style – Page 5 – the Spiff

The Bag Every (packrat) Woman Needs

January 30, 2018 No Comments

coach backpack, why carry a backpack, west town mall, mom bag, a good leather backpack, leather backpack

Your shoulders will thank me, your friends will praise you.

The one thing I wish someone would have told me before having a child? How great wipes are. They handle stickiness, stains, spills, errant makeup, that “germy” feeling, dropped utensils, unruly bangs, that weird color of something on your steering wheel… I feel like I get to walk around with the kitchen sink!

I will carry them from now until eternity because they are the best. Problem is, there are about 10 other products that are “the best” giving them high enough rankings to make it to my bag. Especially on a day trip somewhere or, gosh, even a run to the mall.

That’s why I was over the moon about this backpack.

I can almost feel my shoulders sigh in relief when I load it up for a day trip because it’s so much easier to carry than any other bag. My Kavu bag comes close, but even that starts to hurt after a while. The even distribution, not to mention the cool leather of this Coach beauty has me feeling good all day.

A couple weeks ago I put it to the test for an all day shopping trip around Atlanta. My shoulders never hurt and boy did I look good.

I love that it has plenty of room inside without looking too bulky and that outside pocket for smaller things like my phone. It also has easy access inside pockets so I can store things I need to get to quickly at the top without having to riffle around.

And while I’m usually a deal shopper all the way, I firmly believe that a good, quality bag like this one is a great investment. It will stand the test of time style wise, and last through multiple wears. In fact a leather one like this will only look cooler with age.

This is actually from the men’s line at Coach in West Town Mall – go see them in there and get one for yourself! Why? *see first italicized line

PS: Coach in West Town Mall will soon be carrying even more great men’s stuff – just in time for Valentine’s Day!

Fashion, style, west town mall

My Picks from the {MEGA} Altar’d State Sale

January 26, 2018 No Comments

altar'd state, altar'd state west town mall, sale shopping, how to shop a sale, sale clothes, knoxville fashion, knoxville style, style blog, style help, help shopping, elizabeth ogle, style consultant

Someone has to do the dirty work of checking out the sales.

Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I am going to say that when shopping this time of year, it’s important to have style goals. Without them, you’ll want to BUY EVERYTHING BECAUSE IT’S ALL AN EXTRA 50% OFF!!!!!!!!!!!

Take the Altar’d State sale at West Town Mall, for example. All of their sales stuff is exactly that, half off. But in order to avoid buying something just because it’s on sale, it’s good to have your goals in mind. So QUICK, mark down your goals then get and the car and get over to West Town Mall!!

Here are my picks from the sale… And remarkably only one thing went home with me. While I would have loved to take home everything I tried on, I wanted to stick to goal #2 on my list, so I only went home with the pants.

Simple black, knotted top in the front – ba-BAM in the back. I’m wearing a medium and this top was marked at $29 which makes it around fifteen bucks!

Game Day shirt – uh there’s kind of a big football game in a couple weeks, this would be perfect for that as it’s totally neutral in color. I’m wearing a medium but could have done a large. It’s $20.

Love this tunic, and it’s half off of $20. I’m wearing a small.

How about this gorgeous velvet black shirt! Normally I’m not into big sleeves but this one is so well done. This would be great to wear now, and later in the year for when Christmas parties kick back up. I’m wearing a large and after the extra discount it rings it at $15. That’s. A. Deal.

These pants are the piece that went home with me, for two reasons. One their velvet. And, you know, I could George Costanza myself with velvet right now; two it’s got an elastic waist. When you plan to have more children and you’re really into clothes, elastic waists are everything. I’m wearing mediums and these were $15.

Get in there and find these gems or others!

Fashion, Spiffy, style

The Tuck Trick to Help You Look Thinner

January 23, 2018 No Comments

style help, how to tuck, the half tuck, leopard pants, the limited, gap at west town mall, west town mall style, knoxville style, knoxville fashion, ootd, mom blog, mom style

Tuck it in, tuck it in.

Having great style isn’t just about cleaning out your closet so you have just what you need, or setting style goals to keep your outfit decisions focused, it’s also about knowing how to style the clothes once they’re on your body.

That’s why I wanted to talk about tucking. The half tuck is a big thing right now and while you may have seen it and rolled your eyes or thought you could never pull it off – the visual power it brings to your look is big.

The whole purpose behind tucking anything in whether it’s a half tuck or full, is to show off your waste and bring definition to your body. This helps you to look skinnier especially when you’re wearing something voluminous.

