Dressing up Flannel Y'all

These are the awesome "Boyfriend Shirts" at J.Crew. So cute!

Lets talk about some flannel!!!! Okay so literally within the past three years I've noticed that flannel is becoming really popular. Flannel is not only for the guys or "lumber jacks" but it's now being worn by girls. Not only is flannel being worn by girls, the girls are dressing the flannel up. When I say flannel I don't mean like flannel pajama pants but flannel shirts. The flannel shirts I am talking about are not baggy or loose either. Nice flannel shirts (from good stores) are fitted like a nice women's button up shirt. I'm so guilty of dressing up the boring flannel shirt and making it dressy. There are tons of ways to dress it up and I want to tell you how to do it.

Sporting the chunky pearls with the casual flannel

I became a flannel owner three years ago when my ex boyfriend invited me to go to his fraternities Fall House. For those of you who don't know what Fall House is, it's this amazingly fun weekend where fraternities go to the mountains and rent these huge mountain houses and everyone throws a wild party. So to prepare for the upcoming weekend, I went to J.Crew (one of my favorite stores ever) with Mommy during fall break. While I was shopping at J.Crew, I bought a few sweaters and one flannel shirt. I wore that flannel shirt under a cute knit sweater but I have also dressed that flannel shirt up a with a black scarf, skinny jeans and a cute pair of my brown boots, and some jewelry. Since that first experience from buying flannel led to so many wardrobe possibilities, I got two more flannel shirts.

This girl knows how to dress up her flannel shirt.

With these two new flannel shirts the wardrobe ideas began bouncing around in my head. Now, I only have 3 flannel shirts but I really think more than that would be flannel overload! But, when I wear these flannel shirts or when y'all pick out a flannel shirt and you want to give it that something something then simply follow these rules to dressing up your flannel. I know I said earlier that I wore boots with my flannel but that's not all you can wear with it. Literally any shoe will do, especially a cute ballet flat. Moving on though, you can obviously wear a scarf like I said early and tie the scarf in which ever way you like. If you don't want a scarf go for a vest. Any type of vest will do. I like to wear my flannel with one of my fur vests because I really feel like it completes the the outfit. If you don't have a vest then you can find a cute sweater that will compliment your flannel shirts colors and you can sport that look. (It's a good look. I've done it plenty of times).

This woman has paired her flannel with the classic fur vest and scarf. She's also wearing 3 bracelets.

If a scarf, vest or sweater isn't you, then there are plenty of other ways to dress up flannel. J.Crew is the master of dressing up flannel. They will pair a basic flannel shirt with a gold sequined mini skirt, black tights and black velvet booties. That's not really my style but I've seen someone at Wofford wear this look on a Friday night and I can honestly say, that if worn on the right person, it can work. But of course that look isn't for everyone.

Cute look. Cute red flats. See, no boots here. 

So, not only can fun skirts dress up a flannel shirt but cute pants can as well. Just because you have a flannel shirt on does not mean under any circumstances that you only can or have to wear a pair of blue jeans! No, no, no!!!!! I mean you obviously can but lets try and be more exciting than just a pair of jeans. SNORE! I personally don't love jeans (that's why I don't have a lot) so I try to find a pretty pant to wear with my flannel shirt. A colorful cord is always a fun route to take, but just make sure it's not too much. Even a bold printed pant is something you can pair with your flannel, if you dare. Some stores are trying to get people to accept cheetah print and flannel together in the same outfit. That idea goes against one of my fashion rules! When picking out an outfit you can't have two strong prints. Just like in a marriage you can't have two overbearing and dominant people, you can't have two strong prints because the two will clash! Play it safe and pick one bold print each day but pair that bold print with a fun color pant or shirt that compliments it or matches it.

Daring look. But try it if you think you can pull it off.

