April Showers Bring May Flowers

 

The spring is a new start! Spring stands for new beginnings and I believe that spring time allows people to renew themselves from the dreary winter weather. With the new warm weather now upon us it had me thinking about nail polish colors. I love painting my nails and finding a cute shade can be difficult. Typically, I like darker more rich colors for the fall and winter and more light and cheery colors for the spring and summer.  Essie is one of my favorite nail polish brands because basically you can find any color in the world!! I am known for always having pink nails in a variety of shades but recently I was thinking that a light lavender would be cute and airy for spring. What are y'all's thoughts? I have never experimented with that color before and am almost anxious to buy the Essie nail color for the fear that I'll hate it and that it will look terrible with the majority of my outfit or that's it's just not me.  

Because I am 100% girl I enjoy using the brighter tones during the warmer season and darker ones in the winter.  But what about girls who wear darker tones in the summer as well? Like black for instance. Your thoughts? I personally do not like this. Unless you are into only wear mute and dark colors for the entire summer then black nails simply do not look right with a bright sun dress. I am all for people being their selves but should nail colors be dictated according to the season we are in? 

Just some food for thought people! I'll upload a picture if I do decided to go with light lavender nails. You knows, I might find a new favorite if I branch out!

Essie Lavender nail polish...unsure of the name. I think I'll give it a shot!

You is Kind, You is Smart and You is Important"

Four years ago on my high school graduation I was given the Dr. Seuss book, Oh the Places you will Go. In the highly fantasized book, the characters go to a series of different places all leading them to their final destination.  Because my four years have college are coming to an end in less than a month (yes, I am attending summer school in June to take one studio art class but hey I had mono my freshmen year so my life isn't on hold for too long) I have began thinking about all of the events and the places that have happened and taken place in my life in the past four years that have made me the person I am today, led me to the wonderful people/person in my life and most importantly is leading me to a place where I plan and dream of starting my career as a young professional.

Looking back on my freshman move in day, there was an array of emotions. I was excited, skeptical and nervous about what this whole college life was really about.  Once my parents had moved me in to my lovely pink and green freshman dorm room in Greene Residence Hall, my father told me one thing that I will always remember. The summer of 2011 was when the iconic movie The Help hit theaters.  A few weeks before I went to college I saw it with my parents.  When they were saying their final goodbyes and tearing up my father said something to lighten the mood. He said, quoting the movie and book The Help, "You is kind, you is smart and you is important." While we all had a little laugh, I have never realized how much these three words would carry me through my college career and make me the woman I am today.

Little did I know that I would need to believe these words sooner than later at the start of my freshmen year. After only two weeks of being in school, I somehow got glass in my eye and had to go through an excruciatingly painful procedure to have it removed....all before sorority rush!!!! If that was not bad enough, I was diagnosed with mono right before Thanksgiving break that same year.  Due to mono I barely passed a lot of my classes because I simply didn't have the strength or the energy to do the work and believe me, it was tough for me because I have such a type A personality. The second half of my freshman year fared better but I knew I would have a long road ahead of me especially because I needed to pull my grades up from being so sick.  That summer I worked at the US National White Water Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.  I did not absolutely love the job but I was in sales and learned how to actually work hard and be a responsible person. I learned valuable lessons from my summer spent at the National White Water Center.

Moving into my sophomore year I was more excited than ever! I went in hard and fast and studied like crazy to pull my grades back up.  I was able to achieve that goal and life began to look up. My motto was, "You is kind, you is smart and you is important."  As the summer was approaching I needed a summer job and I happened upon a nannying position,  My sorority sister recommended the family to me and I was overjoyed to have a summer job where I worked 3 days a week and made $240 or more each week simply by watching a cute three year old little girl!  While my sophomore year was fun and exciting it also had one piece in it that liberated me and made me a better human being.  This incident would be breaking up with my Pike boyfriend that I had dated for 1 1/2 years.  He was not a good individual and he brought me down. I knew my self worth was way more than he thought and so I cut ties.  It was difficult at the time but looking back, but I became a better person the day I told him to hit the road.

