Jalisa’s Fashion Files

BLAZER: H&M// TUNIC: Marshalls// JEGGINGS: Express// BOOTS: Michael Kors (Marshalls)// PURSE: Louis Vuitoon Tivoli GM

(In the scroll bar, the pants are showing up white, but they have the teal color, too!)

Hello Ladies,

Today's look is a very seasonal color pairing, in that I selected colors that are found perfectly blended in nature during this time of year. I say nature is the best place to derive our inspiration, since everything that encompasses it compliments each other as though they were intricately placed and seasoned at the same exact time. So if they look perfect in the sky and around us, why wouldn't they look perfect on us?! 

What I love about this color combination is that it can be used both in the summer and fall. They're perfect in the summer because teal is a color reflective of the gorgeous sea waters and the brown and gold accents are seen in trees, sand, and rocks around the shore. In fall, the browns are seen in the trees and leaves that are changing and the teal can be used to represent the leaves that don't change at all. 

TIPS FOR WEARING THIS LOOK FOR YOUR FRAME

There are quite a few things that you can play around with, with an outfit like this. First, if you so choose, you can remove the blazer. This will create a lengthening effect to the upper half of the body, extending from the calf area (since we have boots) up to the face. In this case, we'd be using the monochrome technique to visual extend the length of the torso, perfect for those of you who may have a naturally shorter torso and longer legs! The reason why the torso would be the area that is mainly enhanced is because we're working with boots that are practically at the knee and are in a noticeably different color, which creates contrast:

The second option would be if you have a long torso, you may want to do what I did and that's wear a blazer over your top, to further enhance the sections of your body visually. You may also want to opt for boots that are not as high as the one's I'm wearing, since this cuts off some visual inches from the legs; in this case, ankle boots may be best:

Third, if you are fairly proportional in that one area of your body is not longer than the other, you can remove the blazer and just have the boots as the piece that breaks up the monochrome a bit. However, if you are petite and wish to appear visually taller overall, I'd suggest that you maintain the monochrome on top and bottom, don't add a different color blazer, and opt for ankle boots instead, since they cut off less of the leg visually:

TIPS FOR WEARING THIS LOOK FOR YOUR BODY SHAPE

Now, this look is perfect as is for all my pear, rectangular, and hourglass shaped ladies, despite the printed bottoms. The reason is because we're wearing a cowl neck, which balances out any attention that is being placed on the bottom half of our bodies, as a result of the print. A cowl neck adds visual dimension to the bust, making it appear larger, an instant fix for those of us with smaller busts and larger hips! This look is suitable for my rectangular shapes because our upper and lower portions are being distinguished and broken up into sections, due to the addition of the brown blazer and boots. This is ideal for the rectangular shape because she would otherwise appear straight up and down, lacking any curve or shape. The only thing I would alter for my apple shapes is the neckline of the top. Cowl necks are not the best choice for this shape, since those who fall into this category naturally have larger busts, wider chests, backs, and midsections, regardless of size; the use of a cowl neck would only exaggerate this making one appear even larger. Instead, opt for a v-neck, since they visually narrow the trunk of the body, because the neckline moves downward instead of across. Other than the that, this too would be a great look for all my apple shapes:

TIPS FOR WEARING THIS LOOK FOR SKIN TONE

When it comes to skin tone, caramel, cognac, or camel colors, which I'm wearing on top and bottom, tend to compliment those with warm or neutral skin tones best. If you fall into those skin tone categories and wish to recreate this look and don't have the colors mentioned, a terracotta or burnt orange would work just as well! For all my cool skin tones, I'd suggest a chocolate brown, since your natural undertones are deep (blue), so deep and rich colors look amazing on you!

Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you found the post helpful!

