For example, I’d like to have a peep-toe transition boot. I bought a pair last year, they seemed comfortable, but I wore them out and was in major pain the whole night. The soles were too demolished to even attempt to return them so into the donation pile they went. I thought these cage peep-toe booties were adorable. The first is pricer but the other is pretty inexpensive. I might go for those since fall doesn’t last too long here and it’s way too cold and snowy to wear them in January.

Shoebox Chain Bootie $595

Chinese Laundry Labyrinth Bootie $92

I also want to buy some lace up booties, but they have to look a little different than just your average lace-up boot.  The pair I pick definitely must have a heel as I just can’t get into the flat lace-up shoes or boots.  I like both of these, and am partial to the less expensive zipper and vertical lace-up ones, as they just have their own unique style:

Ash Onyx Suede Booties on Lug Sole $230

Bronx Treverr Pewter Boots $142

While I was out, I noticed buckles are everywhere. They are certainly on the motorcycle and utilitarian tall boots, but I also noticed instead of lace ups, there were rows of buckles instead, like these peep-toe boots or these military-inspired short ones:

Ash Glen Platform Booties $230

Jeffrey Campbell Climber – Black Suede $188

Another look I like is the foldover cuff boot.  I’m not sure yet if I’d like to get a little cuffed bootie, like this one:

Ash Iona Grommet Cuff Booties $275

…or this taller one with a longer cuff:

Restricted Rumble Foldover Cuff Boot in Wine (also in Black) $76

But what I really need is a flat boot that I can walk around in.  It’s a little tough for me personally to like the utilitarian/motorcycle look.  I think that was my trouble when I went shopping is that a) they were all really plain and b) some of the styles looked dirty.  Like they were worn walking through mud and grass, then cleaned off, so the leather or suede looked faded and discolored.  I could just hear my mom and sister saying “I can’t believe you paid all that for dirty, manly looking boots.”  We’re all a little too “girly” for this style, I guess.  But I did find a cute pair that I could see myself wearing:

Ash Remix Studded Engineer Boots $360

Here’s another similar pair I found for almost half the price:

Laredo Studded-Strap Motorcycle Boot $198

So those are my boot picks that I’m coveting for fall.  What styles are you dying to get (or have already bought) for fall?

What to Wear: Top Boot Picks Violet Must Have for Fall! is a post from: Violet Revolution

Nika Butik, a boutique located much closer to home (my home, anyway), sits in Park Ridge — a suburb close to O’Hare, so it’s not too far from most suburbs and the city itself.  I’ve featured clothing and accessories from Nika Butik in my posts now and again, but I recently had the pleasure of visiting the boutique in person.  So of course I’m sharing my visit, and what to wear (or what I’d wear anyway) from Nika Butik, with you…my fabulous readers!

The boutique: inside and out!

Okay, on to the fashions!

Like Rachel Zoe says, “I’d die”…for these leggings!  Leather and embellished leggings are so in for fall.  This legging has both (click for closer look!):

Tops/Dresses (depending on how you categorize them) like this lace long-sleeve one and…

Hello, buy me!

…this peacock feather green one are great for fall and winter because you can wear them with leggings or skinny jeans and dress it up more, depending on your mood, where you’re going, etc.  The green one is my fave as a) green is in for fall b) love peacock feathers on anything (I’ve even bought some to stick in vases instead of flowers in my home.), c) it can be worn year round by throwing a jacket/blazer/sweater over it, and d) it has what I like to call “thin-appeal”, meaning it appeals to me because it makes me look thinner.  (Always a good thing in my book.)  Yes, the envelope clutch is from the store too.

There’s also more casual options too.  I loved this batwing printed top.  Do you think it might have a little something to do with the purple color?  I paired it with skinny jeans and then topped it with this functional military jacket.  I say functional because most military jackets I’ve seen are more for early fall, and do not provide real warmth.  So with this one you can wear for warmth and style.

And finally, my favorite, this super hot, super trendy, super everything…motorcycle jacket and studded bag.  Love it.

Jacket, I love you.  Bag, me likey!

