Dress: Free People Jacket: Old Navy Boots: Francesca’s
Belt: GAP Mississippi Necklace: Inside Story
Makeup: Mary Kay
Purple Perfection
I have always loved the color purple. No particular reason other than it has just always been an attractive color to me. For my 13th birthday my mom painted my whole room eggplant purple accented with leopard patterned decor and I loved it! I would still love it, but that room has since turned into a neutral green and tan guest bedroom. When it came time for me to move out of my beloved eggplant colored room, it just so happened that I chose a college with purple as their team colors….and tiger print. Seems to be a recurring theme here!
Now, as I read up on what colors look good on what skin tones, what colors mean or what feeling they portray to the onlooker, and of course, I had to take the Facebook quiz to find out what my personality color is, I keep running into my favorite color, purple!
Turns out purple looks good on everyone! Granted certain shades may compliment you better than others, but non the less, no one can go wrong with purple. This, of course, makes me like the color that much more! Purple expresses power, creativity, and a sense of calm or uplifting spirits to it’s onlooker.
So, next time you look past that purple top or scarf, think again, try it on. It may become your new favorite color!
Top: Calvin Klein Pants: DKNY Shoes: Guess Purse: MING
Earrings: Betsy Morrow, found in Nursery Rhymes, Highland Village
Make-up: Mary Kay
Rain, Rain, Go Away!
I thought in the midst of all this rain and yucky weather I would share my little bit of sunshine, Honey. Technically, Honey is my mom’s dog but my dad and I call dibbs on her too. She is a Havanese which comes from the Maltese and Bichon Frise family. My mom and I woke up early New Year’s Eve to drive to Birmingham, Alabama to get this munchkin. She smelled like curry, looked ratty, and weighed less than a pound!
I am happy to announce Honey smells like wildflowers (after her weekly bath,) is getting cuter everyday, and weighs almost 5 lbs!
Top: High Cotton Pants: GAP Bracelet: J.Crew Earrings: old Ring: Urban Outfitters Shoes: Garage Sale
Out of Sight, Out of Mind
Have you ever bought a piece of clothing that you already have because you forgot you already have it? I hate to admit it, but I am guilty. I’m a visual person and a huge believer in “out of sight, out of mind.” I have never been good at long distance relationships and I’m no good at remembering the clothes I have tucked away in drawers and other obscure places. I need to see my clothes, to know what I have. Unfortunately I do not have the luxury of a closet that looks like this to display all my precious belongings.
In fact, I don’t even have a real closet. I have a makeshift closet, but I love it all the same because I can see everything.
Whether you have a celebrity sized closet or makeshift closet here are 3 Easy Steps to keeping it organized with all your items in sight:
1) Get rid of old clothes. Whether they are old and worn out or old and never been worn, it’s time to make room for new. It may not be easy but it is key to a more organized closet. Think of all the new items you can fill that empty rack space with! If you want to make money off old clothes, take a look at my last post!
2) Call for help. Call me. Organizing your own closet can seem like a daunting task, so call for help. Someone with fresh eyes can look at all your clothes objectively and has no problem telling you what to keep and what to get rid of. A custom 600 square foot closet is not something most of us can afford but the services to have your closet whipped into shape is something you can afford. Check out my price list page.
3) Organize. If you can’t see it, you will not wear it. Here are some helpful tips to organizing your closet affectively:
Slim velvet hangers. They save you space, do not easily allow clothes to slide off. They also help clothes hold shape.
Never leave clothes in plastic garment bags, like the ones from the dry cleaners. Those bags have chemicals that could cause damage to your clothes.
Dresses should be hung by color.
Jeans should be hung by the hem and organized light to dark or by cut.
Pants/skirts/shorts should be hung by clips, with the sides folded in order to keep hanger from marking the garment.
Blouses and tops should be hung. T-shirts can be folded.
Sweaters should be hung unless they are heavy, in which you would want to store them in either a cedar chest or in a container with cedar blocks.
