Patterned Pants, 3 Ways

I found these pants at Forever 21 a couple weeks ago, and immediately fell in love. Sometimes I have a hard time styling patterned pants because you can be limited to what you are able to pair them with. However when I saw these, outfit ideas just started flooding my brain. 

Pants: Forever 21 (similar here)

Top Photo: Top: (old) | Shoes: Aldo (similar here & here) | Sunglasses: Forever 21(similar here)

Middle Photo: Top: Dorothy Perkins (similar here & here) | Shoes: Lucy Choi London 
Sunglasses: Forever 21(similar here)| Clutch: Dorothy Perkins (similar here)  | Bracelet: Forever 21
Bottom Photo: Top: (old) | Shoes: Zara (sold out)(similar here) | Bag: RW&Co | Sunglasses: Coach

The Yellow Bliss Road

Top: Target | Jeans: Zara | Shoes: Bottega Veneta (on sale!) | Sunglasses: Coach

Clutch: Vintage | Bracelet: Swarovski | Ring: Tiffany & Co (gifted)

I've been loving yellow as of late. Pale, neon. You name it. The color yellow in general just puts me in a good mood. Alot of people think yellow is hard to wear, but it really isn't. I always pair cool toned yellows with silver jewelry, and warm toned yellows with gold. And then I add in color where possible. Remember the color wheel? As for which shade of yellow to choose, I go by these rules based on skin tone:

Pale Skin: Dark mustard yellows or pale yellows. Try to avoid neon or primary yellow as it can make you look even paler.

Medium/Olive Skin: Neon, bright, or primary yellows look best on tanned skin. You can also go for pale yellow as it won't wash you out.

Dark Skin: Gold yellows look best again dark skin as it will bring out the gold tones. Dark skinned gals actually have it the best when it comes to yellow, because they can pretty much wear any shade they want! 

What yellow pieces do you own/love? What are your favorite shades to wear? Do you agree with my rules above or can you prove me wrong? Let me know!

Left Shirt: Target | Jeans: Zara | Shoes: Converse | Bag: Michael Kors | Bracelet: Target

Right Shirt: Target | Pants: Zara | Clutch: Zara | Shoes: ShopBop

Monochrome: Nudes & Creams

Top:  Zara (similar here) | Pants: Dynamite (another version here)

Shoes: Payless (old) (similar here) | Bag: Coach | Necklace: Forever 21

Sunglasses: Forever 21 (other great ones here)

Hi everyone! One of my favorite trends this season is monochromatic colors. Head to toe pink, yellow, orange - you name it. This time I chose nudes/creams - I've been loving neutral palette's lately. This trend is especially great for shorter gals like myself. Wearing clothing all in the same color family can lengthen your frame and make you appear taller. And if your short like me, you will do anything to appear taller! I'm also loving the cutout trend this spring, and this top from Zara was perfect!

Persian Pickles

Top: Ann Taylor (similar here) | Pants: Ann Taylor | Shoes: Bottega Veneta

Bangles: Forever 21 (similar here) | Bag: Coach (similar here) | Sunglasses: Coach

What is a Persian Pickle you ask? Some may say its 'slang' for the paisley motif. I didn't make that up, I swear. I considered naming this blog post Yellow Paisley, but I thought 'Persian Pickles' sounded way cooler.

While I never owned anything paisley I was immediately drawn to these pants from Ann Taylor. I loved the fun, yellow design. Nothing says spring and sunshine quite like yellow. Plus, Ann Taylor has petite sizing. Being short, I often find it hard to find pants that aren't too long or tops that don't fit like dresses. Ann Taylor has a great selection of petite items so I end up making alot of my purchases there. Anyways, this blog post was really meant to be focused on the shoes! How amazing are these? I saw them on a fellow blogger, Wendy's Lookbook, and I immediately had to have them! Now that the snow has melted in Calgary I don't have worry about ruining these bad boys when I'm out and about. Plus, I'm a sucker for anything with bows. I'd say about a third of my shoe collection consists of shoes with bow decals. I can't wait to style these with different ensembles. I have to say these are definitely my favorite shoes right now. I love the pale yellow, a welcome change from a classic black or nude heel.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Mother's Day Gift Ideas

