Nordstrom’s end of Spring and Summer sales are here, just in time for the Memorial Day long weekend in the US. After browsing the designer assortments, these items look interesting. It’s nice to see some items that define the waist for a change. 

Generally, designer wear runs smaller than non-designer merchandise and there are far fewer colour options. Items sell out very rapidly during sale time so grab your size chop-chop.

• Rag & Bone 'Vine' Bomber Jacket: A quilted bomber jacket with sporty stripes. It's not as thick and bulky as it looks, and can be worn indoors if you run cold. Great for Fall.
• The Great 'The Ruffle' Cotton Tee: A trendy ruffle tee with tailored diagonal sleeves. Looks voluminous from the side so you have to be at peace with that. Flirty!
• Apiece Apart 'Pablita' Fringe Trim High/Low Knit Tank: High-Low Fringe Tank Fabness. Fab over a pencil skirt.
• Fuzzi Asymmetrical Cotton Sweater: A very lightweight sweater with a post-apocalyptic vibe. Extra long fashion-forward sleeves. Breezy, yet layered.
• Opening Ceremony Embroidered Piqué Cotton Polo: Wear and eat protein. Quirky Fried Egg Fabness. Fun with a black pencil skirt.
• Fuzzi Stripe & Bloom Print Top: A formfitting knit top for the curvy figure. Will cling so not good for lumpage and bumpage.
• Tomas Maier '5-Way' Merino Wool Cardigan Sweater: An eccentric wrap cardigan that I see layered over a sheath dress.
• BELSTAFF Grommet Detail Stretch Cotton Shift Dress: The zipper can be unzipped to look good on a larger bust. Best on a broader shoulder line and narrower hips.
• Veronica Beard 'Daytona' Pinstripe Cutaway Blazer: A beautifully made pinstripe blazer that will stand the test of time. Luscious fabrication. LOVE the white buttons. Looks as good unbuttoned. Works well for a curvy and straighter body type. The diagonal front is quite magical.
• FOUNDRAE Fringe Trim Vest: Fun fringe vest for apple shaped body types. Good worn open.
• Fuzzi Abstract Print Asymmetrical Tulle Mesh Tank: An excellent silhouette for pear shaped body types. Great global pattern. Breezy yet interesting.
• VIVETTA 'Laila' Floral Embroidered Cropped Pants: A '70s and '90s blast from the past. Great length on these crops. Best on a straighter lower half. Dramatic.
• Derek Lam 10 Crosby Cotton Shirt: Check out the side and back views of this dandy pirate look. Adam Ant-Lite.
• Rick Owens Drape Front Cardigan: An architectural mixed media cardigan with impeccable drape. Great layered over layers.
• VIVETTA 'Sveva' Embroidered Stretch Cotton Shirtdress: A little Lolita. A little '70s. Fun to wear on its own if you can manage the volume. Or pop the shirt dress over cropped jeans.
• Nordstrom Signature And Caroline Issa Nordstrom Signature and Caroline Issa Stretch Cotton Peplum Jacket: A beautifully made peplum jacket for those who prefer waist definition. Gorgeous fabrication. The pocket placement looks better in person. Fine on a larger bust. Might run a little big.
• PIECE A CONVICTION Pièce à Conviction Navy Marble Open Square Ring: Double Ball Ring Fabness. Nice with black and white outfits.
• Prada Metal Heel Pump (Women): A classic pump with an edgy heel. The suede is quite comfortable. Prada footwear tends to run big, so size down. Can work on a higher volume foot.
• TOGA PULLA Buckle Embellished Slingback Sandal (Women): Embellished casual sandals are unique. Good on a regular and higher volume foot. Eye-catching hardware.
• Marni 'Large Camellia' Tote: A graphic tote that looks as casual as it does dressy. Versatile. Narrow straps can cut into your shoulder when you carry a heavy bag so consider yourself warned.
• MALONE SOULIERS 'Montana' Pointy Toe Flat (Women): Dainty lace-up, cut-out oxfords. The choice of colour block is unique, and the suede is quite soft. Reveals toe cleavage so you have to be okay with that.

Browse the collection page to see the items alongside my descriptions.

Be sure to check back in tomorrow for my top picks from the Half Yearly sale items.

I went shopping with a petite client who stands at 5 feet tall. She works in a corporate office and wears business casual attire four times a week, which means no denim. She prefers trousers over skirts and dresses for most days. She enjoys looking currently classic, professional and polished. 

Keeping in mind my must haves list for Spring and Summer 2016, the most important refresh of her look this season was adding cropped pants and ankle accentuating footwear. This combination set the foundation for a fast fall back outfit.

My clever client already had fabulous sandal booties to wear with cropped pants: Vince Camuto’s Lavette Perforated Peep Toe Bootie. They work very well for wide, high volume feet. The stable heel feels more like a two inch heel, it’s that comfortable. The ankle strap is in a great position to wear with shorter hemmed pants. My client got them in black and cognac and wears them all the time. 