No one wants to look heavier and when you wear bulky things you run that risk – that’s why you tuck!

I love the half tuck because it’s like you tried, but not too hard – which falls right into the cool range.

The half tuck is also good if you have bigger hips. That little bit of waste you see gives you just the right amount of definition, while the volume that’s left spilling over balances out your hips and bum.

A full tuck is good when you’re rocking a high midi skirt and is perfect for showcasing your waste in an outfit like this.

If you’re nervous to try it, half tuck your shirt and wear an open cardigan or jacket with it that way it’s not so obvious and you can see how you feel about it throughout the day. I’ll showcase that look in an upcoming blog so you can see just why it works!

PS: these leopard pants are from The Limited, which has a working website again! Whoo Hoo! Shirt is from GAP (Old Navy version), skirt is from Forever21 (similar here) as are the shoes (similar here).

fall, Fashion, Spiffy, style

What to Wear Shopping (Other Than Your PJ’s)

November 28, 2017 1 Comment

how to style a graphic tee, what to wear with moto leggings, how to pull off athleisure

Let’s look good while snatching up the savings.

Anyone else having trouble getting anything done because all they want to do is shop??? I mean, come on! HOW am I supposed to function on the internet when EVERYTHING IS 250% off!?

Good thing we can snag deals both online and in person. Sometimes one is better over the other. And I figure you don’t need style advice for what to wear when shopping at home – you do you, girl.

But when shopping out in public I have a few key style pointers to help make your life easier. These tips also apply to any extended outing (which there can be a lot of this time of year – Dollywood, Caroling, Light looking, etc.)

Obviously comfort is key. I love taking a pair of “workout leggings” and turning them into a stylish outfit. I think I’ll call it athleisure and turn athletic wear into a billion dollar business, wait someone beat me to it.

To achieve this look take your most “pant like” work out leggings and pair them with a graphic tee or other relaxed t-shirt and throw over it a jacket and some slip on sneakers. Switch out any of these items with more polished work out attire if you need to (and when I say “polished” I mean no visible sweat stains please).

I bought these pants at Marshal’s but here’s a similar style; got the shirt and jacket at Target; shoes are from Amazon.

Hope this helps you to stylishly nab the deals this holiday shopping season!

fall, Spiffy, style, west town mall

Items That Make it Easier to Get Dressed This Fall

November 14, 2017 No Comments

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Not listed: a giant vat of coffee. That would certainly help me get dressed.

It’s just nice to be pulling clothes out of a different part of my closet. You know? It’s no secret that I love fall, and believe me, I can give you 1,000 reasons why this season is the best, but any time a drastic change in weather happens it feels a little like you got a whole new wardrobe.

Other times when a new seasons hits – you’re hit with the realization that you must have gone naked all last fall because you have absolutely NOTHING to wear.

I’m going to list for you today some products that will help enhance your fall wardrobe and hopefully make it easier to get dressed in the morning without having to buy a truck load of new things.

There are whole blogs, books and fashion beliefs based around this next sentence. So you can bet that if there were a fashion bible, this would be its “golden rule” – Leopard is a neutral.

Grab some leopard to jazz up your ensembles this fall. And can I mention that while surfing for leopard items, I found at least 250 things I want to add to my Christmas list because I LOVE LEOPARD.

Grab all of those things at White House Black Market in West Town Mall.

With this new(ish) season comes cooler weather which means BOOTIES.

And what do you need with booties? No show socks. If there are shoes in your closet you’ve stayed away from because you don’t know what footwear to pair with them – go with these!!

These puppies are the best. I wear them with everything and they rarely fall down or slip off. Scoop up your own on Amazon.

Leggings open up a whole new world of layering and I’m so excited about that.

The ongoing debate about leggings has died down a bit, but some people walk around clearly confused as to whether or not leggings are pants. Come back tomorrow for the answer to that question, meanwhile, get comfy leggings here.

Soma leggings are soooo comfy!

Scarves will be making an appearance and they’re a great way to jazz up your basics. And since scarves can be expensive, why not spend less on some great earrings and pair them with your favorite scarf for a fancier feel.

I’m a firm believer in your accessories not interfering with your scarf. So I’ve gathered a couple pairs of earrings that would pair quite nicely with a big ole’ scarf…

Pick up all of these beauties at Charming Charlie in West Town Mall!

I hope this gives you a fresh look at some items in your closet for this season! Come back tomorrow for all your fall fashion questions answered!

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