Home Improvement

 / Image Via /

Wow, you guys! We haven't had our regular Thursday 'Home Improvement sessions in quite a while. Inspiring and comfortable home decors are something that I have grown quite interested in over the years, and finding them for these weekly posts is something that I very much enjoy. So, we'll be getting back to those for all of you reading. Aside from my clear recent obsession with all things black and white, yellow is a color that is finding its way into my obsession category, as well.

While yellow is a color that so many people, including me,  shy away from (similar to orange), I began to shift my thoughts towards it with a recent trip for a pedicure. It sounds silly, but yellow is a color that is known to make people happier, and with bright yellow toes, it certainly has done a little bit of joy every time I go to change my footwear for the day. I began thinking that if yellow toes can instantly add that bit of happiness, what would happen if there was yellow accents in our home decor? While too much of it may be a bit bright, depending on your feelings towards the color, a little accent here and there definitely adds that punchy brightness that easily finishes a room and fills it in with the way that a lot of colors just aren't able to. In the room above, I love how the room is mostly black and white with pastel accents and sort of faded pieces and then the small yellow pillow and blanket on the couch make it warmer than if they had not been there at all.

What do you guys think? Adding any yellow into your lives in the future?

If not in your decor or your wardrobe, I suggest at least starting with your toes :)

On Wednesdays we wear PINK!

/ Pink set by me / Zara Heels /

With today being the 10th anniversary of the day Mean Girls opened in theaters, and it being a Wednesday (!), I decided what better occassion than today to pull out a piece I made last semester. 

" On Wednesdays we wear PINK " !

This is probably one of my favorite pieces that I have ever made. From the perfectly pink fabric, the black and white satiny piping, and another favorite, the bell sleeve, this little pink set that I made to complement a 60's style dress is just as fun to wear as it to look at. I love the idea that you can easily wear the pieces together as a set, or split them up. Options are fun to think about not only when designing, but when getting dressed as well. How cute would the pants look with a white t-shirt and denim jacket? Or, the top with high-waisted skinnies and fabulous heels?

As always, I'd love to hear any feedback.

Hope you all spent your Wednesdays piling on the pink.

xo

Black + White

/ Dress by Me / Necessary Clothing belt / Primark clutch / David Yurman ring / Zara heels /

Lately I've been particularly drawn to bold black and white stripes. There's something about them to me that is so classic and stylish, and I love when there are touches of color to accent them off. I made this knit dress my sophomore year and had never worn it, so when I saw the black and white striped bell sleeves peeking out of my rack in my closet, immediately I went for it. The fabric is two-sided (one with stripes the other with polka dots) and the play on the combination with the fun sleeves and sort of scalloped hem made it a dress that I will definitely be putting on more frequently in the future.

What do you all think? Do you like it? I'd love to hear feedback. 

Hope everyone has a great start to the week! 

Updates

Since before this week I had been a little lax on posting, I figured it would good to put a little update here on 85 Dresses. These past few weeks have been rather busy and had some exciting things in them, and some of my favorites are the ones in the pictures.

1. Business Lady - After many rounds of trial and error, I finally printed my first set of business cards at the beginning of this month. I had been wanting to for a while, and kept them very true to myself with the 85 Dresses logo and gold glittered social media icons to make sure everyone who gets them will keep in touch. Now, who to hand them out to...

2. Spotted Sunnies - TJ Maxx isn't really a store that I visit very often when I am at home in Texas (or Syracuse), but all of my flatmates are major fans, so we ventured into the TK Maxx (London's version) and I couldn't resist leaving without these Moschino (Teen!) spotted sunglasses. They're severe cat-eye shape and classic black and white were perfect.

3. Styled - This past Saturday I styled my very first photoshoot with the help of my partner, Mariann Asayan, our photographer Samantha Stone, and model Hannah Gessler.  Our concept was heavily art-focused and I can't wait to share more. I got such a rush while doing it, and really think it was successful! 

4. Day in the Park - The weather was beautiful on Sunday, so a couple of friends and I headed to Hyde Park to sit and chat and take in the warmer temps. Perfect time to break out my favorite new Zara sandals that I had been eyeing for a while.

5. Coffee Craze - One of my favorite weekend activities is finding new coffee spots. There is nothing more that I love than chatting with friends over a great cup of coffee, and finding perfect spots to do so is an absolute must. After reading about Monocle online, a few friends and I walked to a new neighborhood nearby for some amazing iced lattes and people watching in the park nearby. Again, how can you resist those black and white stripes?!

Make sure that you follow me on Instagram @leshkoln to keep up with daily happenings!

Home Improvement

 / Photo from The Life Styled /

As much as I love color, I have a special place for neutrals, as well. However, even with neutrals I can shift between both ones with texture and prints and ones that are super monochromatic and solid. This week's Home Improvement post features a living room setting that has a glamorous feel using neutrals of gold, blacks, creams, and whites, but playing up the lack of color with glitter, polka dots, chevron, and fur throws. The light colored couch, walls, and table keep the room light and airy and allow the accent pillows to provide the perfect amount of pop and interest to the space. Can't you totally picture sitting here reading stacks of magazines and chatting with girlfriends?

