Pepper Design Blog

Holiday Parties in Full Swing! 3 Style Board Ideas…

It’s that time of the year! This past Friday we attended our first Christmas party of the season and I’m reminded of how fun it is to dress up for the evening and mingle with friends. There are so many reasons to celebrate in December – work dinners, cookie exchanges, cocktail parties – and usually wearing something a bit more fancy is all part of the fun.

Here are three ideas that I love – from the dressy dinner to the weeknight happy hour to the black tie event here’s a bit of inspiration for different styles of entertaining:

For a Friday night celebration, I’d pair these velvet leggings with a sexy pair of glitter pumps and a slouchy satin dress. Add a splash of color in the clutch, a chunky necklace to break up the boatneck dress and matching earrings and you’re set. This sequin cropped jacket is the perfect topper! Would look great on another night paired with jeans and a white tee – it could easily become my holiday go-to piece.

For a more casual event such as happy hour or a cookie exchange, pair metallic heels with a flattering blouse and bootcut jeans. Corral it all in with a knitted sweater and braided belt, and add contrasting color in your accessories. This style board is perfect for any time of the year.

Finally, if you’re one of the lucky few to attend a black tie event this Christmas, keep it simple but add plenty of sparkle (you really can only get away with it a few times a year…) and pair with flashy nude pumps (these Charles David heels come in over a dozen different colors! I love the structural look of this shoe). Again, choose your favorite ‘pop’ of color – whether that’s turquoise, fuchsia, royal blue… – and tie it in through jewelry.

For sources, pricing and more style boards, jump to this link. *Sigh* so many great reasons to love this time of the year.

Baby, It’s (Sorta) Cold Outside: 2 Fall Style Boards

The temperature is playing a silly game of betcha-still-think-it’s-summer in this neck of the woods with record November highs in the 90′s, but our weather man claims that that’s about to change (fall, where are you?).

Regardless, this is what I’d be eyeing if it were a tad bit chillier – and if it were MUCH chillier (as it is in some parts!) perhaps a knee-length cream or navy pea coat to top it off:

Sources and pricing info over on the Style Boards page.

Simple, clean and very chic. A basic striped blouse topped with a tie cardigan and long silver pendant for the top, and bootcut jeans with tan leather mary janes (these Seychelles have a sturdy enough heel to survive a day of working/running around on the feet) on the bottom. Rotate out the top with a plain white tee, floral tank or even another sweater and you’ve got yourself some easy fall looks waiting in the closet!

In honor of San Diego’s semi-sweet weather, here’s a mild-weather, basic inspiration board for a weekend around town:

I love love exaggerated, over-sized sweaters and this black cinched waist version would look great layered over a striped long sleeve tee. Match that with skinny jeans in a light wash (I might roll these to a few inches above the ankle), bold flats (love the lace up design on the back of these), a gender-neutral messenger bag and a black fedora and you’d be ready to go. For a simple statement piece, an over-sized gold locket fits over the over-sized short sleeve sweater.

If it’s a bit blizzardy where you are, swap out the flats for knee-high boots and throw on a knit scarf and a waist-length jacket for running to and from your warm, heater-filled car to the house.

This is a wonderful time of year! Scarves, layering and wool hats make fall an exciting season to look forward to. More inspiration, style boards and the sources/pricing for above boards found here.

PDB is Guest Blogging Over at b*spoke Today!

A couple of weeks ago Bethany asked me to guest post for her lovely blog, b*spoke. I was so honored and thought it the perfect opportunity to expand on another {design favorite} of mind: wardrobe inspiration. Jump on over to see two easy tutorials on turning simple strands of beads (and old necklaces) into modern & stylish ribbon jewelry!

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On that note… I’ve been ever-so *wishful* that one day I might be able to expand PDB’s daily design inspirations to encompass everyday fashion too – expanding from the home & entertaining worlds to encompass all three of these ‘loves’.

What do you think? Is it too much? Do you come to PDB just for home inspiration, entertaining ideas, or both? Are blogs best left to their niche – and to what they do best? Hmmm… I’d love to hear your thoughts on what direction you’d like to see Pepper Design Blog go, or where you’d like it to stay! Do share.