With Mother's Day exactly a week away  I wanted to dedicate a post to some gift ideas for mom for those of you that are still searching. If your mom has similar tastes to mine i'm sure she will love some of the following! But honestly, the best gifts are those that come from the heart with a touch of homemade flair. Remember arts and crafts day in elementary school? Exactly. I know your mom probably still has some of those Mother's Day crafts lying around the house. I know mine does.

Stella & Dot charm pendant | Pandora Heart charm | Coach Legacy Bag/ Knit shawl | 10 Things I Love About You Ombre Mother's Day Card | Mothers Day Card, I Love You More Than The First Cup of Coffee | Vera Wang fragrance | Saw Grass Spray

Black, White and Patterned All Over

  

Top: Ann Taylor (similar here) | Bottom: Gap (on Sale!) | Sunglasses: Coach

Shoes: Forever 21 (similar here) | Bag: Coach (Legacy Leather Haley Satchel)

Jewelry: Stella and dot renegade bracelet, Happy wrist by Itchelita,  Junghwa heart bracelet, SeoulLittle heart rings

As mentioned in my last blog post I have been really into patterned pants lately. And what better way to show off patterned pants than with a patterned top? Mixing patterns can be tricky but if done right it can be visually stimulating. By picking a base color/colors (I did black and white) you can easily tie in patterned pieces effectively. I like to mix a denser pattern in with a more sparse pattern print.  I also love anything leopard print - mix that with stripes or polka dots and voila! Stripes and florals is also a great combination. Who am I kidding - stripes is always a great piece to use when mixing patterns as it goes with virtually anything if you stick to the same color family. It's also important to throw in a neutral piece with your outfit - hence my nude shoes and handbag. It helps to break up your outfit and balance it out. Do you have other ideas for mixing patterns? What rules do you go by?

Purple Polka Dots

Welcome to my first post of The Lee Diaries.  As I always say, who doesn't love pastels in spring and helium filled balloons? Ok, maybe I don't always say that.

Today was spent basking in the sun on a warm Canadian spring afternoon. While all the grass is still brown and no flowers have bloomed yet it still felt like spring with our daily high being a balmy 17 degrees Celsius. Knowing Calgary however we will probably get at least one more snow storm before spring officially sets in. Snow in April you say? Yes, this is Cananda.

After returning from a week long vacation in Las Vegas last night, I was excited to lay out all my new finds and pair them together to  make some interesting combinations. One of my favorite purchases was these platform pumps from Aldo (not available in Alberta of course!) They remind me of Cinderella's glass slippers with their "glass" heel. Now all I need is a ball gown...

I love going to Vegas for the same reason most of us do - the shopping! Especially living in Canada where we don't have the same access to brands that our southern neighbours do. I was really into patterned pants this time around. Ann Taylor has some really nice prints, and The Gap had some great sales on patterned jeans! I have to say the majority of my shopping was done at four different Ann Taylor stores.

I forgot about all the walking you do while in Vegas. While I wanted to showoff all my heels that I rarely get to wear at home I sadly had to wear my flats every night. And now that the snow has melted here in Canada, I can finally break out some of my nice shoes that I am too afraid will get ruined in our snowy winters.

"Give a girl the right shoes and she can conquer the world" - Bette Midler

Top:  Dorothy Perkins (on sale!) | Jeans: Gap (on sale!) | Sunglasses: Forever 21

Purse: Coach (similar available) | Ring: Tiffany & Co | Bracelet: Pandora | Shoes: Aldo

My Tiffany's ring and Pandora bracelet were gifts from a special man in my life. Anyone who knows me well knows that I love to wear three things: bows, hearts, and anything purple. Hence the bow ring, and 'purple themed' Pandora bracelet, with of course - a heart charm.