Look For Less-Pleasure Doing Business Bandage Skirt

Ashley Tisdale in Pleasure Doing Business high waisted skirt

Photo: Singer 22

Kristin Cavallari in Miss Ferriday Top and Pleasure Doing Business skirt

Photo: Singer 22

Heidi Klum in Pleasure Doing Business skirt

Photo: Catch Boutique

Rhianna in Torn by Ronny Kobo tee and Pleasure Doing Business skirt

Photo: Singer 22/Just Jared



Clutch Banana Republic, top Urban Outfitters, skirt L8ter, pumps Carlos by Carlos Santana, wedges Aldo


Necklace Gap, earrings Bebe, bracelet Express, chain link rings Banana Republic, silver ring Forever 21

I have had my eye on this bandage skirt by Pleasure Doing Business for quite some time but could not bring myself to pay $100 for it. So imagine my excitement when I found one that looked exactly like it for $14.99 in the juniors department at Macy's at the Galleria. The skirt looks identical to the Pleasure Doing Business version. The only difference is since it is $14.99 it is probably not going to hold up quite as long as the $100 version but then again like all trends who knows if we will even be wearing bandage skirts in a year, right? The biggest complaint I saw online about the skirt was that the material is rough. The material on the skirt is rough as it is basically made up of large elastic bands so I would recommend either wearing a shirt that is tucked in or wearing a cami underneath that can be tucked in to avoid the rough edges. If you plan on sitting in it for a long period of time I would also throw on a shaper skirt with it too to avoid sitting on the ridges. I recommend purchasing a size or two up as well. The skirt runs small in the first place and it lays better in the back and is more comfortable in a size larger. However, having tried on the Pleasure Doing Business version I can tell you that one is not much better. Their version feels like wearing a super tight industrial strength ace bandage wrapped around you and i could not imagine sitting in the one I tried on.

I put together an outfit with the skirt based on Rhianna's look above. While I loooove Rhianna's style it is not always wearable for the average Jane, and I for one am certainly not going to be walking around in this Midwest humidity and heat in a long sleeve tee and shoulder pads so I altered it to be a little more seasonally appropriate. I paired it with a black silk racerback tank, a black clutch and lots of rockstar inspired jewelry. For shoes I used a black bootie to copy the look of Rhianna's outfit, but I know that booties and a short skirt is not a look a lot of ladies can pull off without looking stumpy. So for those of you that are under let's say 5'8"this look would probably be better with leg elongating peep toe pumps as opposed to the booties that are going to cut you off at the ankles causing you to look less like Heidi Klum and more like Snooki. I love the look of these Carlos Santana pumps (better picture is available through the link above). They are black patent leather platforms and they have a sort of lightning bolt look to the tops so you still get the rockstar edge of the booties while having mile long legs. For us long-legged ladies either shoe will work. I tried on and liked both with the outfit but the platform pumps, tight skirt, and mile long legs was a little on the Pretty Woman side so I will probably go with the wedges.

Deal of the Day

So as I am sure you can tell by now I am a fan of the M Style Lab line from Macy's. Normally I purchase most of my earrings at H&M but they haven't had the best selection lately in my opinion. I had been on the hunt to replace my gold hoops from H&M that were worn out, tarnished and no longer available and I couldn't find anything I liked for the for same price as the H&M pair. Then one day I happened upon a jewelry display in the juniors apparel section at Macy's and now I have a new favorite stop for earrings. The normal prices on the earrings in the line range from $5-$13 but they frequently have 15-20% sales on the entire selection. The line includes pieces that run from basics to trendy and eccentric including necklaces, rings, bracelets and hair accessories. In addition to earrings featured above they also have some really fun 80's inspired rings in assorted neon colors. Now you have one more stop in your arsenal for budget-friendly accessories. Enjoy!

Deal of the Day

Clutch Jessica McClintock, Dress INC International Concepts, Shoes Calvin Klein

Hoops M Style Lab, bracelet Tiffany, mesh ring Banana Republic, bubble ring ABC Trading

Today's deal of the day is this dress from INC. I purchased this dress from Macy's at the Galleria a couple of week's ago for just $15! You can't beat that for the perfect lightweight fun summer dress. This look could definitely be dressed down with flat sandals and a cross body bag but I chose to dress it up for a cocktail look. I accessorized the dress with a gold sequin clutch, silver and gold metallic heels, multicolored sequined hoops from Macy's M Style Lab line (purchased at Macy's for $12) and silver rings and bracelets. It's the perfect outfit for those hot summer nights out.

Things That Made My Weekend Wonderful

Friday: Great seats at the Michael Buble concert

Saturday: Strawberry tart and vanilla napoleon from La Bonne Bouche


Sunday: Breakfast wraps, french toast and mimosas at Wild Flower

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend as well!

