25 Days of Style: a Fashion Blog series -- Day 6

'This... stuff'? Oh. Okay. I see. You think this has nothing to do with you. You go to your closet and you select... I don't know... that lumpy blue sweater, for instance because you're trying to tell the world that you take yourself too seriously to care about what you put on your back. But what you don't know is that that sweater is not just blue, it's not turquoise. It's not lapis. It's actually cerulean. And you're also blithely unaware of the fact that in 2002, Oscar de la Renta did a collection of cerulean gowns. And then I think it was Yves Saint Laurent... wasn't it who showed cerulean military jackets? I think we need a jacket here. And then cerulean quickly showed up in the collections of eight different designers. And then it, uh, filtered down through the department stores and then trickled on down into some tragic Casual Corner where you, no doubt, fished it out of some clearance bin. However, that blue represents millions of dollars and countless jobs and it's sort of comical how you think that you've made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry when, in fact, you're wearing the sweater that was selected for you by the people in this room... from a pile of stuff. 

     If you guessed Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly from the Devil Wears Prada, then you're correct! I can't help but think of that quote every time there is a resurgence of some variation of blue in the fashion scene. Lately, I've been seeing a lot of cobalt (cobalt jeans, sweaters, dresses, jewelry, satchels, and other small accessories) -- which to be clear is not the same as cerulean. But they both come from the same color family of blue (duh.) Cobalt looks slightly cooler and desaturated compared to cerulean which has more of a bluish-greenish tint to it. 


     So Day 6 and it's a Monday (anyone else gets the case of the Mondays? The only thing that's keeping me going today is the return of season 5 of Gossip Girl.) The start of the work week is always so demotivating and I found that the best way to tackle this dilemma is by letting fashion cheer you up. You shouldn't just dress up on the weekend when you're going out, but make it a daily habit -- yup, Monday through Sunday. You wouldn't believe how something so little, like putting the effort to look neat and polished, can do so much to uplift your mood (it works for me all the time! When I look sloppy, I feel sloppy and lazy but when I put the effort to loo great, I feel confident and clean.) The focal point of today's ensemble revolves around this knit cobalt blue sweater. Aside from the fact that this is such an on-trend color, color is also a great way to beat the winter blues (pun intended) and ease your way to spring. 


     Such lively color made me crave a little bit of floral in my ensemble which made me immediately think of this floral pencil skirt (the first skirt in our 25 Days of Style segment!) If there's one thing you need to know about me (I say this a lot.. especially when talking about fashion) is that I love skirts, mainly because it gives you the freedom of a bottom-wear but without the formality and absolution of a dress (does that make sense?) Skirts vary in lengths (hemlines: mini, short, knee length, calf length, mid length, and floor length or "maxi") silhouettes (pencil, A-line, etc) and styles (pleated, bubble, tiered, etc.) I wanted to go for a tailored look so I chose this short pencil skirt in a bright floral print with the sweater tucked inside. 


     Speaking of tailored, as soon as I picked out this cobalt sweater, I thought about pairing it with this white and cropped tuxedo blazer (that I have had in my closet for some time) with very strong shoulders. The white helps bring out the color of the sweater without overshadowing it (as opposed of pairing it with a dark blazer or jacket.) The length of the blazer also compliments the length of the skirt because if the blazer was any longer, then it would look like I don't have any pants on from the back (yikes.) AND! As a result of my shopping spree this weekend, I got this gorgeous peter pan crystal necklace that I've been eyeing forever. It adds the right amount of sparkle to the entire ensemble without it looking too evening-wear. This necklace is my favorite part of the outfit and goes great with any crew neck sweater. Since the neckline is already so busy, I've put my hair up and out of the way in a pony tail (very rare) so that I could let the necklace become the statement piece that it is. 


Have a great week everyone! 


Love, KB

sweater by American Eagle 

cropped tuxedo blazer by Pins and Needles -- Urban Outfitters 

floral skirt by Forever 21 

peter pan crystal collar necklace by BCBG Max Azria 

black suede pumps by Steve Madden

nail polish Sephora by OPI - Shiny Dancer from the Urban Ballerina Collection