Styled by Albertina | Mimosa Lane

Albertina is solid proof that connections that start online can turn into wonderful off-line friendships…  To make a long story short, we connected through our desire to improve our photography skills and took a workshop together at The Spot Studio early this year – the rest is history!  Like me and Sally, Albertina is also a Dallas transplant, and we easily bonded over photography and her desire to start a blog of her own.  I could not have been more thrilled when she and her co-blogger Julie launched Mimosa Lane at the end of January!  Her lovely, sweet personality is right at home on the web and I love drinking in her love of art, design, style, baking and much more… Mimosa Lane is definitely a gem in the blog world!  She was sweet enough to to disrupt her schedule as a mama and active philanthropist to show us what She Wishes She Was Wearing and I could not be more crazy about her classic but edgy black and tan ensemble:

QUESTIONS of STYLE:

.Describe your personal style in five words or less:  Classic, with a touch of trendy.

.Who/What inspires your personal style, influencing what you’re drawn to and what you end up wearing?  I love looking through magazines and blogs to get ideas.  I take what is in vogue and then I try and make it my own.  My mom is also a big influence.  She’s great at getting the right proportion of classic to trendy. I have been saving my nice pieces of clothing since my early twenties (well my mom has been saving my dresses from when I was baby for her future granddaughter, which she finally now has, but that’s another story) and have just been giving them new life by adding some trendy additions.  I believe in the idea of having timeless investment pieces because you will always wear them again and show them off in a new light as you adapt them to more modern times.

.What is an item you cannot live without or what are some of your wardrobe essentials?  Ballet flats.  I never met one I didn’t like.  I have some wonderful Andrea Carrano’s that I love, Ferragamo’s and Repetto’s. They are part of my daily uniform.  And jeans, of course.  I live in them.

.What is your most recent purchase? A painting from Jenny from My Favorite and My Best.  Its the one in this post… I just got it in the mail (it was my Mother’s day gift) and I’m madly in love with it.

.Where have you found some of your most treasured style items?  I love getting things when I travel because not many people will have them upon my return.  I go to Spain a lot so I take advantage of the small, one off boutiques there.  They have great fashion and good prices.  Some of the larger Spanish brands that I love over there that also have amazing pieces are Bimba and Lola, Hoss Intropia , and Coss (which is actually Swedish).

.What is your go-to jewelry routine?  Always pearls for my earrings and my gold faced watch with red alligator straps (soon to be blue!).  For evening I love wearing statement necklaces or earrings.  My custom jewelry drawer is so much fun, my daughter agrees. You could say I’m a collector of baubles.

.What are some of your make-up must haves?  For the everyday routine I’m a big fan of  under eye concealer. I think it makes everyone look fantastic.  Also, Clinique lose powder for natural coverage.  For the evening I will go all out and do my eyes, use blush, and can sometimes be more daring with the lipstick.  Lately I have been wearing NARS Dragon Girl and NARS Schiap lipsticks.  I love them both even though they are so different. I feel so feminine when I wear such bold lips.

.If you could meet any designer who would it be and why?  Oscar de la Renta.  I love his aesthetic.  Pretty much anything he does I love.  The colors, the prints, the elegance, the femininity.  His work is beautiful and his attention to detail is astounding.  I also love his trajectory as he was born in the Dominican Republic, went to Spain to study, ended up working with Balenciaga, and is now one of the leading design houses in the world.   

.What’s the best style advice you’ve ever given or received?  I live by several mantras.  The first one by Coco Chanel, “Fashion fades, only style remains the same.”  This speaks directly to my more classic side.  And from Ines de la Fressange, “If it feels good wear it!”  I love being comfortable in my clothing. And with an almost 5 year old daughter I have to be comfortable to keep up with her.  My mom always tells me  take care of myself (night eye cream, sunblock, clarisnonic brush, you know all that great advice moms love to give) because she tells me, “If you look good you can pretty much wear anything and look beautiful.”  And last but not least I’m a big believer in accessories and I love how Oscar de la Renta puts it, “A woman makes an outfit her own with accessories.”  Oohhh and I was forgetting someone once told me never to pluck my eyebrows too much because they never grow back the same…and boy were they right and am glad I listened!

I’m just like Albertina – always trying to buy a good balance of classic and trendy pieces that I can wear for years and years… It’s amazing when you can get compliments on things you bought 4+ years ago (no joke!).  I hope you adored A as much as I do and that you skip over to Mimosa Lane – her blog is sure to become one of your favorites  Thank you, Albertina!  xx

(Photo c/o of Albertina .  Images: 01. Karen Walker Anytime Crazy Tortoise Sunnies // 02. Assad Mounser Modern Love Necklace // 03. Tocca Inverted Sleeve Top // 04. Zara Studded Shopper // 05. Carolina Loyola Heart Pave Donation Bracelet // 06. Frederic Malle En Passant Perfume // 07. Moschino Wedges // 08. Red Valentino Pleated Skirt)