9 to 5

In the weeks and months to come you will notice that I rarely wear blouses. It's not that I don't love a nice blouse, skinny jeans and heels. It's that I find it impossible to find cute ones for a reasonable price. So I end up investing in a million jackets instead. 

I wish I could tell you that I finally found affordable cute blouses but sadly that's not the case. The one I'm wearing is from Club Monaco. While it was definitely expensive it's the perfect work blouse. It's on sale now for $130!  If you know of any stores that sell reasonably priced blouses (besides Zara) please let me know! 

Now on to these shoes. No words, right? I got them on my birthday in September and have lived in them ever since. I love that they go with everything. 

I'm shooting twice this weekend. So excited! Let me know if there is anything specific you want to see. Holiday looks? More work outfits or casual looks? More home decor? Let me know! xox

Photography by Felicia Lasala

Club Monaco shirt, Zara pants, Gucci shoes, Celine purse, Karen Walker sunglasses

All About the Pom Pom

Today I present to you a true east meets west look. As the name of my blog gives away, I moved to LA from the east coast  (Montreal, to be specific). While I don't miss the cold weather, I do miss the cute accessories like this hat. I paired it with an oversized sweater and ripped jeans. I love the look of an oversized sweater but you need to make sure you wear something tight on the bottom to balance out the look. If you feel like you look too shlumpy, just add heels or booties- it's a great way to dress it up.

One of the challenges with my blog is that half of my readers are on the East coast and the other half are on the West coast. It's snowing in Montreal but sunny and relatively warm in LA. I will do my best to cater to both coasts. 

How was your thanksgiving? Our trip to Miami was perfect- short and sweet. We got home Saturday in the early afternoon. It was nice to have some time to transition back to reality.  We went to a great yoga class (Hot 8 Yoga in Beverly Hills is my fav), saw a couple of movies (La La Land was great!) and went for drinks. Now back to work! Have a great week xoxo

Photography by Felicia Lasala 

Zara sweatshirt, Zara jeans, Topshop Hat (different color), Christian Louboutin booties, Quay sunglasses

Tips for Home Decor

I've moved 5 times over the past 7 years. With each move I have refined my style. My apartment in NYC had purple walls a la Friends (don't ask). My place is now primarily white. I have definitely come a long way. My style is now a polished shabby chic (an oxymoron, I know). I mix vintage pieces with more clean and modern ones. I will do a full home tour soon, promise! 

For some people decorating can be very overwhelming. Here are my tips on where to start.

1. Get inspired

Spend time researching different styles. Flip through magazines and books. Build Pinterest boards. Sleep on it. Refine it. Pinterest is the best tool to discover different styles and see what you're most attracted to. 

2. Decide on a color palette

This is the most important step. All of the furniture you purchase will depend on the color palette you choose. If you plan on investing in good furniture, you will have those pieces for a long time. So you want to make sure you decide on a color palette that you will like for a while. My color palette is primarily white with some accent pieces (see the picture of my living room above).

3. Decide on your budget

Figure out your budget and then decide what you want to splurge on and what you want to save on. I decided that a couch and a dining room table were the most important pieces for me. My couch is from Montauk and my dining room table and chairs are from Shabby Chic. All of my other pieces come from places like Wayfair and Home Goods. 

4. Get creative

Stop by estate sales and flea markets. Visit expensive home decor stores to get inspiration. Browse through websites like Etsy, Wayfair and Joss & Main. You never know what you can find online. I bought my bar cart on Craigslist. Don't be afraid to mix and match your style. Like I said, I love shabby chic pieces but as I get older I incorporate more modern and clean pieces. And the mix really works! 

We are heading back to LA tomorrow. Have a great weekend everyone xoxo

Work Chic

I should preface this post by saying that for some people this look is way too casual for the office. I used to dress up a lot more than I do now. The other day I wore my Celine Susanna boots to work and someone asked me if they were Vegas shoes 😳. Nevertheless I continue to push the boundaries since someone has to do it, right? 

If your dress code is business casual then I highly recommend investing in a good white blazer. I bought this one at Zara (what a surprise) years ago. It is perfect for the office but also a great travel piece. You can wear it for a boozy brunch or happy hour.

When we were shooting this look we got stuck in a wind tunnel. It was so hard to keep a straight face when my hair was flying everywhere. I thought the look would be a bust but the pictures came out really cute.

