Rehearsal Dinner Outfits

I'm still recovering from last weekend's festivities, but I wanted to share this photo of me and my sister from the rehearsal dinner -

We took a special full length shot to get the entirety of our outfits in there, notice how Erica is holding up her purse (Lauren Merkin from a Gilt sale)!

I am wearing an awesome skirt by Karen Millen, it has this great pleating and bow on the front which isn't quite visible in this photo, my top is BCBG, sweater is Jcrew and shoes are Loeffler Randall. I love those shoes! I hadn't intended on wearing the sweater, but after two 80 degree days we of course got a chilly one just as the wedding fun began.

Erica is wearing this fantastic belted one-shoulder dress,

I hope she doesn't get mad at me for posting this shot of her, but she is off on her honeymoon so at least she won't know for a while! Anyway, I love the dress, I thought it was great on her. And her very cool earrings are by Nolan LA, which I linked to last week. I got them for her to wear to my wedding and she wears them all the time.

JBrand, Botkier Sales at Rue La La today!

We are finally back in Berkeley after a fantastic but exhausting loooooong weekend in Chicago for my sisters beautiful wedding. Lot's of stories and outfits to discuss, but for the moment all I have the energy for is to tell you to check out the sales at Rue La La today, they look amazing.

They have JBrand, Botkier, John Varvatos and C and C California. My head is spinning.

Click here for an invitation link or to take you to the sales.

Deal For Today, Weekend Sale at Goldyn

Busy getting ready for the wedding, but this is such a good deal how could I not post this!

This cute Adam shift dress is marked down to 1/3 of the original price -




With a pair of sandals this makes for an adorable warm Spring day outfit. The store the photo links to, Goldyn, has a special Memorial Day Sale going on, use code MEMORIAL to get 40% off of EVERYTHING!!!!

Sandals Made For Walking

I'm not taking the bus anytime soon, as much as it cuts my transportation planner husband to the quick, which means I'm possibly walking more than I used to. And now it's hot here in Berkeley so my footwear has to be comfortable for walking AND hot weather (I hate when my feet get really hot) so I love these sandals for their ability to solve both problems -




And after all of that, they are even marked down more than 50%.

Outfit for a Fun Spring Day

I'm in Chicago and we have only a few days before my sister's wedding!!! Friday morning we are meeting a couple of her friends and going for mani/pedis and brunch at a place with a full bar of course. This fun morning will be closely followed by the wedding rehearsal.

A day like this definitely deserves a fun outfit, here are a few options, I adore this long red 100% organic cotton dress -




This would look great on pretty much everyone, and apparently Tori Spelling even wore it while pregnant, yet another example of a maxi dress doing duty as a non-maternity maternity dress! It also looks like it would be so comfortable on a really hot day.


If bright red isn't your thing, this expensive looking but only $99 dress also comes in black -




I'm not sure how warm it will be, so I would like to see a little shrunken jacket over one of these long dresses, like this white one -




And since we are getting pedicures, sandals are a requirement. Here is a great mixed metallic version of those Matt Bernson sandals I posted recently -



but they are kind of expensive, so I also have a couple great budget-friendly versions. The first one is only $35, and also comes in bronze,



and these Charles by CHarles David sandals (also come in silver) which are perfect for showing off a bright new pedicure -





Then we are also going to need jewelry, I would wear these fantastic earrings designed by my friend Stacy of www.Nolanla.com, and not much else -Click on the photo of the earrings to get to Stacy's Etsy site to see her other designs and order!

To complete the outfit I would carry one of those convertible tote bags I posted yesterday, probably in cream.

Joe's Jeans makes gorgeous bags

I love finding pretty things for people to buy! I also like Joe's Jeans, and it turns out they make great bags as well.

I'm so into this Deco clutch, the cream color is even better than this black. It looks like amazing leather with great quilting detail and zippers so it goes beyond the fact that I'm a sucker for anything with the word Deco in it's name or description, and I like these convertible clutches. Even better, it's on sale.




This is also a convertible bag, instead of clutch to tote, it's tote and shoulder bag and in addition to black and cream it comes in 4 bright candy colors like this one, perfect for summer!

Sales This Week (bikinis half off!)

We had such a beautiful, but HOT weekend here. Greg and I marked it (and our 6 months of marraige!) by making what Greg sees as a big joint committment - we bought a tree. It's a semi-dwarf Meyer lemon tree and I'm so excited about this purchase. I'm loving my little backporch garden where I grow tomatoes, peppers, sugar snap peas and all kinds of herbs, now I will be growing lemons.

The nursery where we bought the tree made me feel like a kid in a candy store, I haven't felt so excited in a store in quite a while, I wanted to buy all kinds of stuff - a persimmon tree, plum tree, fig tree and a weeping cherry tree. But my space is small and I don't want to plant something in the ground that I will have to leave if we move in a year, so I will stick with my dwarf (sorry, SEMI-dwarf) meyer lemon tree.

Anyway, back to the matter at hand, maybe you can find your 'lemon tree' in one of these sales this week.

on Gilt the highlights are Christian Lacroix, Alice and Olivia and assorted sunglasses today.

Tuesday includes Miriam Salat's gorgeous, intricate bangles and Helmut Lang for women. If you are in the market for skinny pants or architectural looks you are definitely going to find it in that one.

Thursday is a big men's designer sale with Marc Jacobs, Helmut Lang, Alexander McQueen and more. Looks fantastic.

Rue La La has Plenty by Tracy Reese today, Cole Haan for men and women tomorrow, and Kate Spade Accessories on Wednesday.

Billion Dollar Babes has Modern Amusement starting today.

