Tag Archives: Fashion Friday

I’ve spoken with people about my post last week and what I keep hearing is “I can’t find an outfit to enter”. Now I am 99.9% sure this doesn’t mean they are not inspired, but that they are following the inspiration to exactly.

I don’t want you to be exact, I want to see what INSPIRES you.

Yes, my outfits were pretty close to the inspiration pictures, but that doesn’t mean YOURS have to be.

I want to see WHAT inspires you, even if it’s just one thing you saw somewhere, you were inspired and that’s what I want to hear about.

Don’t feel like the color has to be exact or the created outfit EXACTLY the same as your inspiration. It’s just a loose interpretation. Here are some ideas:

Maybe you’re more of a jeans wearer and you saw something or someone that inspired you to wear a dress or a big chunky necklace. Or you saw this pic with the cut of the dress and thought that would look flattering on your body type, so you tried to duplicate it.

Maybe you’ve never tried tucking your shirt in or wearing a maxi skirt.

Maybe you like the idea of a striped shirt with shorts.

Or a striped shirt with a skirt. Again, you don’t have to include a belt or you can make it chunky instead of a skinny belt.

Or you’ve always wanted to try wearing a hat or scarf (don’t feel like you have to wear a leather jacket since it’s so DANG hot!)

Or boots with a dress.

The thing I love about fashion is its ability to change. I look back on what I wore a couple years back and have grown and changed so much since then. What you choose  to wear reflects so much of where you are in life, but can also reflect where you want to be. It’s also about taking risks and making changes.

What have you always wanted to try to wear, but didn’t think you could pull off? What did you try to wear, loved and stuck with?

Go through your wardrobe, find an outfit and email it to me at

thegirlwiththesmileblog@gmail.com

along with a picture or even just a comment on what inspired you.

Because you know what? You just might inspire someone else. 😉

Happy Friday! 🙂

Summer Inspiration

Often times, like I’ve said in previous posts, I rip pictures out of magazines that I like and store them in my “style” notebook. When I’m lacking inspiration and looking for a new outfit, I check out my notebook for ideas.

Here are some outfits that I came up with next to the picture that inspired me:

So, I’ve cooked up a little contest because a little competition is healthy, right? 😉

I want you to find inspiration and create a new outfit. Look in magazines (my faves are InStyle and Lucky Mag), Pinterest or people you see out and about. Your outfits don’t have to be exact because this is “inspiration” after all. Just look at the shapes of clothing (long baggy pants) or how it’s worn (shirt tucked in with belt) and then try to do similar with the clothing you presently have in your wardrobe.

After you’ve created a new outfit, email me two pictures, a pic of your inspiration and also a pic of your fabulous creation to thegirlwiththesmileblog@gmail.com.

All entries need to be in by 11:30 pm PST on August 22, 2012 to be entered.

***The five BEST outfits will be featured on Fashion Friday on August 24, 2012.***

Can’t wait to see what you come up with!

“High Maintenance”

What comes to mind when you hear those two words?

I hate that this term has a different meaning to every person and I wish we could all come to an agreement on the definition.

In my opinion, “high maintenance” refers to a person who is needy in a relationship. They require their significant other to spend a lot of time/money on them and need constant verbal reassurance.

I DO NOT feel like it refers to a person who prefers to look good when they are out in public or enjoys fashion. I hate to hear someone who looks nice or pulled together referred to as “high maintenance” because that COULD imply that it took them a while to get ready and that it would be the end of the world if they didn’t look nice.

Personally, I usually take less than fifteen minutes total to get dressed & do my hair (although my husband is arguing that I take longer). I also go days without showering (true story) and wear my jeans a couple times before washing them. Also, as much as I like labels/designers (mostly for the quality), I will never pass up on free hand-me-downs or previously owned clothing. And, I have left the house without a smidge of makeup on wearing sweats and my world remained in one piece. 😉

I am not hoping to start a heated debate or make anyone angry, but I’m interested in starting a discussion.

What do you think of when you hear the term “high maintenance”?

Happy Friday!