Let the clothes make you this year, fashionistas!

Happy New Year, Fashionistas!

I hope you all had a stylish and fun bringing in of the new year! I'm sure 2012 will be full of beautiful and terrible fashion trends. 

My first fashion-filled posts of this year are going to include:

- Sports apparel 

- Work to going out all in one outfit 

- Accessories for every outfit

And of course many more! I'll get those ones up by the end of this week, so get checking back!

"Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society." - Mark Twain

For the trend-setting fashionistas

I did a blog yesterday about the top 10 fashion trends in 2011.

Anyone who knows me well, or has known me for a long time, is well-aware that I go out of the box with my outfits. In high school I was known for the crazy layers I always had. 

It's progressed now to a different level. I love to combine classy-looking clothing with modern accessories and the modern clothing with classy accessories. 

Since it has turned winter, I've started a new trend of my own that I previously haven't done. 

As I said, I've always loved layers. Instead of shirts though, which is what I used to layer in high school, I layer my socks, boots and leggings.

Yes, I took a picture of my socks and boots at work.

Almost every day I wear a dress or tunic to work with leggings/tights and boots (as mentioned in the top 10 blog and other previous posts, I'm obsessed with boots). 

So today, it's black leggings with gray socks and black boots. Yesterday it was dark brown leggings with light and dark plaid socks and brown boots. If I'm wearing a solid color dress/tunic, I wear plaid socks. However, my dress today has a pattern, hence the solid colored socks. 

This has become my main outfit this season. 

I plan to continue it into the new year and beyond. Maybe I'll pull out a twist on it for the spring and summer seasons.

If you have some tall socks laying around, try the outfit idea out and see how you like it! Just because I enjoy it doesn't mean everyone else will, but I hope it sparks a light bulb in your brain to start your own trend. Not following in the spotlight trends can be really fun!

"It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Top 10 fashion trends of 2011

In 2011, fashion began a more common term thrown around. I'll admit, I bought more clothes than usual this year. The opening of more discount retail stores and outlets really inspired shop-a-holics and fashionistas to get out and find a new wardrobe.

Everyone has a different opinion about fashion and narrowing down all of the trends to the top 10 is difficult, but here are my picks. It's not to say I like all of these trends, but they were all present throughout the year.

10. Colored jeans.

I saw these around fairly often this year, especially in the fall. The skinny jean that was a huge hit in 2010 transformed in 2011 to include a variety of colors - red, yellow, blue, pink. It wasn't anything I ever partook in, but some women pulled it off pretty well. Forever 21 and similar stores were the primary spots for these.

9. See-through shirts and dresses

Thankfully these were layered (usually), and often times had a classy feel. The sheer, see-through material became a popular thing to wear over color colored shirts. Other see-through shirts weren't completely sheer, but with lacy holes - enough to have to wear a tank top underneath but so much to be too provocative. Victoria's Secret, Express, New York & Co., and many other stores picked up this trend from spring to fall.

8. Flare jeans

Yet again, flare jeans made a comeback. They were around for a bit in 2010 but showed a prominent appearance in the spring and summer of 2011. I'm personally too short for the flare-jeans look, but some women can pull it off beautifully. Most of the stores mentioned above carried the jeans throughout the year.

7. Animal print

I'm not a fan, personally, but some of my favorite stores really carried this trend out this year. Leopard print, tiger print and zebra print debuted in the spring. The bright and bold clothing made a loud statement throughout the summer, but has pretty much died down since then. Express was one store that really pushed the sales of animal print.

6. Mixed prints

Now this I am a fan off. Mixing flower prints with stripes or plaid with stripes is a difficult and tricky task, but if done right it makes a huge statement about what a daring and confident person you are. I've always been a fan of mixing prints and was thrilled to see so many other women doing it this year. In the cold months it has nearly ended, but the summer and fall were popular for prints.

5. Trench coats (long coats)

Long coats are classy yet mysterious and have become a popular item at the end of the year. I just received one as a Christmas gift and I must say, they are warm and enjoyable. Some have a high slit or buttons that end at the waistline, leaning toward a little more provocative look while others keep it as classy as possible with a straight button-down look. Women with small waist lines tend to wear the belted trench coats to create a curvy look, while women with a larger waist or chest have been wearing the trench coats that button all the way up. All of them look good on the right person.

4. Hair extensions and colors

It's not a clothing thing - but it is fashion. Adding things to hair has become a hit this year. Putting feathers in hair, coloring the tips of hair or colored extensions were popular amongst teenagers and adults alike. The colors were typically bold pinks or blues. While I haven't done this I've seen it around much more than I expected when it first hit the fashion waves. 

3. Platform wedges and boots

While the summer of 2010 was the summer of wedges, the summer of 2011 was the summer of platform wedges. In fact, 2011 has become the year of platform-type shoes. Fashionable platforms have been a fun addition to the shoe market since the summer. Now platform boots are popular. The difference between the typical heeled wedge or boot and the platform is simply the lack of the wobbly heel with the same height. Most of the shoes have a platform that is several inches high - height that someone who has bad balance couldn't do in a heel.

2. Military look

The female fashion population really found the appeal in the military look. From shirts to jackets and vests to boots, the military theme has stuck around all year. Almost every popular retail clothing store had at least one military clothing season. The army-green was a popular summer and fall color. The military-style shirts and vests came around in the spring and are still popular buys. The fall season really brought out the military-styled jackets and boots. It seems to have died down for the first time all year, but that's not to say it won't be back in 2012.