What do you think of printed and textured neutrals in this week's room?

PS-How amazing is that gold pillow?

Fresh for Fall

/ 1. Topshop Tank / 2. Forever 21 Jacket / 3. Topshop Skirt / 4. Forever 21 Sandals

After what felt like excruciating heat for about the past week (I totally forgot about no AC at school), the weather finally cooled a bit yesterday. While it was certainly still every bit sandal weather footwear-wise, getting to throw on a new favorite varsity jacket with the coolest quilting that I found for $18 the day before, made that exciting look towards fall a good one. With a black and white palette and faux leather jacket, metallic sandals in a similar style to the ones above, added the shine needed to take the simple palette to a sophisticated one, all while happily welcoming fall.

Home Improvement

Pastels are playing a huge role in coats for the upcoming fall and winter seasons. What used to be reserved for darker blacks, grey, and navy, have been replaced by more subdued cotton candy colors. With pastels making a statement in a season other than traditional Spring, I came across this room above, that keeps the pastels and sweet colors slightly toned down with a graphic black and white rug, funky light fixtures, and a bit of nature with a pop of kelly green plants. Keeping the furniture simple both in shape and style is key in a room like this one. With the prints and patterns displayed on the fabrics, the basic furniture helps to balance it out, and the robins-egg blue table picks up on colors in the blankets. 

How would you arrange pastels in your home to keep them from being overly sweet? I'm in love with that rug!

'Til Next Time, New York

/ Forever 21 dress / Michael Kors watch / Topshop (old) heels / Necklace from Austin, TX / Yankees cap /

Well, New York, another summer has come and gone and my busy period of balancing up to three internships at one point and keeping up with this blog has ended. I came home on Saturday and have until Thursday until I head back to New York (upstate, though) to start my Junior year at Syracuse. I wanted to say goodbye to summer and bye to the city with a classic NYC accessory, the New York Yankees baseball cap. Baseball caps are not an accessory that I integrate into my wardrobe regularly, but I have always loved how they add the perfect athletic vibe to any outfit--even a mod black and white shift with sky-high heels.

Have you ended your summer dream careers? Where are you headed now, I'd love to hear!

Tuesday Shoesday

With all of our classic leopard and edgy snakeskin prints, it's easy to overlook some other animal prints that are just as fabulous. Cue: The Dalmatian print. This print can appear like an abstract polka dot pattern at first, but the randomness of the spots is what makes it unique. And, in a print instead of a polka, makes it a bit more sophisticated than the playful dot. With my newfound obsession with delicate ankle strap shoes of all styles, the combination of this Dalmatian print with the ankle straps creates a fresh new style that will be interesting in pairing with not only solids, but figuring out complementary patterns to mix with, as well.

What do you think of the Dalmatian print? Aren't these pumps amazing?

Home Improvement

left photo via

Do you find yourself doubting your projects when you're at work? I know this is something that I am definitely guilty of. When working on a project for a while, similar to staring at a paper you're trying to put together, it is hard to appreciate it for the spark from where the initial idea came from that caused you to act on it. This week's Home Improvement feature is a fun take on a bit of self-encouragement for an office setting (or wherever you see fits). Though at first it came across as a bit overwhelming, I love how when doing a double take, the words can come across as almost like a graphic wallpaper print. If these walls could talk they would definitely keep inspiration flowing and get ideas back on track to where they were. Also, how cute is that little orange polka dot desk organizer? I love how the sea-foam scissors holder and desk organizer pop against the other-wise only black and white desk. 

Would you ever try a wall like this one?

Tuesday Shoesday

Remember how in the past I had told you that I don't usually just go and buy shoes? Well, I promise, I really don't. However, with all of the amazing holiday sales that I have been seeing this summer, sometimes a good deal really is hard to resist. Zara seems to have been my most frequented location for a good sale lately, and these black and white combination heels were no exception. While I almost made it out of the store without them, their interesting slightly angular toes and backs, graphic little heel, and the fact that they made me feel a bit like Carrie Bradshaw after a Manolo trip--minus the crazy costs--finally got to me. As soon as I got home I began dreaming up what to pair them with, and it's safe to say that they are going to be a perfect go with anything pair of heels that manages to complete the rest of a look when you didn't even realize all of the potential. 

What do you think of these black and white Zara heels? Are you as big of a fan of them as I am?

Art Mod

//Dress: Forever 21// Necklace: From Austin, TX// Ring: H&M//Watch: Michael Kors//Shoes: Target//

When dressing in a hurry, I usually gravitate towards a flared skirt with a blouse or a classic fit-and-flare dress. However, this weekend in a hurry for mother's day brunch, I went straight for a simple mod-like black and white shift. While there isn't much shape to this particular style, it is comfortable enough for a day of festivities, but still put-together and timeless at the same time. We ended up venturing to a new part of Discovery Green in downtown Houston, and found the amazing sculpture, Monument Au Fantome by Jean Dubuffet. With the black, white, red, and cobalt blue of the sculpture, the black and white simple palette of my dress ended up being perfectly complementary.

