LE CATCH

$179, club monaco

It's always fun to see your friends at a party dressed to the nines, but it's another thing when you see one of your friends step out of her comfort zone--i.e., a short dress with subtle but strategically placed cut-outs--and own it. It certainly inspired me...

1. Club Monaco dress*, $179, clubmonaco.com
2. Miguel Ases blue jade earrings, $138, shopbop.com
3. Leghila clutch, $100, modaoperandi.com
4. Sophia Webster PVC and suede sandals, $535, netaporter.com

*This dress also comes in black!

I love the idea of throwing a mannish blazer over a long, feminine dress. It's a little unexpected, almost counter-intuitive, and yet modern, and I prefer it over more conventional cover-ups, such as a pashmina (yawn!) or a cardigan. The blazers that work for this kind of look need to be single breasted, slim-cut, and graze the hip, such as these by Helmut Lang, Faith Connexion, Mango, and Madison Marcus (on sale!). Perched on your shoulders, it kind of looks like you borrowed it from your husband or boyfriend, which, in my opinion, is gorgeously romantic.

Photo: Harper's Bazaar

$118, ann taylor

It's all about low heels right now. Last week the New York Times ran an article called The High Spark of Low-Heeled Shoes, which extolled their virtues because they offer, "enough height to give your bottom a little lift, and your legs a longer line, but [they're] low enough that you can pound the pavement pain-free." These hot pink sandals possess all those benefits plus the perfect amount of pop...

1. Won Hundred eyelet top, $235, madewell.com
2. Super sunglasses with mirrored lens, $249, shopbop.com
3. Fallon studded leopard wrap bracelet, $150, charmandchain.com
4. Lulu Frost crystal bracelet, $285, charmandchain.com
5. Sensi Studio straw tote, $240, netaporter.com
6. Ann Taylor pink suede heels, $118, anntaylor.com
7. J.Crew cropped linen pants, $98, jcrew.com

You've already seen my beloved Tory Burch crochet jacket here, but you haven't seen me actually work it. Tory and team challenged me to style the jacket two ways. Check out the results on The Tory Blog.

Photo: Jessie Webster

$265, miss selfridge

This feathered, sequined skirt goes hand in hand with a glass of champagne (or three!). It would be fun to hit the dance floor in this...

1. Tibi silk tank top, $198, netaporter.com
2. Gerard Yosca drop earrings, $110, charmandchain.com
3. Gabriela Artigas gold cuff, $154, shopbop.com
4. Kristen Elspeth gold bracelet, $77, shopbop.com
5. Marchesa chain mail clutch, $1195, modaoperandi.com
6. Christian Louboutin python t-strap sandal, $1495, bergdorfgoodman.com
7. Miss Selfridge feather sequin skirt, $265, missselfridge.com

There are lace-up heels like these and these. And then there are leg-climbing heels. French Vogue editor Geraldine Saglio proves her fondness for the latter, and demonstrates that these adventurous shoes can be worn casually, even with a pair of cropped jeans. I love how they amplify/sexify what would otherwise be a basic jeans-and-a-blazer outfit. These leg-climbers from Nine West, Brian Atwood, Schutz, and Jimmy Choo, would yield the same effect--and then some.

Photo: Stockholm Street Style

$34, old navy*

For Fall 2013, Jil Sander, Christian Dior and Stella McCartney all showed strapless dresses that were designed to be worn during the day rather than after dusk. Jump on this new trend now and wear this adorable bird-print number with...

1. Old Navy bird print dress, $34, oldnavy.com*
2. Wendy Mink gold earrings, $245, charmandchain.com
3. Jimmy Choo acrylic clutch, $1250, netaporter.com
4. Isa Tapia sandals, $425, shopbop.com

*Get 20% off through 5/6 by typing in ONSAVE20 at checkout.

I'm hankering for one of those blistering hot summer days, when the only sane and comfortable thing to wear is a short lightweight dress. When the next heat wave rolls in (forecasted to hit LA later this week!), I'll opt for a frock featuring a pretty print, just like the ones featured in these pics. I think these skin-baring dresses--along with these darlings from Parker, Asos, Mink Pink, Carven, Diane Von Furstenberg, Alice + Olivia and Zimmermann--totally epitomize easy breezy summer chic.

Photos: The Styleograph, The Sartorialist

$115, reiss

This anything-but-basic sweatshirt is all about the detailing: cool quilted fabric (the big thing for Fall 2013), patched front pockets and paneling on the sleeves. Plus, it's incredibly wearable--almost too wearable!--exactly the thing I'd wear to pieces...

1. Reiss quilted sweatshirt, $115, reiss.com
2. Etoile Isabel Marant coat, $660, matchesfashion.com
3. Henri Bendel wrap band ring, $78, henribendel.com
4. Topshop leather tote bag, $150, topshop.com
5. River Island buckle-trimmed heels, $160, riverisland.com
5. R13 jeans, $425, netaporter.com

While my Saturday night took me from a cocktail party to a gallery opening to a Hollywood birthday bash, Sunday night was spent with family at my aunt's house. It was a classic Rentmeester family evening featuring everything from World War II stories from both Europe (via my Dutch aunts) and Asia (via my Indonesian mom) to vivid descriptions of the craziness that was LA in the 60's (Watt's riots, hippie living, Topanga Beach etc.). In between taking in the tales and tending to my kids, who managed to consume an entire bowl of potato chips and then fall stricken on the sofa, I did take note of at least one fashion storyline. Although it's usually some variation of how my twin sister and I have shown up wearing almost identical outfits, this time it was my mother and my older sister who sported similar accessories: two new red bags. (My mother had a Prada, my sister, Clare Vivier.) While they have very different styles, they both illustrated how much a red bag is a forever bag. No other shade is as powerful, statement-y and versatile. Which explains why I always pack my red leather clutch when I travel. As these pictures show, there are so many fantastic iterations of the red bag. But I've whittled down the options to this Coach cross-body, a studded, chain link-handled Valentino, this Celine-inspired shoulder bag from Steven Alan and this Balenciaga classic.

Photos: Caroline's Mode, Street Style Seconds, Pinterest, Ryan Chua