My roommate walked in dressed only in a towel asking for help. She didn't know what to wear to a concert and party tonight. Two unrelated activities, where she would potentially need 2 different styles to accomodate. She asks for help fairly often, and I usually stare at her clothes unsure of what to do. But I remember wasting time at work yesterday looking through the JCrew website, and I stumbled upon an outfit that looked like something she owned.

So here's my tip of the day: When in doubt, look on your favorite shopping website, and devise a look from something they have put together. It makes you look original, and you get back-handed compliments like "hmmm...I just never thought of putting that together."

So here's the photo that started it all:

She already owned a military-style jacket, so I added a flouncy, light colored skirt and tank under. Accessorized not with a $70 pearl bracelette, but a gold engraved cuff I own. Not the exact same, but the same look.

Let's try this with another picture.

Here is a merino wool sweater, once again from J.Crew. We all own a v-neck sweater, maybe not in merino, but a v-neck sweater is a basic staple to any wardrobe. We may even have all attempted this look, but failed...and let's be honest, I for one failed miserably. So let's look at what makes this specific look so great:

-light colors: we all like to pair a light color with a darker color to avoid being washed out, but here it is in all it's glory, shining just as well as if she were wearing an entire lavendar jumpsuit.

-scarf: I am a HUGE fan of scarves, and this is a new way of wearing it - just wrapped around your neck. If you're not bold enough to try that out, you can do the European knot, or wrap it a couple of times around your neck and let the tails hang.

-long necklace: when in doubt, go with a long necklace.

-skinny belt: paired with taughtly ironed trousers, it accentuates not only her waste, but ties all of the accesories together.

So there's basic essentials to this look that you probably have in your wardrobe:

-v-neck sweater (preferably pastel, since it's warm out)

-white trousers

-skinny belt

-scarf (if you don't have one, they're like $5 at Forever 21. Invest in 20).

-long necklace (you'll wear it more then you think, believe me).

And if you don't have these essentials, GO SHOPPING! And just remember - buy pants that fit. Probably the number one way to look put together.

The Shoes are at it Again

This time it's a project for my sister's friend. I've never met her, but here is how she is described: very tall, and funky, and haute coutre. And this is what she wants: bright colored sandals (pink or yellow) for a zoo event. I took some liberties (not just finding pink and yellow shoes), and created a few categories to choose from. Once again, there are others that are not listed here, but these are the winners of the categories.

And here is the dress: J. Crew Embossed Cottom Lorelei dress.

I actually own this dress in brown. I love it, it is very flattering and good for pretty much any occassion depending on how you dress it down or up. The best part about this project, is that it's a while dress, so the sky is the limit in regards to color of shoes and jewelry. So here they are, in random order (except saving the best for last):

Best Style: purple Nine West Botique, with a zip at the top. Combines heel and gladiator sandals that everyone is wearing, and the color is great.

Most Unique: I had a very hard time choosing between two shoes in this category. I love Betsy Johnson, but I feel like a Victoria's Secret shoe should get a special shout-out because it truly is unique. So here they are, side by side. On the left is Betsy Johnson's Melinda shoe, on the right is Victoria's Secret Pasco Gil.

Best Kitten Heel: Miss Sixty Oda Yellow. Scalloped criss-crossing straps at the toe, that give it a peep-toe look rather than a true sandal.

Best Gladiator Sandal: since they're so hot right now I thought I'd add it in. Not a typical gladiator since it's pink and there are no rivets, it's more feminine and casual. From Naughty Monkey (love this brand...and strangely so does Sarah Palin), Sunshine State.

Best Slingback: a gorgeous purple with detailing at the toe, it's a J. Renee shoe called Swirl.

Best Wedge: There were a lot to choose from since it's summer and the wedge seems to be the thing to wear in the summer, but this one showed the most originality of all the wedges I looked at. It's a Cindy Piper Ankle Strap Wedge.

Best Pump: Great color plus great details equal great pump. A turquois pump (that is actually featured on my twitter) by Gabriella Rocha called Aleena.

Best Flat: winner goes to Christina Lacroix (we're getting a little fancy pants here) who apparently only deals in numbers: 982181. No one can tell me this shoe isn't the most glorious flip flop they've ever laid eyes on, it shouldn't even be disrespected to be called a flip flop!

Best Color: Half white-trash, half royalty, this shoe is probably something Marie Antoinette would covet, but it also has the potential to fall flat on it's face if those sparkles start to wear off. It's a chance I'm willing to take. Hale Bob's Bo Pink heel...beautiful.

And last but CERTAINLY not least! drum roll..............

Erica's winner for best overall shoe: Zigi Soho Deena Satin Platform Sandal. Holy mother of pearl, I could stare at this shoe all day long. Just try to disagree with me.

