BEAUTY MUST-HAVES

HOW TO WEAR FALL’S FLATTERING SAILOR PANTS

I’ve come to learn that you shouldn’t get rid of unique pieces of clothing because eventually, they’ll come back around in style and on trend. Take flared sailor pants, for example. They are EVERYWHERE this season. I scored a pair at a clothing swap last year and have been wearing them a lot – to many people’s dismay. “Oh. Are those back in style?,” someone asked me. “Wow, you have a lot of guts to wear something like that,” I’d hear. But check it out! These pants are finally on all the racks, and they look good on most women. Why? Because the front flap flattens a major problem area, and the flared leg helps to balance out our curves. So lucky for all of us, you can buy these pretty much anywhere right now – oh, and I am finally vindicated in my pursuit of the flared sailor pant!!

OFF-THE-SHOULDER TOP FOR FALL

Let’s face it, the Off-The-Shoulder trend is here to stay – at least for another season. I’ll admit I was pretty skeptical of it at first and didn’t buy any ‘OTS’ tops. But once it became mainstream and I was forced to look at every woman’s shoulders from here to kingdom come on a daily basis, it creeped into my subconscious aesthetic. And suddenly I had to have one. Then another. And another. And now, I love the look and don’t want it to stop!

DATE NIGHT STYLE: LITTLE BLACK DRESS

When it came time to choose the dress I’d wear out for my birthday this year, I had a vision of a sexy LBD (Little Black Dress) that would perfectly suit my 34 years in age – meaning a dress that would flatter my curves, provide appropriate coverage, AND show a little skin all at the same time. That’s a tall order, I know. BUT given how many LBDs there are out there in this world, I knew I could find what I was looking for as long as I had the right criteria in mind.

CREATIVE STYLE: MIXING AND MATCHING

My style is not for everyone – I tend to push the limits a bit beyond what most people are comfortable with – but I do like to provide some advice to those of you who want to take some risks in your own way. One of my favorite fashion risks to take is to mix and match patterns. It’s a fun way to be creative and coordinated, to mix high-end and low-end items, and to be a little different than everyone else around you. Read on for my tips to pull of pattern mixing and matching!

MOVING ‘BACK HOME’

I’m trying something new on Belle Meets World. I’m going to write more often on a broader set of topics. Some of these posts will likely be shorter and take less time for me to write – which is a good thing since I pour a little too much into every post and therefore don’t get to write as often as I’d like. The idea is to exercise my writing muscle and most importantly, to learn more about what my readers want to read about. I just don’t feel like I’m hitting the mark with a broader audience. That said, I truly appreciate each and every one of my current readers and if all else fails, you’ll get to know even more about me than before. Some of this will be surface-level fun stuff, and some will be deeper personal stuff. I’ll start with a topic that’s been top of mind since arriving in Atlanta – how it feels to move ‘back home.’

ROCKSBOX MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTION – FIRST MONTH FREE FOR MY READERS!

Hey gals – I’m writing to you with an offer you can’t refuse! For those of you who have been with me for a while, you’ll recall I’ve written before about my love for Rocksbox, the monthly jewelry subscription (here). Well I’ve got several more months under my belt to gush about plus a reminder that I have a discount code just for you to get your first month free! Read on for the discount and for why you should give it a try!