Cheryl Shops

Back when I first started writing Cheryl Shops, I used to list all of the weekly sample sales in NYC; if you’ve been reading this blog since the dark ages, that’s probably how you first found me. Nowadays, there are many sites out there who track the sales better than I do—Madison Avenue Spy being one of my favorites—but in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I thought I’d show my gratitude to you, dear readers, by sharing the best deals on my favorite sites. Let me know what you got in the comments below!

I was compensated with free lodging and meals for this post, but all opinions are my own.

Carmel-by-the-Sea, California sounds like a magical place from its name alone, and once you’ve visited, you realize the magic is real. Conceived as an artists’ colony in the early 1900s, the town’s character is that of a village in a forest overlooking the beach, and it’s filled with straight-out-of-a-fairytale houses that all have imaginative names. (Fun fact: there are no street numbers in Carmel-by-the-Sea; residents go to the post office to pick up their mail.) The town is vigilant about preserving its beauty—trees cannot be torn down to accommodate new construction, buildings cannot be more than two stories tall, signs must be wood (or wood-like), and as a matter of public safety on its uneven sidewalks, you are required to have a permit to wear heels over 2 inches high (yes, that is an actual law!). It may sound like a lot of regulation, but the result is that Carmel-by-the-Sea is a truly special place filled with people and businesses that feel so devoted the unique character of the town. And what makes Carmel even more dear to my heart is that it’s the most dog-friendly town I’ve ever visited—in fact, all of the visitor maps note which businesses allow dogs!


Carmel is about a two-and-a-half-hour drive from San Francisco, which makes it perfect for a weekend trip (although we'd happily spend a week—or longer—there). Here’s what Sean, Zuni, and I did on our visit in November.

I was #blessed to spend a weekend in Carmel again—as you may recall, we go every August for car week, which I love, but this time was a totally different experience. For one, the town was waaaaay less crowded. For another, the weather was absolutely gorgeous; it’s normally foggy and chilly in the summer, but it was clear and crisp and surprisingly warm. I have a more in-depth post on my trip coming later this week, but in the meantime, here’s what I wore in Carmel last weekend.

My Pinterest followers have been busy repinning fall-transitional outfits, and even though it feels like winter-transitional weather at the moment, I think this is a great look to wear right now (and later). The most-pinned look from my Outfit ideas for ageless style Pinterest board looks very Bottega Venteta, but let's create it for way less (mostly).

When I was young, I had a babysitter named Carrie who was very cool in a Joan Jett–meets–Stevie Nicks kind of way. Her style was boho mixed with punk—lots of silver and black and denim—and I was pretty much obsessed with her. She almost always wore black suede boots, and in all my years of shopping, I've never found a pair that reminded me so distinctly of her until I tried on the Giorgia boot by Calla. They came in the mail last week and I literally wore them for three days straight. I channeled Carrie all weekend long, but this was the look I think she'd approve of the most.

I had meant to publish this last week, but life (and Halloween) got in the way, and even though it's November, it's definitely still fall. Plus, this trend is kind of seasonless, so it almost doesn't matter when you buy it—although now is always a good time. When it comes to bags, I'm definitely more of a minimalist—I usually don't go for a lot of bells and whistles in terms of hardware, but lately I've been gravitating toward something with a nice big buckle. It's a step above minimalist, but by no means maximalist. Here are my favorite buckle bags for fall.

The first year I moved to California, I had no idea what time of year it was until I went to a department store in late November and realized it was almost Christmas. It was sunny, it was still relatively warm…and it’s kind of like that all year. Of course, I’ve since realized that we have seasons here—they’re just very subtle. That said, fall tends to drag on for a bit, and by fall, I mean summer. So while everyone in the rest of the country is gladly breaking out the sweaters and boots, Californians are still in sandals and sundresses. But thankfully, as of the day I’m writing this, it appears true fall is finally upon us: it’s foggy again, my nose gets cold when I’m waiting for the bus in the morning, and I’m thinking about adding another blanket to my bedding. And it’s just in time, because I have a Friendsgiving dinner this weekend and it just doesn’t feel right to wear summer clothes to a very autumnal event. Here’s what I’m planning on wearing this year.

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

I get up every morning at 6:45 to walk my dog, Zuni, and while it's never easy, it's particularly challenging this time of year because we're awake before the sun is up. And while I'm frequently tempted to roll out of the house in my nightgown, I do manage to pull on a Cuddl Duds top and leggings, because believe it or not, there are people already out and about at that hour. Here's what I wear when I walk Zuni.

Of all the trends I'm featuring this season, this one seemed a little iffy to me...until I got my hair done a few weeks ago and literally every female stylist at my salon was wearing a square-neck top. Granted, most of them were of the slightly cropped variety, but thankfully there are a lot of square-neck tops that have a slightly more forgiving silhouette. Here are my favorite square-neck tops for fall.

