Lord & Taylor’s, Friends and Family sale has been extended and we are sharing some of our favorite pieces, including some pretty cute vegan accessories.

I have been on a mission this past year to be extremely thoughtful about each item I put into my closet, more so than in the past. I have been going through a style transformation and feel as though I am finally understanding less is more.

Black has always been a favorite color of mine to wear, but I felt a lot of pressure to change that up and try new things. What ended up happening was a lot of items I didn’t really love, made it into my closet.

Now, don’t get me wrong I love a good pop of color in an outfit, but when it comes to everyday wear, and feeling like my absolute best self, I love wearing unique pieces that just happen to be black. I am getting back to basics and rediscovering my love for the darker side of my wardrobe.

This was the year that we saw closure of many favorite brick and mortar establishments. Some were smaller operations and others, giant corporations. Two of these were long time family favorites, Lord & Taylor (our favorite location closed this past spring. We have heard more locations may be closing next year, but are hoping this is not true.) and Carson Pirie Scott, founded in the early 1800s.

Shopping today is done preferably, in our jammies and delivered within moments. However, back in the day of days, women and men, families, would dress to shop (and lunch) in these beautiful stores. My mom and I still regularly dine at the Nordstrom Cafe, but service at Nordstrom is not what we experienced at our beloved Lord & Taylor. Gleaming and filled with quality handcrafted goods, shoppers would be met with the utmost of professional service and attention to every detail.

We are sad to see these stores close. Truly, this is an end to an era of glamour, style and in person experiences. We, likely, will never see this in store shopping experience again. It wasn’t so much about consumption, as we operate today, but about fulfilling needs.

All of this to say, I am wearing one of my treasured Lord & Taylor dress finds by WAYF. It makes me think of Catherine Deneuve with the black and gold detail and ruffled sleeves. I added my own vintage Ferragamo handbag and second hand Stuart Weitzman! I am ready!

I love revitalizing and reinventing looks from my closet and dream of the time when women had a carefully selected wardrobe, in-spite of the fact their closet were not busting out at the seams.