Summer 2014 retail is winding down, so it’s all about bargains at this stage of the season. Still lots to shop if your Summers are hot and long. 

1. Chelsea28 Embroidered Lace Pullover: I should be curbing my own Summer purchases, but find a pretty and sporty lace piece in white hard to resist. Gorgeous with white jeans. I love how the contrast of your skin peeking through the pattern adds texture to a white-out look. It’s in my shopping cart. 
2. Trouve Moto Vest: Fab with casual pants and peep-toe booties.
3. Chelsea28 Print Woven Track Pants: Partially tuck a roomy white tee into those babies and wear with white or metallic sandals. 
4. Trouve Pointed Hem Tube skirt: A gorgeous, sleek fit with interesting hem and plenty of length for tall gals. Very comfy. 
5. Trouve Pinstripe Reverse Lapel Jacket: A fab Summer jacket for the office. Not too formal, plenty modern, and fably polished. 
6. Sanctuary Editor Linen Moto Vest: A rough-around-the-edges layering piece for a hot Summer. 
7. Free People Topsy Turny Stripe Knit Detail Tunic Tank: Wear with cropped white skinnies and sandals. 
8. Stateside Knot Detail Heathered Tee: A tee with a marvelous built-in partial tuck that adds structure to an outfit. 
9. Stem Split Neck Sub Knit Tee: A breezy tee for the larger bust and shorter neck. Nice short sleeves. 
10. 1.State Collared Poplin Top: Oh how I love this shirt. But I do not have the shoulder width to pull off the overwhelming width of the kimono sleeves on my slight frame. I hope to enjoy it on someone else. 
11. ElevenParis Ludger Tuxedo Stripe Track Pants: Silky track pants with a structured waistband and hem are hard to find, but these fit the bill. 
12. Zella City Shorts: Think Sporty Luxe when you style these fun bottoms. 
13. Topshop Medium Clean Satchel: A retro classic that’s also available in white and grey, and tan and lilac. 
14. French Connection Carry All Hobo: A versatile casual Summer tote in a subtle animal pattern. 
15. Topshop Jelly Satchel: Super fun. 
16. Caslon Ramona T-Strap Sandal: Refined wedge sandals are NOT dated. This one is versatile and a little Retro with the T-strap. Read the rave reviews. 
17. Topshop Fancie Sandal: A Birkie lookalike in rose gold. 
18. Sole Society Anneke Pump: Similar to the Valentino Rockstud at a fraction of the price. 
19. Sole Society Sable Sandal: A deliciously comfortable suede sandal with oversized buckles. I vote lilac all the way.
20. Vince Camuto Ruched Midi Tube Skirt: Gorgeous drape and the perfect tube skirt for pear shape body types. As comfy as pajamas.

I’m glad that toppers are available year round these days because no matter how hot the temperature is outside, air conditioning can feel uncomfortably cold inside. Layering is key to making you feel comfortable both indoors and outdoors.

With her gorgeous pixie cut and love of stripes, Maren Murphy is a gal after my own heart. This 29-year old outdoor recreation planner lives in Montana and documents her outfits over at Bureau of Chic. Maren is an Elegant Girly Tomboy with lots of Polish. Her style is gamine and sporty, but with ample injections of feminine. She is also a little Maximal, as she wears lots of visible layers, and adores earrings, necklaces, hats, sunnies and bags. 

My style is constantly evolving. Since I began working professionally after graduate school, I have had to marry my work clothes with my casual wear, and make sure that my pieces are multi-functional on many levels. Given this, I have really challenged myself over the past few years to be creative with my style in order to balance my office identity with my personality. I enjoy dressing up for work, and this has helped elevate my sense of style overall, but I am still very true to myself. Currently, I describe my personal style as smartly casual, modern and chic, with a touch of tomboy. I like graphic prints, boxy cuts, and mixing nontraditional items together. I love to experiment with shoes, and feel the best in simple looks with statement accessories. With my blog, I seek to provide a fresh look on the modern working gal trying to set herself apart with a strong fashion sense and a hard work ethic.

