4 Style Tips + Modern Holiday cards

This post is sponsored by Basic Invite, but all thoughts and opinions are my own. I only recommend companies and products that I have personally tried and loved.

I know, I know it’s barely July and I’m already talking about modern holiday cards. BUT it IS “Christmas in July” season! This is the perfect time to start thinking about Christmas, because it’ll get you excited for Christmas and these style tips can be applied year round! Along with each style tip, I’ll also be sharing why I love Basic Invite!

1. EMBRACE COLORS

Photo by Tamara Bellis on Unsplash

Before I scare you off, neutrals are colors too! By colors, I don’t mean you have to walk around like a rainbow. (But if that’s your style, please go ahead!) And by “embrace,” I mean do what feels right for you. For example, I like to embrace pinks, whites, and more pastel florals in my wardrobe. By "embrace," I also mean not being afraid to try new colors outside of your comfort zone. Start by picking one item in a color outside your comfort zone and pair it with other items that are the colors of your choosing.

Basic Invite is one of the few websites that offers almost unlimited color options with instant previews online. There are over 180 different color options so you can personalize your cards down to the smallest detail. I'm very picky when it comes to pinks and I am usually disappointed when it comes to getting the exact pink color that I want on an invite. But with Basic Invite, I have various pretty pinks that I can happily choose from! This is definitely what sets Basic Invite apart from almost any other online stationery company.

2. TRY IT ON FIRST 

Photo by Micheile Henderson on Unsplash

I ALWAYS try my outfits before heading out. There have been numerous times when I planned an outfit in my head, but once I put it on, I was like “nope!” Thankfully, for the most part, I have time to change. Hopefully, you’ve had time to change, if this has happened to you, hehe. :)

Basic Invite is one of the few websites where you can get a printed sample of your actual invitation. This is amazing, because this way you can can see exactly how it will print & the paper quality before committing to it. 

3. ACCESSORIES MATTER

Photo by Tamara Bellis on Unsplash

What truly pulls an outfit together? Accessories! Whether it’s a favorite purse or some fabulous shoes, there’s no denying that accessories matter! Liven up your tee & denim combo with a straw purse in summer or animal print booties in the fall. 

Your invitations are no exception. With Basic invite you can choose from over 40 different colors of envelopes, so you can make your invite pop and stand out before even being opened. Make sure your Christmas party invitation has a festive envelope to match.To make things easier for you, envelopes are peel and seal!

4. LET YOUR PERSONALITY SHINE

Photo by Philipe Cavalcante on Unsplash

This gets said often, but the most important style tip is to just be yourself. Let your personality shine! You make the outfit, not the other way around. :)

Foil cards (flat or raised) are available in gold, silver, and... ROSE GOLD! (If you didn’t know, I’m obsessed with rose gold, it was even my birthday theme this year).

One last thing I’ll share about Basic Invite, is that they also offer an address capturing service that allows you to simply share a link on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or any other social media site to request your friends and family’s addresses. How easy and convenient is that?! P.S., Basic Invite offers recipient address printing at NO COST on all card orders. I encourage you to browse around the site and look through their invitations, victorian Christmas cards, and even business cards.

Right now, Basic Invite is offering 15% off with coupon code: 15FF51 

Easy DIY: Denim Patch Skirt Refashion

The month of May was really busy and I felt like it just flew on by. This was one of the best Mays and I wish it would've lasted a little longer. Some of my highlights were...

1. Getting my driver's license.

2. Celebrated my 25th birthday with a rose gold & sparkly party.

3. Spent a great week in the Bay Area with my hubby.

Since I was having so much fun, I let my sewing machine take a little break. But now, we're back at it! I decided to ease back into sewing with an easy DIY. I love patches because of how easy it is to customize something to your own liking. 

It would be a good idea to try creating custom patches online. You can add your preferred patterns and texts to this product. And you will be amazed by their beautiful embroidery work.

Here is how easy it was to refashion this denim skirt. 

Oh and... yes, I cut my hair! I felt I needed a change and I just went for it. I haven't had short hair in years, but so far I am loving it. :)

Classic Capsule Wardrobe

Fast fashion has made it quick and easy to pack out your wardrobe with more choices than you’re ever going to need. But the truth is, it is making most of use waste time just trying to choose an outfit for a coffee on a Saturday afternoon. The fact is, that having too much stuff, means we end up having too much choice. Having too much choice means that we end up unable to choose at all - or taking far too long to do so.




Here are a few things that you can never go wrong by having.




Ankle boot. These work with dresses, ankle-grazing jeans, suits and so much more. Perfect for people who love no ideal fuss-free shoe. The Chelsea boot is perfect.




White trainers. They look slick with pretty much any outfit and don’t have to cost too much to get a great pair.




