Vive Le Maxi

The past few days, I've been trying to take advantage of the wonderful weather in Los Angeles. I'm squeezing in those last-minute bare legged and sleeveless outfits.

I wasn't on the maxi-dress bandwagon until this summer, when I stumbled upon an amazing one. Before, I always found them to to either be too short (I can't stand high-water anything) or too long without sky-high heels, which kind of negates the purpose of the maxi: easy, cool, and comfortable, yet high-impact. I also felt that a maxi dress with a large pattern would overwhelm my short frame.

This maxi dress is one of my favorite finds from the past summer. I stumbled upon it when I was at my good friend's dad's warehouse; he owns a clothing company, and this dress was one of the discarded samples. When I was digging through the boxes of these reject samples, I also found a lovely floral romper that I also wear often. This just goes to show that you can find amazing things in totally unexpected places. A great wardrobe, in my opinion, has a comprehensive mix of pieces from all over the place; that way, every look has a creative and original feel.

Forever 21 belt, Michael Kors watch, David Yurman ring, earrings from the Flea Market Girl booth at the Melrose Trading Post flea market, Austin City Limits music festival entry bracelet

What I love about this dress is that it's incredibly simple.The dark gray color is beautiful, and the silver buttons on the top of the dress give just enough detailing. The A-line of the skirt creates a column-shape that is super flattering, and--added plus--I feel super tall in this dress!

J. Crew wedges

I randomly discovered one day that these shoes could not be more perfect for the dress, because the heel height allows for the maxi to just barely graze the ground (my ideal length for a maxi dress). These wedges are also super-comfortable, so it's no problem for me to wear them around all day everywhere--and I do. I also love the greenish-mustard leather straps, because the color is super-versatile, and the cold flecks in the wedge add a fantastically subtle amount of sparkle.