THE RED MAXI DRESS

A lady in red shall always steal the show. Or so I feel. Red is a color which does not have to scream the Holiday season always. It can be a great transition color when the Summer days give way to crisp Fall evenings. This Red printed Maxi Dress screamed out my name when I had first laid eyes on it. I was shopping for my vacation to India and Europe, and was on the look out for dresses which I could layer with a light jacket, if the weather changed. While this dress is a statement in itself, it pairs beautifully with a cropped denim jacket. The waist line does a good job in hiding my tummy bulge without clinging to my body.

As the color of the dress is quite bold, I kept the accessories to a minimum. MAC Ruby Woo on my lips, Rayban Wayfarers, my diamond bracelet, which I wear everyday and everywhere, and zirconia studded red watch completed the ensemble. I had worn it for a picnic, so stuck to ballet flats for comfort.

If you liked my Outfit and would like to purchase any of the items mentioned, I am including links from where you can directly shop.

OUTFIT DETAILS :
Red and White Printed Maxi Dress - Old Navy (Old). Similar Here &  Here
Emporio Armani Zirconia Studded Red Watch (Old) . Similar Here
Black Ballet Flats

Ray-Ban Original Wayfarer Sunglasses
Mac Ruby Woo Lipstick

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OOTD : FLORALS AND LIME : VEST SIDE STORY

So who remembers that I started a series called VEST SIDE STORY, as I am a hoarder for Vests. vest are surely pretty hot this season,and I have been rocking quite a few of them, for quite a few occasions. Here's my second installment on my short series on VESTS for Spring Summer. And who knows, if I am in the mood, I might even stretch the series for the rest of the year.

I know Spring and Florals are a no brainer. But then you can't help rock florals every year, but with each year with a difference. Its all about re-inventing the florals and re-thinking your outfit choices. I had picked up this FLORAL VEST from FOREVER 21 in the Spring of 2013. I was a new Mom and was looking for layering pieces,which would take the attention of my tummy. I fell in love with this Vest for the way it combined the florals with all the stud detailing on its collars and shoulders. Its like Badass Florals. The Metal detailing give the florals a robust lease of life. Almost make Florals look edgy. And trust me, its a layering piece, with which you can style pretty many outfits.

I have a Lime Green Maxi Dress from MACY's which is racer back. I love it all the year round, but tend to wear it more during this time of the year. I usually always wear the Maxi Dress on its own, as the color is so bright. But this time around, I decided to pair it with my Floral Vest. The whole outfit came together beautifully. Both the dress and the vest were complimenting each other.

As there was such a bright play of colors on the dress and the vest, I went the neutral way when it came to my Bag. I chose a Distressed Leather GUESS  Handbag, which was big enough to carry my DSLR for a day out. One of the reasons why I picked out this handbag was for its metal stud detailing similar to the detailing on my vest.

Essie's Mint Candy Apple on my Nails keeping up the green and aqua theme. I played up the theme further with a pair of TURQUOISE FLIP FLOPS from CHARMING CHARLIE

For my make up, I opted for my basic Everyday Spring Make Up but switched up things a bit along the way. I was playing up the aqua colors all around with my outfit choice, so opted for a Blue Gel Liner: MAC COSMETICS FLUIDLINE in WAVELENGTH. Its a lovely cobalt blue gel liner but came out as a lot darker in  the pics as they were taken on a rather cloudy day. For my lipstick rather than going Coral, I opted for L'OREAL PRIVEE COLLECTION'S DOUTZEN'S NUDE with RIMMEL'S EAST END SNOB LIPLINER. Slicked back my hair in a low bun and ironed out my bangs. My silver hoops and white gold-diamond nose pin completed the picture for me. 

So go ahead and give florals a new lease of life in your Summer wardrobe this year. Florals need not resemble your Granny's curtains and can be styled quite interestingly. 

LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS POST:

OOTD; DENIM-LACE-LEATHER : VEST SIDE STORY : http://journotalk.blogspot.com/2015/05/ootd-denim-leather-lace-vest-side-story.html

SPRING MAKE UP : http://journotalk.blogspot.com/2015/04/everyday-spring-make-up-step-by-step.html

L'OREAL PRIVEE NUDES: http://journotalk.blogspot.com/2015/04/loreal-privee-collection-perfect-nude.html

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OOTD: MIXING UP PRINTS

The other day when I wore this dress for a Brunch and a trip to the Mall, a lady complemented my outfit. She also added in that I must be a very Happy Person generally, to pull this dress off. I didn't know what to make of her second comment, but I just smiled it off and went my way. While I agree that not everyone will gravitate towards this dress , it called out to me,from the racks,when I had first laid my eyes on it.

