Pleats

Wedding Guest Edition: Colorblock Pleated Maxi Dress

My cousin Sarah got married last Saturday in the most beautiful vineyard wedding in Traverse City, Michigan! For the occasion, I knew that I would need to be careful about my footwear choice as there was grass. I decided to go with one of my favorite seven year old (!) pleated maxi dresses that I bought in Thailand. I don’t wear maxi dresses too often, but I do enjoy them. I like the summery bright colorblock on this one! Also, it allowed me to wear flat gold sandals…perfect for grass and allowed me to happily dance the night away! I accessorized with gold earrings, my gold watch, my quilted Chanel bag with gold hardware, and my trusty heart sunglasses. I am wishing it was last weekend!

Holiday Party Edit: Metallic Pleated Skirt & Tiered Ruffle Sweater

With Thanksgiving officially behind us, it’s now one of my favorite seasons of the year: Holiday Party Season! I love this time of year because it’s totally okay to wear all things sparkly and shiny. I have six holiday parties over the next two weeks, and I plan to repeat-wear the below outfit to a few of them. I adore this pleated metallic (trend alert) Rebecca Taylor skirt, and dove gray ruffle sleeve Endless Rose sweater (from two years ago). I completed the look with a red lip- perfect for holiday parties (or any time of year!) and my favorite ankle strap PVC heels. This look is conservative and would also be perfect for a work holiday party!

Who else is excited for the holidays?!

 

Endless Rose Sweater
Rebecca Taylor Metallic Pleated Skirt
PVC-Trimmed Ankle-Strap Heels, Forever21 (similar here)

Fall Transition Look: Feminine Floral Pleats & Edgy Leather Accessories

Is there anything better than an October Saturday morning stroll in Soho? Not in my book! One of my best friends, Nicky, and I went for a walk this morning and the fall festive decorations were in full swing. There were so many gorgeous pumpkins everywhere! It is still warm enough to get away without wearing a jacket, so I opted for this beautiful drop-waist floral pleated dress. I love that this dress has a navy base color, which makes it very transitional and perfect for fall. I also am a pleat-lover, so was immediately attracted to it! I love to keep a look edgy by mixing feminine pieces with tougher masculine pieces– such as these leather studded combat boots. It’s unexpected and “toughens” the look up, making it perfect for downtown Manhattan. I completed the look with my favorite cat-eye sunglasses, and my trusty silver embossed leather Rochas bucket bag!

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!

Kim’s Boutique Drop-Waist Floral Pleated Dress
Forever21 Studded Faux Leather Booties  (Similar Givenchy Prue Buckle Bootie here)
Rochas Snake Embossed Drawstring Bag
Cat-eye sunglasses, NYC street vendor (similar here)

Fall Transition Look: Dove Gray Draped Jacket

Even though it’s October, it was still 80 degrees today in NYC! This makes it a little bit confusing when dressing. When the weather transitions from summer to fall, warm to cool, I like to ease the transition with a sundress and layer a leather jacket over my shoulders. Leather jackets are super versatile, and I think that they are closet staples. I like the way they look so effortlessly chic when they are draped over your shoulders. I love the color of this faux leather dove gray jacket. I layered the jacket over a floral pleated racerback mini dress. I completed the look with two trending accessories: pearl block heel sandals (trend alert!) and slanted cat-eye sunglasses (trend alert)!

 

BlankNYC dove gray faux leather moto jacket
Parker floral pleated mini dress
Pearl block-heeled sandals, sold out Forever21 (similar here)
Cat-eye sunglasses, NYC street vendor (similar here)

Pleated Back Blouse, Gold Cap-Toe Pumps, & Heart Sunglasses

I love beautiful details on pieces, especially if it’s unexpected and a “surprise” on the back! The backs of clothes are seen as much as the fronts of clothes if you think about it, so it’s fun to give people something to look at- even if your face is on the other side! I bought this beautiful silk back pleated top last year and I love it. It’s a great neutral creme color, and a staple for work. The accordion-style pleats are so flowy and gorgeous. I kept the look simple by pairing it with raw hem gray denim (can’t believe it’s jean season again!), Zara gold cap-toe pumps, a matching gold watch, and my brand new heart shaped sunglasses (trend alert!). I love how whimsical these sunglasses are and have been wearing them nearly every day. They will be featured in a few upcoming posts!

Happy October, everyone!

