Hello! Happy Wednesday! 

For today's Fashion Inspo post we are taking a look at the MANY different styles of Rihanna! Rihanna is many things! Singer, actress, designer, entrepreneur, and most recently a mother! She is also a fashion icon! That being said, Rihanna's styles are not going to be everyone's cup of tea. They can be eccentric or theatrical or too revealing, that's okay! But to not include her as part of my fashion inspiration list would be a mistake! 

Truth be told, I have a lot of respect for Rihanna in general, but also her style! It is so fun, creative, and mostly it is all her! She breathes life into every look she wears!

While I was researching for this post, I kept coming across picture after picture, look after look that were all so different! I wanted to include them all but this post would be never ending if I had! I loved most of them, but even the ones I was not as crazy about it was more because I could not see myself looking good in it. Ri Ri on the other hand pulls damn near everything off, from glamourous, to tomboy, to princess, to sexy, to boss lady. She has such a confidence about her that really shines through in her looks!

Even her pregnancy styles were phenomenal! You could tell Ri Ri loved being pregnant and loved show that beautiful bump off! 

I have followed Ri Ri's style for a while now, and while her style tends to never follow any particular fashion rules or trends I have noticed a few things she does tend to lean into pretty often. 

For one thing, she seems to love oversized pieces. From wide-legged jeans, to jackets, to huge coats, our girl Ri Ri loves her oversized pieces! And she rocks them well too. I feel like this could be considered a signature style of hers. Of all the styles I saw while researching for this post, this is probably the style I saw her repeat the most, especially when it comes to her off-duty looks. 

Secondly, Ri Ri LOVES to mix and match pieces that should not go together but she makes them work very well! This is where she really becomes my fashion muse! She loves to mix prints, textures, patterns, fabrics, colors, you name it! Rihanna does not hold back when it comes to mixing and matching. But it goes farther than that! In the picture down below, she paired what looks to be a printed, leather jacket with a light pink sweat suit. A higher end piece with more casual pieces. This actually is another look she seems to like a lot. She's always pairing heels with sweats and basketball shorts. Who does that? Ri Ri does! And she pulls it off effortlessly! She also reverses this style on occasion by wearing baseball hats to events where she is all glammed up. 

Thirdly, whatever she wears she fully commits to. It doesn't matter if she is walking the red carpet, out and about shopping, or traveling, my girl really makes sure her presence is felt. At the end of the day, this is what I really respect about her. Whatever she wears, she owns it. She has such a confidence about her. Rihanna knows herself. She knows who she is, what she likes, and she does not care what anyone else thinks. And really that is what style is all about, knowing and being comfortable with yourself. 

​
Thanks so much for reading and I will see you on Friday! =D

Good Morning! 

I hope everyone had a great weekend! I really cannot complain much about mine. Sure, I worked and I was tired as I mentioned in the last post, but all in all it was pretty good. 

Now I am ready for a new week! And what better way to start it out than with light blue and breezy pieces. Every piece of this is light, airy, and fun. 

First up we have this cute graphic tee crop from -you guessed it!- Shein.com! This has really been a crop top summer for me. I have really leaned into this look and stayed relatively cool as a result. Who am I kidding? I was just as hot as all of your guys! There's no beating the heat this summer! XD

I paired it with this old favorite, this baby blue, pleated, midi skit! I've had this bad gal for quite a while now and my love for her never fades! It is such a perfect piece! It works well dressed up or dressed down -like today. I love the pairing of the two blues together. The different shades of blue are very complimentary together. 

And the other new piece I'm excited to share with you are these strappy sandals -also from Shein! They add the perfect touch to this casual, out and about look. I cannot wait to style them with a few other looks! 

I have a busy day planned for today. I'm hoping to get a few more looks shot for upcoming posts. I do also have some cleaning to get done and of course begin work on Wednesday's post. 

It won't be long before we begin transitioning into fall! So, I am going to begin to start styling warmer looks! So be on the look-out for that! 

