What I wore today: 01/01/2012 (Black and Yellow New Year's Brunch))

When I woke up this morning and we decided to walk down the street for some New Year's Day Brunch, I wanted to start the day off right with a cute outfit rather than something lazy, and I was glad I did because it set the mood for the whole, wonderful day.

I love this dress. It's Ralph Lauren, but I bought it at Savers In Austin while I was there last week. The jacket is an old favorite. I always thought I wanted a motorcycle jacket, but then I bought this one and a motorcycle one both at the thrift store one day at found myself wearing only this one. It's much more ladylike, which is very much my style and the sleeve length is absolute perfection.

There's just something about wearing yellow white and black together that I love. Remember this outfit? Of course it's also the pallet for this blog, and it's what I want in our living room if I ever persuade Ryan that yellow walls aren't too extreme. His reaction when I suggested it: "Well, Niko will love it!" (Yellow is Ryan's four-year-old nephew Niko's favorite color.) My response: "Well, Niko has great taste!"

The bee color pallet also turned out to be a perfect match for Honey, the restaurant where we ate, no?

Chain-print mock wrap dress - Ralph Lauren, thrifted

Wool tights - online tights shop

Lady Dragon shoes - Vivienne Westwood (last seen here)

Button-up leather jacket with bracelet-length sleeves - thrifted

Cashmere-lined leather gloves - Nordstrom Rack

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What I wore today 08/08/2011 (Happy birthday, Baby)

Yesterday was Ryan's birthday (as well as his brother's), so we celebrated by having dinner with his family. Since August was born in August, we decided to give him a birthday treat as well.

I can't believe my little kitty is three years old. And my Ryan is 30! My babies are men now. :)

I wore the Lolita dress that I made earlier this year with my vintage Moschino belt and my new Vivienne Westwood shoes that I got on Ebay. They were marked down because they'd been worn before, but they are still in almost perfect condition!

Don't you just love yellow and white together with an occasional hint of black? I suppose you can tell from the design of this blog how much I do.

Dress - made by me

Vintage Moschino belt - Ebay

Vivienne Westwood for Melissa Lady Dragon heels - Ebay

Bracelets - shops in Mexico and Jerusalem

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Best and Worst dressed at the 2011 Academy Awards

Everyone looked lovely last night. I saw much fewer misses than at the Globes, although I will list my three big disappointments at the end.

First, here are my favorites...

Marisa Tomei in Charles James

Hilary Swank in Gucci

Jennifer Hudson in Versace

The fitted gown made her amazing body look even more amazing.

Halle Berry in Marchesa

Natalie Portman in Rodarte (Appropriately, Nat gave Rodarte, the design house behind Black Swan's lovely costumes and a snub in the costume category, a nod by wearing their piece and thanking the sisters in her acceptance speech.)

The color was lovely and the shape flattered her baby bump and showed off her incredible pregnancy cleavage. Are you seeing those things? She must be up to a C cup!

Florence Welch in Valentino

The dress stood out from all the rest and, in my opinion, was a risk well worth taking.

Hailee Steinfeld in Marchesa (Marchesa was owning the carpet last night!)

Sandra Bullock in Vera Wang

I can't decide which part of Sandra's gown I love more, the front or the back.

Mila Kunis in Ellie Saab

This gown was my third favorite of the night. Mila definitely came dressed like a winner, not a snub.

Runner up for best look of the night:

Helen Mirren in Vivienne Westwood

Hardy a surprise as she is always one of my favorite on the red carpet. She knows just what shapes flatter her body and show off her incredible ageless beauty.

But my very favorite look of the night was...

Cate Blanchett in Givenchy

She looked like a piece of Greek art. She looked incredible. I am absolutely gaga for this dress.

Now, on to the disappointments of the night...

Michelle Williams in Chanel

I love Michelle Williams and I love Chanel but this dress just didn't work for me for the Oscars. Although Michelle's hair and makeup looks incredible, the dress was a little boring and even slightly... matronly? Not a winner.

Another disappointment:

Scarlett Johansson in Dolce & Gabbana

The color was lovely and the dress fit her well, but the confusing array of different textures around her neckline was distracting and ultimately messy looking.

But the biggest disappointment of the night was...

Amy Adams in L'Wren Scott

The dress alone was fine, quite lovely even, but the Cartier necklace that someone styled with it was so wrong as to through off the entire look. Not only did the color of the jewels not make since, but the big necklace lying on top of an already-sparkly and high neckline was just a disaster. Amy's crowded neckline reminded me of one of those women (often librarians) who wear gold chains on the outside of turtlenecks. Crowding a high neckline with a big necklace is just a fashion-101 no no!

But in the end, even with all the breathtaking gowns and the hideous disappointments, what mattered to me most was that The King's Speech beat the pants off The Social Network in every major category, and, since it did, I slept like a baby last night.

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Spring 2011 trend: lace

One of my favorite trends for spring is lace. It's so romantic and feminine, so nostalgic, and yet it can be modern and cutting-edge at the same time. Traditionally lace was always white, and though nowadays you can find it in almost any color, I still prefer neutrals for their ability to showcase the texture.

After all, what could be more elegant for spring than a simple white lace dress as shown by Ralph Lauren and Dolce & Gabbana, or a white lace dress with a black sash as shown by Oscar de la Renta? And wouldn't the fun shape of Vivienne Westwood's lace dress and the sparkle or the one by Valentino be overshadowed if they were brightly colored?

So, take part in the bright colors trend of spring 2011 all you want, but when you wear lace, keep it neutral.

Want to wear more lace this spring? Here's some inspiration from the runway.

Anna Sui

BCBG Max Azria

Brioni

Collette Dinnigan

D&G

Dolce & Gabbana

Marchesa

Oscar de la Renta

Ralph Lauren

Valentino

Vivienne Westwood

Zac Posen

Alberta Ferretti

Erdem