A Ted Baker Kind of Day

I've been slacking at posting the last week.  It's been record heat and that has sucked the motivation out of me.  I have lots of blogs in the works, in my head at least, but haven't gotten them all ironed out to perfection yet.  So, while sitting here, drained of energy and motivation, Ted Baker popped into my head and seemed like something worth talking about today.

When I go to Las Vegas, I love to go check out the Ted Baker shops.  The designs are very feminine, classic, and are the essence of English fashion.  I love pretty much everything I've seen of Ted Baker.  My only complaint with the clothes are that they are not of necessarily the nicest fabrics....  That doesn't mean they are cheap fabrics by any means, but if I am going to pay hundreds of dollars for a dress, I hope it is silk, rayon, wool, something along those lines, but Baker seems to use a lot of polyesters.  Polyester, when you break it down and think about it, really isn't that bad.  Care is generally easier.  The quality of polyester has improved significantly over the years and can be made to feel like silk or other natural fibers, but for some reason, I have a mental block about it and have a really hard time justifying paying the cost when the fabric is polyester.  Is that weird?  Anyone else have that?  And not all of his clothes are polyester.  It just seems that what I pick out when I am at his stores is.

One day I think I will break down and actually buy some Ted Baker clothes though because I think the designs are so fresh and fun.

What are some of his designs that I'm currently loving?

This floral embroidered dress.  Currently on sale for $367, down from $525.  I think this is a very sweet dress.  It would be great for weddings you might have to go to, dates, summer parties, etc.  Silk.  See embroidery pattern below:

As a general rule, I hate jumpsuits.  I don't think they are flattering.  I think maybe 2% of the population can pull them off, and that percentage is not usually the percentage that you see wearing them.  That being said, I think this is a cute jumpsuit, or playsuit as they are refering to this.  I think I like it because it doesn't look like a jumpsuit.  It looks like shorts and a top.  This is the Jordann dancing leaves print playsuit on sale for $173, down from $248.  Polyester.

This Tallar swoop neck dress.  Retro, classic, flirty.  On sale for $332, down from $475.  Silk :)

Liano Dancing Leaves dress.  $192 down from $275.  Polyester.  I think this is very cute, youthful, and looks like so much fun to wear.

So my picks for today didn't back up my polyester rant from above.  I totally failed there, well halfway anyway.  Oh well.  You should check out Ted Baker at www.TedBaker-London.com.

They have a sale going on now:

I also started a Facebook page where I post daily sales that I know about.  And some days, I post what I am wearing.  Picture quality is typical Myspace pictures usually, but it lets you see what my style is and what I wear.

Accessories, Accessories, Accessories

I've wanted to talk about accessories since day 1 but haven't quite known where to start.  I've taken a little time to think about it and am going to wing it so hopefully I manage to get the point across how I intend.

Most people know that accessories can make or break and outfit and can take you from "blah" to "wow" but accessorizing can be a lot harder than it seems like it should be.  I mean, all you have to do is throw on a necklace, a hat, shoes, something right?  What's so hard about that?

Well, there are a lot of things to think about.  What's the occasion?  What look are you going for?  Do your accessories match the style of your outfit?  How to combine prints and colors?  Etc.  But really, accessorizing isn't as hard as we make it out to be.

Start with your outfit.  Now, where are you going?

Work?  Wear practical shoes, either heel or flat, just something you are comfortable in and is appropriate for your work.  Good accessories for work are cardigans or blazers.  Keep jewelry keyed down for work.  Some good work outfits and accessory examples are:

Accessory wise, there isn't much to this outfit.  A simple cardigan, black heels, a belt, and a watch.  Easy.  But still a fun outfit.

I love this outfit.  Love the sharp lines on the blazer.  Simple necklace, bracelets, watch, belt, clutch.  Again, not too much to it right?

I could post dozens of examples for work but I think you can get the idea.  For work, keep it classy, keep it simple.

Date night is a little more fun.  You can use more accessories, brighter colors, just have more fun with it in general.  You still don't want to overdo it but you have a little more flexibility.

This outfit is fun for a casual date.  A statement necklace and a belt.  Super easy.

I love this outfit.  I could go from work to a night out pretty easily.  Work with a blazer and probably some different shoes. Date night, lose the blazer, sexy shoes.  Super easy.  You could add a necklace or some earrings.  Easy to put together and looking hot!

Summer casual?  Hanging out, shopping, going to the beach, luncheons, etc.

Simple eyelet dress is amped up with a belt, bracelets, a hat, simple jewelry.  Very cute.

Blazer, belt, bracelets, shoes.  Effortless but very polished and put together.

Accessorizing is easy, takes little time, but makes a huge difference.  Just keep colors, patterns, and proportions in mind.  Don't mix big, loud prints with more big, loud prints.  Aim for solids or simple prints instead (and yes, it is OK to mix prints with prints within reason).

Still not sold on accessories completely changing the look of an outfit?  Check out The Uniform Project (http://www.theuniformproject.com/year1/home/monthly/June.html).  A woman wears the same dress every day for a year and just styles it differently every day.  Some of her outfits are interesting to say the least, but it goes to show how differently you can make the same thing look depending on what you pair it with.  Here's an example of 10 days worth of her outfits:

I am sure I will do more posts on accessories in the future (I already am planning one dedicated to scarves), but I think this is a good, basic overview of accessories and the effect they can have.  Have fun accessorizing, but also keep it simple.  It's very easy to over accessorize and that can make you look like a little kid playing dress up (or worse, like a cheap hooker - that may have more to do with makeup than anything else but accessories can get you there too).

Side note, I pulled all my example pictures from Pinterest.  I generally try to search the pins back to their original source so I can give credit where credit is due, but I didn't have time for that today so I apologize for that and if anyone knows the source of the above photos, feel free to leave that info in a comment below.  I'll do my best to avoid doing this in the future.

"A woman makes an outfit her own with accessories." Oscar de la Renta

One last thing, Banana Republic is doing a giveaway right now.  You can win a $1000 gift card there, a 2 night trip to one of two locations, and a Fiat 500.  Enter here: http://on.fb.me/13qpRRI.  You can enter every day this month so be sure to enter daily :)