Fall Prep

[Top: Old Navy; Cardigan: Old Navy; Jeans: Joe's (similar); Shoes: Sperry; Sunglasses: Ray-Ban; Necklace: Forever 21 (old); Ring: Forever 21 (similar)]

I intend on making this sweater work for every season (so far I've done spring, summer, and the tail end of winter). I loved how the white looked against the kelly green, and of course was psyched to give my Sperrys some more wear before winter hits. Slightly ripped jeans and some glitzier jewelry took the completely preppy vibe down a notch.

All photos by Mikhail Glabets

Black & White

[Top: Old Navy; Jeans: Gap (similar); Shoes: Old Navy (sold out, I love these flats for fall); Necklace: J.Crew factory; Bracelet: flea market] 

I loved seeing black and white graphic prints all over the spring 2013 runways. It's such a modern and fresh combination and can go so many different ways (duh Erin, they're like the two most basic neutral colors ever). In this case, black top and white jeans. I added a pop of blue in the shoes to punch up the otherwise minimalist look.

All photos by Mikhail Glabets 

Fall Frock

[Dress: Forever 21(appears to be sold out but here's a similar one); Flats: Zara; Cardigan: Splendid via Buffalo Exchange; Earrings: BaubleBar; Ring: Old Navt; Nails: Essie 'Merino Cool']

I thought my love of cutesy dresses would retire come the colder weather. Nope. And I've been avoiding peter pan collars due to PTSD from my one year of Catholic school in third grade (the uniform was a burgundy plaid jumper over a white peter pan-collared blouse). But this pretty stripes-and-dots combo won me over. Navy and nude is a favorite classic color combination of mine. And I've quickly lost the little summer tan I had, so the nude shade seems to be matching my skin tone lately. Not that that's a good thing...

All photos by Mikhail Glabets

Summer Neutrals

[Top: Forever 21 (old); Jeanns: Gap; Scarf: H&M (years old); Sandals: Madewell, Bangles: SoWa Vintage]

Today is match-your-outfit-to-your-home-decor day. Just kidding. That's only a coincidence. The real inspiration for this outfit came from my friend Lauren, who posted about the mix of neutrals and whites she wanted to wear when leaving for her honeymoon earlier this summer. I loved the carefree summer vibe, and am already mourning it.

All photos by Mikhail Glabets

Plum, Navy, & Cobalt Inspiration

OK, so I've had a change of heart lately on a couple of the trends I've been avoiding. As seen with my hi-lo dress purchase. And I recently, finally, caved on the colored jeans thing. (I get to wear jeans to work, so avoiding any sort of jeans trend is just plain stubborn and silly.)

What won me over? This top. I'll explain.

Well, we already know I love navy. And I am growing ever enthusiastic on cobalt blue. The combination of those two colors plus a pretty purple (it looks more violet than the fuschia pictured here) is absolutely darling.

So back to the jeans. Through my almost daily browsing of Forever 21's site, I came across a couple awesome pairs of plum jeans, one of which made its way into my shopping cart (a birthday gift to myself). The great color combo in the top made me realized just how versatile the plum pants could be, so I'm already lining up plenty of outfits that work with them.

First: pairing them with the navy blazer seen here, a laid-back T-shirt like my Brooklyn one, and simple navy flats. A fun fringy necklace like this would be the perfect accessory.

I'm also thinking about wearing the jeans with my navy polka dot shirt from the J.Crew factory, or my classic Gap boyfriend shirt in navy (scored with a great Gap online discount), plus a navy/cream striped scarf I picked up in the H&M men's section.

To bring in the cobalt blue, I could always do this blouse I bought in the pretty blue shade, or my favorite blazer from spring with a simple white v-neck T (I love Target's).

A chunky white sweater I thrifted and black booties will make a great mod look when paired with the jeans, too. And the ideas just keep on coming.

What about you? Have you come around on any trends? What fall piece has been inspiring you lately?

