Spring In Your Step: 4 Trends Worth Trying

Oh my goodness! What an honor! Today I’m honored to have been asked to the Beautiful You Blog.
Last year when I attended the Conference with my friend Hannah for the first time, I was so inspired by all of the beautiful women there. This year, they're even asking women to donate shoes to women and children. How incredible! There is nothing more inspirational than a group of women getting together to change the world. If I can inspire you to look and feel your best this spring while you're out changing the world, that would be amazing! So let’s get down to it and talk about spring trends.

Pick From A Fresh Crop of Jackets

A cropped jacket is the perfect transition piece: you can wear it now with longer layers and pants and in a few months with a long, flowing maxi skirt.  Pair a floral print with stripes to toughen up a feminine print or stick with solids to toughen up spring’s skinny white jeans or a full skirt.   I find that graphic t-shirts with white, black, or gray backgrounds look the most current and the least like a teenager would wear. Continue reading here! 

The New Mom Jeans: A Guest Post

The New Mom Jeans: A Guest Post

It's me, Tahira back with a second edition of Mommy fashion! Spring has sprung here in Texas, and I need a new outfit that doesn't include skinny jeans and knee-high boots for my "home" days. I am sure that you lovely ladies up north will soon be slipping on your flip flops or summer sandals as well and that might mean time for new pants. Tight dark grey and black skinny jeans just don't say "flowers! and sunshine!" to me.

Guest Post: Welcome to the Tall Girls Club

Guest Post: Welcome to the Tall Girls Club

Today I'm thrilled to invite another dear friend to guest post for you. She's the perfect person to talk about this topic because she's not only six feet tall, she's got an effortless sense of style. Here's Erika! -Ella
 
Ladies – do you find yourself automatically heading to the back row in group pictures?  Are you the go-to person for getting items off the top grocery store shelf?  Do you ever feel like this when going down a city street?  

Via

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then congratulations and welcome to the Tall Girls Club.  We keep the Champagne in the clubhouse fridge – it’s up high where nobody else can reach it.  

Via

You know what though?  Even though height is often associated with power, and we’ve all heard the statistics that taller people earn more money (do we really?  I’m still waiting to get my tall girl refund check) being an above-average-height can make you feel awkward and out of place at times.  With the average female in the US measuring in at 5’4”, it’s easy to feel like the giraffe in the room.  However, riding on the great recent trend towards body acceptance, I think it’s time that tall girls got in on the action!  I’ve been a tall girl since the late 90’s when I reached my full height of 6’0”, and I feel like I’ve heard or seen it ALL (like that awesome feeling when you’re wearing a pair of tights that aren’t headed South by lunchtime). 

Now I’m no style expert (check the archives, I was Ella’s first client) but today I’m taking over the blog to share some of my must-do items for all you tall girls out there.

Be the Height That You Are.  At my senior prom, the photographer, through his wispy moustache, asked in all seriousness if I wanted to pose BEHIND my date with my arms around him.  Seriously, you should have seen the killer lasers I was shooting out my eyes.  I was wearing FLATS you guys, in anticipation of the great tall girl fear of being taller than your date.  Whatever – I abandoned that one a long time ago, and you should too!  This is 2014 for heaven’s sake, and if you’re worried about some man being weird about how tall you are, then why are you on a date with him anyway?  If you want to wear killer heels, then wear them.  If flats are more your style, then wear them.  Don’t let your height make those decisions for you.

You're really not going to wear those beaucse they make you too tall? Come ON!

Additionally, we tall girls tend to have a case of the slouchies.  Not acceptable.   Shoulders up, back straight, just like your momma taught you.  People are going to notice you no matter what, so it might as well be for your beautiful long lines, not because you look like the Hunchback of Notre Dame. 

Posture, ladies!

Learn your proportions.  Even though we’ve got the height, shockingly, we don’t all have that willowy supermodel figure.  Just like everyone else, we’ve got to learn what works for us as individuals.  For example, I have very long legs and a more average length torso, so I might want to seek out things that add some torso length, just to even things out.  

Tunics are a good fit for lots of tall girls-helps even out the proportions and you don't have to worry about your shirt riding up in the back!

Also, there are some looks that we tall girls can pull off that may overwhelm a shorter frame, such as a mid-calf skirt.  Oversized accessories don’t make us look like a little girl trying on mommy’s clothes.  Strappy shoes tend to make legs appear shorter, but what do you care, you’ve got leg to spare! 

Another thing that I’ve noticed out there in the trenches is that when you’re shopping and enjoying the plethora of tall cuts now available to tall girls, you may want to consider buying the tall cut in other items, such as cropped pants or skirts - depending on where the hem hits you – to maintain proportion.  I know I’ve tried to go with the standard cut on items like this just to find that the item looked…off.  Don’t let it happen to you!