Rebecca Taylor Pleated Back Silk Jacquard Top
Raw Hem Gray Jeans
Zara Gold Toe Capped Pumps
Heart Shaped Sunglasses, NYC street vendor (similar here)
Skagen Gold Watch

Colorblock Pleated Mini Dress & PVC-Trimmed Ankle Strap Heels

I can’t believe it’s the last official week of summer! I can’t wait to wear this colorblock pleated mini dress on Thursday night in Denver for a friend’s bridal shower! I wore it last weekend with new PVC-trimmed heels (trend alert!) and a gold crescent necklace (trend alert!). Hope everyone has fun Labor Day Weekend plans!

 

 

Parker “Jett” Colorblock Pleated Dress
PVC-trimmed Heels, Forever21 (similar here)
Gold Crescent Necklace

Wedding Guest Edition: Silk Yellow Ruffled Dress

This weekend I had the pleasure of being the Plus 1 wedding date for one of my best friends, Gracie! One of her best friends, Valerie, got married in a beautiful intimate wedding in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I am so honored that I got to attend! I remember meeting Val in Thailand when she visited Gracie almost 7 years ago (wow). For the wedding, I decided to wear one of my favorite summery colors: yellow! I love wearing yellow because it is so cheerful and warm. This is a silk BGBC dress that has delicate pleated ruffle layers. I love pretty much anything that is feminine and girly, so naturally I was drawn to this simple dress.

The most fun part of the outfit for me, however, were the party shoes! You can just call me Carrie Bradshaw. These ones are beige satin with a bejeweled crystal heel by Nicholas Kirkwood. Changing the shoe pairing with this dress can transform the formality of it. Pairing it with a leather jacket and booties could transition the dress into fall- and dress the whole look down.

I hope that the beautiful bride Val and her husband Will are having a blast in Portugal now!

BCBG silk yellow dress
Nicholas Kirkwood Faye Strass Bow Satin Sandal

Royal Wedding in Windsor (Part 1)

Last weekend I traveled to Windsor, UK for the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle! It was so surreal to see the massive castle, and there was such a special light-hearted energy in the air. My friend lives in Windsor, so she hosted a fabulous hat (fascinator) party with lots of her friends. For the occasion, I wore a silk blush pink (trend alert!) hand-pleated Tibi dress (I love all things pleats) with a high neckline and a waist tie. I chose this dress because the attire for the party was “long summery dress”. I own tons of dresses, but not many of them are long! I also liked the slight waterfall hem on this dress- the back is a little bit longer than the front. I paired the look with a black netted and feathered fascinator. Being an American, it was super fun to pretend to be British for a day by dressing up! I kept the look simple with diamond studs and my trusty black block-heel sandals.

Tibi “Simone” Silk Pleated Dress
Black Netted Fasinator
Block-Heeled Sandals

Miami (Part 1): Strapless Pleated “Pinata” Dress

This past weekend I traveled to Miami for the first time for my friend Molly’s bachelorette party. When I saw this Kate Spade dress a few weeks ago in New York, I knew I had to get it for the trip. The bright colors and fun geo border pattern seemed so “Miami”! The dress is so fun and reminds me of a pinata. It had great movement and was very swingy and fun to wear. I kept the look simple with strappy black sandals, and a delicate gold evil-eye necklace. These pictures were taken on the boardwalk, and at the Faena hotel. This hotel has the most gorgeous lobby and bar area…it feels like a museum! Definitely a must-stop when you visit Miami.

I wore this dress out for the day, but it could easily be dressed up for a cocktail occasion with the right heels and accessories.

 

Kate Spade Geo Border Pleated Dress
H&M block-heel sandals
Honeycat Evil Eye Necklace

Mexico: Pom Pom Straw Tote

I just returned from a trip to Cancun, Mexico with my Mom, and we had a blast! My trip was cut one day short due to a big snow storm in New York, but we had perfect weather the entire time. I brought a few different “Mexico inspired” looks to shoot, but we were having so much fun that we only made it around to shooting this one. I paired this black pleated Swiss-dot popover dress with this fun pom pom straw tote bag (a trend I am still loving from last year), which was perfect as a beach bag, too. I got complements on this tote from everyone from the pilot and flight attendants on my plane, to couples sitting next to us poolside. I like the bright cheerful colors and also how fun and whimsical it is. I kept the look easy breezy with classic gold-rimmed aviator sunglasses.

I highly recommend visiting Cancun if you have never been. There are gorgeous Mayan ruins to explore, and beautiful deep swimming holes called cenotes to jump in. I would go back any time.

Thanks to my Mom for taking my pictures!

Ray Ban gold aviators
Black swiss-dot pleated sundress- Sanctuary, sold out (similar here)
Pom pom straw tote- Amale, sold out (similar here)

 

The opinions expressed in West 4th Street by Emily are her own. They do not reflect the opinions of Emily’s current or past employers, her clients, or any organization with which she is affiliated.