"This is totally off the topic of your post, but I've been wondering for the longest time where you buy your clothes? You (and your other sisters for that matter) wear the cutest things -- and they are beautifully modest, too! Please enlighten me with some fashion knowledge because I am severely lacking in the fashion department and could use some "fresh" ideas. :)"
I really love all things fashion, but to be honest, most of the time I am a t-shirt and jeans type of girl. I love to dress up for dates with my husband or nights out with the girls and church on Sunday, but really most days I am pretty simple. I do however like to find cute t-shirts and cardigans to wear to add a little excitement to my outfits :) I pretty much shop EVERYWHERE, and believe you can find cute things anywhere. The cut of what you buy however is very important and you should always try things on to know if they look cute on YOU verses on the hanger.
The first thing I add to most of my outfits are these undertees (below). I have tons of them and have worn them all into oblivion. I love them. They for me are a great investment and I can wear most things that I want to because of them.
Where I shop-Once upon a time I bought most of my clothes at Jcrew which still is one of my favorite stores and I still own a lot of clothes from there from days gone by, but for the most part they are now too expensive for me. I will splurge every once in a while for things that are very classic that I am sure I will wear a million times, but I rarely shop there nowadays. A few of my other favorite "window shopping" places are Banana Republic and Nordstrom. My dream place to shop would be Kate Spade...but that will never happen :)
Jcrew Natasha top $98.00. Could never buy it, but it is fun to dream about. I'd wear this with the below cardigan.
Most of the time I shop sales (as do my sisters). I also love Forever 21 and H & M. You can get really cute things for really inexpensive. Target also has very cute clothing that aren't too expensive (and they have lots on sale now!).
I love winter because I LOVE to layer with cute cardigans and belts. You can get way cute inexpensive cardigans all over, especially at the above mentioned shops (Forever 21 etc.). I use my tan, off white, grey and black cardigans A LOT! I have also loved mixing prints lately. The rule that I feel is important with mixing prints (although many are mixing every kind of print lately, which I don't love) is that you have a linear print (stripes, plaid, checks) with free print (flowers, polka dots, etc). These aren't technical terms but hopefully you get the idea. I like the look and do it every so often.
I think a big thing with style is to figure out what YOU love. Start looking at those around you that you like how they dress. At church, the grocery store, people you work with, etc and try to replicate what they wore you liked.
Below are a few things I have been seeing that I like.
Forever 21 Ruffled polka dot shirt $17.80. This would also be cute with a cardigan.
Ruffled open cardigan $24.80. I am drawn to really feminine details on clothing. I would belt this. Love it!
Some rules of thumb when you are first establishing a wardrobe is to buy BASICS that you could wear with a lot of things. Basics for me would include and nice white button down shirt, black, grey, off white, tan or brown cardigans or twin sets (a twin set includes a "shell" underneath the cardigans. I have some that I wear a ton), a good pair of jeans (more on jeans a little later), a black (and I have a tan one) knee length skirt, brown and black boots as well as brown and black heels or flats, whatever you wear to dressier occasions (this is just what I would get people, keep in mind) and some basic Ts if that is what you wear most days. Most of my basics I splurged a little so that I could wear them A LOT and I do. You can find a lot of these things that are great quality yard sales, ebay and thrift stores. You just have to be willing to look. Just keep in mind good brands (and usually, not always, brand does make a difference), so you know them when you see them.
After you have basics (and keep in mind you don't need ALL of those, but that is just a list of my basics I use a lot.) You can start to add things to your collection. Most of the things I add are inexpensive. Colored/printed tank tops to wear under the cardigans, jewelry, fun shirts, fun cardigans. These are things that you can pair with the above things to make multiple outfits. I have a cardigan that has a lot of fun colors on it and I have been able to wear it a million different ways. I bought it at Forever 21 last year for about $20 and I love it.
Just my opinion, but I think it is important to dress for your age. With that said, most things are fair game or can be altered from a teeny bopper look to a more sophisticated look with a little ingenuity. What I am saying is don't be the lady wearing the word "flirt" on her shirt? Please ladies...refrain.