XO,

Jalisa

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SWEATER: Wilson & Clay (Marshalls) // PANTS: H&M // PURSE: Dooney & Bourke (Marshalls) // BOOTIES: Marshalls 

Hello Girlies,

Today's look is inspired by the urban streets of New York, in which I've grown up, The Bronx. I've mentioned to you before how fellow New Yorkers can generally tell which borough a person's from based on his or her accent. While it's all a New York accent, each borough has a more or less exaggerated version and I believe it's a bit true when it comes to style and vibes. I've created outfits in the past  that have been inspired by the streets of Brooklyn, which tend to feature more earthy tones and an overall vintage vibe, which I now refer to as "Brooklyny," lol! The Bronx borough has more of a sportswear and menswear inspired running theme, demonstrated by the New York Yankee fitteds you'll see all throughout the streets, the latest Jordan's on feets, and if not that...Timberland boots! It's very common to see matching couples walking the streets and riding the trains in this borough. You'll see matching Jordan's and Timberland boots and while I used to do this as teenager, I sometimes felt as though I was loosing my femininity within the style. I'm sure that there are those of you out there that may feel the same and want to dress in an urban manner, whether you're from NY or Detroit, or from anywhere for that matter! The way to pull off an urban look, yet maintain that feminine flow is to accessorize in a way that reads street chic.

Street chic is simply maintaining the inspiration you have from your area, while adding some hints of glamour. These Timberland inspired booties do just that, as do sneaker wedges. They have that menswear inspired vibe with that perfect touch of glam, which I love! Many men inspired shoes for the ladies now come in heel options (such as loafers), not to say that if you wear the flat version you won't look or appear womanly, not true, you've seen me rock the flat versions, too! This is an option for all those lover of heels that want the menswear vibe blended ;) 

Now, if you're loving this look, regardless of where you live, which doesn't matter because style and fashion is present within us as much as around us, then below are options that I've created for your body shape, so you can achieve the same vibe. This outfit would be perfect for school, since the heel is chunky, making it more comfortable and easy to walk in! The pear shape version is the one I'm wearing and I have links to similar pieces above, if you're interested in shopping the post. 

APPLE SHAPE

RECTANGULAR SHAPE

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Hey Loves, 

I was contacted by a stylist from ModCloth and was asked to participate in an autumn layering contest, featuring some layerable pieces from their collections. I thought this would be fun, since I've never entered a contest before; I'm pretty excited to participate! Their social team will feature their favorite sets on an a weekly basis, so hopefully they'll love the look :)

I decided to create this seasonably perfect pairing, which exudes fall in color and as a collective outfit pairing. Layering is synonymous with fall, mainly because the temperatures change throughout the day, especially here in the North East, throughout the season. What's important to me is that when I remove an item, I don't want it to negatively effect the entire rhythm of the outfit. In other words, I don't want it to appear as if something's missing. 

Let's say that we start our day experiencing a rather cool morning, we then choose to add the jacket for some additional warmth. It adds a nice touch of sultry color to the outfit and compliments one of my favorite colors this season, which I recorded a video on how to style (watch here), in a burnt orange tone, rather nicely. As the day progresses, it begins to warm up and there is no longer a need to wear a jacket, no worries, the outfit looks fabulously chic without it! The hints of pattern and additional color peeking through the collar area and underneath the bottom portion of the sweater, add interest and character to the look. Now let's say that it begins to warm up a bit more, around the mid 70's, we can simply remove the sweater and leave the collared shirt paired with the jeans and the look would still look great! This is something you may want to keep in mind while creating your autumn look. Put together an outfit that has pieces that can easily be added and/or removed without effecting the entire look. 

I hope you all enjoyed and felt inspired by the post if you loved the sweater featured, visit ModCloth's website to see more of their fabulous collection! :

 http://www.modcloth.com/shop/sweaters

SHOP THE SET!

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BLOUSE: Marshalls// EARRINGS: Annie Sez// RING: c/o Kendra Scott// NECKLACE: Athra Luxe// WATCH: Michael Kors// JEANS: New York & Company (HERE)// PURSE: Kate Spade (Marshalls)// SHOES: Steve Madden (Marshalls)

Hey Girlies!

