Red, Camel, Leopard. Repeat.

It has become clear that I've become obsessed with anything leopard print. I had to add these gloves to my collection. The leopard is fabric, but the underside is leather, which was essential so that I could wear them while driving. What is worse than a bare hand on an ice cold steering wheel?

I've also realized that attaching the fur collar to the trench has caused me to fall in love with both pieces all over again. Between the two of them I spent less than $20, and yet, wearing them makes me feel incredibly luxe, like I could have spent thousands.

Even with the mild winter we are having, I'm still feeling uninspired, and certainly not as adventurous as I was last winter. I just seem to want to wear red, camel, and leopard over and over again. (But for the sake of the blog, I'll force myself to wear some other things as well.)

The Rundown

Leopard Button Down Anne Klein - Red Pencil Skirt Express Similar - Trench London Fog Thrifted - Fur Collar Thrifted - Clutch Zara - Shoes Me Too - Antler Ring House of Harlow - Belt TJ Maxx - Tights TJ Maxx - Sunnies Halston - Leopard Gloves Echo Similar - Nail Polish Essie Fair Game - Pearl Leash Fabuleash - Dog Chloe

Sequined Collar

For my first attempt of styling the KARL sequined collar, I was going to keep things pretty simple, with just the grey sweater and some dark jeans, but then I decided to have a little fun and wear my mustard cords - which in turn play in with the color blocking of my new Zara clutch.

The clutch was not something I'd intended on buying, it was $60, so it was a bit expensive, but the moment I held it was in love. I'm a very hands-on shopper. I touch, I hold, I smell, I parade around in front of the mirrors. The soft buttery leather, the scent, how it looked when I held it up against my trench caused me to completely fall in love. I left the store.
I went back for it.*

My Sister told me that I looked like a clown - this is not the first time she has critiqued something of mine in such a way. In fact, there is even a theme. Apparently if I wear something yellow with a fun collar, I become a member of the circus.

The Rundown

Mustard Cords Gap - Sweater Gap - Booties Madden Girl - Trench Coat London Fog Thrifted - Fur Collar Thrifted - Color Block Clutch Zara - Sequined Collar KARL - Rings Gift, The Cavernous Jewelry Box - Fedora Market in Italy - Nail Polish Essie Fair Game

*This shopping experience went down shortly after I attended the KARL launch - a clothing line launch without any actual clothing on site.

I know they were trying to be unique and modern and embracing the times where we all just shop on our iPhones, but I can honestly say that if that clutch had just been an image on a screen, I would have liked it, but thought that $60 was too expensive and moved on. It was the tactile experience which made it impossible for me to forget about the bag and the reason I ultimately purchased it.

Online shopping may have it's conveniences, but I don't believe it can ever replace or compare to holding something in your hands.

Short skirt, long jacket

Today's outfit is a little homage to the show Chuck, which is airing it's series finale this evening. It is such a fun show, and it's pretty remarkable in this day and age of television for a show like it to hold out as long as it did; five years and 91 episodes.

I'm definitely going to miss it, and it's theme song, Cake's Short Skirt/Long Jacket.

I've had this maxi coat for quite some time now, I got it my freshman year of high school, and in all honesty, it was because it made me feel awesome, like Carrie-Anne Moss in the Matirx. I haven't worn it in several years... I don't think maxies are back in yet, but I had my heart set on doing a Chuck inspired outfit, and my other option was just wearing my converse sneakers. The coat was more fun.

I also turned my chunky chain bracelet into an impromptu necklace - which actually worked pretty well.

I hope you all have a great last weekend of January! (Seriously, where did the month go?)

The Rundown

Top J.Crew - Skirt NY&Co. - Coat Halston - Booties Madden Girl Virtual -

Gloves Belonged to my Grandma - Bag Big Buddha - Necklace Macy's - Earrings Thrifted

P.S.  In case you missed it, this week I made biscotti, fashioned my Target leopard fedora to look like the J.Crew one, reviewed the ONA camera bag insert, and went to the KARL launch in New York City!

Karl launch in New York

Yesterday Megan and I went to New York for the Karl Lagerfeld KARL for Net-a-Porter, which was sort of an odd event for a clothing line, as there were no actual clothes on site.

Instead, there large photographs of the clothes on the walls and everyone was encouraged to download the KARL app for their iPhones and then you hold them up, and the app launches the store. You tap the item you want to buy in the photo and place your order.

There was a chance that if you scanned an item you might win it, so I kept on scanning for about 20 minutes, no luck.

I did get the gift bag though, which contained an item from the line, a sequined collar. The other item you could possibly receive was a pair of fingerless leather gloves. The bag also had a tee shirt in it, but I don't know what I'll do with that...