Leather jackets are pretty much a timeless piece, and everyone should have one. You can have the typically grungy biker jacket or opt for a slick, beautifully cut coat instead. They last for years and will work with pretty much any outfit.




Silk shirts are stunning and can add a touch of class to even the simplest pair of leggings.




High quality tunics can be a quick go to in the mornings, and they are super flattering too. The work with leggings, jeans and trousers and can work in a home or office based environment.




The perfect pair of jeans do wonders for your capsule wardrobe, but it might just take you some time to find them. Mom jeans, high waisted, ultra-high waisted, skinny fit, boyfriends, and shapers. There is a lot to choose from as well as a massive variation in the quality. So try a few pairs before deciding on your go-to cut of jeans.




Ballet pump flats in nude and black. The nude pumps elongate your leg and work with everything that black doesn’t work with. They work with dressed up or casual and are very comfortable when you’ve worn them a couple of times.




T-shirts. Basic cotton t-shirts in a range of colours will see you through summer, and help you with layers in the winter. They work with jeans, leggings, skirts and under pinafore style dresses. Have around 4-5 in different cuts and colours.




Sets of jewellery - three in fact. One pricey one that gets pulled out for special occasions, one bright and bold costume jewellery when you want to spice up an outfit and finally some lighter more delicate jewellery to add a touch of class to your outfit.




Once you get rid of the things that you don’t wear in your wardrobe, you can concentrate on filling it with things you wear. Taking away the hours of choosing an outfit and replacing it with minutes - because everything works together, there will be no lousy outfit days.

4 Reasons Why Refashioning Is So Important

As you can probably tell, this blog is passionate about refashioning. And with good reason. In recent years it seems as though we’ve developed a disposable attitude towards our clothes. We treat shopping like it’s a leisure activity, and pick up new garments simply because we can. We may wear them once or twice but they’ll probably spend most of their useful life hiding in the closet before we donate them to charity or toss them in the trash. Refashioning is about extending the useful life of our clothes and finding new ways to adore and value them. Not only is it a great way to look fantastic even on the stricted of budgets, refashioning is important for a number of reasons…

Image by Stacie via Flickr

It’s the ultimate antidote to fast fashion

Fast fashion has a lot to answer for all over the world. From shockingly widespread worker exploitation to poor safeguarding that leads to calamitous tragedies and the completely preventable loss of lives. Unfortunately, the cost of fast fashion extends beyond the human cost. It’s also terrible for the environment. As the United Nations Environment Program clearly states;

“The fashion industry produces 20 per cent of global wastewater and 10 per cent of global carbon emissions - more than all international flights and maritime shipping. Textile dyeing is the second largest polluter of water globally and it takes around 2,000 gallons of water to make a typical pair of jeans”

When you untether yourself from the need to support this industry, you’re doing your part for a more sustainable future. 

It’s easy and fun

The great thing about refashioning that it’s easy to get started requiring little, if any, capital investment. You don’t need to be a master seamstress or spend months repurposing a single garment. Very often structural changes to garments are actually pretty minimal and they’re given a new lease of life by different accessories like pieces from https://adinasjewels.com. What’s more, refashioning is a whole lot of fun, too! Once you’ve tried it a few times you’ll realize that there’s not that much of a learning curve and... 

It can help you to fall in love with your old clothes

Everything in your closet is there for a reason. Even if you haven’t worn it in a long time, you once loved it enough to part with your hard earned money for it. Often all it takes is a few little changes to your clothes for you to see them in a whole new light and start to fall in love with them all over again. 

It reduces textile waste

Finally, while fast fashion has a lot to answer for in terms of environmental impact, we as consumers also have to make amends, especially if we rid ourselves of old clothes by throwing them in the trash. Textile waste is a huge cause of environmental damage. Every single second, the equivalent of a whole garbage truck full of textiles is either burned or thrown in landfills. If things keep going in this way, by 2050 the fashion industry will use up a quarter of the world’s carbon budget. Refashioning helps to prevent textile waste by prolonging the usable lifespan of your clothes. 

So, for a fun and eco-friendly way to love your clothes even more, refashioning is an important practice to adopt!

April Style Diary

I'm back to uploading my monthly style diaries, because the little Style Diary section of my blog was getting lonely. And besides, what kind of a modest fashion blog doesn't feature modest outfits? Here are my favorite outfits from April. You can see how the weather progressed since I started off with a rainy outfit and ended the month with a floral spring dress. This month I also tried new things with my hair, since I always either have it wavy-ish or straight. When it comes to hairstyles, I never know what to do with my hair so I always keep it down. It's never too late to start trying new things, right? :)

This was my take on a "rainy day in spring" outfit. A floral sweater is a must for Spring days and I paired it with some boots. I think this is the last time I wore boots, which makes me a bit sad since I love boots, but I'm excited for warmer weather!

