Nautical Style in the Fall – Men’s Fashion

When one thinks of nautical, they usually thing of warm summer days. You think of sailing or being near the ocean with warm, salty wind. Many of us own at least one nautical item; wether it be a blue and white striped sweater or olive green pants. It would be a shame to pack away these classic clothes for the winter. However, nautical clothes can look just as good in the fall as they did in the summer. The images below are from a shoot I styled back in september. It would be easy to throw an earth-toned jacket over any of these looks to help keep warm.

Most of the styling I did on this shoot was for the male model. So, I am going to concentrate mostly on men’s fashion for this post. The clothes I found were from Martin Patrick 3 in downtown Minneapolis.You can find their Facebook here and website here.  It is a great, but expensive, men’s store. It really made me wish I was a wealthy man because the clothes are amazing. Not to mention everyone who worked there was super nice!

I actually only had enough clothes for 2 outfits for the male model. However, I was able to mix the clothes around to create 3 outfits instead. From my experience, I have a few tips for you guys:

1. Experiment with rolling your pants and your shirt sleeves. This can reinvent the look of a shirt or pant into something new.

2. Pair neutral tops with bold pants for a casual, yet stylish look. Bold pants are very popular right now for both men and women.

3. Try wearing contrasting colors, but keep them separate from each other. In one look I paired bright orange pants with a subdued, green scarf. It makes the outfit dynamic without being too strong.

4. Colors like navy, olive, and maroon look great on a variety of men. They are also classic colors that won’t go out of style.

5. Stripes, stripes, and more stripes. Stripes are an easy way to dress up an outfit, and come in so many different styles.

6. Invest in a nice belt. You will look much more polished having your shirt tucked in if you have a nice belt showing. Get a neutral color with some texture to add intrigue.

7. Rope bracelets and necklaces are good accessories for men. They aren’t too flashy but add something more to the outfit.

8. Experiment with scarves. Scarves can really transform an outfit, but not many men wear them. When starting out with scarves, buy them in neutral colors. The look best in the winter when tucked into a pullover.

 

My Personal Style Icon

In a few of my past posts, I wore my grandmother’s belt. You can see that here. For these pictures, I decided to wear one of her old jackets. I own very few of my grandmother’s clothes, and this jacket is by far my favorite piece of clothing. It is beautiful and timeless. And it creates an image of my grandmother in my mind. She passed away when I was a few months old, and I never got the chance to meet her. But being able to wear her clothes makes me feel very connected to someone who obviously knew quite a bit about style.

Here is a picture of her:

This fan was given to me by brother. He bought it while he was in China. It kind of makes me wonder why we don’t use fans anymore. They would be such fun accessories for a variety of outfits. Not to mention, they would help keep us cool on hot days. I think the design on this fan is exquisite.

These pictures are from the bluffs in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. The color of the landscape in the background really balances the gold in the jacket.

This scarf is also from China. But it was given to me by my friend Tim Liu. It’s the perfect summer scarf and will never go out of style. It reminds me of scarves that have been worn for years. It may not be a very popular style right now, but I love to wear it with a lot of outfits.

I think this photo shows the shape of the jacket well. It is a heavy, suede material which helps it hold it’s shape. The length is a good length on me. When shopping for jackets similar to this, find something in a medium length. Especially if it has shorter sleeves too. If the jacket was longer, the sleeves would not look balanced.

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Also, if you are a photographer in the Minneapolis area who would be interested in taking photos for my blog, email me at wellse81@gmail.com.

Free & Fashionable Glasses

1. Get A Pair of Glasses Free: Well, they aren’t quite free, but very close. Those of us that wear glasses know how hard it can be to get cute frames without dishing out hundreds of dollars for a designer brand. There is a new company that is revolutionizing the process of buying glasses. The business is called Warby Parker.

2. Try Them On & Return Them: When you are interested in trying on a frame, Warby Parker sends you the glasses free of charge. You then get to try them on, ship them back for free, and pay only $95. They then return your glasses to you with your prescription and anti-reflective lenses.Their sunglasses are also $95 for non-prescription or $150 for prescription.

3.Help Someone In Need: The company is dedicated to running an ethical business. And when you buy a pair of glasses, they donate a pair to someone in need. You can read more about it here.

4. Finally Find a Fashionable Pair of Glasses: These glasses are super cute. Each pair on the site tells you what face shape the frame would fit. And they all have a unique, vintage inspired feel. As far as I can tell, they are very well-made. Seems like a great service that finally allows for cute, inexpensive glasses. The right pair of glasses can be the perfect accessory. Their selection of glasses for men is also extensive. You can sift through the glasses based on frame shape or face width.

*All Images courtesy of the Warby Parker website.

