Check Me Out | Shaped by Style

I have some pretty cool news that I'm a teensy bit ecstatic about, you guys. I was recently asked to be a part of Shaped by Style, a blog about "a group of fashion-obsessed ladies across the US who love to prove that style has many shapes and sizes." Essentially, they swap clothes back and forth and illustrate how clothing can transform on different people with unique styles. I mean, that's only a little awesome. Ok...a lot awesome.

Go check out my very first post on Shaped by Style!

How to Use Pintertest to Create a Personal Valentine's Day Look | Advice

 

Let's talk mood boards 'cause I love 'em. They're a collection of images and materials that evoke a certain style concept and putting one together can provide inspiration and direction for many projects. Not everyone is a thematic dresser. That's ok! But, I'm sure it's no surprise to anyone that I am. Being a holiday junkie, I could a wear a million different looks to celebrate and using a mood board helps me understand what is most meaningful and enjoyable to me about a holiday. 

Pinterest is a great place to store ideas but, it's also an easy as pie mood board maker. Using my pinterest, I search keywords and pin whatever catches my eye to a fresh, new board. Then I go back and spend time looking at each individual pin and the collection as a whole. Are there any overarching themes and styles? Which elements draw me into each picture? What I saw in my mood board above was soft fabrics, pale colors complemented by deep red, romantic florals, and promises of sweet moments. 

For some Valentine's is hot and sultry. For others it's a big-eyed kitten holding a lace heart that says, "you're purrfect." Mine lands somewhere in between candy hearts and squishy kisses with my kids and stolen romantic moments with my husband. It's sweet, it's cute, and it's romantic in a familiar way and my mood board reflects that. With just a few moments on pinterest, I was able to create a visual tool that is a personal expression of what makes me the happiest on Valentine's day.

Knowing exactly what is in my heart allows me to do my favorite thing; take those feelings and flip them inside out for the rest of the world to see. I'm not getting dressed to impress, I am surrounding myself in a collage of little moments that I hold dear. Little things that effervesce with joy inside of me that I can wear as a badge of honor and share with the world.

Let me know in the comments what you love about Valentine's Day and stay tuned for my second Valentine's day mood board outfit inspiration!

Cardigan: Thrifted, similar in XS-4X | Skirt: Forever 21 similar in XS-4X | Shoes: Target, similar | Bracelet: Vintage similar | Lips: Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in Aria

Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket: Style Imitating Art

Source

I was so excited to see this week's pick for Style Imitating Art because it's such an incredible painting. The way the colors blend and move through the painting to create such a rich texture...ugh. I just can't get enough. It's certainly a treat for these ol' eyeballs. “Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket” by James Abbott McNeill Whistler also has a pretty cool history that's worth looking into if you're interested.

For my interpretation it was those swirling, mottled colors that I used to build my outfit. My galaxy print dress was an obvious choice with its cloudy nebula and speckles of stars. I added the mustard colored cardigan and the black accesories to bring it back to the colors of the painitng. This is definitely one of my favorite SIA interpretations! 

Head on over to 14 Shade's of Grey to see everyone else's take on this beautiful painting.

Cardigan: Target, similar in S-4X | Dress: Cyanide Kiss via Etsy, similar in XS-4X | Belt: Torrid, similar in straight size, similar in plus | Socks: Torrid | Boots: DSW, similar, similar in wide calf | Hat: Gap, similar | Stila All Day Liquid Lipstick in Aria

Link up with Color and Grace

Catnip to a Girl Like Me | Outfit

Catwoman has always been one of my icons since Michelle Pfeifer fell from that building and straight into my heart. When other girls were pretending to be princesses, I was pretending to be a leather clad cat burglar with a whip. I mean  dont get me wrong. There was definitely princess action too but, if my four year old self had a priority list, cat woman was number one.

Passive Juice Motel has some of the best tees. They're designs range from a celebration of great people in history to mash ups of pop culture refrences. All their tees come in kid to adult sizes so, it's basically the only place I shop for my kid tees anymore. We're currently eyeing up this Star Wars for Amelie. My only complaint is how often they put Drake song lyrics on things. I am not a fan of that dude and there are a lot of tees I would have bought if not for the lyrics. But, that's just my hang up. I'm sure some people are thrilled with it and there are plenty of other designs for me to enjoy.

