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Sometimes a girl needs a little help. A pushup bra, a hidden platform heel, Spanx... you get the idea. Well this Yoana Baraschi dress is my little helper. Don't be fooled, the color blocking is more than just on trend it is super flattering. Think a slightly thinner waist line and feminine curves.

The perfect date night look to give you some confidence. Don't forget to keep things playful with a quirky clutch. Bonus, it's a great conversation starter.

Dress, Shoes, Clutch

Love at First Cite

Lucite, it's certainly having a moment. From jewelry to decor and now shoes, lucite is everywhere. Did we not grow up listening to the story of Cinderella and her magical glass slipper? How those shoes turned her miserable life around and crowned her a real life princess.

While I'm not promising these lucite shoes will have exactly the same results, I can assure you they will make you look tres chic. So perhaps you'll be the Queen of Style. Long may you reign!

Kate Spade, Stuart Weitzman, Donald Pliner, DVF, French Connection    

This or That

Call me a sap but I love sentimental gifts (even if they're gifts to yourself). Something that has meaning and when you see it you'll always remember the story behind it. I recently have been coveting map necklaces. They're perfect for marking a place in time near and dear to your heart.

Since I'm a born and raised PA gal I may get a state necklace from Maya Brenner. Or perhaps I'll get a street necklace from Three Jane to commemorate the university from which I graduated and spent many fun years. Decisions, decisions. But really you can't go wrong with these personalized accessories, they make the perfect wedding, graduation, anniversary, baby, etc. gift!

 Maya Brenner or Three Jane

Swimsuit Season

Some people dread bathing suit season, I embrace. No, I'm not completely confident in my figure. Far from it. I just love what the start of the season represents; warm weather, weekends at the beach, BBQs with friends and an excuse to shop for a new season!

On my shopping list right now are new swimsuits with matching flip-flops, aka my summer uniform. Here are some of my current favorite pairings:

  

Zimmermann & Tory Burch, L*Space & Tkees, Mara Hoffman & Havaianas

If you need me you can find me poolside.

Days Away

This weekend we welcome you to our newest location beachside in Sea Isle City. After months of designing, planning and moving merchandise we are thrilled for you to see perhaps our greatest space yet! To kick things off all this week I'll be posting some beachy inspiration.

Let's start with this nautical outfit for a beach party. Who would've thought the inspiration behind it was this cute anchor necklace from Gorjana & Griffin from Per Lei? To play up the nautical theme I stuck with primary colors and of course, stripes!

Necklace, Flats, Bikini, Shorts   

Casual Sexy

A new take on sexy, a T-shirt dress with pointed heels. It's always important to think about proportions when dressing, this DVF dress is modest on top covering the chest but shows a whole lot of leg on bottom. To accent those stems pull on some pointed toe heels. Were these heels not made for that dress?

Dress, Shoes, Earrings

The Thing About Leopard

At first site when I saw these Alice + Olivia pants images of Rhea Perlman as Matilda's mom running through my head. As with anything leopard print, if you don't style them right they can totally come off tacky. To avoid entering that zone pair with classics like a silk blouse, a solid pump or a structured blazer. Some jewelry doesn't hurt either just stay away from big hoop earrings. You've been warned.

Pants, Shirt, Shoes, Necklace

The Flip Flop 2.0

Has there ever been a sandal quite as perfect as Sam Edelman's Gigi for summer? Umm... no. Really, there hasn't. The sandal is super light with minimal details (goodbye over powering logos). Think of it as a dressy flip- flop. Actually, wear it as you would a flip flop with casual looks but also with so much more. Think everything from bathing suits with cut off shorts to beautiful printed maxis.

You can find our girl Gigi in basically every color under the rainbow even prints and textures. For about $65 a pair you can even afford practically all the colors too.

Have you tried the Gigi yet?

Neutral State of Mind

I think I have a fashion alter ego. Somedays I want to be bright and girly in my style while other days I want to be neutral and a bit bohemian. Lately I'm feeling the latter. There's a lot to be said about a girl who can make looking fashion also effortless. It is not nearly as easy as it looks, but I think this look does it well. The key is flowing sheer fabrics, unfinished denim and cool booties.

