometric-Print String Bikini - $14.97 each

Trina Turk Alto Cinco Short and Ximena Blouse

T & C Recap

We got back last week from a trip to Turks and Caicos to celebrate our engagement. It was amazing! The beaches, the fruity adult beverages, relaxing poolside...I didn't want to come home. If you follow the blog on Twitter or Facebook, you may remember that I did some shopping in preparation for the trip. I got some amazing and reasonably priced things at Zara, H & M, and Old Navy (I got 4 bathing suits for $60) that were PERFECT for our tropical getaway! We carried on - wise decision since we barely made our connections both there and back - which requires some packing prowess, but I was thrilled only coming back with three items unworn. Here are some outfit highlights from the trip.

Top-H&M, Belt-Urban Outfitters, Skirt-Zara, Watch-Michael Kors, Bracelets-Misc.
*Our first night, celebrating with champagne on our little porch.

Tank Top-Nike, Shorts-Hurley, Bathing Suit-Old Navy
*This was the morning of our snorkeling and conch shell diving excursion.  

Tunic-H&M, Bracelets-Angela Caputi, Bathing Suit-Old Navy, Sunnies-Smith Sport Optics
*Can you believe how beautiful the water is? And the sand was so soft!

Blouse-H&M, Jeans-Trina Turk, Braclet-Hermes, Sandals-JackRogers, Purse (I can't remember), Watch-Cartier
*Don't mind the spot on my blouse, which I didn't notice until after this photo was taken. Awesome.

Dress-Zara, Sandals-Jack Rogers (They're the only shoes for evening that I brought), Watch-Michael Kors, Black Bracelet-Angela Caputi
*Self photograph - my photographer was getting ready to celebrate the 4th of July.

Dress-H&M, Fedora-H&M, Bracelets-Angela Caputi, Bathing Suit-Victoria's Secret
*This was the "adults only" deck where we sat for a few of the days.