So if you’re nearby, grab a Starbucks or some brunch at Eggsperience (for you downtowners, yes this place is in the suburbs too), and stop by Nika Butik.  Or peruse in your jammies online, no matter where you are.

And as a bonus, you can currently use code “violet20” online, or mention the code in-store, for 20% off your entire order through Oct. 20th!  (Does not apply to already reduced items.)

What to Wear: Violet’s Fun Fall Fashion Picks From Nika Butik! is a post from: Violet Revolution

So what do I do?  Go shopping.  If I haven’t started shopping for fall by now, now’s a good time to for me to start, because at the very least, it will pick my spirits up and make me look forward to upcoming fall events where I get to wear my new finds. 

If you’re looking to pick up some fall trends, but not break the bank, here’s some trends I found under $100:

Jackets and Sweaters and Vests (Oh My) — Who doesn’t want a military jacket this fall?  Here’s a casual one for a little over $50.  Arguably as coveted as the military, is the motorcycle jacket.  You can find these in an array of colors and styles (cropped, ruffled, etc.).  This one has some stud embellishments and a little hoodie.  If you are on the fence about the grandpa cardigan sweater, check out the modernized one below with zipper front for only $44.  And probably the most popular ways to integrate fur into your wardrobe is with a vest, like the one below for $90, or on boots this fall.

Handbags — The satchel is huge this season.  The woven grey and leopard print ones below are on trend without breaking the bank.   Also popular are clutches like the “heritage” envelope style. The bags shown below range from $86-$98, depending on the style.

Jewelry — The layered necklace look is in right now.  I’m seeing a lot of natural and leather materials incorporated into them, and also a lot of layered chain links, like the one below with beading.  If you saw my Lookbook earlier this week, you saw that tough, edgy, and some might say, goth inspired, jewelry is becoming more popular.  What once might have been only for hard-rock aficionados is now trendy for the masses.  I’m seeing rings with spikes or knuckle rings like the one below.  Although I certainly would not want to invest much in them, it might be fun to try out for a season.

Boots, Clogs, and Laces (Oh My Part 2)– I’m sort of on the fence with the lace-up trend.  Some shoes are cute and some are not (they looks like men’s shoes to me…who has ever envied their boyfriend’s/husband’s shoes over their own?).  The cut-out side ones below definitely fall into the cute category, and they’re only $70.  I’m also on the fence on utilitarian, although I see them on plenty of women.  They are a little plain for me, but if I were going to try it out, spending $52 on a boot is not bad at all, as boots are tough to find on the cheap.  That’s especially true of over-the-knee because there’s the most material involved.  Check out this versatile, black pair of over-the-knees below though for only $64.  And finally the clog.  There are all kinds of clogs and wooden-heeled shoes and boots out there this fall.  You can certainly spend over $100 depending on the print and embellishments, but if you’re looking for a stylish, basic clog; you can’t go wrong with the brown pair below for $76.

Leather (Real or Fake) — Real/faux leather clothing and leather accents on clothing and accessories are big this fall.  Obviously real leather jackets are going to be tough to find under $100.  You can certainly find faux leather motorcycle jackets like the one above.  You’ll also see leggings with leather accents on the knees or sides, or leggings with leather finishing like these:

Which fall trend are you dying to get?  Which ones would you not spend more than $100 on?

What to Wear: Where to Find Fall Trends Under $100 is a post from: Violet Revolution

While the days may still be warm and summery, these days the nights are starting to cool down and get chilly. So how to keep chic in the between season? Enter Bird’s fabulous Zoe Striped Blazer with its clean lines, sharp lapels, and graphic black and white stripes. Bird, designed by Juicy Couture, brings a more luxurious take on essential separates, working fantastic, quirky pieces into any wardrobe. This blazer updates the summertime nautical look by transitioning the classic sailor’s shirt into a crisp outer layer with black stripes instead of navy. Made of rich and soft cotton, it also brings a light layer of warmth as the evenings cool off.

