Canadian Tuxedo

When it comes to styling jeans, one of my absolute most favorite ways to do so includes pairing them with a denim or chambray top (see examples here and here). This idea is all the rage right now and is commonly referred to as the Canadian Tuxedo.

You may currently be looking for ways to take the denim on denim approach into warmer weather, say Spring or even Summer. An easy way to lighten up the dark duo is by going for…you guessed it: Lighter shades! Yes pastel and even white denim can effortlessly convey a warmer weather effect. Although I bat for white denim wear all year round, I also cannot resist a good pastel effect (see examples here, here, and here).

Top: Larry Levine, XL| Skinnies: NYDJs, 12| Shoes: Call it Spring| Handbag: Coach

 Sunnies: Nordstrom| Necklace: Betsey Johnson

While styling this look, I knew that I wanted a Spring-like vibe, as the weather was simply wonderful. I had plans for an intimate plus size blogger outing (with Ivory Jinelle & Dionna), and I knew that our day would consist of a bit of walking, eating, and of course some shopping.  I opted for an over-sized tunic that exudes comfort and ease of wear. The fabric is so soft and lightweight. The sleeves can be cropped or worn long. Buttoned up, or not. I love clothing pieces that offer options! In true monochrome enthusiast fashion I paired this tunic with light blue denim skinnies (also worn here). Oh, and did you peep my throwback handbag? I believe it’s circa 1990s! I absolutely love the color!

Ok, ok, I know you’re entranced by this bubble gum style statement necklace! LOL! Ok, perhaps not so much entranced, but it is fun right?! I felt like it added a touch of whimsical to the entire look, and that’s exactly what I wanted =) I had such a blast that day, and a special thank you to Dionna of Made Me Pretty for a wonderful time and her star role as photographer!!!!

Until next time babes! XO

P.S. Did you notice my new do? Wanna know more about it? Let me know in the comments below;)

Blushing

Hey style loving babes! How are you? I’m doing well!!! Today’s style story features this blushed plus size romper from Forever 21’s plus size line. Confession: I recently spent a large chunk of time in a wonderfully stocked plus department/area by the retailer, and I must admit- I was equally shocked and delighted with the variety of styles on hand!

As a result, for several posts I plan to feature items from my mini impromptu shopping haul- just for you! Because I care! LOL! But seriously, what woman doesn’t love a god deal?! This blushing beauty is under twenty-five bucks in-store and online. Oh, and I’m loving the color up against my melanin. Rompers have been trending for a while now; Perfect for date night or Girls Night Out. I wore it out with my husband of 16 years (we recently celebrated our sweet sixteen anniversary) and let me tell you- it was a hit!

With Spring is on the horizon, now is a good time to take inventory and restock your personal wardrobe. My style habit for a number was to seasonally reassess what stays, what goes, nd what gaps I noticed. Now that I live in a predominantly warm climate, I find myself doing this bi-monthly versus seasonally. In the beginning, it took a period of time for me to understand/determine what items I really needed and would wear in my new climate. For instance, back east 50 sweaters made perfect sense, here- not so much. I found that if I even had the opportunity to wear a sweater, it was only once or twice a year, so I downsized my sweater inventory significantly.

Currently I’m in the process of adding more onesies, in the form of rompers and jumpsuits =) I’m also rethinking my shirt selections and skirt needs. Although I could hardly refer to my wardrobe as minimal, I am experiencing a sense of satisfaction with its current inventory and the reduction measures that have been taken.

This fun blush number is super versatile, I could easily see adding layers in the form of a long sleeveless vest, transitioning it to cooler temperatures with tights, or dressing it up even further with statement pieces. I love how it’s made, YES plus size women can rock rompers too! 

Until next time Beauties,
XO

Necklace: Ross Dress for Less| Romper: Forever 21+, size 0X| Shoes: Enzo Angiolini| Clutch: Lord & Taylor

A New Love: Black & White

I reluctantly typed the words to today's post. I almost felt like I was cheating on the love of my life, you know: Color! I have worn saturating colors for as far back as I can remember. When I was a little girl, red was my favorite color, and my uncles used to call me Blood (long before that had a street meaning). I almost hate to admit it, but it is undeniably true: I now find myself drawn to black and white color palettes. 

There is something refreshing to me about wearing black and white together. I kept asking myself, why am I drawn to black & white?

I finally realized the answer: black & white clears my palate.What do I mean?

A palate cleanser generally introduces a neutral element that enables one to clear the palate from one flavor to another. I believe that black & white clears my palate and prepares me for my next color combo. 

I won't be giving up colors anytime soon, but I'm happy to add a new element into regular rotation.

Have a great weekend everyone and thank you for stopping by & commenting!

