winter 2019


All about the black and white bag

saratoga street style off-white black white cross body bag spring 2019bay area casual street stylewinter street style

wearing: clear resin hoop earrings / lipstick / blue scarf / black tee / black faux fur coat / plastic bracelets / spring nail polish / black/white stripe cross body bag (converts to belt bag) / Levi’s jeans / black chunky heel pumps /

OK, so it’s March, and it is still freezing! Whaaaaaaat is going on!? We always have cold weather in March, but it is normally weaved in with a few days in the 60’s, and sometimes a day in the low 70’s will creep in once in awhile. This year, it’s all grey; and the forecast is grey and rainy. Where are my random sun days?! I’m trying to keep my head up, because let’s face it, this grey weather is starting to get old and depressing.

In order to brighten up the day, I have been pairing tee shirts with jeans and spring accessories. Of course, I still need to throw a winter coat over my looks in order to not freeze to death. I have been wearing this spring cross body bag for a few days now, and I am falling in love with it! It’s just the right size to fit everything I need to carry around, and it also has a funky, black/white design which I love. In addition, it has this really comfortable cross body strap, and it also has a second strap for converting the bag to a belt bag; not that I will wear it that way, I am anti-fanny pack, but I digress. It’s nice to know the bag has that option in case there is some weird reason I need to use it. haha

For years I have been wearing skinny stiletto, black heels when it is time to wear heels. This season I decided to freshen up my look with these on-trend, chunky black heels for the spring season. They are great for pairing with jeans, pants, skirts, and dresses. Since they have a patent finish, which is surprisingly soft and comfortable, they are easy to dress up or dress down. These will be nice and comfy for standing at parties and events. Love that!

I have been jumping on the resin/plastic trend this season too. I think these plastic accessories are so fun and retro. I remember when they were hot in the 1980s, and it’s a fun trend to revive this season. There is something festive about plastic jewelry in bright colors. Loving it!

Shop my casual winter in spring look:

Stay tuned! I will be doing a review of this fun little cross body bag later this month.

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO

Cathy

stuart weitzman pumps spring 2019spring 2019 street style


Shirtdress for winter into spring

shirtdress winter into spring shirtdress winter into spring mansur gavriel train case it bag 2019 shirtdress winter into spring shirtdress winter into spring

wearing: gold dangle earrings / lipstick / black shirtdress (under $100!!) / caramel brown train case / spring nail polish / black booties (on major sale!)

One of the big fashion trends this spring 2019 season is the shirtdress. I saw many people wearing spring shirtdresses styled for winter when I attended New York Fashion Week earlier this month. This is definitely one of the biggest spring fashion trends to watch for this upcoming warm weather season.

I always love a good trend; especially one with a chic and classic vibe. The shirtdress offers a loose silhouette, and versatile style which can easily be worn many different ways this spring 2019 season. In these photos, you can see how I wore the dress during the day. For a cool winter day, I paired my shirtdress with booties and my new train case. It’s a simple outfit which is comfortable, and ideal for daytime activities. This outfit can go from a creative work environment to lunch with the girls to a shopping excursion; and to a museum with friends. It’s really easy to wear!

If you want to style this shirtdress for a more conservative work environment, switch out the booties for a sleek, chunky high heel pump and classic tote bag.

When it comes to outerwear on a cool spring, or winter day, look for a coat with simple lines. Since shirtdresses have buttons and a lot going on, a trench coat will add too many buttons to your overall look. While the trench coat is the “IT” coat of the spring 2019 season, it won’t work with a shirtdress. Look for a single breasted coat with minimal lines that won’t compete with your dress. A buttonless coat would be perfect too.

If you want to wear a spring shirtdress now, but you don’t have a coat that works well with the dress, try layering it instead. You can easily wear a turtleneck underneath a shritdress on top, and leggings or tights on the bottom. This will keep your look chic, and you can stay warm without a coat. Love that!

I’m looking forward to wearing this shirtdress for work, church, and weekend outings! It’s really comfy and versatile!

Shop my shirtdress outfit for winter into spring:

What do you think of the shirtdress trend for the spring 2019 season? Will you be wearing it?

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO

Cathy

*Thank you to Dawn from Fashion Should be Fun who stood out in the cold rain to snap these photos for me with my new camera that neither one of us really knew how to work. haha. Love you!

shirtdress winter into springshirtdress winter into spring


NYFW street style: big girl barrettes

nyfw street style feb 2019

pictured: wearing three vintage barrettes circa 1990s. See full post.

The 1990s are one of the current decades of influence when it comes to both runway trends, and street style trends. One of my favorite trends in the 1990s was to wear big girl barrettes. It is such an easy way to pull back your hair; especially coming off the big hair trend from the 1980s and very early 1990s. At that time, we wore lots of hairspray to create hair-styles which were quite high maintenance. While barrettes can appear to be a lot of effort, they are really easy to put on, and adjust throughout the day; unlike big hair finished with half a can of hairspray. Three cheers for ditching hairspray in the mid-1990s!

Since I knew this trend was hot and current, I decided to bring a few barrettes I kept from the 1990s. I spent money on them back in the day, and since I loved them so much, and they are small, it was easy for me to keep them tucked into the back of my jewelry box. I have found over the years, if you love something, and it goes out of style, but you can’t bear to part with it; just store it! Everything old becomes new again, and there is nothing more fabulous than your own vintage items. That being said. . .let’s get back to talking about barrettes!

Big girl barrettes were everywhere on the streets of New York Fashion Week. While you didn’t see them on the runways, they were a runway trend from 2017, they have finally caught on and hit the streets. The most popular way to wear 1990s-style barrettes on the streets of fashion week, was far from the way we wore them in the 1990s. In the ’90’s we wore one to three barrettes on one or both sides of our head, up high towards our part; side part to be exact. In 2019, the barrettes are being worn down low, just above the ear. Instead of wearing them on both sides, this time around only one side of your head should have a barrette.

The barrettes must match! The most popular barrette style was to wear two matching barrettes side-by-side, just above the ear. In the 1990s we wore coordinating barrettes that played well together. Now, in 2019, if you wear more than one barrette they need to be exactly the same. I guess I missed the mark on that one since I blended three different barrettes together; hey, at least I wore them above my ear! So, I was only 50% wrong. haha If it weren’t for my friend Laura from Have-Need-Want, I would have worn them ’90’s style, close up to my part. She schooled me right away. haha, thanks Laura!

Here are examples of how to properly wear big girl barrettes:

Of course, you can wear one barrette by itself too. It must be worn just above the ear; no-where near your part. Another option is to wear a low ponytail and fasten it with a barrette. This is a vintage hairstyle which became popular in the 1970s and lasted through to the 1990s. Of course, in the 1980s, if your ponytail was fastened with a barrette, there was a giant bow attached to it. haha So many bows in the 1980s! But I digress. . .

The types of barrettes worn on the streets of New York Fashion Week included sparkling rectangles, oversize snap barrettes, circles, and barrettes adorned in pearls. So, if you are looking to find the perfect barrette to wear right now, these are the styles to look out for! I found a few fabulous ones which evoke NYFW street style vibes online and assembled them into the shopping widgets below. I hope you love them!

What do you think of the big girl barrette trend to wear right now? Will you be rocking it?

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO

Cathy