Let's go to the Beach! Let's Go Get Away!

Good morning!

Greetings Horizontal Stripers!

     I want to apologize for the long hiatus! Kelly and I went to relax and let our hair down, or rather put it up in a turban at the beach last week, and I relaxed so much I didn't properly blog. Please forgive me! Now we're back with tans, freckles, and ready to run our 0.0 marathon after all the of carbs we consumed. Time to get back to the business of Horizontal Stripes! We didn't make any fashion milestones unless you count the number of consecutive days we wore yoga pants, but we did have a great time! Check out our adventures below:

 Kelly, being the overachiever, showed us all up by learning to captain the USS Carbohydrate.

I, on the other hand, chose to overachieve in different ways.

For all you science nerds out there like me, guess who we saw scuttling around?

This guy! Hermie, the ghost crab 

We saw a lovely brick lighthouse, which was the first I'd ever seen that wasn't striped black and white.

Kelly and I joking around about how it must've been to trot out to the outhouse back in the day.

Speaking of trotting, meet Kelly's new wild horse friends: Sparkles, Rainbow, Cupcake, and Andrea!

    Last, but certainly not least, a montage of beach pictures

    

    There's nothing like being at the end of the earth to remind you of how small you are.  

    If you haven't made time to get away recently, don't forget to build in some R&R into your life. There's nothing more rejuvenating than getting away from life's stresses, even if just for a few days, to set things right with the world again. If that's not possible, remember to enjoy the simple things like a beautiful sunrise, or if you're not a morning person, the sunset's nice too! YOLO, so fill the time you've got with good food, good friends, and fabulous fashion!
XOXO,
Brittani

Orange you glad?

Look, it's me, wearing more orange.  I don't know what it is with me and this color, but I can't get enough of it.  I was going through my clothes the other day and couldn't believe how much orange I have in my wardrobe.  It's starting to resemble Fred Flintsone's closet in there.

Lane Bryant cami, Asos skirt, Ralph Lauren madras clutch, Annie shoes.

Seriously, even the gemstone in my ring is orange.

One of my many orange dresses, this one is by Asos.

What colors are ya'll obsessed with, Stripers?   Please tell me that I'm not the only one with this problem.

xo, Kelly

Fitspiration: Friend or foe?

Greetings Horizontal Stripers!
     It's been a busy week for us at Horizontal Stripes. Though the weather isn't cooperating with my fall wishes, I haven't let the blistering sun deter me from going to the gym. There are many reasons that fitness is a beneficial piece in the puzzle of life. There are a bunch of health benefits that you can receive from working on your fitness -- more restful sleep, improvement in body systems, and having more energy during waking hours are just a few. Yesterday morning I did step aerobics for the first time in ages, and while it was tough, I felt better for the rest of the day, and I slept better than I had in ages. Getting back into my fitness groove has left me thinking a lot about fitspiration memes. For those of you who haven't heard of them, they are picture phrases that are supposed to be encouragement for exercise and healthy living, but can really send strong messages, some of which I'd consider harmful. There are some amusing ones like this one below:

or this cute and fun one:

But many of them follow along these lines:

    

 

   

      Now I'm certainly not trying to be Debbie Downer, but I do feel a responsibility to talk about this as someone who promotes body acceptance and likes many types of fitness. If these images are motivating for you, I am not trying to tell you, you're crazy. If you have trained and you look like this or your goal is to look like this, I am not telling you you're in the wrong.  My main concern with these images is best summed up by this article. There is a lot of fitness misinformation and misconception out there. It can prove to be dangerous, if you're not careful. Also, looking like the people above is not a guarantee for happiness, which is alluded to over and over in fitspiration around the web.

     The context into which these memes are put asserts that if you want to be considered healthy, you have to look like X. This is nothing new of course. We've seen something similar in fashion for years, and that mentality can definitely take a mental and emotional toll on individuals as studies have shown. With physical training though, there is also the possibility of injury if you are trying to do things your body can't handle, and many of these images have pushed people to injure themselves. Most importantly though, many of the fitness models (yes, models) that are in some of these memes are doing a million things to their bodies behind the scenes that the average Jane doesn't have the time or resources for. So don't beat yourself up, if you follow the Shape or Women's Health regimen of the month, and you don't experience similar results to our friends above. If you look like this naturally, kudos to you, I'm not hatin'! I do suspect, however that not too many of us are born with rippling muscles in these "idealized" proportions. 