Now when it comes to flannel and jewelry, the possibilities are endless! I love to pair a flannel shirt with a strand of big chunky pearls. My mom used to want to steal my multiple strand necklace of chunky pearls to wear with her flannel shirt because she liked the idea. She found a chunky pearl necklace at J.Crew but I got mine years ago at Forever 21 and it wasn't expensive. Many stores sell them, so go get one and jazz up your outfit. But if you're not a pearl girl (like me) then you can go with the trendy over sized rhinestone necklaces. I have one and I love it. Any statement necklace, as long as it matches will look great with flannel. Most all earrings look great with flannel too. Big or small and as long as they match, you can wear them. Same goes for bracelets and rings. Don't over do it with the bracelets! You want to have some arm candy but you don't want a fashion cavity. Put 3 or 4 bracelets (or less), paired with your watch and that will really make your flannel shirt pop!

Pretty flannel shirt. (I have that shirt).

These are just a few tips that I believe really help to dress up a flannel shirt. If you think of flannel shirts as being boyish, "lumber jack" or even sloppy then think again! There are literally endless possibilities to make flannel look more dressed up. Why wouldn't you want to dress up a shirt that is comfortable and soft? If you don't own any flannel then go out and buy a flannel shirt and dress it up. I promise you, that you'll love the way you look.

BARBIE: A Fashion Icon Since 1959

When Ruth Handler, the maker of Barbie, introduced the doll in March 1959 she was an instant hit! Little girls all over the world wanted to have a doll that wore all the fashionable outfits of that decade. Since Barbie's early beginnings she's always been impeccably dressed. I have included a lot of pictures so please scroll down to read the rest of the blog! :) Thanks!

Christmas 2010 Barbie (I have this Christmas ornament)

One of the original Barbie's. Shes ready for a day at the beach! (I have this Christmas ornament too)

Barbie

Grace Kelly in her iconic wedding gown. Barbie makers made Barbie a dress too! How beautiful is this??

Karl Lagerfeld's designs seen on Barbie and her cute boyfriend Ken.

Lilly Pulitzer Barbie and Kelly doll. Made in 2005.

When I was a little girl and my grandmother, Mimi, came to visit she would always take my brothers and I to pick out one toy. My three brothers would always pick out a super hero or as they called them, "man man's." I on the other hand would always want a Barbie Doll. My mom would always try and get me to pick out a baby doll (Because I had so many Barbie Dolls already) and while I loved baby dolls there was just something about Barbie that captured me. Seeing that full fledged pink Barbie aisle made me so overjoyed and still does to this day! From an early age I can remember loving Barbie's clothes and loving everything about her. I had way to many Barbie Dolls and I of course had all of her accessories including her dream house. I mean the world's most fashionable doll has to have a fabulous place to live! But anyway....

Barbie's clothing recently in the past 10 years has become luxuriant. Not only do her outfits change each decade and become even more fashionable and complex but her clothes have become more expensive. Christian Louboutin has created Barbie her own line of heels with that beautiful and striking red sole. Barbie's feet were literally made for heels so she's the perfect doll for Louboutin to make a shoe line for. Not only has Christian Louboutin dressed Barbie but Lilly Pulitzer has as well. Lilly has dressed Barbie in one of her signature preppy prints! To name a few more designers that have gotten their hands on Barbie, are the creators of Juicy Couture and Karl Lagerfeld. Even celebrities like, Kim Kardashian, Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn and even Marilyn Monroe have all dressed Barbie, in a sense that is. All of these celebrities are considered by most people to be fashion icons. It only makes sense that they would want to dress Barbie in their clothing line or simply design their favorite or iconic and most notable outfit for Barbie to wear. 

While the Barbie empire as certainly exploded in the past 50 years, Barbie now is attracting adult buyers because of her prized and expensive wardrobes. While she's still seen as a toy for many girls all over the world, she is a collectors item for many adult woman (Even men, yeah you would be surprised y'all). If you are a Barbie lover you really never out grow your favorite childhood toy. As a little girl her pretty clothes attracted me and I always had my Barbie's look perfect! But now that I'm older I sometimes want to go buy the collector Barbie's because of her amazing wardrobe! Ruth Handler really did create the worlds most known and loved (never aging) fashion icon. She's been the best dressed since 1959 and she's not finished yet!

Barbie reading her fashion magazine. She's got to keep up with the latest trends.

