Personal Style: Obligatory Belly Shots

 October-November ish? Just beginning to show. Face still a little slim. Details here.

My personal style posts definitely ended around my pregnancy beginning, since I was a weirdo and didn't mention my 'condition' to anyone until I was about 5 months along! So I will just do a quick rundown here. I've never been a big fan of belly posting, or over sharing of pregnancy related stuff in general... but you know, this is for posterity and all that.

 1st week of March... Baby Shower Day!

 Beginning of April. Walking induced swelling up on the Riverwalk in San Antonio

 End of April. Got all 'inspired' and cut me some bangs, and doing something crazy with my eyeballs. Outfit details here.

May 3rd, outfit details here

 May 5th doing the hospital walk through... due May 7th! 

It will  be interesting to see what happens to ma belly from here, given this is my 3rd and all :)

Personal Style: Retro Secretary

This outfit is mostly thrifted. I was planning on cutting this top up to refashion with a dress, but I just love it too much to cut. The fabric has a lovely raised texture, yet it's so silky too. I am usually against pairing silky blouses with cotton type skirts, but I felt that with the addition of the silky sash from my last dress that it would somehow work. Perhaps the bow and mega ascot ruffle is too much, but I sort of like semi-ugly fashion, and I don't have any belts that fit with this skirt.

For my hair, I'm trying to make a teeny 2 inch ponytail look styled, b/c there is no way I'm flat-ironing every time I go out. I let sections air dry in a slight fingerwave style and used maybe 4 pr 5 bobby pins on my ponytail in the back to muss up into a messy micro bun. I pulled out random sections on the sides and back as well for a soft effect.

I'm a tad lucky that my hair has a natural wave pattern. To get a similar look, Blythe Hopes Vintage has an incredibly easy youtube tutorial on a simple finger wave. Hers is a very subtle and modern wearable finger wave style that would even translate nicely into a updo for longer hair. The finger waves we had to perfect in cosmetology school had very distinct ridges and wrapped all around the head, a style that is more appropriate for formal events and period styling.

Autumn Rose Earrings: made by me, Jeweled Ambrosia
Blouse: Ann Taylor Loft, thrifted
Skirt: H&M, thrifted
Sash: from a Forever 21 dress, thrifted
Shoes: faux snake print, Target

*Linked to Clothed  Much's, Rule Breaking Monday post.

Personal Style: Photo Booth Fun and Beauty Tutorials

Did you notice the lip props in my Valentine decorating post? Last week, our salon participated in a fun event with a Candyland theme. I spent hours working on the props, and these lips were a fun part of the photo booth section. They work perfect for Valentine's Day too!

I did a slight smoky eye and a slight victory roll bang (more exaggerated tutorial here) or a suicide roll tutorial here), with a rather messy and lopsided, loose topknot. I do mine differently with no teasing and much faster than most tutorials, but this is a simple and short one. It took about 45 seconds to do my hair, but my husband gave me lots of compliments :)

She just turned 9 months and loves make-up and dressing up already!

 
 

smoky cat eye make tutorial via best makeup review

 

Another fun style to try is this pretty and easy and pretty Sweetheart Braid tutorial by Hairdresser on Fire. The braid is perfect for Valentine's Day! Add a jeweled hair comb or fresh flower for a little bit of romance. Let me know if you try any of these styles!

 

Personal Style: Blue vs Gray Manifesto

madewell

Say Yes to Hoboken did a say no to jeans campaign earlier this year. I don't think it's that hard right now with the soaring heat to be wary of jeans, but being a fall kind of gal, that's attracted to simple, comfortable lines and colors (namely, gray and camel) I am still in love with the following outfits she chose as inspiration.

shirt: abercrombie   dress: kohls  necklace: handmade by me

I wore a blue maxi dress the other day that got lots of compliments, but when I took pics for my outfit post, it just didn't feel right. Getting out of the car in the long lengths of soft drapey fabric, didn't feel right. Having a lacey empire waist... didn't feel right. I've been feeling that way for a while now. I'm just not cut out of bright colorful cloth or long flowy things, or cute rolled capris, or partial tucked blouses that are the fashion rage. I may love it on you, but not on me. Maybe it's my coloring, or my petite, apple shape and chicken legs that just doesn't work well. 6 years ago with a 20 inch waist, I could do some of it... not now. So, instead of trying to dress differently or more fashion forward, I'm going to retreat into my soothing grey vnecks for a while. Maybe even pair one with my faux leather leggings for a fashion kick, (or those awesome madewll pants above) but being more true to my style none the less.

 

madewell

I love this... reminds me of Elaine's awkwardly adorable long skorts.

 via pintrest

Do you have some sort of dressing manifesto to be the real you? I'm not talking about giving up altogether and wearing pjs and sweatpants or horrible 80's tapered jeans and tweety bird t-shirts~ but what are some styles you decided to say 'no' or 'yes' to, while still feeling beautiful and comfortable?

