layering – the Spiff

A Patterned Skirt and a Well Layered Little Boy

November 30, 2016 No Comments

layering for boys, patterned skirt, midi skirt, how to dress toddler boys, boy clothes, mom blog, mom fashion, little boy fashion

A patterned skirt and a well dressed little boy are probably two things on a long list of my favorites (a list which also includes bread and the sound of walking through snow).

They also happen to be two of the things I’ve written about on the Knoxville Families Magazine website this month. I wanted to provide the links to those articles so you can enjoy.

The skirt came from Forever21 in West Town Mall, and Jackson’s outfit came from…all over the place but mostly Old Navy and GAP Kids.

A patterned skirt can do a lot more than you realize. Read what all it can go with and what it can do for a last minute look.

And while I’m not unearthing fashion secrets with this next post, my hope is that it will help inspire looks for little boys in your life.

Once you’re done reading those, be sure to read about the perfect shopping outfit. It is, after all, shopping season! Whoop whoop!

christmas, Fashion

One Sweater – Three Outfits

December 14, 2015 No Comments

Sometimes I wish we lived in the Lucille Ball days.

Those days the men sported suits and hats more commonly. And the women got dolled up in dresses with swirly skirts, putting on dainty gloves and hats before walking out the door.

Gosh it would be so glamorous. But realistically, it would be a nightmare.

Dry cleaning would be a constant thing with the suits and the dresses and then the suits again. We’d be running around in heels all the time. We’d miss pants.

My biggest nightmare? The fact that it would be harder to get multiple uses out of the dresses. In this day and age I can buy a sweater and wear it with so many outfits, but a dress! Unless you do this…you can only wear it the one way.

Let’s be thankful we live in a more casual society and talk about this sweater and how it can work at your every holiday party…

There are typically three dress codes for parties this time of year: Business Casual, Dressy Casual and Festive. Today I want to show you how to wear this sweater for a Dressy Casual occasion.

The beautiful thing about this sweater from The Loft is the fact that it’s already bejeweled at the top, so if you don’t have time to accessorize you’re not going to look blank.

Dressy Casual is a fun way to go (although I imagine I’ll say that about all of them by the end of the week). With this dress code you get to balance your dressier pieces with more casual things, which usually translates to looking good and being comfortable. (And all the women said Hallelujah).

I layered the sweater with a long white tee to bring the fancier sweater down a notch and let it more smoothly transition to the boyfriend jeans. Then I balanced the jeans and the white layer with some nice black heels and added a touch of red with a bold lip.

No dry cleaning in the future, just enjoying the evening in pants ;)

Check back in the rest of the week to see what else I pair the sweater with!

Fashion, weekend outfit, what to wear, Why this works

How to Dress Up a Plain White Tee

May 22, 2015 1 Comment

You know what I truly love more than shopping? Going through my own closet to see what new looks I can create.

I’ll be somewhere else in my house and get an idea for an outfit combination and immediately I’ll have to drop what I’m doing to go try it on and see if it works. I promise that’s a practice I’ll put to bed whenever this guy comes along – or else I’m going to have an angry baby on my hands ;)

The process of tweaking and editing an outfit till it works is right up my alley inside my wheelhouse (sure my wheelhouse has an alley).

Take this plain white t-shirt for example. Right now especially I’m doing my best to stretch a slim maternity wardrobe so the more ways I can wear a simple t-shirt the better.

One thing about plain white tee’s is they are very see-through. Instead of trying to fight its sheerness, use it to your advantage and wear a striped top underneath. Really almost any patterned tank will work because all the white does is mute the pattern a bit so the louder the better.

It creates a whole new look and allows you to dress it up even further by adding a cute colorful statement necklace (this one came from Rue21).

Also, lets talk about this clutch for a moment. This is actually an Ipsy bag. That’s right, I was getting ready to leave one day and in desperate need of a tiny purse, when I looked on my dresser and saw this bag. Perfect! Another point in the Ipsy category as a box would be a lot less glamorous to carry around. I can’t wait to see what next months bag looks like!

Baby Side Note: I just have to say how much I’ve enjoyed being pregnant. I want to meet this guy so badly, but I really do love getting to show off a baby bump. This whole process is so miraculous and I’m just so thankful to be experiencing it! :) Have a great weekend!

christmas, Fashion, sweater, target

Cardigans With Bling

December 4, 2014 No Comments

Gone are the days when the word “cardigan” was associated with celibacy. That’s maybe a little harsh, but we can all admit to never hearing the sentence, “that’s one sexy cardigan you’re wearing.”

They’ve really made over their image and are available in all kinds of patterns, textures, and bling.

Christmas time is a great season to stock up on dazzling cardi’s because you can wear them now and later.

Here area few of my favorites that I’ve spotted around town, starting top left…

Those first two (the sapphire and the fuchsia colored sweaters) are both from Target. Target has a whole slew of great jeweled sweaters. Whatever you do, do not pay full price for one. Keep an eye on it (or save your receipt) because they will put them on sale. If you can’t see it, that fuchsia one has a light scattering of sparkles starting at the shoulder. It’s really pretty.

And the blue cardigan has really pretty jewel bunch at the collar.

Speaking of a great bunch of jewels, that black number in the middle is from Ann Taylor and boy would that look great with a white button down, a sparkly skirt and some black pumps.

The gray sweater has a really cool bead pattern of both silver and gold going on. It’s from White House Black Market and would look beautifully unexpected with some light gold accessories.

The black one, top right, would be the most practical out of the bunch, but is still a step above a boring black cardi. It’s got a smattering of sparkly gems on it as well that glisten at different moments when worn open. It’s from New York and Company, who, by the way, is having an amazing sale right now so go scoop one up.

All of these are proof that you don’t have to settle for boring cardigans anymore! It’s about to be 2015, friends. Let’s let our cardigans get a little wild ;)

Fashion, shopping, west town mall

Layer Like a Boss

December 1, 2014 No Comments

Well Merry Christmas!

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend and ate so much your pants are a little bit tighter today ;)

Now lets hide that food belly with some layers, shall we?

The biggest key to getting layering right is to go with lighter fabrics. The polka dot shirt is thin (it’s not made out of cotton it’s more like a polyester) and the gray cardigan is thin as well. You certainly aren’t looking to add bulk to your frame, we’re just looking to use your clothes in a more interesting way.

If you’ll notice, once I took the blazer off I added a belt because I helps define my waist. It’s not needed under the blazer because the blazer helps add definition.

You don’t need a ton of jewelry with this because you have so much going on visually already. I just added little earrings.

Think about layering when you’re making the Christmas list! Here’s where I got the cardigan, here’s a version of the button up (I got mine from Target), and here’s a great blazer.

Now let’s talk about tomorrow night!!

Tuesday night at Ann Taylor in West Town Mall from 6-8pm I’m going to be helping you put together the perfect Christmas party outfit! They’ll be a special discount that night and just good clean fun since I’ll be around ;) Seriously though, come out and get inspired, get some cute accessories, get a sparkly top and get to your Christmas parties looking amazing!! See you then!

Happy Cyber Monday!

Click here for a great list of links to get you a Cyber Monday deal on great beauty buys!