Nail Desk-to-Dinner Dressing with This One Switch Up

Going out for dinner after work but don’t have time to make it home and change? Who does? If you’re pressed for time and need to quickly elevate your look for a dinner, try this simple switch up trick: Swap your work pumps for fun, evening heels.This simple and chic shoe swap is easy to do and makes for a big difference in your look. The key to dressing for a post-work dinner is to make it look effortless and that you didn’t spend too much time getting ready. So how to do this? Well, when it comes to effortless style style, look not further than Olivia Palermo The style star was photographed by Sandra Semburg at London Fashion Week Spring 2012 dressed in sophisticated jeans, blazer and Manolo Blahnik Satin Pumps (i.e. you won’t find her wearing an evening dress and done-up hear on a work evening). Get the look by pairing your workwear ensemble with evening heels!

Scroll down to discover the shoes that will quickly become your go-to for post work dinners!

Chic Packing Tips For An Impromptu Weekend Getaway

Impromptu getaways are oh so great. Packing for them—not so much.

We know preparing for a trip can be exhausting. But just because you’re heading on a last minute getaway doesn’t mean you have to skimp on style. A short trip is actually the perfect time to test out your style skills, using some of your favorite basica to create a look for every occasion. By now, you are probably wondering, how can I pack everything I need for a weekend trip without looking like I’m super high maintenance?  Wonder no more—we’ve rounded up styling secretes taken so that you can pack for your next weekend getaway with ease.

Scroll through to check out our style tips to pack smarter for your next jaunt.

#1
Bring a fun printed bag on your next vacation to pair with a more comfortable outfit. This accessory will help you stay stylish even during a long day of being a tourist.

Sandra Semburg
Cheetah Print Calf Hair Pouch
Loeffler Randall Cheetah Print Calf Hair Pouch
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#2
Sometimes, a long sleeve playsuit is the best piece to take on a trip. Chic and easy to wear, we love this option for its day to night appeal.

A Love is Blind

#3
Even if you’re going somewhere warm, a leather jacket is always a must to bring along. This staple piece will work day or night and can appeal to a casual or dressy outfit.

A Love is Blind
 CHESTER DRAPE FRONT JACKET
MUUBAA CHESTER DRAPE FRONT JACKET 451
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#4
We’re so glad high waist pencil skirts are in because this look adds such a fun twist to evening attire. Wherever you’re traveling you can easily dress this skirt up or down with a cute sandal or heel.

Sandra Semburg
 Danielle Pencil Skirt, Ivory
Lela Rose Danielle Pencil Skirt, Ivory 395
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High-Waist Pencil Skirt, Black
Victoria Beckham High-Waist Pencil Skirt, Black 1295
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#5
It seems obvious, but we recommend you bring a  fitted pair of high waist jeans. This is an easy go-to outfit when you’re crunched for time.

Sandra Semburg
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#6
It’s easy to forget accessories when packing and we think it’s a must to bring a fun colored, light scarf you can add to a warm weather or cool outfit.

Sandra Semburg
Wolf-Print Cashmere & Silk Scarf
Bindya Wolf-Print Cashmere & Silk Scarf
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#7
If you don’t have one yet, get your hands on a totally adorable button up dress. This flattering shape looks good on every body type and it’s easy to throw on when you’re in a rush.

Sandra Semburg
ALEXIS BUTTON UP DRESS
LEVEL 99 ALEXIS BUTTON UP DRESS 154
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FRONT BUTTON UP SUEDE DRESS
CAPULET FRONT BUTTON UP SUEDE DRESS 347
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#8
Don’t forget to bring one completely comfy outfit – this ensemble can be worn on a long travel day or flight. A fun striped tee with your favorite joggers executes your cute yet cuddly outfit dreams!

A Love is Blind

Reading List: The Books The Style Set Are Reading Now

We often turn to celebrities for fashion and beauty inspiration—and now it looks like these tastemakers are becoming our “culture setters” as well. Proving that indulging in a good book is just as stylish as being well-dressed, some of our favorite celebrities share with their followers the books their reading,

From models reading memoirs (Karlie Kloss reaching for “The Woman I Wanted to Be“), to fashion all-star indulging in gossipy, good-humored trilogies (Eve Chen reading China Rich Girlfriend ) to celebrities tooting the goodness of inspirational books (Reese Witherspoon reading Brave Enough), these trendsetting superstars also know a thing or two about choosing a great read— just check out their Instagram timelines!

