Friend and client Phoebe, who you might remember from our Talbot shopping adventures, was wearing a pair of delicious ballet flats last weekend. Phoebe is nine months pregnant with adorable swollen feet, so when she said these flats were comfortable, I was sold. Phoebe has the silvery cream pair and they looked amazing with her skinny jeans, empire T and cropped chartreuse cardigan. Like Patience, Phoebe makes it look easy to be stylish even as she’s about to pop.

Intrigued by these Rocket Dog flats, I ordered the black and cream checked pair. They are indeed comfortable, and should work for a wider feet too. Not as soft as Me Too’s or Clarks shoes, but they’re also half the price at $44.95 and made of synthetic fabric (great for vegans). Adding a cushioning insole really helps, as does breaking them in a little.

I can’t decide whether I should size down because they feel a little roomy. I’m putting them through their paces so we’ll see if they make the 8-hour mark, but so far so good.

Transitioning your wardrobe into a new season means a bit of adjustment, especially when there’s a sudden change in temperature. When the weather changes gradually, you feel more in control of your dressing situation. But when it’s 55 degrees one day and 85 the next, panic sets in.

Panic stricken Spring wardrobes have been quite the topic on our forum over the last four weeks as the weather changed literally overnight in some parts of America. So I thought it would be a good idea to brainstorm ideas on how to make the seasonal wardrobe transition more smooth.

Unfortunately, here in Seattle Spring is still chilly. Our daytime highs in Spring are usually in the 50’s and low 60’s with occasional days in the 40’s (between 7 and 16 degrees centigrade). But a change in outfit mix is essential because I get tired of wearing dark Winter clothes and footwear.

On days when its back in the 40’s – I wear Winter clothing. But on regular Spring days, I like to break out of my Winter clothing mode by making the following changes to my ensembles:

• White jeans: I’ve discussed this topic to death and won’t bore you with further details.
• Spring boots: Aside from white jeans with black boots, I do not like to wear black boots or booties in Spring. So I swap them out for white, cream, tan, dove grey and chestnut tall boots. I also wear apple green cowboy boots, tomato red booties, cream oxfords and yellow Converse. I might be in the minority but it’s still too cold to go sockless in Spring, which means no ballet flats or pumps unless temperatures rise into the high 60’s and 70’s (I prefer to go bare-legged with these styles of shoes). On mild Spring days, I’ll still wear knee-high boots with dresses and skirts but leave off the hose. So Spring is still generally about boots, booties and closed shoes for my style.
• Leggings: As I mentioned above, if it’s in the high 60’s and 70’s, I can wear ballet flats which means that leggings come back in on the scene.
• Denim clamdiggers and walk shorts with tall boots: A sweet look that always reminds me of Hong Kong streetwear.
• Lightweight scarves: I wear bright coloured scarves all through Winter, but in Spring the weight of my scarves changes from being wool-rich, to cotton and silk-rich.
• Shirts and blouses: After wearing warm, long sleeved knitwear for months on end, it’s nice to swap them out for button down shirts and blouses.
• Spring knitwear: I don’t stop wearing knitwear completely in Spring as I like to wear short sleeved turtle necks and lightweight cotton knitwear. I also wear very lightweight wool knitwear in bright colours.
• Spring jackets: I have a collection of fully lined, colourful cotton-rich jackets which are quite warm. I also throw in three-quarter sleeved wool jackets in bright colours and light coloured leather jackets on colder Spring days. My denim jacket starts to resurface too.
• Trench: I alternate between a cream and black trench coats instead of wearing a heavy wool coat.
• Spring coat: Sometimes I throw on a lightweight bright cobalt blue woolen three-quarter sleeve coat over a dress.
• Bright belts: Apart from bright cream, I don’t wear bright belts in Winter time. But I like to reintroduce them in Spring. Yellow, turquoise, red, zebra print and metallic shades are favourites.

How you add Spring touches to your wardrobe will vary widely depending on the climate. If you live in a warmer climate, my Spring clothing might be your Winter clothing. Just like my Summer clothing might be your Spring clothing.

How have you put the Spring back in your step this year? Do you feel panic-stricken about your Spring wardrobe? Is it warm enough to wear sandals and ballet flats with dresses where you live? Or are you still wearing warmish clothing and footwear with a Spring vibe like I am?

Warning: the full version of this post contains images that might not be suitable for your work environment.

There is uncensored nudity in European advertising. I’m not referring to X-rated pay channels on TV — it is on public billboards and prime time TV where everyone can see it. The example that always comes to my mind is an ad I saw when we lived in France. Nivea shows a naked woman frolicking through a pretty pasture enjoying her moisturized skin. It’s all quite normal.

Last week in Europe our boutique hotel in Brussels had huge black and white photographs of naked women in the rooms and lobby area. In Zurich, we saw racy advertising in the window of men and women’s store, Burger (image A at the bottom of the full version of this post). In another window a French junior store casually displayed a young gal flashing her breasts. And in Milan I was caught off guard by an even racier wall-sized photo in the sporty Belgian menswear store, Dirk Bikkenbergs (image B).

Aside from my initial gasp at the Dirk Bikkenbergs picture, this type of advertising doesn’t faze me. I don’t think it’s state of the art, but I also don’t find it insulting or vulgar.

America has a different social norm. And nudity in publicly consumed media is illegal. Companies like American Apparel turn this into an opportunity and gain notoriety by pushing the boundaries. But AA’s approach seems cheap and exploitative, whereas the nudity and sexuality in the European advertising seems more sophisticated and tasteful.

How do you feel? Would you be offended to see the images in this post as you walked through Macy’s? Or down Rodeo Drive? Can nude advertising be creative and inhibiting, or is or always inappropriate?

Click here to see the full version of this post, which includes images that might not be suitable for your work environment »

Note: This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Bloomingdale’s. All opinions are 100% mine.

Reusable tote bags are becoming more and more popular because they are much more environmentally friendly than disposable plastic bags. The envirosax tote has been my choice of reusable shopping bag because it’s practical and attractive. If I’m going to cart around an extra bag, it’s got to be cute and work with my outfit.

More and more designers are creating fun reusable totes because it’s fashionable to be green. And it’s fashionable to wear a fab tote! Bloomingdale’s is giving you the opportunity to be a tote designer, and to win a $2000 Bloomingdale’s gift card if your design is chosen by Rebecca Minkoff and a panel of fashion experts. The winning tote will also be produced by Rebecca Minkoff and sold exclusively on Bloomingdales.com. Second place is a $1000 gift card and there will also be a $100 gift card winner for the best design submitted each day.

The contest will run from April 7th to April 25th. You can use the tools on their site to digitally create a design, or you can create an image using tools on your computer and import it to the site.

To enter the competition go to the Tote-ally Green design contest page. I entered yesterday with the design you see below. If you like it, you can vote for it on the Bloomingdale’s site. And when you create your own design, let’s here about it in the comments below. Good luck!