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

Reader Request: The Peplum Top

Greetings Horizontal Stripers!
     We love feeling the blog love and welcome your feedback. Please let us know anytime you have suggestions of styles you'd like us to cover, and we'll try our best to make it happen for you. Today's feature is the peplum top, thanks to a reader request! Now I have to admit y'all, as much as I love some crazy prints and patterns, shapewise I'm fairly traditional with clothing. I resisted the peplum top as long as I possibly could! Though I'm a late 80s baby, I wanted this style to stay back in the day with Madonna and Cyndi. Part of my apprehension was that my frame didn't need a lot of extra volume near my hip area - the widest part of my body - and the other part was that I'd tried on a few tops that were too long or too billowy, and I just didn't like any of them. But I figured if I can wear all my crazy color combos, I could definitely challenge myself to a fashion duel. I can't tell y'all to be adventurous in your fashion and not follow suit, can I? So here goes! One of the three peplum tops I now own!

Top: Cato// Skirt: City Chic// Earrings/Belt: Lane Bryant// Shoes: Guess via Marshall's

    Our reader request also wanted different ways to wear peplum, so here are a few below!

Image courtesy of Fashion Based

Peplum Wearing 101

This is a short checklist that will help you in your peplum selection:

     1) Peplum will add volume around the hip area. If you carry weight there or it is the biggest part of your body, you can still pull this top off! You'll almost always see it styled with a less voluminous piece on the bottom half of the body if it is in top form or with a sleek top if it is in dress or shirt form. This not only draws attention to the detail, the peplum, but also makes a nice line with one outstanding detail on the body.

     

     2) All styles are not created equal. There are long styles, high-low styles, and short styles as shown above. Don't count them out before you try them on. You may be surprised by which style flatters you most. 

     3) It's also ok to feel like there is too much material. Don't let one unflattering style stop you from trying other things on.

     

     4) Like any other fashion choice, don't be afraid to experiment with color, pattern, and texture. These also affect the way the style may fall on you.

    5) If you really want to ease your way into this trend, you can try adding things like a peplum belt instead of buying a top you may not know if you'll wear often. This also allows you to add a peplum look to more outfits if you like belting things.

      

    Belt available at Asos

Here are a few more variations on the peplum trend:

 

Blazer and Coat

   

Dresses 

 

Skirts

Even bathing suit options!

You CAN tackle the trend called peplum! I hope this post has given you some ideas.Keep those reader requests coming! For some other great peplum outfit ideas be sure to check out Tanesha of Girl With Curves. She has impeccable style, great beauty and lifestyle tips, and she has this peplum thing on lock!

Until next time Horizontal Stripers,

Brittani 

Hardware 101: No Hard Hat Required

Greetings Horizontal Stripers!
     Since the longer days provide plenty of summer sun, why not try jazzing up your wardrobe with metallics? Though I'm not particularly partial to vampires that sparkle, there's no reason not to add a little shine to your own look!

Dress/Flower: Cato, Shoes: Payless,  Ring/Earrings: Lane Bryant

Dress: Ashley Stewart, Shoes: Cato, Necklace: Eloquii, Flower: It's Fashion Metro

 

     Of course y'all have seen that I'm partial to gold and bronze because they compliment my skin tone so well, but feel free to mix in any metallic: silver and brass are other favorites! You can see above that I've used shoes and jewelry to add some sparkle to my ensembles, but you can also find built in beading as in the first dress above or use other accessories that take the guess work out of mixing and matching. One awesome way to try this is with purses:

    If you have an old bag you don't mind crafting on, check out this neat DIY for strap replacement here.

 You can also forgo any of the original strap and use just the chain, which can be purchased at any home store like Home Depot or Lowe's or even craft stores like Michael's or A.C. Moore. Don't forget to check out your local mom and pop first though! ;-) 

Remember that:

Stripers!
XOXO, Brittani