Sunnies: Betsey Johnson

Floral top: Jones New York

Pleat skirt: Talbots

Booties: Chinese Laundry

LEB Workshop Assignment 5: Stomach/Waist

Hey there!

I’m getting back on track with the LEB (Love Every Body) Workshop :) This month's (April) assignment #5 is up: Stomach/Waist (previous assignment also posted here). How do I feel about my stomach/waist?

(Original photos posted here)

Well in short, we have an on and off again relationship *o* Sometimes I love it, and other times not so much. My stomach is one of the smallest measurements on my body. I like my waist to hip ratio. I have excess skin (IMO) around my stomach from weight fluctuations. Depending on the fit of my clothing, I can look quite pregnant or like I have an extremely flat tummy. My stomach has stretch marks. I have a pooch. It only seems to go away when I am on my best behavior, which apparently, is not often enough. LOL! Can you tell that I am full of laughs today?! Seriously though, my stomach is not drastically different than it was in years past. I’ve had a pooch all of my adult life. 

Overall I appreciate my tummy. I’m thankful that I don't go to bed without enough food to eat, that I don't have a painful disease (cancer comes to mind) tearing away at my insides, and that my tummy can kinda be molded into whatever I want it to be. I’ve never had an operation on it, and it bears no scars or permanent marks with the exception of a small birthmark. I have much to be grateful for.

How do you feel about your tummy?

Check out my blogmates linkups here.
Xx

LEB Workshop Assignment 1: A Letter to My Body

As previously mentioned here, I joined a fantastic body positivity workshop hosted by Leah over at JustMeLeah.co.uk. I missed the first two segments because I found out about it after it had already begun. I decided to make up the prior segments because I think they are essential to the process.

I thought that it would be fairly simple to write this piece, but actually it wasn’t. It was emotional. Each time I gave it serious and deep thought, and then began to write, I would feel sadness. I thought to myself, ‘Where is this sadness coming from?’ I think I know the answer. It was the realization of how I truly feel.  I feel that when I was growing up, I was ill-equipped to appreciate and understand my personal self-worth. I decided to write a letter to my body in the past, from the future.

Dear body,

I write this letter to you from the future.  Whenever you need to, pull me out, and read me. Always believe that you are beautiful, that you have value, and that you are a gift.

You will be viewed as physically unattractive by some people because you don’t fall into a certain weight range, because your hips are wider, because your legs are bigger, and even because you are covered in brown skin. 

Despite how you are viewed by others, you will learn to value yourself. Everything about you is unique, beautiful, and wonderfully designed. You will discover that everyone was not created to be the exact same size, to look the exact same way, or to have the exact same body shape. Endeavor to embrace the things about you that are different. From the top of your head to the bottom of your feet, each facet of you is a gift. Treasure the gift that is uniquely you. 

Let me tell you about you. You have full, thick, curly and wavy hair. Your skin is a beautiful hue of brown, and in the summer seasons it develops a glow. You have five fingers and five toes. You are shaped similar to a dewdrop, wider on the bottom than you are on the top. You have relatively good health as a child, and during your adult years. Your heart has no irregularities, and all of your organs work harmoniously together. You enjoy 20/20 vision, relatively good hearing, and almost perfect taste buds.  You bruise easily, but your bruises heal and eventually fade. Your arms and legs work just fine, and for 30+ years you will not suffer from any disabilities. 

Body, recognize that you are but a shell, or a vessel for the true person that resides within. Genuine beauty comes from that source, and radiates outwardly. Whenever you feel shunned, degraded, and even rejected by others because of your appearance, remind yourself: 

You are beautiful, you have value, and you are a gift.

Love,

Me 

This was a clarifying exercise for me, and I am happy that I decided to complete it. 

Check out Leah's post and the other lovlies that participated here.

Drenched in Tangerine

 This color reminds me of the bright colored outer peel of a tangerine. I love bright colors, as you can see throughout this blog. There's something about them that feels so me. I've worn this skirt before, but the silk blouse is a recent addition from the thrift shop. It has a boxy shape, and is a bit large on me, so I modified it with a front tie-up. 

 Usually I wear a pair of orange shoes with this skirt, but this time I tried it with nude pumps. 

 Although I work in a very conservative environment,  I wore this look to the office. 

Do you wear bold colors to the office?

Silk blouse: Talbots, thrifted

Statement necklace: Saks Off Fifth

Tube skirt: Vince Camuto

Nude shoes: Jessica Simpson

Leather Midi Skirt

Happy Monday! A co-worker once told me: 'I didn't know Mondays were supposed to be happy', I replied: 'Monday is what you make it'. Make today a good one. There will never be another day, another hour, another minute, nor second - exactly like this one. Enough of my ramblings, on to today's post:

I love leather - handbags, furniture, clothes - you name it. This skirt is another item from my oldie but goodie collection. It's midi length and a straight cut. It seems to have stretched over the years, but I must say this fit and length is my fav thus far.

