One Bag Two Ways

One Bag, Two Ways: Marc by Marc Jacobs Party Girl Tribal Pixie Bucket Bag

Fashion can get a little tricky when trying to mix lots of pieces with different textures and patterns, and for better or worse (we think for better), texture and pattern are all over the place lately. The moment’s trends call for bold looks from head to toe, and it can be a little daunting to try and figure out how to piece together a look like that at the mall – in fact, you really don’t want to know how many pieces I went through before I chose the ones you see above.

Because we like to be helpful, we’ve put together two bold looks, one casual and dressy, based on the very trendy Marc by Marc Jacobs Tribal Pixie Bucket Bag. A bag that has so much personality can be hard to style, but if you focus on incorporating pretty prints and standout accessories, you’ll have an outfit in no time.

The Bag

I wasn’t sure about it initially, but the more I look at the Marc by Marc Jacobs Party Girl Tribal Pixie Bucket Bag, the more I love how spunky and fun it is. Also, it’s the perfect size to use for day or night: it’ll fit your essentials for weekend activities like shopping or lunch with friends, but it’s not too big or bulky to be inappropriate for night. Plus, with a neutral color and gunmetal hardware, the folks at Marc by Marc Jacobs did a good job reigning in what could have been an overly exuberant design. Buy through ShopBop for $398.

Now, on to the looks:

Casual

Roberto Cavalli Printed Silk Kaftan: This may not be the first top you look to for a casual outfit, but fashion is all about reconsidering our conceptions of print and texture recently. Why can’t something as beautiful as this be worn during the day? There’s no good reason, particularly if it’s styled correctly. The painterly color palette gives you a million colors to work with, but in order to dress down, you should let this kaftan speak for itself without layering on the colorful accessories. Buy through Net-a-Porter for $815.

Paige Denim Jimmy Jimmy 2 Jean Short: If there’s a better way to make a dressy top casual than by pairing it with jean shorts, I certainly can’t think of it. The downmarket staple has become something of a fashion hit this season and they’re a perfect foil for a flowing, girly top. I prefer a dark wash to keep your look high-end, and this particular pair can be worn as a cuffed short-short or rolled down as a pair of mid-thigh cut-offs. I’d roll them up so that they just peek out from under the Cavalli kaftan. Buy through ShopBop for $129.

Jeffrey Campbell Nena Sandals: I’m not much of a fan of black sandals for summer so I went to great lengths to not include them, but I also wanted to make sure that the shoe still coordinated with the bag in some way so that they’d both make sense in the context of the outfit. Since the gunmetal hardware on the bag is so prominent, the similar gunmetal finish on these nearly all-metal flat sandals is almost an obvious choice. You could pair the shoes and the bag with nearly any outfit and still be ok, but the metal coordinates well with some the Kaftan’s darker hues. Buy through Nordstrom for $99.95.

CC Skye Pavé Pyramid Stud Earrings: With such strong statements in the bag and top, you really don’t need anything but a bit of bling at the ears for a daytime look. Keeping the shape simple and modern keeps the look young. Buy through ShopBop for $150.

Evening

3.1 Phillip Lim Printed Silk Dress: I can’t even tell you how in love I am with the splatter-paint pattern of this dress. Not only is it thoroughly and completely modern, but the spots mimic the hardware of our bag and the colors give us tons of inspiration for accessories. When a dress is mostly dark, the best trick for a standout ensemble is to pick accent colors from the pattern and pull them out for bold shoes and jewelry. Buy through Net-a-Porter for $650.

Yves Saint Laurent Agate Drop Earrings: Chunky jewelry with lots of personality will get you more compliments than anything in your wardrobe, I know that for a fact, and the bright purple raw stone in these YSL earrings are the kind that will make you want to wear your hair up at all times to gain maximum exposure. They’re so vibrant that I want to build an outfit around them, too, but that’s a thought for a different day. Buy through Saks for $295.

Elizabeth and James Mason Suede Platform Pumps: This chartreuse color is my favorite of the moment, and putting it on an suede pump with an architectural platform is pretty much an awesome decision by whomever designed these. They lighten up the outfit considerably, and I could see them being paired with everything from this dress to a pair of super-dark skinny jeans and a neutral top. Chartreuse platforms will make pretty much any outfit exciting and modern. Buy through ShopBop for $350.

DANNIJO Frankie Cuff: This cuff could actually fit in equally well in either outfit (and basically every outfit in my closet), but I put it with the evening look because everyone wants a little more jewelry at night and it ties in the color of the bag’s hardware with the rest of the outfit. The bracelet is big and noticeable without being too much bling. Buy through ShopBop for $430.

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