Posts written by Jalisa's Fashion Files

Pastel Tweed Vintage Jacket

Posted by Jalisa's Fashion Files on 04. 06. 15. under Date Night, Looks Of The Day

BLAZER: Local Boutique // CAMISOLE: Marshalls // PANTS: Marshalls // SHOES: Gucci (DSW)

Happy Monday!

Today's look features this vintage pastel tweed jacket, which Eddie got me a few years back at a boutique. The boutique was going out of business, so we got a major deal on this beauty! Can you believe it's actually petite?! Here's a little trick I learned when I worked in retail, if you're not petite but happen to find a piece that's only available in petite sizes and you absolutely love it, try going up a size or two, if possible. With petites, it's easier to purchase clothing that may not be the perfect fit in length, but it can be altered. When you're not petite and you like a particular piece, you must know to try a size or two larger, otherwise, there is no other way to adjust it.

Tweed has always been a rather conservative fabric and really became popular after Chanel designed the now famous Chanel suit. Now with styles like the one I'm wearing that feature more color and detail, it has become more of a fun and feminine piece to experiment with, especially during the spring! The beginning of spring can be rather chilly, so the heaviness of this fabric can certainly keep one warm, it's the perfect transitional piece!

Remember in my video on Wearing Black & White for Your Body Shape, I mentioned how white highlights, while black conceals? As you know, I'm a pear shape and so when I wear white pants or jeans, especially when they're form fitting, they show everything! The way I balance out this effect is by wearing a white tank under a boxy and interesting jacket, as seen here. This will help highlight my upper body, since I'm wearing white and will also add some dimension, since the jacket is boxy. Below are some other ways you can wear a similar look, based on your body shape!

I hope you enjoyed this post and learned a thing or two :) Please visit again soon, I post every other day! As always, don't forget to stay beautiful, confident, and true to your beautiful self!

With lots of love,

My Top Prom 2015 Dress Picks for Your Body Shape!

Posted by Jalisa's Fashion Files on 04. 04. 15. under Date Night, Looks Of The Day

Hello loves,

'Tis the season for prom dress shopping!!! It's much like shopping for a wedding dress, both exciting yet stressful, as well as a little daunting, if you don't know what to look for, that's where I come in! Many of you have been reaching out to me for assistance in finding the perfect and memorable dress. I've shared with some of you how my senior prom dress has me so embarrassed; I literally looked like Big Bird! It was all yellow and my hair was in a high pony tail with a clip in piece and I made Eddie dress like a pimp! I had no idea at the time that it's how he really did look, until we started to go through some photos years later. Oh babe, I'm so sorry, lol! I definitely went through an awkward style faze, which consisted of a lot of statement pieces and while they did make a statement, I don't think they made the kind I was hoping for, haha!

Anyway, I want to spare you all from the regret and the "what was I thinking" part of prom, at least when it comes to the dress! I'm leaving finding the right prom date up to you; I'm trusting you here! If you're going with a guy, he better treat you as royal or else I will have a big problem! If you have yet to find a date, just form a group with your girls and go together, chances are you'll have less regrets down the road that way anyway ;)

So here are my top prom dress picks for your body shape! All dresses are under $300, the most common max budget I've received when working with some of you.

PEAR SHAPE

Since you're more curvy in the bottom portion of your body, your goal in selecting the perfect dress is to look for one that has an interesting top portion. This will help visually balance out the eye and won't have your bottom area appearing dramatically wide in proportion to your upper body. Two of my favorite necklines for this shape are the sweetheart and strapless. The reason is that they allows for all of your chest and shoulder to be exposed, essentially causing the eye to focus across, which balances out the width of your hips.

APPLE SHAPE

Your goal is the opposite of that of the pear shape and that's you want to create some sort of interest to the lower portion of your body to balance out your voluptuous and wider upper body. The way to successfully do this with a dress, is to select a style that either have some interest to the lower skirt portion of the dress or opt for an empire waist. Most of the dresses you'll see in the set below have this detail and it looks exceptional on your figure especially. What it does is that it creates the illusion of a shorter torso, essentially concealing a larger midsection, while helping to tame your bust, preventing them from appearing too large in proportion to your frame. You'll also notice that many of them are v-neck, which helps the back and chest appear less wide.

RECTANGULAR

When it comes to selecting the perfect dress for your shape, it all comes down to dimension and volume. You want to make sure that you're selecting a dress that will prevent you from appearing too boxy, which many styles can do. You'll notice that majority, if not all, of the dresses I've selected for you place an emphasis on your waistline, which helps to re-establish and define it.

HOURGLASS

Since your figure is proportionate overall, I included a mixture of dresses that have either an embellished or defined top or bottom, or even both! In your case, the fit has to be just right because if it's not, it'll be very noticeable, since your shape is so symmetrical. You may compromise on the price you pay for the dress, but you shouldn't compromise on the fit!

I hope you all found this post helpful and please don't hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions! As always, don't forget to stay beautiful, confident, and true to your beautiful self!

With lots of love,

Spring 2015 Trends You Will LOVE & Look Great In!

