Black + Orange: fashionable or halloween over-enthusiast?

My torrid romance with orange began a few months ago. In that moment I saw that Jil Sander white top +floor-sweeping-orange-skirt I knew it was love at first sight. sigh...

Soon orange was everywhere, on the runway, on magazines, on blogs, on the streets... and as before I knew it, it was slowly infiltrating my own wardrobe. A satin blouse here, and mini skirt there, a bright, bright orange summer scarf (is there such a thing as a summer scarf?), a poppy orange nail polish...

Then the F/W collections came... and orange was still all around, but now instead of the pretty pink and kermit green, it was surrounded with a gorgeous set of jewel tones. I knew it'd be a long-lasting affair.

But still, there is one little problem. As much as I like orange, I can't come to wear it with black. I like orange and black together. I see someone wearing such combination down the street and I like it! But every single time I've tried pairing an orange + black ensemble one thought comes to mind and I can't seem to shake it off: HALLOWEEN! 

How to manage wearing black and orange without looking live a halloween over-enthusiast, like one of those old ladies who decorate their homes with Halloween motifs two months in advanced? 

After all, orange and black are to Halloween what red and green are to Christmas, aren't they?

Is it just silly old me with this Halloween ideas? 

As the stubborn person I am I have decided to finally wear black + orange 

and forget about the Halloween nonsense. 

We'll se how it goes.

Does anyone like wearing orange and black together? If so, how do you wear them together?

Do tell!

Love, em. 

The weather outside is...delightful.

This is what my Christmas usually looks like. Weather-wise at least. 

And fashion-wise.

So sure, around this time the weather is really nice, but fashion-wise, our trend range is more limited.

Our summers are long and hot (and when I say hot I mean humid-and-sticky-hot) and our winters are short and well, not so cold.

By September (a.k.a. The Fashion Month) and Fashion Week when the whole fashion world is already clad in trendy coats and boots and already having a glimpse into the future as the next's spring/summer collections are shown, here...here it's still summer in its full bloom and it doesn't cool off until the last days of October. Seriously, it's like living in the Southern Hemisphere.

And while yes, the weather is so nice, I'm a big fan of coats and boots and wool and lots of layers and our wardrobes do become a lot more limited. No transitional dressing either, you just wake up one day and realize "Hey, it's not so warm out" and maybe throw on a light scarf or sweater over your usual tshirt and shorts and so on.

 photos from Wildfox

When I was little I used to say my dream city was a city where you could experience fully the four seasons (no! not the hotel!). Flowers in spring, heat and the beach in the summer, crispy air and orange trees in the fall and snow in the winter.  I know, I know, I'm such a cliche, but I still dream of living in such a city (and this is one of the main reasons New York is my dream city), but let's be realistic: I'm not going anywhere. At least for this winter. 

For now I'm happy and grateful to be where I am. I know lots of people are dying to be in a sunny weather like this one, my own sister included. I have the rest of my life to freeze my head off just for the sake of wearing a camel coat. 

What does your Christmas look like? Any more Santas on the beach?