Conquer Shopping.  Ohh, shopping.  Clothes, clothes everywhere, but the pants hems hit me mid-calf…  Don’t even get me started on thrift store shopping – where you’ll probably find me hiding over in the hats.  Obviously being an above average height makes it harder to shop in stores that cater to more average sized ladies.  However, the landscape has gotten lots better, with many stores carrying tall cuts, often in their online stores.  Even lower price point stores like Old Navy can now be useful sources.   (Full disclaimer, for a while in my teens, I would wear men’s jeans, because I just wasn’t able to find long enough pants - shudder – not a good look for me.) 

One thing I’ve noticed in the past few years is that the tall size has a super-long inseam.  I think it’s great gals even taller than me can find clothes that work, but we shorter talls (is that a thing?) can’t get away with neglecting our hemming duties.  Find a good tailor or learn to hem things yourself (I’ll bet that’s something you never thought you’d have to do!)

Now while I’m a big fan of finding go-to stores, be careful that you don’t get yourself into a rut.  For ages, my closet looked like an EddueBauerBananaRepublic showroom because I was so comfortable in knowing that their items worked for me.  I swear, I got into a situation where I was so obsessed with seeking out tall cut pants on sale from these stores that I ended up with approximate 5,000 pairs.  I’m like an episode of Pants Hoarders.  While it’s good to have a few good pairs around, and hey, they WERE on sale, I wasted a ton of time and money maintaining that addiction when I could have been seeking out new things.  Strike a balance.

These in tall? Yeah, I've got them.

 

Okay guys, I’ve really enjoyed chatting with you today!  I know that Ella has a great community of readers and commenters – I’d love to hear any of your experiences or tips, or hey, funny stories, about being tall, so please chime in below!

Thanks, Erika! So much fun to have you talking about the specific challenges tall women face! I so love having your voice on my blog today! Come back soon!

Polished Casual, a Guest Post

Polished Funky Casual, a Guest Post

 

How thrilling to be a guest on StartCloseIn! I was so flattered to be asked to contribute something about my point of view on style this week. You'll probably recognize some serious Ella-influences in my post (ahem, three elements to an outfit...)

Last week I began a new job as General Manager of a tapas-style Spanish restaurant in the West Chelsea neighborhood of New York. I have been working as a restaurant manager for the last several years and it's thrilling to be taking this step forward in my career. While a lot of my day to day work looks like any work- which is to say it looks like spreadsheets- the highlight of my job is working service. Even on a rainy Tuesday, every person who walks through our doors in expecting a fun night out. It's a wonderful energy to have as a daily influence.    

You won't be surprised to learn that the question is: what the heck do I wear for this job?! My role is a lot about setting a tone for my staff and our guests. It's important to me that guests who might have a problem (a hopefully rare occurrence!) immediately recognize me as a responsible, professional authority in the restaurant. In a more formal restaurant managers wear suits to work everyday. In my restaurant a suit would be totally tone deaf. I'd look more like a clueless undercover cop than a manager. In my vision of a great restaurant, the staff are a seamless part of the dining ambiance. So the criteria are: 1) recognizably professional, 2) not corporate or formal, 3) fun! (but not too sexy or casual). 

Tough right? I have developed a strategy for creating appropriate work outfits. You could say that it's a sort of equation based on the criteria above. Take one piece that is formal, one that is casual, and one that is fun, combine, and hope that you have shoes to go with it!

 

In the first outfit, the formal piece is a blazer. This one is a sale find from Urban Outfitters and has a racy leopard print lining. In my book, blazers read as serious no matter what. For my casual piece I chose my favorite summer maxi dresses with a beautiful batik print- totally hippy, casual. For a bit of fun I chose these long black feathered earrings. 

 

 

They're dramatic but not over the top and add a bit of dressy-going out fun to the ensemble. This outfit also uses lots of different dark tones. The navy/black of the blazer and the brown/black of the dress. I love not having to choose just one! I'll wear this on a weekend night when our guests tend to be a bit more dressed up. 

 

In the second outfit I have the "business on the bottom" with a navy sweater knit pencil skirt. In the past I have styled it with a blazer and and it comes very close to looking like a suit.  Next I add a super easy going denim, cowboy-style button down. It has snaps! The most casual of all fasteners. Finally, my fun element is this green and silver statement necklace. A dear friend got it for me years ago and the color is so vivid. It breaks up the blue on blue of the skirt and top a bit also. This is a great outfit for a Tuesday or Wednesday evening. 

Et voila! Two outfits ready to welcome guests, open wine, fix toilets, interview cooks, compute sales, and all manner of other tasks that might come at me in a day.

