Cheryl Shops

I'm just back from a trip to Mexico City—yes, my full travel diary will be coming soon—and after five straight days of eating and drinking to my heart's content in a warm, dry climate, it almost feels like forever ago that we shot these photos. I also still have a bit of vacation brain, so apologies in advance if this post kind of meanders. There is no overall theme to this week's post, other than these are the pieces I've been living in lately, many of which I brought on vacation, and most of which you've seen before. Together, they're all neutral pieces (yes, leopard is a neutral!) that just work really well together. Here's how.

For some people, the start of summer means barbecues, fireworks, and the beach. To me, it means sales. For some reason, I enjoy shopping summer sales more than winter ones—I feel like winter sales happen around the holidays, when I'm stressed out for various other reasons. Summer is all about fun—bright colors, light fabrics, bare skin. And since the sales are just getting started, here are 16 items from some of my favorite designers, currently in my various online shopping bags. Everything here is under $500, with a handful items under $100 too. Pretty much every boutique and department store is on sale right now, from Barneys and Nordstrom to Shopbop and Net-A-Porter, so shop to your heart's content!

This week's outfit post is a bit different than my usual format, and it's all the weather's fault. May is usually a gorgeous month in San Francisco, but it's been unseasonably cold—it's even been raining lately, which is unheard of for this time of year. I had planned on wearing the first look featured here, but brought warmer layers so we could go out to dinner afterward. As it turns out, my warmer layers looked cute too, so we just ended up shooting both outfits. One is more dressed up and polished; the other is more casual and cool—and I can't decide which is my favorite, even now. Let me know what you think of this new format in the comments, and if it's a hit, I'll do it again from time to time.

I tried Armoire free for a month but was not paid for this post.

In this day and age of Marie Kondo, I think we can all agree that we probably own too many clothes, especially ones we haven't worn in months (or years). It's very liberating to get rid of a lot of them. And while the concept of a super-minimalist, capsule wardrobe appeals to me, I'm only human and need a little variety now and then. Which is why I'm fascinated by clothing rental services. Do we even need to own our clothing anymore? After all, we share cars (Getaround and Turo, not to mention Uber and Lyft), homes (Airbnb), workspaces (WeWork), money (Lending Club, Kickstarter), even knowledge and skills (TaskRabbit, UpWork). My curiosity was piqued when Armoire offered me a free trial—it's billed as an "infinite wardrobe," in that you can borrow up to 8 pieces at a time and swap them out as frequently as you want, all for $149 a month. So, in the name of investigative reporting, I said yes. Here's my honest review.

I've been on both a Marie Kondo-ing tear and a subsequent spring shopping spree lately, and both felt good. The Kon-Mari has cleared out a lot of space in my closet and also made me more conscious of what I'm buying. I am only shopping for things that spark joy, and I am thinking long and hard about whether I'm going to wear something for just a few months or if it's going to be a long-term addition to my closet. Of course, sometimes the best intentions don't always pan out, and it's hard to predict the future, but this pale pink linen blazer is certainly sparking joy for me, and I have a feeling it's going to stick around for awhile. I've already worn it multiple ways, but here's a wear-now, wear-anytime kind of look—and one of my favorites right now.

This post is sponsored by Brita, but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.

Real talk: plastic water bottles are bad for the environment. Like really bad. Americans consume 2,000 bottles of plastic water per second, and if we keep going at this rate, there will be more plastic bottles than fish in the ocean by 2050. The good news is that there's an easy solution to this problem: filling your own reusable water bottle with filtered water. It's a super easy thing to do that has a huge impact on the environment, plus you'll save money (hey, those plastic water bottles add up!) and filtered water tastes just as good as (or even better than) the stuff that comes from a bottle. Here's how I'm ditching bottled water with the help of Brita.

San Francisco is not a very dressy place, especially compared to New York, where I lived for 13 years. True, I have the occasional wedding, holiday party, or charity event to dress up for, but most of my fancy dresses spend a lot of time just hanging in my closet. And that's a bummer. The good news is that with a little strategic styling, you can dress down a fancy dress for more casual, everyday occasions. Here's how I did it.

This post is sponsored by Wellness CORE but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.



Woof, I'm Zuni, Cheryl's dog. Perhaps you've seen me on her Instagram—I don't have my own account yet, but maybe I should! Anyway, since this post is all about ME, Cheryl thought I should write it. She promised me my favorite Wellness CORE treats as a reward, but man, she always makes me work for it! Of course, I sleep a lot too. I'm a dog! Here's what I do all day, woof woof!

