So before it was even New Years retail stores were already swapping sweaters for shorts. Seriously. A little early? Maybe. But it’s certainly setting the tone for Spring.  The hot new trend for spring is literally “Tying the Knot”, nautical style.
Get inspired ladies…

Polka Dot Sheath in Deep Blue $79.50

Banana Republic Rayon Striped Dress $98

Nine West Babealish $79

Four-chain link bracelet by J.Crew $68

Striped Pursuit Top $98 at Anthropologie

Longing for Yellow Dress $158 at Anthropologie

It’s happening already. The city has become “Christmafied” already. My colleagues are listening to Christmas music, it’s on in the stores, little white twinkle lights are dotting the trees on Park Avenue, and the Rockettes have already set up show at Radio City. Christmas is coming… earlier and earlier it seems.

Not that I’m complaining. I love the holidays. I love the sparkle of the holidays. And lately I’ve been into statement making accessories, so today, I bring you  statement making accessories with a whole lot of sparkle.  Necklaces, amazing little clutches, big earrings, bangle bracelets- good accessories can make an outfit. A beautiful dress in a classic cut and color makes a much bigger statement with the right accessories. But… I caution you, as with most things… everything in moderation. Follow the advice of Coco Chanel, and right before you’re about to leave, take something off.

Royal Medallion Charm Bracelet $36- Banana Republic

Captured Gems Bracelet $178- Anthropologie

Luxe Cocktail Bracelet $98 - J.Crew

Crystal Waterfall Earrings $55- J.Crew

Champagne Bubbles Necklace $55- Banana Republic

Floral Grid Necklace $125- Banana Republic

Jeweled Button Earrings $26- Banana Republic

Autumn's Bounty Bib $80- Anthropologie

Aflush Necklace $198- Anthropologie

Well ladies I have been waiting to blog about some amazing froof, and the day has finally come. The Blue Onion Marketplace is an adorable new online shop that just opened up with full-force. Back in the Spring of this year, I stumbled across Michele (she’s the super fabulous owner at Blue Onion) and her amazing collection of Dulken & Derrick pins. These are THE beautiful silk flowers you see styled on all of the latest fashions for J.Crew.

Well now they’re available for you to style at home. Which is seriously amazing.

Dulken & Derrick is perfect for Fall, and PERFECT for weddings. Pin the corsages to a great jacket, dress or t-shirt and go.

Here are some of my favorite’s

Yellow Parrot Tulip Pin $27.99

Soft Blue Gardenia Pin $41.99

White Peony Vintage Pin $47.99

Large Butter Poppy Pin $37.99

We did a test run with some of these fabulous pieces at Katie & Chris’s Wedding in the Woods. I pinned the Vintage White Peony pin- above- into my friend Shauna’s super simple updo. With her Navy and white dress and…

Total success.

But heed this quick warning ladies… when you’re unpacking that duffle from your weekend away, avoid throwing these amazing pins into the wash. They’ll die. Trust me.

But seriously, these are totally versatile. Pin them on a dress, fasten it to a belt, or bobby pin it into your hair. They’re beautifully made and have a seriously high-end feel. Plus, they’re super affordable.

So The Blue Onion Marketplace also has super fun OTHER things too. I hear the Dulken & Derrick pins, but they also carry Streamline Luggage- which is A-MAZING.  The Editor Series is my favorite… I think. I also really love The Aviator Series. They’re so old Hollywood yet… made in Ireland. I love it.

They also carry Passotti Ombrelli umbrella’s and hats, and have a line of Kate Aspen luggage tags and party favors coming soon!

Now here’s the best part. FREE SHIPPING in SEPTEMBER. Just enter the Code: WELCOME at checkout.

J.Crew Aholics- Aren’t you so excited by this?!?!?

Happy shopping girls!

It’s that time again… Salute your inner prepster. It’s summer. Why not? If you bestie frequently sports a string of pearls, a popped collar, madras flip flops and anything with a whale… this post is for you lady. Listen up.

A shower should be a reflection of all that the bride is, so if your bride-to-be is a seriously put together, pink and green model of preppy perfection make your life easy and follow suit for her bridal shower.

Here’s everything you need to know to plan a perfectly preppy bridal shower.

THE INVITATIONS
This is your first clue to guests that this shower is going to be pretty-in-prep. So shop around and set the tone here.