Shirt, Short, Shoes, Bracelet
Clothing available at Per Lei

Spring Must Haves

Each season I have some wardrobe musts. Pieces that I just know I'll get my money's worth from, a mix of classic staples and trendy pieces.  Right now I think every woman should add the following to her closet; a chambray top for layering, a striped blazer to give the solid one a break, printed denim because they're the new colored denim, a silk shell as a foundation for all looks and a statement clutch to obviously make a statement.

Splendid Chambray top, Alice & Olivia blazer, Joes Jeans printed denim, Tibi silk shell, Rafe clutch

All in store at Per Lei Boutique 

Let's Get Organized

In the store today we they are taking care of inventory, the process kind of reminds me of spring cleaning. Seeing what you have, what you don't have and making room for new inventory. They even busted out the vacuum, much to Harley's dismay! All this hustle and bustle leaves me thinking of my own mess of a closet. Time to head to The Container Store and buckle down and get organized for spring collections!  Here's my checklist:

1- clear shoe containers to ensure you don't forget about those stunning pumps from last year
2- thin velvet hangers so your clothes won't slip but you can still pack 'em in
3- garment rack for when your clothes overflow their space
4- pantry rack a personal secret solution of mine, I put it on the back of my closet door to hold sunglasses, extra curling irons, clutches, hairspray... you name it
5- boot shapers because nothing annoys me as much as my expensive leather boots folding over and creasing

You Got Pink'd

I have to say it... pink was totally robbed! Not the singer, the color that is and of the Pantone's Color of the Year.  While I do love a luxe emerald, I think pink it having a major moment in fashion and beauty.

It's been a big part of all the collections we bought for winter and spring. The shade has been all over the red carpet, even last night for at the SAG Awards on Lea Michele. And let's not forget that the hot pink lip is on pouts everywhere.

I'm telling you, pink is truly the color of the year and I demand a recount! 

Fashion: Miranda's Insta- Chic

Ever wake up and open your closet only to discover you have NOTHING to wear? Story.Of.My.Life. I've had a revelation though... stock up on basics and look insta- chic! Great basics can be mixed and matched with trendy pieces but also look just as glam paired together. Just check out Miranda Kerr. She no doubt has a closet as big as my whole house, yet she ops for basics and looks polished without trying too hard.

Miranda's classic style:

My version:

Burberry Trench Coat, Celine Purse, Elaine Turner Loafers, Comme Des Garcons Tee, Joes Jeans Skinnies

Golden Globes Style

Like the rest of the fashion obsessed world last night I tuned in to the Golden Globes. With all awards shows come some trends, misses and hits. So let's round them up, shall we?

Trends: Red Hot- Usually stars shy away from red for awards season, as it often clashes or does the opposite and blends in with the red carpet. FYI, I learned that from Rachel Zoe, her show I mean.

White Out- White came as no surprise though, after all it is THE color for spring. It was seen all over the spring runway shows paired with black.

Misses- Sometimes it does us good to see a drop dead gorgeous celeb looking like a hot mess. Well, Sienna Miller takes the crown, well actually someone took one of her earrings. Did you notice she just had one in?! And that skirt+frock ensemble just wasn't doing it for me. I also have to mention Adele here. Although she looked gorgeous. Did she not wear that same exact dress last awards season and the bouffant hair? Been there, done that honey. Take a risk! 

Hits- My personal faves starts with Kate Hudson. The girl always manages to wear what reflects her own sense of style but without trying too hard or looking like a weirdo (Sienna, I'm looking at you). Isla Fisher pulls off fair skin and red head like nobody's business. I don't think I even need to talk about Jessica Alba, she does no wrong. EVER. But I will say, coral and turquoise is always a good combo.

Who were some of your favorites?

 

Trending

To coincide with my last post I decided to share our findings at the ENK show this weekend.

