Very Cherry: (Still) Celebrating Fruit Salad

Dress: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Bag: Betsey Johnson, Amazon

Red top: Marshalls; Yellow top: SHEIN

Bag: Betsey Johnson, Amazon

Shoes: Impo, DSW; Socks: Zulily

Bag Charm: lhbdesignsbylaura

Skirt: POPSUGAR, Kohl's

Shoes: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Bow: Wild Fable, Target

Bag: N by Nina, Kohl's

Chelsea Cherry Necklace

Dress: Lily Rose, Kohl's

Shoes: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Bag: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Fun fashion's always in season, and fruit always brings the fun.  Why else would cartoon characters slip on banana peels, Gallagher smash watermelons, and Carmen Miranda balance fruit on her head?  (Also, for a more current, not to mention momlife reference, Cocomelon.)  So, despite the onslaught of pumpkin propaganda (I love pumpkins, but all in due time!), it's still about produce here at the Trove.   

At least until I'm pelted with acorns. 

Yee-haw, Boots and Sandals

Dress: Nine West, Kohl's

Eyes on the Prize Necklace

Bag and bracelet: Betsy Johnson

Shoes: Nine West, Kohl's

Skirt: So, Kohl's; Boots: Apt. 9, Kohl's

Top: Nine West, Kohl's

Take Me to Your Bee-der Necklace

Bag: Mix No. 6. DSW

Dress: POPSUGAR, Kohl's; Shoes: Nine West, Kohl's

Antique Geek Necklace

Headband: Colors, JCPenney

Bag: Liz Claiborne, JCPenney

Because "boots and sandals" is just another way to say "boots and saddles," right?  Okay, calm down cowgirls.  I know that it's usually not.  But when you've got places to go and the weather's somewhere between summer and fall, there's no more appropriate phrase.  And that's why I'm wearing a pair of each here -- plus some pumps.  

I also included a few pics of my Halloween decorations.  I plan to include some in each outfit post from now until October 31, even if they're just closeups of knickknacks, or as here, plastic pumpkins.  I hope it'll help keep me -- and maybe even you -- in the Halloween spirit. 🎃

Big Puns and Bigger Pants: Patchwork Quirk

Jeans: So, Kohl's

Bag: SHEIN

Loop De Lou Necklace

Shoes: Jessica Simpson Collection, DSW

Hairclips: So and LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Top: Billabong, Macy's

Bag: Elizabeth and James, Kohl's; Skirt: Ross

Rug: Michaels; Shoes: Wanted, Modcloth

Top: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Bag: Delia's, Dolls Kill; Skirt: Mossimo, Target

Sunshine State of Rind Necklace

Top: So, Kohl's

Blue Butterfly Necklace

Skirt: POPSUGAR, Kohl's; Shoes: Circus by Sam Edelman, Zulily; Bag: Circus by Sam Edelman, Kohl's

You know how when you look out an airplane window and the land below looks like a patchwork quilt, all brown and green but in miniature?  And how it's such a beautiful and strangely calming sight when you're up there in the air, like the universe made a blanket just for you?  Well, that's kind of sort of how I felt when I started putting together these outfits.  You know, if my life was a 747 and the universe was saying "there, there" with an endless supply of therapy-dog-threads.  Anyway, I didn't even realize how many patchwork-style things I own until I started looking; there are more than you see here, but I got lax in the hauling-out-and-photographing department.  Still, I made sure to include the most patch-tastic item of all, the one that doesn't have a patch on anything else.  

Yep, it's my prized pair of "dad" jeans!  You may remember when I busted them out two falls ago, floor-dusting bells and all.  This time I got clever and "cuffed" them -- heading not for the big house, but for big style (insert groan).  (Also, maybe House of Style, if only as a  '90s shoutout.  No?  Okay, I'll stop.)   And I do mean "big".  Because I had to roll them up like six times!  Sometimes I forget how short I am until I put on pants.

There's a metaphor in there somewhere, but as with the photography, I'm too lazy to find it.   

Big Prints, Big House: A Symphony for Sephora

Dress: POPSUGAR, Kohl's

Barrette: Carole, JCPenney

Polka Dot Posies Barrette Brooch

Top: Crave Fame, Macy's

Shoes: Kenneth Cole Unlisted, Marshalls

Skirt: Nine West, Kohl's

Hilda Harmonica Necklace

Fabulous Felt Desert Design Barrette

Green and yellow bangles: B Fabulous; Orange and striped bangles: Mixit, JCPenney; Barrettes: The Tote Trove; Ring: PinkBopp, Etsy; Belt: Marshalls

 

Pants: Vylette, Kohl's

Barrettes: SHEIN

Bangles: Mixit, JCPenney; Necklace: Candies, Kohl's

Socks: Zulily; Shoes: Circus by Sam Edelman, Kohl's

I never shy away from bringing big prints.  And in this post I bring a bunch, including polka dots, zebra, plaid, checks, and hearts.  Also, a harmonica necklace.  You may remember the first harmonica necklace I made using a bright green New Year's Eve party favor.  Well, last week I found its tangerine twin behind the TV.  I can only imagine that it landed there during one of my long-ago, four-person ragers.  Anyway, I was excited to spot it.  Even as I tried very hard not to think about how harmonicas are associated not with fun and games, but with jail and, in this case, orange jumpsuits.

Still, I'd be remiss in not mentioning that other big house big on big prints, namely old-timey prison-esque black and white stripes.  And that house, of course, is Sephora:

One opened in my local Kohl's recently, so I checked it out for Mother's Day gifts.  And it was a different world.  There were women rocking expertly winged eyeliner and others seeking that unicorn known as the perfect foundation.  As someone who buys most of her makeup at Walgreens (save for a few temptingly packaged lipsticks), I found it fascinating and glam, so much so that I photographed the wall art behind the counter.

I love its sentiment as much as its billboard-bright colors: "We belong to something beautiful."  

We do, Sephora, we do.  So think of this orange harmonica riff of a necklace as a symphony written, not in a penitentiary but in a palace, its bittersweet citrus notes sounding -- and in the spirit of perfume also smelling -- just for you.