With the sandal booties in hand, we headed straight to the petites department at Banana Republic and got the new Sloan-Fit ankle pants in black. They were still too long to wear with the sandal booties, so we had them hemmed to a shorter length right away using the Banana Republic alterations service. The pants look AMAZING with the sandal booties. 

At H&M we found a great non-crease, V-neck blouse with sleeves for $30 (it runs small so size up). We styled it untucked with the new cropped pants and sandal booties in the Banana Republic fitting room, and added a tomato red blazer that my client also liked. Right there and then, my client’s new Summer uniform was born. She completed the look with a brown tote that matches her brown hair and the tortoise shell button on the blazer. Here are the exact items. 

Later, I discovered that the $30 H&M V-neck blouse is available online in a cobalt blue. I suggested to my client that she get that one too, and wear it with the same cropped black pants, footwear and bag, but swap out the red blazer for the white one she has hanging in her closet. Here are the exact components of that outfit.

After also purchasing the Loft’s Riviera Cropped Pants in a petite white, and an abstract shirred blouse in light blue, we could use the same outfit formula by shopping for the rest of the items in my client’s closet. We added the Lavette sandal booties in cognac, the same cognac tote, and topped things off with a black blazer. Here are the exact components.

The outfit formula has become my client’s Summer workwear uniform because it’s easy to pull together, comfortable, great for domestic business travel, and looks fashionable too. The blazer is a must in air-conditioning, but feel free to leave it off in hot weather.

The Vince Camuto Lavette is an excellent sandal bootie for high volume feet. If you have wide feet, bunions, high insteps or high arches, this is the bootie to try. It’s remarkably soft, cushioning and lightweight. The three inch heel is extremely solid, and feels more like a two and a half inch heel. It looks dramatic, fashionable and flattering on the foot. It comes in taupe, cognac and black and is offered in sizes 4 to 13. 

It’s ideal to wear to the office with cropped pants and jeans (if your office dress code includes open toe shoes.) The ankle strap is in a fabulous position to wear with that trend, and looks very grounding on any ankle shape. The sandal bootie also looks great with skirts and dresses. The peep toes are small and the bootie has lots of coverage. The rave reviews are well deserved.

I’ve been looking for a pair of non-neutral Summer trousers and J.Crew’s Teddie Pant caught my eye. As a lover of sour citron, it’s the colour that appealed to me the most. The flare cropped silhouette is trendy and pretty, and the fabric is reasonably dressy. My white ankle strap footwear would work with the silhouette. 

Before purchasing the pants, I thought about: WHEN and HOW I would wear them. They’d be nice to wear working with clients and going out at night. Check. Then I applied the wardrobe orphan prevention test by asking this question:

Can I think of at least three different, complete outfits that combine this item with other items in my wardrobe?

Combining the citron pants with a white support act is a slam dunk since I have plenty of white tops, shoes and bags. I liked the idea of combining them with a light blue and a citron patterned top, which I also have covered in my wardrobe. Perhaps ink blue and pearl grey tops would look nice too, since I have some of those. Plenty of options, so I ordered the pants. With a column of citron in mind I also ordered a citron over-the-shoulder top.  

The citron pants and top arrived. For all sorts of reasons, the lovely over-the-shoulder top was not for me. The Teddie pants, on the other hand, were great, so I set aside some time to create outfits with them to make sure they earned a place in my wardrobe. 

The first thing to sort out was the footwear, which had to be extra complementary with the length and width of this type of cropped pant. My chunky gladiators and ankle strap pumps were a great match for the pants. Broad ankle straps close the gap creating a continuous line on the leg. The low-contrast white lengthens things further.

Next up were the tops. Embracing the chaos of outfit creation I went to my closet and tried on all the tops I thought could work with the citron pants. You HAVE TO try on the outfits, and not just hope they work out in your head, and I can’t stress that enough.

I liked some white top combinations a LOT more than the others. I also liked the citron pattern and light blue top options. 

I did not like the tops and toppers that created a high contrast with the citron pants nearly as much. So ink blue, black, cobalt and dark denim were out. The pearl grey tops muddied the saturation of the citron, which didn’t float my boat either. Some of my white tops looked blah so they didn’t make the cut. Here are the items that did NOT make the grade to wear with the pants. 

The four tops below, however, made the grade and I was very pleased with the combinations. They look pretty, crisp and modern. A cropped white cotton pullover for a fitted look. A silky lemon print for playfulness. A boho-lite blouse for Retro. And a light denim linen peplum for flouncy fun.

My very faded denim jacket worked well as a topper because it’s low contrast, while the white buttons pick up the whites of the outfit accents. I have three white bags, but liked my structured satchel best with the looks. Here is the completed capsule in a collection. 

It may not look like the denim jacket fits over all the tops, but it does so quite comfortably. I can interchange two pairs of shoes with each of the combinations with the tops depending on my preference for heel height. I’ll leave off the jacket when it’s sufficiently warm (the tops looking equally interesting unlayered). 

After doing the small mix-and-match capsule exercise with an outfit creation session, I now know exactly how I’ll be wearing these citron pants. As I was laying the capsule out on our bed, Sam gave his nod of approval.