Doesn’t this colour palette look incredible on Maren. The chambray blue and soft blush look gorgeous with her skintone. They’re also the perfect match for the dark khaki pants, cool-toned brown satchel and taupe booties. Great juxtaposition between the soft, feminine colours up top and the harder-edged bottom part of the outfit. Rosy cheeks and the daytime sequins on Maren’s cardigan further play up that contrast. Very clever. Maren wears her strict buttoned-up shirt untucked over the skinny cargos, and lets the hems sit right on top of her booties, so no severe diagonal lines to cut up the body. Her trusted sunnies and simple silver studs finish off the look.

This is how you create a polished Summer outfit around a simple T-shirt dress. Maren picked a just-above-the-knee length frock with a nice drape in her signature black and white stripe. Pairing it with a short, tuxedo-style blazer and colourful scarf brings the polish, and makes this look appropriate for a casual office. Our blogger chose this jacket in a happy yellow colour that’s bound to make her smile each time she wears it. The angular shape forms a great juxtaposition against the soft T-shirt material. It also contrasts fabulously with the bright blue shopper and the blue shades in her scarf. Comfy brown T-strap clog sandals add an earthy touch to the the outfit. And when Maren removes the scarf, a statement necklace with triangular details is revealed that gives the whole look that typical “Maren edge”. I’m picking this as my favourite look.

First allow me to introduce you to Maren’s doggy Harney. Isn’t she the cutest! She was the first thing I noticed in these pics. The second thing I loved was how Maren’s gingham shirt coordinates with her fun black and white mittens (knitted by her Mum). It ties this practical and casual Winter outfit together beautifully. Our blogger is sporting skinnies tucked into cosy Sorel snow boots, the blue laces are also a nod back to the blue in the rest of the outfit. A warm chunky knit turtleneck in grey leaves part of the gingham check shirt exposed, which makes for stylish visual interest. The navy puffer vest repeats the blue of the jeans, and hits Maren at the same spot as her shirt which creates great outfit proportions. A fun green beanie and sunglasses are all this sweet duo need to get on with their day.

Our 5’4″ petite gamine blogger is right on trend with this Sporty Luxe outfit that she wore to visit a Montana cidery. She only recently started wearing athletic sneakers outside the gym, but she’s a pro at it already. For her day of sightseeing, Maren kept it comfortable with relaxed straight leg jeans worn as boyfriend jeans, rolled once to expose some ankle skin (that makes the sans socks look to my eye). The light grey upscale sweatshirt has tiny polka dots that add a girly touch to the look. Maren threw over a black moto jacket that ties in nicely with the strong graphic black and white pattern of her Nikes. Comfortable and stylish. The blue crossbody is an easy and fun choice for a day of walking. As always, our blogger’s fab short ‘do adds plenty of polish and pizzazz. She finishes things off by sporting several statement pieces with avant-garde edge from her impressive jewellery collection.

Jewelry is something that I have really only started experimenting with in the past two years. I’ve had my ears pierced for as long as I can remember, but I never really saw the value in investing in accessories. While living in Portland a few years ago, a new jewelry designer named betsy & iya opened a store a few blocks from my apartment. I visited the store one day, and instantly became hooked. Since then, I have really cultivated my jewelry identity with statement pieces, lots of gold and bronze, and geometric shapes. I love angles and lines, so I am really drawn to pieces with a hard edge. I don’t have a huge collection, but I wear the pieces I have nearly every day. For me, jewelry is a way to make an outfit special, and to set the mood. A delicate necklace softens a look, while a statement piece can create a more edgy and unexpected vibe. For anyone just getting into jewelry, I recommend starting basic to understand what sorts of shapes, textures, and attitudes you are drawn to. Then you can build your look with more unique pieces as you become more confident with your jewelry identity. For unique pieces, definitely check out local boutiques and jewelry stores. Also, Etsy is a great place to discover jewelry designers from all over the country (even the world!). And when traveling, look for cute shops to check out jewelry. I find that a ring or a necklace is a great souvenir from travels, and adds to a fun story of your trip. Jewelry and fashion is fun, so make sure you have a good time with anything you wear!

This fairly monochrome colour palette of light grey, black and cream works beautifully on our blond blogger. The strict sculptural pleats on the raw hem scuba skirt provide ample structure, while the shorter skirt length and knee-high slouchy boots add a playful vibe. The black pullover is cropped so as not to interfere with the beautiful play of the pleats. The angular shape of the split hems creates extra visual interest and structure. To keep her legs warm, Maren is sporting black opaque tights that together with the black boots also elongate the legline. A slouchy double-strap black bag and silver jewellery fit the mood of the outfit, while Maren’s ovesized sunnies and draped-over-the-shoulder coat — I adore the oversized gingham pattern — add a touch of daytime glamour.

