Don’t you love it when you make up a garment in your head and then learn it actually exists? That’s what happened with this blazer last spring, so when I found it on Shopbop I obviously had no choice but to splurge on it. I love it because the only way I can do florals is if they are a little bit futuristic, so the kaleidoscope effect is right up my alley. I enjoy dabbling in softer details and challenging myself to make them work without reaching too far outside of my natural edgier tendencies. That’s why my Moschino belt, blue mirrored aviators, and Free People cutoffs are becoming full-on staples for spring and summer. I can mix them into an otherwise classic or feminine outfit and instantly bring it to my happy place.
We’re all guilty of it. You go to your closet to piece together an outfit that will hopefully make you feel like a new woman but everything seems to have a big red ‘X’ on it. You’ve been wearing the same four things in rotation (likely the last four things you bought) but you know you can’t reach for those yet again. It’s time to dig a little and give your old clothes a chance to reemerge. When you mix the old with the new, the old becomes new again. This bleached cotton jacket is the epitome of that. I have held onto it since I bought it in 2002 after I had come back from studying abroad in Italy and was obsessed with all things Diesel. It might be the oldest non-vintage thing in my closet. I used to wear it everyday to class with boot cut jeans, sneakers, and graphic tees – what a different time that was. Today it’s fun to reinvent it by pairing it with a more sophisticated, styled ensemble – a full mix of old and new. These 3.1. Phillip Lim shorts are a few years old and they’ve been through the ringer, but quality always lasts. I love them with a featherlight silk tee loosely tucked, a glam statement necklace to add texture, structure, and sparkle, and a lemon purse from Coach’s Legacy collection – their own nod to favorite old styles.
Diesel jacket, Gold Hawk top, 3.1 Phillip Lim shorts, Coach purse, Spike the Punch necklace, Shoemint shoes, Michael Kors watch, Low Luv ring
Photography by Ian Sheppard
Fashion never ceases to surprise me. If there’s one thing that I never thought I could pull off with my pear shaped figure, it was harem pants. I’ve tried many times, but they tend to bring out all my worst features in every possible way. Don’t you hate that? For some reason though, these Gold Hawk ones manage to pass the flattery test by a hair, which makes me a happy (and shocked) girl. Of course, this means I have been wearing them tirelessly. How could I not? They are basically silk sweatpants – casual comfy and luxurious elegance combined. On this dreary day, I enjoyed brightening them up with not one but two sources of neon pink pop. I’d been wanting this fluro Cambridge Satchel forever and now that finally got my hands on one, I display it on my dress form’s shoulder and simply glance over at it whenever I need a mood booster. This top serves the same purpose but takes it one step further with its geometric line party and glammy silver glitter panel down the front.
Top from Esther (c/o), Gold Hawk pants, Cambridge Satchel Co. bag (c/o), Vince Camuto booties, Nixon watch, Bracelets: HRH Collection, H&M, J.Crew, Forever21, Nails: OPI You’re Such a Budapest
Photography by Ian Sheppard
For the most part, May in LA is well past sweater weather, but a few overcast windy days still sneak up on us here and there. I don’t mind it, especially since it gives me a chance to cozy up with this tribal print knit number – a new addition to my wardrobe that has unexpectedly come in handy lately for early morning dog walks and cold plane rides. The high contrast design gives it a bit of extra oomph and when mixed with fringey cutoffs, it becomes perfectly appropriate for cooler spring days. These biker boots are another winter gone summer staple, which I was actually compelled to buy last fall because of the inspiration to wear them with shorts. They took me through the colder months with skinny jeans but they’re ready to take on their originally intended identity. I love spring fashion because it’s a chance to get creative with your clothes and think of your seasonal pieces in a different light, before it’s time to pack winter away and fully immerse yourself into summer.
Esther cardigan (c/o), Gold Hawk cami, Free People shorts, AllSaints boots, Ray-Ban sunglasses, Heather Belle clutch (c/o), Nixon watch, Bracelets: Kindred Stones, Forever21, BCBGeneration, H&M, Nordstrom, Nails: OPI You’re Such a Budapest
Photography by Ian Sheppard
One thing I learned about Austin is that people love backyards there. Every backyard I saw was perfectly prepped for some serious down time, sipping an Austin Beerworks brew or a Topo Chico (how can one brand of sparkling water be so particularly refreshing? Must be the graphic design), and hanging out with the neighborhood pets/livestock. The backyard at the house we rented had a chicken coop, an extensive herb garden, and of course a Texas flag – as we all should. This is the way of life there and I love it. Heather and I decided to shoot in the yard to capture the beautiful simplicity of it all, which is why I obviously had to add a harness to the equation. OK fine, that was just for dramatic effect. But in all seriousness, I’m a harness fan and you can expect to see more ways to wear them in the coming months. This flowy Gold Hawk dress is going to be my summer favorite, I just know it. It’s so soft and feminine which makes it an easy target for edging out with hardass accessories. I might even have to grab it in gray too. I picked up the star jacket at Forever21 back in February with Austin already in mind, but at the last minute decided to chop off the sleeves which took it from middle school to School of Rock. I wish you all the chillest of weekends, Austin style.
Gold Hawk dress (here it is in blue), Forever21 jacket (turned into a vest), BCBG harness, Marlies Dekkers bra, Jeffrey Campbell boots, Workhorse Jewelry necklace (c/o), Bracelets: H&M, Hailmary (c/o), DIY, Forever21, BCBGeneration
Photography by Heather Gallagher (see more photos from this shoot on her blog!)
