Homes and Heels

From Day to Night #1

Rubina — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 14:00:50 +0000

I’m excited to announce a new feature here at Homes & Heels! Every week I will be posting two looks – one day look and one night look – that are both created around one item from my wardrobe. I’ve talked a lot about being stylish on a budget and there’s no better way to do that then understanding how your clothes can work double duty.

This week, I started with a striped charcoal gray sweatshirt I recently bought from Gap and put together these two ensembles:

I love colored jeans and have had this cobalt blue pair since wayyyy before it was cool to wear them but I really liked how they looked with a hint of neon yellow and the sweatshirt to ground the bright colors.

Earrings: Marc by Marc Jacobs/Sweatshirt: Gap/Tank: Forever 21/Bracelets: Forever 21/Jeans: Forever 21/Boots: Sporto/Purse: Gap

For my evening look, I paired tone-on-tone pieces so that the accessories would pop – mixed metal chandelier earrings and leopard slippers added interest to an otherwise simple outfit. Okay, so the studs on the skirt don’t hurt either!

Sweatshirt: Gap/Vest: Forever 21/Skirt: Urban Outfitters/Slippers: Aldo/Earrings: Stella & Dot

Vignette Update

Rubina — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:00:21 +0000

So I’ve been talking about vignettes for a couple of weeks (read about them here and here) and I was at the point that I thought I had it all figured out…until I realized how many pieces are needed to create a unique story of textures and layers. But, while I still work on cobbling it together, I wanted to share a few work in progress pics with all of you.

#1 – I LOVE that mirror and found it at the cutest vintage shop on Etsy (it was also one of my inspiration pieces).

#2 – The jewelry box is hand painted and was one of my souvenirs from a recent family vacation to India

#3 – A cute little bud vase from Gilt

The plan right now is to add another tall, structural piece and possibly a softer texture to blur the hard lines…

Another piece from my inspiration collection were these bookends (from another great Etsy shop) with the anchor details that are just waiting to sandwich a few of my favorite titles!

This Weekend…

Rubina — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 14:00:48 +0000

I had to take advantage of the amazing sunshine we’ve had all weekend long in Chicago so I stepped outside to get a change of scenery for my weekend outfits. I’ve featured my necklace DIY before but I love how it tucks under the collar of this shirt and, along with the red on my purse, adds some color to an otherwise black and white ensemble.

I have yet to find a pair of skinny pants that I don’t like – colors, patterns, textures, I’m willing to try it all and this “faux leather” look has been a staple for a couple of seasons.

Necklace: Forever 21/Blouse: Gap/Nails: Essie in Merino Cool/Pants: Forever 21/Heels: Aldo/Purse: Lionel

Sock Bun (ish) Tutorial

Rubina — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 14:00:34 +0000

Okay peeps, due to popular demand, here’s my attempt at putting together a sock bun tutorial! Disclaimer: this is MY version of the sock bun. I did some Googling to research how other gals are doing it and lets just say that I’m not even close to the level of fanciness that’s out there so, keeping that in mind, here’s how to do the sock bun:

Yep, we all have to start somewhere:

So here’s where the magic starts! First, cut off the “toe” of a CLEAN sock. I found that cotton socks don’t work as well as those that are made out of a polyester/stretch mix of fabrics. In order to make it as foolproof as possible, I would definitely recommend using a sock that closely matches the color of your hair. When you’re creating the “donut,” lay the sock out and begin rolling from one end to the other. Remember, the longer the sock the fatter the donut so keep that in mind during your sock selection process (okay, okay it’s not really that difficult of a decision).

Once you’ve created the donut, pull your hair back into a tight ponytail at the crown of your head. It was a lot easier for me to get all the lumps and bumps out by using a round brush but use whatever you have on hand.

Remember the scrunchies that we all wore in first grade? Well, it’s time to get nostalgic! Slip the donut over your ponytail bands the way you would a scrunchie.

At this point, comes the only slightly, kinda sorta tricky part. The main goal here is to hide as much of the donut from sight as possible, so bend over slightly, and fan your hair out as shown in the picture below.

This is the point where I always wish I had an extra pair of hands. I think a technical sock bun requires you to tuck all the ends underneath and into the donut but since I don’t have those type of skills, I twist, and twist and twist some more. I actually figured out the quickest way to do this while writing this tutorial so I owe all of you readers a big thank you! If you place one hand on the top of the hair covered donut, keeping the hair from slipping, and use the other hand to slowly twist the hair around to create a bun it creates a pretty decent circle.

…almost there!!…

Once you’re happy with the shape take a thick ponytail band (I have a couple on my wrist in the pictures above) and delicately slide it over the bun. Don’t bother wrapping it more than once, the goal here is to just keep the majority of the hair in place. If the band is showing, tuck it in with your thumbs so that it slides under the donut.