Shoes should be on display, at least the cute ones! Keep flip flops, tennis shoes, and outdoor type shoes in lesser seen places. A good way to organize shoes is by color and style.
Bags, scarves, belts and hats can take up a lot of room, so be resourceful in how you store these. I like scarves hanging, I just make sure to change them out according to the season. Bags, like shoes, need to be on display. You want your bags to keep their shape and you want to see your options of what bag to wear with what outfit. Bags can be displayed hanging or on a shelf. Belts can be rolled up and placed neatly in a drawer, or they can hang. There are several types of belt hangers. Find the best way for your closet. Hats can be stored in hat boxes with a photo of the hat taped to the outside, or hats can be stored on a shelf. Again, like with shoes and bags, you don’t want a hat to loose it’s shape.
If you need personal help with any of this I am happy to oblige! Check out my price list page and also keep in mind I do gift certificates!!
Happy spring cleaning!
Spring Cleaning = Money Making
The sun is out, the flowers are blooming, and the birds are singing. It’s officially spring!! Spring brings gardening, spring break, baseball, and the less desirable, spring cleaning. Stores are displaying boxes, hangers, drawer organizers, and everything that screams at you, “It’s time to get organized!” Some people may look at these organizational devices and cringe, I on the other hand kind of love it. Therefore, I designate my next couple of posts to spring cleaning. Now, WAIT just a minute! Before you write me off until summer, I promise these posts will still enlighten you on where to find great deals for spring clothes and accessories!
I want to share with you some FABULOUS apps where you can buy and sell gently used items and these apps really are easy to use…really! I have sold several items in the last year using these sites and made good money!
I realize you can just as easily take your items to local consignment shops, but I say, why not do both? I do it all the time. Listing your items on multiple apps as well as hanging them in a store is a great way to make sure your items sell. Just make sure you do your homework and know where you will get the most money for your items. Local consignment shops will be another post on another day.
Check out these apps and check out my closet!
Poshmark makes shipping super easy! Once an item has been purchased they email you the postage label. Find a proper sized package, wrap your item up nicely with a thank you note to your buyer, stick on the label, and drop your item of at any post office with no waiting in line! Poshmark takes 20% and you keep 80%. You can either use your earnings as credit to buy from fellow poshers or you can opt to have a check mailed or direct deposit. It’s as easy as that! All sales are final. Click on the Poshmark icon above to see my closet!
The Tradesy app is also a great way to free up space in your closet. Tradesy also includes shipping costs. When your item sells, you’ll recieve a prepaid shipping kit in the mail within 4 days (usually sooner). All you need to do is drop your item in the bag, and give it to your postman or take it to the post office. Tradesy takes 9%, you keep the rest. You must have a paypal account to receive payment.
Check out my Tradesy page: http://www.tradesy.com/the-steal-magnolia/812710
Threadflip is great if you don’t want to deal with anything but shipping off your items and getting paid for them as they sell. They offer a “Full Service” option that is free! Just request a prepaid shipping kit to mail them your items, and they’ll take care of the rest. They photograph, measure, price, and list your clothing, shoes, and accessories, then ship to your buyer when an item sells. If you choose the full service plan you make 60%. If you choose to list your items yourself you make 80%. Shipping cost is $7 and it is up to you if you want Threadflip to add the shipping cost to your list price or you can opt to pay shipping. Returns are at the discretion of the seller if the item is not listed through the full service option, otherwise Threadflip takes care of it.
Check out Threadflip at:
http://www.threadflip.com/shop/
Click on the links below to check out other online consignment shops:
Thanks for reading and happy spring cleaning!
Finding the Right Fit
Ladies, let’s talk underwear, specifically bras. It is no dirty little secret that 80% of women are wearing
the wrong size bra. However, I’ll bet that you think you are in the 20%. I would like to challenge that.
There are so many misconceptions about comparing cup sizes to certain fruits or sports balls.