Men:

 

Women:

 

Frank & Oak: Men’s Clothing

I decided to take a step away from women’s clothing, and give a shout out to all my male readers. Many guys struggle when it comes to dressing nice. It can be hard to know what looks good together while still staying true to your style. At least at my age, it is uncommon to see a guy dressed well on a usual basis. But that is a part of being in college and feeling relaxed. Luckily, there is a service that makes it much easier for all you to dress better.

That service is called Frank & Oak. It is a membership based site for men. The membership itself is free, but there is a limited number of available spots. They pride themselves on being an easy way for men to dress themselves nicely while retaining the comfort they desire. From what I can see of the site, the clothes look very well put together. Frank & Oak is both the retailer and designer.

Here are a few of the images copied from their about section. You can see the entire page here. Have any of you tried this service? Let me know if you have! I’m interested to hear first hand accounts about it. Follow this link to sign up.
*All images courtesy of the Frank & Oak website.

How To Not Break Out After A Night Of Going Out

Happy Saturday everyone! I am sure many of you are getting ready to go out tonight — doing makeup, getting dressed, and pre-gaming. A night of drinking or even just staying up late can be very harsh on your skin. Particularly when you pass out the second you get home and do not have a chance to wash off your face. It can be hard to feel you look nice the next day. Luckily, with a few steps dull, next day skin can be prevented.

1. Drink Water: 
I know it may not be on your mind when you are out with friends, but try to take a bottle of water along in your purse. Drink it through the night to keep hydrated. I recommend MetroMint water. It is a bit more expensive, but the packaging is sleek. And the mint in the water acts like a breath mint. Your skin loves water, and your skin will love you when you drink it. At the very least, try to use orange juice instead of soda in mix drinks. Soda and orange juice are both very sugary, yet orange juice will not leave you dehydrated like soda. Drink water in the morning too, this is important if you forgot to drink any the night before.
*Image Courtesy MetroMint.com

2. Wash Your Face: 
I can’t stress enough how important it is to wash your makeup off before going to sleep. Even if your makeup is oil-free and non-comedogenic, it will clog your pores. Try to get into the habit of taking your makeup off. I always think it is better to use a face wash and water, but consider buying facial cleansing wipes. You can leave them by your bedside table and quickly wipe off your makeup. These wipes can tend to break me out because they usually contain fragrance. Always buy fragrance-free face products when you can. Wipes are a good choice because you can also remove eye-makeup with them. Eye-makeup can lead to eye infections if you don’t wash it off. These Simple Cleansing Facial Wipes have good reviews on Amazon.com. They only cost about $10 for a 25 pack. Find them here. 

3. Moisturize
Like I said, your skin loves water and hydration. So after removing your makeup, do not forget to apply moisturizer. This will make your face much fresher in the morning, and is a crucial step in the process. Trust me, your skin will thank you. Moisturizer will particularly help with the dullness the next day. My preferred choice for moisturizer is Mary Kay’s Age-Fighting moisturizer. It is for normal to dry skin. Purchase a moisturizer intended for dry skin for your nights out. Even if you usually have oily skin, your face will want the added moisture. You can find it on Amazon for $13, but I recommend going through a Mary Kay salesperson. You can find it here. 

For more tips on clear skin, click here. 

Looks for Fall 2012- Women’s Fashion

When contemplating creating an outfit, it can be hard to decide how you want to reinvent your look. I mean, we all get bored of our closet after some point in time. That is how I was feeling today. My closet just was not doing it for me, so I reinvented a cardigan. This cardigan that I have on, I always wear open. But today, I thought I would belt it without a top or dress beneath. I found the look to be very structured. Try this with your clothes, you will be surprised what you may be able to invent with the clothing you already have.

Today, I decided that summer was not what I wanted to dress for. It has started cooling off, so I opted for a fall outfit. Red pants are a great choice for fall. I got these for less that $20 at the Len Drusken Outlet in Edina, MN. The sweater is from Urban Outfitters a few years ago. And the shoes are my favorite part of this outfit.! My friend Julia gave them to me, and she got them from China. Really awesome to have such a unique item, that a friend was kind enough to think of giving them to me. Enjoy the pictures!

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Everyday Outfit #8

These images are actually from a few days ago when Lexie and I headed to the sculpture garden. The sun was really harsh, and some of the photos got deleted. But at least these two turned out well!

1. The Ruffled Vest: I love how the vest works with the print in the shirt, and how it brings together the top and skirt. It was less than $20 from Heartbreaker, a local Minneapolis store. While I’m not the biggest vest wearer, this vest is very unique. I got it a few years ago, but if I run into a similar style online, I will make sure to post about it.