Don’t you love those days when life slows down and you get a chance to stop to appreciate the finer things? Like time with friends under a picturesque sunset, enjoying good food and wine, and experiencing a new city for the first time. That’s what this trip to Austin was for me and I did not want to come back to real life. It’s such an awesome city filled with the most amazing music, vintage stores, patios, BBQ, Tex Mex, and more bars per capita than probably any place I’ve ever been. The best part is the way of life there that’s hard to describe except to say that everyone is just loving life – us included. I even had a chance to go out and shoot with my talented friend Heather Gallagher, who as you can see here from the matte black VW bus (what??), really knows how to make magic happen. This outfit is all you really need in Austin – cutoff shorts, loose vintagey tees, beat up boots, pops of contrast, and cheeky accessories. I’ll be collecting more of these things in preparation for my next visit, which hopefully will be for much longer.
BCBG blazer, Vintage Havana tank (c/o), Free People shorts and socks, Steve Madden boots, Ray-Ban sunglasses, Rebecca Minkoff purse, Workhorse Jewelry necklace (c/o), House of Harlow ring, Nixon watch (c/o Watch Co), Lipstick: Maybelline Color Sensational Vivid in Electric Orange
Photography by Heather Gallagher (see more from this shoot on her blog!)
The weather in LA generally gives us nothing to complain about. While my Dad has been sending me pictures of end-of-April snow in Minnesota, we’re already moving on to summer here. I love not having to worry about the weather dictating my day, but I’ll admit I do yearn for moody layers when it’s way too hot for them. This day was a little overcast, so in the midst of a brightly colored April wardrobe (as witnessed in most of my spring outfits thus far), I welcomed the opportunity to go back to my favorite neutral basics and take a needed break from bright. Sometimes it just takes a cloud or two to make black feel perfectly appropriate. So I threw my old Forever21 asymmetrical blazer (this thing has been worth its weight in gold since I got it three years ago) which is perfectly light for a less cool day over a new nubby knit tank by Margaret O’Leary which is both delightfully cozy and breezy at the same time. Paired with my trusty J Brand zipper skinnies and recently crowned staple Jeffrey Campbell cutout booties, this outfit was my ideal mix of polished and laid back.
Margaret O’Leary tank (c/o), Forever21 blazer, J Brand pants, Jeffrey Campbell boots, Valentino bag, Tom Ford sunglasses, Michael Kors watch, HRH Collection ring, Kate Spade earrings
Photography by Ian Sheppard
When I grabbed this top from the Prabal Gurung collection at Target a couple months ago, I wasn’t sure how much wear I was going to get out of it. I tend to feel that way whenever I shop the designer fusion lines at Target or H&M because it’s so easy to get caught up in the hype and start thinking you want it all. But this collection had a few things that were right up my alley which I found to be pretty impressive quality for the price. Sure enough, I’ve worn this top a ton already for all sorts of occasions, from lunch with friends to out in Vegas. This is my favorite way to wear it – half tucked into boyfriend jeans with sassy accessories that join the party the top has already started with its loud kaleidoscope print. It makes for a hybrid day/night ensemble which can be quickly modified by adding a blazer or swapping out the heels for flats. Whenever I wear it, I pull a different color out of the print to match my lips to. With the amount of colors in this top, the lipstick possibilities are endless.
Prabal Gurung for Target top, GAP jeans, J.Crew belt, BCBG clutch, Sam Edelman heels, Kate Spade sunglasses (similar), Nixon watch (c/o Watch Co), Bracelets: J.Crew, Ferragamo, Topshop, Forever21, MAC lipstick in Toxic Tale (limited edition)
Photography by Ian Sheppard
Sometimes dressing up is hard to do. OK sure, maybe not for the bow loving, skirt rocking, glam girly girls out there… and don’t get me wrong, I’m completely at home in a sequin laced Vegas wardrobe any day of the week. But when I’m not going crazy on the peacock end of the spectrum, I tend to reach for jeans whenever remotely acceptable. So dressing up in a classic skirt and top combo for a regular evening out is not something you’ll see me do very often. This outfit on the other hand manages to be right up my alley. The top is covered in gold jewels trickling from top to bottom yet it’s still restrained and classic, and the skirt is easy, stretchy, structured trumpet perfection. Throwing on an orangey bright lip, arms of gold, and black leather everything else brings it to a place I’m more than happy to be in.
a-thread top and skirt (c/o), Theyskens Theory jacket, Pour La Victoire shoes, BCBG clutch (sold out but I love this snake version), Kule cuff (c/o), Michael Kors watch, Bracelets: Forever21, BCBGeneration, J.Crew, BP, Lipstick: Maybelline Color Vivids in Vibrant Mandarin
Photos by Ian Sheppard
Every spring for the past three years, I have found myself standing in a corner at Zara debating over a novelty non-basic blazer, wondering whether I’d reach for it enough to make it worth the $90. First it was the orange blazer which granted me with endless good outfits in Europe (not to mention for the rest of the summer and fall), this year it’s the aqua embroidered one I just purchased last week and have pretty much worn it everyday since (as seen here), and last year it was this canary yellow tweed zipper number (I also wore it here). Each time I decided to go for it has been followed by months of said blazer addiction, and I’m still reaching for them the years to come. Perhaps it’s time I stop questioning the novelty blazer purchase, and embrace it from the get go. I love the yellow one because it has the perfect spring brightness we crave, but it’s still a warm enough fabric for those cloudy, breezy, transitional days. This weekend I threw it on over one of my favorite Free People tees (completely obsessed with these), some stretchy skinnies (comfy enough for a Sunday), and my trusty wedge sneakers. Before too long, I’ll be swapping in cutoffs to take this look into summer.
Thanks for stopping by! I'm Catherine Sheppard, a fashion stylist living in Los Angeles...
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