Preppy Stripe Invitation from MyGatsby.com

Andalucia Green Invitation by Bliss from Paper Buzz

Preppy Gingham, Plaid and Polka Dot Invitation by Polka Dot Paper Shop

THE DRESSES
I’m a pretty firm believer that bridal shower attire should always still remain a little bit on the dressy side. Not over the top evening wear obviously, as they used to say, your Sunday best. But if you’re a pretty little preppy I shouldn’t have to tell you that. You wear your pearls to sleep don’t you? What?   I do.

These fun new “Summer in the Vineyard” dresses from Kiel James Patrick are PERFECT for a preppy shower, whether it’s the bride, her maids or her lovely ladies in waiting, these sweet summer frocks are perfect for a preppy shower.

Lindy Mayfair Dress from Kiel James Patrick $68

Chartner Meadow Melon Dress from Kiel James Patrick $68

April Darling Dress from Kiel James Patrick $68

OR

go traditionally preppy and sport something in Lilly, and J.Crew or Vineyard Vines with looks like these…

Bowen Dress Solid Lace by Lilly- $248

Embossed Green Lorelei Dress $118

Vines Skylark Dress by Vineyard Vines $295

THE CENTERPIECES
If you were lucky enough to hit up the MacKenzie Childs Barn Sale last weekend (which was amazing) you can make use of the seriously discounted and seriously adorable planters they have to decorate tables. If not, you just have to dig a little deeper in your pocket. Plant adorably simple herbs like rosemary, basil, parsley and thyme and DIY your own adorable plant sticks with materials from your local craft store.

Courtly Check Planter $25 from MacKenzie- Childs

Pink & Yellow Stripe Planter $25 from MacKenzie-Childs

THE DECORATIONS
Keep it simple and in the same color scheme as your invites. Using varying shades of fewer colors is a good way to keep things interesting without going overboard. I love this faux rose kissing ball from Special Occasions Designs. Perfect for decorating outside the venue on iron stakes or on the doors.

Floral Kissing Balls $20 from Special Occasions Designs (Etsy)

Hang personalized tags on chairs as place cards instead of using table cards.

Personalized Hang Tags- $5.95 for set of 12 from paper Eclectiques (Etsy)

Buy up sets of fun and flirty party poms to hang from the ceiling from Etsy seller Party Poms or DIY with this easy tutorial from Martha over on In The Details Blog!

Girl Fun set of 5 from Party Poms on Etsy $25

Pom Pom Decor from Martha Stewart

THE FAVORS
Fill tiny monogrammed boxes with flower seeds for guest to take home and plant.  If you’re more of a traditionalist fill with small candies, nuts or dried fruits for guests to take on the way out, or place at each place setting.

Personalized Gift Boxes $2.50 each from Special Occasion Designs (Etsy)

Monogrammed Compact Mirror from The Preppy Polka Dot

GIFT GIVING
Distribute these adorably preppy recipe cards from Dabney Lee at Home with the invitations and have guests bring their favorite recipe for the bride to the shower.

Dabney Lee Recipe Box

Kate Spade Posy Vases are perfect to brighten up a room…

Kate Spade Posy vases $49 on Sale!

Monogrammed Candlepot from Pottery Barn

Don’t forget to say THANK YOU…
Mind your manners and get your thank you notes out pronto on some super preppy paper.

Preppy Polka Dot Thank You from Dainty Invites

Kate Spade Thank You Notes $25

Hooray for Spring Giveaways of Fabulous, fun and flirty accessories! 

J.Crew Awholics Spring Giveaway!

J.Crew makes everything better am I wrong? I kind of love it. And I LOVE  this giveaway from Leigh at J.CrewAhaholics! Post on her link about it, tweet or embed her gadget to enter to win the glass beaded necklace shown above! hurry though. today is the last day! 

J.Crew Bridal

NYC Lovelies… J.Crew in Rockefeller Center is hosting a bridal trunk show featuring styles from their new 2009 collection!

WHEN: April 25th and 26th from 9:00- 11:00 am

WHERE: 30 Rockefeller Center, NYC

RSVP By April 22nd: ashley@jcrew.com

Pink and Navy is my ALL-TIME  favorite color combo. It’s elegant, but still flirty and fun and evokes all the style of New England summers on the Cape. So fab.

Photo Courtesy of TheKnot.com

AND…

Here are some things you can buy right now…

The Pink & Navy Retail King… Vineyard Vines. Seriously have you guys ever checked this place out. EVERYTHING is in this rockin’ color combo and it’s AMAZING. They have great ties for groomsmen, and patterned dresses perfect for bridesmaids. J.Crew is another great option because almost all of their dresses come in pink and navy for mixing and matching or total solidarity.

