Winter to Spring: Neo-Victorian

In my opinion, February and March are the months where you start transitioning your clothes from winter to spring.  I enjoy this time of year because you can start switching out your heavier coats for lighter-weight jackets and layering becomes your best friend.

One trend that continues into spring from the fall 2015 season is Neo-Victorian.  Elements of Neo-Victorian include high necklines, delicate ruffles, puffy Old-English sleeves, romantic lace, and big vintage florals.  If you are to invest in at least one of these elements, I would recommend lace.  Lace is a fabric that can be worn all year-round.  Lace comes in a variety of colors and options to wear, including dresses, shirts, shorts and skirts.  For this post, I’ve created two outfits transitioning my ivory lace and ruffled shirt from winter to spring.  Plus if you read through this post, you can see a bonus outfit.

Winter: Lace and Velvet

This past fall, I was intrigued by the Neo-Victorian trend and how I can utilize it in my wardrobe.  For this winter outfit, I paired my ivory lace shirt with a maroon velvet blazer and black skinny pants.  When lace is paired with velvet, it exerts a gothic romance look.  I slipped on a pair of black faux fur smoking slippers to add more texture while the dark lip and silver drop earrings add more dark romance to the ensemble.  This outfit would be a great outfit for work or even a night-out attending a theater performance.

Shirt: Dillard's // Blazer: Casual Corner (Ann Taylor) // Pants: Gap // Shoes: DSW // Earrings: Francesca's

Spring: Lace and Peach

I think of lace as being a feminine fabric.  It can be girly paired with pastels and light colors, or can exert a hard and soft exterior when paired with leather.  For this spring outfit, I combined feminine and tailored elements.  I paired the lace shirt with peach chino pants and topped it off with a blush blazer.  I accessorized with a rose gold watch, bracelets and two gold cocktail rings.  I slipped on a pair of gold, rope detailed ballet flats to finish the ensemble.  This outfit would be a great business casual work outfit or lunch date.

Shirt: Dillard's (Gianni Bini)// Blazer: Kohl's (Lauren Conrad Collection)// Pants: The Limited (last spring) // Shoes: Dillard's // Watch: Fossil// Rings: Old Navy// Bracelet: Gift

BONUS Outfit: Maroon Crochet Lace Swing Dress

For this bonus outfit, I wanted to show how a crochet lace swing dress can be transitioned from winter to spring without changing jewelry.

Winter: 70’s Rocker Chick

I have recently embraced swing dresses and I found this one at Dry Goods.  I love the 60’s vibe of the dress with the mock turtleneck to the flowy tent-like silhouette.  I wasn’t sure if I would look alright in a swing dress, but when I tried it on; I knew I could make it work.  For this outfit, I was inspired by the silhouette, so I encompassed elements of the 60’s and 70’s.  I paired the dress with a black faux fur cropped vest along with black tights and faux suede black over-the-knee boots to emulate a 70’s rocker chick who is headed to a rock concert.  I layered on gold leaf earrings, mixed media long necklace, gold chevron bracelet, and ornate cocktail rings to finish the ensemble.

Dress: Dry Goods// Vest: BCBGeneration// Tights: Target (old) // Boots: Charlotte Russe// Necklace: Old// Bracelet/Earrings: Express // Rings: Vintage (Grandma's)

Spring: Casual in Denim

To transition the outfit above to spring, all I did was switch out the fur vest for a denim jacket and over-the-knee boots for cognac wedge sandals.  As I mentioned above all the jewelry is the same.  Now I’m ready for a casual date or shopping during the spring.

Dress: Dry Goods// Jacket: Old Navy// Shoes: JCPenny

Do you like the Neo-Victorian trend?  How would you wear it?

Valentine's Day Special - Hot Pink Lady

Valentine’s Day is this weekend, do you already have romantic plans with your loved one or are you celebrating with your gal pals?  This year, my husband Mike and I are heading to Centro, one of Des Moines’s most renowned restaurants.  It’s been awhile since we have been to Centro and we are excited to celebrate our first Valentine’s Day as a married couple! 

This year for Valentine’s Day, I will be wearing hot pink. For every Valentine’s Day, I like to switch up the color I wear.  Three years ago I wore red, two years ago I wore a black with red accents, and last year I wore purple.  Generally, pink is not my go-to color, but I fell in love with a hot pink sheath dress I found on sale at Nordstrom Rack this past fall.  I love this sheath dress because of its classic silhouette, the bold color, and its unique cutout details.   This dress has a lot of versatility because it can be worn in the winter as shown below, or it can be worn during the warmer months because of its a bright color.

For this special occasion I wanted to amp up this hot pink dress by combining it with accents of black and white so I paired the dress with black opaque tights and my new black and white printed stilettos I recently bought this past fall.  I decided to wear my hair in a messy chignon in order to highlight my black and silver jeweled statement earrings.  I finished the look with a silver bracelet, cocktail ring, and a hot pink lip.

Dress; Nordstrom Rack (sale) //Shoes/Tights: Target // Earrings/Bracelet: Express // Ring: Von Maur

What are you wearing to celebrate Valentine’s Day?