Of course there are much more where these came from...But I do believe this is it for now. I will email the rest to my sister to give to her friend, and if you would like to recieve an email of self-esteem inducing shoes, just let me know and it's yours as well.

Fashion Heroes

Dear Kristin Bell,

You are a beautiful fashion icon. Here's to you. 

Love, Erica

Someone once told me I looked like Kristin Bell, so of course I let it go to my head, and I have been following her ever since. 

(?)

Not only does she make great choices in acting (Heroes, Forgetting Sara Marshall), she also makes some pretty impeccable fashion choices as well. So here are some of my favorite Kristin Bell outfits, and some affordable choices to copy them.

And we're off to a fun start:

Patterned blue tube dress from Express, $44.50

Red open toed strappy shoes from Payless, $38

A classic from her appearance at the Emmys:

The actual dress is hard to find (great blue color), but there are SO many long jersey cotton dress options these days. Just got one at Target, and I thought I would feel like a hippie wearing it, but I love it. So here are your options:

the white dress is from Express, $59.50

pink tiered dress from Old Navy, $29.50

A casual look with jeans (what I wish I could wear every day):

Old Navy mid-rise flair jeans, $29.50

Express graphic tee, $29.50

Express cropped ruffle fly-away cardigan, $19.99 (sale!)

Forever 21 scarf, $7.80

Last, but not least, beautiful cozy coat:

The coat I put in the picture is gray, I know, but on the website you can get it in tan too, I just couldn't save the picture in tan. Don't worry folks, you CAN look like her!

Tulle, long double-breasted coat (www.tulle4us.com), $77.40 (sale!)

Express, Zelda skinny-leg jean, $49.50

RSVP janis gray patent shoes (www.zappos.com), $60.75 (sale!)

Forever 21 faux reptile headband, $2.80

Oh how I love beautiful items of clothing.

By the way, everything was found online (obviously since I got the pictures), so you can get all of this from the comforts of your cushy chairs. 

Shoes on the Loose

Heather asked me to find some shoes to wear with her new dress: 

I found a few options, each giving her a different look, and degree of comfort. All were found on the wonderful zappos.com, and are a variety of prices. So here are the winners:

Fanciest:

Prari Rachelina. I think these shoes would look very pretty with the dress if it was worn with a wrap and some fancier jewelry. 

Most Comfortable: 

Hush Puppies Blissful. For a more casual look or a day at the beach.

Most Unique:

Cole Haan Dawn Thong. A more unpredictable choice.

Cutest:

UGG Amelie. Different color choice so it's not all in unison.

My Favorite:

Steve Madden Cresst. I think it gives the best overall look to the dress and the most versitile. You can make it casual and fancy, and wedges are much more comfortable then heels.

You can go to Zappos.com and put the shoe style in the search engine and find it. 

Happy shopping!

Great, Greater, and Greatest

One of the most exciting discoveries as of late is the $1 makeup line, e.l.f. cosmetics. I am conviced their makeup is actually sample sizes of Clinique or other department store makeup, because I cannot for the life of me figure out why it's only $1. Their philosophy is providing quality makeup at a good price, but how are they making  money? There are rumors about being bought out by Nordstrom, Bloomingdales or other corps, but nothing to verify that.

After a bit of googling, I discovered the company also owns Naturale Beauty, a higher-end line. So my guess is that they're sample sizes of that, and it's just a really good way of making money off something they would normally lose money for. 

I just bought 22 items and basically replenished my stock of makeup, and with the shipping it was like $26, because they don't charge tax. I wasn't expecting much because it's only $1,  but their eyeshadow is crazy pigmented! It's amazing! Here are the products I recommend:

The waterproof eyeliner pen

Brightening eye color

Tone correcting concealer

Good luck with your purchases, and just remember, if you don't like something, it was only $1!

Welcome to my Life of Shopping

Not that this is a new thing about me, but I like to shop...a lot. It's probably what I do best. But the thing is, I don't always purchase, sometimes I very much enjoy looking at clothes/shoes/furniture/you-name-it on the internet and saving the pictures. 

So here's where I post the pictures of things I love, good places to get cheap clothes (because let's be honest, the fashion mags don't do a very good job of finding cheap knockoffs), and your suggestions of what to wear (or what not to wear, if your name is Clinton Kelly). 

So here we go, from the bottom, up. Shoes!

Favorite summer heels: 

by Claudio Merazzi, color, Multi. The pastel is reminiscent of spring more than summer, but it adds a bit of softness to the shorty shorts and tank tops essential to hot summer weather. Warning, I am not calling this a good deal, more of a gorgeous work of art to ogle over.