So you want to dress like...Florence Welch

This week has been kicking my butt...but I have returned to once again bring you quality fashion advice. Today, we're going to try something new. The "So you want to dress like..." posts will be a regular thing on my blog. I'm very excited to announce this as a feature, and even more excited to discuss my style muse for this post - Florence Welch.

If you haven't heard of our dear Florence, she is the lead singer for a lovely and creative band called Florence + The Machine. Who exactly "The Machine" part of this group is, is a long story to try and explain. For now, let's just consider Florence. She is a stunning red head that never fails to sport color, geometrics, flowly accents, and a bit of sparkle on the side. These four categories can essentially sum up Florence's own personal style. Below, I'm going to give you four sets of clothes - each incorporates one or more facet(s) of Florence's style. There's even a set that is my own personal interpretation of imitating the lovely musician.

Geometrics + Sparkle

Top; Jeans; Wedges; Earrings; Bracelet

This one really took its inspiration from the picture above. Notice the overall shimmery quality to her dress. It's draped and geometric with the lines crisscrossing every which way. One thing you must know about Florence is that she adores looking ethereal. The draped quality to the dress and the way the stripes seem to stretch out to infinity convey this. There are also two themes to be had here: shapes and sparkle. In this casual outfit, the accessories give the casual top and jeans a bit of a twist and add a whole new texture to the set.

Sparkle + Hardware

Dress; Earrings; Shoes; Clutch

This look is modeled after her outfit during a performance on Saturday Night Live in 2010...

This is more of a direct or mirrored look of hers, with some colorful accents based on the bit of eccentricity she likes to add to her videos and outfits. I also can't stand a LBD (no matter how fancy) without a bit of color. The "hardware" on the clutch coupled with the earrings and dress make this an interesting mix of "tough" and "feminine".

Flowy + Fairytale

Florence's first album was a creative retelling of many fairytales and the weaving of her own. Often, I see pictures of her at concerts favoring a long, flowy dress design. Again, this is her exercise in appearing ethereal. This is only one example of the type of dress she usually wears on stage:

And here's my interpretation...

Dress; Wedges; Bracelet; Earrings; Necklace

You can definitely see why I chose the dress. It most closely mirrors the one she's wearing in this picture. Shortly after I stumbled onto the necklace. I will never deny a good accessory, and the color of the dress just screams for a light teal to be paired with it. I didn't want to overload the rest of the accessories with so much color, so I went with black accents and minimal teal (for the bracelet).

My take on Florence's look...

Dress; Earrings; Tights; Shoes; Ring

The dress has that blocked geometric shape with defined colors. The red earrings and shoes add a bit of accent color, and the skull ring and sparkle tights can be chalked up to trying to tie in our ethereal elements.

How would you pull together an outfit in the style of Florence? Is there a dress or a top in your closet just begging to be styled just like this? Feel free to comment below or send pictures! I would love to hear all of your wonderful ideas.

Our friend, the Color Wheel - Part 1

Remember a few posts ago when I promised to teach you the fine art of color matching? Well, this is part one of that post. You're in for a lot of logistics, so sit comfortably and read on! Hopefully, when you are done with this post, you will have a bit of a renewed (or new) idea on the concept of complimentary colors.

First, my outfit example for this post:

Shirt - Thrifted: $4.99Belt - Thrifted: $1.99Skirt - Thrifted: $6.00Tights - Thrifted (unpackaged from Target): $3.00Shoes - Forever 21: $15.99
If you can't properly see the colors on the shirt, maybe this shot will serve you better...


Also my lovely necklace, which has been re-purposed as a cuff for this post. (Only $6.00 at Forever 21!)
If you're still having trouble seeing the colors, they include a canary yellow, fuchsia, a deep red, kelly green, royal blue, white, and purple against a black background. It's best described as all blending together in a semblance of a paisley pattern. If you know my personal sense of style, you will understand why this shirt screamed at me from the Goodwill stacks. It's colorful, it's elegant, it's just me. That is one of they key elements I would ALWAYS use to describe my own personal sense of style: colorful.
What does it mean to be colorful? I would say it definitely involves being color oriented. What is color oriented? Well, if you wish to be color oriented, you must first be best friends with the amazing color wheel:
(Source)

