Friday Fashion Tips: Looking Polished

There’s so much more to looking trendy or fashionable than just the clothes you are wearing. Its about looking put together. I know for me, as a busy mom, it is hard to find time to take care of myself. But there are a few tricks to helping you look polished and stylish – even in a tshirt and jeans!

1. Get a 5-minute beauty routine down: Even when I’m running really, realllly late, I can squeeze in 5 minutes. (Even if its in the passenger seat of the car while my husband is driving.) Get yourself a quick routine that uses classic colors that won’t go out of style. (Think smoky browns on your eyes and rose lips and cheeks.) Then you’re always simply made up and looking gorgeous.

For me, I start with primer, dab on concealer, then quickly fill in my brows, put on eyeliner, shadow and mascara, and follow it all by a quick dusting of mineral foundation. Then throw on lip stain and I’m done!

2. Keep up your mani: If you don’t have time to keep your nails done, don’t go for dark polish. Keep your nails short and polish with clear or something very light so that chips don’t show. Chipped polish drives me INSANE. It looks so awful! My secret? This:

Insta-Dri. It dries in 60 seconds. Literally. I use a very pale pink and it last a few days – chips are hardly noticeable. But when its time to redo – it takes about 2 minutes.

3. Find a signature scent: Spritz on a splash of our favorite fragrance whether you’re wearing a LBD or a tshirt and jeans. Fragrances are expensive – but they last for a long time. Bottles usually last me over a year. My favorite scent is Beautiful by Estee Lauder.

Fragrance is a great item to put on your Holiday Wish List 🙂

4. Have a few killer outfit in your closet: A perfect pair of jeans and a black turtleneck sweater. Black bootcut pants and a bright sweater. A simple sweaterdress. Things you can just throw on when you’re in a hurry and don’t have time to spend picking out an outfit, then changing. Then changing again.

Crewnecks & Scoopnecks by Marc by Marc Jacobs
Cardigans by LOFT

5. Be ready on the go: Make up a small bag to stash in your purse, car or desk. Include basics like eye makeup remover, concealer and powder, a small bottle of hairspray and lip stick. You never know when you are going to have “one of those days” or not have time to freshen up before a meeting. Or – this is the worst – you get out and realize you never even put makeup on that morning. (Or does that just happen to me?) Bonus points for including a rechargeable, cordless flat iron!

What are your secrets to pulling off a polished look?

Melissa is a work at home mom to 3 adorable, active kids outside Philadelphia. She is founding editor of the fashion blog b*Stylish, and dishs about family life on her personal blog, Girlymama. Find her on twitter as @girlymamamel.

Trendy Thursday: Fall Weekend Wear

I LOVE FALL. Or – more appropriately – I LOVE FALL FASHION!

It probably is rooted in my deep, deep love of sweaters and boots. And apple pie. But does anyone not love fall weekends? Going apple picking,walking through the leaves, sipping a hot coffee outside a city cafe, fires in the fireplace, scarves, fuzzy socks… I could go on for hours.

Anyway, lets talk fall weekend wear! Its all about LAYERS! Think jeans, tshirt, light coat and a scarf. Like this:

Start with your favorite jeans or leggings. Then layer on a tshirt, a simple button down shirt or boyfriend flannel.

Now comes the fun part. Layering.
If its only a tiny bit chilly, try a vest:

More Athleta…

or even a really light jacket:

More LOFT…

If its a little chillier, you’ll get to wear a (hee hee hee) sweater coat!

More Old Navy…

What is YOUR favorite fall look?

Melissa talks fashion daily at b*Stylish and shares about family life on her personal blog, Girlymama.

Trendy Thursday: Jeans and A Tee!

I know you all wear the Mom Uniform: jeans and a tshirt. We all do! But the secret is, with about as much effort as it takes to throw on that ratty old hoodie, you can turn your I-Give-Up look into something really stylish and trendy:

1. A Blazer. Blazers are very hot right now. Its an easy way to dress up your jeans and tshirt and investing in a classic blazer is something you won’t regret. You can dress it up or down and wear it forever. This one is fabulous from Express, but a little more of an investment at around $100:

For a more budget friendly option, try this one from Kohl’s for under $25:

2. A Military Jacket: even more on trend that the blazer, this is a super hot look. This one is from Macy’s and is totally gorgeous.

Try a military coat made of knit cotton. Its basically a sweatshirt with buttons. No one but you will know how comfy you are!

3. More than just a cardigan: Take that classic black cardigan or navy crewneck sweater to the next level by adding something extra! Like ruffles:

or an interesting cut or pattern:

or try the Fair Isle trend:

or my favorite, a cozy sweater wrap:

4. A Sweater Cape: Another hot trend. Looks great and just about anyone too!

5. Add Accessories: I love scarfs. Look at how cute they look with just a tshirt:

It doesn’t take much to turn your style up a notch! Go for it!