Interior Design & Fashion Design

When I was a senior in high school I job shadowed a top interior designer in Charlotte. Her work has been in Architectural Digest many times and I was very fortunate to work under someone with so much talent. Now of course, like all young teenage girls do I changed my mind a zillion times about what I really wanted to do when I grew up. I knew two things to be true, I loved fashion and I knew I was very good at putting a fabulous outfit together and I also knew that I had great taste (If I do say so myself). As I got to thinking about having a career as an interior decorator I felt nervous and thought I would never be able to put an entire room together with luxurious fabrics and wallpaper. But, I thought to myself, that putting a room together was no different than putting a stylish outfit together. With this new concept in my mind I knew I could become an interior decorator if that's what I really wanted to do in life.

A room is very similar to an outfit. First you must decide who you "want to be that day" or the message you want to send when people see you. Do you want to be cozy, sexy, pretty, inviting or comfy? These questions are the same questions that most girls ask themselves when they get ready in the morning. They are also the same questions that an interior decorators asks their clients before they design the room. Other questions are involved as well, like what will the room be used for and who will most likely be using the room. I will include some pictures and break down the room and tell you what are the basic parts that hold the room together and what items give the room it's pop and personality. All of this can be related to an outfit.

The picture seen above is a beautiful pink and green room (Yes, I'm super biased because my fave colors are pink and green). The headboard is very similar to a pair of shorts I saw at J.Crew not long ago. In this bedroom, from what we can see, the headboard is the central component that holds the room together. Yes, it's a bold and dashing print but that's okay. When I say that their is at least one maybe a few items that hold the room together, I didn't mean they had to be black or somber, they can be peppy!!!!!! The fun and wild print for the headboard and bed skirt would be a dress if we were putting this together as an outfit. The pop in this picture is the hot pink throw that has been laid on top of the bed. In an outfit this would either be a shoe or a statement necklace or even a purse. The fun accent pillow with pink and orange, on the bed gives the viewer something else to look at. These could either be a fun pair of earrings with the outfit or something very small that ties the outfit together. See how easy it is to relate room designs to clothing?! I love it! This room is a little casual yet fun. A young woman would most likely wear the outfit that can be made out of this room. But lets look at a room that is even more casual than this and see what outfit comes out of that room.

This room shown above is a sweet little cottage living room. Notice how simple and plain the room is with not many statement pieces. Because all of the furniture is white, it really holds the room together. The pops of color are the floral pillows in the two chairs. The statement piece I believe is the blue ad white vase or even the pink roses on the coffee table. The decorator had a color palette to work with and with that he/she had to work with they created a cozy and comfy living room. It's very simple but the decorator added a few pieces to make the room pop. We do that with our clothing too. Take the little black dress for example. In this instance we are going to talk about a casual little black dress and maybe to make it look not so blah you add a small colorful necklace or a few bangles or maybe your favorite earrings, sandal or what have you. You can take a causal, simple and plain look and by adding only a few small things you can really make the outfit pop just like the decorator did with this room.

When I saw this picture on Pintrest, I had to make sure that I included it my blog tonight. This is a formal dinning room and when I first saw this I immediately thought of the Curtain Dress on Gone with the Wind. While this room appears very grand there isn't much to really look at. I think the first thing most people notice when they see this picture is the giant chandelier. The magnificent chandelier is the pop or the wow factor in this dinning room. If this room where an outfit it would be a beautiful emerald evening gown with a semi long train. The chandelier would be the gold and crystal statement necklace and they two back vases on the table between the windows would be the earrings for the outfit.

This cheetah chair seen above would either be an accent piece in a room or the wow factor. It's occurred to me that I have been using the word accent piece and many of you might not know what the difference between and accent piece and the pop or wow factor piece in the room is. An accent piece is a piece of furniture that compliments another piece within that room. The pop or wow factor piece might be this cheetah chair that is shown above. The wow factor piece is like icing on the cake. Just like in an outfit, you have accent pieces that will compliment what you're wearing and then there are statement pieces that give the outfit that wow factor.

