The Helmut Lang skirt's (cheaper) Twin Sister

About a month ago I posted a picture wearing a Helmut Lang asymmetrical skirt and a ton of people asked about it. Well, they don't sell it anymore. I got it on deep discount. But guess what? There is a copy version! As in identical. Thank you Urban Outfitters! It's only $50 and comes in all the same colors that Helmut Lang did. I will be buying one of these. Check it out:

Skirt: Urban Outfitters

Don't forget tomorrow...

I wore my Missoni for Target dress today in honor of the big launch tomorrow. They are anticipating this to be their biggest collaboration launch yet! So get there early people! I have my eyes on the Oscar de la Renta dog accessories. (duh.)

What is on your list?

Have a great weekend!

Getting in the Festive Spirit

Jacket: Kohl's; Shirt: Gap; Belt: Rolf's; Necklace: J. Crew Outlet (same here); Jeans: AG (old); Booties: Piperlime (old, similar here)

The Starbucks' Holiday cups have been out for a few weeks (thanks for all the Instagram uploads) and the retail stores are in full swing- It must be time to get in the festive mood! I put up my Christmas tree, started buying some gifts, and even going to my first "Holiday" shin-dig tonight... maybe I should start dressing more festive! No, not silly Christmas sweaters. I like the more traditional, "Ralph Lauren," Tartan plaid look- hence my outfit. 

I'm semi-obsessed with my faux eco-friendly green jacket. I love the peplum detail. I scored this on Black Friday (one of two things I bought that day) for about $25, after discounts and coupons. This looks identical to some jackets I've been eyeing that are in the $300 range. Yes, it's not leather but it's a good enough pleather. 

What is your favorite Holiday look?

Skull-tastic

Sweater: Kohl's; Jeans: James Jeans; Booties: Lucky Brand (similar here)

I know, skulls were so five years ago. When everyone was wearing THE Alexander McQueen

scarf. I still like to rock them occasionally. And for less than $20, this sweater was a no brainer. Pink with black studs. Done.



Catch ya later! XO

D.I.Y. Chevron Print Curtains

I finally got around to finishing my never ending curtain project. It all started with these boring curtains, as seen below. Cocoa tries to help out as much as she can...

My original plan was to dip dye them with an ombre effect, tape them off with a chevron pattern, and lastly spray paint. Wrong... keep reading.

I tied them up to divide the sections for the ombre effect. I had looked up online on how to do this. Confession: I'm very impatient with my D.I.Y projects and sometimes it works out and other times it doesn't. I thought the sink would be good enough place to dye the panels. Wrong, again. This is a very thick canvas fabric (meaning, it doesn't want to absorb a lot of color) and with little space in my tiny sink it makes it even harder for the fabric to get fully saturated. 

I started with the first section and let it absorb for about an hour, then I would put the next section in.... At the end, the entire curtain was submerged in the dye. I just went off the directions on the amount of time to let it sit in the dye.

Did I mention to wear gloves? I had smurf hands for a few days....

After all the panels were done, I ran them through a rinse cycle. No detergent because I didn't want to risk the color fading. (Side note: to ensure that the dye is completely gone from your washer, run another rinse cycle before actually washing anything. You don't want to ruin anything!)

As you can see below, it did not come out ombre. It turned out more tie dyed than anything. But I wasn't too worried since I still had the chevron step to go.

After ironing the panels, I started measuring and taping off. I really thought I could just tape it off and it would be super easy. Wrong, again. This one, uneven, row took an hour. "Ain't nobody got time for that." (If you haven't seen that YouTube video, I suggest you do.) So the taping and spray painting was out of the question... Moving onto the next.

I bought this handy stencil from Royal Design Studio. Took a trip to Michael's (again) for some gold paint, Martha Stewart Stencil Roller, and paint sponges. 

Row by row, section by section... it was coming together. The hardest part was getting the print to line up and the paint not to bleed. 

Cocoa loves to help... again. Stella is planted in the corner. You can tell who is the boss out of the two.

After 5 hours and an aching back... I was done! I'm overall very pleased with the way they turned out, even with a few imperfections. Will I ever do this again? ABSOLUTELY not. These curtains will be making it's way into many future rooms. They took way too long to not last several years. 

The used supplies. Sorry, I forgot to get a shot of the before.

Ta-Da!

What project shall I come up with next? Stay tuned...

