Inspiration of the Week: Three Ways to Wear It

I saw this little cropped, crocheted top at Express and literally skidded to a stop. Available in black and ecru, it’s delicate, feminine and oh, so versatile. I couldn’t wait to style it for you this week. On the Express website they show it (pictured above) with a peachy colored skinny jean and sparkly sequined tank layered underneath it. I think almost any color of jean would work. I’d particularly be excited to try it with hunter green or kelly green. But I wondered if you could do a more glam going-out-with-the-girls outfit and also a casual picnic-with-your honey ensemble. I decided to try to do both for you, my loyal, blog readers, so you can see three ways to work the same top.

Night Out With the Girls

For going out for drinks with your girlfriends, you want to look polished, glam and pulled together. A pop of color and gold sparkle add just the right touch of fun and flirtatiousness. Add a camel-colored or leopard print trench coat to the items I’ve selected below and you are both warm and perfectly pulled together for a night on the town.

Picnic in the Park with Your Honey

For a picnic with your honey, you want to be cute, but casual. Switch out a few of the more blingy things from above, add a tank and jeans, and you are ready for some relaxed romance. He won’t know what hit him. Complete the look below with a cute cropped jean jacket or just let him keep you warm.

And lest any of my more bodacious beauties think I forgot you, you can also pull off the above looks with a more figure skimming, less-cropped version of the top. This one at Etsy (or one like it) I think would be really cute. If you aren’t a fan of showing off that much arm, there is no reason you couldn’t layer it with a long sleeved shirt.

Here’s me, modeling the top the way I wore it to work today. It’s casual Friday so I kept the look relaxed yet pulled together. Since I’m so pale, I went with a bright under layer to keep the ecru color from washing me out.

So there you have it: three ways to the wear the same top (Four actually, if you count the way I wore it today). Remember every item in your closet has a myriad of possibilities just waiting to be discovered. I often get asked if I ever wear the same thing twice. The answer? I never wear the same thing in exactly the same way twice. You’ll get quadruple the mileage from your wardrobe if you adopt the same philosophy.

Have another way you’d like me to style the top? Think I missed the mark? Have something you want to share to inspire me for my next “Inspiration of the Week” feature? Feel free to comment below or email me at princessheathab@gmail.com. Also, I’m always looking for new topics and guest bloggers.

Future blog topics include:

• To Buy or Not To Buy, That is the Question

• How to Dress Appropriately for Any Occasion

• The Five Shoe Staples Every Girl Should Own

• How to Get Down in Black and Brown

• The Bra : On the Frontlines of Fashion

• Colored Jeans, A Rainbow of Possibilities

Be Fierce. Be Fashionable. Be Yourself.

XOXO

H

Inspiration of the Week

Every week I see some fashion that inspires me to create an outfit around it.  Rather than just keep it to myself, I thought I’d start a weekly post about it. I’ll show you my inspiration and then how I’d style it. Sound like fun?

It was easy to decide which item to style first, since I saw these boots today and absolutely fell in love with them (plus I just did a blog on shoes trends). I’m pretty sure Betsey Johnson wakes up some days and says, “What does Heatha want to wear today?” Okay, maybe not, but if sure feels like it when I see items like this:

Completely drool-worthy, don’t you think?

And as I am wont to do, I immediately started designing an outfit around them. I think boots with a flared top call for some more streamlined bottoms like a skinny jean or legging. And these boots definitely need a leather jacket. Add a cute top (perhaps with a pop of color if you are feeling a little sassy), a long gold chain necklace, pretty feather earrings, and a killer hand bag, and you are good to go.

The fun thing about these boots and so much of the fashion I’m loving right now is the pairing of tough and girly. These biker-chic boots with the peep of leopard are the perfect example.

My style picks are below:

Want to know where to purchase these items?

The leather jackets are all from www.nordstrom.com, the skinny jeans and tops are from www.express.com, jewelry from www.claires.com, and the Guess handbag is from www.zappos.com.