Flannel: Target, similar in XS-XXL, similar in 1X-4X | T-Shirt: Passive Juice Motel | Skirt: JCP, similar in 14-28 (on sale!) | Tights: We Love Colors | Boots: Modcloth, similar

How to Find Your Style | Advice

Style is different than fashion. Fashion exists in a world of wicked fast, whiplash inducing trends where the goal is to have your finger on the pulse of the masses. Style is more personal. Style is what speaks to you as an individual and how you use that to then express yourself without saying a word. It's not being the height of fashion but, what you do with fashion that makes a style.

Whether you want to create a brand for yourself in a professional sense, edit and refine the style you already have, or amp up your game and create a more unique and dimensional look, creating a personal style can happen with one simple step. Make a list of words that you feel define you as a person as well as, words that define aesthetics that you are drawn to. Try for five words. 

That's it.

The words that surfaced in your mind are the characteristics that you already love about yourself and the traits that you would like to exand on and project to others. Now, you can relate back to those words to help guide you towards a creative, cohesive, and meaningful style.

My sister and I spent an afternoon talking this out and defining each other's style. The words I landed on were quirky, vintage/retro, sophisticated, sexy, and spunky. Since I am a pretty eclectic person, I can bounce around all over the place without much of a connection. My words help me hone in on that connective thread. The first time I wore this skirt my outfit was quirky, vintage, and sophisticated but, here I am using the same (very distinct) skirt and creating a look that is quirky, sexy, and spunky. Each look is differing but still adjacent.

Shirt: JCPenney, similar in men's XXS-XXL | Skirt: Modcloth, similar in S-4X | Tights: Walmart, similar in S-L, similar in 1X-6X | Boots: Modcloth, similar | Lips: Colourpop Cosmetics Ultra Matte Liquid Lipstick in Chilly Chili

How to Print Mix with Plaid | Advice

I've been trying to shake things up and get creative with this skirt because I can't seem to see it outside of the grunge inspired look that I did here. I don't enjoy the idea of an article of clothing only playing one role in my closet and this one was starting to fall into that category. I was putting this skirt in a corner like a certain yuppie teenager named Baby. I definitely could have paired it with some of my graphic tees or my big grey sweater, and while those outfits are definitely in my rotation, they all fall into the grunge style that I wanted to move away from. 

My big, brilliant brainstorm was to achieve a quirky style by print mixing. Mixing prints can be a little touch and go as most of it comes from the gut but, there are few guidelines that can help to aid the mixing. And while there are many ways to pair up prints, I did the deed with the following techniques for this look.

1. Using a bold print with a subtle print

The black and white stripes have a high contrast while the plaid incorporates low contrast with dark colors. Putting these together provides visual interest and balance rather than creating an image that is too busy.

2. Go for Stripes.

Stripes are such an easy go-to for print mixing. They can fill the role of a neutral and add interest to pretty much anything. Anything. So, yeah. grab for those stripes and don't let go. 

3. Keep things in the family.

The plaid pattern in the skirt is created with varying shades of gray that build to black and that relates to the black stripe in the shirt. I used all black accessories to strengthen and highlight the common thread.

Do you have any go-to print mixing techniques or any items of clothing you just can seem to get out of their style box? I would love to hear about it in the comments!

Shirt: JCPenney in S-L, similar in XL-3X | Skirt: Old Navy similar in S-XL, similar in 12-14 (on sale with code) | Tights: We Love Colors | Boots: Modcloth similar | Hat: Boohoo | Belt: Torrid similar in straight size, similar in plus size | Lips: Stila All Day Liquid Lipstick in Patina

Weird People in Boring Places | Outfit

Cat Batman. Oh, yeah. 

I have a major soft spot for cool t-shirts and one of my favorite places to get them is Olan Rogers Supply. These crazy tees are designed by youtuber Olan Rogers and they're just awesome...and he's awesome. If you haven't had some Olan in your life yet, fix that. Now. Don't even bother reading the rest of this. Just start with this video and fall down the rabbit hole. See you in a few days.

But, I didn't get this shirt through his website. Oh, no! I got this freaking awesome shirt at The Soda Parlor in Nashville because not only is Olan a comedian and a t-shirt designer, he also runs this place that's basically heaven. There's ice cream floats, apparel, arcade games, a battle bear, (watch the videos. I'm telling you!) and I finally got my family to make a pit stop there this summer! Life. Complete.

"What if weird people are just freaking interesting people trapped in a boring world?" --Olan Rogers

Blouse: Torrid similar in XS-L similar in XL-3X | T-Shirt: Olan Rogers Supply similar in unisex sizes S-3X | Skirt: New Look similar in 4-10 similar in 14-24 | Tights: Walmart similar in S-L similar in 1X-6X | Shoes: Famous Footwear similar | Lips: Stila All Day Liquid Lipstick in Aria