Whether your literary game is slacking or you’re a bona fide bookworm looking for your next holiday read, do yourself a favor and scroll down to check out these celebrity-approved recommendations—guaranteed to serve as the ideal complement to your next lazy Sunday!

Keep reading to discover and shop some of your favorite fashion style setters books!

EVA CHEN
China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan

5 Ways to Wear The Crop Top

Newsflash: The crop top is back and it’s not going going anywhere anytime soon.

If you’re anything like us, you’re loving the this chic piece for it’s ability to highlight the smallest part of your frame. But we know that this cropped silhouette can be a bit daunting when you think about styling it.

While it is the perfect partner to high-rise skirts and pants, how to wear it for other settings is a little bit more of a question mark. Well, to give you a little guidance, we created a short list of how to wear the décolletage-baring piece so you can wear it anywhere today.

Keep reading for your crop top  how-to guide. Then, go a bit further to shop the seasons favorite shirt!

For weekends, we like the crop top best with white jeans and sandals. Team with a long sleeved lightweight sweater to avoid showing too much skin.

Wear with a shoulder baring black hairpin-lace cropped top with tailored pants for a more casual approach or team with a kimono sweater and midi skirt for a more after-dark chic. For an ultra chic look, be sure to line yours with nude or black underpinnings.

A Love is Blind

Play with proportions and pair your crop top with a midi skirt or wide-leg linen pants. Add leg-lengthening appeal with platform sandals.

A Love is Blind

For a red carpet affair, keep lines streamlined by sticking to a single color, and pairing the crop top with a floor length sweeping skirt, wear it above or at your natural waist to accentuate the slimmest part of your waist.

Since the crop top focuses on the waist – cover your midriff at the office by pairing the top with a high-waisted pencil skirt, keeping this look polished and ladylike. For an even more structured look, style it with a matching skirt.

Meet Fashion’s Favorite New Yoga Sequence

A bloated belly can make you feel downright awful and there’s no cohort of folks that hates the feeling of bloat more than the fashion scene. While bloating has many causes, one of the main culprits is is carbonated drinks such as champagne. So, it’s no surprise that after a night of partying, you wake up to a bloated belly. So, how do you get rid of that heavy bloat when you’ve got a bloat emergency (Sunday brunch date anyone)?

We asked that very question to insanely fit former gymnast turned yoga guru for Core Power Yoga, Christine Fronterotta. Christine tells us that the best weapons to alleviate bloat is yoga. While Fronterotta recommends heated yoga as the quickest way to help reduce excess water weight and cut down on the bloat, if you can’t find the time to get to a yoga session, there are a few poses you can do at home that can help get rid of belly bloat. Luckily for you, Fronterotta has formulated a great, all-levels sequence that you can do at home for removing bloat though your abs, center and waist. This sequence is one of the best to do if you’re pressed for time, traveling, you have a special event, hitting the beach or you just need a quick workout for targeting bloat.

Ahead, Fronterotta’s de-bloat fast yoga sequence, sure to have you looking and feeling like your pretty self again in no time!

Child’s Pose

The first pose to start the sequence is child’s pose. This pose is commonly known as a place of rest in yoga and will help relax and ground you. This pose also helps to promote breathing, which is particularly great for to calm the nervous system alleviating bloat. Drop your knees to the floor with your big toes touching, and separate your knees to align with your hips, sinking your hips toward your heels. Stretch your arms in front of you and let your forehead rest on the earth. Breathe here deeply to relax and ground yourself. Make sure to breathe deeply to create space between the abdominal region and the floor, this will help energize you if you are feeling sluggish by activating your pranayama and stretching out the abdominal region.

 

Cat to Cow

Cat to cow will help energize the spine and create energy. Come slowly out of child’s pose and rest with your hands and knees planted on the ground, back flat. Inhale, drop the belly, lift the buttocks, and look up to stretch the neck upward. Exhale, round your back upwards, pulling up your spine. Inhale and release your back, drop your stomach down, and stretch the neck upwards. Repeat a few times breathing slowly.

 

Standing Forward Fold

Standing forward fold helps increase circulation to the bowels by compressing them. More blood flow to the area will cause more action to help eliminate bloating. Following cat to cow pose, sit down with your legs stretched out in front of you, spine straight. Lift your arms straight into the air and from your hips, fold your torso down and reach for your toes. If you can, tuck your head down to your legs for a full fold. Don’t forget to breathe.