So check back weekly for what’s inspiring me and hopefully it will inspire you too.

Want to tell me how you’d style these boots? Have an inspiration to share and want me to style it? Or just have something to say? Comment below or email me at princessheathab@gmail.com.

Be Fierce. Be Fashionable. Be Yourself.

XOXO

H

Color-Blocking for Beginners

I’ve never been one to just jump into the water. I’ve always wanted to be the kind of person that does the graceful swan dive into the deep end, but that just isn’t me.  I often find that you can reach the same destination by taking baby steps.  I dip my toes in, and after they acclimate, I go full legs, then up to the waist, and so on and so forth until I’m comfortable.  Before you know it, I’m in the water and I can jump over and over again into the cold depths with the best of them. Mission accomplished.

And so it is with fashion sometimes. I’ll see a trend and want to try it and then quickly realize I have no idea how to go about doing so. This is how I felt when I first saw color-blocking. It started with a picture much like this one:

This is Solange Knowles. My first thought when I saw it was, “CUTE!”, closely followed by, “How in the heck did she look in her closet one day and decide all that would work together?” I mean, yellow pants, red, black and tan shirt, purple purse, leopard heels, and somehow it’s all popping. It’s at least part attitude, but what’s the other part?

I wanted to try it, but after looking in my closet, I was flummoxed. So I did what I usually do: I took baby steps. I found this dress at Express: 

It was perfect for dipping my toes into the color-blocking shallow end.  It did all the color-blocking for me. I just added the black cardigan and heels and I was done. After wearing it all day, I picked up a few pointers along with the all the compliments I received. First, when color-blocking, black provides a good base and gives all the other colors an anchor. Second, like tones go best with like tones. For instance, on this dress, all the colors are fairly bright. The purple is the only exception, but it’s in the same color family as the berry pink.

In order to slide a little further into the deep end, I decided to use Heatha’s Ninth Tenet of Fashion Fabulousness: I stole Solange’s idea. I wore my red skinny jeans with a black and tan striped top, leopard heels, and a yellow cuff bracelet.

Jeans, blazer, striped tee – Express.  Yellow cuff, sunglasses - Steve Madden. 

Handbag - Jessica Simpson.  Owl cuff – Lucky Brand.   Shoes - Betsey Johnson. 

Necklace, ring – BCBGeneration.

I think it worked out really well, but you can all judge for yourself.  I did notice that when going this bright and utilizing this many colors, keeping most of the jewelry simple is key. I went with gold jewelry to compliment the color palette.

I must say, after wearing this outfit, I feel like I’m really starting to understand the whole trend and I’m really enjoying it. As with any trend, if it isn’t your cup of tea, don’t do it. No need to try every new thing that comes along, but if you do want to try it and are unsure, use my method and just go in increments. My next step is trying to wear something as eye-popping as Sarah Jessica Parker:

Wowza!

If you want to try it, here are a few color palettes to use as inspiration: 

              

So get out there and jump in the deep end….or wade in little by little. If you like color-blocking, give it a try. And send me the pictures of your results -- I’d love to see them.

Need a quick cheat sheet? Remember these four things: 1. Use black as a base or an anchor. 2. Like colors go with like colors. 3. Steal a star’s style!  4. Keep the jewelry simple.  And if you are intrigued, but still a little wary, I suggest starting with some great color-blocked pumps. Then you can, quite literally, just dip your toes in.

Alright, next up for Heatha Be:

• Shopping Your Closet
• Sequins: Not Just For Parties Anymore
• To Buy or Not to Buy, That is the Question
• It’s a Croc, The Ugg Effect

Stay tuned. And as always, if you have any questions, suggestions, or advice, you can contact me at PrincessHeathaB@gmail.com. And remember….

Be Fierce. Be Fashionable. Be Yourself.

XOXO

H