Pair with a glittering black or silver sequined tank and dark skinny jeans for the perfect date night or cocktail ensemble.  It’s chic, simple, and casual, but ideally suited for dressing up with ease! During the day, this piece can also be worn to work with a simple solid t-shirt, or make even more of a statement by layering it over a graphic patterned blouse. This piece begs to be played with and mixed creatively, whatever your mood.

But it now, and wear it for the next few weeks. This jacket will be your chic standby until the leaves are falling!

- Save on the Striped Blazer from Bird by Juicy Couture now from TheFind.com‘s coupon site!

The Striped Blazer by Bird: Transition from Summer to Fall is a post from: Violet Revolution

One of the most significant trends of the Fall season involves military-inspired utilitarian pieces. The cornerstone of this look is a multi-pocketed, shirt-style jacket in a hearty twill fabric. The color? Army green of course – a modern neutral that pairs well with any other punchy shade.

Offering a unique twist on this wardrobe staple, the brand Veda has created the Jones Jacket. The body is pure utility while the sleeves are pure luxury. In a touch of contrast, this design features long black leather sleeves on the classic twill jacket shape. This makes the look sleek and modern, while still keeping right on-trend. With this version though you can amplify your style quotient and extend the look beyond just leggings and jeans. The addition of smooth leather means this jacket can be paired with more luxe materials such as silky blouses, sequin details, or metallic pailettes. The contrast of materials begs for mixing!

While the Jones Jacket is certainly an investment piece, it’s updated take on a classic piece means its style will last for years to come!

-Annie Wilson

Save on the Jones Jacket now at Saks from TheFind.com’s coupon site.

The Jones Military Jacket for Fall from Veda is a post from: Violet Revolution

They have dresses at all different price points for all occasions.  Best of all, they have dresses for different body types.  You can see how cute the dresses look on the various women posing in them below.

These dresses below would be so fun for a girls’ night out or perhaps someone’s big birthday bash.  It’s also wedding season ladies — you must have at least one bachelorette party to attend.  What are you going to wear to that?

There are also dresses for non-occasions.  (In other words, you just want to buy yourself a new dress.)  I personally love the navy printed strapless dress by Tulle and orange halter dress by Beth Bowley, as both can be worn casually out to brunch, or out to dinner dressed up with some heels.

Speaking of wedding season, my friend and I needed to buy bridesmaid dresses recently.  We were allowed to select our own dress in a certain color (Check out my post from yesterday about the jewelry I’m wearing!), and literally went to no less than 10 stores only to go home empty handed (See?  I told you it’s a daunting task for me).  Picking out your own bridesmaid dress is becoming more popular these days, so if you need a bridesmaid dress; or even a long or short cocktail dress for an upcoming wedding, there’s plenty of those dresses too.

Plus Le Dress carries everything you need to accessorize your outfit.  Literally, if you forgot you needed to buy a dress for an occasion, you could run in here that same day, pick out a dress, some shoes, a bag, jewelry, oh and even some Spanx items, in case you need some temporary nipping and tucking on the spot, and you’re good to go.  Let’s hope you’re never in that big of a fashion emergency, but if so, it’s nice to know you’ve got a local friend to hook you up.

What to Wear: Solve Your Dress Problem at ‘Le Dress’ is a post from: Violet Revolution

This printed tunic at Fashion Heist is great for work or play.  Just add a belt and you can wear with some white or neutral trouser pants (like the ones below by Serpico) or a skirt.  Summer is all about wearing lightweight materials and, if you can wear them, sleeveless yet work appropriate tops.   Check out both this royal blue silk ruffle tank and ruffle sleeve trimmed top by Kate Boggiano.  Both are perfect to wear alone or bring a blazer or lightweight sweater with you, if you cannot wear sleeveless tops to work.

Some great bottoms to pair with the above tops are this adorable ruffle back pencil skirt, also by Kate Boggiano.  At the time of this posting, it’s also on sale for $65, which is such a great deal for a unique staple to have in every girl’s wardrobe.  Add a little twist to a basic skirt with this fitted asymmetrical hem skirt by Horacio Nieto.  This would be so cute for work, but also with a cute top for a fun night out.  And if you’re looking for work pants that are a little different than the usual, yet professional; check out these neutral colored cropped trouser pants by Serpico.

