TUXEDO CASUAL

In the past we've only dressed this blouse up with chunky pearls, slacks and skirts. This time we decided to dress this front ruffled blouse down with trousers and oxfords, and quite liked the effect. Blouse Zara, trousers H&M, oxfords Target. Zara has a lovely tuxedo inspired blouse right now for those of you interested....

GRAY SHIFT

This is actually a dress we pulled out of the back closet. We wore it a lot a few years ago when trapeze/sack/mumu dresses were all the rage. We updated this hybrid between a sack and shift dress by adding a bright belt, leopard scarf and cage heels. Dress H&M, belt Nordstrom, heels Forever 21.

LOUIS VIUTTON SPRING 2012

Need we say much? We were both in agreement on how fun this line is. We're just in awe at what Marc Jacobs continues to do. Seriously, how do you manage to have two of your own lines, design for one of the oldest houses in fashion and keep coming up with collections that continually push the edges of fashion and creativity? What we love about this line is not only the 60's inspiration, but really how he changes the shapes of that inspiration. If you look through the collection (here) you'll see those 60's shapes are not really fitted the same way we'd expect to see them. Pieces are tailored to fit boxier, more loose, and with a sort of structural freedom. And really - the colors... they make us look forward to spring even though we haven't even hit winter! Enjoy!

DAYTIME LACE

Who says lace is only for the evening? We say, not so! With a t-shirt, day bag, blazer and booties lace looks cool, not prim. Lace in all it's dress codes is perfectly on trend for fall but try giving the daytime variety and try. See examples of how to add a touch of lace to a look here.

LONG AND LEAN

Harper's Bazaar summed up Fall for this year as "long and lean."  Because of this, skirt lengths have been dropping - definitely a breath of fresh air for all of us modest girls. We've shopped for pencil skirts over the past few seasons, and to our dismay, have found them to hit around 3 inches above the knee. How nice it is to finally see them hitting the knee at Zara (called "sheath skirts" here, here and plenty more here). But what we're absolutely loving are the "past your knee" pencils. Almost all of Jonathan Saunders showcased this length; we've seen Victoria Beckham sporting it for ages and now creating a line around it here and here. And lastly, the biggest man in fashion, Marc Jacobs, was definitely inspired not only in skirts, but also in dresses. (Seriously, there are too many to show, you might want to just view the amazingly beautiful collection here.) So since it was warm a week ago in this part of the country (can't say that now) we decided to break our viewers in with a more casual version of the look.  But look out! A richer Marc Jacob's inspired outfit is waiting to be created for these pages now that the cold has set in.... (Zara platforms, Urban Wear skirt, both tops H&M)

EVERYDAY CHIC + A LITTLE COLOR

I found this girl at a fashion show I attended and thought she was a great example of pulling a look together with classic, chic pieces - nothing crazy here, just good taste. I especially love the bright bag with all the neutral pieces, and her choice of tan heels instead of black.