After we decided we were tried of scanning the walls in hopes of a free pair of $400 sandals, we went to lunch and then spent the rest of the day shopping and taking photos.

Turns out I really only needed to worry about what coat I was wearing today, since I rarely had it off!

Megan and I both made some good purchases, I took advantage of the Zara sale and got a leather clutch, I also snagged a seafoam cardigan at H&M.

My Rundown

Leopard Dress Calvin Klein - Trench London Fog Thrifted - Fur Collar Thrifted - Bag Big Buddha - Shoes Adrienne Vittadini - Necklace Thrifted - Gloves Belonged to my Grandma - Antler Ring House of Harlow - Bracelet Macy's - Belt Thrifted - Nail Polish Essie Fair Game

Megan's Rundown

Blazer Moschino Cheap & Chic - Sweater Ralph Lauren - Jeans Free People - Sandals Miu Miu - Bag Marc by Marc Jacobs - Watch Michael Kors - Sunglasses Marc by Marc Jacobs

Be sure and head over to Closet Fashionista and read Megan's post on the event!

Review: ONA Camera bag insert

The quest for the perfect camera bag started a long time ago, at which time, I had trouble finding any companies that made them. Fortunately that has changed, and I can direct you to numerous bags that make equally nice arm candy as they do a home for your SLR.

Among them there are ONA, THEIT, Epiphanie, Kelly Moore, Jo Totes, Coach, Ketti, Cheeky Lime, Pompidoo, Dre Hartmann, Jill-E ...and I'm not even sure if I got them all....
But here's the thing. All of these bags are pretty pricey, from $98 - $558, for the girl who likes to change her bag as often as her clothes, choosing only one to invest in is hard to do.

As much as I didn't want to commit to a camera bag purse, I hated putting my camera "naked" into my bag, and finally one day stumbled upon the ONA Roma insert (probably while I was busy drooling over their Brooklyn bag, you know, the one from me to you has been toting.

For $60, now any bag could be a camera bag. I was intrigued. I put it on my wishlist and Santa delivered.

The ONA Roma insert was created specifically for a purse, allows easy access to the camera, has one movable divider inside and four outside pockets for stashing small things like a lens cap, memory cards, ect. On its own the insert relatively thin, but combined with a leather bag, it should keep the camera safe for travel.

When using it, my first realization was that not any bag could be a camera bag - the insert is pretty substantial and only a large handbag can accommodate it. It will occupy the entirety of the bag, so unless I'm not carrying an extra lens there isn't much space left for the usual 20 million things I like to carry in my bag.

My second realization was that not every handbag can properly distribute the weight of a camera. By the way, the new Canon D60 weighs significantly more than my Rebel xsi. I had no idea what I was getting into with that... I mean, in the past I'd put my rebel into this small black quilted bag and gone shopping at the mall for hours and was okay. I put the ONA insert and the D60 into my Lucky Brand bag last week and after 10 minutes I thought my shoulder was going to fall off.

It wasn't until today however, that I realized there must be cheaper options for camera bag inserts, like this Click Elite bag for $36, or even better, cheaper and more obvious -- a DIY!

Bottom line: if you are looking for a pretty camera bag purse to invest in, there are actually more options than you knew, but a switchable insert is cheaper, lets you utilize bags you've already got and probably will work just as well.

The Rundown

Blazer Gap Thrifted - Top Loft Thrifted - Cords J.Crew - Bag Big Buddha - Necklace The Cavernous Jewelry Box - Ring c/o Poshlocket - Bracelet Macy's - Antler Ring House of Harlow - Booties Madden Girl Virtual

Disbanded

Feeling inspired by Stacey, I snipped the band and feather off of my Albertus Swanepoel for Target leopard fedora, which makes it a dupe for the J.Crew version, and therefore easier to look like a person who would spend $178 on a hat. However, it is currently on final sale, and with the extra 40% off you can snap it up for $60. (Which is still three times more expensive than the Target version).

I'm also wearing some fleece lined tights, a gift from Alex! They are nice and cozy, thanks Alex!

Tomorrow Megan and I are going to the New York launch of Karl Lagerfeld for net-a-porter, anyone else going to be there?
I'm kinda freaking out over what to wear... I'm thinking leopard dress at the moment.

The Rundown

Top Gap - Skirt Made by Me - Leather Jacket Express - Leopard Fedora Albertus Swanepoel for Target - Booties Madden Girl Virtual - Bag Big Buddha - Gloves TJ Maxx - Necklace Klara Design Jewelry - Earrings Taken for Granite - Tights Ellen Tracy