Pretty Daytime Shoes Under $100

No wonder I hardly buy shoes. It's so hard to find stylish and cheap shoes that don't look cheap! Even with the many choices on the internet, this was still no easy task. Anyways, this summer, I'm loving shoes made of woven leather, patent leather and bold colours. So here are some of my favourites from this season's offerings which are under US$100 (about 53 pounds according to today's currency rate.)

Free People Knotted Leather Ballet Flats -Love the strong blue. Clashing colours can totally lighten up an outfit.

I really like this pair of Dolce Vita Woven Toe Wedge from Urban Outfitters. If only the wedges weren't made of cork!

Silver sandals by Seychelles. Again, I like the woven leather and the perfectly-comfotable kitten heels.

50s inspired pumps by Seychelles. I'm not too sure I like the colour, but I def like the design.

More woven leather! This one is more boho looking. Pumps by Guess.

Moving on to patent leather: Steve Madden Pumps.

I could image this pair of Miss Sixty sandals matching the oh-so-fashionable black/ grey jeans.

Caged Flat Sandals by Top Shop. This may be boring looking, but it'll probably match all the outfits you throw together this summer. (Not to mention that slight copying of Prada SS06's shoes.)

I normally hate plain wooden wedges, but I really like the prints on the fabric and the design of the straps. Sandals by Seychelles.

These gingham sandal-pumps by Bebe are so cute that I can even ignore the terrible cork sole. Gingham is one of the trends that some of you might be liking this summer. For inspiration, go check out Dolce & Gabanna SS06 collection.

OK I'm cheating but I couldn't resist adding in two pairs of evening shoes. This sophisticated pair of stilettos by BCBGirls is the perfect choice for dances.

These Top Shop pumps are fun and elegant. This is def a possiblity for those who want something more that plain black pumps. (And since black pumps are everywhere, I wasn't bothered to find a pair under $100.)

Pretty Daytime Shoes Under $100

No wonder I hardly buy shoes. It's so hard to find stylish and cheap shoes that don't look cheap! Even with the many choices on the internet, this was still no easy task. Anyways, this summer, I'm loving shoes made of woven leather, patent leather and bold colours. So here are some of my favourites from this season's offerings which are under US$100 (about 53 pounds according to today's currency rate.)

Free People Knotted Leather Ballet Flats -Love the strong blue. Clashing colours can totally lighten up an outfit.

I really like this pair of Dolce Vita Woven Toe Wedge from Urban Outfitters. If only the wedges weren't made of cork!

Silver sandals by Seychelles. Again, I like the woven leather and the perfectly-comfotable kitten heels.

50s inspired pumps by Seychelles. I'm not too sure I like the colour, but I def like the design.

More woven leather! This one is more boho looking. Pumps by Guess.

Moving on to patent leather: Steve Madden Pumps.

I could image this pair of Miss Sixty sandals matching the oh-so-fashionable black/ grey jeans.

Caged Flat Sandals by Top Shop. This may be boring looking, but it'll probably match all the outfits you throw together this summer. (Not to mention that slight copying of Prada SS06's shoes.)

I normally hate plain wooden wedges, but I really like the prints on the fabric and the design of the straps. Sandals by Seychelles.

These gingham sandal-pumps by Bebe are so cute that I can even ignore the terrible cork sole. Gingham is one of the trends that some of you might be liking this summer. For inspiration, go check out Dolce & Gabanna SS06 collection.

OK I'm cheating but I couldn't resist adding in two pairs of evening shoes. This sophisticated pair of stilettos by BCBGirls is the perfect choice for dances.

These Top Shop pumps are fun and elegant. This is def a possiblity for those who want something more that plain black pumps. (And since black pumps are everywhere, I wasn't bothered to find a pair under $100.)

SS06 Fashion Trend: White Bermudas

Bored of wearing jeans? Move onto the SS06 staple (as agreed by many of the following designers)- white bermudas. They are ladylike, classic and incredibly versatile.