Finally, since I always seem to start with dresses, I figured we’d finish with some this time.   How can anyone not love this adorable floral print shirt dress by Kate Boggiano?  She just makes work clothes so much more fun.  And you can combine this season’s tie dye trend with a professional look by wearing this cowlneck sleeveless dress at Fashion Heist, designed by JLee Silver.  I also absolutely love the pattern and lavender color (hmm…me loving purple hues?  Imagine that…) of this printed shift dress which can also be found at Fashion Heist.  And if you’re looking for a year-round staple, try this cowlneck dress.  It’s available in blue or brown, and can be worn alone with sandals in summer; or paired with a turtleneck underneath or sweater/blazer on top with tights and boots for fall/winter.  Think about the functionality of it, then let the thoughts of fall and winter drift from your mind.

And as a side note, you can not only find these clothes online, but also at boutiques in and around Chicago.  For example, almost all the designers above can be found at Cerato Boutique off Southport, and Serpico has it’s own free standing store in Bucktown.

What to Wear: Work Attire for Summer is a post from: Violet Revolution

I personally think prints are a great way to detract from the rest of your figure as people are so consumed with evaluating whether or not they like the suit.  I’ll talk a little about body type and styles here, but you can also read this article for more style advice on which swimwear is best for your body-type.  This brightly-colored batik printed string bikini is really cute.  With the adjustable sides, I’m hoping it won’t dig into my hip area too much.  Sometimes if those scoop bottoms are cut wrong, they give you that bulge at the waist.   Yuck.  Mara Hoffman makes some adorable swimwear.  Check out this geometric multicolored bandeau/boy-short bikini combo.  The boy-short, plus the bold print, are known to detract from problem areas.  I also like this lime green checkered bikini from Betsey Johnson.  The ruffled bandeau is super-cute, and her stuff usually fits me pretty well, so I’m willing to bet I’m not going to have a problem with the scoop bottom.  I really like the teal and paisley print on this underwire ring top and scoop bikini bottom, and since tye-die is in this season, why not a bikini?  The halter top actually has an underwire hidden inside.  Looks cute with a scoop bottom.   

You really can never go wrong with black.  I personally think it’s a must-have in anyone’s swimwear collection.  It’s slimming, sexy, and still hides problem areas.  The gold glitter diamond pattern in this mix-and-match set give a little something extra to an LBB (that’s my lingo for Little Black Bikini).  Did you ever wish your swimwear could have the same effect on you as Spanx?  Well, now it can!  They actually make swimwear WITH Spanx in them.  How genius is that???  And it’s actually stylish enough to wear, as you can see with this SPANX “All The Wave” bikini.  I so love this embellished monokini by Cynthia Rowley.  To be honest, the monokini confuses me.  It looks good, but I really don’t want a tan line down my abdomen.  That being said, this suit is so cute, I’m contemplating trying it out.

So maybe it’s because I am looking to hide some problem areas, that I’ve started revisiting one-pieces.  I’m generally not a one-piece fan, but I have to say, the ones I found are stylish.  This one by Nicole Miller has a fun colorful print to it, plus I like the mid-back strap closure (never been a fan of the open back one-pieces); although I’d caution that this would not be a good swimsuit if you’re pear shaped.  I also like the racerback and zipper front on this kaleidoscope printed one.  For a sold color, this pastel color block strapless suit looks like its thick enough so there’s no see-through risk.  Kind of reminds me of a paired down surfing bodysuit.

What to Wear: Hottest Swimsuits for Summer 2010 is a post from: Violet Revolution

Neutrals — With all the buzz about neutrals this season, you’d be foolish not to purchase some neutral shoes this season.  In an earlier Q&A post, I helped someone select some neutral shoes for work.  This open-toe caged bootie would also be appropriate for work (didn’t see them at the time) or even with a cute dress for a night out.  These caged slingback sandals with the metal buckle fastenersare supercute too.  There’s something about the simplicity of these cork flat thong sandalsthat’s eye-catching.  These just seem like a no-brainer when you’re looking to put together an effortless outfit.  The only thing I’d caution is if you have extremely fair skin, you might want to stick with a darker vs. a lighter, creamier neutral tone; otherwise, the shoes are almost unnoticeable as they blend too much with your skin.