Admittedly, this is a very intimidating looking color wheel, but it is the best color wheel I could find for the best use in my own example for this blog. We'll take it slow. Let's find our shirt colors in the wheel. For purposes of using this specific color wheel, let's say the colors that we have are fuchsia, lemon, green, blue, plum, red-orange, and white. I would also say that my tights, belt, and shoes that I am wearing with this outfit are fuchsia and blue. Now for steps on undertaking an outfit such as this...
1) Always match complimentary colors with your focal piece.
For this outfit, the focal piece is clearly my shirt. A neutral skirt is a safe bet to pair with the shirt. Yes, the undertone of the shirt is also black, but the various colors on the shirt make it stand out as a "busier" piece than usual. A neutral is always good for tying an outfit together. To bring the color back into the outfit, I've chosen tights in a color that are also in our shirt and shoes and a belt that also match a color from the shirt. It doesn't look too busy because the color has been broken up with the skirt. The black skirt also does not wash out the color since we've chosen two tones from the skirt and played them up with subtle accents. It all ties together!
2) Pick whatever accent color speaks to you.
I tend to favor "cool" colors (greens, blues, purples) over "warm" ones (reds, oranges, yellows). This is why I've chosen to go with the blue belt and shoes and the fuchsia tights. You've got seven accent colors in all that one can easily spot in the shirt. Pick whichever color you favor and go with it...just make sure at the end of the day the shoes match! ;)
3) Neutral and simple accessories are best.
Because this is a high-necked vintage top with a tie around the neckline, I would not need to wear a necklace. You can't see it in the above picture, but I'm wearing the simple pearl and gold post earrings I was wearing in the "Let it Snow" post. I also have my re-purposed necklace/cuff. That is it. Too many accessories is going to make this already busy outfit outrageously busy and over the top. I've got an elegant, neutral gold working in my accessories. It's just enough to make the piece pop without overwhelming the general public.
Continue your color education in Part Two! (Coming soon...)

Trend Tip: Pattern Mixing

Prada's Spring 2011 runway show. What was the big hit with styling? Pattern mixing! Why? Because it's bold, loud, unique, and candy for the eyes. Don't think so? Okay, okay, admittedly this model is NOT AT ALL a good example of the "everyman" for whom I claim to be keeping this blog, but she certainly looks out there. THAT is what pattern mixing is really supposed to do for you; set you apart.

Yes, I do admit that pattern mixing is not for the faint of heart. If you have already read this far in and something inside of you is screaming "Not for me!!!!" turn back now... You can come back later and attempt a "safer" trend. For those of you who remain, welcome. We're absolutely diving in headfirst.

I'll give you a bit of an example before you go and try to do this on your own.

Scarf - Thrifted: $1.99

Sweater - Thrifted: $5.99

Belt -Ebay:$3.99

Skirt - Old Navy: $1.97 (free w/gift card!)

Tights - Target: $5.00

Socks - Target: $6.00 for pack of two

Boots - Thrifted: $5.00

There I am looking all safe and secure in my loudness. If you notice, my sweater and my skirt are not in any way, shape, or form complimentary by more conservative standards. Pfffft...conservative? With pattern mixing, I think not. There is, however, one very important element as to why these pieces do go together: they carry complimentary colors.

My sweater is a deep navy/black and my skirt has a prominent stripe of black running through the pattern. For people first starting out with this trend, this is going to be your key element - use complimentary colors. Your life will be so much easier!

More detailed shot of the sweater pattern...

(And owl necklace. Only $4.80 at Forever 21.)

...and the skirt.

Can you spot it? Congratulations! You're well on your way to becoming an excellent pattern mixer. One very easy way to do this is pull your favorite t-shirt out of your closet. If you want to make it really easy for yourself, graphic tees work the best.

I've chosen Hello Kitty as my graphic tee medium and an extremely colorful floral skirt from Wet Seal. Now, because the skirt has so many colors in it, pattern mixing with this one is a breeze. I can confidently pair this skirt with about 90% of graphic tees in my collection.
Again, don't be afraid to go bold (like our model up there), but remember that baby steps are required. Pattern mixing is a loud statement that one can pull off if you're very careful. If you happen to master the art, the possibilities are endless.
Please feel free to comment below with your own adventures in pattern mixing. Pictures are awesome too!
Until next time!
~ they seek her there
(Runway pic courtesy of Prada...)

Outfit Post of the Day - Let it snow

It's been (appropriately) Wintry here in Chicago as of late. Two nights ago, we had our fair share of snow, and it's been nothing but in the lovely 20s and 30s around here. Now that we're in for the long haul of Winter, it's time to break out the sweater tights, socks, and the layered look we in the Midwest are incredibly familiar with.