1. Tall boots

Boots won my list because I have seen them in every season. Knee-high boots, boots that come above the ankle and even thigh-high boots were around all year. In the early months of 2011 thigh-high boots were on women everywhere. Whether they say it was to get their legs warm or not, it created a huge fashion statement. With the skinny jean phenomenon still going on, wearing tall boots over jeans was simple and near-classy looking. As spring broke out, knee-high boots over leggings was one of the most common outfits I saw on women - my age, younger and older. That trend hasn't slowed down one bit yet. The summer season was fascinating with the boot trend. Skirts were worn with no legging, but tall boots. It was a different look than the usual summer trend, but it worked well with the other popular summer trends this year. Fall and winter, of course, have brought back the leggings and boots and jeans and boots look. 

Boots have been my favorite piece of fashion in 2011. Since it turned fall I have worn boots with leggings almost every day to work. Boots with high heels and short heels. Black boots and brown boots. Knee-high boots and ankle-high boots.

Hope you enjoyed the list. Have something to add? Leave a comment below!

For the festive fashionistas

I'm reaching the point of being sad that Christmas will soon be over. I enjoy playing off the traditional "red and green" Christmas colors in my outfits! Red becomes a normal color in my wardrobe this time of year.

My red scarf and holiday bracelet!

I've made sure to wear my red sweater-dress, my red sweaters, my red scarf (although that's an anytime thing really) and my Christmas-colored jewelry as much as I can.

My family doesn't really get dressed up for Christmas. Usually jeans and a sweater. But you can be certain that I deck myself out with a red scarf, some holiday-flavored jewelry and a red shirt of some sort. I like the red and white style for the holiday season, I think it's classy and pretty.

So, no matter what colors you wear, whether you get dressed up or stay casual, I hope you have an amazing holiday!

Merry Christmas, Fashionistas!

For the freezing fashionistas with a tendency to text

It's winter. It's cold.

When it's cold, our hands get cold. So we wear gloves.

However, when it's cold and we have gloves on, we can't use touchscreens - which is what most of our phones are now.

Big dilemma. I used to hate walking across Wayne State's campus not being able to use my iPod or phone without having to take my glove off.

Then the answer came - fingerless gloves! Also known as hobo gloves.

They come in all shapes, sizes, colors and patterns. Some have a mitten-top that can be folded back, some just don't have anything to cover the tips of your fingers.

These things are amazing. I wear them all the time and I can use my phone and iPod all I want without a hassle. And despite popular belief, they are fashionable!

I'm always dressed up; most always in a dress and always in heels. I wouldn't wear something that made me look like a hobo (although last winter I was on a date with a guy, dressed nice of course, and we had to walk quite a ways so I wore my hobo gloves - and he told me I look like a hobo with them on! He was wrong, as men usually are!).

You can buy these gloves at most department stores - Target, Kohls, JCPenney, etc.

They're cheap, so I try to get some in multiple colors. I have black and white ones, gray ones and I'm looking for a pair of red ones right now to match my favorite scarf!

Stay warm and stylish, fashionistas!

Dresses fit for divas with demanding lifestyles

Girls' clothing has been called 'complicated' far too many times. But in all honestly, half the time, it is complicated.

Like when you want to wear a dress out for an evening but you don't want to carry a purse around; so then you want to wear jeans so you have pockets to carry your keys and phone, but you really don't want to wear jeans because your dress is so much cuter... that's the worst.

I bought a dress once without trying it on. When I wore it for the first time I made an amazing discovery ... there were pockets!

You couldn't tell the dress had pockets and it's an adorable dress. I was stoked! Every time I wear it now I can't keep my hands out of the pockets.

I wore it for my college graduation under my gown so I could have my keys and phone with me. Now when I wear it, I usually keep a pen in the pocket. And every time I'm wearing it I walk around with my hands in my pockets - and it never fails that someone makes a comment about how neat it is that my dress has pockets!

For ladies who are busy and don't like carrying bulky purses all the time (dancing with a purse is impossible, so if you plan on doing that soon - don't take a purse!), pocket-dresses are stylish, gorgeous and oh-so convenient!

There are even wedding dresses with pockets.

Check 'em out, fashionistas!

A frugal fashionista's favorite destinations

Outlet malls = some of my favorite places

I love outlets malls. They are simply amazing. Stores with awesome items, that are discounted? What can be better?!

I don't go all that often, two or three times a year. Tomorrow is one of those days. A good friend of mine and I are venturing to Great Lakes Crossing Outlets. I haven't been there since all of the stores became outlets. I looked at the website though, and talk about great deals! Plus, most of them have sales fairly often, too!

I'll be buying clothes for the children I'm sponsoring this Christmas. I adopted a boy and girl who need various clothing items. I am so excited to buy as much as I can for them. And with the clothes coming from the outlet, I should be able to get plenty! 

I'm going to pay close attention to what I spend and see how many new clothes I can buy for these children without really even affecting my bank account. I'll let you know how it goes, but I'm faithful I'll be pretty successful!

There are also a few other kids and family members I'll be buying for. All from the outlet, being as frugal but fashionable as possible of course!

There is no difference in the items at the outlets from the regular stores, they're just overstock or out of season. Oh, and cheaper! 

If you're not familiar with outlet malls, I definitely suggest trying them out! The varieties of stores are endless. Some of my favorites outlets are Birch Run Outlets, Tanger Outlets and I'm sure after tomorrow Great Lakes Crossing Outlets.

There are a ton of options - from Coach outlets to Bath and Body Works outlets to Victoria's Secret outlets to GAP outlets and so many more! 

Happy outlet shopping, frugal fashionistas! :)