If the above is true, then why is the only way to be "healthy" to look like the women above?  They are beautiful in their own right, please don't get me wrong, but just speaking personally, I could follow their routines to a T, and not achieve the same results. I look completely different from them to begin with. My point is to take these images with a grain of salt ladies and gents.  If you use the same products and do the same routines, there isn't a guarantee that your body will react the same way. Below I've rounded up a few pictures of some other women that are also beautiful and healthy and are working on their fitness.  

The US Air Force Volleyball Team 2008

They may be animated, but the message is true. Pole fitness is for everyone!

  Women's rugby teams know how to kick butt!

                           A Zumba instructor working her class hard, if the sweat is any indication!

 These Yogis are getting in some meditation.

She's got game!

     I hope no one takes this post as me bashing gym rats or those who want to look like fitspiration models. My point is what it always is: you don't have to try to look like anyone else to be healthy. Accept your body for what it is and be grateful for all it does for you everyday, instead of picking at every flaw you think you see. If you hate working out, you don't have to! That's up to you too! If you decide to though, just be safe and realistic with yourself. That will protect your mind and body. In closing, I will see you on the flip side Stripers. Keep calm, and take care of your bodies!
Brittani

 

Hats off to Summer!

It's finally happened.....the end of summer.  Well, almost anyway.  Brittani and I still have one last hurrah planned before we dust off our leggings and boots.   In just 12 short days we are headed to the Outer Banks with some friends and family for a week of waves, sangria, and sunshine.  We can't wait.

 There's only one teeny weeny problem for me when it comes to the beach, sunburn.  I'm a pale, freckled, Scotch-Irish, girl and I can go from blindingly white to beet red in fifteen minutes.  I am not exaggerating.   I have found some great sunscreens over the years and I discovered that if you actually follow the directions on the back, they work really well.  ;)

But there is one place that I always, without fail, get sunburn and that is my scalp.  My side part will be hot pink by the end of a day in the sun.  I know you are thinking: why doesn't this lady just wear a hat?  Because I hate them, because it's hard to find hats that fit my boulder head, because they make me feel like an old lady, because on windy beaches they blow away.   What's that you ask, why don't I apply some of that magic sunscreen to my part?  Because it makes my hair greasy and flat and sad.  :(

So I have come up with the most stylish of all solutions, the turban!  All you need is a large square scarf and you too can protect your hair and scalp from damaging sun rays.

It took a little practice for me to get it right.

Observe:

Before.

Square scarf folded in half, to make a large triangle.

90 degree corner to the front.

Bring both ends to the front, 

then tie.  Not too lose or too tight.  Maybe don't put the tag in the front.  ;)

Fold front corner back.

Tie ends again, over corner to hold it down.

We're getting there.

Tuck sides down.

Tuck loose ends under.

Voila!

From the side.

Hello, stylish, sun-conscious, lady.

If you use a really large scarf, you will have to tie the ends and then pull them all the way back behind your head and tie them again.

Pull the front corner forward, 

Then tuck it back.

Once you get the hang of it, you can experiment with cool, asymmetrical looks and strange, facial expressions

In case you need some more inspiration, here's an instructional video about turbans from 1942.

xoxo, Kelly

Maxi-mize your wardrobe!

Greeting Horizontal Stripers!

     As the seasons are about to change again, I thought it would be a great time to discuss the year round favorite: the Maxi dress! As readers of the blog know, I love a maxi dress. They're quick and easy, can be dressed up or down, and can function year round to boot! What's not to love? Though most people think  about summer when they pull out their maxis, they're a great way to stretch your current wardrobe into fall with cardigans, boots, and tights. Below I challenged myself to dress up a maxi, which I never do.  If I were actually wearing this out for date night or something, I think I would've added a necklace, a cardigan, and a little makeup.

 

Dress: SWAK via Gwynnie Bee// Shoes: Torrid// Belt: Lane Bryant// Earrings: Cato

  Here are a few more ideas about how to stretch your summer wardrobe into winter.

Image courtesy of Polyvore for those end of summer days

Some more inspiration from Polyvore for those entering fall a bit earlier than the rest

 

  Please excuse my wayward hair; we don't have stylists waiting in the wings on this blog.

     The plain and simple truth is that you don't have to replace your wardrobe every season to find great new looks! Supplementing the clothing you already have is a great way to look chic, limit your purchases to trends you're interested in trying, and possibly discover a new favorite in your existing closet. Take your own adventure to Narnia during this seasonal switch. Don't be afraid to mix things up! 

Until next time Stripers!

Xoxo,

Brittani