Thanks for reading and have a great week! =D

Top: Shein.com
Skirt: Grace Boutique
Sandals: Shein.com
Envelope Clutch: Versona
Sunnies: Shein.com

Hello and Happy Friday!

I would say I'm excited for the weekend, but I typically work them, and they usually wear me out. But the good news is that I get days off during the week and can get other things done when it is a little less busy. And since I've been going places to shoot, I really appreciate that it is less busy! 

Speaking of going places to shoot! Check out this beautiful space! I have been eyeing this spot for a while to shoot at and finally I mustered up the courage to do it! So of course, now I'm very eager to share it with you! I had this exact vision in mind, the look and the columns it feels so business, so boss lady! 

The only thing I saw in my mind differently was instead of the blush pink, I really wanted fuchsia! Fuchsia heels and bag -but heels in particular. But I did not have time to find the right shoes/bag for this look, plus how nuts would it be to have sought out both pieces just for this shoot!? xD

The blush does work well though, it adds a gentle, feminine touch to a boss lady look! 

If however, anyone happens to know where I could find a pair of fuchsia heels -just for future use- let me know! xD 

Thanks for reading! Have a great week! 

Romper: Vestique Boutique
Blazer: Target
Shoes: Rack Room
Bag: Target
​Sunnies: Shein.com

Hello and Happy Wednesday! 

I'm excited to share with you another source of fashion inspiration for me, the beautiful Katie Holmes! 

Honestly everything about Katie Holmes is a bit fascinating for me. I've been low key following her since her Dawson's Creek days and there has always been something about her that I have gravitated towards. She seems like a genuinely kind person, who just does what she loves.

And one of her loves seems to be fashion! Katie has been a quiet but very consistent force when it comes to style. Whether it is off duty/street style or walking the red carpet, in full on glam, Katie Holmes rarely misses! In fact, I would go as far to say that I have never seen her miss! 

I've always felt that Katie has been stylish, but it was trendy. While there is nothing wrong with it, in the last few years I feel as though she has really found a style of her own and it suits her! 

Her off duty looks are the ones that I really love to follow. I always feel like celebrities getting glammed up for an event is one thing, they have a whole team helping them get ready. But it is the street styles I really like to see because I feel like it gives a small glimpse of who they are. 

I've always believed that style is a reflection of you or how you view yourself. That's why people's styles are constantly changing and evolving, because we as people are constantly changing and evolving. 

Her off duty looks are always so comfortable looking. Simplistic and effortless. Here are a few things I have noticed about her style:

• She loves a good pair of jeans! Whether they are cropped, boyfriend styled, skinny, or -here lately- wide legged, the girl loves her jeans!
• She tends to gravitate towards more muted colors -blues, whites, beiges
• She does not seem to like patterns/prints much except in small amounts like scarves.
• While she likes muted colors for her clothing, for her bags she seems like deep and rich colors like brown and black. 
• She has an infinity love of flats of all kinds! Whether it be tennis shoes, loafers, sandals, or actual flats! No heels for Katie when she's off duty! 
• She is queen of the messy bun! (I know it is not exactly fashion/style related!

Thanks so much for reading and I hope you're feeling inspired! See you on Friday! 

Hello and Happy Monday!

It is a new day, a new week, and a new blog post to share with you! 

I got one last package from Shein recently and so I am putting together a few more looks from that. First up is this distressed, graphic, crop top. It is a pretty easy piece to style. Because the color is pretty muted it can be style with many other colors! (Its another piece to pair with my red shorts! :D) 

Today I went with a more monochromatic look, pairing it with khaki, cargo pants (an old favorite!) 

The other main reason I wanted to keep this look simple in color, is to be able to allow this beautiful bag to really pop! I was immediately drawn to the rich, forest green color! It is so gorgeous! And the crocodile print adds character to it! 

