Don’t you just love the feeling of finding a piece of clothing that seems like it should cost you much much more than it really does? It’s nice that over the years the cheap n chic and luxe for less movement has helped make looking fashionable more realistic for everyone. But even so, with all these discount fashion retailers out there, it’s still challenging to find the finds.

Lately, Kitsch Couture in downtown Saratoga, CA seems to be a consistent source of these deals. Don’t be disappointed in their website.. the owner told me they are not focusing on their online presence. The boutique itself has some great stuff and tends to be quite well stocked. They carry a wide array of contemporary women’s clothing. Gentle Fawn and Kensie Girl are a few of the luxe for less brands they carry. If you haven’t heard of those you should definately check them out. They offer chic, urban styles at decent prices. Plus if you search for these brands online you’ll find a ton of cute avant garde online boutiques.

Check out this cute cropped cargo style jacket from BIZZ that my friend Jenny got. The jacket was $68! It’s cute worn both buttoned up and loosely open. The material is fairly thin so it’s more suited for the cooler summer nights, but worn over a thicker sweater or turtleneck this could definitely get you through fall and some of winter. The funnel neck (when the jacket is fully buttoned up) is super cute. Jenny you better work this when you get back to New York!
 

Hey everyone~ I created a look book album to make it easier to have everything in one place. The next time you’re digging through your closet and have the nothing to wear depression, take a peek into this album for some inspiration for looks to throw together. Honestly, it’s not that you don’t have anything to wear, you just haven’t taken the time to try working different pieces together into a new look. When I don’t have the perfect piece to complete a look I’ll just throw second best in there and after I’ve got everything on, I realize it really doesn’t matter that much. Try it!

For now you’ll see some of the older looks I put together in the past. Promise I’ll put together some new looks soon! I’ve been wearing same ole’ same ole’ every day myself so I certainly could use some inspiration myself. Also don’t forget about the list of look books on the internet I’ve collected. If you know of any other good look books please share with us!!

http://www.luxemix.com/photos/look_book/index.html

One more look book to add to my Fashion Look Book Index!

This look book from Armani Exchange is well done from a usability standpoint, e.g. easy to navigate and they have a nice summary summary (3rd image down) which makes it easy to shop for the items in each look. I must say I am disappointed with the looks themselves though. I’d expect more from Armani. It’s funny how you can take the same clothes and result in a completely different style identity. I’d put these pieces together so differently. The look I show below is probably the only one I like a little.. I like how they name the looks too. "Campus Clique". I guess I must think I’m younger than I really am.

Check it out at Armani Exchange.com

Here’s my fashion roundup for the week. All of these looks inspire me and make me happy just looking at them!

Work-Friendly

Helmust Lang Hooded Jacket

Milly Basket Weave Button Jacket

Citizens of Humanity Peretti Twill Dress

Girl’s Night Out

Lewis Cho Striped Boat Neck Dress

YAYA AFLALO Skim Top

Young Fabulous & Broke Sleeveless Back Draped Dress

All links to items can be found on my Luxe Mix Kaboodle:
http://www.kaboodle.com/manolo_blues/luxe-mix-blog-links.html

Lindsay Lohan

Pulling off the Rainbow Brite — and getting away with it!

Brian Austin Green and Megan Fox

This dress could flaunt her curves a little more.. but the color is juicy! I’d wear this out for a night of dinner and dancing.

Haylie and Hilary Duff

Noureen Dewulf

Rebecca Romjin

Samantha Cole

Hot in a trashy sort of way

Dave Annable

Smokin’…

Chase Crawford

Smokier!

I’ve noticed lately that my work/professional style has been slipping. It prolly has a lot to do with my Forever21 obession. I keep stocking up on cute trendy pieces… fit for a 21 yr old. Damn it. I need to restrain myself a little more… Look your age girl!

I spent the last hour focusing on work-ready wear and here’s a look I put together on Polyvore (See "THE" Tool for Helping to Decide What to Wear — Polyvore"). BTW Polyvore just added a color-picker so you can filter the items in the editor down by color. It’s pretty helpful if you like to use the items everyone else has added to polyvore. I find it easier to just find my own clothes and add them myself.

What I like about my work look:

1. A big a** bag for all my junk (Anna Corina Black Patent Leather Tote). All of you who know me know how much crap I tote around with me. I’m the girl you want with you when you stain your shirt, or get stuck in an elevator — always got snacks on me
2. A crisp shirt, structured just enough to not make me look fat. Yes, i do feel fat sometimes (fat is relative I tell you).
3. Flat shoes… I know I’m getting older as my average heel height shrinks.

Shopbop did my post for me tonight. Thanks guys. I must concur with your selections here. I’d pick a favorite but I’d wear them all!