You are probably not “grapefruit size” or “softball size” but you may be in a D cup size. Let me debunk
this lie by telling you that a bra’s cup size changes with its band size! So, a 34D’s cup is a fraction of the
size of a 40D’s cup.
I believed that many of my friends were in the 80% group, so, I challenged them.
A little apprehensive at first, I was able to convince the majority of them to take a field trip
with me to Dillard’s. While there are several methods to being properly sized, my only trust
in bra fitting lies with Cynthia Burnett and Amy House in the lingerie department at the Dillard’s, Northpark.
No one else. Nowhere else.
It of course was no surprise to me that every single one of these girls were wearing the wrong size bra.
And it would be no surprise if you too were in the wrong size bra. So, stop dealing with falling straps,
too tight or too loose bands, and jabbing underwire. Set up an appointment with Cynthia or Amy by
calling Dillards, 601-957-7100, then call me to help you find properly fitted bras for less!
Once you are fitted, keep in mind that just like every article of clothing, different brands fit different,
so be sure to try on a bra before just buying it based on size.
Also check out these other bloggers experiences going from the 80% to the 20%.
They offer an at home measuring guide that seems to work well if done properly.
http://www.epbot.com/2013/04/everything-you-never-knew-you-needed-to.html
Spring Fling v. Winter Wonderland
In my most recent newsletter I talk about dressing with spring in mind when winter is still lingering. Bright colors and lots of layering are the two key elements to have the look of spring even if there is a chance of snow!
Cold Weather
Warm Weather
Pink Sweater: J.Crew, Jeans: Mavi, Boots: Frye, Scarf: from a friend, Hat: Converse, Rabbit Fur Vest: StitchFix.com, Button-Up Top: Gap, Flats: Lucky Brand, Necklace: Target
Cold Weather
Warm Weather Day
Warm Weather Night
Dress: Wish (Polka Dot Pony), Pea Coat: Guess, Boots: Dolce Vita, Tights, Ear Warmer, and Scarf: Miscellaneous, Denim Jacket: Old Navy, Booties: Michael Kors, Silk Scarf: Calvin Klein, Black Blazer: Target, Clutch: Cole Haan, Necklace: United Apparel Liquidators
It All Depends…
I’m a believer in “it all depends,” especially when it comes to style. Notice, I said, ‘style,’not ‘fashion.’ Because…
“Fashion is what you buy, style is what you do with it.”
Style is dependent on
Your Personality:
Your personality is going to give you a style based on you as a person. It is what makes you feel equally comfortable and confident.
Are you free spirited? If so, your style may be a bohemian look.
Are you type A? If so, your style may be a structured classic look.
Your Profession:
Your profession is going to determine if you should have more suits, scrubs, or jeans in your closet. If you work one on one with clients in an office you should look clean and professional. However, if you are a contractor working on building sites regularly, you probably should have more jeans and ‘get dirty’ clothes.
Your Purpose:
Your purpose relates to the functionality of your style. For instance, if you are mom to a toddler, chances are you don’t want loose clothes hanging off of you while you crawl on the floor playing with your baby. If you are a college student, you are beginning your professional career and it’s time to start thinking, acting, and dressing that way! That’s right, no more pajamas to class! One day your professor could become your boss or colleague; and there is a reason the phrase “dress for success” has such high recognition.
Knowing your profession and your purpose are easy, but many of my clients have a hard time pinpointing their style personality. Enters moi. After a preview of your Pinterest dream closet and what is hanging in your actual closet I can determine your style personality. Of course, you may be wondering, ‘Why does it even matter what my style personality is.’ Well, believe it or not determining your style personality will save you time and money. No longer will you buy items you think you like in the moment, but never wore because ‘it just didn’t feel right.’ No longer will you spend hours shopping stores and brands that have no business hanging in your closet because it goes against your style personality.
Getting dressed everyday should not be a challenge, so, don’t let it be! Let me piece together outfits for you that fit your personality, profession, and purpose to help you feel comfortable and confident. After all, you can’t google ‘what to wear,’ because, it all depends.
The Steal Magnolia 