I've been talking up wide-leg pants a lot lately, so I thought it's time to put my money where my mouth is. Or, to put it more succinctly, I decided to buy a pair of wide-leg black trousers. I got inspired to do so after seeing a woman wearing what I'm pretty sure is this Chloé pair on the street—the front wrap detail makes the silhouette extra unique and feminine, not to mention perfect for camouflaging a food baby. And while I do certainly have one of those right now, I don't have $1,250 to spend, but thankfully I found a very similar pair (on major sale, even) at ASOS. And let me tell you, after nearly 15 years of wearing skinny jeans, I had completely forgotten how comfortable wide-leg pants are. I've been wearing them pretty much nonstop since I got them—they look so polished, yet you can totally dress them down too. So with that in mind, here are two ways to wear wide-leg pants.

It's been awhile since I've bought a pair of leather pants, but I'm feeling confident enough that there's a major silhouette shift happening that I'm ready for another pair. This season, it's all about a wide-leg cut, either in a full length or cropped cut. The upside is that this silhouette is super-flattering; the downside is that unless you go with faux leather, it's a bit of an investment. Then again, I've had my current pair of leather pants for years, and I think of them exactly as that—an investment. Here are my favorite wide-leg leather (and faux leather) pants of the season. 

One of my favorite pieces of the last year or so has been this Free People Normani slip skirt; this is its third appearance here (you last saw it with a denim jacket) and I wear it at least once every other week in real life. It's relaxed enough to wear on the weekend and can dress up with a blazer for work, plus it's super comfy and manages to look feminine yet pulled together no matter what the occasion. Lately, my favorite way to wear it has been with an oversized double-breasted blazer (one of my key pieces for fall); here's how it all comes together.

Snakeskin print is the trend that just won't quit—I featured it back in spring, and also last fall. And while it may never replace my first love, leopard print, I think I'm finally ready to add some snake print to my wardrobe. I think the coolest way to wear it this season is in an ankle boot—there are all shapes and colors too, from metallic silver to pink. Just to clarify, these are generally snake-embossed leather, not actual snakeskin boots. Here are some of my favorites for fall.

My wardrobe is mostly neutral by design—it's more interchangeable that way, however I do enjoy an occasional, well-placed pop of color. Red is strong color that takes a bit of boldness to wear, but I love the confidence it inspires. I had a red blazer that I loved, but it was literally unraveling and unsalvageable, so I decided to replace it. The one I ended up with has quite a backstory (keep scrolling) but I love how casual it is in spite of its strong color. True, you can rock a red blazer with black trousers and feel like a total boss, but I love how approachable it feels with jeans and a T-shirt. Here's how I wore my new red blazer on the weekend.

I wear a blazer pretty much every day, to the point that I worry about turning into Suze Orman (although it would be nice to have her financial savvy). But a blazer is the one piece that instantly makes anything I'm wearing feel that much more pulled together. This season, I'm all about the plaid boyfriend blazer, the longer the better (bonus points if it covers your bum, so you can wear it with leggings). It's obviously menswear-inspired, but with details or colors that make it softer and more interesting. Here are my favorite oversized plaid blazers for fall 2019.

I’ve always been a big fan of knits on my upper half—what’s not to love about a good T-shirt or sweater?—but have only recently gotten into them on my lower half. Since knits can be clingy, and since you may or may not want to draw attention to certain parts of your lower half, dressing with them can be quite a challenge. But the guideline is simple: emphasize what you want to, and draw attention away from what you don’t want to. The best part: wearing knits on knits is incredibly comfy and cozy, but can look polished too. Here’s how.

Since Monday was officially the first day of fall, now we can talk about fall fashion, which is my favorite season for it. I mean, what’s not to love about cozy sweaters, comfy boots, and an overall feeling of hygge? I am really excited to share my favorite fall 2019 trends—so excited, in fact, that I’m going to try something new and kick off my fall shopping guide with a preview of everything I’ll be featuring. The best part is that all of the items can be worn together to create one amazing (and age-appropriate) fall look. Here are my must-have trends for fall 2019.

How many leopard-print skirts is too many? Asking for a friend. And by a friend, I mean me. Actually, don't answer that question. This most recent acquisition is my fourth leopard-print skirt—I have a short one, a midi one, and a green knee-length one—and I swear, it's totally different than the other three. For one, it's bias-cut, so it has a slip-skirt look. For another, it has a more cheetah-like print than the others. But most importantly, I love it and I will certainly wear it, so who cares. Here's how I wore it to work last week.

Putting an outfit together is something that has always come naturally to me, hence one of the many reasons I write this blog—and hopefully it's something that you, dear readers, find helpful. However, I occasionally get stumped by certain items. Rockport sent me this delightful (and very comfortable) pair of hot pink suede sandals, and I truly couldn't figure out what to wear with them. They looked too matchy-matchy with pink or printed dresses, and they just looked wrong with jeans. I was at a loss. Thankfully, we all get by with a little help from our friends, and when I saw Nancy's post on her last summer outfit, all of a sudden I knew what to do: pair them with a soft green cargo pant and classic white shirt. 

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

As the owner of a dog who LOVES to play fetch, National Fetch Day is unofficially every day at my house. But officially, October 19th is the big day, and it’s about more than just playing fetch (although that is a big part). National Fetch Day is all about getting outside, meeting other dog owners, and, most importantly, playing. So what better way to celebrate than with Zuni’s favorite toy, the ChuckIt Launcher?