At this point, you’re almost done! Use bobby pins to secure the bun – I have a kabillion flyaways so this usually takes me awhile. After you’ve done that, finish it off with a light mist of hairspray so the look will last all day!

Ta daaaaa!!! I hope this helps…and if it doesn’t, feel free to shoot me any questions!

And, here’s how I wore it a couple weekends ago…

Have a great weekend everyone!

Needing some ZZZzzz’s

Rubina — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 14:00:46 +0000

Dreaming of a magical world where I swim in a sea of sheets…

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New York Fashion Week 2012

Rubina — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:00:23 +0000

You know what the best part about Fashion Week is? For one week I actually anticipate the next winter – brisk temperatures so I can layer textures and colors to my heart’s content!

This year’s runway collections have included such distinct color stories that it was particularly easy to pull together looks that best show off the hues we will all be wearing come next fall. Although there were silhouette and texture trends, I always find the colors the most inspiring and open to personal style interpretation.

Here are the ones that caught my eye:

Preen/Thakoon/Tracy Reese/A Detacher

Charlotte Ronson/DKNY/Y-3/Rachel Roy

Calla/Edun/Carolina Herrera/Zac Posen

Lela Rose/Altuzarra/Creatures of the Wind/Donna Karan

This Weekend…

Rubina — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 14:00:58 +0000

I hope all of you had an amazing weekend! I spent it checking out the Fashion Week runways (I’ll have some recos, trends, tips, etc. for you tomorrow) and went to dinner with one of my best friends who was visiting the city. Not that I need much persuasion, but it became the perfect excuse to dress up. I paired my favorite black blazer (check it out here) with patterned palazzo pants and a velvet corset. I always talk about the importance of different textures when pulling together room decor, but this look reminded me how it can also transform an outfit!

So here it is…

Bag: Lionel (via Panache)/Palazzalos: Urban Outfitters/Velvet Corset: Urban Outfitters/Blazer: Urban Outfitters/Belt: Vintage/Earrings: Marc by Marc Jacobs/Heels: Asos

Pinterest to Reality

Rubina — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 18:16:27 +0000

I “pinned” this image awhile ago and with the whole lotta snow we got yesterday, I’m glad I found the perfect place to dry off my boots!

Here’s the image from Pinterest:

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…and here’s my version:

Have a great weekend!

Surprise! The Final Touches…

Rubina — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:00:57 +0000

Happy Fashion Week everyone – let the runway antics and amazing street style begin! I’ll be updating all of you on what trends, ideas and colors are catching my eye! Stay tuned!

Sooo, I’ve been kinda sneaky. While I’ve been posting about how to pull together a vignette (here and here) and of course bowing down to the unrestrained fashion of MIA I’ve been working on a project behind the scenes. After I finished the teal walls and the dresser makeover I was so OVER painting. I never wanted to see a paintbrush again! But after a few days went by, the sea of white walls began to bug me. It seemed so disjointed! I had to do something about the stark contrast between the teal, orange and white, which led me to:

I love this color! My previous apartment was also cocooned in this Dove Gray. The soft muted gray mellows down the metallic finish of the other walls but also has a warmth to it making it the perfect “bridge” between the teal and orange. Just as a reminder, here’s what it looked like when the walls were white (ewww!):

And, the after (yay!!)…

I chose to keep the kitchen area white because I love the clean look and also to create a visual divide between it and the living area. I continued the gray into the entry area because I thought it added just the right amount of drama to the tiny space:

So what do you guys think??

This post has been added to link parties at: Simple Home Life, The Shabby Nest and WhipperBerry

Style Profile: MIA in Bad Girl

Rubina — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:00:42 +0000

I’ve been a HUGE fan of MIA since I saw the music video for her song “Jimmy” a few years ago (check it out here). I loved her irreverent take on the Bollywood films I grew up watching. Aaand she made this Sunday’s Super Bowl halftime show pretty interesting. But before her hand gestures caused controversy, I spent a considerable part of the weekend watching the video for her latest single “Bad Girl” again and again so I didn’t miss any of her amazing looks!

Check it out:

It’s easy to steer towards neutral looks and simple silhouettes but MIA’s style in this video is a great reminder to take risks with fashion (even if you’re not filming a music video in Morocco)!

It can be done with a bright pop on the lips juxtaposed against military green…

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…or provide a fresh perspective on the ethnic print trend by wearing it as bottoms. Okay, so MIA’s top might not work for you but try fearless metallics in your own way!

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Embrace this spring’s sorbet colors with abandon…

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…or stick to a theme like a citrus palette of tangerine, lime and lemon:

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Just remember, fashion has no boundaries – make it whatever YOU want it to be!

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