Cheryl Shops

If you don't live in Northern California, chances are you haven't heard of Mendocino. It's tiny—population 894—on the coast, and a three-hour drive from San Francisco. But this adorable little town is also an artists' colony, and has some of the most spectacular views along the west coast. There are also quite a few small inns and B&Bs, so it's a great place for a long-weekend getaway. The whole vibe feels very New England, and my boyfriend and I remarked that we felt like we were in an episode of Murder She Wrote all weekend—turns out, a bunch of episodes were actually filmed there! Thankfully, however, no actual murders took place during our trip.

In my professional career, I've written a lot of "the little white dress is the summer version of the little black dress" copy. It's cliché, but it's true: the LWD is just a classic. Plus, the lighter color keeps you cooler when things start to heat up. So I'm kicking off summer with one of my personal favorite dresses—it's white, it's lacy, and it's the type of thing you want to live in all season long. Because, let's face it, it's too hot to wear pants.

Congratulations, you've made it to my last spring trend post of the season! I'm ending with bags, because while I love a good handbag, it's probably the last thing I think about when I'm getting dressed. But that's not to say it's the least important. In many cases, a bag is the first thing I notice on a person (particularly if the rest of their outfit is rather lackluster), and while I gravitate toward more minimal styles, this season's round bags tend to be both simple and striking at the same time. I already own two round bags but have my eye on all of these too.

Better late than never, but hello, and welcome back from the long weekend! As you'll see in these photos, I spent Memorial Day weekend in Mendocino, which is this charming seaside town three hours north of San Francisco. I had three joyous days of sunshine, fresh air, good food (and wine, of course), and overall relaxation, and now that the weather has actually gotten the memo that it's spring, I almost feel like a new person. So, ironically, I'm wearing almost all old things in this outfit.

Wrap dresses are one of those classic silhouettes that's always around, but they're definitely having a moment this year. I've spotted lots on my fellow bloggers and in stores lately, but I was most excited to see one of my favorite brands, Everlane, introduce a series of four wrap styles in their Go Weave fabric. I was so excited, I actually entered a contest on their Instagram to shop a private event in their San Francisco store last Friday—and I won! So I dragged my boyfriend (who, to be fair, managed to do some shopping of his own) out to the store, and in the name of journalism, I tried on all of the styles to find just the right one. This was the winner.

I used to think that I hated pastels—I thought they were too juvenile and girly—and then millennial pink, my gateway drug to pastels, came along. I realized sky blue was pretty great too, and flattering at that. I tried a little mint green, and now even lavender is looking good to me. Long story short, these pale colors are soft, pretty, and great for warmer weather. I'm sorry I judged you so harshly, pastels!

What's the first thing you pick out when you're getting dressed in the morning? Sometimes I start with the top, sometimes with the bottom, but most frequently, I start with my shoes. I am a Shoe Person, as you dear readers likely know by now, so much so that I often plan my outfits around my shoes. That was definitely the case with this look. The shoes are so bright and vivid that building an outfit around them was a challenge, but one that I was willing to take.

As I'm writing this, I'm back home in Chicago visiting my parents, and it is hot and humid (and we don't have the air-conditioning on, but that's another story for another day). It's a stark contrast to the last time I was here, when it snowed (!), and everything is beautiful and blooming and oh my god, the pollen. Long story short, it's spring, and so onto our next trend, which is gingham. I feel like gingham had a brief moment in the early '90s when I was in high school; it's tricky to wear without feeling like you're in Green Acres, but the key is balancing the print with a more refined silhouette. Here are some of my favorite ways to wear it.

There are a handful of stores where I will pay full-price for an item, and COS is one of them. I've already shared my appreciation for the Swedish chain in this post, but to reiterate, I love their clothes so much, I often see something and need it immediately. That was the case with the two-tone cardigan I'm wearing in this post—I saw it featured in an email of theirs, I clicked to the site, and purchased it, all in a matter of about 30 seconds. Coincidentally, it's pastel, which is a big trend for spring and, with the exception of pale pink, a category of color that I usually stay away from. Styling it was a bit of a challenge, but one that I was up for. Here's how it all came together.