Cotton Candy Sydney Dress $225

Vineyard Vines Tie $75

Pink & Navy Monogram Invitations from Your Style Invitations

 Pretty pink peep toes are so very girly and fun.

Joley Patent Leather Peep Toe $198 J.Crew

Again… incorporating prints and patterns into a color theme is a fun way to lighten it up and keep it fun and whimsical!

Polka Dot Wedding Cake- Purple Awning Pastries

And just to give you a better idea of how the pink and blue color theme looks on the whole bridal party… some wedding photos courtesy of Vineyard Vines. THE pink and blue wedding expert.

Photo Courtesy of Vineyard Vines

Photo Courtesy of Vineyard Vines

Photo Courtesy of Vineyard Vines

Those of you who know me, KNOW that I love me some froof. Ya know… oversize flower pins, a touch of feather in the hair, big satin flowers on the shoes a la Carrie Bradshaw. I love it. I think it stems from wearing too many bows as a child…Either way, I seriously cannot get enough of it. It’s everywhere this season, from tank tops and headbands to slingbacks and dresses. So go out and make a statement. Whether it’s at the shower, out on the town, or strutting down the aisle… go big or go home.

Etsy is a fabulous place to find all things froof. The stuff out there is so fun! If you’ve never been… you’re missing out. They have Hairpieces, headbands and flowers….

Etsy Seller NevaPlume- $36

AOKI feather headpiece- $49 Etsy Seller Portobello

Etsy Seller $10 PierogiPicnic

The White Collection- Etsy Seller calexandra $8.95

The Sophie Headband from Etsy Seller theLittleOak $20

Anthropologie also has some really fun and flirty headbands with loads of froof! 

Brooches and pins…

Etsy Seller- $22 Jilliann's Pink Rose Brooch

Pale Beauty brooch $12.95

And other fun things…

Etsy Seller- $25 Star Selection

This is so great. This is a 5 satin rosette piece that detaches and can be added to any garmet! How much do you love that! Imagine adding it to the top of a simple little black dress! Not simple anymore… LOVE THIS!

Old Navy had some really great tanks in-store. They’re not available online, but they come in a whole bunch of colors with giant ribbon bows on the top left shoulder. It’s a nice little twist to the household beater.

And then there are Shoes…..

J.crew has these fabulous sandals that I would honestly kill for in every color. And they’re not $300+ like the rest of their shoes.

Satin Rosette metallic capri sandals- $78

Matisse Black & Yellow Sandals- $118 Shoes.com

Steve Madden

And on to the dresses… Seriously. Lela Rose is FANTASTIC. There’s froof everywhere. 

Lela Rose Spring 2009

Lela Rose Spring 2009

Lela Rose Spring 2009

Admit it. You do kind of care what they’re wearing and where you can get it for less. We’ve all tossed a trashy celeb mag into the basket on the last trip to the drugstore, and I know you’ve all spent at least one sunday of your life eyes glued to the red carpet during award season. With award season upon us, here are some red carpet  fashions fit for the aisle. And we tell you how to get the celebrity look for less. 

Kate Winslet’s beautiful Golden Globe  gown that retailed for around $7,700 get’s cheap and chic from Faviana for $298.

Kate Winslet's replica Faviana dress

Some of my favorites from the 2009 SAG awards were Katrina Bowden in Christian Siriano, and Julie Benz from Dexter.

Dexter's Julie Benz at the 2009 Sag Awards

 There’s a similar dress at Lord & Taylor by J S Boutique for $218.

30 Rock's Katrina Bowden in Christian Siriano (photo Courtesy of TVGuide.com

And you can score Katrina’s look for less with J.Crew’s Cotton Candy Erica Dress for $225

J.Crew Cotton Candy Erica Dress- $225

So we don’t have the celebrity cash to throw around…but it doesn’t mean we have to give up on fashion.

So in addition to all of the weddings I have to attend, this year and next, I have some supplemental events: rehearsal dinners, showers and bachelorette parties to attend too. I’ve been dress shopping for a few months now for fun, flirty little spring dresses that will make me appear a) incredibly happy for the couple I’ve traveled so far to bestow my well wishes upon and b) super hot to every hot single groomsman at the party.

Here are some of my favorites:

GAP - Tropical-print Flounce Dress $69.50

CK Bradley – Lally Dress $358

J.Crew – Polka -dot rosette dress $168

Anthropologie- Yellow Cloud Dress $178

Boden – Pretty Applique Dress $168

Keep a lookout for a post on cute shoes to match tomorrow. Who doesn’t love shoes… come on.