Adding a Little Color to my Life! Old Navy -Peep-Toe Pump, Red

Ciao a tutti!

Okay, my fellow Shoe-A-Holics, here is the last neutral color swatch of five: Ivory!  And I'm not feeling it!  There is  a lot going on here, and then again, there isn't quite enough.  I'm not sure whether it's me or the ivory jacket, but I don't think it pairs well with the buttercream, the candy apple red or the forrest green!  The cornflower blue is blah at best.  Perhaps if I had an ivory suit (the color swatch does read ivory and not white, although minimal, there is stil a difference), I could have pulled off this look, but this ensemble is a: No, no, never again!

I feel like I wasted these red pumps on this outfit, and it saddens me. So I guess the only question which remains is, Will I try this color swatch again? In all likelihood, yes, but I shall pair the color components with the neutral-ivory bottom, as I had with all the other neautrals; here, the jacket doesn't seem like it's part of the ensemble, and if I remove it, it defeats the purpose of grouping these colors together. What do you think?

Baci a tutti!

Stella Notte'

Day 260: Friday October 5th 2012
Designer: Old Navy
Style: Platform Peep-Toe Pump
Heel: 4 inches (10.16 cm)
Platform: 0.75 inches (1.91 cm)
Material: Leather Upper with ruching and bow detail on vamp

If you missed any of these Neutral basics, here's a recap:

Olive, Navy, Khaki and Gray!

Beautiful in any color; click here to see these beauties in Brown or here to see them in Gray!

Adding a Little Color to my Life! Delicious -Dream

Ciao a tutti!

I think I may have reached color overkill, but I couldn't help myself with these Delicious shooties!  I have showcased them before (here), but I needed to add some depth to my my Khaki-neutral color swatch.  The pants paired well with lime green tank, orange jacket and mustard bag, but something was still missing; all bright colors in their own right, the purple seemed to pull them together, adding cohesiveness and turning a good outfit into Oh, my goodness!

 

 

I paired these khaki cargo pants by Jolt, with a key-hole (it's in the back) tank from Derek Heart, and jacket from Wet Seal.  The bag is by Mondoni and these purple beauties I got some years back when purple was the 'it' color in Italy.  Who knew Kmart had such niceness?

 

I have mustard, pumpkin and purple bootleg cords, and I can't wait to experiment with the color combinations to see how each turns out.  Have you experimented with color yet?  I'd love to see!

Baci a tutti!

Stella Notte

Thursday October 4th 2012
Designer: Delicious
Name: Dream
Color: Purple
Style: Shootie
Heel: 4.3 inches (11 cm)
Material: Faux Suede Upper with zipper and snap detail

Four Neutral Know-Hows from Instyle, down and one more to go! 

If you missed any of these Neutral basics, here's a recap:

Olive, Navy, and Gray!

Adding a Little Color to my Life! Naughty Monkey -Snappy, Black

Ciao a tutti!

Okay, my fellow Shoe-A-Holics and lovers of color, here is third attempt to add color to my life!

I decided to go for the gusto today, incorporating all four color suggestions with the neutral gray, and to my astonishment, it worked!   Some months ago, I did a casual Friday look for my Working 9 to 5 week, and paired a steel grey pant with bright yellow blouse and cobalt blue flats here; but with the softer gray, the lavender, seafoam and yellow work beautifully.

A lighter alternative to black, gray is a staple in my wardrobe: jeans, tights, sweaters and coats, but I really didn't have a gray skirt (aside from a denim one, which would have been a stark contrast to these pretty pastel colors). Confession time: I used a black and white tweed skirt, which had a soft and feminine cut. I did the same for the fedora -black and white herringbone from a far, presents itself as gray! The shoes were a no-brainer;  I drew from the black accents in the buttons on the skirt and the band on the hat as a way to anchor the entire outfit. I opted for open-toed shoes because one, it's still hot in my neck-of-the-woods, and two, yes, I am still wearing this cobalt blue nail polish!

The word of caution that I would offer when matching the gray with the cobalt blue, is to limit yourself.  I could have totally worn the blue flats, belt and bag, but the deep, rich tones of this shade would have overpowered the entire ensemble. So just the bag this time, but I really like having the seafoam in the jacket, so that I can remove it; five colors in one outfit is a lot, any way your style it!