Before I knew it, the crazy summer was coming to an end and it was time for junior year! Junior year was a year of strictly fun times and great grades! I simply was having the time of my life with my fabulous friends.  Boys sucked at the time but I had to remember what my father told me. While I was having oodles of fun I knew that my senior year was approaching and that I needed an internship. Being an Art History major, I applied to major museums, one being the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia.  Originally from Georgia, I was no stranger to the museum but knew how incredibly difficult it was to acquire and internship there.  In early April 2014 I received the news that was had gotten the internship and would be the intern to the Decorative Arts curator and her assistants as well as helping in the social media department.  I was overjoyed, not only because I had landed this amazing internship but because I was the first Wofford College student in the history of Wofford to receive an internship from this museum even though others had applied in the past. I was truly honored.  With this great news I spent my spring break planning where I would live and found an adorable townhouse in Buckhead close to the museum.

Now....drum roll please......the summer of my life began on June 2, 2014.  This summer would turn out to be the greatest summer for so many reasons and truly shaped and molded me into the person I am today. Throughout my time in Atlanta I learned so much from the curator and her assistants.  I learned how to run a photo shoot, catalog images in museum, do museum research, and I created the Tumblr page for the High Museums as well as did so many other incredible things that I am so greatly and thankful for. While I was learning so much I am thankful to one of my friends from college who came to visit me one weekend and begged that we go out to the Buckhead bars. I was reluctant but decided to go and I am thankful I did. After my friend and I had been at the Lost Dog in Buckhead for maybe 30 minutes this man came and approached me. This man has turned out to be my long term boyfriend and he means the world to me. I love him so much and I am so thankful that he saw me that night and that I went out. Who knows what my life would have been like if I had not had gone out. Sad to think about. But anyway, when I was not doing awesome things at the High Museum I was out with him. He has become such a strong and influential person in my life and he's ready for graduation so I can be back in Atlanta with him! Being in Atlanta made me get to know who I really am. Over the summer I grew up...I know that sounds silly but I did. I learned what was actually important and what was petty. I learned that there were different types of people and just because someone is not exactly like you does not mean that they aren't someone you should talk to! It's cool and fun to have lots of different friends. This concept it foreign to a lot of the people where I go to school....sad to say but true.

While it was hard to leave Atlanta, my boyfriend and I see each other basically every weekend so we have made it work! He's awesome! :) While it was tough leaving Atlanta it was even harder going back to Wofford College. My senior year has been one of the toughest academic years in my entire LIFE! For several reasons that I never in my wildest dreams could imagine such incidents would happen to me. No matter what happened, I remembered the saying, "You is kind, you is smart and you is important." But my loving and amazing boyfriend and family stuck with me through it all and it's almost over. When December came I began talking to people in Atlanta, particular in the art field that could give me some pointers in the Atlanta art world.  Since then I have applied to several jobs, spoken to many people and gained some experts advice. Now I wait until someone hires me! It's exciting but nerve racking at the same time. (Someone please hire me! haha)

This long winded post has a point. Throughout each of my college years whether life was going my way or life and circumstances were harder than I ever imagined possible, one quote remained in my head and I repeat it to myself all the time. "You is kind, you is smart and you is important." Dr. Seuss's book, Oh the Places You'll Go, was a wonderful graduation gift from a friend when I graduated high school.  You never know where you will go in life and where it will lead you to your ultimate destination...or your end goal. For me my end goal is to have a job hopefully by the end of June in Atlanta, working in the art field and to finally be with my wonderful boyfriend in the same city! When you start a journey you never know where life will take you. Wherever it takes you and wherever the circumstances lead you have to remain strong and remind yourself of how awesome you are! God would not allow events in our life if he knew we couldn't handle them or they wouldn't make you a better person. Looking back over these four years I am thankful for the bad things that happened to me and I forgive the people that wronged me and hurt me. If none of these terrible things would have happened I might not have ended up in Atlanta with a wonderful internship and meeting an awesome man who I want to be with for the rest of my life. But most importantly if these terrible circumstances had not occurred I probably would not have grown in my faith with the Lord. I am thankful for the good and the bad in my life and where life has taken me thus far. Through the good and the bad always remember that, "You is kind, you is smart and you is important."

