2012 Style Goal: Love What I Wear

(Photo from Arizona Foothills Magazine)

Thanks to (so far) successfully sticking to this 2012 style goal, I'm just now getting around to posting my fourth and final style goal for the year.

In my mind, this is the most important of them all. Love what I wear. It sounds simple, but have you ever put something on that you just weren't crazy about, and for some strange reason you still wear it anyway? As if there were absolutely no other clothing in your closet? This is a habit that I've been in since college -- I distinctly remember hating an outfit so much one day during my senior year that I skipped a class to go home and change -- and I can't even begin to come up with an explanation for why I do it. Walking out the door in an outfit I don't feel great in only sets me up to be miserable and self-conscious the entire day, and if I'm too busy worrying about how I look I won't get anything productive done.

I think this goal goes hand in hand with my goal of planning ahead. If I take the time to photograph outfits ahead of time and look at the photos, there is less chance of me leaving the house in something I hate. And in the process of making sure I only wear what I love, I'm going to start purging my closet of pieces that are holding me down so that I can make room for better things!

xo, Kellie

More 2012 Style Goals:

Jessica's

Plan Ahead 

Thrift More

Throw an Arm Party

2012 Style Goal: Plan Ahead

(from Polyvore)

My third style goal for 2012 is to plan ahead.

I really stretched myself thin last year, especially once Elwood came into our household. On an average morning I would get up, take Elwood out, feed him and then sit with him, get ready for work -- which consisted of hair, makeup, picking out an outfit and getting dressed -- and then take apart the dining room to use it to shoot photos, take my outfit photos, put the dining room back together so as not to annoy Matt, choose a couple of photos from the shoot, edit them, write my post and publish it. So by 9 a.m. I was already exhausted and hadn't even made it into work yet.

Thanks to my vacation time falling at the end of last year and the beginning of this year, I was able to get into a new habit right from the beginning of 2012. Now I choose a day that I am off (and preferably when Matt isn't home because I do NOT like having an audience while taking photos) and I get up and do my hair and makeup like I would for a work day, I choose a few outfits if I haven't already picked them out the night before, and I shoot my outfits for the week. 

There are so many advantages to shooting my outfit photos this way:

1. I'm not rushed, so I have time to actually look in the mirror at what I'm wearing, decide whether it works, and try different options if necessary.

2. I don't have to clean up the dining room and edit photos and write a blog post all in a matter of 45 minutes. After I'm done with my photo shoot I can spend some time with Elwood, eat lunch, and then put clothes away and clean up the dining room at my own pace. Then later on in the day I'll start up a Netflix marathon (I'm currently still working on Angel) and take my time going through my photos and editing them.

3. I have time to really decide whether an outfit is worth posting. When I'm rushing to edit photos and get a blog post up, I don't take much time to stop and say "do I actually like this outfit? Do I like these photos?" When I plan ahead I have the luxury of looking at an outfit and saying "eh, I don't really like that, I'm not going to post that one." Then, not only do I not post the outfit, I DON'T WEAR IT EITHER! Then I don't have the regret of having worn an awful ensemble because I didn't have a chance to see what it looked like in photos.

4. I can plan for non-outfit-related posts. If I know ahead of time how many outfit posts I will publish for the week, then I have time to come up with something for the days that I don't post an outfit. I used to post more than once in a day if I had more than one blog post written, but now I save the posts (like this one, for example) for days that I don't have an outfit to share.

5. I can re-wear outfits on days I don't post. Let's face it, we're all creative, but unless you have a closet full of infinite clothing options, repeats are going to happen. And you know what? Some outfits are so awesome that I want to wear them again!

xo, Kellie

More 2012 Style Goals:
Jessica's
Thrift More
Throw an Arm Party

2012 Style Goal: Throw an Arm Party

(from Honestly ... WTF)

My second style goal for 2012 is to throw myself an arm party. I've already been making an effort to stack on the bracelets (see here and here), but I want to invest in more bracelets that "get along" with one another. I've already gotten started with silver bracelets, but I'm also on the hunt for gold ones, too!

Any tips for building my bracelet collection?

xo, Kellie

More Style Goals:

Jessica's

Thrift More

Style Goals: 2012

I have made a few goals for this year by way of style and fashion:

- Wear more lipstick. Lipstick is my night-out accessory, but I've been making an effort to wear it during the day. I picked a light shade that isn't too intense and makes me feel pretty. Baby steps! 

- Heels. Wear them. I usually only wear my heels when I'm going out or if I have to teach. I want to try to be grown up and wear them other times, too.

- Own a blazer. 'Nuff said.

And just in general, work on buying mixable separates, style an outfit with two patterns, and update my college wardrobe to grownup status. 

What are your style goals/resolutions? 

Be sure to check out Kellie's goal!

--Jess

2012 Style Goal: Thrift More

(from Social Primer)

We're a couple of weeks into the new year now, and I've actually been thinking of style-related goals that I want to accomplish in 2012 since December. I managed to come up with four goals: Thrift more, throw an arm party, plan ahead, and love what I wear.

The first of my goals is pretty self-explanatory. Thrift more. I am especially on the hunt for blazers, and I also want to curate vintage jewelry for my shop. As an added bonus to this specific goal, I'll have my partner in crime, Jessica, along with me.

Prepare yourselves for some thrift adventures!

xo, Kellie