style rules

 

Morning friends!

Thanks for the love yesterday as LRW turned one! In case you missed it, I'm giving away a prize each week for the month of October. Hop on over to yesterday's post and leave a comment in order to enter this week's giveaway (announced next Friday the 10th)!

Last night, in a session with a client, we chatted about how to change up her everyday go-to outfit so that she feels great when she walks out the door (this is something clients and I always discuss). I told her my philosophy that I wanted to pass along to you all: break your own rules. Whether you realize or not, when you get dressed in the morning, the pieces you choose adhere to a set of style rules that you've imposed upon yourself. White washes me out. I can't wear black jeans with this. This top goes with this necklace and these shoes.

I have those rules too. When I start talking myself out of a certain look because because because, I take a quick step back. Why?  Why can't I wear white? Why can't I pair black jeans with this? Why can I only wear this top one way?

It's only silly/stupid/ugly if you say it is. Yeah, sometimes I try something on that I think will be great and I realize I was wrong. But I'm in front of my mirror, and it's easy enough to start from scratch.

In the most sincere way possible - break your own rules. Forget what you tell yourself about your wardrobe today when you open your closet and try something non-obvious. And then text me so I can tell you how awesome you are.

xo,

image via Who What Wear.

la vie en rose

A couple weeks ago, my friend Julia and I headed out to the flower market to say so long to summer...here's part one of what we whipped up:  

We wanted one last summer hurrah before everything turned into a pumpkin. Julia has been dying to shoot at the flower market, so off we went!

Top: Rails // Blazer: Ralph Lauren (old, similar here) // Jeans: J. Crew // Shoes: Prada (sold out, similar here) // Bag: Celine // Necklace: Adornia // Bracelet: Giles & Brother // Ring: Ariel Gordon // Sunglasses: Ray Ban // Lipstick: Nars Heat Wave

Thank you Julia for being the sweetest and making a lady feel pretty. Love you!

xoxo,

all images by the lovely Julia Bushe Photography.

real deal // huge steal = black boots

Friends! I'm back on the East Coast and I am loving. this. foliage. I'm headed out with my friend crush Victoria after this post is published (and I get my tooth fixed at the dentist...), and today is sure to be an adventure. Tonight I'll finally be reunited with my loves Raven and Charlie! I did the impossible, today, friends. I found an affordable alternative to the most coveted booties of all time:

Rag & Bone Harrow Booties // Dolce Vita Haelyn Booties

The above boots by Rag & Bone are my favorite boots in the entire world. Here's a shoot I did with them. Love them though I do, they are SO expensive, and keep appreciating in cost as their popularity grows. I bought them for almost $100 less 6 months ago. Luckily, Dolce Vita just released a dead ringer for more than half the price. What thinks you?

Friends, Happy Monday. Wednesday is LRW's birthday and there is A LOT going on that day (read: prizes). So please keep comin' back this week (and every week, cuz I luh ya).

xoxo,

sweat it out

Good morning! So, I don't know if you've noticed, but there's a definite "chic sweatpant" trend happening. Check it:

Since I spent 4 years of college dressed in sweatpants, (my mom told me once I had graduated and gotten a job that she had been "worried about me" because I always dressed like a slob :) those images get me fired up. Today I'm serving chic sweatpants, and I'd like to know your thoughts. Would you buy them? How would you wear them?

currently coveting // monogram 'em // weekenders // yoga to girl's night // keep it colorful // casual friday

Okay so truth be told my sister owns a pair of the La Garconne Moderne sweats - and they're incredible. Super expensive (silly expensive), but she got them on supersale last year, so I'm holding out. I'd wear mine with this, this, and these. Yum.

xoxo,

images via here, here, and here.

how to: dress for your body type

Morning, friends! Someone had a huge glass of wine last night and didn't get around to writing her blog post before dinner, so I apologize for the lateness :) You all know that I don't really buy into all of the "rules" that the media dictate for fashion - don't wear white after labor day, don't wear stripes if you're not a size 2, if your eyes are ____, you can only wear the colors ____ and ____, etc, etc. I tend to think that if you love something and you feel good in it, you'll rock it and that's good enough for me.

I do, however, enjoy a couple of tricks for feeling great about one's specific body type when getting dressed. I, for example, have a few things I get self conscious about - one is my short legs and long torso, the other is my stomach. The list goes on, but let's keep it simple today. Here are my favorite quick tricks:

1. Make your legs look longer:

This is something I need every day, for the above mentioned reasons. Aside from wearing heels, which doesn't always work for me because New York, there are two things I do to instantly lengthen my legs. The first is to wear  nude / skin colored shoes, which makes the leg appear to go on and on, rather than cutting it off with a colored shoe. The second is high waisted pants. I just bought some true high waisted jeans that hit the bottom of my rib cage, and I feel taller every time I wear them.

2. Accentuate your waist:

I don't have a tiny waist in comparison to the rest of my body. Sometimes, I do better just wearing something shapeless, since there's not much waist to show. If you do have a small waist (especially if you're a bigger gal), make sure to show it off by wearing form fitting dresses and outerwear. A few years ago, everyone was just tying a belt around their waist and calling it a day. It is my personal belief that this trick was compromised by a few folks who took it quite literally - so stay away from the random belt, and go for pieces like this and this to show off your tiny waist (also, I'm jealous).

3. Bootylicious:

If you have a big booty, congratulations, again, I am jealous. If you're trying to play it down, wear jeans with a low rise waist. Conversely, if you wish you had a bigger booty, throw on a mid or high rise pair of jeans. The length of the rise will either shorten your backside, or lengthen it :).

Do you employ any of these tricks? Do you try and minimize your insecurities or do you dress with reckless abandon? Please, do tell!

xoxo,

images via Pinterest, Girl with Curves.