A Peplum in Your Step

Ludlow was watching Khloe and Lamar on E! the other day...(yes, not the most high brow of TV shows but the reality addiction continues). In one scene, Lamar was explaining the cartoon character Peppy Le Pew to Khloe. His description of Peppy always wanting to date the cat that he thought was a skunk like him, because of her black and white coloring, reminded us of how image is so important (bet you didn't expect that!).

It can get you in the door for prospective clients and even be considered for promotions. Of course, it can work the opposite way too... See, a classy french skunk's attractions CAN teach us a thing or two.

Which brings us to our word association with professionally classy french-like clothing: Peplum. The word itself is lovely and the image is so 1950's old hollywood, like Grace Kelly in Monaco.

Ludlow wore this peplum top from J.Crew. The floral print incorporates a second trend this spring (a 2 in 1). 

Here it's paired with white wide leg trousers, (old, similar here) but would go just as well with a navy or white pencil skirt (the true French way).

So elegant - it's sure to put a pep in your step. Something that doesn't go unnoticed by your colleagues, manager and clients in the most positive way.

Lace-it-Up for the office

Like animal print, lace is often associated with sexiness, lingerie, candles and maybe even silk sheets (for some reason we are now picturing a cheesy 70's sex chamber like the one Elvis Presley had...). All light years away from the fluorescent lighting of an office building. But with the warmer weather this spring, the lace trend of this season is slowly moving in. 

So like anything we show you, as long as you keep it professional and simple, with limited accessories, you can make a stylish, appropriate look in lace. 

One option is to go with a detail of lace. Lex found this cream silk and lace blouse at Madewell (it also comes in black but the cream color is closer to sweet versus sexy). Since the lace is really only on the sleeves, you can wear a jacket over it, with the lace peeking out during the day. It then nicely transitions from the office, to a client dinner/drinks in the evening. 

For the weekend, wear it with dark blue denim bell bottoms (Rag and Bone) and platforms (Ash) for a 70's feel (which we still love!). 

Ludlow wanted all over lace and found this demure number at J.Crew. The 'neon azalea' color makes it fun (and less sexy). We love it with a pair of ankle length blue trousers (also from J.Crew).

A note on those trousers: Notice the pleating and button detail. The fit is also amazing.. something about the fabric that is sort of stretchy and forgiving.

For weekend, untuck it and let the scallop edging on the bottom show - worn here with a pair of skinny jeans (and neutral flats).

So go ahead and lace it up ladies! Show em whatcha got.





Pre Purchase Self-Styling for the Office

If you are like us, your wardrobe for the office may stump you from time to time. You find yourself staring at your closet, uninspired, holding a new top and figuring out what to wear it with. The added pressure of it usually taking place in the morning, when you have to get going, can further arrest your decision making abilities. So what can you do to mitigate these occurences?

Well, we have a secret weapon (ok, maybe not so secret): Polyvore.

This is an amazing site that allows you to search from a gazillion different pieces of clothing and accessories, from all around the internet, to assist in figuring out what could look good together. We've actually used it here too. You may have noticed some of our posts recently have been using ''sets'' (like the one on 'favorite trend from 2011'and 'pop of pink') which have helped us offer you suggestions on cute pieces for the office and what to wear them with.


Lex has been eyeing a coral silk blouse from Equipment, and used Polyvore to figure out if it's worth it. She put the below set together showing it can definitely go from the office into the weekend. It's worth the purchase!

It's also a great tool to find inspiration. Polyvore's database is full of opportunity! We recommend you try it yourself.

A 'Bib' for the Office

It never fails. Whenever we eat at our desks, we manage to spill something - be it a splash of coffee on our cream silk top or better yet, later in the day we discover some crusted up oatmeal stuck to the underside of our jacket's arm. That stuff is like glue when dry! 

One possible solution: start wearing a bib. For extra brownie points, maybe you could even have it read 'I heart my boss!'.....Ok, maybe we're going a bit too far here... since we're not babies anymore, we just need to be more careful when we eat.

But, now that we are on the topic of bibs... 

Ludlow finds multiple ways to wear this gold Egyptian style bib necklace by Fallon Jewelry for both the office and weekends. 

The key to any 'statement' jewelry like this is to make everything else simple, no matter what time of day. Use it to spruce up a basic (and maybe tired) outfit for the office, be it a sheath dress or simple blouse (again no ties or details).

                                  

Here we wore it with a collarless jacket...

                      

                                     

...and also tried it with a white blazer for spring (all over the runways for Spring '12). In a similar vain, it goes well with a crisp white button down all year round.

We love finding ways to renew our wardrobe - much easier on the wallet too!

Pop that collar (on or off)

On the weekends you can catch either of us at home trolling the internet... for hours. It's not that we're looking for anything in particular, we just love discovering clothes.. and shoes... and accessories. 

Ludlow, having a semi-serious obsession with net-a-porter, was perusing the recently launched Karl collection (a lower priced line from Karl Lagerfeld) when she discovered his use of collars. Not just in the traditional sense, where they are sewn in to a shirt, but as an accessory in their own right. The idea slowly grew on her - they were almost like choker necklaces of the past. She thought about how she could incorporate a black sequins collar into a Saturday night... and if this could extend to a weekday look. 

The answer is, in sequins, probably not. But, this lead to another collar-related discovery: this super cute button down from Tibi. AND...drum roll... it's collar is removable.

The shirt is cotton, but the black lining is actually silk. The color is perfect for spring too. We want to pair it with a black pencil skirt.

Without the collar, it looked best a little more open with a black tank. Otherwise, the shirt was too close to a pajama top. A long gold necklace would be a nice addition.

We love the way it looks with a black sweater over it too. Here's a closer look at that collar as well.