Posted by Jalisa's Fashion Files on 04. 02. 15. under Date Night, Looks Of The Day, W3

Hello my loves,

Today I bring to you a post that I know will help my trendiest fashionistas out there! We will be discussing the top spring 2015 trends and how you will look and feel amazing wearing them this season. There may be some trends that you've been eyeing but haven't necessarily felt would work for your body shape. I'm here to prove that they will; it all depends on how and where you wear them, so let's get started!

GINGHAM STYLE

What I personally love about this pattern is that designers have provided options for it. What I mean by that is there are various sizes to the print, which is perfect when it comes to selecting a style for your body shape. If you remember in my video, "The Best Print Sized Tops for Your Body Shape", I explained in detail how print sizes matter, in that they can either make your appear larger or smaller. Below are some gingham pieces that I love and would suggest to you, according to your fabulous shape.

PEAR SHAPE

APPLE SHAPE

RECTANGULAR SHAPE

HOURGLASS SHAPE

COLOR ME SUEDE

You've seen me wear suede in a couple of my most recent posts and read how much I love the fabric this time of year; it's smoother and softer than a more stiffened leather piece. Here are some various pieces that incorporate this fabulous texture in spring perfect shades!

PEAR SHAPE

APPLE SHAPE

RECTANGULAR SHAPE

HOURGLASS SHAPE

SUPERIOR in STRIPES

Stripes have been a "trend" for quite a few seasons now, but what makes this season's take on the recurring trend is it's boldness and difference in position and placement, giving it a more interesting and modern feel.

PEAR SHAPE

APPLE SHAPE

RECTANGULAR SHAPE

HOURGLASS SHAPE

FOREVER FRINGED

Fringe to me is synonymous with spring because it's commonly worn by those who seek to have cool Coachella vibes. Not going this year? Me either, but no worries, we can totally wear some fringe to bring in the festival vibe near home.

PEAR SHAPE

APPLE SHAPE

RECTANGULAR SHAPE

HOURGLASS SHAPE

SHEER BRILLIANCE

This trend can be a bit risqué, depending on how it's worn and styled, a la Kim Kardashian at the fall 2015 Givenchy show. If that's not your thing, no worries, there are definitely more conservative options out there, let's take a look.

PEAR SHAPE

APPLE SHAPE

RECTANGULAR SHAPE

HOURGLASS SHAPE

Well, that concludes today's blog post, I hope you found it helpful, as well as insightful in what's trending for spring and how you can rock them this season! As always, don't forget to stay beautiful, confident, and true to your beautiful self!

With lots of love,

Mixed Prints & Radiant Orchid

Posted by Jalisa's Fashion Files on 03. 31. 15. under W3

JACKET: Caché // TANK: Marshalls // PANTS: H&M // SHOES: Ralph Lauren (Marshalls) // PURSE: Michael Kors (TjMaxx)

My precious beauties,

I hope you're all having a wonderful afternoon so far! This outfit is perfect for this time of year, especially since most places are experiencing a bit of coldness during this start of spring. Black and white are colors that can be worn all year long, so don't think that they're only for the fall and winter months. The way you can make them more suitable for spring and/or summer, is by pairing them with beautiful pops of color, as I did here with the radiant orchid. Although radiant orchid was the color of the year last year, I'm still loving and wearing it and will continue to do so. I'm not too crazy about marsala being the color for 2015 because I don't really feel it can be worn all year long, as the radiant orchid can; it's more of a fall and winter pantone in my book.

I'm wearing the pear shaped version of the look, while I have other options below for the remaining body shapes. This pairing works for the pear shape best because the jacket has more a boxy silhouette, which helps widen out the upper body, essentially balancing out with our wider hips, which is important in this case, since we're working with a straight legged pant, which puts greater emphasis on the hip area. You'll notice the apple shape jacket I featured in the set is longer and this works great for this shape, since it helps extend the eye downwards to your beautiful legs. It prevents the eye from focusing primarily on your ample bust and upper body, creating attention on your body as a whole, rather than in parts. In the rectangular set, I selected a biker style jacket with the hounds print because it creates some dimension to the upper body, preventing it from looking boxy, so avoid styes like the jacket I wore, as it will make your body appear even more boxy than it actually is. Lastly, in the hourglass set, I selected a sleeveless vest style option that has a bit of a menswear inspired feel. These kind of pieces look exceptionally great on the hourglass shape, since your curves are proportional and the shorter hem in the front places a greater emphasis on your distinguished waistline.

I hope you all feel inspired to recreate this look on yourselves and if you do, please let me know! Until next time, thank you so much for stopping by and don't forget to stay beautiful, confident, and true to your beautiful self!

PS: THE NAIL POLISH COLOR IN THE SETS IS CALLED SPLASH OF GRENADINE, IT'S SHOWING A GREEN COLOR IN THE IMAGE SCROLL :)

With lots of love,

Pastel Pairing Outfit Ideas for Spring!

Posted by Jalisa's Fashion Files on 03. 29. 15. under Date Night, Looks Of The Day, W3

Hey Beauties,

I hope you're having a relaxing finish to your weekend! Now that we're in spring, I wanted to give you all some ideas on wearing pastels this season. I created a YouTube video last year (watch HERE) on wearing pastels, with a focus on not looking like a little girl, since pastels and softer hues can have the affect, especially if you're petite. In this post, I will be providing you all with some color pairing options, more for creating outfits. Both I'm sure will be helpful to you this spring!