Out on the Town

[Dress: Target (last year, similar dress from Modcloth here); Necklace: J.Crew factory (I love these cool mint and turquoise ones from BaubleBar); Booties: Report; Ring: Forever 21] 

I wore this getup for an awesome night out during a recent bachelorette weekend in NYC. I know what you're thinking: "That's your apartment, Erin, NOT New York." Correct. There were way more important things to do than take outfit pictures that weekend! But I still loved the look and played a bit of dressup in my kitchen once I got settled in back here.

This also marks the official start of my love affair with these booties. I have them in the tan color and black and plan on wearing them with everything from dresses to skirts to skinnies to pajamas (kidding). This is me slowly embracing fall clothing.

All photos by Mikhail Glabets

3 Instagrammers Worth Following During NYFW

I am pretty sure New York Fashion Week exists to remind how much I wish I worked in fashion (and to get angry at my 16-year-old self for not following through on pursuing that dream). Not to reveal next season's trends and inspirations to the industry or give buyers a clue on what to stock their shelves with or to spur hundreds of fashionistas to hit the streets with the hopes of being captured by style photographers. Nope, NYFW is all about me. ;)

Image via Hillary Kerr's Instagram feed

This has all been exaggerated in the last year by my discovery of personal style blogs (yes, yes, I was hilariously late in the game) and Instagram. I love getting up-to-the-minute coverage on what is happening at Lincoln Center and beyond, but I feel like my feed has been clogged with some (not so) humble brags about how cool and important bloggers are in getting to attend the shows. I think I would share their excitement, too, but as a far-far away spectator, I want to get a sense of what is actually happening at the shows and what awesome looks we can expect for spring.

Luckily, there are a few Instagrammers out there who understand my pain and are dishing up some awesome insights from the tents. (Again, this is all about me.) And they are:

The Glamourai—I love her Instagram account for the same reason I love her blog. She has serious fashion industry and styling knowledge! She understands the little details that go into making an outfit look complete and timeless, and isn't focused on just piling on the latest trends Similarly, she Instagrams (that's a verb now, right? Just the way Facebook became a verb like seven years ago, yes?) amazing pictures with commentary that actually shows she understands the designer's perspective and where it fits in the greater fashion landscape. Not just "OMG OMG OMG I love this FRONT ROW OMG!" but things like this photo from Rebecca Taylor's show that remarks the look is "1980-meets-lady today."

Birchbox—Half the fun of Fashion Week is seeing the makeup looks designers are picking to best complement their collections. Birchbox, the amazing beauty products discovery platform, is sticking to what it knows and covering NYFW from this perspective on their Instagram. Earlier this weekend they were following around the fabulous Bobbi Brown as she created soft pastel and matte looks on the models at Tibi (seriously, how pretty is this?!?!).

Hillary Kerr—As the editorial director of Who What Wear, she's keeping her feed very much about what's coming down the runway, with an occasional personal outfit pic peppered in there. The main WhoWhatWear feed is equally informative. I spy white leather, metallics, denim mixed in with both of those, blacks, geometric prints, lots of sneakers, and a bevy of jackets. Can we just skip fall/winter, please?

What do you think? Am I taking the humble brags too personally? Or do you agree? Are there any other Instagram accounts you are turning to for quality, thoughtful NYFW coverage?

Balancing Act

[Top: J.Crew via Buffalo Exchange; Jeans: Gap; Sunglasses: Ray-Ban; Necklace: J.Crew factory (old);  Earrings: BaubleBar; Sneakers: Forever21 (similar): Nails; Essie Lilacism]

This outfit is all about the opposites attract concept. I paired a fall-y jewel-toned top with summer's quintessential pant: white jeans (which I still have plenty more outfits planned for).  And mixed casual grey Ked-style sneakers with a frilly, ruffly top. I call it balance.

All photos by Mikhail Glabets