Our budget-conscious blogger likes to remix her favourite pieces whenever possible, and you’ll probably recognize the yellow blazer, clog sandals, fab blue shopper and that amazing triangle necklace from the outfits above. It’s a great opportunity to show you can create a completely different outfit just by adding in a few well-chosen pieces. Here, Maren has switched out her striped T-shirt dress for a pair of on trend trousers with subtle slouch and elasticated hems. The grey works brilliantly with the bright yellow and blue. A short-sleeved black and white top with geometric print adds enough visual interest when you have to take off the topper inside. Brass-coloured flat, round earrings complement Maren’s statement necklace. The soft coral lipstick adds Springful charm.

Have fun browsing the rest of Maren’s Elegant Girly Tomboy outfits over at Bureau of Chic. Or go check out what inspires our blogger on Pinterest. But first tell us what you think of her fab gamine and feminine style.

I’ve posted about the ultra handy Tide-to-go pen before. It’s a great little pen that removes small stains on clothing very effectively. Simply scribble with the pen onto the stain, let it dry, and voila — no more stain. Tide-to-go comes in very handy when you’re wearing white jeans or tops and are worried about a little spillage of something during the day. The pen also removes the paw prints from any friendly pets you may encounter during the day. 

It’s not all that great at removing make-up that comes into contact with your clothes, but it will take the edge off the mark.

Keep a pen in your bag, in the car, at your desk in the office, or in your dressing room. Use it as needed instead of throwing the item straight into the laundry basket. You’ll definitely get a few more wears out of your white jeans with a Tide-to-go pen. And by all means travel with the pen to sort out the occasional mishap. It’s available at most drug stores.

Sometimes we’re instantly drawn to a particular look, silhouette, colour or trend, even though it’s out of character and not our typical style integrity. And sometimes we start off NOT liking a trend — even saying we will never wear it — but it ends up growing on us. I find these reactions to fashion fascinating because they’re often spontaneous and usually hard to explain. You embrace the change and move on to the next leg of your style journey.

I can think of a four fashion moments that caught me by surprise. 

Sporty Luxe

I loved everything about this trend as soon as it surfaced, despite being dressy, polished and very un-sporty. Bomber jackets, tennis and cricket inspired knitwear, upscale trackpants, golf belts, basketball shorts, golf shoes, sneakers, upscale sweatshirts, fashionable backpacks, haute baseball caps, parachute fabric, perforated textures, raglan sleeves, rugby stripes, nylon, and anything equestrian. As long as there is a refined and crisp element to the outfit, I’m in. I guess it’s the luxe part of sporty that I am identifying with the most, as well as happy feet. 

Blush Pink

I used to think that blush was blah and insipid against my skin tone. After all, I’m a sour brights gal through and through. Then out of the blue at the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale a few years ago, I tried on a blush leather moto jacket and unexpectedly loved it. It’s still not my best colour, but is sufficiently flattering when I wear it with shades of white, black, citron, nude lipstick, or my green specs.

Now I think of blush pink as “one of my colours” and have been steadily adding to the capsule each season. 

Harem Pants

When the dreaded dropped crotch came onto the fashion scene six years ago, I did not like it. Then we went on holiday to Israel where I saw the look being sported with elegance and panache. WOW. The women of Tel Aviv rocked harem pants with slubby linen sweaters, flat strappy sandals, crossbody bags and eccentric jewellery like nobody’s business.

This completely changed my mind about the look, so much so that I bought a black pair in silk that year. I love harem pants and still wear mine with lots of affection.

Gold

I woke up one morning shortly after turning 40 and decided I liked gold better than silver. I still can’t completely explain the sudden change. I hadn’t worn gold for thirty years, and now it’s still my metal of choice four years later. Good thing though, because gold looks better on my skin tone than silver. 

One can truly never say never in fashion. New trends can change our minds in an instant, or grow on us over time. This is all part of the fun. Never a dull moment, and things are always evolving. 

Over to you. What are your most memorable style surprises?