Today, I felt like doing something different with my hair, so I tried out this three tail braid that I saw MiMi from Luxy Hair do in a tutorial (she's the BEST at hair tutorials!). It's actually very easy to do, despite how complex it may appear. I left some pieces out to curl, giving it somewhat of a messy look, which I really liked. It helped soften the look a bit, making it both classy and fun. 

As for my outfit, I woke up knowing that I wanted to wear this houndstooth printed blouse, but I just didn't know with what. I was thinking of black or dark washed jeans, but I felt either of those options would've made the look too dressy and that wasn't the overall vibe I wanted to create. Instead, I selected these medium washed jeans that have a bit of distressed detailing on them, which helped pull out that relaxed undertone, captured with my messy braid hair-do. To further enhance the tone, I cuffed the bottom portion of the jean and paired them with open toed shoes. This would be a perfect look for walking around the town, window shopping, or for meeting up with the girls for a coffee break, as well as for work, if a blazer were thrown over, the jeans were un-cuffed, and paired with pointed-toe shoes. 

One thing I absolutely love about creating a pairing is mixing and matching different tones and styles together to create an eclectic look, which I think defines my overall style, for the most part. While I do have a tendency to favor glam, I am not one to turn my back on any style. Being unpredictable with your creations is mysterious and keeps your wardrobe interesting, wouldn't you say?! That's part of the reason you often see me wearing many of the same pieces, but styled in different ways, exuding different styles. That and I'm unfortunately not a Rockefeller to afford only wearing things once, lol! 

Anyway, thank you so much for stopping by and check back tomorrow. I'll be creating a pairing using a different technique :)

RECREATE THE LOOK!

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DOLMAN TOP: Marshalls//LEGGINGS: Daily Look// CHARM NECKLACE: ALDO// FRINGE BRACELET & RING: Kendra Scott//BOOTS: Christian Siriano for Payless//PURSE: Errelleventidue (TjMaxx) 

Hello Loves, 

Last night, Eddie and I dined at a restaurant with a bit of a casual feel; I knew before hand because we dined there for the first time in the beginning of September. That time, I dressed a bit more dressier, but nothing too over the top. This time around, I kept things a bit simple, yet there was a bit of a dressy feel, due mainly to the texture and style of the dolman top. I love dolman tops because they're versatile; they can easily transition from day to night or from a casual setting to a more business causal one. This one in particular has such a soft and feminine texture; extremely cozy and perfect for a fall night out. Fortunately it wasn't too cold, so I was able to get away with not wearing a jacket on top, which I was happy about because I think a jacket would've spoiled the look a bit. 

Speaking of the complete look, I decided to create a pairing that mixed a couple of shades of grey with navy. Grey blends so nicely with blue, especially navy because grey has a cool undertone and so does blue. Colors that share either the same hue or undertones, are guaranteed to work well together. Something I touched on briefly in this week's video on another fall color I love, orange.

Navy and grey are a combination that looks stellar on those who have cool undertones, most commonly those with very fair or very dark skin. They bring out those cool undertones and as a result, provide a nice healthy glow to the skin. This is not to say that those who have warmer undertones cannot wear them or don't look good in them either. Some colors just tend to flatter certain or specific skin-tones more than others and that's okay! 

I also wanted to briefly discuss the top I'm wearing. It's dolman top, which has a very flowy style, which I personally find cozy. It's also a piece that can be worn during the day or night, since it shares both a dressy and casual tendency. It's also super flattering on most body shapes. For us pear and rectangular shapes, they provide a bit of volume to help fill out our smaller upper bodies. In the case of the apple shape, depending on the length of the top, it can help conceal and flatter a larger bust and midsection. The reason I mention the length is because if it ends before the widest part of the hips, it'll make the upper body appear larger. If it stops where the hips are, it'll have the opposite effect, creating a longer and leaner upper body. So these may want to consider these suggestions when shopping for this particular style of blouse.

I hope this outfit inspires you to recreate it on yourself or one with a similar look the next time you're out with your ladies or bae :)

GET THE LOOK HERE:

Thanks so much for stopping by and please do return tomorrow!

XO, 

Jalisa

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