An Element of Surprise

I was once told, you should look just as good leaving a room as you do when you enter a room. That's one thing I liked about this shirt- a little element of surprise! Well that, and the mixture of animal and baroque print. 

Breakdown of the outfit:
Shirt: JcPenney;  Nicole by Nicole Miller. It is not available online but I purchased it this last weekend for $25. And that is the regular price. I'm kind of loving their new strategy. They have everyday low prices and their clothes have been looking great! 

Jeans: James Jeans

Shoes: Vince Camuto (last year, similar here)

Necklace: J. Crew. This is the infamous Crystal Venus Flytrap Necklace. I've loved this necklace for a while and just about every girl owns it. I just have a hard time paying a pretty penny for costume jewelry. And $85 is a bit much in my opinion. This past weekend I ventured out to the Allen Outlet and at the J. Crew Factory store, I found the EXACT necklace for a fraction of the price. It was marked $54.50 with 40% off. The grand total was $32.70. That is 62% cheaper than the one from the store! There's nothing like a good bargain to start the weekend off right!

Here's to a short week! Cheers!

One Woman Wolf Pack

Wolf shirt: Kohl's; Jeans: 7 for All Mankind; Shoes: Vince Camuto (old)

The animal trend is still huge- from wolves to foxes to dogs... You name it, it's on a sweater. For example, Tory Burch loves the fox. But you don't have to go expensive on such a trendy piece. I paid $12 for my shirt at Kohl's! I've also seen a few at Target and Old Navy (as seen below). For Spring 2013, the trend will transition more into bugs, can't wait!

Tory Burch knit sweater / Markus Lupfer pattern shirt / Warehouse knit top / Old Navy print sweater / Dorothy Perkins / Tory Burch / Tory Burch

     Have a great weekend! 

Oldies but Goodies

After hitting snooze three times this morning, the outfit needed to be fast and easy. I've shown this sleeveless tunic before in the Effortless Dressing post. Well, it was a perfect time to throw it on again except this time with matte tights and a long cardigan. The only problem was the shoes. I tried it with a few of my "go-to" shoes and none of them worked. Then I remembered these old gems. I bought these booties back in 2006. I know you're asking yourself, "Booties in 2006?!" At the time I worked at Barneys New York and the trend was on the horizon. Being on a college student budget, I couldn't afford designer worthy shoes. I came across these at Nine West and was stoked. I wore them a lot that year and they slowly made it to the back of my closet but I never could part with them. I might have worn these once a year since then but that's going to change this year! They can easily spruce up a boring outfit- I love that!

Tunic: H&M; Cardigan: Target (old, but LOVE this version); Booties: Nine West (old but similar here) 

And I thought Stella should make a cameo. Cocoa has been stealing her thunder lately... The two of them love playing together. Here's few action shots.

Weekend Recap

Lots of birthday fun this weekend with friends and family! From left to right: One of my main gal pals, Amy; The Birthday boy; My precious great niece; My 18 year old nephew (!); Pretty Mama and her great grandchild (Hard to believe, I know.); a true fashionista in the making- Abby fell asleep holding my necklace; Celebrating Austin's 18th; My sister made this amazing cake (8 hours later. Dang Pinterest.); And little lion baby (obsessed).

Sweater: Target; Hi-Waist Jean: James Jeans; Booties: Lucky Brand; Necklace: H&M

First Fair Isle sweater of the season! I talked about my little obsession here. It finally got cold enough to wear some winter(ish) wear. I wasn't sure if I loved or hated the sweater. I called it Bill Cosby chic today.

Have a good week!

Wild About Animal Print

This peplum top is my newest find at Kohl's, it's from the Narcisco Rodriguez for DesigNation. It has an exposed zipper in the back. I love little details like that.

Top: Narcisco Rodriguez for Kohl's; Pants: Clover Canyon (similar: here) Shoes: Kenzie (old)

I'm really not that big of fan of leopard. But lately, I've been liking the non-traditional style. I found this tutorial online and had to try it immediately. I mixed a teal and a light blue color for this pretty turquoise color. The bottle I'm holding is one of my old time faves, OPI "You don't know Jacques." This was super easy and pretty much fool proof!

And Cocoa got a new shirt this week. I'm usually not the type to dress my dog (yeah right) but this shirt was $3. How could I not resist?! ... And I think it's completely appropriate.

Have a great weekend!