Vintage Celebration

Vintage Dress via Shareen Vintage / GAP denim jacket / Vintage purse (my grandmother's!) / Christian Siriano heels c/o / Michael Kors watch / Sunglasses from Anthropologie

Do you build your outfits around a pair of shoes? With shoes as amazing as these Christian Siriano ones, you can't help but start with them first. I've never seen anything like them and it feels like you are wearing bracelets on your ankles in the best way possible. Aside from my obvious obsession with them, I knew that one of the first things I wanted to try them with was this vintage dress from Shareen Vintage that's actually my mom's. I loved the way that the skirt of the dress sort of mimicked the skirts of the heels and created such a feminine feel that was perfect for the first of my early birthday celebrations.

White Hot II

/ H&M sweater + skirt / Sunnies from NYC street vendor / Michael Kors watch / David Yurman ring / Topshop purse / Fur Pouf from London trimming store / Primark platforms /

As much as I love an all white look, I love using white as a starting point for colors, too. Here, I mixed a favorite bright white sweater (love the sleeves!) with a cream colored old lace skirt from H&M. Working within a similar color palette is something that I like to play around with often, but not so much when it comes to neutrals. I love how this look started out simple and focused on the light colors and more on the shapes of the skirt and the sweaters' sleeves, and soon turned into a sort of Lula-esque floral and pink moment. That's probably one of the main ideas that I love about getting dressed-- you can have an idea in mind of who you want to be that day or of how you want to dress, and quickly, the pieces sort of combine themselves into your end point where you may have never even thought you'd end up. Does that ever happen to any of you?

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!

Very Versailles

/ Jacket: GAP / Dress: Zara (old) / Belt + Ankle Boots: Target / Tights: H&M / Sunnies: NYC Street Vendor                           / Lipstick: Revlon / 

Again, I apologize for delayed posts. Since getting back from our early Spring Break, trip to Paris and Italy, and all of the assignments, I've been pretty exhausted. Still, I'm workin' on it to bring back the frequent content to 85 Dresses. 

As a result of the delay, these photos were taken a few weeks ago on our last day in Paris at the incredible Versailles. As this was my first (!) trip to Paris, traveling to Versailles for the day was extremely exciting, as it is a place that like many others, I had learned about in school and couldn't wait to see the luxury of it in person. While I found Paris overall to be fairly fancy and formal, when it came to getting dressed for Versailles, I figured that a gold sequin belt, classic red lipstick in my favorite shade, and rose adorned sunglasses were musts. Couldn't you picture Marie Antoinette having dozens of these sunnies if she lived during our time? To keep all of the extras a little toned down (but still with the pizazz that they add to the look) pairing them with a classic pleated dress and leather jacket created the effect that I was going for to feel a little extra glam for a place that was definitely full of it, too!

Style Photos by Indradevi Nuon

Watercolor Rose

/ Topshop top and skirt / Zara heels and purse / DIY sunglasses /

Lately, it's a pretty rare occasion where I come across a garment that stops me and I automatically need to have it. Even rarer, is that it is in a reasonably affordable price range. I have been working on trying to add in a few special pieces into my wardrobe, regardless of their wearability, and this skirt from Topshop had all of the qualities I was looking for. Feminine, dainty, and unique in design, it is one of the pieces that has the power of making you feel a bit prettier just by putting it on. Bonus points, it reminds me of Katie Rodger's Dior illustration on Paper Fashion!

Have you seen any of these special pieces lately? I'd love to see.

Lasered

/ Forever 21 dress / DIY Sunnies / Ellen Tracy heels / Zara purse / Michael Kors watch / Brandy Melville ring / Necklace from Austin, TX 

I certainly have my fair share of black dresses in my closet. From short and sheer to long and formal, black dresses are such a wardrobe staple that really are perfect for nearly any occasion. However, even with my extensive array there was a certain style that still was lacking: laser cut and leather. I love wearing garments that have special detailing to them. Unfortunately, that detailing often comes with a special price, as well. When I saw this dress at Forever 21 last week for under thirty dollars, I knew it was the perfect piece to fill in the gap in my wardrobe in both its style and price.

Do you have a little black dress gap in your wardrobe? What style are you looking for?

Monofoamatic

{Zara t-shirt, Necessary Clothing belt, Nine 3 Two skirt (from Nordstrom Rack), Tory Burch sandals (borrowed from mom), Michael Kors watch,  American Eagle necklace, and Anthropologie sunglasses}

So, remember this post? Well, after seeing how perfectly this sea foam skirt matched this incredibly soft Zara t-shirt, I figured I should give the colored monochrome look a try. With one of the trends from this summer being to mix the popularity of spring pastels with summers love of brights, I added my favorite neon belt to an otherwise pastel look, to create my first attempt at a colored monochrome style. 

{Went kind of nail happy at Sephora the other day}