Hat - Forever 21: $6.50Scarf - Forever 21: $10.00Knit sweater - Thrifted: $5.99Oxford (under sweater) - Forever 21: $10.80 Navy skirt - Forever 21: $6.80Sweater tights - Target: $10.00Socks - Old Navy: $6.00 for pack of twoBoots - Thrifted gift
Now, I like the tights and shorts and sweater look just as much as the next person, but unless you live in a state where it's pretty much consistently 60 degrees Fahrenheit all year round, it's just not possible. Layers can be pretty, too!
As you can see, I'm (again) rocking the tights and socks trend. The tights are not your normal tights. They are sweater tights and are oh so warm. I decided to go with the oxford layered under a knit sweater for the preppy look. It's a bit vintage, and I love it! I either look like a 1940s university student or a Land Girl...
I like to make the accessories subtle when I layer like this. The hat and the scarf I consider a Wintry appropriate addition to my outfit. I've also thrown on a simple pair of earrings and my British Phonebox necklace.


(On top) - Simple, vintage pearl earrings from the 80s raided from my mother.(On bottom) - British Phonebox necklace; Forever 21: $3.80

A more detailed look at the tights and socks...

How do you get through Winter? Do you layer or do you happen to live in a location where you're lucky enough to enjoy nice temperatures year round? Drop me a comment and share your story!
Until next time!
~ they seek her there

Trend Tip: Socks over tights

Hello again. Yes, I am back so soon, very eager to tell you about one of my favorite trends: socks over tights.

I'm sure you might have seen this around. This certainly isn't the first year it's "cool", and I'm sure it won't be the last. Why do I even care about this trend, you ask? Well, if you're planning on being a little edgy about your wardrobe, keep reading.

Last Fall and Winter was when this trend really started taking off. Excitingly (at least for me) it hasn't quite stopped. For those who believe that they might not be able to pull this off, fear not! I will help you become successful in your fashion forward choices.

How do you successfully pull off this trend? Here is my own interpretation of this hot movement:

Skirt - Forever 21: $9.80

Tights - Target: $5.00

Socks - Old Navy: $6.00 for pack of two

Boots - Thrifted gift

As you can see, we have a theme going here. Color is SO important when you're trying to pull off something new. I'm going to make a more detailed post about that later, but as you can see it does not have to be hard to spot complimentary colors and mix them up with a single piece which pulls all the color in. In this case, it's the socks.

They have a neutral base of gray with colors that already compliment each other. Pick pieces from your wardrobe that will fit with this. In my case, I decided to style it with a yellow skirt that I have and a pair of navy tights. Your last element is the top. For that portion of the outfit, I went with a red, graphic long sleeved shirt:

Hello Kitty shirt - Forever 21: $10.80
Navy beaded necklace - Thrifted: $1.00
In our above runway example picture, you can see that the model has a pair of heels on with her socks and tights. I've chosen boots. It's all up to what makes you comfortable. Don't wear heels if you can't walk in them! It took me a LONG time to get used to heels. Don't push yourself! Boots like mine are REALLY trendy right now. You can just about walk into any thrift store or discounted price clothing store and find a pair of these shoes for under $20. You might even be able to get away styling this look with a fancy pair of flats!

Even my co-worker decided to try this on for size today!

The point of all of this is simple: take a small fashion risk. Not comfortable with mixing patterns and textures? Just stick to mixing colors! Don't want to rock the heels for fear you'll fall over? Try a cute pair of boots or oxfords! Make it work for you!
Want to see a trend on this blog? Want to send pictures in of you rocking this trend? Please feel free to contact me at imafangirl@hotmail.com with your questions and comments or feel free to comment right here on this blog!
Until next time!
~ they seek her there
(Personal photos courtesy of myself. Runway photo provided by Philly.com.)

How this all started...

So, hello!

For those of you joining me, it is lovely of you to be reading my sparkly new blog. Why have I decided to put fingers to keyboard and type my fashion life out for the world to see? Some of you might see it as being overdue. That is well-heard and (obviously) considered. For me, however, it was more of collecting myself to the point that I could commit and bring you something of quality for the everyday reader of the blog. Well, here it is, and I hope I can certainly deliver.

Who am I? I'm am honestly just the student with the small pocketbook and the active imagination. I know when I started out dabbling in fashion, reading blogs, DIY-ing, and thrifting the world of the "trendy saver" seemed foreign to me. This is no more! I adore thrifting, the challenge of walking into a store and matching up an entire outfit around an accessory, getting as much bang for my buck in the clothing department, and just having FUN with it!

Expect the normal "fashion blogger" schtick with a bit of a twist. I want to make fashion accessible to YOU; allow your person style to develop and emerge with a bit of learning. This blog is also in it's VERY beginning stages. Please bear with me as I try to navigate my own way through a field that already has millions of writers to show for it.

Remember, I am here for the everyman: the student with a budget, the fashionista who doesn't want to sacrifice quality for quantity. Drop me line if you'd like to see something on here. I want to hear from YOU.

I hope we can learn and grow in the vast world of fashion together.

~ they seek her there