A word on size. Nobody knows what size of pants/shirt you are wearing. A lot of times when you are squeezing into those pants that are too small, it makes you look bigger. On the reverse side, pants too big also make you look bigger (obviously). When buying pants take a whole bunch of pants into the dressing room and try them all on, go with the ones that are comfortable and flattering. Also keep in mind most jeans stretch and what fits at the beginning of the day may be drooping by the end of the day...Well, good luck with that I guess I don't have any advice because it happens to me too.
I have a lot of soapboxes in this post and one of them is the idea that we must wear what is in style (see above quote). There are so many styles lately that I absolutely hate and they don't even look good on stick thin models. If that is the case and they don't look good one those who are supposed to be telling us to wear it...why are people wearing them? High waisted jeans (I mean really high, not normal high) don't make ANYONE look good, but they are constantly touted as "fashionable" well...I think they are horrible and no matter how many times gorgeous actresses wear them, I will never think they look good in them! Okay, soapbox over.
Jeans...speaking of jeans. Jeans are so frustrating to buy. I think pockets are a lot of the time the key to how good jeans look. Smaller pockets = bigger bootie. They don't have be be HUGE, but stay away from small. You don't have to buy designer jeans to have great jeans. I really like American Eagle jeans and I think they aren't crazy expensive. I'd love to hear any other "cheaper" jeans that some of you have found you like.
In the end I really think the most important thing is how you feel in what you are wearing. For me my every day outfits have to be functional. I need to be able to do laundry, hold crying kids, clean bathrooms, etc. in what I am wearing. Once upon a time I was wearing something and asked someone else what she thought of it. She gave me the "it's okay" comment. I looked at it, and thought "should I change?" In the end I just decided that I felt great in it and to be honest didn't really care if the world loved or hated it. I liked it. i think that is the most important thing in the end. Wear what YOU like.
Putting together an outfit is probably what most people are frustrated with when it comes to fashion. How to make things you like go together. I saw this little ditty on Pinterest and loved it because it is exactly what I do.
Fashion is so fun, don't be afraid to take risks. Long ago I decided that I really liked super high heels. I didn't know how to go about wearing them. I hadn't really worn heels a whole lot and was worried about jumping right into stilletos. I just eased into wearing them. I started out smallish and then gradually worked my way up. I wore them to church where I wasn't going to be walking too much and leaned how to walk in them. I now love and feel comfortable in super high heels (I actually prefer them :).
This one is actually very doable. Scarves are another accessory that can change up a basic outfit. You can learn to tie them online, there are a million tutorials. Google it :)
So there you go. Probably more info than this reader, or anyone else ever wanted to know. Thanks for humoring me with my fashion rant. Carry on ;)
8 comments:
Thank you for a very helpful post! I think you are incredibly brave to wear stillettos. :)
I loved this post! I too love love love fashion but have to reign it in for my budget and the season of life I'm in. I'm not quite as obsessed as you (ha ha, I remember the piles of fashion books in your house) but I agree with so many things you put in this. I love your basics advice. I need to start getting a few more basics that fit my post-3-kids body ha ha. I've been on the hunt for a black wool pencil skirt for like 3 months! If you see a good one (under $50) then let me know! I loved your dress for your age advice-- totally agree, as well as your "nobody knows what size you're wearing"-- my sister's best friend would always be bragging that she fit into a size 4 and her pants were so tight she looked ridiculous! I just may re-post this on my blog sometime (if that's okay) because it was perfect!
I loved this post!! You are so good at fashion!
Thanks everyone! Cara-feel free to repost :)
I agree, I love Downeast basic tees. I use them more than my cami's. You will never believe this, but I have finally found a love for high heels. I still feel a bit weird wearing them around certain people though, a guy we both know only comes up to my shoulders when I wear them on Sunday :)
You are too cute. O loved reading all your tips and I decided we need to go shopping!
I don't feel like I have great fashion sense at all and most days would love for someone to go shop with me to help me figure it out!
But speaking of inexpensive jeans, I really like Maurices jeans. They run at about $35 or less and I like how they fit! But take it for what it is worth since I just mentioned how I don't have much fashion sense! Ha ha ha
Kim-that is so funny about the guy we both know :) Lisa-any time you want to go, I am always up for shopping :) Kristen- You are probably better at fashion than you think. Thanks for the tip on the Maurices jeans! I'll have to check them out!
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