Equipment Stripes and (Don’t You Step on My) Blue Suede Shoes

I love bright, saturated colors like jewel tones, and this cobalt has been a favorite of mine for a while. I love when this color comes back into style, because I really think it looks great on everyone. I’m especially fond of cobalt blue paired with crisp white and stark black. Cobalt with white is fresh and clean feeling, while cobalt with black feels elegant and chic.

Introducing the newest, happy addition to the AN wardrobe…cobalt suede point toe pumps!

A happy accident, these were sitting abandoned on a chair in the Neiman Marcus shoe department, open boxed, with a little receipt looking piece of paper tossed inside. Once I spied the shoe size was the one I had been looking for, I was desperate to slyly grab and shove them on my feet. My fear was someone else had already claimed them, and would scream at me from across the room to remove their shoes from my person. I hovered, eying and waiting for the owner to claim them, and nearly tripped over myself to stop the sales associate who swooped them up.

Turns out a fellow small-footed lady had tried them on just minutes before, but left them behind because she was hoping to find this shoe in black. These were a double score, considering I had a hefty gift card left over from Christmas still burning a hole in my wallet, making these cheapity cheap cheap.

The interesting thing is every retailer website I’ve seen suggests the purchaser to order one size up because they run small. Maybe it’s my narrow foot, but these are one 1/2 size down from my normal size (I normally wear a 35/5, and these are size 34.5), and even then, they could stand to be a little more snug. I’ve put a shoe cushion in the toe box which helped greatly. I’m out of luck to find a size 34 to try on, since none of the department stores I called ordered that size. Oh well…as Tim Gunn says…”make it work!”

Now, let’s chat Equipment blouses. They are the blouse du-jour of the fashion set at the moment, and are pretty much the perfect slouchy silk shirt. I’ve been rummaging through racks of them at department stores for months now, but their swamping, oversize shape don’t have great hangar appeal for me. I never even bothered trying them on.

Then Wendy visited San Diego for a few days and brought a slew of items for me to try on (making friends who wear the same size as me has been the best part of blogging!), including this blouse in another colorway. The size xs looked huge on the hangar, huge on me, but then pretty damn cute after some simple styling magic. It’s saving graces are the thin, wispy silk that drapes beautifully, and a surprisingly small shoulder that only slightly falls below my natural shoulder (which is pretty acceptable by silk shirt standards). My shoulders are narrow even compared to other ladies my height, so I doubt most people will have this problem.

I’ve heard the “signature” blouses run bigger, so I’ll be avoiding those.

Ready to see some fit-faking?

via Instagram

:: photos – boyfriend ::

Outfit Details – Equipment blouse (similar from Bebe) :: Banana Republic Outlet camisole (I love these & they come in petite!) (similar from BR) :: BlankNYC jeans (and here & here) (post) :: Ann Taylor belt :: Manolo Blahnik shoes (similar on sale from J.Crew + extra 30% off with code SHOPNOW) :: Chanel handbag :: Kate Spade watch (customized) :: Stella & Dot necklace (c/0) (similar on sale, but larger sized. Check your local store) and bracelet (c/0) (in silver) (post) :: Daisy Knights ring (similar & really cool ring from ASOS) :: Banana Republic stackable rings (recent – check your local store) :: Essie “Turquoise and Caicos” nail color