Rockstuds! Ish. :)

I've been drooling over Valentino rockstud kitten heels for a few months now.  They've been really popular with fashion bloggers, but I didn't really start to want them until I saw them in person on a shopper at South Coast Plaza.  They sparkle like crazy, but in a sophisticated and day-appropriate way.  It's really amazing.  Plus, the style, with the pointed toe and ankle straps, is very sexy and flattering, but the heel is a low 2 1/2 inches.  Of course, they cost $995.  (Got to price it less than $1000 so that it seems like a bargain, right? :)) 

These shoes are bcbg.  They have a higher heel and a slightly different ankle strap design, so they are not straight-up copies.  I don't like the idea of wearing "fakes."  But they have similar styling and are clearly "inspired by" the Valentino rockstud pumps.  At less than a tenth the price, these were the shoes for me.  I basically stalked the DSW website waiting for a return in my size, and when it came along I bought these. 

The only problem for work is that they have an open heel.  In order to make that work, I plan to only wear them with wide-leg or boot-cut pants which will cover the heel area.  That way the rockstuds will peak out, but I won't be so scandalous as to show heel at work.  ;)

What do you think about that - do you think open-heel shoes like this can be office appropriate even if worn with skinny/slim pants? 

(Blouse: white house black market, 100% silk, pants: j-crew, 100% wool, shoes: BCBG from DSW)

Roland mouret for banana republic collaboration

Roland Mouret in particular, and past-the-knee super-fitted pencil dresses in general, both remind me of Victoria Beckham.  So I had to try out a Victoria Beckham pose in the first pic, with the angled body, leg sticking out in front, and one hand on hip.  I can see why she does it!  It is quite slimming and elongating.  But I also feel a bit silly doing it.  :)

I often get super excited about designer collaborations and then end up getting nothing because they are not as good as I hope.  The Roland Mouret collection was *somewhat* like that.  It was cut for a woman with an average-to-long torso, no bust, and round hips.  So pretty much as not-my-body-type as you can get.  However the designs and style are very me.  So I was happy I could make this one dress work.  I ordered a bunch of other stuff from the collection online, but ended up having to return it all. 

This dress doesn't fit me *quite* right, but I think it's good enough.  I did get a "Wow" from a colleague. That was pretty cool.  :)

(Dress: Roland Mouret for Banana Republic, Blazer: Zac Posen from Saks Off Fifth, Shoes: Nordstroms)

A new jacket and scarf

It tends to be pretty warm around here, but occasionally it rains a bit.  I decided a hooded trench would be perfect (with a removable hood for most of the time), so I bought this over the summer when it went on sale.  Today I finally pulled the tag off and wore it.  I'm happy with the coat so far - we'll see how much use I get out of it.  I'll take a better picture next time - it has nice slim sleeves, which was one of my criteria.

The scarf is super cool too - it has circle cutouts!  My mom-in-law got it for me.  She gets me some really great stuff.

(Jacket: Michael Michael Kors from Nordstroms, Sweater: Banana republic, Scarf: Studio S, Pants: Express, Shoes: Bandolino)

Looking clean and put together with kids

So how exactly does one get away with wearing a white sweater and light grey blazer with two toddlers?  Or, even more so, a Missoni scarf and a cream cashmere sweater?

I do a few things to keep my clothes looking reasonably clean, without weekly dry cleaning trips.