I've been on a light-colored minimal kick lately, so it's somewhat serendipitous that this month's most-repinned look from my Outfit ideas for ageless style Pinterest board is just that: a minimalist mix of beige, white, and tan. It's just the right thing to wear right now—the perfect spring transitional outfit. Here's how to get this all-neutral look.

When it comes to skirts, I have a type: above the knee, tiered, with a slight A-line shape. Off the top of my head, I can think of five of these already in my closet, although I probably have more. There's a reason I have a type—it's the most flattering on my body—but the downside is that my wardrobe starts to look the same after awhile. This was the argument that ran through my mind as I was contemplating buying this skirt, but I decided screw it, I really love it—plus I had a Free People birthday discount to burn. Once the weather started to cooperate, I ended up wearing this skirt three days in a row, which I almost never do, but that's how much I'm into it. Long story short, just wear what you love.

Wearing a dress over jeans is one of those next-level styling tricks that you see on street-style blogs during fashion week—it looks amazing but seems way too complicated to actually pull off. I, however, was up for a challenge, and after some experimentation, think I landed an outfit that works. It's all about proportion and strategic unbuttoning so you don't look like a big old blob. Here's how I styled a maxi shirtdress over white skinny jeans.

I saved the best spring trend for last: shoes! More specifically, slingbacks, which I wouldn't normally qualify as a trend, but there are so many amazing ones out there right now, I had to feature them. The good news for my over-40 feet is that the best ones have low heels, many in that 1-1/2–2" sweet spot. The even better news is that there are slingbacks with all manner of fun colors and details. The best news? You can wear them right now.

When it comes to shopping, I don't always get things right the first time. It took me several tries to find the right gray jeans (more on that later), I'm still looking for a ribbed black midi skirt (I've bought and returned two so far), and I have yet to find the perfect white summer dress in spite of trying at least one new one every summer. This is probably the third or fourth linen blazer I've purchased, and it still might not be the best, but I think I'm getting pretty close. It's one of those pieces that I plan on living in for much of summer; I've styled it here with jeans and a tee—very classic—but think it will look just as good with a T-shirt dress and sneakers. It's the ultimate dress-up, dress-down, dress-however-you-want piece.

Spring is a time of year that sounds better in theory than in reality. After months of cold, clouds, and rain (or in most cases, snow), all I want to do is break out the bare legs and sandals. And yet some days are in the 60s and gorgeously sunny, and others are...kind of just like winter. When I lived in New York, I'd totally jump the gun and break out my summer clothes as soon as the thermometer hit 50 degrees, but now that I'm a Californian, I've learned to ease into spring. My wool coats have been put away for the season, but sweaters are still around; tights are back in my drawer, but I haven't busted out the sandals just yet. Spring transitional outfits are all about balance; here's how mine are coming together.

This next trend is a bit kooky, but it's fun, and I think it transcends style—you can wear feathers in an edgy way or a feminine way, or in many ways in between. It's also a bit easier to find on the higher end (Net-a-Porter has a wealth of feather-trimmed stuff), but there are lots of affordable options out there too. Here are my favorite feather-trimmed pieces for spring 2019.

When I was in high school, there was a certain segment of the population that wore tie-dye. They also wore cargo shorts, peace necklaces, and Birkenstocks; they listened to the Grateful Dead; and yes, the stereotypes were all true. So of course I avoided wearing it like the plague…until years later when I saw this Proenza Schouler tee at Barneys. I love layering it under a blazer—it's an elevated take on tie-dye—and I've had it for years. So when I saw that tie-dye is a big trend for spring 2019, I jumped at a chance to style it here. This is more of a weekend look—I went with a long cardigan instead of a blazer—but still hopefully a more polished, ageless way to wear it. In other words, leave the Birkenstocks at home.

As I mentioned last week, I've never been a a big fan of lavender...until now. It's the color that's everywhere this spring, in varying warm and cool tones. with all kinds of different finishes, patterns, and textures. I hate to say that there's something for everyone, but...there's literally something for everyone. Here are my favorite lavender pieces for spring.

I first fell in love with the idea of split-hem pants after seeing this photo of Leandra Medine, a.k.a. the Man-Repeller, at Fashion Week last September. Her pants are Céline, which are likely long gone (and a bit out of my price range), but I've been obsessed with them ever since. While there are a bunch of similar styles flooding the stores, I have yet to find a pair that looks quite as good as hers (then again, it might help to have her rail-thin legs too). What I ended up with is a pair of thick-knit straight-leg pants from Zara, and since they are completely unlike anything else in my closet, styling them has been a challenge—although one I'm completely up for. Here's what I've been wearing with my split-hem pants.