THE SWING COAT

This particular swing coat is older from Zara but you can get a pretty cool green military inspired one at Topshop right now here.  We're not gonna lie, you may have seen this coat on these pages already. It keeps popping up in different combinations once the colder weather sets in. And since this silhouette isn't going anywhere (the Sartorialist makes note of it here, but with skirts and here's another look), we decided to keep breaking it out. So pardon the repetition!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Happy Thanksgiving from our archives! 

Here's wishing you a warm and cozy holiday.

BLACK ON BLACK

This is a look definitely inspired by all of the fall runway lines. There was so much black and use of leather (think Calvin Klein) that how could one not take note? So here's what's going on here...Desirae is wearing black leggings, a black tent dress, leather moto jacket and combo boots. We are LOVING this similar black swing dress from Asos here and for $26, they've got us sold (plus the white collar is pretty dang awesome). Throw on a leather jacket and some combo boots and go out on the town funeral style!

THREAD ETHIC VS H&M

Melody chose to showcase her thrifted tweed pants here. She found these and semi-freaked out that the pockets were leather trimmed! She fell in love immediately. Then after she put together this look, she saw that H&M put together a very similar look. Melody decided against the rounded white collar in this particular shot since she had already showcased it in another look, but believe us, all these elements had been worn a few times on tour before we made the H&M connection. We shouldn't care, but it's a happy accident that somehow makes you feel validated in your fashion choices :).

HERRINGBONE JACKET

Desirae's maternity look today was very much inspired by an article she saw in Vogue showing fashionistas sporting turtlenecks with layers of necklaces. The rest of the look was formed in hues of grey with a loose fit turtleneck on top and skinnies on bottom. We know snow has set in for a lot of the country, but these bow tipped pumps are Zara (from a previous season). We can find Louboutins, Lanvins or Valentinos that look similar to these all day, but as far as a lower price point shoe, this is the closest we could get. The jacket is also from a previous season, but we know there is one that looks very similar at H&M right now. 

Also as a side note... for all you ladies going through the maternity fashion dilemma, here is a great article we found about Rachel Zoe's awesome maternity style. She gives some REALLY great tips on how to stay stylish while pregnant. Here's an extended version that abcnews picked up. Enjoy!

CHICAGO

You don't really think of Chicago as having beaches, but of course yes... yes, it does. On one of our off days during tour we decided to venture out of our cozy abode and go down to one of my brother's favorite spots in the city at sunset. He says "this is where I come to throw rocks and think things over." Evidently he's not the only one mesmerized by the rocks (see the 'cairn' or stack of rocks above). But we have to agree, this is quite the spot to see the city.

The outfit Melody wore was one she was excited about. This is the jacket she had to buy because it looked so similar to something from the Burberry Prorsum lines. Actually this whole outfit was inspired (and just maybe an out-right copy) of this look from the Resort 2013 collection.  Yep, some people really like Burberry over here. Jacket is H&M (in stores now), Pants are from H&M but older (similar here and here), striped tee is H&M (you must buy this similar one now) and bag is from a store called Taipan. 

MATERNITY SWEATER

Here's another edgy maternity look for you guys. Desirae paired her Zara faux leather skinnies (still sold here) with husband's striped sweater and her own button down underneath. Yeah you heard us right. Her husband has pretty good taste with his classic Banana Republic sweater, that she had to steal it. She finished the look with some major booties, Zara clutch (similar here) and bold chain Forever 21 necklace. Wanna go for some more casual versions of the look? There's Emma Watson here, and Olivia Palermo here and a random faceless person here. Enjoy!

BOUCLE MOTO JACKET

Oh my gosh you guys. You HAVE to buy this jacket. We picked it up at H&M for $30. This is a piece you will not regret. It's definitely something classic that could be used for a long time. We paired it with a black chiffon skirt (similar here), black sheer ruffled blouse (similar here) and boutique bracelets. Since our skirt is midi length and we wanted it a tad bit shorter, we pulled it up and then tied our sheer blouse over it in front to keep it in place. And voila! A little chiffon black dress!

THE PUMPKIN PATCH

We're definitely late today because of the crazy storm (read below for how we're doing). But here is the jacket that Melody has been excited to show. It is from H&M, but looks very similar to some of the Burberry fall and resort jackets (we'll show you a look very soon that was directly influenced). The top underneath is from an awesome store popping up in the big city called Joe Fresh. Our sister-in-law introduced us and we are in love. They have a small online collection so make sure and check them out. Belt is thrifted, jeans are Urban and boots are Macys. Little niece here is in Joe's Jeans, and boots are thrifted from Kid to Kid. We made our way through the pumpkin patch and she definitely thought it was like easter egg hunting. We felt bad having to take pumpkins out of the wagon every time she added new ones. I think eventually she started catching on.