In a perfect world, my equation would mean getting dressed in the morning is a simple, stress free enterprise. But in this imperfect world, we have to wear shoes. 90% of the time I end up wearing the boring, unsupportive black ballet flats that live in my office. Hopefully Ella will devote a post to cute/professional/comfortable shoes soon! ;)

 

Thanks, Rose! What fun to get a glimpse into your life-and your wardrobe! Congratulations on the new job! -Ella

Part Time Styling

Part Time Styling

Hello folks! Since Ella was snowed in earlier this week, I offered to do a guest post from my sunny spot in Texas, but because I have a one and a two year old, my "quick response" intentions became a "thank goodness they are napping/yay for spring forward" execution on this lazy Sunday.

My name is Tahira, and I have been Ella's dear friend for 13 years now through college, grad school programs 1, 2, and 3, two weddings, and my two tots. I am a part-time federal employee, full-time mom, and a run a small travel agency out of my study. I am what you might call busy.

Ella couldn't have started her personal styling business at a better time FOR ME. I have a one and a two year old and "suffer" the same styling roller coasters that every newish mom has. At some point, you just aren't sure if it is worth wearing anything other than yoga pants and a t-shirt. If the pants are LuluLemon, then it counts as dressing up. Trust me, I've been there. But, as a manager in a real office job, and a mom at home, Ella has helped me come to find that I can create outfits that blend from work to play and simple ways to make each outfit transition that doesn't require yoga pants (always). I usually head into work when my kids go down for nap, so I truly have to dress for EVERYTHING.

Here is my weekly roundup and some keys to making something for work or play or BOTH. Perhaps we should call it "What would Ella do?"

First up, Tuesday: a true 1/2 work, 1/2 play day. This Banana Republic Oxford is one of my faves for these types of day: it doesn't need ironing, has fun blue detailing and a stripe. Ella would approve. You know this outfit was heading out to work because I am wearing a necklace and a bracelet. Necklaces are luxuries I choose to forego when home with my little girl. I wore casual black slacks and gold sequin flats. I am sure Ella would have tucked it in for the work part, and I will do that next time. Untucked is definitely my look for Library Toddler Time and I just carried it throughout.

And here is my little lollipop. See, it works both ways!

Wednesday I had a work meeting so I am a bit more polished here. Though the photo is twice as bad.

This is a pairing truly inspired by El. Mixed textures, stripes, cohesiveness by using only jewel tones. I paired this sweater and blouse with navy blue pants and black suede boots. Also, if I hadn't discovered layering under this sequin top, it would have been a donated item because its so itchy. When I got home, I ditched the (HEAVY) necklace, traded the work pants for skinny jeans and invited the neighbors over to make homemade pretzels. Perfect!

Thursday is a day "off" for me (where I work much much harder as a full time stay at home mom). A less refined version of myself, circa 2011, would have never believed that a button up could be for play. But this Old Navy Men's X-Small number was a thrift store find at $2 and definitely isn't cut out for work. Being at home means scarves not jewelry, but you can see the fun details and crumply collar that mean its a play day.

And Friday, I snapped this shot while walking the kids to our local taco stand on a half day. The lighting was good but the camera lens is apparently dirty beyond words on my phone. Ha ha. Monochrome, two necklaces (one is technically a teething tool), and belted at my middle. I think I nailed it for Friday work casual in my already casual office. (The men were wearing jerseys.)

So, how'd I do, Bell? Style me!

Thanks, Tahira! You did GREAT! I loved seeing how you choose outfits that travel with you from home to work and back again! And thanks for shining a bit of that Texas sun on us! -Ella

Guest Post: The Girl with the Curl

Guest Post: The Girl with the Curl

I'm so thrilled on this snowy evening to bring you a guest post from the one and only Love Always Hannah. And if you visit her site, you'll see a sneak peek of the Valentine's Day shoot that we did together this weekend with some incredibly creative women from around DC. Here's Hannah (who I've proud to call my own close girlfriend for about ten years now)! UPDATE: Enter Hannah's giveaway to win the curlers that created this gorgeous look! And read my true feelings about my hair in the comment section.

Having girlfriends is the best.thing.ever.  Someone with whom you can swap stories, giggle and share life’s wonderful moments. There’s so much wisdom that I have gained from the amazing women in my life; whether about the best product to get rid of dreaded frizz or advice on how to live my life with passion.  My life is better because of the girlfriends in it.  That’s why I started “Girl Talk“.

This is my beautiful friend, Ashlynn.  You probably know her from here, here and here (ok so maybe she’s something of a celebrity around here).

She has amazing hair.  I mean, clearly.  I asked her to share how she gets her drool-worthy curls on today’s “Girl Talk”.  Take it away Ashlynn! Read the rest here.