Fresh Picks to Follow – Perfect Pleats

Another trend that is pretty big this spring is pleats.  Pleats create fullness in a garment and it enhances a woman’s movement especially in skirts and dresses.  A pleat is a type of fold formed by doubling fabric back upon itself and securing it in place.  Pleats are typically used in shirts, skirts, trousers and dresses.  And there are several different types of pleats like the knife pleat, accordion pleat, box pleat and honeycomb pleat to name a few.

When I was younger, I hated to wear my pleated tartan plaid skirt to school everyday.  As I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned to appreciate pleated clothing because they are feminine and flattering.  But the one thing I don’t like about the pleats is that they are extremely hard to iron.  The best solution for pressing out your pleats is to take a trip to the dry cleaner for perfect pleats.  Anyways, here are my top 10 pleated pieces for this week’s Fresh Picks to Follow.  Do you have a favorite piece of pleated clothing?  Let me know! 

1. Asos - Rare Hawaiian Print Pleat Dress…$60.88

2. Anthropologie – Broken Pleats Skirt…$79.95

3. Elie Tahari – Morgan Skirt…$398.00

4. Anthropologie - Mod Garden Dress…$198.00

5. Forever 21 - Polka Dots & Pleats Top…$17.80

6. Talbots - Eva Satin Dress…$169.00

7. Burberry Prorsum – Pleat Front Heritage Skirt…$895.00

8. White House Black Market – Pleated Collar Leather Jacket…$199.99

9.  Banana Republic - Vanessa Pleated Halter Top…$69.50

10. Tibi - Pleated Dress with Beading…$880.00

xoxo Natasha

March Wish List – Top 3

I haven’t been to Anthropologie for almost a month, but I’m itching to stop by to see some of their new spring arrivals.    During my last visit in the store I tried on the Cloudrose Dress made by Deletta.  I fell in love with it as soon as I put it on. It’s a super soft jersey knit dress that I think would be flattering on all body types.  It is now at the top of my wish list for spring and summer. 

As I was trying to come up with my top 3 list this month, I found it very difficult to pick my favorites.  I don’t know what happened, but I really struggled.  Maybe it’s because I haven’t been into the store for a little while.  Also, since I haven’t been shopping as much lately, I hardly go onto the website as much as I did last year.  However, I don’t feel like I’ve been missing out.  I haven’t been too excited about the the clothes or catalogs – especially February and now March 2012.  I felt like last year’s catalogs were such page-turners that I literally wanted everything from each page.  But right now I’m not feeling it.  Now don’t get me wrong, there are several things that I’ve seen online that I definitely want to check out in the store.  Hopefully, I won’t be disappointed when I try them on.  Are any of you feeling a little bleh about the catalogs or the clothing in Anthro lately? Have any of you gone to Anthro to check out some of the new arrivals? Let me know what you think! Anyways, here are my top 3 items from Anthropologie for the month of March.

Cloudrose Dress

Neapolitan Plaid Blouse

Vast Wrap Skirt

 

xoxo Natasha

What to Wear to Work

I have been thinking about adding another feature to my blog for some time now, but I just never acted on it.  After talking to some family members and some friends, they encouraged me to go forward with this new feature.  I’ve enjoyed my blog so much over the past year and a half, but I’ve always felt like something has been missing.  I truly want to contribute to the fashion blogging community in some way and I feel that this series will do just that. I wanted to create a post that will address the needs of other working women like me.  As much as I love checking out my favorite New York City and Los Angeles based bloggers, their extremely well put together pattern mixing and high-end designer fashions just doesn’t work for my everyday look.  During the week I struggle each morning and ask myself the same post-alarm question each morning: "What am I going to wear to work today?" For me when I dress for the office, I have to consider a number of things:  is this look appropriate; do I look professional; is my skirt too short, is this feminine; is this look distracting.  I’ve mentioned before in previous posts that I work in a pretty conservative job that requires me to wear suits to work.  For at least three days out of the week, I’m usually wearing a suit and the other two days, I’m dressed in business casual attire.  I can wear jeans some Fridays, as long as I’m not in a meeting or training.

So everyone, if there is any topic that you want to talk about or if you have any questions about fashionable office clothing, please contact me at moodygirlinstyle@yahoo.com.  I can’t wait to get started!

xoxo Natasha

Fresh Picks to Follow – Mint Condition

One of the biggest color trends that we will see this spring is mint or sea foam green.  Designers like Elie Saab, Rodarte and Vera Wang created beautiful minty looks that dominated the runways during the Spring 2012 fashion show. I even added a picture below of Elie Saab’s recent haute couture collection with floral and lacey peppermint green gowns {Love}. Both mint and sea foam green are cool refreshing colors that looks great paired with gold, khaki and cream.  Pairing mint green with neutral colors will keep the look fresh and chic.  I also think that this color will look great on all skin tones, just add the right accessories and you will stand out in the crowd.  Here are my top 10 mint colored pieces for this week’s Fresh Picks to Follow.  Do you plan to wear any mint green this spring season?  Do you already own clothing in this color?  Let me know! 

1. Ann Taylor - Tie Waist Sleeveless Button Down Top…$78.00

2. Tara Jarmon - Mint Green Polka Dot Silk Dress…$630.00

3. Anthropologie - Slouched Sailor Blouse…$98.00

4. Urban Outfitters - BDG Cigarette High-Rise Jean…$58.00

5. Ruche - Silenced Nights Ruffle Blouse…$42.99

6. Essie – Mint Candy Apple…$8.00

7. TopShop – Vibrant Ballet Pumps…$32.00

8. Zara – Jacquard Skirt…$59.90

9. Susana Monaco – One Arm Flutter Dress…$182.00

10. American Apparel - Short Sleeve Scoop Neck Dress…$35.00

Elie Saab Spring 2012 Haute Couture

Source

xoxo Natasha

Moody Style: Leap for Joy

Happy Leap Year everyone! Did any of you do anything fabulous today in honor of the leap year? I learned from my coworker that Disneyland Park and Magic Kingdom Park will be open for 24 hours starting today at 6:00am.  How cool is that?  I wish I knew about that and could afford to go down to Orlando for the day.  I also learned that several retailers were offering a 29% off discount in honor of leap year.  I’m trying to be good and slow down my shopping, so I didn’t look into it. Did any of you hear of any other leap year deals?

So I have been thinking about all of the upcoming fashion trends for the spring and summer and I thought I should check out Forever 21.  Do any of you shop at this store? I went into the store a couple weeks ago and I fell in love with a ton of bright and colorful pieces.  Unfortunately, not all of them worked for me.  I went into the dressing room twice with about 6 items during each trip only to find about two things that actually fit my body. Is it just me or does anybody else have problems with their sizing?  What I learned from my trip is that it’s pretty clear that not every style of clothing fits the same.  I tried on several dresses and they all ranged from size small to large depending on the fit. Don’t expect to walk in and wear the same size that you would wear in other retailers – you will be disappointed.  You truly have to try everything on to find something that works best for your body type.   Despite my trouble with their sizes, I still plan to go back to find some more trendy pieces and accessories.  I’ll be sure to let you know how I do on the next trip.  Check out one of my finds in the picture below.  Let me know what you think.

{Sweater: Forever 21 Contrast Cable Knit Cardigan; 
Shirt: Banana Republic Tank; Pants:  Ann Taylor Loft Marissa Straight Leg;

Earrings: Pearls (gifted); Necklace: Anthropologie Moon Leaves Necklace; 
Shoes: Ann Klein Peep Toe Wedges}