This is my random denim jacket that I decided to decorate with patches and pins that represent me and my personality. Let me tell you, it was the biggest pain ever sewing these patches by hand, especially the ones on the sleeve. I paired it with a soft tulle tunic and a denim skirt. I was going for "feminine + street style."

How to Add Long Sleeves to Sleeveless Tops & Dresses

I was really aiming to post this in March, and I even took these pictures then, but here we are at the end of April. It is really hot now where I live (dry Central Valley in CA), so I can't wear this dress anymore, unless I go to the Bay Area or someplace cooler. Crazy how time flies by, and also crazy how badly I manage my time, eek! Anyway, I made a tutorial last year on how to add short sleeves to a sleeveless top or dress, so I decided to make a tutorial for long sleeves as well. It's the same method, just requires a bit more fabric for the long sleeves. 

I used this blouse that I wore on Thanksgiving 2 years ago. I hadn't worn it since then, so I decided to give it a makeover and make a garment that I would wear more often. While I was looking for ideas, I came across floral dresses on Pinterest, and I remembered this lonely little blouse just sitting in my closet. I decided it was a perfect garment that I could refashion for myself AND make a long sleeve tutorial. I love dresses, because: 1. It's easy to make an outfit (just pop it on and go!) and 2. Cute & comfy! (This dress is made from Double Brushed Poly, so it's extra comfy!)

As I mentioned in my short sleeve tutorial, this is not a pattern drafting technique or anything fancy. Drafting sleeves is tricky. This is just a method I use to add sleeves to sleeveless garments for a little bit more modesty, or to change up the look of a garment (like I did with this floral dress).

Prom Dress Fail and Outdated Blouse Refashion

This was a really fun refashion. I was originally only going to refashion the prom dress, but decided to also refashion the blouse. 

The prom dress was given to me by my cousin who ended up with a "prom dress fail" and let me use it for a refashion. (Thank you!!!) She gave it to me Christmas 2016, so I thought it was about time that I finally refashioned it.

So the dress, the bust area just had two circles, the puffy sleeves fit weird, and there was a white tulle material under the lace that was itchy. As for the blouse (Thred-Up), I bought it thinking I would just wear it tucked into my new refashioned skirt, but when I tried it on, I didn't like how it fit me. It had an outdated fit.The sleeves were too puffy and long and the blouse itself was too long. 

This refashion took me a while longer, but it was really fun seeing the look come together.

5 Tips On Classing Up Any Outfit

One of the biggest trends at the moment is the casual/classy look. This means mixing in some classy elements into your casual outfits. This way you can use your favorite garments and walk into your next event feeling confident. After all, confidence is the best accessory! :) Like the idea of classing up your outfits? Take a look at these 5 tips on how you can class up any outfit!

Heels

Photo: Cute and Little

If there’s one item of clothing that can turn a casual outfit into a classy one, it’s a pair of heels. And they don’t have to be stilettos either! Try pairing your slim fit jeans with your heels and you’ll see what I mean! Pair that with your favorite top and you’ll look super put together and classy.

5 Outfit Planning Tips

This post is sponsored by Purple Trail, but all thoughts and opinions are my own. I only recommend companies and products that I have personally tried and loved.

In what feels like the blink of an eye, 2018 has come and gone. We are almost in the 20's! When I was younger I was always curious as to how we would refer the 20's, 30's, etc. Will we call it 2020's, 2030's, etc? It won't be too long before we find out. (eek!) Anyways, today I am sharing 5 outfit planning tips with you. January is the month that I like to plan out the year and list what I would like to do throughout the year. This year I am using this adorable planner from Purple Trail. Since I have been unicorn obsessed since I was a tween (and still am), I chose this adorable floral unicorn planner. How cute is the little face! I will be featuring parts of my new planner throughout this post.

And of course when planning out the year, outfit planning is a must. Here are 5 tips that I incorporate when planning my outfits throughout the year. Do you have tips of your own? I'd love to hear!

P.S. Look at my blog name of my planner, how cute is that?!

Making The Most Out Of Winter Fashion

Winter fashion is well in force, and with the colder weather, we can often feel at a loss when it comes to trying to be stylish. For me personally, the cold weather makes me feel lazy and I just want to live in fleece pajamas. :) I live in California, so it doesn't even get TOO cold (as in other states), but I am a wimp when it comes to cold weather.

Winter gives you so many opportunities to wear not only warm clothing, but also clothing that looks stylish. There are even styles that can only be worn in winter, such as comfy scarves and sweaters. Come rain or shine, you can look stylish this season, and so here are some of the ways that you can make the most out of it.