Deal of the Day

Dress Jones New York, shoes Me Too

Clutch Lulu Townsend, ring Loehmann's, earrings Lauren Ralph Lauren, ring ABC Trading

Today's Deal of the Deal is this dress by Jones New York. I picked it up over the weekend at Macy's at the Galleria for $26! It is super comfortable and is the perfect solution to your basic black and grey workday wear. The dress can be worn to work during the day and then doubles as the perfect dress for after work cocktails or dinner. I love the fun bright print but it made shoe selection a little difficult. Bright colored shoes were too much, black shoes were too heavy looking, and brown shoes just didn't go. So I finally settled on these nude satin heels. The nude color toned down the look while the bows on the front kept things playful. I kept the accessories equally toned down and just added a bright statement ring for fun.

Website of the Week

Dress Victoria's Secret

This week's website of the week is ShopStyle.com . I use this website constantly. ShopStyle is like Google for shopping. The site allows you to type in the item you are looking for and then searches every online store from Target to Bergdorf's for the item. You can be as specific or as vague as you want so it is a great site to help you recreate looks you saw on the street or find a celeb look for less. If you can't find the exact look it will at least help you find something similar. Once you enter your search you can then narrow down the results by color, size, price, brand and style which is also helpful as most searches will retrieve pages upon pages of items. Or if you have a specific item in mind you can enter the brand and style and it will show you which sites have that item and how much it is at each site so that you can make sure you are getting the best deal out there.

Another great feature of ShopStyle is their sale alert feature. If you find something you like but it is more then you would like to pay for it you can sign in and tag it for a sale alert. When the item goes on sale ShopStyle sends you an email letting you know that you item has gone on sale. It's like getting a little present in your email :). For example today I searched for a halter maxi dress and found the dress featured above from Victoria's Secret in my results for $99 which was a bit much for a cotton maxi dress from VS so I signed up for the sale alert and now I just have to wait for that happy little email to pop up in my inbox. Happy Shopping!

Amazing Art

We Don't Dance by Casey O'Connell

Removable up to 100 times and it only took me three to hang it by myself :)

Recently I had a housewarming cocktail party for a group of friends to celebrate my new place. While the party was fun and the food was great (if I do say so myself) the biggest hit was my Casey O'Connell print from LTL Prints.

I first learned about Casey O' Connell and LTL Prints through the blog The Rockstar Diaries. Which is a super cute blog that you should check out, but I digress. LTL Prints is a website that sells customized and cataloged graphics that are printed onto what I can best describe as, in very non-technical terms, a big fabric-like post it. Their website allows you to pick out a print from their catalog of art (aside from Casey O'Connell they also have a section of really cool panoramic city shots) or use your own photo or artwork and choose the size you want the print to be ranging from 12in to 7ft . The print is done on a fabric-like material that has special adhesive on the back that allows you to hang and remove the print from your wall up to 100 times without the use of nails or leaving a sticky residue on the wall. So it is literally like a super adhesive post it.

Now on to the artist. I can only describe her work as absofreakinlutely aaaaaaamaaaazing! If I could I would cover every square inch of wall space in my apartment with her work. All of her pieces are done based on her own life experiences which is why the pieces have a way of speaking to you. Everyone can relate to at least one or many of her pieces with the feeling that they have totally been there or have totally wanted to be there in the moment being portrayed. I could go on for pages about how great I think she is but you really have to see it for yourself. You can see all of her work on her website. And while my print is no longer available you can purchase other prints here and here.

Deal of the Day

Dress Forever 21, clutch Banana Republic, Shoes Carlos by Carlos Santana

Hat Gap, bracelet and ring Forever 21, earrings Lauren Ralph Lauren, sunglasses Marc Jacobs

Shoes DV by Dolce Vita

Rings and Necklace Forever 21

Today's Deal of the Day is this dress from Forever 21. This black and grey striped maxi dress can easily transfer from brunch and window shopping by day to dinner and drinks at night with just a quick change of accessories. The dress is made out of cotton spandex so it's suuuuuper comfortable but also shows off your curves as opposed to the tent-like shape of most maxi dresses. The best part is it is only $19.80!

For the day time look I paired the dress with a floppy straw hat, large flower ring, cubic stud earrings, black bracelet, clutch andsunglasses. As for shoes I wore it with strappy black wedges but it would also look great with these DV by Dolce Vita flats that I may have to pick up this weekend since they are on sale at Nordstrom right now for $29.50!

If you need the dress to work for you all day just toss a few statement making jewelry pieces into your purse to easily swap out with your day time look on the go. For the night time look I added a black statement necklace and ring along with a long silver pinky ring.

Deal of the Day

Today's Deal of the Day is this gold sequined Jessica McClintock clutch from endless.com. For just $38 this clutch can be used day or night to dress up a casual look or add a little extra glitz to an already dressy outfit. It is entirely covered in sequins that are gold on one side and silver on the other so it has that mixed metallic look that is so in right now. Depending on how you brush the sequins, up or down, you can make the purse look more or less silver. However, you would be hard pressed to change the purse completely silver without destroying the sequins or wasting hours of your time. The sequins are pretty sturdy for such a bargain buy of a purse. I have used mine a few times already and have brushed the sequins up or down to change the look each time and have yet to have one sequin fall off. The best part about this purse is it comes with a chain link shoulder strap that tucks away nicely in the inside pocket for a hands free option for dancing the night away.