It is a pretty small bag! Probably the smallest bag I own! That has its pros and cons; you cannot carry much in it, so if you are like me (or my mom) you'll have to really cut down to what all you carry with you when you carry this bag. BUT on the positive side, you will be able to find everything you do carry with you easily! :)

Honestly, this look is so comfortable, I think this is what I am going to wear to the Lizzo concert in October! I can't wait! I am thinking that I will throw on a light jacket or flannel shirt, and if I get warm inside while jamin' I can tie it around my waist and still be just as stylish! 

What do ya think?! 

I still have a few more looks to shoot today so that's all for now! I hope you enjoy this post and I will see you Wednesday! :)

Pants: Target (old)
Crop: Shein.com
​Bag: Shein.com
Shades: Hashtag Sunglasses
​Watch: Anne Klein

Hello and Happy Friday! 

Its been a week here! Kind of a roller coaster of a week to be honest. We had an issue with bees earlier which seems to have been resolved -fingers crossed!

Although as I sit here typing this, I can hear buzzing going on in the other room! D:

Today's look is a fun one! I really enjoyed shooting it. Actually, I have really enjoyed shooting the last few posts! I mean I always enjoy shooting but getting out of my comfort zone and finding places to shoot and get different pictures has really reignited my love for blogging. 

It has given me challenges to overcome and opportunities to grow creatively. 

And although it can still be nerve-wrecking at times, the results are so worth it! And interestingly enough, I'm finding that I'm getting past that easier than I thought I would. 

This is a look I have been thinking of for a while and it came together just as I imagined it would. I have styled a similar look before, these same (extra) wide-legged jeans and a crop top. I find that since these jeans are SO high waisted, crop tops tend to look better with them. But I am still looking to style other tops with these jeans. I have in mind a ruffled, pink tank -although it maybe a little too much together.... but that's for another day! 

The piece I was really excited to style was this beautiful, light pink bag! I feel it doesn't get the love it deserves! Everything about this bag is so lovely! It is a firm structure, it is elegant in design, and feminine in color! It comes with a longer strap as well so I can carry as a shoulder bag or a crossbody bag. 

I found it at Target a while back and snatched it up right away. It was one of those pieces that when I saw it, I just knew I would be giving it a home with me. :D

Thanks for reading and now if you'll excuse me, I am going to spend the rest of the weekend jammin' to Queen Bey's new music! :D See you guys' Monday! Have a great weekend! 

Jeans: Shein.com
Top and Bag: Target
Accessories: Necklace-Target, Bracelets-Macy's Sunnies-Shein and Headband-Walgreens

Happy Wednesday! 

And welcome to another Fashion Inspo post! Today's inspo is the amazingly creative and talented, fashion designer, Anna Sui! 

Back in April, Anna Sui had an exhibit at the Mint Museum here in Charlotte. My mom, Aunt, and I got all dressed up and headed out to see it! We had such a great time! I kept meaning to write a whole post devoted to it, but first I had some technical issues and then I had some personal issues where my posts were pretty scattered anyway. All that to say it got to a point where so much time had passed it seemed kind of silly to revisit the exhibit. 

But being the genius I am, (yeeeeeah.. okay!) started this Fashion Inspo post, which is the perfect way to revisit the world and designs of Anna Sui!  

Anna Sui is a very celebrated, second generation Chinese-American fashion designer, from Detroit, Michigan. She has a plethora of brand categories under her belt that include several fashion lines, cosmetics, shoes, perfumes, "eyewear," accessories, and interestingly home goods and a gift line. 

From a very young age -4 to be exact- Anna knew she wanted to be a fashion designer. Her mother would bring her along to pick out fabrics and would teach her how to put a wardrobe together. She also learned how to sew and was soon creating her own outfits. She went to school at Parsons School of Design in New York City, and in her second year she had her first tastes of success. First, she was hired to a clothing line called Charlie's Girls and designed for sportswear labels and styling photoshoots.  About this time, Anna had also been creating out of her apartment. What is most interesting to me about Anna, is that when it came to her personal designing business, she was inspired to design for rock stars and focused her sales to mainly target music stores. 