The sun is shining, the flowers are blooming, my allergies are going nuts, and thus I'm officially declaring May spring trend month here at Cheryl Shops. I'll be sharing what's on my shopping list for the season over the next few weeks, and first up is mustard yellow, which some people are calling the new millennial pink. That may be a bit of a stretch, as yellow tends to be a polarizing color, but I took this shade for a spin a few weeks ago and found it unexpectedly flattering. Here are some of my favorite takes on the trend.

Some people are denim people, some people are black pants people, and some people are dress people. I'm none of those—I'm a skirt person! I have long legs and a freakishly short torso, so skirts work well for me because I can adjust the proportions to work with my body. And while I love skirts of all lengths, minis are my favorite because they highlight my best asset, my legs. As Diahann Carroll famously said, the legs are the last to go, so I will continue wearing my skirts until, well, they go. Of course, there is an art to wearing a mini when you're a woman of a certain age.

I am a huge fan of maxi dresses (then again, who isn't?), so I was excited to see that this street-style look was the most-pinned last week on my Outfit Ideas for Ageless Style Pinterest board. While the colors are almost autumnal, I've been seeing a lot of small-scale red prints trending lately, so it all makes sense. Plus, a long-sleeved maxi is a great spring transitional piece. Let's break it down. 

You may have noticed that in spite of this post being titled "how to wear all white," I am not, in fact, wearing all white. I had planned my outfit that way, but as we went outside to shoot it, the wind kicked up and the temperature dropped quite a bit.  While I will suffer a little for fashion, I won't suffer a lot, so I added a denim jacket to the look (I did manage to remove it for a few shots, but more on that later). Which brings me to my California rule: always carry a lightweight jacket with you. You never know when you're going to need it—even in Southern California!

It seems like everyone else in the country is going through the same thing: the weather is glorious and warm one day, bone-chillingly cold and dreary the next. I am so tired of my winter clothes, however, that I recently went on a major spring shopping binge and I'm too impatient to wait for the weather to warm up! So I've teamed up with one of my favorite bloggers to show you how we're wearing spring textures now—even if the weather isn't cooperating.

I just spent an entire weekend with my mom, and it's not like I didn't know this before, but the woman is truly amazing. It's hard to give someone so important a gift that shows how much he or she means to you, but hopefully a well-thought-out present at least shows how much you care. And since Mother's Day is May 13th, I wanted to give you ample time to get your mom something she deserves.

It may still be raining (and even snowing) in most of the country, but everyone is clearly thinking spring, because this week's most-pinned image from my Outfit ideas for ageless style Pinterest board is totally transition-friendly. And I am not mad at that. It's a super cute wear-now, wear-later look—so let's re-create it!

Word on the street is that mustard yellow is the new millennial pink. I don't know if I totally agree with that—yellow can be a polarizing color, and it's one that can be tricky to get right, plus it might just be a fleeting trend rather than a generational thing. So in the name of investigative journalism, I decided to give it a try.

I'm a firm believer in always trying new things. You could hate it, and that's ok—you never have to do it again—or you could totally love it and discover something new that you really enjoy. That is my two-part introduction to this week's bonus second outfit post. First, the outfit revolves around this floral-print skirt. I am not a floral person at all, but the second I saw this skirt, I knew I had to try it. I'm glad I did, because it's my new favorite skirt! The second part of this equation is that this is my first-ever linkup with the fabulous Jennie from A Pocketful of Polka Dots, but more on that later. Let's get back to that skirt...

Hi, my name is Cheryl, and I'm a white top addict. Every spring and summer, I buy at least two or three of them. They are all a little different—crocheted, embroidered, eyelet, voile, gauze—and thus all totally necessary in my mind. In my defense, I wear them nonstop in the warmer months; I think they're more interesting than basic tees, and they keep me slightly warmer in the Northern California weather. But to me, they're special summer snowflakes—no two are alike, and so my addiction persists. This year's collection is off to a great start, and since the weather in Napa was delightful last weekend (I stayed in Calistoga for Easter), I was excited to break out my newest purchase.