Half Lord of the Fishes Pose

Lift your torso back up from forward fold, keeping your legs outstretched. Step the right foot over the left leg, planting it firmly on the outside of your right hip. Twist your body to the right. Keep the right hand on the floor behind the buttock and press your left bicep against the outside of the right, bent knee, allowing for a full spine twist. Do the reverse to stretch the other side.

Wind Removing Pose

Release your body from half lord of the fishes, allowing both legs to lay flat in front of you. Lie down flat on your back, inhale deeply and hug one knee into your chest. Stretch your neck, trying to touch your forehead to the knee. Breathe deeply.

Supine Twist

Supine twist will rinse out your bowels after the wind removing pose. While still in wind removing pose, release your arms and stretch your bent knee across the opposite, stretched out leg. Use the opposite hand to press down lightly on the bent knee. Press shoulders firmly into the ground, outstretch the opposite hand and look at it to stretch the neck. Come back up from supine twist and sit cross legged.  Allow yourself to realign, and rock side to side to massage your kidneys and release toxins from the body. Repeat wind removing and supine twist,, stretching the opposite side of the body. Still feeling bloated?

Fronterotta recommends drinking at least 8-12 oz. of water following this sequence. For an extra anti-bloat, she swears by Urban Moonshine’s Organic Digestive Bitters, an ancient remedy to ease digestion, regulate appetite and build vitality.

10 Must-Take Photos for Your Wedding Day

If you’re in the throws of wedding planning, read on because getting beautiful wedding day photos is now one less thing to worry about it.

Firstly, there is no doubt you will be photographed a lot on your wedding day. From the moment you open your eyes to the last toast, all lenses will be on you. While you want every moment of this special day to be captured, you also want to tell a natural but elegant story to your big day— one that captures the key highlights (as well as the candid in-between moments). In our humble opinion, the best way to get the photos you want from your wedding day is to create a list of shots you’d love to have taken. So, to give you a little guidance on what should be on your short list, we caught up with expert wedding photographer  Christian Oth founder of Christian Oth Studio in New York City, to share his expert opinion of photographs that really matter on your wedding day.

“Whether you’re camera—trained or a bit shy in front of a lens, being photographed is a very personal experience,”  says Christian whose fashion-forward photojournalism is showcased in timeless shots that capture the unselfconscious beauty of the bride, groom and those they love most. “This is the philosophy behind the “unposed pose”, a concept born from a decade of experience working with clients to bring out an individual’s unique beauty in their most natural state.

Keep scrolling for your wedding photo short list from Christian Oth.

1. Bride – Beauty Shot

PHOTO: Christian Oth Studio
Gemini Two Piece
Gemini Two Piece 588
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Wedding Belles New York Crystal Floral Headband
Wedding Belles New York Crystal Floral Headband 99
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Betsey Johnson Mrs. Embroidered Bridal Terry Robe
Betsey Johnson Betsey Johnson Mrs. Embroidered Bridal Terry Robe 79
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2. Bride with Bridesmaids

PHOTO: Shawn Connell/Christian Oth Studio
Giuseppe Zanotti Metal Wing Sandals
Giuseppe Zanotti Giuseppe Zanotti Metal Wing Sandals 1595
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7 Chic Wedding Invites That Make Us Rethink The Classic Invite

I’m a huge proponent of going green—no matter the project or task ahead.

As such, I was very happily surprised when last week, I received an invite for a friend’s wedding in my inbox. That’s right, inbox. Digital invitations are the norm now for most celebrations. Still, for traditions sake, online wedding invitations have somewhat been considered a faux pas. However, as more modern couples are embracing the wedding e-invite, the trend is becoming more common (and thankfully) more stylish!

If you recently got engaged and the thought of wedding invitations stress you out, you’re in luck. We found a great site, Wedding Paper Divas, that specializes in providing digital stationery for the modern bride—whether you want to upload your own custom design or tailor one of Wedding Paper Divas’s exclusive designer invitations, every invitation is delivered complete with personalized envelope, liner, stamp, and RSVP tracking.

Since we know that it’s often difficult to filter through email invites,  we did the work and selected 7 elegant digital wedding invites — all of which you can customize to your personal story and style!