It was about this time, she took five of her pieces to a New York trade show, which ended up being a hit with stores like Bloomingdale's and Macy's and led to a full-page ad in the New York Times. Unfortunately, it also led to her being let go from her job at the time, but she would not let that stop her and continued to create out of her apartment.

One thing that sets Anna Sui apart is that she tended to explore the grunge fashion scene, which was different and also caused her to struggle a bit at the time. Chanel and Versace were among some of the bigger, powerhouse, brands at the time. But Anna got one of her biggest breaks came in 1991. While researching for this post, this had to be one of my favorite stories I read about Anna. She was on her way to Paris Fashion Week with one of her friends from Parsons college, Steven Meisel, and stopped to pick up his friend, Madonna. 

Madonna!

Ya know, Queen of Pop, Madonna! Material Girl, Madonna! Kissed Britney Spears, Madonna!

Yep, they stopped to pick up Madonna on the way to Paris Fashion Week in 1991 -wow what a sentence. What a wild turn of events! Madonna apparently surprised Anna by wearing her designs to the Jean Paul Gaultier show and then again later when she graced the cover of Vogue, which was shot by her friend Meisel!

​Anna saw her first runway later the same year in New York.

Since then, she has done 2 seasonal runway shows every year, which the exception of spring/summer 2002. She has collaborated with numerous companies and brands like, Hush Puppies, Target, Ford Motor Company, Victoria's Secret, Coach, Samsung, Pottern Barn, and Vogue. She has been named one of the Top 5 Designers of the Decade, and won the Geoffrey Bean Lifetime Achievement Award in NY and The Classic Icon of Fashion Design award at the China Fashion Awards in Bejing. 

She has spoken at colleges, had her designs in print, up for show in museums and even written a book that covers her 20 year career! 

And in 2018 she received the Women's Entrepreneur Day pioneer away. 

And these are just some of her achievements! 

Does anyone else feel like they need to get up and get busy doing something or is it just me!? 

I know this is a long post, but it was worth it! I was and am so fascinated with Anna Sui! I'm so glad I got to see her creations live in person at the exhibit and that I got to share that moment with my mom and Aunt! 

Anna Sui is truly fascinating! Truly talented! And truly an inspiration! From a child eagerly watching her mother sew to a brave, young lady taking her first five pieces to a trade show, to having Madonna wear her clothes! (I still can't get over that one!) to one of the most celebrated fashion designers around! Anna Sui never gave up on her dream and never changed her styles to fit in. She wanted to stand out and she most certainly does! 

​I hope you enjoyed this post! See you Friday! 

Hello! And Happy Monday! 

I'm sweating a bit to shoot this look! But it is so worth it! These gorgeous ruby red Shein shorts have made a place for themselves in my closet most definitely! 

​You have seen them in MANY posts already this summer! (I hope you aren't sick of them yet!) 

I just love them! I keep finding new ways to style them! Last post was with a blue tank and heels and previously a tye dye crop top and wedges! 

Today I had the idea to style it with a pink tube top and initially my trench vest (remember that!?) Well, I put the look together and.... ehhh the trench vest did not really work well. (Don't worry old friend, you'll be styled again soon!) So, instead I chose this slightly oversized, cropped denim jacket, which worked perfectly!

But why a jacket in July? Well, if you're out and about during the day running errands or in the heat, nix the jacket! But a good rule of thumb is to always have a jacket handy just in case! While shooting this post, the jacket was only on for a few pictures. The rest of the time and in the car ride to locations and to run a few errands the jacket was off! 

Thanks for much for reading! I hope you're having a good start to the week! And I will see you Wednesday for a new Fashion Inspo post! =)

Shorts: Shein
Bag: Shein
Sunnies: Shein
Top: Target
Heels: Target
​Headband: Walgreens

Hello and Happy Friday! 

Today I have a special post for you! First of all, it is the last piece of my most recent Shein package. But more importantly it is a special post to me. It took a lot of work both mentally and physically to pull this together, but I am so happy I did! I think the outcome is fantastic! 

