Over Black

Apparently there's such a thing as New York Black, and I'm over it

For someone whose chosen form of expression is clothes, I'm pretty fed up with them right now. Not clothes as a whole, though. Just mine. It's not even the old "lots of clothes and nothing to wear" dilemma that I'm having. It's more an issue of "Why the hell is everything I own black?" 

I have never been an ultra-cool, darks only dresser, but I think somewhere in my subconscious black became a go-to the minute I landed in the city. 

I have never been an ultra-cool, darks only dresser, but I think somewhere in my subconscious black became a go-to the minute I landed in the city. There's such a thing as New York Black, and it's all I've been wearing. I can't stand my closet. I can't stand myself. 

Now that spring has officially made her entrance, I'm making an effort to bring the brights, florals and generally cheerful items front and center. For starters, I've dug this poppy-colored Kate Spade out and my mood is already on the up-and-up. 

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The Business of Pink

The fear of being labeled a frivolous girly girl kept me away from pink and all of its shades for years. Now that I embrace being as girly as I want (in addition to all the other things I am), I may go overboard from time to time. 

You know, just some pink lipstick here, a little pink nail polish there. Maybe a bright blazer for special occasions. Or, you could do all three if you really mean business that day, because being that committed to pink has to be handled like business.

"FOR THE SAKE OF NOT GOING FULL ON ELLE WOODS, I'VE GOT TO BALANCE IT WITH CLASSIC NEUTRALS."

For the sake of not going full on Elle Woods, I've got to balance it with classic neutrals: a striped sweater and black jeans. The truth is, though, once you decide to go that pink, there's no going back. 

photos by Kaye McCoy

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Call It Spring

As you may know by now, winter is no longer welcomed here. So, despite the fact that it is gloomy and precipitous, I am dressing like it's 70 degrees and sunny, baby. 

 Full disclosure though, I wore this a few weekends ago when it was actually 70 degrees and sunny. I was so giddy about it that I even pulled out my favorite spring trend: pattern mixing. 

And what says, "it's springtime up in here," more than fun polka dot bottoms, easy d'orsay flats and sunny pops of coral? Seriously, tell me. I'm welcoming all things spring related right now. 

photos by Kaye McCoy

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Kate Spade Fall 2015

There's a good chance that you're already a little sick (with jealousy) of all the NYFW instagrams, but I can't deny that they get me excited for the future of my closet. 

Kate Spade's fall presentation was one I was keeping my eye on, and now I'm itching to add more pink, plaid, sparkle and faux fur to my closet. 

"It was whimsical fairytale." — Deborah Lloyd, creative director 

Kate Spade will always be special to me because of the classic styling with playful, feminine details. Even though this is their fall collection, nothing is stopping me from playing with their color palette for spring. 

images Cindy Ord/Getty Images

the problem solvers

Some days are just better than others. On those days where solutions are hard to find and I feel a little lost, I stick to my tried and true mood lifters: pink lipstick, stripes & a little sparkle. 

Adding a pink coat can't hurt, either. Paired with my favorite matte lippie, I start to feel like there's nothing too big for me to tackle. I should give a shout-out to a less glamorous problem solver of mine: back-up flats. God bless back-up flats. 

Some people have therapists for when they're feeling overwhelmed. I just have an amazing closet.  

photos by Kaye McCoy

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and the winner is...

There are a few reasons I made my first giveaway a Kate Spade one. For starters, their stuff is just the cutest. Above are some of my favorites: a fun t-shirt, a pretty postcard & pencil. 

But then there's the fact that Kate Spade makes style playful (see the poppy colors, whimsical patterns and clever sayings) while keeping it all very chic. I especially love that some of their items are vintage inspired. 

So, I was more than happy to share some of my favorites from their stationary collection with you all, my lovely, lovely readers.  

That said, the lucky gal and recipient of all these goodies is Nue, an Instagram follower. Congrats girl! 

Be on the lookout for my next giveaway in a few months. Thank you to everyone who entered! See the original giveaway & official winner announcement here.

kate spade + more | giveaway

I counted down the days until August for one reason: so I could break open my Kate Spade planner. I have a lot of items from their stationary line, but the planner is by far my favorite. 

In the spirit of sharing my favorites with you all, I'm doing a giveaway of some of my other faves. In addition to the striped Kate Spade agenda, I'm giving y'all a chance to get the cutest Kate Spade gold polka dot notebook, 3 of my favorite O.P.I. shades and a J.Crew inspired Crystal Cluster Necklace.

The polishes are a must have for every girl's collection -- gold and silver glitter and a flawless peachy nude. As for the sparkly bauble, J. Crew came up with this $158 gem last year and since then I've been wearing mine non-stop (see here, here and here). It's the perfect statement piece to go with everything in your closet.

There are six ways to enter and they're all pretty simple, so there's no way you shouldn't at least try to get this goodies for yourself! Good luck!  

Grab this picture to share on Instagram for an extra way to win!

Enter below: 

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

a dozen roses

When it come to clothes, I'm a fickle lover. I can be enamoured with multiple styles at a time. This skirt is one of my recent loves, but it almost didn't get worn.

My car accident left my leg bruised, so I tried to cover them as much as possible. That meant no shorts or skirts, which meant half of my closet was gone, including this beautiful rosette skirt.

After a boring week of covering up, I told myself "so what, you have some bruises on your legs? That's not terrible. Wear whatever the hell you want!" Listening to that brave voice, I pulled this out of my closet and I felt a million times more like myself. It would've been a travesty if this skirt went unworn. I think my heart just might've broken.

  

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what I bought: kate spade

This past weekend there were a lot of 4th of July sales going on. I was strong, and ignored all of the e-mails in my inbox until Sunday, when I saw the extra 25% off on Kate Spade's website. 

I already have two neutral Kate Spade purses and I figured that I needed a pop of color (since that's what they're known for) to round out my collection. And the "je ne sais quoi" shirt was too much of a steal to pass up. 

In anticipation of their arrival, I've started planning outfits in my head. Below, I've played with a casual and a dressy style. Can you tell I'm a little eager? I'm going to need my postman to hurry it up. 

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