Color for the Home

Going into this weekend I wanted to give you a few ideas on easy ways to spruce up your home!


ADD SOME COLOR WITH DIY PILLOWS!!
I recently decided I needed some new art work for my fireplace, now wanting to be cost conscious, I found both of these pieces from Marshalls, I liked them because I felt they paired together very well, and sort of went with the colors I already have in my home. Also it add a really fun punch of orange! Wanting to play that up more, I went to the fabric store and found this great orange print, that I knew I wanted to make pillows with. I also had this great orange raw silk material left over from my college senior year collection, that was back 2004! I think that it really helped to brighten up my living room!

 

 

 

COLORIZE YOUR BOOKS!!

This is a really easy way to freshen up your bookshelves! Take a look at the books that you currently own and see what kind of color combos you can make. I also was able to match the coloring of the pics in the frames too! Then I added some pieces to the tops of the stacks!

 

 

 

HOPE THIS HELPS TO INSPIRE YOU!

 

The Secretary Blouse

You will see my outfits for the last two days below, and you will see that I wore a secretary blouse on both days. What is funny is that I did not mean to do this, but I thought it would make a good side by side of how you can wear them!
The first look I paired with shorts that I just purchased this weekend from The Loft, I went with a more neutral top because I wanted the print on the shorts to stand out. I added some yellow jewelry because the print in the shorts had the same color and I wanted it to pop! On the second look I paired the blouse with my harem animal print pants that you have seen before. Now with this look I wanted the blouse to stand our because of the amazing color, so I went with a neutral bottom and keep the jewelry and shoes low key. However, I of course had to have a color on my lip, it was not the exact shade of the blouse (though I would love to find that color for my lip) but it works that it is a shade or two deeper.

Now you will also notice that I did not tie the ties into bows on either look, I like the length and linear appearance is gives me. Plus it help to make it a little more easy going and not so stuffy while still looking elegant! So please note that it is acceptable to wear them un-tied!!

DO YOU HAVE A SECRETARY BLOUSE? YOU SHOULD!!

Sequins for Summer!

As we are around the corner from Summer!! I wanted to let you know that you can absolutely still wear sequins in summer, in my opinion sequins are good year around!! You just have to outfit it with the right thing to ensure that you don't look holiday. Now, it is no surprise if you have seen some of my other blogs that I choose to pair my sequin skirt with a chambray button up. I LOVE sequins and chambray together and is a super easy way to dress it down and stay cool when we really start to hit those high temps. I choose to keep my jewelry pretty simple (for me) with all cream and gold as to not out do the skirt and went with a great pop color shoe, which matches my lip color! I believe in color lipstick, I have fair skin, so I feel that it just helps to brighten my whole face.

 

 

 

Some other options for wearing sequins for summer would be:

With Stripes!

 

 

 

With Denim!

 

 

 

With a Tee!

 

 

Hope this inspires you to pull out your sequins and play around with how you can wear it for summer!

DIY Earrings

So this weekend my DIY project was to make a pair of earrings, I got inspired by a pair that already owned (You can see them here http://anelegantedge.blogspot.com/2013/04/two-brights-make-right.html) 

Here is the outfit I put together to go with them today!

 

I first went to Hobby Lobby to get some supplies, I am sure that you can find better things at actual bead stores but as this was my first time trying it I figured I could start there. I picked up some leather pieces, rhinestones/gems (the ones that have holes so you can sew on), and studs. 

I started with playing around with placement in the leather. 

Then I just jumped into it! FYI I started with one earring. 

I decided to sew on the gems, because the hot gun does not stick to the leather I had and I think it looks better then to have glue coming out the sides. It did however use a small amount to hold the gems in place as I sewed them on. I did have to use a long skinny needle to get through both the leather and the holes on the gems. 

Then I added some studs, which I did have to make pre-holes before getting through the leather. 

After all the piece where I place I cut around them make the shape, I played with this a little before I had one that I liked. 

Then I hot glued that to a piece of felt to hide all back of the leather and cut around that.

 

After it was all cut out I made another hole at the top of the earring to put in the hook

Then I repeated all the steps to make the match! It goes ALL LOT faster on the second one because you are just copying the first. I did a lot of free hand but I am sure a pattern can be made if needed. 

I had a lot of fun making them and will be make more for sure! 

Tribal Gypsy

Well, today I had a lot of fun getting dressed! I recently purchased some turbans to try a put my "Great Gatsby" look together, and after seeing SJP last night at the Met Gala with her mohawk, I got inspired to wear a head piece! So it stated with that, now not having my "Gatsby" look complete yet I had to go another way and I had this pair of silky tribal harem pants that I knew would work, style wise, with my turban!
Then I choose to pair it with a deep purple peplum top, I felt this helped to make the look a little more elegant and the color was perfect to go with my pants! I topped it off with some tribal inspired jewelry and to finish off the look choose a studded pointy-toe flat (mainly because I knew that I was going to be running around today).

Wearing the turban was lot of fun and is great for when you don't feel like washing your hair!

Sophisticated Shorts!

Today I was very excited to hear that it was going to be getting up to 80 here in San Antonio!! So I knew that I wanted to wear a pair of shorts that I have recently purchased. I bought these shorts because I knew that I could make them look sophisticated, and of course the color!!

