Ali's Fashion Sense: June 2013

Friday, June 28, 2013

Ali's 31 Days of Fresh: July 2013 Photo Challenge

July is right around the corner. So to crank up our excitement for all that Summer offers I am hosting a social media photo challenge "Ali's 31 Days of Fresh!"

What is a Photo Challenge?
Each day you post a picture (through your own lens of interpretation) related to the day and prompt given. For example Day 1 of "Ali's 31 Days of Fresh" is a picture of sunnies aka sunglasses. It can be you in your favorite pair of sunglasses or some that you have been eyeing online the interpretation is all up to you.

How do I Participate?
It's pretty simple to participate :)
All you have to do is:
1.) Follow me on Instagram @AlisFashionSense and/or like my Facebook page at Facebook.com/alifashionsense.com
2.) Post a photo daily corresponding to the day's challenge on your own Instagram page and tag me with the hashtag #Alis31daysoffresh or post it on the Ali's Fashion Sense Facebook page (using the same hashtag).
If you aren't signed up for social media but still would like to participate email your photos daily at alifashionsense@gmail.com I'd love to see them!

What is a hashtag?
A hashtag is the pound sign (#) followed by a word or phrase. In our case the hashtag we're using for the July 2013 Photo Challenge is #Alis31daysoffresh which describes the and connects all the photos from people participating in the challenge.

What if I forget a day or 2?
Don't worry you can post all the pictures of the days you missed on the day you remember, or if you want you can just start over on the day that you come back! Its up to you.

This is all for fun, so put on you creative fashionista hats and get ready for 31 days of freshness. Check out the days below to get prepared. See you on July 1st!!!

Thursday, June 27, 2013

How to Wear a Maxi 4 Ways

Its always great to purchase items that will give you the best bang for your buck! What do I mean by that? I'm glad you asked! :) You want to purchase garments that will help create closet depth that you can rock multiple ways to create totally unique outfits. In this post I will show you how to take a simple striped maxi and rock it four different ways.

THE FOUNDATION: STRIPED MAXI DRESS
Here is the dress that is the foundation for all the looks. I purchased this striped maxi from Charming Charlie about 1.5 years ago in Illinois. I chose to rock it casually in this first picture. I have my top knot bun, silver accessories (Tiffany's Necklace, Michael Kors Watch, Diamond Studs), and black flats.

OUTFIT #1: SIMPLE STRIPES
For the first outfit I rolled up the maxi dress and made it into a simple striped tank. I paired it with my cognac leather shorts (Kohl's), spiked turquoise booties (GoJane.com), straw fedora (Target), denim vest (unknown), and gold accessories (double finger ring, herringbone chain (the ring and chain are from Forever 21) and gold watch (Target)).

OUTFIT #2: DRESSY STRIPES
For the second outfit I took the maxi as is, and added a burnt orange silk - esque short sleeve cardigan (Forever 21). I then paired it with the belt that came with the maxi dress to give the cardigan some structure. I added some black laced wedges (unknown), turquoise chandelier earrings (Forever 21), and a gold watch (Target).

OUTFIT #3: STRIPY BUSINESS
For the third outfit I took a denim button up (Target), a red blazer (Forever 21), along with the maxi and created a more business appropriate look. I tied and tucked the flaps of the denim button up and layered the look with the blazer. I then added an orange necklace (Charlotte Russe) and orange sandals (Charlotte Russe) to pull the look together.

OUTFIT #4: EDGY STRIPES
The last outfit could be used for date night or a night out on the town with your girls. I paired a black boyfriend blazer (Forever 21), black leggings with leather detail (Off the Fifth), the maxi used as a simple tank, Jessica Simpson patent leather pumps (TJ Maxx), a junk necklace (mall kiosk), and Michael Kors Watch (Macy's).

As you can see with a few extra garments you can create countless outfits with one simple maxi!

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Weekend Recap: Gladiators

GORGEOUS GLADIATORS

Last week I ordered a pair of cutout gladiators in cognac from makemechic.com. I scored them for about $32 (including tax, shipping and a coupon code). I must say they were well worth it. I was so anxious to wear them that I wore them to church yesterday. I paired them with this blush colored ruffled dress that I bought from Forever 21 a couple of years ago along with gold accessories (my gold watch from Target that you've seen countless times, as well as my BBW inspired earrings). The intricate cutouts add for interesting details. Wouldn't you agree?