They can be worn in a very lady-like fashion fit for formal occasions and the office as seen worn above from the Ralph Lauren and Stella McCartney catwalk- cinched at the waist with a structured jacket.

Or it can be worn casually with sandals and a pretty colorful tank as seen on the Matthew Williamson and Luca Luca runway.

It can even be worn in a rock-star-ish fashion, like in LAMB, with a rocking leather jacket and funky belt.

And the great thing is that white bermudas can be found absolutely everywhere, so you can be sure you'd find the perfect one. The ones above are from Rebecca Taylor and Top Shop.

SS06 Fashion Trend: White Bermudas

Bored of wearing jeans? Move onto the SS06 staple (as agreed by many of the following designers)- white bermudas. They are ladylike, classic and incredibly versatile.

They can be worn in a very lady-like fashion fit for formal occasions and the office as seen worn above from the Ralph Lauren and Stella McCartney catwalk- cinched at the waist with a structured jacket.

Or it can be worn casually with sandals and a pretty colorful tank as seen on the Matthew Williamson and Luca Luca runway.

It can even be worn in a rock-star-ish fashion, like in LAMB, with a rocking leather jacket and funky belt.

And the great thing is that white bermudas can be found absolutely everywhere, so you can be sure you'd find the perfect one. The ones above are from Rebecca Taylor and Top Shop.

The Loose Shirt Look

The loose shirt look is one of the most deceivingly easy but in reality really hard to master looks. The point to this look is to look casual and effortless, like you are out for relaxing stroll. According to various style magazines (from Teen Vogue to Elle,) you're supposed to buy a shirt "a few sizes too big or borrow your boyfriend's".

This instruction sounds simple enough, but honestly, who's going to deliberately buy a shirt that doesn't even fit herself? (Unless you're very desperate to achieve this look or you have an amazingly large clothing budget.) And does anyone really walk around with only a few buttons buttoned up? (such as the Tommy Hilfiger look on the right.) Yes, in the Paul Smith photos (on the left), the model actually looks like she's taking a relaxing stroll in the city, but let's face it, most of us wouldn't be able achieve the same effect.

In my very limited experience of buying and wearing white shirts (for the rare formal job related events,) I always feel very... office-like. White shirts are essential for the office-look -like in the Jil Sander photo above, but ultimately, hard to translate into casualwear.

The Loose Shirt Look

The loose shirt look is one of the most deceivingly easy but in reality really hard to master looks. The point to this look is to look casual and effortless, like you are out for relaxing stroll. According to various style magazines (from Teen Vogue to Elle,) you're supposed to buy a shirt "a few sizes too big or borrow your boyfriend's".

This instruction sounds simple enough, but honestly, who's going to deliberately buy a shirt that doesn't even fit herself? (Unless you're very desperate to achieve this look or you have an amazingly large clothing budget.) And does anyone really walk around with only a few buttons buttoned up? (such as the Tommy Hilfiger look on the right.) Yes, in the Paul Smith photos (on the left), the model actually looks like she's taking a relaxing stroll in the city, but let's face it, most of us wouldn't be able achieve the same effect.

In my very limited experience of buying and wearing white shirts (for the rare formal job related events,) I always feel very... office-like. White shirts are essential for the office-look -like in the Jil Sander photo above, but ultimately, hard to translate into casualwear.

Memorial Day Weekend

Happy Memorial Day Weekend everyone! I love long weekends. Especially those that comes with fabulous sales!! And boy were they good. Its only Saturday, but I've already spent so much that I do believe I'll be hibernating in my room for the rest of the weekend eating crackers. But before I do that, let me regal you with my two bargain buys.

I am happy to announce that after much debating and waiting, I've finally bought this Marc by Marc Jacob's top. And in the end, I think it was totally worth the wait. The sale is even better than the last time I mentioned it! Bloomingdales is having a 5-day Memorial Weekend Sale, and this shirt that was originally $178, was on sale with an additional 20% off. It was only $80.1-more than half off! And as fate would have it, the only one left on the rack was a size 02. I was originally going to buy the dress version, but I've been all over the place and the smallest one around is a size 06. It was meant to be!!