New Outlook on Life and My Prince Charming

Manolo Blaknik's: What I hope to wear on my wedding day

Over a year ago I wrote a blog post entitled, "My Preppy Southern Wedding."  While I do love the south and I do love preppy clothing such as J.Crew (preppy with a twist) and Lilly Pulitzer, I no longer want my wedding to reflect a Lilly Pulitzer summer magazine or the typical cute Pintrest wedding. In my opinion, if someone comments on your wedding and related it to Pintrest then you have failed as a bride.  While Pintrest is literally fantastic and I love it as much as the next woman, I feel that your wedding should not reflect all things Pintrest and DIY.

No that I have met the man I someday hope to marry my dream wedding has changed.  A bride or future bride must always remember that the wedding day is not about her, but rather it is about the joining together of two people that love each other very much and are committing their lives to one another.  Therefore, because the wedding day is about both the bride AND the groom the big day should reflect both of them. Because I have a new vision in my head I would like to share it with y'all. I hope you enjoy!

Lets begin with the rehearsal dinner!  The rehearsal I imagine will take place at a church in Atlanta, Georgia (where I hope to live after graduation) where we will prep for the big ceremony the following evening. Where the rehearsal dinner is to take place is TBD because the grooms parents pay for that event. But the evening will be filled with lots of laughter and happy tears as we are surrounded by close friends and family.

The morning of the wedding I anticipate going to Starbucks and having Bride written on my cup! Call me a basic bitch all you want but I want a picture of me with my Bride Starbucks cup.  I plan on spending the morning and afternoon getting ready with my mother and my four bridesmaids.  While we are getting all glammed up for the wedding ceremony me and my four bridesmaids will be wearing over-sized white men's button downs with our initials in light pink. That is on aspect from my previous post that has not changed.

These shirts are so adorable and the girls would want to wear them again.

Once it's time for my fabulous four to get dressed, I will have chosen a long, flowy, strapless light pink dress from J.Crew for them to wear.  I expect each girl to pair this gown with a nude or gold heal and for their jewelry, simple pearl studs.  J.Crew bridesmaid dresses are so classic and do not look like bridesmaid dresses which is what I love about them.  As for their bouquet, they will each carry light pink peonies (my favorite flower) with some green hydrangeas.

When it is finally time for me to put on my big white dress, I imagine that it will be an A-Line, sweet heart neckline gown with lace all over the gown.  Around the waist I want just a hint of embellishment to add a little sparkle. For my veil I plan on wearing my mothers which will be my something old and for my something blue I want to wear blue Manolo Blahnik shoes. My jewelry will be understated and I will either wear pearls or diamonds. I do not have a something new yet but I look forward to that surprise when this special day comes! As for my bouquet I plan on carrying light pink and white peonies.

Not exactly what I envision but very similar

When it is time for the big ceremony to begin I will be overjoyed with excitement.  As my fabulous four walk down the aisle I will be trying to get glimpses of my oh so handsome groom standing at the end.  When it's finally time for my daddy to walk me down the aisle, I envision walking down to Cannon in D (what my mother walked down to) and squeezing my father's arm as I try not to cry out of happiness and excitement as I look at the man I love so dearly. Just thinking about this moment now gives me goose bumps and makes me so excited!!!

Wedding Flowers and Colors

Once the vows have been taken and the groom has kissed the bride, the wedding guests will head over to a TBD location where we will all gather under a luxurious white tent.  Under this white tent, I imagine that wood floors will be placed down and chandeliers will hang from the top.  Our guests will enjoy some heavy hor' douvers while they enjoy all of the free alcohol and our signature cocktail. Because I want me wedding to be a party and for people to have a blast, I think there should be a DJ. I used to be so against DJ's at weddings but honestly it's the only way to get people up and dancing. Bands are spectacular but they do not appeal to everyone.  After a long night of dancing we will enjoy some delicious wedding cake and drive away in our old black Rolls Royce to take our honeymoon somewhere exotic.