2. The Pencil Skirt: Who does not love a good pencil skirt? I think pencil skirts are best when they are long. It makes them very classy, dramatic, and emphasizes your shape. These thin horizontal lines create a nice contour to my body. It was from Piece Unique in Boise, Idaho. You can see my white dress here, which I also got from Piece Unique. Pencil skirts never go out of style, so stock up on one, maybe two, even three!

 

Sequin Shorts – Women’s Fashion

Let’s face it, sequins can look cheap. They are reminiscent of the flapper-inspired dance costumes when we were young, or those brightly colored hobo bags with the huge sequins. But that is the case with any fashion that is ‘glam’. There is a very fine line between tacky and eye-catching. Yet I have to admit, I am a huge fan of all things sequin.

I have a few tips for anyone who wants to pull of a sequin look. Splurge on your sequined items, or find nice, used ones at a thrift store. I have a great sequin jacket from Opitz, an outlet store, that I get a ton of compliments on. But I plan to save that jacket for a later post. It cost about $50, and was well worth it. The problem with cheaper sequins, is they are not stitched well onto the clothing. You want it to look like seamless fabric, not like there are plastic bits dangling off your clothing.

For this look, I kept it simple with my black top. The smooth silk contrasts well against the textured sequins. Then I added a few accessories for a unique and playful touch.

I love the way this maroon fedora brings out the golden tones in my shorts. Plus the feather on the hat reminds me of elements seen in my necklace. The feather brings out the white design in the bronze beads.

You can really see the bronze in my necklace in this picture. I know the blue does not really go with the rest of the outfit, but the bronze was too perfect. Plus it dressed the look down for daytime.

You can see my necklace in my Hi-Lo post. Accessories can transform any look, and you can see how different this necklace looks on this outfit.

This shirt is also the right proportion for the shorts. The shorts come up fairly high on my waist, while the top is cropped. It really allows me to show off more of the shorts. These are the same shoes from my Little White Dress post. they work well with so many outfits!

Shorts: Cliché – $58

Shoes: Piece Unique – $98

Top: Piece Unique

Fedora: Urban

Necklace: Mom’s Closet

The 2 Must-Have Hat Styles of Summer

1. The Classic Fedora

This menswear-inspired hat flatters any face shape. It is a very cool, careless fashion. And guys love a girl in a fedora. Maybe it is because it is something they can relate to; whereas, most women’s fashion’s are a bizarre and different world to them. A fedora is very versatile. You can wear it with a dress, or keep it casual with jean shorts and a band tee. This hat can satisfy women with a variety of different tastes. Plus the fedora has been around for decades, so if you plan to splurge on a nice hat, choose a fedora. You will not have to worry about only getting one season of use!

You can see me wearing the same fedora in two of my outfit posts. Here and here. For your own fedora, you should check out this one by ArdenB. It is only $20, and I love the tiny buckle detail.
*Image courtesy of ArdenB.com

2. The Black Sun Hat

Nobody shows how fun and mysterious a Sun Hat can be than Samantha in the Sex and the City Movie. If you haven’t already seen the scene of Samantha spying on her sexy neighbor, then you can see it below. It begins at about the 3:50 mark. Having a black sun hat adds an even greater air of mystery to your persona. Go for an over-sized style like Samantha did. A black hat can be worn to fancier events. I am not talking about wearing it to a nightclub, but wear one if you are going for happy hour on a rooftop. Or wear to the beach if your swimsuit or coverup has black in it. You will notice many curious glances coming your way!

If you want to try this style, consider buying this one from Amazon. It is only $33.

*Image courtesy amazon.com

This is neither a black sun hat nor a fedora. However, this picture can give you an idea about how important hats are to topping off your outfit. My outfit and this picture would not be complete with out my hat.

What hat style will you be rocking this summer? What will you be wearing it with? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Trend Alert: Preppy Peplum

Preppy Peplum by emily-wells-1 featuring peplum tops

This feminine style is appearing all over the runways and fashion magazines. The right peplum can give your body a flattering shape. If you have larger hips, then stick to a less exaggerated peplum. You want it to enhance your curves, not distract from them. If you have smaller hips, then consider a peplum skirt rather than top which will flare out lower on your body.

Peplum tops and skirts create a very graphic look. So when styling your outfit, choose more graphic accessories. Avoid soft or small accessories that will not stand out. Look for necklaces with bold color or shapes. Pair the necklace with earrings that are simple and standout. A neutral color is better for a graphic earring, think black or metallic.

This has to be the best peplum look I have seen so far. I love how the colors work well together and her trousers are perfection. The outfit I have created is very feminine. To make it more daring, change out the flats for studded pumps. Then throw on a pair of black, skinny pants. Adding pants and a leather jacket with black boots will allow this style to survive into the fall and winter.

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