Melissa talks fashion daily at b*Stylish and shares about family life on her personal blog, Girlymama.

Trendy Thursday: More Fall Trends To Try

We’re continuing last week’s Trendy Thursday and looking at a few more fall trends that you can easily try to add into your own wardrobe this season:

1. Chunky knits: I love this trend! Especially for fall!! So comfy and cozy and they go perfect with jeans, jeggings, leggings, everything! Whatever your shape, whatever your style, you’ll be set.

This one is from Anthropologie who just makes the most yummy sweaters. For a more budget-friendly option, try Old Navy, Target or even Kohls.

2. Tights are back and they are fabulous! They are a terrific way to transition your summer pieces into fall – and are almost universally flattering.

Even patterned tights are back! Loving the plaid. What a fun way to update a black pencil skirt.

3. Teal nails. This look is just everywhere suddenly and it looks so fabulous. My favorite is Teal Till We Drop from Opi’s Swiss Collection.

4. Military-Inspired Looks: This is just everywhere right now – and its very doable. Instead of wearing a hoodie over your jeans and white tshirt, try a military inspired jacket instead in a jersey fabric. Just as comfy, but super trendy!

Melissa talks fashion every day on her fashion and beauty blog, b*Stylish and family on her personal blog, Girlymama.

Trendy Thursday: Top Fall Trends

The trends this fall are so fabulous and so easy to implement into your everyday wardrobe. There are a few ones that are out there (fur and second-skin leather, anyone?) But by adding just a few inexpensive pieces this fall, you’ll be right in style!

1. Denim: This fall, its all about the classics. Trouser jeans (which EVERYONE should have in their closet) and flare jeans (which are looking more feminine and less hippie these days and are great for balancing out curves) are back in a big way. And one of this season’s hottest trends is the jegging. I may or may not have three pairs. Ahem.
My favorite pair is from Miraclebody:

These jeans not only are made of cotton and spandex fibers to help give your backside a boost while shaping and slimming your thighs, but it has a hidden tummy control panel reduces belly bumps and flattens the tummy to give you ultimate control while keeping you comfy. They are fabulous.

2. Boots: Again, we’re seeing classics like riding boots along with some new trends like ankle boots and lace up boots. Personally, I hated the ankle boot at first. But now… I think I may need to get something like this:

I love the gathering detail on the side. And these would be so cute with a skirt or dress and one of the season’s other hot trends: tights!

3. Metallics: All over the place this season. And with metallics, for heavens sake, do not go out and go all 80s (not in a good way) with a super shiny puffy gold jacket. Stick to shoes
and purses:

This beauty by Renee DuMarr is one of my more recent purchases and this baby is HUGE. I love it. I can fit everything I need for a day out with the three kidlets, snacks, diapers, the works. Its like a totally huge mom-bag disguised as an awesome purse. I get compliments on it every time I wear it and people are always asking me where I got it!

4. Jewel Tones: Just gorgeous. Go nuts with this one. I mean, can you really go wrong?

5. Long Skirts: Kiss the mini goodbye. And thanks the Good Lord while you’re doing it! Longer skirts are all the rage this season, so enjoy! I love them…

so elegant, so ladylike…

LOVE!

I’ll share some more fall trends next week! What are your favorite trends for fall that you’ve seen?

Melissa talks style every day on her fashion/beauty blog, b*Stylish, and family fun on her personal blog, Girlymama.

We’ll be on the NBC 10 local evening news tonight!

We are so excited to be featured on the NBC 10 evening news tonight in a story with Tracy Davidson about deals on Back-to-School essentials. We are estimating that we will be on in the 5:30pm half-hour so keep your eyes (and DVR’s!) peeled!

This is a LIVE segment, so please pray for me to be calm and clear and collected. Editing my flubs is not an option tonight 🙂

When we found out that we would be on NBC 10 for this story, I had a small panic attack about what to wear on TV (as I am sure many of us would). I mean, its broadcast to the entire region …. a girl’s gotta look put together, right!?!?

So, when you need to look stylish yet comfortable, where do you turn? You turn to none other than our very own Fashion Columnist, Melissa from bStylish and Girlymama.com. As you’ve seen in her Trendy Thursday posts here, Melissa has a great eye for fashion while also focusing on affordability. I knew that I wanted to wear something that was already in my closet, but wasn’t sure what the best pieces to choose would be. So, Melissa came over yesterday afternoon to do a styling meeting.

After some review of my wardrobe, we settled on a great combination. I’ll be wearing this great teal sweater with rose detail over a white tank along with some *slimming* (cough, cough) black slacks and pumps. Melissa really liked the sweater because of its color pop and I really like it because I feel comfortable in it (and I scored it for $12.99 at Marshalls!).