• As much as possible, I avoid wearing my blazer until after I drop the kids off at daycare.  This may mean I'm cold in the morning - but I can manage.  I even have a "home jacket" which I wear instead if I need to be cozy.  This way my blazer stays crisp and clean, and even if I get something on my shirt I can hide it under the blazer at work.  Same goes for the scarf - I put it on only after dropping the kids off.  In the meantime it sits on the passenger seat.
• I try to wear pants that I can rub dirt off of.  Good wool and synthetics work well for this.  Cotton usually does not.  Take a dry washcloth or even a rough dry paper towel, and you can usually rub off most dirt.  I almost always get dirt on my pants from carrying my toddler and her dirty shoes hitting my legs.  But I can dust that right off in the car or when I get to my office.
• Spot cleaning!  Oh, the wonders of spot cleaning.  I keep a jar of delicate soap in my bathroom, so I can spot clean my clothes as soon as I take them off in the evening, or before bed.  That way they are clean and ready to go next time I want to wear them, and stains don't set in.  This is the soap I'm using these days, but I've used many over the years and they all seem fine: http://www.amazon.com/Forever-New-Fabric-Care-Wash/dp/B002USD5FC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416934861&sr=8-1&keywords=forever+new+soap.  I've done it so much lately that I can now wash, rinse, and lay out to dry an item in under 3 minutes.  I got something on the white sweater yesterday, but now it's good as new.
• I change into "home clothes" as soon as I get home, if possible.  If hubby is home, we take turns watching the kids while the other one goes and changes.  If not, then sometimes I can take the kids to my room to change, or I can settle them in with dinner first, and then go change.  
• If I can't change into home clothes quickly, I take off my sweater, shirt, or blouse, and walk around in a camisole.  And possibly a camisole plus home jacket if it's cold.  Hey - it works.  (This happened with the cashmere last week - the sweater sat on a chair at the back of the house while we had a family dinner in the dining room.  I was hanging out in a cami.)

What about the other little things, like having nicely manicured nails?  I've mostly given up.  I either do touch-ups at the office, to fake nicely manicured nails, or I keep my nails clean and short and leave it at that.  A few things that have helped: Get acetone from a beauty supply store to use as a nail polish remover.  It's faster than any other polish remover (and what the nail salons use).  Being able to quickly take off polish helps a lot.  Buy polishes that look okay with just one coat and that touch up well so you can just paint the tips if they chip.  I really like metallic polishes for one-coat-coverage. I feel they are more forgiving. And I like Revlon, Opi, and the Saks Fifth Avenue store brand for good application, opacity, and drying time.  And have a good quick-dry base coat.  It can work as a nice clear polish in a pinch (such as when you have time to do your base coat and no time to put the color on), and it protects your nails from discoloring so they still look good when you take your polish off.  I use Sally Hansen Hard-as-nails. 

Any tips to share, my fellow working-moms-of-young-kids?  :)

Blazer outfit done right

These are the pants that I wanted to wear with that grey with blue trim blazer.  Aren't they great pants?  The fabric is really fun.  Even though it's dry clean only, I can usually just spot clean it or rub dirt off, which is helpful since Nadia's dirty shoes leave dirt all over my pants every morning and evening when I carry her.  The sweater is comfy and simple.  These earrings are from my mom-in-law, who gives me some fabulous gifts.  They have a matching necklace, but that broke a while back and I haven't fixed it yet.  The earrings are that perfect balance of dangly and interesting, but still office-appropriate.

These pants usually look tighter on me than this...  I guess this is a thin week for me.  Huh.

(Blazer and sweater: J-crew factory, Pants: Reiss)

Ugh, are they air conditioning in here?!

They are installing a new heating/cooling system here, and I need the leather jackets for *inside* my office.  Yup.  I figured the scarf would help too, and now that it's finally cool enough it gave me a chance to wear this fabulous new scarf.  One of my colleagues gave this to me as a gift!  Isn't it a nice gift? 

The sweater is one of my few 100% cashmere sweaters, and it's so soft and cozy.  As of a few years ago, most of the high-end department stores would have huge selections of cashmere sweaters that are not too expensive, and they all went on sale between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I'm guessing this is still true. I recommend going early in the season, but on a weekday, so that you have lots of selection but it isn't too crazy and you can try things on.

(Sweater: from Bloomingdales, scarf: Missoni, Pants: Express, Shoes: Bandolino from DSW from a while back, jacket: Wilson's leather, also from a while back)

Boots!

One of my favorite things about cooler weather is being able to wear my knee-high boots.  And leather jackets.  And turtlenecks.  :)

Okay, so clearly I have to clean my camera lens.  Sorry about that.  But you get the idea.  (The colors in the first pic are pretty true.)

(Brown suede boots with a very soft thick comfy warm lining: Aldo (Aldo is great for narrow-calved women like me), Skirt: Forever 21, Sweater: Ann Taylor (Ann Taylor and Banana Republic tend to make the tightest highest turtle necks - I love turtlenecks, but only if the neck fits *perfectly* to the circumference and length of ones' neck.), Jacket: Arden B from back in the day when Arden B made quality clothes (real leather).  Unfortunately I don't think that's true anymore, but I haven't gone in a year or two...)