Mixing up Prints has been quite a hot topic for some time. Every one has their two cents on  it. I find such posts quite interesting to see the sheer magnitude of possibilities with Prints. Guess its my fascination with this topic, which had made my pick up out this dress last summer.

Think of a category of Prints and this dress has some reference of it. Yet it all comes together, in a beautiful cohesive manner. It has some Vintagey panels along the middle, some stripes and even Polka Dots. Surely, this dress is not for the faint hearted. But for me, such bright colors and prints, scream Spring.

The prints are all of different sizes, so that helps in blending it all together. One of the keys in mixing up prints is to keep a tab on the Size and Color of the prints. The prints should be of different sizes,that helps prevent it from looking like your granny's patch work quilt.

The Color Scheme is what matters next when mixing things up. Pick out one color and co-ordinate that ,while mixing up the prints. In this case, the blues and aqua shades across the dress provide the unifying factor in the dress. The color scheme fools the eye to see beyond the otherwise clashing prints.

As there was so much going on on the dress, I opted for my Zara bag in in Rose Gold, which had some lovely gold detailing on it. I am a sucker for Rose Gold in any form, and this dress was the perfect pairing for this nude beauty.

Where shoes were concerned, I played the Spring Blues card again and opted for some Royal Blue flats from Steve Madden.

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OOTD : BLACK MAXI DRESS, CAT EYE SHADES AND A BUN TO CHANNEL MY INNER AUDREY HEPBURN

I had been wanting to Channel my Inner AUDREY HEPBURN for some time. She is my ultimate Diva of all times. Who doesn't want to be like their Diva at least once in life. If you are like me, you would have re-created elements from your Diva on and on, but with your own touch to it.

But the days with all the heavy Winter Coats were not giving me the right mood to re-create and channel my inner Diva. So when the days started getting a bit warmer, I knew I had to take the plunge. I needed to re-create my own BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S moment but with a twist.  All that I had on my events calendar for the weekend was a barbecue at the park. And I knew I would be spending some time in front of a grill. But a DIVA can do it all and yet look iconic, isn't it. So the Bun, the Black Dress and the Cat Eye Shades had to be paired and toned down to suit the day.

PIC COURTESY: BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S

Rather than a formal Evening Gown, I decided to go for a solid Black Maxi Dress,which I had picked out from Macy's a few years back. The dress is pretty simple,but it has off white shoulder straps which offset it beautifully. I wanted to infuse some color in the outfit. But decided to give Statement necklaces a miss as it would be a bit to much for some barbecue at the park. As the dress had a racer back, I picked out one of my brightly colored Bikini Tops to pair with it. The aqua blues in the bikini top were a good contrast to the black and it layered very well.

I had done a Sock Bun for my hair and worn my PRADA CAT EYE Sunglasses. They have a black and violet gradient hue to the glass which is pretty cool. My small silver hoops for the ears completed the outfit. No pearls for me, and no long gloves as well.

After the lunch at the Park, we decided to do some window shopping and maybe a mini clothing haul happened. I know how much Denim is in trend now. While I own a dark wash Denim Vest, I had been wanting to pick up a LIGHT WASH DENIM VEST from our local TARGET. I tried on a few and for sure some dressing room narcissism happened.

I had forgotten to speak about the SHOES I was wearing for the day. I know Audrey, had Black Pumps on, but i decided to go with some NUDEs. It had to be comfortable footwear as I knew I would be on my feet for quite some time with all the grilling, So I opted for my DUAL TONED CALVIN KLEIN PUMPS. They are a step up from the regular NUDE PUMPS with CANARY YELLOW TIPS.  The shoes also added in another element of Color to the whole outfit.

For my NAILS, I stayed with the color scheme of the Bikini Top I had picked out. So it was ESSIE'S MINT CANDY APPLE topped with SECHE VITE QICK DRYING TOP COAT to seal it all in. Its a classic Minty shade which is a great choice for Spring Summer.

So go ahead and channel your inner Diva. Give your spin on something classic and make it yours.

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