My other buy was a floral Aqua dress that was originally $78 and was now on 20% off. So it was $62.40. Not TOO great. But I do love the fit and the dress is oh-so-classic! Besides, I surprisingly do not own too many dresses. Mostly because they are almost always one of the most expensive and inversatile types of apparel.

So anyway, my point being- head to your nearest Bloomingdales NOW if you haven't already for great bargains. And in case you're wondering, Nordstrom and Barneys is not on sale yet. Happy shopping everyone!

Memorial Day Weekend

Happy Memorial Day Weekend everyone! I love long weekends. Especially those that comes with fabulous sales!! And boy were they good. Its only Saturday, but I've already spent so much that I do believe I'll be hibernating in my room for the rest of the weekend eating crackers. But before I do that, let me regal you with my two bargain buys.

I am happy to announce that after much debating and waiting, I've finally bought this Marc by Marc Jacob's top. And in the end, I think it was totally worth the wait. The sale is even better than the last time I mentioned it! Bloomingdales is having a 5-day Memorial Weekend Sale, and this shirt that was originally $178, was on sale with an additional 20% off. It was only $80.1-more than half off! And as fate would have it, the only one left on the rack was a size 02. I was originally going to buy the dress version, but I've been all over the place and the smallest one around is a size 06. It was meant to be!!

My other buy was a floral Aqua dress that was originally $78 and was now on 20% off. So it was $62.40. Not TOO great. But I do love the fit and the dress is oh-so-classic! Besides, I surprisingly do not own too many dresses. Mostly because they are almost always one of the most expensive and inversatile types of apparel.

So anyway, my point being- head to your nearest Bloomingdales NOW if you haven't already for great bargains. And in case you're wondering, Nordstrom and Barneys is not on sale yet. Happy shopping everyone!

SS06 Fashion Trend: Shirt Dresses in the Shops

OK, so yesterday we ogled at pretty shirt dresses on the runway. And since most of us can't afford those, I window-shopped online a bit. (Some of these are tunic dresses but since they're so similar to shirt dresses, I put them here too.)

Top Shop Linen Shirt Dress -Simple, but I'm not sure I like the material.

Now this Top Shop shirt dress is mega-stylish. The color is bold, but it totally suits!

On the left is a tunic dress by Twelfth St. by Cynthia Vincent that is perfect for daytime, while the dress on the right by T is more suitable for night-time.

I LOVE this AKA New York Shirt Dress. The flowery patterns are SO pretty. Lovely!

ABS is always on the spot in being 'inspired' by designer labels. This Eyelet Shirt Dress is absolutely perfect for this season.

If you don't like plain clothes, you might be interested in this printed shirt dress by Nil Lotan.

Tunic dress with dress by T-bag. I really like the subtle vertical stripes (since vertical stripes can be quite flattering.) I also like the other details on this dress -see the rollup sleeves and the tie-up at the neck.

C&C California Classic 70's Button Up Shirt Dress -This summer, keep the shirt dress above the knee. This long shirt dress is not pretty.

Polo dresses by Splendid -very sport, although I'm really not a big fan of wearing such preppy clothes as casualwear. These are probably more suitable if you actually went to a country club.

Ya-ya Air Belted Shirt Dress -Shopbop calls this a shirt dress, but I think it really is best to wear it with the jeans. The leather wrap really makes a difference though. If you do buy a shirt dress that looks exactly like an over-sized shirt, then it's best to add some details like a belt.

This Lux Fruitie Tuttie House Dress is probably one of the most affordable. And it actually looks really pretty and cute too. If only they sold it in the UK Urban Outfitters!

The dresses are available at their respective websites, Neiman Marcus or Shopbop. Oh, and remember the Stella McCartney shirt dress from yesterday's post? (Just scroll down)

The one Mary Kate is wearing isn't the Stella McCartney shirt dress, but it's a fantastic inspiration of how to wear it in real life. MK's solution is simply to wear barely-there-shorts underneath!