By the way, for those wondering... Melody barely escaped from the massive hurricane by getting one of the last rental cars in the city and driving to Chicago through the night, where magically she was able to catch a flight monday morning. Desirae is safe as well (she lives on very high ground in the city). She is currently waiting it all out with her cat (husband is out of town). 

MATERNITY COCKTAIL

So, not too many people address what to do when you're pregnant and you need some good evening wear. Let's just say we're lucky we pulled out a stack of dresses in our closet (yes a 'stack'...um, we may stash dresses for emergency stage attire) and this one happened to fit the maternity need. Of course we left it to the last minute (literally hoping that something would fit a half hour before we were to leave for the concert). This Nordstrom dress from a few seasons ago worked well since the ruffles help balance out the baby bump. Although this dress isn't exactly the same, it's another beautiful maternity dress in the cobalt color. You could also go with a good black dress, which will always work in a pinch. Throw on some awesome necklaces and shoes like these (all our accessories are Forever 21) and you'll be stylin. Oh! And by the way, thanks to Asos for having a pretty dang good maternity line! We'll definitely be checking that out from now on.

BURGUNDY AND WHITE COLLAR

Although we like this look better with the jacket, we wanted to show you what was going on underneath. The sweater and blouse combo was very much inspired by the Valentino collars we've been seeing. It's also heavily influenced by the Chanel line that just showed. White collars are all the rage at the moment so we had to get in on the action. The skirt length and cut was inspired by the burberry prorsum skirts and this photo. Burgundy is having quite the moment this fall and you're surely not done seeing us sport it. Our sweater is old from H&M (but we think this one is ultra fab and that you should buy it), white blouse underneath is thrifted (but similar here), blue full skirt is also thrifted (similar here). T-Strap leather sandals are from a store called Strawberry in NYC (no online store) and sadly can't find much similar, so be on the look out!

EDGY MATERNITY

Surprise! Someone's pregnant here! You've probably been wondering where Desirae's been on these pages, and to tell you the truth she's been sick to death. You can't tell at all here but Desirae is two weeks from her final trimester! (For non-pregnant folks, that's almost at the 6 month mark.) She's always been so so tiny in her waist that we have no idea where the baby is, but it's in there and it's measuring completely normally.  

So onto the look here. Who says you've gotta be prim while you're pregnant? We say not so! Also, the trick to not necessarily having the whole world wanna touch your belly is to keep things more loose up top. We've been loving all of our super loose tops as of late that Desirae figured, why not just take them into her maternity wear? So she bought all maternity skinny jeans and kept all of her tops. Although she can't necessarily do the half tuck anymore (which we LOVE doing), she can keep it skinnier on bottom. What's also key in this look is the shorter moto jacket. Playing with two different lengths (shorter jacket, longer shirt) on top definitely brings the attention away from the "touch my belly" syndrome. Also, the buffalo plaid shirt makes it all sort of mysterious as well. Of course there are days where you wanna show the "I'm a pregger chick" off, but this isn't necessarily one of those days (sometimes people touching your belly is just...well...awkward). The jacket is Zara, H&M plaid top, Target bag, H&M black maternity skinny jeans, and Forever21 combat boots. Want a similar look on the cheap? Try these...Jacket, Shirt, Boots, Bag.

WHAT WE WORE - Utah Opera, Il Trovatore

 

Images of the most recent Chanel (Spring 2013) runway were definitely in my mind when I put together this look. No Chanel runway is complete without the famous boucle jacket. But it was the pairing of the huge, pearl, bauble necklaces all over the line that stuck with me while dressing the other night. Although my necklace is no where near such a statement piece as those, I do think it kinda gets the idea across. I had another look ready to go pairing black lace with chiffon (Dolce and Gabbana inspired) but decided that I wear a lot of black. So, white it was! I thought about amping up the heels, but in the end decided to keep them understated.  Chiffon dress is from a NY boutique (and is surprisingly old in my closet), jacket is thrifted, shoes are Aldo (also old), and the necklace was from the nicer Target jewelry lines a few seasons ago. By the way, this white chiffon dress is quite amazing and is only $30! Pair with this white boucle jacket or this one from Zara and you too can complete the look. And why not add a nice big bauble necklace while you're at it?