Trends- 90s rope cors friendship bracelet (admit it you remember them, and are they're back), big hardware closures that make a statement and studs

Textures- Gummy, python, acrylic resin

Colors- Neons vs. Pastels and the obvious summer turquoise and coral

New Lines- Ted Rossi, Shame on Jane, Lolo & Gillian Julius

Old Favorites- TKO, Chan Luu, Tai & Dareen Hakim

So tell me, what are you looking forward to seeing in store?

A Day In The Life

One of the most exciting parts of my job is the buying trips. While they are long days that leave me truly exhausted, there's nothing I look forward to more. The thrill of seeing the next season's fashions before everyone else (besides the 250,000 other buyers), the power of influencing trends by deciding what to purchase, running into friendly faces like our lovely reps or other local boutique buyers, and just the sheer rush of being in the city that never sleeps, are all just beyond!

Well, I thought I'd give you a little glimpse of A Day In The Life of Per Lei Girl as a buyer to try and at least share some of the excitement...

5:00am- Rise and shine fashionistas! Good thing I showered and picked out my clothes the night before. I wash my face quickly, curl my hair and throw on some makeup.

5:30am- Leave my house. Good thing there was no one on the roads because they were covered with snow and I was driving slower than a great grandmother.

6:10am- Pull into Per Lei. Luckily, Bruce was already waiting in the car warming it so I didn't freeze. And off we go to the train station in Philly. PS. Candice was already up in NYC.

6:45am- Arrive at the train station and play a short round of the waiting game. During this time we also ran into our Splendid rep who was heading up to the city for the show.

7:19am- Board the train. We accidentally hopped on the "quite train" so I entertained myself by reading Vogue while Bruce caught up on some sleep.

8:40am- Arrive in the chaotic Penn Station and hail a cab.

9:00am- Meet Candice at the Intermezzo show and it all begins. We spend the next 4 hours walking row after row of booths scouting the perfect accessories. Jewels are flying everywhere, numbers are being crunched and business cards are handed out.

1:30pm- Break for a quick lunch at the cafe. I go with a delicious (or maybe I was just that hungry) slice of spinach pizza, Candice picked a salad and Bruce goes for a soft pretzel like a typical guy.

2:00pm- Now to the second show Moda, it's only a short taxi cab ride away.  Here we spend the next 2 hours doing some quick buying, I think we've refined our skills and sped up the process by this point. Unfortunately, not many vendors at this show have candy out for buyers to feed their sweet tooth. It's the little things like this that we enjoy.

4:30pm- Hail a cab and head to dinner at the cutest little Italian restaurant, a favorite of Bruce & Candice.

6:00pm- Grab Candice's luggage at the hotel and the car before we head home. I spend the next 2 hours trying to keep my eyes open with images of all the beautiful things we just bought floating around my head.

8:10pm- Finally, we're back at Per Lei. I jump in my car and head home.

9:30pm- Zzzz Passed out in bed after a tiring day on my feet.

The Mix

Resort has arrived! Personally, I couldn't be happier because it means we are that much closer to summer! Is anyone else tired of the cold? I ask as I type this wearing my winter coat indoors. Regardless, check out the new arrivals for resort to start your new closest, new you mantra!

Give Per Lei: Under $100

The holiday's are upon and sometimes although we may want to splurge on that gorgeous Hermes bangle for our BFF, our budget may not allow it. So let's be practical here with our under $100 gift guide and get her a gift she's sure to love but won't break our bank.

$10 My Kitsch Hair Ties, $35 Power Mate Charger, $38- $98 Lodis wallets, $30- $98 San Diego Hats, $95 Charlene K Mini Druzy, $40- $88 Tai Bracelets, $15 Minimergency Kits 

All available at Per Lei Boutique.

With prices like this I can even afford a little gift to myself, from myself!

All Buttoned Up

Nothing says business like a classic button up. That's why when we got our new shipment of Equipment blouses today I thought of you business women conquering the world one boardroom meeting at a time. Here's a little closet inspiration with my favorite Equipment blouse in acorn and Ecru pants that I can't imagine sitting in an office chair for hours without.