Things: Current Favorites

Who know's what my favorite things will be next week, but here are my current obsessions:

Arizona Skye Slingbacks:

I've just discovered JCPenney's shoe department. I'm impressed by both the selection and the ridiculously-low sale prices. These sandals are $13.99 right now! They're crazy comfortable, too.

Josie Maran Argan Oil:

Probably my biggest skin care splurge to date, but I've decided my beauty mantra is "Face and feet". I want to take good care of both, so while I have the money, I'm gonna do just that! Argan oil is kind of a miracle serum. It's soothed my itchy, irritated skin (too much make-up? Laundry detergent? Who knows). I use a drop on dry hair to enhance shine and tame flyaways, and it's also healed my split cuticles. Nuff said.

MAC Lipstick in Sushi Kiss:

This lipstick is almost neon in real life. It looks much more sensible in the picture. I love it either way.

 Champagne Drops:

From The Confectionery in University Village. Just slightly fruity, soft, but not super gummy like a gum drop. They're quite pleasant. I had them at my wedding reception and they're one of the few things I paid full price for.

Slice o' Amethyst:

I bought this necklace off Chictopia a couple months ago. I wasn't sure how to style it at first, mostly because I find jewelry to be overwhelming. Now I've decided to just wear it with everything. Why not, right? It's a total conversation starter.

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Look of the Day: Merry & Bright

Of all the photos I took for the Chictopia x Victoria's Secret PINK campaign, I think these ones are my favorite. They're exactly what I had in mind when I decided to style the Bling Crew Sweatshirt for a holiday party. I put it over top of my 1950s satin Christmas dress and it was like magic! Don't be afraid to belt things, tie things, or even just tuck & roll!

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PINK Bling Crew (c/o) - Vintage Satin Dress - Maison Martin Margiela for H&M wedges - Crate & Barrel mini lights

Look of the Day: Cozy & Bright

I can't tell you how excited I am to be wearing these sweatpants. That may sound silly, but get this! Chictopia and Victoria's Secret PINK actually sent them to me and asked me to be a part of their holiday campaign!! Styling sweatpants is a little daunting, but a neon pink shirt with lace shoulders & some festive additions definitely make it easier!

I cut all the snowflakes myself. It's something I do every year around this time. I can sit for hours cutting them, which means I have tons! I had to get creative with my shoot, since the weather was beyond crummy, and these little paper wonders came in quite handy! The battery operated lights from Crate & Barrel saved my photos from being too dark & dreary.

Visit PINK New & Now to shop my outfit and see the other bloggers that created holiday looks. More of my stuff is also in Chictopia's Victoria's Secret PINK gallery!

More to come!

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PINK Lace Shoulder Raglan Tee - PINK Campus Pant - Vintage REI duck boots - Vintage pompom hat - H&M scarf

The blogger's tool kit

My blog posts have gotten all out of order. I'm pretty behind, too. I post pictures on Chictopia and Lookbook the next day, if not the same day I take them. It takes a little longer for the picture to end up on my blog, though. I should probably prioritize a little better, but a blog post takes a little more thought! This post was actually started long ago, but got interrupted. Many of you have probably even seen these pictures already on Lookbook, etc.

Back to prioritizing... I'm not convinced the blog is the most important place for someone to share their musings and outfits. Sure it is more personalized and presents a broader perspective of you as a stylist (chef, crafter, etc.), but it's also harder for company and fashion reps to find, unless you have a huge, well-established fan base.

Which brings me to another topic, how do you establish that fan base? Do you just wait around and hope a persons random Google search leads them here? Or even more reliable, wait for them to Stumble your blog; that could take a 100 years! That's why sites like Chictopia, Lookbook, and even Hypeed (my least favorite, read why) are such important tools! I've been contacted for features and events through Lookbook more often than any of the other websites or services I use, even my own blog! I think one reason is that these sites, or communities, are almost like having a built-in fan base. The readers are right at your finger tips. They only have to search for "stripes" or "American Apparel" as opposed to entire sentences that magically have something to do with your blog. It still takes some work, but you are definitely more visible within these communities. Think of the internet as the ocean, and fashion communities as a smaller inlet or harbor connected to the ocean. It's much easier for the big fish (clothing companies, magazines, etc.) to catch the little fish in a smaller body of water, instead of trying to track them down in the ocean. Ok, so that's not a perfect metaphor. Unless we're talking about Anna Wintour, these bigger fish I speak of aren't actually gonna eat you, but you are part of the fashion food chain now!

The next thing to do is attract the fans you've gained in fashion communities to your blog, which is where you are going to show people that you have the brains, style, and charisma to make it in a sea of other fashion blogs. This is something I'm still working on; my writing skills are not as strong as I'd like them to be, I run out of topics, and I need to find a photographer I'm comfortable with, but I am 100% dedicated to this blog and drive can make all the difference. If you work hard at something you are passionate about, you will at least enjoy the ride, even if it doesn't get you exactly where you wanna be.Check out my latest feature on STYLEPANTRY.COM!!!

In this outfit:

Thrifted United Colors of Benetton sweater

Forever21 skirt

Chloe Prince Calf flats

Vintage purse

Reviews

I've been slowly compiling reviews of all the different daily outfit communities that I use. Today seems like a good day to share them with you. It's another cool, gray day. We have had a total of 78 minutes worth of 80 degree weather. I must say, the mildest winter I've ever seen!

On to the reviews!

Chictopia
This site is what got me started. They're a wonderful community. I've met so many great people there! It can be hard to get your photos into the Style Gallery, which is for photos that the staff at Chictopia choose based on some complicated qualifications, but everyone's photos are always visible in the New Photos section. At Chictopia, the rule is kinda of "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." You can vote for photos, but you don't rate them, nor can you take away votes. It all makes for a happy, positive, inspiring experience.

Hypeed
I use this website occasionally, but it is definitely not my go-to. First off, photos load really slowly. They require photos be at least 2000x1500, which is HUMONGOUS. Most other websites only require 600x400. This can be a problem when you've set all of your photos to 600x400. They also have very specific feature themes and your photos must go through approval before they are included in a thematic category. You can just upload photos to your profile, but if you actually want people to look at them, you need to get them into a feature category. Another thing I don't like is that they have a rating system. You are in competition to get featured, so you rate other people's photos and they can rate yours. It's on a scale of 1 to 5. One means "No" and 5 means "Perfect". What I've noticed is that girls vote others' photos down in the hopes of making their own ratings look higher. This kind of system tends to bring out the mean in people, and it's the reason Chictopia got rid of it years ago.

Lookbook.nu
This place is for those of you who are too cool for school. Everyone seems like they are part of the It Crowd and nicely enough, they make you feel like you are part of it, too. Sometimes it seems everyone dresses the same (peer pressure is plentiful), but for the most part, it's a great site. It's easy to see others' photos and in turn other people see your photos. This site is definitely user friendly. It's easy to hype photos and easy to post looks. There are 3 categories of photo galleries: Hot, New, and Top. From what I gather, Hot is similar to being featured and Top is for photos with the highest votes. New is self-explanatory. I highly recommend joining this site, if you haven't already for two main reasons: to get your style noticed and to get inspired!

Weardrobe
This site is a little weird. It's still up and running and there's someone who chooses photos for the Featured section, but other than that, this site seems pretty dead. There are no contests and they haven't chosen a Spotlight Member in almost a year. There are still a lot of users, but it's definitely not as active a community as the other sites I mentioned above. Still, it's another site to post your outfits on, so you may want to think about joining.

In this outfit:

American Apparel dress & petticoat

H&M flower pin

Payless peep-toes

Belt is borrowed from an H&M dress