 Now, I had to show this room! This lovely pink and green room is the dressing room at one of the Lilly Pulitzer stores. Leave it to Lilly to simply out do herself y'all! When you enter a Lilly Pulitzer store, it's like you've jumped into one of her colorful and fun printed sundresses. Her designs in this case are based off of her clothing designs. Clothes were the inspiration for her store across the country. It all started with a juice stand and now she's got a fun and preppy clothing empire! 

I hope this blog post wasn't a stretch for people to grasp but I think when you're designing a room it's easiest to think of it as if it were an outfit. I put an outfit together everyday and I like how I dress my body. It comes naturally for me to put together a super cute ensemble. Because I feel this way about clothing I know I could mix and match fabrics and designs to create a truly fabulous room. While I no longer want to be an interior decorator I am still majoring and hope to have a career in a truly aesthetic based world. I am an Art History major and will be starting my minor in History this upcoming spring semester. With this major I hope to one day either work in a museum, being a curator and giving art tours or working at an auction house like Sotheby's. With such a strong love for fashion, design and the arts it's only fitting that I am an Art History major and that I will be able to surround myself everyday by priceless masterpieces, even if I didn't design them myself. :)

The Anatomy of a Southern Gentleman

I love the south and I love southern gentleman who know how to dress. Going to a preppy, conservative college in South Carolina, I am surrounded by strong minded young guys who for the most part know how to dress. While I was looking at my Pintrest board titled, "Gentlemen" I came across this pin that I had pinned months ago. The pin was a cute little drawing of a preppy looking well dressed guy and it was titled, "The Anatomy of a Southern Gentleman." Right when I saw this cute pin I knew I had to share it with y'all and create a blog post out of it.

 I can honestly say, that I believe this a very accurate depiction of a southern gentlemen, especially of a southern fraternity guy. :) The first thing that is pointed out is that the young southern gent. has perfect hair. His hair is swooshed to one side creating a simply perfect part. If we move down we notice that the guy is holding a fraternity paddle with his Greek letters on it. I know so many fraternity guys at Wofford who have made a paddle for their "Big Brother" in the fraternity or their "Little Brother" in the fraternity has made one for them. They are too cute though, especially when some of the guys really get into it.

The next thing this lovely artist pointed out is that the southern gentleman has croakies around his neck. Most guys here have a pair of croakies even if they don't wear them everyday. Typically, the true southern gentleman's croakies will hold a pair of black or tortoise shell Ray Bans. All southern gentlemen look adorable in Ray Bans. Moving on down the anatomy of the southern gentleman, we see that he is wearing shorts with something printed on them. These shorts or pants come with either whales printed all over them, sports teams or sailboats. These can be as preppy or as punk as you want (I only say punk because I've seen pants like these with skulls and crossbones all over them).

On the southern gentleman's feet he will either wear Sperry's with no socks or Loafers with no socks. The description on the drawing is correct when it says that his feet will probably reek. They won't probably reek, they will reek. 100% they will stink to high heaven y'all.

Moving to the other side of the anatomy of the southern gentleman is the American flag. Most all southern gentlemen love America and are very patriotic. Now a days it is common to see the Republican Elephant (or the Democrat Donkey) on needlepoint belts. My brother, Howell who is a freshman, Pike at the University of Alabama has a needlepoint belt with the republican elephant on it. Now that I think of it, he should really be the model for the anatomy of a southern gentleman. But point is, all southern gentlemen love 'Merica, as they sometimes call it.

Y'all know that's a cute belt! The second description on the right side of the southern gentlemen says that he would have a blazer on with a bow tie. If the bow tie is the southern gents. school colors then it's typically a game day. That's one thing I love about Wofford football games. Everyone dresses their best, with the girls in pretty dresses and the guys with their blue blazers, starched white shirts and bow ties.

The last item depicted in the lovely, yet fun drawing are three boxes of Natty Light (Natural Light Beer). Every time I go to a fraternity house there are cases of Natty Light. It is gross gross gross beer but guys still continue to drink it. 

