Style Story: Snake Eyes

I love a good snake print and this vegan leather stretch pencil skirt could not be more perfect. The colours the texture and the pattern layout are so precise, and it fits like a glove. Because it’s made by a company with a shape wear division, Commando, the skirt’s designed to lay flat and smooth the body. I wanted to style my look with my skirt as the focal point. The easiest way to achieve that is by surrounding it with solid black items that give me full body coverage and have clean lines.

My thin rib turtleneck, Zara, fits tight and close to the body. Its slight shine and textured rib keep it from melting into the skirt. Like most LA Tomatoes, I’m not one for wearing tights but with this look it’s a must and mine are from SPANX. My sling-backs, Sebastian Milano, may seem like an odd choice but there’s something about the way they look especially with the tights that works for me. Rather than a crossbody bag that would hang over the skirt or a clutch that would live under my arm, I went with a mid-size bag with handles, Carla Mancini, that will stay low by my tights and shoes and far enough away from my focal point. I’ve accessorized simply with a vintage gold link watch, Omega, my Trinity bangles, Cartier, and small gold hoop earrings.

*style-tip: use a single contrasting colour to highlight your focal point

Style Story: Tweed with a Twist

This very British classic and slightly eccentric tweed jacket, JG Hook, was my mother’s and she looked great when she wore it. I’m not really a tweed kinda girl but I figured at some point I’d get to it. Needless to say, it’s been hanging in a garment bag for years. I finally took it out and spent some time really looking at the fabric. I noticed a subtle mix of multicolored flecks within the tight weave of the brown and white pattern. The old tweed jacket became new and interesting, and this is how I styled it. I was inspired by the colours within the tweed, so I thought I’d do a pattern mix with my shirt.

My navy/ochre/white boys plaid shirt, TronJori, is a good contrasting print to the small tweed pattern. Both pieces are within each other’s tonal range to make it easy on the eyes. As you can see, the jacket has a lot of detail with flap pockets a belt and woven leather buttons, so I went with very straight skinny jeans, AG Jeans, that are simple straight forward. The skinny jeans also elongate my legs and create proportion to balance out everything on top. My brown suede pumps with their contrast top-stitching tie into the whole vibe of my jacket and my, vintage, handbag ties into the woven leather buttons. I’ve put some proper, English, on it with a scarf, Hermes. Even though, French its equestrian pattern and colours are perfect.

*style-tip: take a good look at what you have hanging in your garment bags you may be pleasantly surprised

*please treat your wardrobe well. many people worked very hard to get it to you