Poolside/Beachside Glamour

Dress Victoria's Secret, clutch Jessica McClintock, flip flops Banana Republic

Bracelets Katie Costello, ring Forever 21, earrings Macy's M Style Lab

I have been searching for a chic cover up for my upcoming trip to San Diego that can be worn to the beach and is still acceptable to head out for cocktails in after the beach. I am happy to say I have found it. I found this fabulous white halter dress with sequined accents at Victoria's Secret online on sale for just $39. It comes in three different colors that are all great, but I liked the Greek goddess feel that the white and gold had the best. And let's face it who doesn't want to look like a goddess on the beach?! I was a little apprehensive about ordering it since VS's clothes tend to run a little on the small side, but I was pleasantly surprised that this dress ran true to size. I paired it with another pair of gold hoops from M Style Lab that I got on my recent Macy's trip on sale for $3.75, along with gold bracelets, ring and flip flops. And for cocktails I can throw in my new Jessica McClintock gold sequined purse. This outfit would be perfect for vacation or a 4th of July barbeque bash.

Semi-Homemade Sunday

Goblet Libbey, Plate Pottery Barn Outlet

This past Sunday I felt like a bit of a splurge for breakfast instead of my usual egg whites or cereal. I had picked up this Granola Pancake and Waffle Mix from Williams-Sonoma at Plaza Frontenac and decided to give it a try. The mix is all-natural and has toasted oats and almonds in it. While I normally try to make my weekend recipes from scratch I was feeling a little on the lazy side so chose to use this pre-made mix. The waffle recipe is super quick and easy and calls for only three extra ingredients: butter, eggs, and milk. I made them a wee bit healthier by using egg whites and substituted vanilla almond milk for regular milk to help enhance the almonds already in the mix. I knew I was in for a treat after I tasted the batter. To me it had just the right amount of sweet and spiciness to it and almost tasted like it already had syrup in it. However, I have a huge sweet tooth so for me the sweeter the better, so if you are not big on sweets you may find the sweetness overwhelming for a waffle recipe. I could have eaten the whole batch just like that but since eating large amounts of raw egg whites is never a good idea I settled for the finished product instead. The batter was a little on the runny side so I added a few large pinches of extra mix to it. Not sure if this was due to the use of egg whites and almond milk or not but it's something to keep in mind if you want to give them a try. The waffles turned out great they were soft, not too dry and delicious. I topped mine with Trader Joe's 100% Real Maple Syrup (which if you haven't tried it you need to run out and get it immediately! It tastes so much better then the high fructose corn syrup laden store brands and it is a lot cheaper then other real maple syrup brands. Definitely delicious!). The waffles would also be excellent topped with berries and granola too for a healthier alternative. And to make my breakfast at home feel a little more like brunch at a quaint little cafe I had a glass of milk in a nice goblet. It's just too bad it was entirely too hot out to eat it al fresco on the deck.

Deal of the Day

Dress Rachel Rachel Roy, Shoes Jessica Simpson

Clutch Lulu Townsend, bamboo hoops MStyle Lab,

chain link ring Banana Republic, other rings Forever 21,
Bracelets Katie Costello

Shoes Kelsi Dagger

Over the weekend I stopped in to Macy's at the Galleria to check out their huge clearance sale. Needless to say I spent a lot of time trying to narrow down my options. One of the items I settled on was this dress by Rachel Rachel Roy. I absolutely loooooooove her entire line as it specializes in color and originality and all her items have a bit of a downtown edge to them. As much as I love the line and even though it is much cheaper then her original Rachel Roy line it is still a little on the pricey side for this fashionista on a budget. So I was ecstatic when I came across this dress on the clearance rack for $28. The colors scream summer and the animal print is definitely on trend. I added a pair of bamboo hoop earrings also on sale for $6 from Macy's M Style Lab jewelry line along with accessories and shoes from my closet. Although, I am dying to add these Kelsi Dagger flats to my collection to complete the outfit. It's a perfect ensemble for a night out on the town. I think I see a girls night out on the rooftop at Mandarin in my future :).

Welcome!

Welcome to my little creative outlet known as STL etc. This blog is a place for me to share my thoughts, ideas, and findings on all the things I think are fabulous in fashion and style with a little bit of a local twist. I have followed fashion/lifestyle blogs for years and noticed that every city has one except St. Louis (as far as I can find, if you know of one please let me know I would love to check it out!). We have local blogs on fashion, food, local hot spots and decor but nothing that encompasses them all in one spot while still remaining St. Louis centric. So now there is one and even if you aren't from St. Louis there is still something for everyone such as deals from nationwide stores and online finds. I hope you enjoy it and I look forward to sharing ideas and opinions with you all!

xoxo
Amber