I have been driving past this magnificent tree for YEARS! And I have always felt drawn to it! I have always had ideas for ways to take pictures under some of the low hanging limbs. Almost all of my ideas involved a flowy, summery dress that would blow in the wind or I could pull out to the side like I did and then let it flutter down. 

It was a werid dream, but it was a dream of mine. 

There were always a million reasons I came up with to not do it; not enough time, not the right outfit, it was raining, it was cold, I was tired... the list could go on and on. I convinced myself they were legitimate reasons. But really the main reason was fear. I should mention that I typically take my own pictures so going other places CAN be tricky and having people coming and going CAN be nerve wrecking. 

When I got my Shein package and tried this dress on my mind immediately pictured myself taking pictures in it under this tree. When I started to take pictures, I felt myself doing the same old thing taking pictures in the normal places because it was hot, I was lacking time, and I was tired... blah blah.

But I kept feeling this urge to go take pictures at this tree. At least try! So, I did! I packed my camera and tripod up and headed out. It was a little awkward at first but it got easier and easier as the afternoon continued. I ended up getting really into finding other places to shoot, poses to try, how the pictures came out, and -of course- the heat, that if people were watching I didn't notice! 

I think the results are fantastic! I am extremely proud of them! I hope you like them as well! It has inspired me to continue going places as often as I can to shoot! 

This dress was the perfect piece to shoot in today by the way! It was soft, VERY breezy, comfortable, and so cute! I love the ruffles and the crisp blue color! It is a little hard to tell in the pictures, but it does have a high, ruffled neck that sounds terrible in this heat but is really not bad at all. You barely notice it heat wise and the aesthetic of it is adorable! Plus it ties in the back, which is a fun additional detail!

Thank you so much for reading! 

I hope you enjoy this post as much as I enjoyed creating it! I hope you have a great weekend and see you on Monday! =)

Dress: Shein.com
Shades/Bag: Shein.com
Sandals: Off Broadway Shoes
Watch: Anne Klein

Hello and Happy Wednesday! 

Today we are talking about the stylish, Hailey Bieber! 

Hailey Bieber -daughter of Steven Baldwin and niece of Alec and William!  Married to Justin! Best friends with Kendall Jenner! Hailey Bieber is many things to many people and to me she is one of my biggest fashion inspirations.  

From dressed down, to off-duty/out and about chic, to full on glam, I adore all of her many looks! I noticed while preparing this post today, that she seems to have a love of oversized blazers. I also have a love of oversized blazers! Maybe that is why I am drawn to her style? 

I'm sure it could be part of it! But she also has such a simplistic/effortless style that is what I really love. 

A little about Hailey that you may already know and some you may not, she of course has a huge career as a model both print and runway. And she also has really worked hard to get into the world of skin care. She trademarked her name as Hailey Bieber for "commerical purposes" and apparently requested to use the trademark "Bieber Beauty" but it was denied because as it turns out it was already owned by none other than her hubby -Justin! 

She decided to go with her middle name -Rhode- instead. In my opinion, I like this MUCH better! 

As of right now, her skin care line consists of three products; a peptide glazing fluid, a barrier restoration cream, and peptide lip treatment that comes in unscented, watermelon scented, or salted caramel. As I was looking around the website, all of the products are very affordable, which is nice to see. I haven't read any reviews, but I will keep you posted if that is something you are interested in!

While looking up Hailey and her stylish looks, I got inspired to recreate some of the looks I found! For example, I am now on the hunt for neon green heels as well more oversized blazers! (But who are we kidding? I was always already on the look out for those!) 

Also, once it gets cooler, I cannot wait to try a sweatpants, tee, and baggy sweater together. Or a sweatpants/sweatshirt and peacoat combo! Ughhh Hailey, thanks a lot! Now I have to go shopping for some fall attire and heels! ;) 

I hope you enjoyed this Fashion Inspo post! See you on Friday! =D