I think this silly and fun drawing is a fairly accurate description of the anatomy of a southern gentleman. I know not everyone will agree with this post but that's okay, we all have different images that come to mind when we think of the perfect southern gentleman.

My Preppy Southern Wedding

Anyone who really knows me, knows that I love all things preppy and southern. I love anything that has to do with Lilly Pulitzer, pearls, the color pink or J.Crew. The south is where I was born and have been raised the majority of my life. I love it and I want my wedding to reflect the south and my preppy personality. Every little girl dreams about her wedding day and how it look, who will be there and most importantly, what she will wear! Since I have my wedding planned to a tee, I would love to share it with y'all.

I plan on hopefully getting married in my home church, Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church or First ARP or wherever I am living at the time with my fiance. (I realize that there will be a lot of out of town guests). The wedding will take place at the end of May or first of June. I want a southern and preppy wedding so many guests can wear sundresses and seersucker (if they want), so my ideal wedding would happen in the morning around ten o'clock. The church will be decorated with light pink and white peonies mixed with green hydrangeas. My bouquet will be only light pink peonies but my bridesmaids will have a mix of both. 

My bouquet filled with light pink peonies and one hot pink peony with hints of green. Simply gorgeous.

 Before the wedding begins, me, my mother and my six bridesmaids (I want a small wedding party) will be getting ready for the most important moment of my lifetime. I have envisioned us all wearing over sized men's button downs with our initials on them, while we are getting ready that morning. They will all be white with the girls initials in pink, but my button down will be light pink with light green or white initials with my new monogram! 

Not only do the bridesmaids get to wear the cutest over sized shirt with their monogram but the bridesmaids dresses will also be too cute! You hear so many stories of terrible bridesmaids dresses but in my wedding I want them to look pretty too and get another wear out of their bridesmaids dress. I will be choosing my bridesmaids dresses from J.Crew. J.Crew has tons of options, styles, cuts and colors to choose from. Now, I am not the bride that wants them all to have a different design. I like tradition and uniformity and so in keeping with that belief they will all be wearing the same light pink short bridesmaids dress with gold Jack Rogers. For their jewelry I would like them all to wear pearl earrings with maybe a pearl bracelet. Their nails and toenails need to be painted either light pink, clear polish or nude. Their hair needs to be pulled neatly off of their faces and their makeup needs to be neat. Call me a Nazi bride but these girls are my "runway" and they need to look beautiful too.

This is a beautiful look that any girl will be able to wear. Because this dress doesn't look like a bridesmaid dress the girls will be able to wear this again. I mean I would even wear this now! It's so cute!













The moment has finally come to head to the church. The girls all line up and the groom and groomsmen are at the front of the church awaiting the brides walk down the aisle. As I would try to peep in and watch each bridesmaid walk down the aisle I would see that my groom and his groomsmen are dressed in seersucker suits with a pink bow tie (or tie). And on each of their lapels they have a pink peony. 

Now I know that picture above doesn't show a man with a pink peony on his lapel but let's use our imaginations. Of course my father and my three brothers would be wearing a seersucker suit and the bow tie color of their choice. My mother would be wearing a beautiful outfit and she has great style so I don't even need to dictate her outfit, I know she'll look beautiful. But before I walk down the aisle to marry the man of my dreams I am forgetting one four legged sweet person, my black miniature poodle, Georgia Lee Keiser. Georgia will most likely walk down the aisle with Mommy and she will wear a cute little Lilly Pulitzer dress that has been made just for her. We treat our dog like a human y'all so this isn't creepy or weird for us. Where ever we go, she goes too.

This is Georgia on Thanksgiving this past year. She's the sweetest baby you'll ever meet!


Finally, the time has come for me to walk down the aisle with my daddy to Cannon in D. The church is filled with everyone I love and I am so overjoyed to be marrying the man of my dreams but also to be wearing the wedding dress of my dreams. When I envision my wedding dress, I picture a strapless A-Line lace gown. Around my wast I want to have an embellished sash that ties in a large bow in the back. For my jewelry I want to wear my pearl necklace, pearl earrings and the pearl bracelet that my parents gave me on my 21st birthday this past December. For my something borrowed I want to wear my Mommy's veil which is long and magnificent. As for my shoes I want light pink heels, in keeping with my personality. I don't plan in staying in the heels all night because I will change into light pink Jack Rogers with my new monogram on them for the reception.