Rachel Pally Dress — 4 Ways to Wear It

I WANT this top from Paper-Doll.com by Lune Noir. Anyone can wear a regular old black tank but it takes patience and some shoppin skillz to find basic pieces like this black top with ruching AND stud details.

Tank Girl Top by Lune Noir — $80.00

These leopard print wedges would make a stylish statement at the office… without massacring your feet. 

Leopard Print Wedges from Rampage.com – on Sale for $29.99

Below are two ways I’d wear these pieces, one for the work day and one for a weekend day out and about. All the images below are clickable and you’ll be able to get to the sites that sell these items directly. All thanks to a DIZOPE new tool LL helped me find! www.polyvore.com

For those of you who are looking for ideas on what to wear, this post is for you!

What’s a Look Book?
"Look book" is the term used to reference a collection of images that are assembled to help illustrate "looks" or "outfits". It could be a clothing retailer or a fashion magazine, and in my case a blog!, who puts together a Look Book. The main objective is to help inspire the reader with complete looks from head to toe. It makes it easier for the viewer to picture the product when it is paired with other nicely coordinating pieces. Look Books are a fairly new trend but I believe they will become increasingly popular and important to the fashion retail industry.

I haven’t had as much time as I’d like to photoshop together looks for you in my Luxe Mix Look Book so here’s some sites to refer to whenever you want some insta-inspiration on outfit ensembles.

Note: I’ll keep adding to this as I find more. Please help us out by adding any you know of yourselves in the Comments section!

Index of Look Books:

Pink Mascara Look Book (Philip Lim, Diane Von Furstenberg, Ya Ya)
http://www.pinkmascara.com/lookbook.html

Shopbop Look Book
http://www.shopbop.com/lookbook/lookbook_main.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302047459&lookFolderID=2534374302047459

BCBG Look Book
http://www.bcbg.com/spring2007/home.php

Activeendevours Look Book
http://www.activeendeavors.com/lookbook/

Max Studio Look Book
http://www.maxstudio.com/website/lookbook/LookBook-1.htm

Anthropologie Look Book
http://www.anthropologie.com/jump.jsp?itemID=2219&itemType=CATEGORY&all=1

Club Monaco Look Book
http://www.clubmonaco.com/032007/lookbook.asp

Luxe Mix Look Book
http://www.luxemix.com/luxe_mix/luxe_looks/index.html

Karmaloop Look Book (Urban/Street Wear)
http://www.karmaloop.com/lookbook/index.asp

Free People Look Book (Urban/Bohemian)
http://www.freepeople.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/products.browse/categoryID/f4fc7ff0-570a-4600-9c16-2e1b8bc0b63c

RavinStyle Look Book
http://www.ravinstyle.com/shop/outfits.asp

Banana Republic Look Book
http://www.bananarepublic.com/browse/category.do?cid=12025&pageID=-1

Some Look Books for Men too!

Billionaire Boys Club (Hip Hop/Urban)
http://www.bbcicecream.com/lookbook/

I’m all about maximizing my clothes. I like to get the most out of every piece I buy. The problem is a lot of the time I end up buying stuff on a whim without thinking through what I’m going to do with this thing once I get home. I’ve been thinking about this fashion/shopping/coordination solution for a bit and here’s my first attempt at creating a true Luxe Mix — a mix of luxe items that create a mini-wardrobe for the next few weeks… ok hopefully month or so. These items range in price but that’s what makes a good mix. You’ve got to complement cheaper items with quality in order to not look like you stepped out of walmart — not that i’ve anything against discount clothing but I think if you care about fashion and style you might as well look classy and sophisticated regardless of how much or little $$ you spend. If people are intersted I’ll shoot for creating more Luxe Mixes with more affordable pieces in the future.

Enjoy!

(+ click to enlarge 3 images below, links provided below)

Shop these items:

A. Cardigan with Deep V Neck from Shopbop
B. Mercedes Dress from Shopbop
C. Tube Dress from Shopbop
D. Vince Jersey Short Sleeve V Neck Tee from Shopbop
E. Vince Pima Jersey Long Sleeve Tee from Shopbop
F. Khaki cropped cargo blazer from Bluefly
G. Denim Jacket with Fleece from Armani Exchange
H. Gentle Fawn – South Vest from BazaarAdriatic (luxe for less)
I. Gentle Fawn – Crafty Top from BazaarAdriatic (luxe for less)
J. Puff Sleeve Brown Hoodie from Shopplasticland (luxe for less)
K. Ya Ya Ravaged Maiden Bianca Denim Pant from Shopbop
L. Rock and Republic Jeans from Blaec
M. Nisa Navy Skirt from BazaaarAdriatic (luxe for less)
N. Fire Lisa Skinny Crop Jeans fron Nordstrom (luxe for less)
O. Obey McGraw Hat from 80′s Purple (luxe for less)