The Forest of Denial

It may be December but the weather in NC is in total denial. It's absolutely beautiful, and I can't get enough of being outdoors. 

I bought these fur-trim booties back in 2010 during my annual shopping trip to London. I didn't wear them at all last year, but given the current bootie trend (not to mention the abundance of texture combos) I thought I'd break them out. I teamed my boots with tha furrrrr with some sexy lace and a warm oversized wrap cardigan.

I love adding new elements to classic looks; why not be sexy, comfortable and warm this Winter?

Booties: ALDO
Cardigan: Esprit
Lace Legwear: Forever 21
 

Have you broken out your favorite Winter booties?

x ♥ x

OOTD: 3 Words: Little.Black.Dress

I recently lent my mug (and pins) to Carolina STYLE Magazine for a fashion spread photo shoot! 

One of my favorite pieces was this little black dress from French Connection.

This knit bandage dress, with side cutout details, is the perfect LBD for holiday parties. The body-con style and V-neck, paired with skyscraper heels, made feel like a goddess of sorts. 

Here are some behind the scenes pics of the photo shoot, courtesy of Jason Rizzo of RaleighStatic.

beautiful location. The Carolina Inn, Chapel Hill.

disco nap in hair & makeup  

waiting for the next shot/kickin' it in the closet. 

sky high heels by Jessica Simpson. 

Do you have a go-to LBD in your closet? 
I'll leave you with this reminder from the amazing Karl Lagerfeld:

"One is never over- or under- dressed with a little black dress."

x ♥ x 

OOTD: All I need in this life of sin is...

...me & my boyfriend jeans. Well, and a few other things (CHANEL, cupcakes, champagne). But these things are sooooooo comfortable! Yesterday as I got ready to run ONE MILLION errands, I wanted to be comfortable but stylish. 

There's something so effortlessly sexy about jeans, a white tee, and some heels. Let's just say, my husband and I barely made it out of the house ;) TMI?

x ♥ x 

September on INSTAGRAM

I can't believe how quickly September flew by! Between music festivals, and of course, all the fashion weeks, it's certainly been a whirlwind. Oh, and somewhere in there, we also said hasta luego to Summer and bienvenido to Fall. 

Here are some of my favorites from this month on Instagram. Make sure to follow me @dejafashion to see more!

Which one is your favorite?

OOTD: Charlotte International Fashion Week

The weather in the South can be quite temperamental, and EXTREME. We get anything from tornados to hurricanes, to week-long-poweroutages due to snow, and of course, a heat index of 125 degrees!

So when it comes to planning an outfit for an event, it can be pretty nerve wracking; both in terms of being weather-appropriate and season-appropriate. 
This weekend I headed to the Queen City (Charlotte, NC) for Charlotte International Fashion Week at the Blake Hotel. Going back to my dilemma: it's Fall, yes, but it's still warm out. How to combine Summer trend elements with Fall trends so that I don't look like I'm stuck in a season-warp?

I opted for this flirty and floral dress, which happens to be a nude color, similar to one of PANTONE's colors for Fall 2012; rose smoke. 
I paired it with a studded dark denim shirt, tied at the waist to give it an 80s edge.
As someone who swears by the importance of shoes and purses in terms of ANY outfit, I decided to set the look off with my suede Miu Miu sandals and MARC by Marc Jacobs, Dr. Q. Hillier handbag.

Fresh for Fall

And just like that, it's September. Bye bye summer, sun, sea, sand, surf, and bikinis. *le sigh* I've already told you my feelings about summer so I won't harp on it too much, and instead accept the reality that while September means Fashion Week (weeeeeeee!) it also means fall is officially upon is. 

I'm not quite ready to let go of the kaleidoscope of colors that made summer 2012 so vibrant. So, I decided to break out this fresh mint green trench coat, as I try to transition into my fall wardrobe. Baby steps. 

How do you think I did?

"Fashion Gives"

Last night I attended the "Fashion Gives" event at the swanky Bin 33 here in downtown Greensboro. We were there to celebrate the lovely YC of The YCB Agency and Bougie Girl's World's birthday, while also remembering that Fashion Gives. In lieu of gifts, YC asked that we donate to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC.

Swag bag!

Champers and arm swag! 

Our beautiful host, YC of The YCB Agency and Bougie Girl's World. 

Happy Birthday YC!!

For a self-proclaimed model and fashionista, every event is a prospective CATwalk, so I decided to break out my leopard print shorts. 

What do you think?

OOTD: Summer Lovin'

I'm a July baby, and from a beach town, so I HEART EVERYTHING about SUMMER! Needless to say, with Fall right around the corner, I'm getting in as much Summer Lovin' as possible! Thankfully, here in the South, we get a bit of an extended Summer. With the temperatures back up at 90 degrees, I decided it would be a perfect day to wear some of my Summer favorites that I won't be able to wear in the weeks ahead. 

While I'm usually into healthy eating, tonight my husband and I headed to Dame's Chicken and Waffles for a pre-opening tasting event that we were invited to. When free food is involved, I'm your girl! This is what I wore:

OOTD: Hopscotch

Yesterday I had a meeting with our Executive Editor for Carolina STYLE Magazine and Hopscotch Music Festival Director, Greg Lowenhaagen. I will be covering the musical event for our upcoming print issue!

Hopscotch is a 3 day music festival that takes place downtown Raleigh, North Carolina. As with every year, the lineup, comprised of local and national talent, is enough to get any music lover excited. I'm especially looking forward to seeing The Roots perform again, as well as rapper Danny Brown out of Detroit, Michigan, and bands like My Best Fiend out of Brooklyn, New York. 

The festival's name resonates with fun and playfulness so I wanted my outfit to reflect that. Here's what I wore...

Skirt, Lazy Oaf
Shirt, H&M
Shoes, COACH
Purse, COACH
Sunglasses, Gucci

OOTD: Gate City Gurl!

So between my birthday, assignments for Carolina STYLE Magazine, and our recent relocation due my husband's promotion, it's been a busy couple of weeks. 
I was finally able to get away from the boxes and bubble wrap, and head downtown. Here's what I wore as I discovered my new home, the Gate City.

Dress, BikBok
Purse, MARC by Marc Jacobs
Shoes, Converse
Sunglasses, Betsey Johnson