Dress Up

While I was never particularly stellar at geometry, or mathematics at all, in school, styles in art, fashion, and interiors with geometric influences are some of my main sources of inspiration. I love the literal sharpness of the shapes and the style that they give off, as well. Kelly Wearstler is one of my favorites when it comes to interior design, and her garments definitely follow. Her fall 2013 RTW collection  pulled on my geometric love, as it was a main source of inspiration for her for this collection. I fell in love with this particular dress for it's obvious use of geometric shapes, and it's use of black and white in an untraditional manner. The linear quality of the bodice draws your eye up and down, but also has plenty of detail to focus on, too. 

photo via

Dress Up

Everyone that knows anything about me knows that I have a mild obsession with Club Monaco. Everything about the brand from the actual garments, to their window displays and lookbooks always inspires me. So, when it came to a simple black and white striped dress, this one from Club Monaco is anything but simple and every bit perfect. This 'Alice' double-knit is an excellent way to work in the mod and graphic trend from spring in a comfortable and easy-to-wear dress for summer, as well. With the flattering paneling and length, this is also the perfect dress to transition from work to play and easily dressed up or down with some fancy footwear and accessories.

What do you think about this not-so-simple dress?

Dress Up

Black and white pieces are made up of elements that remain classic and interesting, but with minimalistic and fairly simplistic notes. While prints and patterns can easily become bold and the opposite of simplistic, the windowpane trend catching on for spring 2013, is a pattern that can be easily incorporated as a basic. With it's precise grid lines and geometric order, the windowpane pattern is almost effortlessly put-together and chic. While I have seen this up and coming trend printed on blouses, skirts, and this sweater that I have my eye on, this Tibi dress is perfection. Though the peplum trend still seems to be going strong, this drop waist is a relief to waists everywhere, and it's little flounce on the bottom adds just the right amount of interest, as well as draws the eye down to add to a more complete look. 

Are you excited to try out this windowpane trend?

Herringbone

Topshop T-shirt//Forever 21 Necklace// Skirt that I made// Steve Madden shoes// and Michael Kors watch

As much as I love colors, I really appreciate garments that have interesting patterns and textures. When I made this skirt last year, I was drawn to the corduroy fabric that instead of the typical ribbing that is associated with corduroy, had an interesting herringbone pattern on it. I have always enjoyed pairing long sleeves with shorter skirts or shorts, and on the abnormally warm December day that we had in Houston on Sunday, this was a perfect outfit for meeting up with some friends for coffee. 

Denim Mini

{ By Corpus coat, Zara sweater, Topshop overall-dress, H&M tights, Forever 21 necklace, Michael Kors watch, and Mossimo Supply Co. ankle boots}

Denim mini skirts were the article of clothing that adorned every pre-teen girl in middle school. From crystal embellished to embroidery, every style was created for these popular minis. Since then, that trend has long faded, and what once used to be reserved for toddlers, elementary children, and My Twin dolls, came into style--The Overalls. While I am not brave enough to attempt the full-on overall style, this denim mini dress reminds me of the denim mini skirts that I used to love in middle school. With it's simple shape and the neutrality of the denim, it can be paired with basically anything just like your favorite pair of jeans. In wearing mine with a black and white striped sweater, black tights, and gold accessories, it is still a fairly basic look, but far different than what would be though of traditionally when associated with overalls. 

Tuesday Shoesday

Even though it is below freezing up in Syracuse right now, and we're in the middle of December, I find myself browsing sandal options for once it gets warmer and I won't be the only one who will be able to see my pedicure. With the black and white popularity during the Spring '13 shows (see: Marc Jacobs and Jil Sander), I realized how these bold graphic straps would provide a simple interesting element to a breezy dress or billowy shorts. However, since it is going to be chilly for quite a while, for now, we will just take notice in the black and white to use as winter wear inspiration and keep these on our minds come spring. 

Dress Up

Being so pale, I used to shy away from garments in white or black, and would gravitate towards brighter colors. Recently, though, I have enjoyed wearing solid black or white pieces, and have found ways through accessories and makeup (lipstick, anyone?) that will no longer cause me to blend into my clothes. While white is typically not a shade for the cooler seasons, this Madewell dress is hard to resist (even seen by the fact that it is currently sold out). With it's sweetheart neckline, sheer panel and long sleeves, it is the perfect combination of sweet and simple, but with the cut and the feel, make it one of those dresses that I would pull out to wear again and again. 

Home Improvement

{via}

Black and white is a classic combination that can almost always do no wrong. Whether applied to clothing, photography, or in this case interior design, it always manages to look polished and amazing. This photograph is from a Manhattan dining room and kitchen featured in the September 2012 issue of Lonny Magazine. Designed by Lilly Bunn Weekes, the black and white is bold enough that it makes a statement and is the feature of the room, but by being applied to the backsplash of the appliances, is not overwhelming for such a common space of the home. 

Would you decorate a room in black and white, or are you a die-hard color fanatic?