 

How is your color world coming along?  I'd love to see?

 

  

Baci a tutti!

 

Stella Notte

 

 

Day 259 : Tuesday October 2nd 2012

Designer: Naughty Monkey
Name: Snappy
Color: Black
Heel: 4 inches (10.16 cm)
Style: Strappy Cone Heel Sandal
Material: Cracked leather upper with burnished metal studs

Jacket and skirt: Express, t-shirt: GAP, Ruffle shirt: Laura Scott  (Sears), purse: Carpisa, Italia, Hat: Auchan, Italia


Are you loving these color swatches from Instyle as much as I am?  Check out the Olive and Navy!

Beautiful in any color; click here to see these beauties in Silver!

 

 

Adding a Little Color to my Life! Carabella -Bow, Natural

Ciao a tutti!

My fellow Shoe-A-Holics, I am back at it again, infusing color into my life!  My foray into the world of color has generated quite a lot of feedback, and I'm glad to say, all favorable!  Who knew it could be so easy?

In my last post on Adding a Little Color to my Life, I explored two color combinations I wouldn't ordinarily pair with Olive Green: Red and Petal Pink.  Today, the bright, bold hues that InStyle matched with Navy in their Neutral Know-How color palette, instantly grabbed my attention; navy-colored capris, a turquoise bell-sleeve trench, a fuchsia v-neck top and an orange suede shopper.  My neutral Carabella slides add a sexy subtlety to the ensemble without competing with it, which is perfect for this daytime look.

 

What I am starting to love about these cards is that I can add as much or as little of the accent colors to suit my taste.  When I opted to leave the bag out of the look (below left), the outfit works just as well, as when I button up the trench and add the bag (below right).  I'm still a little wary about trying four colors together, but the next time I try the Navy as my neutral, the kelly green is a must.

 

What do you think?  Have you tried either of the color palettes I've posted?  I'd love to hear from you!


Ciao a tutti!

Stella Notte


Day 258: Sunday September 30th 2012
Designer: Carabella
Name: I call these my 'Bow' shoes. Carabella, a subsidiary of the Spiegel Corp., sadly, is now defunct.
Color: Natural
Style: Slide Stiletto Sandals
Heel: 4 inches (10.16 cm)
Material: Strappy Leather Upper with delicate bow on vamp detail

Capri pants by Attention at Kmart, tops from Old Navy, Trench by Sonoma at Kohls and Suede Shopper from il mercato italiano.

Beautiful in any color; click here to see these beauties in Black!

 

 

 

 

Adding a Little Color to my Life! Nine West -Bottos

Ciao a tutti!

Finding the right shoe to go with an outfit has never been a problem for me, especially since I adopted the philosophy, Buy the shoes and the outfit will come (it was much more difficult finding shoes to match the outfit!)!  But finding the outfit, or rather assembling the wardrobe to go with the fabulous shoes has been more challenging than my simple mantra would lead one to believe.  That is until now.

 

I have quite a few neutral colored shoes (blacks, browns, tans and not to be redundant, neutrals), which pair easily with other neutrals in the same color family.  And over the last few years, I have been trying to infuse color into my life, but I have played it relatively safe, pairing the yellow shoes with the yellow in a dress or the fuchsia flats with the matching purse, but I never truly embraced color, mainly because I wasn't sure how.

After thumbing through a past issue of InStyle magazine, I came across an article referencing the magazine's annual edition on color; Neutral Know-How:  five inserts, each containing a different neutral color (navy, khaki, ivory, olive and grey) were juxtapose with four complimentary colors (and all with a designer look to illustrate the color combinations) creating five distinct and exciting color palettes.  For my first go-round, I paired Olive green shorts with a petal pink blouse and topped it off with a red jacket.  The shoes were an easy choice, these dark green Bottos, from Nine West.  What do you think?


Baci a tutti!

Stella Notte

Day 257: Friday September 28th 2012
Designer: Nine West
Name: Bottos
Color: Dark Green
Style: Platform Wedge Sandals
Heel: 5.25 inches (13.34 cm)
Platform: 1.75 inches (4.45 cm)
Material: Leather Upper with cork heel, jute and contrast stitiching along mid-sole

Jacket, shorts and belt from Old Navy; Tube Top from Forever 21; Bag, ORMI from il mearcato italiano