A note about the booties I am wearing: They are very comfy! I can wear them for 8 + hours = no pain whatsoever!!! I've noticed that I have been wearing them as my go-to black shoes. This proves that not all high heels bring discomfort. I believe that the platform on this pair aids in balancing out the height.

Who I'm Wearing

Earrings & necklace: Heavenly Couture

Top: One Clothing

Bracelets: Thrifted & Ross

Skirt: Saks Fifth Avenue

Booties: Kelsi Dagger

Handbag: Coach

Why I Started Blogging; Got My Peplum & Skinnies On

I feel retrospective today. 
Let's talk blogging. I thought about starting a fashion/style blog for a few years. It took me some time to decide to actually do it because I tend to procrastinate...I also rationalized: There are already a number of EXCELLENT curvy fashion bloggers (who I consistently follow), how will my blog be any different? Finally though, with much encouragement from my husband and close friends, I decided to take the plunge. Why?
In my opinion, there aren't nearly enough images/resources of/for real sized, real life women flooding social media. If the average woman is considered to be plus size, why don't at least 50% of the images of women on social media and the net reflect that? 
I love to find inspiration in the styles of other women, but I noticed that when surfing Pinterest, FB, IG, and fashion blogs- most women, although stylish, did not look like me, which led me to feel uninspired. 
It is my hope that one day, when I look for images of style inspiration, the majority of images found, will be real sized, real life women. Being curvy is nothing to be ashamed of. Let's show the world, the media, and our peers: WE ARE HERE TO STAY!

What I wore:

Sunnies: Vintage, thrifted

Earrings: L/A Fashion District

Peplum Top: F21

Skinny Jeans: Not Your Daughter's Jeans

Shoes: Bandolino

Handbag: Coach (classic throwback, 90's)

Lady in Red: Vintage from Head to Toe

I really like wearing hats. Random opening statement right? But I really do! Did you know that I have enough hats that I could wear a different hat everyday for more than 30 days?! Too bad I can't wear hats to the office. I thought California is supposed to be more free, and liberal. For now, I sport my hats after work and on the weekends. One day tho...I will wear hats to work ;)

Here we are at the end of the work week, and the first week of Fall. I decided to pull out my wool hats; this is the second one that I have posted this week from my vintage collection. For your viewing pleasure, I brushed the feathers on this hat in one direction; they looked so nice and shiny. 

Too bad the wind had other ideas o_O

I'm looking forward to the weekend. Who's happy to pull out more fall gear? What do you have planned? Carpe diem!

Hat: Vintage, thrifted

Sunglasses: Vintage, thrifted

Earrings & Necklace set: Vintage, thrifted

Bracelet: Ross

Silver ring: Keepsake from Stockholm

Dress: Vintage, thrifted

Belt: Thrifted

Booties: Victoria's Secret (purchased via catalog 15 years ago)

Handbag: Dooney & Bourke

Hump Day: Vintage Teal Pleats

Happy Hump Day Everyone! It feels like this week has dragged on and on (although it's been busy), I am so ready for Friday! Why? Because I'm looking forward to getting with friends and having some fun;Work has been work, and I am looking forward to a couple days off!

 

When I saw this dress, there was no question in my mind that I was going to purchase it! I love purchases like that- BTW.The color, pleats, and cut were made for me! I wear it all year round, as there are bascially 2 seasons here. This time I put a 'Fall' spin on it, by play of colors. One day I'll show you how I add sleeves to this fit :)

 

Are you looking forward to the weekend? What are your plans?

 

Pearl earrings: Vintage, thrifted

Necklace: TJMaxx

Dress: Vintage, thrifted

Bracelet: Thrifted

Handbag: Coach

Shoes: Bandolino



What I Wore - Casual Chevron Maxi on a Friday

I am so happy that Friday has arrived, I almost cannot put it into words! After returning from vacation, why did I think work would be a breeze this week? I was wrong. Monday-Friday has truly been a blur of meetings, phone calls, and more meetings....This weekend I plan to stay low-key, and get in some R&R. 

I usually shy away from maxi dresses, because I am short and I feel that they can be uncomplimentary. Am I alone in feeling this way? Well, when I spotted this baby at the thrift store, so crisp and clean, I couldn't leave it behind. Who can say no to chevron? 

Bonus: This entire outfit was less than $40.00!

What I Wore:

Fedora: Nordstrom

Earrings: Jessica Simpson

Dress: Liz Claiborne, thrifted

Bangles: Sterling Silver

Clutch: Vintage, thrifted

Jellies: Unisa, thrifted