Wedges — Love these zebra print wedges.  These leopard print wedges are adorable as well.  I’m normally not a leopard person, but I really love the leopard on the wedge portion of the shoe.  These wedges have a leopard-inspired sole too, but it’s actually textured cork.  These crochet-fabric wedges are also amazing, plus to keep with my animal print theme (I didn’t see that coming, I swear), the front part of the shoe has a snakeskin embossed pattern.  My personal favorite though are these sequined denim pattern wedges (See?  It’s not all animal print). 

Clogs/Wooden Heels — I love the heel on these clog-inspired sandals — they’re not quite a clog, but have that stretched canvas thumbtack look.  These wooden heeled denim sandals are pretty versatile — if you can pair jeans with anything, why not denim sandals?  I technically could have put these under the neutral category, but really loved the geometric cut-out wooden heel on these glossy neutral sandals.

Mini-Wedges — I am totally taken with these mini-wedges lately.  Probably because I’m trying to find a comfortable, cute shoe to walk around and shop in.  Most of  my pants’ lengths are for heels, so wearing flats either entails the pairs I have dragging on the floor or me buying more pants.  I love these zig-zag mustard and black striped pair by Loeffler Randall…so cute!!!  There’s something about the simplicity of these multi-buckle strap sandals that I’m drawn to; but  I’m also loving these these peep toe cut-out design sandals, especially how the cut-outs are even on the ankle straps. 

Hybrid sandals — Part bootie, part sandal, these are a kinda cool transition shoe from spring to summer.  You want to wear a sandal, but with our crap weather, sometimes it’s a little too cold and your footies are freezing.  Now you can have your cake and eat it too.  Love the studs on the ankle cuff of this pair — very edgy.  these electric blue suede sandals are amazing.  These would be so cute with a casual spring dress, or spring shorts (not that the color scheme would match, but check out this look here).  Even though these leopard cuffs have a little shimmer to them, neither the print or sequins are overwhelming, unlike some other embellished shoes I’ve seen this season.  They also come in black.   

Jeweled/Mirrored — This trend has exploded big time.  I feel like it’s difficult to find a sandal without embellishments this season, and they keep getting bigger, bolder, and shinier.  Sometimes it’s too much.  I tried on a pair recently and they were too blingy for me, but it depends on the shoe, as I’m still drawn to these mirror sandals even though they may be too much for some.  I think there’s the right about of stones on the next 2 sandals — not too many rhinestones on the aquamarine and onyx gemstone pair, and only a few ultra-large stones on the strapy ankle pair by Sam Edelman.

Do you have a favorite shoe thus far this season?  Which spring footwear trends do you love/hate?

What to Wear: Hottest Shoes This Season is a post from: Violet Revolution

SJP.  With Sex in the City 2 coming out soon, SJP is all over the media.  Her casual outfit incorporates the latest styles: printed top, wooden heels, and crossbody bag.  Although various new sunglasses frames are in this season, oversized is still in.  I like the straight leg grey cords, but opted for grey denim in my pick instead.  With summer around the corner, cords will just be too hot.     

I still refer to her as Posh.  Victoria Beckham has a sleek, sexy, yet casual look going on here, again with the oversized sunglasses, platform peep-toes, and zipper bottom skinny jeans.  The top I picked isn’t an exact match, but incorporates the same color scheme. Love it. 

Gwen…oh how I love Gwen.  She’s so cute, and seemingly so down to earth.  Love her casual tunic, and zipper leggings.  And I know these snakeskin pumps aren’t exactly like Gwen’s white pointy-toe Louboutin’s, but they add a little flair to the outfit, don’t ya think?

Photo Credit

What to Wear: How to Look Like a Celebrity is a post from: Violet Revolution