styling – Page 3 – the Spiff

The Best Striped Dress Worn 3 Ways {Part One}

February 29, 2016 No Comments

west town mall, style blogger, knoxville fashion, knoxville fashion blogger, ootd, striped dress, how to style a striped dress, striped dress multiple ways, elizabeth ogle, southern roots photography

Over the weekend I had the TV to myself for a couple hours, so you know what’s on repeat? Fixer. Upper.

The antique/shabby chic style of Joanna Gaines isn’t totally my thing, BUT if anyone could sell me on it and convince me to move into a house filled with shiplap and unfinished furniture, that woman can.

And while I love to watch it for their creativity and crazy antics, I’m most inspired by how good she looks. Her nails are always painted a cool color, and she’s always put together even though she has four children and is running multiple businesses.

I may have a new hero.

Now that Jackson’s moving around a lot more (we are so close to crawling, but we’re mostly rolling, then getting mad about being on our tummy too long) I’m beginning to realize that as he grows and grows my getting ready time is going to have to evolve.

Seven months of maintaining myself down, 17 1/2 more years to go!

One of the things I’ve always loved to do and even more so now – is styling one piece multiple ways. Not only does it give me more uses from the one outfit, but it also allows me to get my money’s worth from a piece.

This striped dress will be such a staple in my closet. I will wear it all year with a few accessory/layering change-ups, which I’m going to demonstrate this week so be sure to check back in Wednesday and Friday to see how else it can be styled!

Today’s look is really perfect for a Monday.

I’m new to the idea of pairing these brown boots with black, but it really does go and lightens up the whole look compared to just doing black boots. And I love a good pattern mix like I love mac and cheese, so this animal print scarf is just a given.

Both the dress and the scarf can be found at West Town Mall.

A big thanks to the talented skills of Southern Roots Photography for these outfit shots!

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

Three Habits to Improve Your Style

December 7, 2015 No Comments

style, habits to improve your style, knoxville fashion blogger, fashion blogger, beauty blogger, improve your style, how to improve your style

Ten years ago, it was not an uncommon occurrence for me to be wildly late to functions (or sometimes even miss them) because I couldn’t figure out what to wear.

Shopping was kind of a mess because I would buy really cheap things that looked cheap, or really expensive things that I hardly ever wore. I sometimes didn’t dress appropriately for the occasion and would spend the entire evening on edge because I wasn’t happy with how I was presenting myself.

The frustrations of these incidents drove me to start concentrating on my style. I read, did research, looked at countless pictures and started to really get to know myself, what worked on my body and what I should save and splurge on.

Today? If I’m late, it’s not because of my outfit. I can’t think of the last time I was stumped on what to wear. I’ve got a closet full of clothes I wear with a mixture of high end classic pieces and less expensive things to keep everything fresh. And I’m always dressed appropriately for the occasion and therefore a much happier person ;)

If you are at all like 10-years-ago me, develop these habits and you’ll edge out the clothing frustrations…

1. Don’t be a slave to trends.

If you don’t like a trend, don’t wear it. Wear what you love. The more you try to work in something you don’t feel good in, the more frustrated you’ll be. Decide if you like it first and foremost. And if you can’t decide, buy a cheap version of it, take it for a test run and see what you think.

2. Know what works for your body and taste.

Next time you’re shopping, or getting dressed and you don’t like the way something makes your hips look or your belly – make a note of it and quit buying it! The biggest benefit to this is it will help you shop faster. I can blaze by cap sleeves, bell sleeves, a-symmetrical hem lines and high-waisted pants because I know they don’t flow with my style/body type.

3. Come up with multiple ways to wear something.

When you find a piece that really showcases your style and works well with your shape, you want to be able to wear it over and over again. This doesn’t mean that you have to wear it with the same pants, the same jewelry, the same combination that you did the first time. When you pick up something in the store, stop and think of two ways you can wear it before buying it. If you can’t think of anything, then get in the habit of experimenting with things you already own. Just play around and break things out of their box.

Read this to help you shop for earrings faster.

Fashion, west town mall

Earrings that Suit Your Face Shape

November 13, 2015 No Comments

I took one of those personality tests recently. This was the kind that pin points your work, learning and communication style. One aspect of my being that I’m completely aware of and that the test so preciously pointed out, was the fact that I take a long time making decisions.

Just the other day, it took me all afternoon to decide how to structure my night after I left work.

This is why when I walk into a store like Charming Charlie, the options don’t so much excite me as they do overwhelm me. Even in an area like jewelry where I pretty much know what it is I want, seeing all that’s available to me causes the small decisive corner of my brain to drop the mic and walk out.

Thus I look for information to help me make small decisions easier. Information such as what earrings will best suit my face shape – something we can all benefit from and use to make shopping a little less stressful.

If you don’t already know the shape of your face, this article will help you determine it.

If you do, know that you’re not limited to only these shapes but that these could just be your go-to style. All of these, you should know, can be found at West Town Mall!

Earrings for a Square-Shaped Face

The angles of your face would really benefit from round earrings. Hoops and circles will help soften your face.

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Earrings for an Oval Face

Since your face is so symmetrical, you can stick with studs or teardrop shapes to simply frame your face.

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francesca collections, earrings from francescas, earrings for an oval face, teardrop earrings, — Francesca’s

Earrings for a Round Face

You get to rock a long chandelier style because it helps to make your face look a little leaner.

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charming charlies, charming charlie earrings, chandelier earrings, earrings for your face shape, earrings for a round face, west town mall — Charming Charlie

Earrings for a Heart-Shaped Face

Because the shape of your face starts to curve in towards your chin, take advantage of that spot and fill it with earrings that sit on or very close to your lobe.

charming charlie, charming charlie earrings, chandelier earrings, earrings for your face shape, earrings for a round face, west town mall — Charming Charlie

Fashion, west town mall

The One Pattern You Need for Fall

October 12, 2015 No Comments

Looking at the right kind of leopard pattern sets off fireworks in my brain.

You know what I mean by the “right kind”? There’s a rich looking leopard and then there’s the craft store leopard – it’s usually a teeny tiny pattern and really cheap looking.

The Limited – now they’ve stocked up on the right kind of leopard. Theirs is made up of richly toned browns, black and beige’s, all of which come together to form the only pattern in the world that could be considered a neutral.

If you don’t believe me, buy that skinny leopard bracelet and see just how many outfits it will go with. I own it, so I already know the answer is ONE THOUSAND! It’s cool too because it’s got a fur-like texture which makes the bracelet even more visually appealing.

That skinny leopard belt will help accent your tiny waist with a basic black A-line dress, or bring a little danger to a blue striped button down and jeans. The pants will jazz up all those black, white, cream, pink, red, or royal blue tops you have.

The leopard clutch, well, I mean…come on. It instantaneously dials up the glamour quotient.

And that leopard sweater can go from a white t-shirt/black skirt/tights/boots combo to white t-shirt/skinnies/booties and then back to brown slacks/white button down and gold heels all within milliseconds. Just think of the range that thing has!

If you can’t already tell, leopard can go for miles in your closet and The Limited has it in some really beautiful options (on sale, even!). Get in to The Limited in West Town Mall to see just how right I am!

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