Personal Style: Stripes, Pencil Skirt and a Haircut

I love the loose, blousy, boxy, off the shoulder striped thing going on, but those styles don't seem to work on me, and the ones that do, are a little too pricey. So, I went for the blue and white classic vneck that I love, and this cute, pale gray pencil skirt. Earlier, I paired this top with some thrifted, jcrew, light linen city trousers, but I didn't get pics of that day. I guess I really like this top in light colored, unexpected pairings.

As for the haircut, I was giving length advice to another mom who asked, "Does anyone ever really regret cutting their hair?" As a hairstylist, I have seen grown women cry over getting 1/4th an inch cut off. Another woman chimed in, "My hairstylist said that if you spend 50% of the time with your hair in a ponytail, it's time for a new style."  Bingo, that did it for me, and besides, my ends were looking shot and needed to go. I went, grabbed some scissors and cut at my shortest layer for a completely straight and unlayered look. I added an angled bang and bam, was done. A few days went by and it felt heavy still though. I know I can layer my own hair, it has an odd texture and wave pattern that i trust with no one but myself... but I decided on a whim to walk into a salon and have some choppy layers added. I have a love/hate relationship with them now. You will find out why and see the new-new haircut in the next outfit post.

(yes, it was very windy while taking these pictures)

shirt: abercrombie
skirt: banana republic, thrifted
belt: calvin klein, thrifted
watch: fossil
shoes: thrifted
necklace: made by me

Personal Style: Chambray on Denim. diy Accessory

 
I know this is a big style right now, but I never thought I would wear this trend. I especially love, love how Sydney and Elaine have styled the chambray tops with the wide leg trousers and their variation in color with a lighter top.

But, I found these skinny jeans at a garage sale for like $1 and the distressed shirt cheap on ebay, so thought I would give it a shot with what I had. (Yes, it's another Miley Cyrus button up, embarrassing! I got the shirt here, there are still several left).

Pretty much my whole outfit was scavanged. T-strap shoes, thrifted/ jeans, garage sale/ ralph lauren bag, thrifted/ vintage bakelite earrings, garage sale/ vintage cuff, garage sale/ shirt, ebay/ vintage lace, antique mall/ vintage brooch, antique mall. The whole outfit was probably less than $30.

 

 

For a bit of interest, I wadded up a yard of soft, vintage peach lace and pinned it to my shirt using this vintage rhinestone brooch. I thought the peach lace complimented the vintage orange bakelite earrings nicely and added a small hint of color. It's nice to do something unexpected every now and then, what do you like to do?

*linked to clothed much's rule breaking monday.

Personal Style: Petals and Pleats

This is my Mother's Day outfit. I'm loving the dark, vintage spring floral skirts/shorts in trend right now, but they are mostly a little short for my taste so I thought this top was close enough. I love this ivory, pleated vintage skirt I scored thrifting a few years back, but I honestly don't think I have ever worn it. So, my style secret? Wearing something that doesn't need to be wrinkled. I pretty much look like a bag lady the majority of the time because I am on this anti-ironing kick right now. Finding unwrinkled articles of clothing that pair well together is a task, but I'm up for the challenge.

I love these vintage clip ons. Huge acrylic flowers and sparkly rhinestones. The peachy-pink color is different, but a nice nod to this years coral craze. I got about 20 pairs of vintage earrings at an estate sale for $1 the other day. I wish they were all this awesome. I'll probably list some from my growing collection in my shop in the coming days.

So, I don't usually pair black and brown together, but for some weird reason, the flowers on the black top or the ivory skirt, the cosmos worked together and so I added a brown belt and shoes. The t-strap heels and vintage ck belt tie the look together, otherwise it would be too frumpy for me to leave the house. Even though the shoes aren't vintage, they still have that appeal.

 shirt: miley cryus (embarrassing, I know)/ skirt; vintage/ belt: vintage calvin klein

*linked to clothed much's rule breaking (black & brown) monday.

Personal Style: Modern Modest Pin Up

I love pin up style, so to keep it modern, modest and casual, I did it with boyfriend jeans and a skinny belt. And of course, black liquid liner, red lips and a multi leveled updo.

Vintage beaded collars like this are so glamorous. You can find them easily on etsy, ebay and antique malls for a huge price range. Mine was fairly cheap, like under $10. You can find similar styles in fur as well, they often close with a rhinestone brooch. Love 'em.

For the hair, I just made a fairly lose bun. Then, I pulled the top crown area up and out and used one bobby pin to twist a poof into place.

cardi: Target
beaded collar: vintage etsy
belt: vintage calvin klein thrifted
jeans: gap, thrifted
bracelet: wrapped vintage necklace
lipstick: Rimmel moisture renew in Red Alert 900
shoes: forgot
earrings: handmade by me, Jeweled Ambrosia

*linked to clothed much's rule breaking monday (necklace as a bracelet)
* rate this look on smashion