This is the new version of my wedding and is a lot simpler then the last which is what I love about it. Hopefully, this dream wedding comes to fruition one day!

Be YOUrself

It is the end of my senior year and I cannot tell y'all how happy I am! I am so ready to graduate and move on with my life, out in the real world.  While I have loved my (almost) 4 years at Wofford it is time to say bye bye and for more reasons than one.  This summer I had the wonderful opportunity to intern at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia! I was the Decorative Arts intern as well as the Social Media intern.  During the summer I lived in a townhouse and was responsible for myself.  I had my own schedule and did what I pleased.  I noticed during my time in Atlanta that I was having the best time of my life (I did meet the love of my life) because for ONCE in my young life, I was not caring what other people thought of me!  Now, I was not getting wild and crazy or "acting a fool" because that's not my personality, but I owned my looks and the decisions I made.  Not only did I become a more confident person over the summer but I learned that I did not have to conform to the people around me.

Wofford is a very small college consisting of approximately 1,600 students. By the end of your four years you know everyone and you know all of their drama and business.  When I returned to Wofford in September for senior year, I had a very freeing experience.  I no longer cared what people thought of me.  I no longer had thoughts running through my head such as, "I wonder if people will think I'm strange for wearing this shirt?" or "I wonder what people are saying about me or what will they think of me if I do this or talk to this person?"  WHO CARES!!!!!! Be who you are!

Many of my girlfriends still struggle and ask themselves these questions and I shake my head at them and tell them that if they're happy then that is all that matters.  I have this tshirt with my favorite painting on it, and on the tshirt it says "So Fly" and I love it.  I wore it one day with oversize black sunglasses, jeans and my big faux  fur coat (I love fur).  When I was walking with my friend, she turned to me and said well you just don't give a sh## what people at this (very preppy) school think of you, do you? I looked at her and said no quite frankly I don't.  Being yourself is the best thing you can be.  I love fashion and more importantly, I love all clothes in general! I have many different styles that I pull from and that's okay because that's part of what makes me me.

It is my wish and prayer that more women in their early, middle, late twenties and older will embrace who they really are and not be a clone of what society or the environment they are placed in is telling them to be.  Being at Wofford for so long, I thought that only 'preppy' people were acceptable and knew how to dress.  From taking me out of my regular Wofford environment and placing me in Atlanta I was able to see the world from a different perspective.  When I came back to Wofford in the fall, I embraced the fashion-loving girl that I am.

Not caring so much about what other people think of you is the most freeing experience. I challenge you to care a little less about what others think and to embrace your true self. I promise you'll love the real YOU.

10 Essentials for every Woman's Wardrobe

Women love clothes and we all tend to have too many clothes but continue to by more! It's fine to have lots of clothes (I do!), but within your collection of clothes you should have 10 staple items within your closet. These 10 pieces will be considered the most versatile in your entire closet and you'll probably get the most wear out of a few of these pieces.

The item of clothing that every young women needs is a pair of tailored, nice dress pants.  I have some and while I do not like wearing them, they are still good to have.  I purchased my pair at Anne Taylor and they've been good pants for a few years.  When you purchase a black pant, make sure they are tailored to your body and fit properly.  A baggy pant, especially a baggy, black dress pant will look horrible, and you don't want to look ugly.  With these black pants, you can wear any blouse with it or any type of heel or ballet flat. The wardrobe possibilities are endless, even though black pants aren't really my go to work wardrobe choice.

Classic black tailored pants.

