Statements

Dress ~ c/o Couture Sqd

Tights ~ c/o HauteLegs

Boots ~ Steve Madden

Bag ~ Not sure! I think a purse party at my cousin's years ago...

Necklace ~ Eclectic Eccentricity

Bracelet ~ c/o Hearts.com (old)

A piece of advice that I usually follow: If you have to ask if it's a shirt or a dress, it's a shirt. Well, in this instance, I think the above piece from Couture Sqd can be worn as either. And I chose a dress with some HauteLegs tights.

I love this statement bag. Some people (and by people, I mean men) think it's a bit on the crazy side. But guess what? I dgaf (here, if you're not down with the kid's lingo these days).  What's your favorite statement piece in your closet?

DIY ~ How to organize your rings

I have a lot of rings. And jewelry, for that matter. A while back, I showed you how I organize my necklaces and bracelets. It's been so nice to be able to easily see all of them, instead of digging through a mess of jewelry. So that was the inspiration behind this post—finding a way to nicely organize my rings. I found this cheap jewelry box at Marshall's and made the top part into ring holders. Here's what you'll need:

- A box, frame, or even a shoe to turn into a ring holder (Confused? Scroll down to the bottom of the post and see the other ways people store their rings.)

- Batting

- Cute fabric

- Scissors

- Thread

- Hot glue gun

1. I started with this cute box.

2. Measure the width of the box, frame, etc that you'll be filling up. Mine happened to be 4 inches. Cut a piece of batting the same width, and about 6 inches long. Roll it up. Put a dot of hot glue at the end so it stays rolled up.

3. Cut a square piece of fabric that's the same width as your batting. My fabric is 4x4 inches.

4. Start from the bottom corner and roll half way up.

5. Fold the corners in. 

6. Roll all the way up and sew ends to secure. Repeat steps 2-6 to create a bunch of these little batting-fabric pieces. Make enough so that when you stuff them into your ring box, they will securely hold your rings.

7. Put hot glue where you'll be placing your batting.

8. Stuff your pieces of batting into your ring box.

9. Use a knife to smoosh the sides down and tuck them in.

10. Voila!

Put your rings in.

And enjoy!

I love having all my rings organized like this. Super easy to see them all and find the one I'm looking for quickly. And this can be done in tons of different things, not just a box! I've seen it in picture frames, big and small, a serving tray, a cigar box, and even a shoe. So how do you organize your rings? Will you be creating something like this? If you do, tweet me a pic! @wtfab1

Take your Shoedazzle style quiz!

Spring shoes are my absolute favorite. When else is there an abundance of candy-colored confections of shoes?? I just took my style quiz on Shoedazzle, and they curated an entire online showroom for me based on my quiz, and this spring's trends. You've probably heard of Shoedazzle along with Kim Kardashian, one of the founders. And Rachel Zoe (love) is their new style curator! So all the shoes are chosen by her. The style quiz is really fun and helps make sure your showroom gets filled with pieces you love. And, their shoes are super inexpensive! 

Here are some of my favorite ones that popped up in my showroom! 

Take your own style quiz on Shoedazzle to find your perfect sole-mate this spring!

Thanks to Shoedazzle for sponsoring this post!

Flying purple people eater

Dress ~ c/o Couture Sqd

Glasses ~ c/o Firmoo (old)

Heels and cocktail ring ~ Forever 21

Clutch ~ c/o JJ Winters (old)

By now SF weather can't really take me by surprise. One day it's hot and sunny, the next it's thunder storming. So when it is warm out, I take full advantage, and I make sure to rock a dress when I can!

This pretty purple floral dress was sent from Couture Sqd, a fashion subscription service. When you sign up, you're sent 4 new outfits each month to wear and then return (with a prepaid shipping label). Sounds like a fun way to have an ever-revolving closet door!

Academy of Art Fashion show

Last week I went to Academy of Art's Graduation Fashion Show. It was held at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, which is of course a beautiful spot. Some of my favorite collections were women's knitwear and another line that was all black dresses with a sparkly chevron print. The guests of honor were Max and Lubov Azria of BCBGMAXAZRIA, so it was fun to see them and hear them speak. Congrats to all the students who got internships at awesome fashion houses like BCBG and Herve Leger!

Max and Lubov Azria

How to do a smoky eye

I love a good smoky eye. I mean who doesn't, really? Contrary to popular belief, a smoky eye really isn't hard to achieve. Especially when you have a palette of colors that complement each other and are meant for a smoky eye. That way you don't have to search for a dark, medium and light color. So here are four easy steps to the perfect smoky eye:

1. Sweep the dark eyeshadow on your eyelid from lash to crease.
2. Add medium color on crease over dark color and blend.
3. Highlight by sweeping the lightest color under the brow. 
4. Add eyeliner and mascara et voila!

I used Wet 'n' Wild Mega Eyes Creme Eyeliner and CoverGirl LashBlastFusion Mascara. I also did a flick at the end of the eyeliner for a winged look.

For this smoky eye I used BA STAR's Natural Shadow Palette. I love how these browns turned out on my smoky eye! They also have a grey palette that would be perfect for a smoky eye and even pink and blue.

c/o BA STAR

By the looks of their website, a lot of cheer and dance teams use their products. So I figure if it lasts on girls who are twirling and flipping around, it'll stay on me without smudging just fine. So there you have it, a fun and easy smoky eye!

Want a shadow palette of your own for a great smoky eye? Use the discount BBSMOKY for 50% off at BA STAR!

Workkit series Part 1: A little nicer than business casual

Top ~ Love Culture (similar here)

Skirt ~ J.Crew (similar here)

Shoes ~ DSW(similar here and here)

Belt ~ Boutique on Melrose

This outfit post is the first of a series of workwear looks. My boss was actually the one who suggested I do a post like this, since it can be hard to describe different workwear styles. Sometimes "business casual" just doesn't cut it to describe the style at an office. Biz casual for whom? An east coaster will have a very different take on that term than a west coaster. 

Story time: One time I joined a coworker for a meeting at one of our client's offices. They're a large software company. When I asked what I should wear she said "Something a little nicer than business casual." In my mind at the time, the tiers of workwear went: Casual, Business Casual, Formal. So "nicer than business casual" (to me) = suit. But that didn't sound right either. I knew I would be way overdressed if I showed up wearing a suit. So I just stuck to my go-to business casual outfit (black slacks and a sweater). And when I showed up to the meeting, I didn't look inappropriately dressed, but I also didn't feel like I'd nailed it. 

Moral of the story, if I'd worn something more like the above outfit, I would have hit the nail on the head. I actually did wear this exact outfit to a conference in Vegas a couple weeks ago and got lots of compliments on the skirt (thanks to Caroline for letting me buy it off her!). A tip for wearing skirts for business: Make sure they're not too tight or too short. A couple inches above the knee is about as high as you'd want to go. Tight and short says: I wanna sex you up. Longer and less clingy says: I'm a young professional. Yes, you can take me seriously.

Keep an eye out for more Workkit posts!