Over the knee gladiators sandals are one of summers hottest shoe grabs. You can find them in all different price ranges and in an array of colors across the color spectrum. Check out the some of the hottest pairs below! Even if they don't quite reach your knee gladiators are intricate pieces of art on your foot. Once you snag your own pair I'm sure it will have you channeling your inner gladiator princess in no time!

Gladiator Sandals by alifashionsense featuring leather shoes

Nine West high heels
macys.com

Roman sandals
gojane.com

Gladiator shoes
drjays.com

Sandals
makemechic.com

Gianvito Rossi gladiator shoes
$1,450 - montaignemarket.com

Altuzarra high heels
barneys.com

Nly Shoes n shoes
$90 - nelly.com

Stuart Weitzman leather shoes
footcandyshoes.com

Schutz high heels
piperlime.gap.com

L.A.M.B. stiletto heels
heels.com

Chinese Laundry wedge sandals
lulus.com

As for my weekend, I didn't do too much. Friday, I attended my weekly Zumba class. Saturday I ran my first book club with some middle school aged girls (from my church) at Bare Bulb coffee shop. That was a lot of fun! Sunday, I went to church, the gym, watched movies on Netflix, and pranced around in my gladiator sandals. How did your weekend pan out?

Friday, June 21, 2013

A Minimal Summer

Today officially kicks off the beginning of Summer. I can just hear Will Smith's "Summertime" anthem in the back of my mind as I type. Think about it pool - side daiquiri's, BBQ's, bond fires, brunch with the friends, walking on the beach, hitting your favorites artists concert etc. While you gear up for summer, here's a trend that you can add to your summer rotation.

MINIMALISM:

"A style or technique that is characterized by extreme spareness and simplicity"

Minimalism takes chic pieces to create a pallet of simple lines (and usually minimized accessories). It doesn't have to be monochromatic (one color) but it does help if you are just starting out with this minimalistic trend. Check out the inspiration below and how to take items that you may already have in your closet to build up your minimalist wardrobe.

FROM THE RUNWAY
Here you see models in print and on the runway sport minimalist garments. Just because it is a minimalist trend doesn't mean the cuts/textures of the garments can't be interesting. So give it a try. If you need help styling the garments, check below as I have given you an idea how to take pieces you may already own to give your own take on minimalism.

TO REALITY
This mini lookbook shows how you can take minimalism and grab it by the horns. I started with an all black pallet and took simple items like cami's cropped tops, textured shorts, maxi dresses, booties, cutout gladiator sandals and more to create the basis of the trend. You can add leggings, skinny jeans, blazers, cardigans, and even leather jackets to keep the minimalism flowing.

Minimalism by alifashionsense featuring maxi dresses

Motel maxi dress
$31 - motelrocks.com

Topshop maxi dress
nordstrom.com

Joveeba cropped cami
$30 - thegrandsocial.com.au

Bardot cotton turtleneck
$28 - bardot.com.au

E L L E R Y lacy shorts
$635 - avenue32.com

High-heel shoes
madisonlosangeles.com

Casadei high-heel shoes
yoox.com

Mulberry black t strap flat
mulberry.com

Butterfly sandals
gojane.com

Vera Bradley black handbag
verabradley.com

David Design Beckham clothing rack
$575 - finnishdesignshop.com

Hay Hang hanger, black, 5 pcs
$13 - finnishdesignshop.com

So tell me are you buying in to the minimalist trend? I am definitely going to give it a stab this Summer. On another note: Happy Friday to you my luvs! Enjoy your weekend and check back bright and early Monday morning for your daily dose of "Ali's Fashion Sense!"

-Ali
xoxoxo

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

OOTD - Cropped Top, Boyfriend Jeans, and a Kick of Neon

Cropped tops are all the rave this summer season. They are cute, cropped, and chic! So for my OOTD I reached in my closet and grabbed my blue and blush striped crop top as the foundation of this look. The top reminds me of pajamas for some reason. So when thinking about the styling of this shirt I wanted to makes sure I created a more" rugged" look on bottom to balance out the delicateness of the shirt. To help me out with that I went to my husbands side of the closet to create my own "boyfriend jeans" or in my case "husband jeans" lol! They fit almost perfect except for the waist (in the back). I rolled them up a few times because they were a little too long plus I wanted to have a big enough canvas so you could see my element of surprise, the neon sandals.

STRIPED CROPPED BUTTON UP & BOYFRIEND JEANS