Here’s a preview of the outfit that you’ll be seeing me in a little later this afternoon when I meet Tracy Davidson. For all things fashion … please keep reading Melissa’s Trendy Thursday column here and follow along with her fabulous fashion commentary at bStylish and on GirlyMama.com

And, come back and see us soon for lots of fun back to school tips and tricks that we’ll be posting!

~Shannon

Trendy Thursday: Play Dress Up!

I have several events coming up this summer that are going to require a cute dress.
Darn.
Guess I need to go shopping! (Sometimes its rough being me 😉 Lets see what we can find.


1. ‘Precious Petal’ cotton dress from Mod Cloth. So cute for under $50. Seen in the current issue of People’s Style Watch!

2. This Beaded Irish Linen Sheath from Talbots is classically gorgeous. Great for highlighting your arms and legs and hiding everything else — while not looking like a circus tent. A difficult feat indeed.

3. My crush this season is this solid embossed beach dress from J Crew. And the strapless version (solid embossed Lorelei dress) is just as gorgeous. The soft dove color is too gorgeous for words.

4. I just love the bold, mod pattern in the Signature Floral Dress by Jones New York. (and its on sale for $70!)

I’m sorry. I have to interrupt this post to ponder how many stores are selling rompers. FOR ADULTS. even White House Black Market! Is this a joke?!?!? Please tell me this is a joke….


5. This Ruffle-Front Faux Wrap dress by Merona at Target is so cute! Love the color… and the price.

6. Oh. Be still my heart. Chiffon Ruffle Front Dress in vintage plum at LOFT. Oh, and its on sale!!! If only it was in my size!!

7. This Embroidered Dot Ruffled Sheath Dress from Ann Taylor is so classic… but so trendy. I’m a huge fan of ‘little black dresses’ that aren’t black!

8. Of course, you can never go wrong with black (says the girl with approximately 25 black sweaters). The Rushing Ruffles Dress from Anthropologie is a gorgeously feminine version of the little black dress! Love it!

Sidebar: alternate post title was “How Many Dresses Can She Find With Ruffles”

9. For a more formal wedding, this JAX Split Neck Pointe Knit Dress from Nordstroms is perfect. Not too fancy, a modern print, and a flattering cut for almost every body.

10. I love the back of this Silk Halter Dress from Banana Republic. So pretty!

What events are you shopping for a dress for this summer? Weddings? BlogHer? Spill it!

You can read more posts about fashion and family on Melissa’s blog, Girlymama.

Trendy Thursday: Kids Easter Fashion

Each and every year, I swear I won’t buy Easter clothing for my kids because 1) it almost always snows or is completely freezing, making the cute spring clothing completely inappropriate and 2) I always forget about SHOES to go with the cute dresses I picked out, so the girls end up wearing white dresses with their black or brown mary janes, which makes me twitch. But almost every year I cave and buy something because I just can’t resist the cuteness of spring dresses. And now that I have a boy, the sweater vests are calling my name! This year I can totally justify it, since we have so many events this summer that they will need to dress up for, so I’ve actually been looking around. So here are a few little gems I found for you:

1. This dress on the left is the Easter dress that both of my girls wore last year – they were so adorable! They’re still available at Target – for only $14! (They still fit them, actually, but let’s not let that stop us from shopping.)
2. This plaid dress by Chaps is at Kohls for under $25. I love the colors – they turned a traditionally winter print into a bright spring one!
3. Now I know that chocolate brown isn’t what you think of for spring, but this floral patterned dress by My Michelle is still so darling! (And this is a very similar version in spring colors)
4. My middle daughter would positively live in this ballerina dress by Cherokee. And I wouldn’t mind if she wore it around the house with a price tag of $20.
5. Both my girls would love this polka dot dress from Childrens Place. I would get it different colors, so that the girls were matching, but not the same.
6. Oh my heavens, do they make this in my size? The smocking! The ribbons! The embroidery!
7. Okay. This pink nautical dress makes me feel like I’m in 1950. I love it!! (But my kids would totally not wear it 😉
8. This gorgeous organza sleeveless dress with floral vine embroidery comes with a matching dress for a baby doll. They. Would. DIE!
9. And – drumroll, please – This is the dress I bought for them. They had me at “pink” and “ruffles.” It is too cute! It even has a netted lining, so it looks all poofy and fancy.

And OH THE BOY CLOTHES!!

1. I mean, honestly. Who can handle this cuteness?
2. Three words: Argyle. Sweater. Vest.
3. And a seersucker plaid blazer? Are they trying to make people spontaneously combust at the sight of the cuteness?
4. I love this little blazer paired with distressed jeans. This is beyond cute. I need a new word. Ubercute.
5. A suit? *faint*

Sorry. I have to go lie down after all this cuteness. Its just too much for my system. And I need some time to grieve the fact that there is probably NO WAY that my son will ever let me put any of these cute outfits on him, seeing as I can barely convince him to wear clothes at all. SOB!

You can read more posts about fashion and family on Melissa’s blog, Girlymama.