JOYOUS GREYS / Formal maxi dress with tiered layers and floral blockings

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ED TRAN

Over the weekend I had the greatest pleasure accompanying my dear friend to his sister's wedding where I got to witness the marriage of two incredibly loving people and afterwards celebrate with their friends and family at the elegant and classic Kohl Mansion.  It was such a beautiful event and I am ever so thankful to my friend and the newlywed for having me there.  In addition to being amongst so much love (evident through the high spirits of all those who attended and the touching and warm speeches given by those close to the couple), it was also a good opportunity to get to know some inspiring people and make some new friends.  CONGRATULATIONS SHAHNAZ & CHIRAG!!!!

FALL LEATHERS / Red leather jacket and midnight blue Proenza Schouler PS1

WARM COLORS / Orange oversized sweater and olive jeggings with brown tones

Vince sweater (similar and on sale for 42% off and v-neck linen version for under $135) / 

Vince olive jeggings (other olive options here, here, and love the yellow ankle zips on this pair for under $80!) / 

Vintage scarf from mom's closet (similar) / Louis Vuitton damier speedy 25 / Corso Como booties

CROP FACTOR / Black and gold with (DIY) Crop turtleneck and metallic floral lace skirt

What do you do when you machine-wash a dry clean only sweater?  Tuck it up into itself at the bottom to hide the shrinkage and call it a DIY crop top of course!  Or cover it up with a cardigan like I did the last time I wore this top.  Lesson learned, send dry clean stuff to the dry cleaners, haha.  To balance the "crop" top, I wore it with a longer pencil skirt and more conservative shoes.  I feel that since crop tops cut you off very high and give the illusion of a short torso you want to negate that by elongating the lower half of your body and this way it will draw the eyes downward.

D&G turtleneck (tucked in at bottom for illusion of crop top, old but other alternatives under $50 here, here, and here) / 

RACHEL Rachel Roy metallic floral lace skirt (from last year but very similar here and splurge one here) / 

Vintage Chanel lambskin m/l classic flap / Talbots necklace (similar)  and Guess bangle (similar from MK) / 

Pour la Victoire 'Case' pumps (the Blahniks here, a nice alternative under $150 and loving this two-tone t-strap pair)

Today is a day near and dear to my heart.  It has been two years since Dad is free of the pain and suffering he went through during his last months but that also means it has been two years that we haven't had his physical presence with us and it stings hard every time I think about it.  I am not an open person and I can't believe I even have the courage to finally talk about it but Dad deserves it.  He is my inspiration in life and he will always be the reason I strive to do my best and give everything my all because that is what he did.  Miss you so much Dad...

WHITE-OUT / White cropped trench and denim after Labor Day

When momma is away, sister comes out to play.  Well no, mom went out yesterday so my sister kindly offered to take my blog pics.  It was a bit unfair for her because her first time behind the camera we used a new lens and she had to photograph a white outfit, a lot of factors to experiment with for a first timer but I think she did well =D.  It was another busy weekend for us but we got to enjoy some delicious food - Peruvian, Taiwanese, and Japanese in that order.  Spectacular!  Did you all have a good weekend?

Has it really already been 1.5 months since I last wore these white jeans?  Can't believe it's been that long since they were featured on the blog as I felt like I was practically wearing them for every blog post!  However I didn't realize how off-white they are until I wore them with this stark white jacket.  The general idea is there though - there are no rules in fashion so no white after labor day is definitely out of the question.  Christopher Bailey definitely condones breaking that rule seeing as how in addition to black this crop trench is also available in bright white.

Burberry 'Shenstone' cropped trench (similar style for 40% off and similar in red, cheaper alternatives here and here) /

Love from YaYa top (old) / Levi's white 535 jeggings (my last b/w outfit with these in the summer) /

Miu Miu jeweled heel Mary Janes (also avail in smoking slippers, suede knee-highs, and MJ pumps)  /

Louis Vuitton mirror lockit (also seen here, here, and here) / Rolex watch (MK version here)

As the weekend quickly zoomed by, we welcome another week.  I hope you have a wonderful week and get to enjoy the lovely weather we've been having despite it being Fall!

BLACK AND NAVY / 3.1 Phillip Lim for Target skirt and leather everywhere

I am a day late but did you guys have a nice weekend?  For a reason unknown to me, I always sleep early on the weekends (around 1am) as oppose to a workday (closer to 3am...) and I usually get to sleep through the morning if I remember to turn my phone to vibrate.  It's a great feeling.  I hope you had an equally relaxing weekend.

As mentioned a few entries ago, my dear friend Kim alerted me throughout the night (thank you so much Kim!!) of the 3.1 Phillip Lim for Target release online.  I was too busy clicking away and making sure I snag a handbag (or two... ok, maybe three) and the navy and leopard circle skirt that I completely missed some of the other items in the collection.  The most notable piece that I kept going back to hoping that it would magically pop in stock is the navy/black dress with faux leather.  Unfortunately it never came back in stock but I turned my frown upside down and used it as inspiration for this outfit.  Inspired by that dress it made sense to pair the navy skirt from the collection with leather, leather, and even more leather - leather everywhere!

Theory dress worn as top (from last year and last seen on blog here; 40% off here and this year's version here) / 

3.1 Phillip Lim for Target navy skirt (similar skirts under $100 here and here) /

Salvatore Ferragamo 'Ginny' clutch w/ chain / Rolex watch (MK alternative here) / Gucci belt from Auntie's closet

Stuart Weitzman 50/50 leather OTK boots (also on blog here and here; available here and more sizes here)

I've been searching on Pinterest for all the ways everyone has styled their 3.1 Phillip Lim for Target pieces and some favorites are Kate from The FancyPants Report and her leopard pullover with a beautiful printed blue skirt, Sarah from The Weekend Diary styling the floral blouse with a quilted leather (!!) skirt, and Ciaa from My Curves & Curls looking absolutely fierce in the leopard dress.  I'll be doing more pinning this week but if there's any outfits you've seen that you enjoyed, please share =D.

Off to bed I go as I have to get up a tad bit earlier to add some finishing touches to a presentation I have to give in a few hours.  I hope you have a wonderful day, take care!