The next item that needs to be in every woman's closet is the classic French cut dress shirt or the classic French cut dress shirt dress.  I have both, and both were purchased at J.Crew.  With my French cut dress shirt I typically wear a nice pair of khaki ankle pants (I have two pairs from J.Crew) or you can even do the classic tailored black pant.  With the French cut dress shirt dress I will either where my Micheal Kors gold wedges or my nude heel sandals from Nine West. Both of these look great paired with pearls.  The look is so preppy, cute and classic.

Love this shirt! I have it from J.Crew and love it. So classic.

Here I am at the High Museum.  I toned the dress down that day with just my pair of gold and cork Jack Roger sandals.

A good pair of black pumps need to be a staple in every woman's wardrobe.  I have at least 5 pairs of black heels, all ranging in heel height, style and type of occasion where they would be worn.  But, if you just want to buy 1 good pair of black heels, then I would go with the classic black patent, closed toed heel and the heel height can be what you feel most comfortable with.  Along with the classic black heel, you need a good go to day dress! I love dresses, they're my favorite thing to wear! Now a days it is becoming more popular for women to wear more casual dresses to the workplace, depending on where they work.  As long as you have a semi casual day dress for the summer, spring, fall and winter, then you'll be good to go.  This casual day dress should be able to take you from the office, to lunch with friends and could even be worn on vacation.  There are a dozen stores that will have tons of options, so go where you love to shop. :)

Yes, these are Louboutin's but any black heel will do.

Going along with having a good go to day dress for every season, you need to have an evening dress or at least a cocktail dress on hand at any time! You never know what might pop up and sometimes you don't always have the time to shop for a new outfit.  If you are invited to an event last minute, it's always comforting to know that you have a dress or a few options (hehe). To go along with your evening dress or cocktail dress you need a nice clutch.  I have so many clutches and it's honestly really useful to have a go to black clutch, a gold clutch and possible a silver or metallic clutch (I've only used my metallic/silver a few times, but still very useful). 

Very cute cocktail dress from Lilly Pulitzer.

Evening Dress.

Leaving dresses, I now want to talk about jackets.  It's so important to have a nice coat that you can wear to nice events, a casual coat when you just have on jeans and a sweater and then a dressy jacket for work.  A nice coat for an evening out during the winter would be a mink coat, a long coat (In any color, just make sure it matches or compliments your outfit) or a wrap.  An appropriate casual coat would be a quilted coat that you can throw on with jeans (I have a cute Vince Camuto coat from Nordstrom that I love) or a Pea coat. Either of these coats can sometimes carry you into nice events depending on what you are doing. And then lastly you need a dressy jacket for the workplace.  This can either be something like a cropped tweed jacket or just a school boy blazer.  Kate Spade has some really cute cropped tweed jackets in really fun colors (I want one).  

To go with your jackets should be a good pair of jeans! Jeans these days can be dressed up or down, but do know your event because jeans are still not appropriate everywhere.  I like to buy my jeans from either J.Crew or Nordstrom because I know I am getting a nice pair of jeans that will last me a long time.  Pairing your jeans with a cute blouse in the spring and an adorable sweater, button up or cute scarf and a pair of boots or ballet flats will be totally acceptable in the fall and winter.  Jeans are just a good go to essential when you don't know what to wear that day.

Talking about shoes again, it is important that a woman has a good pair of neutral sandals that you can wear with a lot of outfits.  Either a gold, cork, metallic, nude or even black sandal will do.  Having a neutral sandal will always give a women a perfect shoe to wear with any summer/spring time look.

The last thing that I want to talk about that I truly believe that every woman needs is a string a pearls.  Whether yours are real or fake, every woman needs to have the most classic accessory that she can pair with absolutely everything and that looks beautiful with absolutely everything.