The key to picking out shorts that can be made to look sophisticated is to first choose a dressier material, then ensure the fit it flattering to your body shape, you do not want to go for something that is too tight or too short. I choose a very loose and flowy cut, this also makes them very comfortable! I then knew that I wanted to wear this pair of shoes that are new and I have been dying to put on! I love that these shoes are very sleek and that they are almost the same color of my skin, FYI a nude pair of heels (esp. pointy toe) will help to elongate your legs and goes with everything. (I defiantly need that!) Recently, I have seen a lot of short/suit ensembles (they are making a come back), that is where my inspiration for the blazer came from. I choose to keep the top of me light and neutral, and let the shorts speak for themselves! I liked that the nude tank, help to tie in the color of the shoe, however this does not have to always be done with nude shoes. I decided to stick with the neutral colors when it came to my jewelry as well, I feel that is always a very sophisticated thing to do. The only other pop of color is on my lips!

This is a great look for here in Texas, as we will soon be hitting those 100 degree temps.

Hope you like, how can you make a pair of shorts look sophisticated?

Making it Simple.....and Adding some Lashes!!

Today is going to be a quick post on how to create a simple yet pulled together look when you don't have as much time to plan your outfits.
I usually plan out my outfits the night before, however with Scandal on last night I did not make the time to that! So this morning I kept it really simple and easy. I knew that I had to had to wear something that would keep me warm, as it is pretty cool for us here in Texas, which is very unusual during this season.
I started with my grey denim, which is a great color to own in denim because you can pretty much pair it with anything and it transitions into all seasons. Then I added a sheer button-up shirt, I have a lot of these in all different colors, I think that they are just so easy to wear, can be outfitted with all different kinds of bottoms and still give you a polished look. I choose one that I have in a bright coral color to help and pull that color out of the my black based multi-color tweed blazer. Layering any type of blazer over a button up is a super easy way to look pulled together. I personally like a little bit of a cropped blazer, that is fitted at the waist and not the traditional silhouette, that is what seems to work best for my body shape.
I finished off my look with some plum colored shoe-boots and jewelry that you have seen before in my Mix it Up! post (http://anelegantedge.blogspot.com/2013/04/mix-it-up.html) I loved the pop of teal, as that is another color in my jacket. That is why I love this blazer you can pretty much pair it with any color!

 

Here is a close up of my blazer, so you can see how many colors are in it.

 

And finally to help glam up my look a little, I added these really fabulous lashes that my mom introduced me to. They are really great because it is 3 individual lashes together, I just put them at the ends to help add a little volume. I have tried doing the full lash thing and while it looks great for an event, it is just a little to much for daytime (in my opinion). I don't know that I will use these everyday because it does add sometime to getting ready, but it is fun to do every now and then without looking overly made-up and the great thing is that you add more if you want to go for a more dramatic look!

 

Have a great weekend!! 

Fancy Pants!

My belief it is that you can wear shine all year round!
With that being said, today I took a pair of pants that I bought during the holiday season, that have lurex woven into them (that is where the shine comes from) and made them transition to fit this time of year. I did this by adding a chambray button up to help bring some casualness to my look. You can see my post from April on Dressing Up Chambray (http://anelegantedge.blogspot.com/2013/04/dressing-up-chambray.html). I know it is May 2nd and might look weird to see my in a fatigue like anorak with leather sleeves, but we had a cold front move in last night to SA. So, I felt this was the perfect layer piece to help give my outfit that edginess I love!

I choose to pair my outfit with some cobalt blue closed toe heels (because it was a bit cool out there) and fun layered necklaces that also have cobalt in them to pull from the color of the shoes. I guess I am still feeling that cobalt blue color from yesterday! I also decided to wear my hair in a high bun because it was super windy in the morning and I did not want to fool with a wind blow look. I finished off my look with some fancy rhinestone earrings and statement sparkler ring.

 

Hope this inspires you to wear your shine year around!! 

Art Deco Accessories

I have this amazing Art Deco inspired necklace that I purchased from a little store here in San Antonio called Casa Guero (8527 Blanco Rd) that has some great costume jewelry for very affordable prices! I knew I wanted to wear it today along with some fabulous shoes I purchased this weekend from Nordstrom Rack, that also have that same Art Deco feel.

I am into this 20's era thing right now because I am so excited for The Great Gatsby Movie!! I can't wait to see it not only for the story line but for the costumes. Also the music sounds incredible, I have already preordered the soundtrack that was produced by Jay Z, so you know the music is going to be off the hook!

Getting back to the outfit.... I paired my Art Deco accessories with a skinny black cigarette pant (that has some leather trim at the pockets and waistband) and a royal blue peplum top (that has studs at the neckline). I liked the pant because the cut of the cigarette silhouette is higher and helps to show off my shoes! My peplum is subtle because it is sewn in as a flat pleat, therefore will lay flatter to the body. I decided to belt it to help create more of a waist and I felt that the belt had a hint of Art Deco at the loop.

Stay tuned for a head to toe Great Gatsby inspired outfit that I am currently trying to put together!!