Ensemble du Jour: 7-9-11

I couldn’t wait too long to wear the red version of the black & white dress from the other day.  I paired it with an olive embellished cardigan, also from Target, a skinny patent yellow belt and this cool vintage purse.

The purse was from an antiques fair I go to twice a year.  There a few favorite vendors that always have the best stuff.

The purse is strips of wood and opens from the top.  Perfect to take to our group lunch event.

The heels are Manolo Blahnik Uliepes – the perfect pump – and an awesome yellow.  They’re so pretty I took a bunch of shots so they’ll get a post of their own.

I had to redo my nails so I chose a neutral dark taupe – Zoya’s Pasha.  It’s a bit conservative for me so I’m not sure it’ll stick around for too long.

This was for a group lunch with folks I hadn’t met before.  Fun, comfortable but with some interesting color matching.  I hope I don’t bore you, because I love these two dresses and they are going to be fun to play with.

Inspiration = Flattery? Paris Hilton and Valentino

I just received an email from an online store and one of the shoes that were being promoted, a Paris Hilton heel, look insanely similar.  Except for materials, the Paris Hilton Senorita d’Orsay heels look just like Valentino’s d’Orsay heels.

Can you tell which is which?

Shoe 1:

Shoe 2:

What do you think?  Is this making styles affordable for the mass shopper or leveraging(aka ripping off) the work and design talent of a higher-end brand?
As I’ve said before, inspiration is fine.  I get that.  But I feel brands and companies at all price-points can put out good and fun designs of their own without blatently copying the hard work of others.  I want cute styles at all levels and price points.  It IS doable!
SPOILER:
Did you guess correctly?
The top shoes are the Paris Hiltons – $94.99 at Heels.com (still not cheap if you ask me and trying to rip off the Louboutin red sole).
The second shoes are the Valentinos – in black at Bergdorf Goodman for $695 or in taupe and red at Nordstroms for $645.

Ensemble du Jour: 7-8-11

In spite of the fact that it’s a million degrees out and I’m not happy in/with this image, I’m sharing it because, well… I’m wearing a “mullet” skirt for WendyB.

I had actually fallen in love with a asymmetrical (aka mullet) skirt last fall but missed out on the one I really wanted.  I had called all over to no avail and over the winter put it out of my mind.  But I found this light jersey skirt at Nasty Gal (in two colors!) for only $38 and picked it up.

The fabric is very comfy and floaty.  It is actually perfect for summer as you can wear it with sandals or knee-high boots (not those tragic ones in the photo) or heels and while it’s as easy breezy as a maxi skirt or dress, it’s more interesting and attention grabbing!

I paired it with my custom Paraphernalia necklace and Camila Skovgaard Chastity Sandals. A strong graphic and sexy heel, especially with an ankle strap, works great with this skirt.  But I’m also planning on wearing it with a jacket and my Ann Demeulemeester triple-lace boots in the Fall.

I think Wendy is planning a round up of more skirts, so I’ll link to it here when that happens.  I can’t wait to see all the other outfits!
UPDATED:
Here is the Huffington Post feature on “mullet” styles written by Wendy Brandes.

Ensemble du Jour: 7-6-11

Yeah!  An outfit post!

I really need to try to find time to take these in the morning because, as you can see, the lighting in my house is “dim” to put it kindly. Dismal and cave-like would be more appropriate.

But, I was so happy with my outfit today I decided to take some shots anyways.  I made the mistake of going into Target last night and ended up with a bunch of stuff. Some of it needed, none of it pricey ($8 tanks, tees and yoga capris, yes please! $19 comfy cute dresses, okay! Robe so I stop scaring the neighbors, yep!) and perfect for wearing to work and on weekends.

The first thing I wanted to wear was this really cute stripey jersey tank dress. And then I saw the bright apple green 3/4 sleeve cardi.  I have to admit here that I am hopeless at mixing patters.  I love it on others, aspire to it and then fall into the trap of matchy-matchy all the time.  So here’s my happy little mixing outfit… I paired black and white stripes with a leopard belt and shoes.

WHOA!!!!

I know, I know, CRAZY TIME!!!!

This dress is so cute I got in solid red too.  Get ready for, wait for it… color-blocking!  Shut the font door!

It does have this nice little princess-seaming element.  Not a bad little detail for a less-than-$20 dress.

I’m loving the color/pattern combo. 

For jewelry, I’m also mixing but more like matching – my Wendy Brandes “Chicken on Nest” necklace and my new “vegan” hen necklace from Julep115 via Etsy.

For shoes I wore my Coach (circa 2003-2004???) Tully leopard/oscelot kitten heels.
I do love a good kitten heel.

Grosgrain bows and heel detail.

I took a bunch more shots tonight so I have a lot to share over the next few days.
Onward into year five!
 

4 Year Blog-o-Versary

Today Shoe Daydreams is 4 years old!
Thank you so much to everyone who reads and comments and all my friends online.

I’m planning a special giveaway/opportunity later this month in celebration so keep on the lookout!

Much Love,
Poochie

Instant Access – 6/20 – 7/3

I’ve been totally slack recapping the Instant Access!  I’m not going to put everything up but here are a few (mostly shoe) highlights-

The Prada flower heels from a few seasons ago are true works of art.

Inside too!

Bollywood bracelets for our June Backyard Movie Night playing Outsourced

And fennel seed candies give an Indian flair too.

Revlon’s Minted is a perfect cool pale green for hot days.

This is really the first time I’ve worn these amazing Stella McCartney diamonte wood-soled platforms.  They are actually comfortable!

Garden bounty of crooknecks.

My kitty isn’t sure what to make of my invisible chair.

The chair is a part of a secret project I hope to finish and share soon!

Meetings call for Chanel.

Monday Louboutins.

Fancy Friday – Manolo Blahnik “Something Blue”
Hope you had a wonderful 4th!
 
More on Instragram (Follow me at @Poochie) or on Flickr