We're still in Miami. We spent the day yesterday lounging by the pool and walking around Bal Harbor mall. I didn't buy anything but if I do I will let you know! Happy early Thanksgiving! xoxo

Photography by Felicia Lasala

Zara blazer (similar), Zara jeans, YSL heels, Celine purse, Quay Sunglasses

Fall Weekend Uniform

I love nothing more than to sit on the couch in comfy sweats and scroll through Instagram and Pinterest for inspiring outfits. Most of the time I feel inspired and motivated to create more looks (and buy more clothes). Other times, however, I think to myself one of two things: (i) I don't own anything close to that and if I purchased the entire outfit it would run me in the thousands or (ii) where on earth would I wear that. 

I feel like it's important to share outfits that are easy to style for everyday. While I love to dress up at night, most weekends you will find me in denim, a t-shirt and moto jacket. A good moto jacket is an essential piece in a wardrobe. I bought this one years ago at Club Monaco and always get compliments on it. While I've bought a few others since, I always go back to this one. It fits perfectly (not too bulky or structured, as many moto jackets can be). 

Believe it or not I wore this jacket on my wedding day. We got married in Montreal and I didn't pack properly (shocker). It was cold and rainy and this was the only jacket I had with me. I won't lie I love the pictures the photographer captured of me wearing it. I'll post one on Instagram (@she_went_west).

As for the shoes, I bought them at the Louboutin sample sale. I'm not sure I would pay full price for them but for $200 I figured they would be a great addition to my shoe collection, since I don't own anything like them.  

I'm off to Miami for the week! I'll still be posting regularly on She Went West though :). Happy Monday xoxo

Photography by Felicia Lasala

Lovers + Friends jeans (similar) , Zara t-shirt (similar), Club Monaco Jacket (similar), Christian Louboutin heels (similar), Celine purse, Quay sunglasses 

Hey, GRLFRND

Who else has a love hate relationship with high-waisted denim? I love how they look on girls in Pinterest pictures. I hate how they fit on me. That kind of thing. Everyone is obsessed with RE/DONE denim. And while I am too, I have yet to find a pair that fit properly. When I was at the Tularosa sample sale I mentioned in The Perfect White Romper post, there were other brands like GRLFRND denim and Lovers + Friends. I saw these jeans and grabbed them! I finally found a pair that were flattering. If you haven't checked out GRLFRND denim I highly recommend it. They're not sold everywhere but I know that Barneys and Revolve carry them. 

Now let's move on to bombers. They are the perfect fall jacket. This rose gold one really caught my eye. Most bombers this season tend be dark green or black and while I am guilty of owning a few, I am a bit over them. This color is so unique, I had to have it. 

I'm heading to San Fran tonight for a girls weekend. Any SF recommendations? I get back Sunday night and leave for Miami on Monday. It will be a fun week of travel, drinking, eating, tanning and shopping- what could be better? Follow along on my Instagram and Snapchat (shewentwest) if you want to see what I'm up to! Have a great weekend xoxox

Photography by Felicia Lasala

GRLFRND denim, Aritzia tank, House of CB bomber, YSL heels, Quay sunglasses

It's all in the Details

This outfit is essentially all from Zara. Zara can be a hit or miss. Fortunately this season (and unfortunately for my credit card) they followed the perfect trends and provided an endless amount of items to fill my shopping cart. Normally I skip the tables pilled high with denim but this season they got it right. And for $40 it's hard to go wrong.  I will link some pairs I love on twitter this week. 

When we first moved to LA we lived on Doheny. For those of you who aren't familiar with the city, Doheny is the most gorgeous street. It is lined with palm trees and has a perfect view of the hills (not to mention it's a 3 minute Uber to Soho House and The Ivy). We got into a routine of walking our pup, Luca, on Robertson and around Melrose after work. It was a great way to clear my mind, discuss our days, and discover what's new at Chanel (why not, right?). 

Anyway, on one of my many "research" excursions I decided to ask an associate if he knew anyone who could fix my purse. For some background, I bought this purse 7 years ago when I got admitted to law school (any excuse will do). Since I was relatively young (that's how I justify it), I didn't take great care of it. I figured you purchase a bag to use it, right?! Wrong. Did I know the bags would double in price?! 

The associate explained to me that I could get it refurbished through Chanel. I decided to give it a try and I'm so glad I did. The bag came back brand new! I am not kidding. They redyed it, replaced the lining and fixed all of the stitching. I essentially got a new purse for $300. You live and you learn, right? 

Side note: studies show that Hermes Birkin bags and Chanel bags are a better investment than stocks and gold (you can read the articles here and here). As I said, any excuse will do! 

Photography by Felicia Lasala

Zara sweater, Zara jeans, YSL shoes, Chanel Purse, Quay Sunglasses