Black jogger pants

I started liking jogger pants after moving to AZ. In a soft drape-y fabric their loose shape is perfect for the summer heat. Starting last year, I am assembling a collection and was glad to find a pair of joggers in black Tencel. It has all the comfort of sweatpants without the stigma. When worn with sharper accessories, it looks dressy enough for a weekend dinner and gives a delicious sense of cheating and getting away with it!

Why not...

Why not disconnect from all communications today. Just for a few hours. Go somewhere quite and serene. Enjoy the sunshine and blue skies:

 

Photograph some pretty flowers:

 

Relax and recharge like a cat, napping in the sunlight:

How to style a chambray t-shirt?

Until now, the usual chambray items in my wardrobe have been button-down shirts and dresses. This season however, I am thinking of adding a new chambray piece: a t-shirt. Not a tee in jersey fabric colored to look like classic chambray but a top in the tee cut, made from woven chambray fabric. Perfectly faded, drape-y, super soft. I have noticed Lyocell or Tencel fabrics are my favorites.

So suppose I found the perfect tee. How am I going to style it? So many ways, so little time.Currently I am thinking of wearing it:

-with wide leg pants and jeans, half tucked in or untucked. shoes: wedges or block heels.
-with either slouchy or fitted shorts and mostly flat shoes.
-with midi skirt, tucked or half tucked and ladylike shoes.
-with skinny jeans, untucked, with heels or flats.
-with coluttes, either casual or super fancy.
and as a bonus,
-with maxi skirts.

True blue

This tee is in such a gorgeous blue, all I could do was keep looking at it! To truly appreciate this color I matched it with tan and black, the dullest colors I know, which let it shine even brighter. Am I waxing poetics about a color? Well, it's bleu!

Blushing a lot

An evening of 77 degree temp was the perfect opportunity to wear this new blush blazer and my dear old blush jeans. The color was a balm for my bruised soul. Yes, maybe too much blush, maybe too pale, but that little splash of burgundy saved me... OK, I confess, I really really wanted to wear that blazer before the weather heats up again!

Almond and pistachio

As a title, it sounds more like an ice cream flavor! Not one of my best, plus the green is more emerald or jade than pistachio. It was a comforting laid back outfit though. I personally testify to the fact!

Cyan pepper and navy

Soft draw string pants and a t-shirt would have looked very casual. Since it was Sunday night you could have found people in pajamas walking and having dinner. I however prefer a more polished outfit, hence the jacket. It pulled everything together and made a statement.

Light and gray

For this outfit I took my cue from the skies, gray with the occasional fluffy white clouds. White on white is a look I never get tried of.

On shoes

No, you are not seeing double! I am a true believer of that old saying: "If the shoes fit, buy them in every color!" Last year I found these navy block heel sandals from Nine West and I fell in love with them. The shoes came in tan, black and green too. I was tempted to buy the green and tan pairs as well but then found other alternatives. This year however, as soon as I noticed that they've brought this style in white, I knew I have to have them... and the rest is history!

Denim and peach

Usually I avoid the color peach since all the teenage girls (and their mothers) wear it in Phoenix. However a cool evening promoted wearing my darling Sonoma jacket and I thought  about overloading on peach.
Interestingly enough, the BBQ diner was offering peach cobbler for dessert!

TGIF

You know some weeks just start on the wrong foot and keep getting worse? Those that you can't catch up or catch your breath? This was such a week. Nothing major, just little frustrations every single day... I can't emphasis it more, thank god it's Friday!

Navy and lace

All of my recent obsessions in one outfit, the flared jeans, the stripes, bucket bag, block heels, lace. Yes, the whole back of this little jacket is lace! Such a fun jacket! I am very thankful to weather gods for the cool temperature of lower 80s these days, I can wear my wide leg jeans and enjoy the trend to my heart's content!

White dots

Palette cleansing using black and white? No, the truth is it was a bit chili at night and I used it as an excuse to wear my darling flared white jeans...and of course being a matchy matchy person, I had to repeat the white throughout my outfit!

Too much of a lady

So many ladylike elements in this outfit: the midi skirt, the floral top, the pumps, the bag, the mix of ivory and coral,... Honestly, I'd forgotten how much I adore this silhouette.  All it took was a full midi skirt.

Easter frock

It used to be that people would buy a new bonnet for Easter parade and church but then it morphed into a whole new outfit. These days it means a flowery pastel kind of outfit. My dress? I bought it in November in Michigan when I was missing sunshine and flowers and happiness. I thought Easter would be the perfect time to debut this cute dress, an epitome of joy and spring.

City chic

A mellow color scheme of taupe in a loose and relaxed silhouette is the right outfit for a Saturday. Bunny earring because the next day was Easter!

Yellow blooms

Is matching yourself to your environment a thing? Either way, I couldn't resist wearing a bright lemon yellow top today since everywhere I look it's full of yellow flowers these days. Palo Verdes, Mesquites, and so many other native desert plants have yellow blooms. I'm smitten!

Be bold!

Mixing a bold print with a bold color might read as too eye-catching but these pants were going so well with the top that I had to risk it!

Floral blush

Two things that say spring: Floral patterns and blush color... and they go so well together! Have I became obsessed with color blush this season? You betcha!

Artwalk

A whole street in Oldtown Scottsdale is dedicated to art galleries. There are also metal sculptures lining the sidewalks. A pretty avenue for a relaxing walk after dinner.

light and blue

A busy but fun day requires a comfortable outfit, a bit loose, a bit structured, totally chill.

All white

Still dreaming of white lace blouses (Ref. yesterday's post) I wore the next best thing, my lace shirtdress and eyelet moto jacket. Trying to keep the all white from becoming to costume-y, I accessorized with light snake print and burgundy.

Holy Grail of Style: White lace blouse

For the last three summers I've been looking for a white lace shirt. My requirments are simple and not demanding:
-fitted close to the body but not tight
-made from cotton or rayon
-not sheer or see-through in chest area
-in pure white color, not cream, ivory or off white
-preferably  with a collar
I have increased my budget  as the time goes and still haven't been able to find that perfect blouse. Why is it so hard? Has my quest no end?!

Preppy checks

I thought matching a gingham shirt with the oxford pants would temper the preppiness of the pants nicely. The whole thing felt like a private school girl in her off hours. Oh, well!

Take a hike!

My usual outfit for a hike around the neighborhood. If I want to go on a trail I just change my shoes to sneakers. A thin long sleeved cotton top is the best sun protection. It also keeps you cool. Yes, I may look like a little old lady but imagine how hot those people in skin tight polyester tops and shorts must feel...and burning your skin to a crisp under AZ's sun is not sexy in my opinion.