Once the vows have been said and the groom has kissed the bride, it's time for the reception. I want my reception to be under a beautiful white tent that overlooks the lake. In the tent, wood floors will be put down and chandeliers will be hung. As for music, I don't believe in having a DJ. DJ's are for sweet sixteen birthday parties, not for weddings y'all. So in saying that, I want the band to play beach music and Motown. My guests will be shagging all afternoon. The food that I want to serve at the reception will be BBQ and good old fashioned southern favorites. The drinks served at the reception will be pink lemonade (all with a green lime attached to the side of the lid of the drink), sweet tea, water, coke, beer and wine. At my reception you can either shag on the dance floor or play a game of corn hole.

The cake is next to the last thing I will talk about. It always seems that the wedding cake is the first thing people want to see when they arrive at the reception. My wedding cake will be very simple. I want it to be a three round tiered cake and in between each tier there will be light pink peonies and green hydrangeas. On top of the cake will be a cluster of the same flowers. The icing will be white butter cream and the cake flavor is yet to be determined but it will be simple. :)

This cake would be perfect if it didn't have the gold bands, the monogram and had some pink peonies mixed in with those green hydrangeas. But overall, this is the basic idea of the wedding cake I hope to some day have.

When the reception is coming to an end I want my guests to throw rice at my husband and I as we leave for our honeymoon. I plan on leaving in an old black Rolls Royce and spending my dream honeymoon in Bora Bora.

This is my dream wedding and I hope y'all enjoyed hearing about it. This vision is what I believe is my version of my preppy southern wedding. I hope one day soon it comes true!!

"Dressing Well is a Form of Good Manners"

While scrolling through Pintrest the other night, I happened upon this quote by the top men's fashion designer, Tom Ford.  In the September 2013 issue of GQ he told the magazine that he believed dressing well is a form of good manners.  How you present yourself to the world is so important.  People will generally remember their first impression of you and that will stick in their minds forever.  Make sure that you are always dressed for the occasion. People can tell when you really do not care about them or what they have to say, simply by looking at your appearance.

It is so typical to dress up on the first day of school or look extra professional for a job interview or to look gorgeous for a special date. But what if you dressed that way every single day?  Think about it, when you're picking out your outfit for the first day of school or that special date, you are 1. Picking the outfit out because you love it, but 2. You are picking a certain outfit to impress the person or people you will be with. You are simply dressing for that certain event but not only that, you are considering the other persons impression of yourself.

Showing up to an event and looking your best shows other people that you can be taken seriously and that you value them enough to get dressed in a polished and appropriate outfit for that event.  It is so common today to see people wearing blue jeans and dressing them up to events that they should not be wearing them to.  Make sure you know the type of event you will be attending and what the dress code will be. Wearing a casual outfit, like shorts for example, to a cocktail party, not only makes you look foolish but it is disrespectful to the host or hostess of that party.

I know that many people who read this blog post may think I am the most superficial person, but I'm not. I simply believe that looking your best is a sign of respect, a sign of good upbringing and most importantly it shows you have good manners. I believe dressing well lets your wonderful personality shine through. Style is one way to easily figure out who someone is. When you are dressed like a slob and your hair is not fixed and looks more like a rats nest, then you are telling the world and the people you are with, that, "I am sorry, but I do not value your time and I do not care what you have to say."  Your appearance tells exactly how you feel that day and even how you feel about the person you are with. Tom Ford is a top men's fashion icon but even on his worst days, he believes in getting up and putting his most fashionable foot forward. Not only does he respect himself, but he believes dressing well and presenting himself in the best possible way, is a form of good manners.

Elizabeth Taylor could not have said it better herself.  Even when you do not feel your best, "Pour yourself a drink; put on some lipstick and pull yourself together."  Go knock em' dead with your impeccable style that will reflect your lovely manners.