And just in time for hot weather, CoutureCandy
is offering 50% of swimwear including Vix and Syla by Sylvia Cachay. Kind of a crazy deal, way too good to pass up. Check out these adorable options at half price -

I think this Vix design is adorable -




This one is a bit more of a sophisticated color scheme (and only $74!) -




This one has that great ruched bottom that prevents any rolling of the skin, and I love the ring at the side -

Belts Are My New Reward (or Retail Therapy)

I had a big day the other day. Armed with my new perfect teeth I went down to the ridiculously named Hall of Justice (wasn't that a cartoon with Wonder Woman and all the other superheroes?) to talk to anyone who would listen to a description of my assailant. Afterward I wanted two things equally badly - a new fun something to wear, and an Oreo milkshake to rival the Smith College mudslides that got me through so many all nighters during finals in college. I must be thinking about those a lot because I'm missing my 10 year college reunion this weekend. So, in addition to my Oreo milkshake, I bought belts. I know it sounds funny but I've been thinking about how some belts that actually fit me at the waist would help me wear more of my clothes more often. I ended up buying a few, one of them is a black version of this belt -




The store I went to didn't have a natural color version, and I really like this. It would go very well with loose summer dresses, or over a skirt of pretty much any color. I have button down shirts that are just too big in the torso and a belt like this would fix that problem.

I also wanted to some fun thin belts to wear both on the waist and on my hips in my jeans. That is going to be a little tricky, I might have to get another hole punched so I can wear them on my waist, but I really didn't want to have a bunch of one-use belts, but on the other hand, all of the belts I've bought over the years are too big to wear anywhere. These are cute -




I love the bright color of the one above, it will look great with jeans, and the white one with studs below is really fun.





The best part is that none of these are expensive and they make for a fun satisfying retail therapy session.

A Closet Consult In the NYTimes

The New York Times Style Section has a column by Michelle Slatella who does those great shopper columns. This one is about her friend forcing her to clean her closet. It's a great piece, laying out the fear, the things people have lurking in the back of their closet, and the honesty required to go through all of it and really decide what you should keep and what needs to go. I go through this process with clients, I also do it for myself regularly and family when they let me (mom, you are next!) I find it to be a really cleansing process and love it. It's good to have less stuff, and to know how to wear the clothes you keep. Read the column here.

Designer Skirts For a Song...

Spring Promotions - Up to Extra 30% Off on YOOX.COM!

This Spring sale at Yoox inspired me to check out what they have these days, and I am finding myself returning over and over to this DVF skirt -



It is fantastic. I can't get over the fabric, I just love it. And the cut is also great, the A-line is universally flattering. I absolutely adore this skirt and wish I had an excuse to buy it. Since I can't come up with one, a reader has got to give this skirt a good home and lots of exercise.

This Moschino Cheap and Chic skirt is also fantastic, and such a good deal with this sale -



I love the color and shape. This would fit right into a work wardrobe as well as fun going out clothes.


I am completely intrigued by this skirt -



I love the asymmetry, the zippers and the fold at the top. I think all of that will make it a very flattering, not to mention eye catching piece.

There are so many more where these came from...

Cynthia Rowley Bag on Sale at Endless

This Cynthia Rowley bag is on sale at Endless, I love the color and shape -




The metallic leather will go with everything, and the shape and size is good for everyday. Love it!

Swimwear To Cover The Tummy

Today is a big day for me, I'm getting the final veneers/crowns for my teeth so I can put the ugly incident behind me. I will finally be able to eat normally, and with almost all of my stitches out of my lip I can even put away the straws (although they are fun!) I look almost back to normal, my lip is still swollen a little bit where the stitches were, unfortunately I hear from my father-in-law who also had lip stitches at some point, that the bump there takes quite a while to go away.

But back to the matter at hand - swimsuits. If your mid-section is a problem for you, I have a few ideas for the beach or pool.

I LOVE this one piece, it's such a classic look and the ruching is unbelievably flattering,



It comes in several colors including a really hot red color and a beautiful purple. This suit has shaping in it to smooth you out and create the shape you want. It's ideal for anyone who feels they have a few pounds to lose because the fabric and shape make you look slimmer.

Strappy Sandals and Bags For a Wedding

My sister's wedding is quickly approaching and our cousin has finally narrowed down her dresses to two, a navy strapless and a chocolate brown strapless. Both are really cute, but she needs shoes and a bag that would go with either dress. I have shoe and bag options for her (and anyone else in this situation!)

I think I might have posted these before, but I still really like this sandal -




It's a low heel, but still an attractive strappy sandal, and it comes in silver or gold. For the brown dress I would stick with gold, with a navy dress you can go either way. And they are also really reasonably priced at $88, particularly for a sandal you can wear to special occasions for the next few summers.

I also really like this style -




The view from above shows the criss-crossing straps, they look very flattering for the foot, as well as practical for dancing all night. This champagne satin version will look great with either dress, but it also comes in silver or gold leather. This style also has a really wearable heel, and it's also very reasonably priced.

For bags, I like this little (inexpensive) satin clutch -




it also comes in a champagne color which looks fantastic with the stones on it, and would look beautiful with both the navy or the brown dress. It's by Jessica McClintock, that name brings back memories of my Bat Mitzvah and middle school graduation era, quite the blast from the past.

After months I am still eyeing this gorgeous Jalda lambskin bag that has been on sale for quite a while -




The leather is gorgeous, as is the bean shaped handle. It also comes in gold, and it looks great, but I am really into this lovely sparkly cream color. I'm still thinking of getting it for myself...

But there is no reason why everything needs to match and for a really fun pop of color I LOVE this bright clutch -




The bright coral color will go with both navy and brown.

This faux croco clutch comes in 5 more colors including a light pink and a bright turquoise -




I also like this clutch - a mix of metallic leather and patent leather -




Lot's of options to sift through. Everything is available at Endless with free overnight shipping and free return shipping. Happy shopping!