My Fashion Life

A friend of mine has been searching for an outfit to wear to her good friend’s wedding and as much as she loved the idea of wearing a dress, she realized that she wouldn’t be able to get much use out of the dresses she was looking at for the wedding. Instead, I advised her to go with simple, well-tailored separates that she could then wear at the office or day-to-day. Here is what I came up with:

1. Geren Ford Ruffle Neck top in Plum from www.shopjinny.com. I absolutely love the high ruffled collar on this blouse, as well as the plum shade. It’s wearable in all seasons (with the appropriate cover-up, of course), and the deep V-neck adds a sexy but still classy flair to the blouse. This absolutely has to be worn with hair up! $191

2. St John Collection Santana Knit Skirt in White, from Nordstrom. The fitted white skirt will be a bright, sleek counterpart to the slightly loose and muted shade of the Geren Ford blouse. It’s the white skirt that will really make the outfit seasonally appropriate for a springtime wedding. Of course, this white skirt is a perfect basic for your wardrobe. $300 from nordstrom.com

3. So, the shoes are still under debate. On one hand are these lovely Twyla metallic mid-heels from J. Crew in metallic gold leather (though the coral suede is quite nice as well). As we all know, metallics are here to stay and they go with everything, plus the lower heel height ensures that you can, in fact, strap your dancing shoes on and not need to ice your feet down later. Alternately, there are these punchy suede Meredith heels, also from J. Crew, in sour lemon. The heels are a bit higher, but the citrus hue adds a bit of fun to the outfit and brings down the ‘va-va-voom’ factor a notch so you don’t upstage the bride. $175 and $165, respectively, at www.jcrew.com

4. A lady needs a purse. Just what each of us chooses to put in it is something of a mystery, but, we need them. So I found this cute paillette Mirabelle clutch from J. Crew (actually I kind of stumbled across it while looking for the shoes). Anyway, the navy is a perfect complement to the blouse and skirt and the linen is oh-so-spring (or summery, when the seasons change!). $148, exclusively at www.jcrew.com

Simple pearl earrings, a pedicure, and if need be, a cashmere wrap are all you need to complete this outfit. Each of these pieces are totally wearable for a multitude of occasions– there will be no need to relegate any of these pieces to the back of your closet!