With this blog post, I hope that I helped women understand that it is perfectly normal and okay to have a lot of clothing but within all of that clothing, you do need the 10 essentials that should be in every woman's wardrobe. So, get up and go to your closet and make sure you have these 10 items and if not then, hey, you have a perfect excuse to do a little shopping! ;) haha

Charlotte York: The True Romantic

Most women and especially girls my age are obsessed with the HBO show, Sex and the City.  Almost all girls who watch the show have a character, out of the amazing 4 women who they most relate to.  Every time I watch this TV show with my friends, without a doubt they say that I am Charlotte York and I must say, I'm not arguing.  It's oddly creepy how much my life resembles this made up TV show character, but I love it! Being a girl who loves love and doesn't give up on it even when a million guys are (excuse my language) assholes is one of the many reasons why I relate so much to Charlotte York and why I believe she is the true romantic.

Charlotte York is the more reserved one in the group but she isn't afraid to speak her mind and stand up for what she believes in.  She's beautiful, polished, preppy, smart, an art history major, a hopeless romantic, a dog lover and she falls in love with a man she never envisioned she would meet (in the strangest place) and her life turns out beautifully!

In the series, Sex and the City, Charlotte York is a brunette preppy, Episcopalian girl from Connecticut who went to Smith College.  In college she was a Kappa Kappa Gamma and majored in Art History with a minor in finance. When she moved NYC she worked in an art gallery (which is possibly what I want to do) and had a sweet little apartment.  Throughout her life when she first moved to NYC she dated a bunch of frogs and kissed too many frogs until she thought she met her "Preppy Prince Charming," Trey McDodogle. Charlotte thought she has finally met her perfect match when she met someone who was as preppy as she was (You don't want to date someone who exactly like you because that would be boring) but unfortunately, Trey couldn't quite get it up hahaha and despite their small issue in the bedroom, he also just SUCKED and was a preppy prick!  Life is funny, when you envision someone, God always has a better plan for you and has someone who is better then you ever imagined! So, the two eventually got divorced and Charlotte was able to take everything from the divorce because Trey gave it to her, admitting that for the time they were married, Charlotte was the best wife there ever was and told the lawyers to give her anything she wanted. She acquired their multi-million dollar apartment in Central Park and through this divorce and the changing of her divorce lawyers, she met Harry Goldenblatt, who was a Jew.  Harry Goldenblatt was Charlotte's divorce lawyer and through the process of the divorce he fell in love with her! He told her while she was looking for a new apartment that he had been in love with her since the first time he laid eyes on her and that he was drawn to her.  Because Harry was a Jew and Charlotte was an Episcopalian; Harry was not allowed to marry her.  But Charlotte knew she loved Harry and so she converted to Judaism for him and to two wed after a year or so of dating (You never know when and where you're going to meet the person you're going to be with, which is why life is so exciting).  The couple was happy until they tried to get pregnant and when they finally did, Charlotte had a miscarriage. Since they couldn't get pregnant, Charlotte adopted a King Charles Spaniel, and named the dog, Elizabeth Taylor.  She entered Elizabeth Taylor in multiple dog shows, but eventually, Elizabeth Taylor was gang banged at the doggie park and got pregnant.  Charlotte was sad that her dog could have a baby but she couldn't but after months of trying, they adopted a little girl named Lilly from China and Charlotte knew that Lilly was supposed to be their baby, the moment she laid eyes on the little babies picture.  When Lilly was around the age of 3 Charlotte got pregnant again and this time it lasted; she named the little girl Rose.

That was just a brief history on the character, Charlotte York but the reason I think she's a true romantic is because from the very beginning she knew she wanted to live a "perfect life" and she went for it.  Sure, she dated a lot of losers and kissed one too many frogs before she met the man she was supposed to marry but the point is, she never gave up.  Every time so guy broke her heart or went back to another girl she simple stated and believed that it was happening for a reason because that was not the guy who she was supposed to be with forever.  When she met Harry, she admitted on an episode that she didn't expect to fall in love with Harry, but she did! It's always the unexpected things in life that sometimes turn out to be the greatest. So, I guess my point is, to not give up when life brings you down and to keep believing and trusting God that he has a better plan for your life, better then you have ever imagined.  Charlotte York wanted to find love and she did eventually because she never gave up, even after all of the frogs she had to get through before she met her wonderful Jewish husband. <3

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.