It's all about the bell, Baby!

It’s all about the statement sleeves this season and I am all about making a statement!

If you were wondering how you can up your blouse and top game, then a statement sleeve is the way to go. There are so many options of the exaggerated sleeve, from billowy to bell-shaped, ruffled to extra-long. It’s such a great way to add a little playfulness to your look.

The top that I'm wearing could be worn so many ways! If everyday basics are your jam, then you could pair this top with a pair of skinny jeans and chucks. For this look, instead of less is more….I am all about more is more! I paired my bell sleeve top with a jacquard skirt from ASOS.

If I could live in this look, I would! I love the mix of prints, and the skirt even has some drama with the puff hem. I love a little drama, but only in what I wear!

I paired this look with my favorite Kathryn Amberleigh booties, I’ve decided that these boots are just an all year-round shoe for me.

Hope you enjoyed this look as much as I did!

xoxo,

Jasmine

photo credit: Kaye McCoy

About the look

ASOS Skirt // Top, cute alternative // Boots, cute alternative

Lady in Red

I know they say every woman should have a little black dress but I think a red one should be added to that list!

I love wearing red now! I think it's beautiful color but for some reason, I am just now starting to purchase red. I found this perfect red steal on sale at H&M for $20! The only thing that would make it even better and have me wearing this every week is if it had pockets. I freaking love dresses with pockets. Besides not having any pockets, the dress is amazing!

I'm really into this floral tapestry shoe trend. These beauties are Sole Society. My in-laws gave my Mr. and I a gift card to Nordstrom's for our anniversary, so basically they gave me a gift card! I found these online and got them immediately. These are my first pair of Sole Society so now I'm hooked! I couldn't decide if wanted to wear the dress completely loose and flowy or cinch it up with a belt. As you can see, the belt won! I found this vintage, leather Charles Jourdan belt on eBay a while back and when I got this dress I knew it would pair well together.

My favorite part of this look, are the jewels! I found my jewelry spirit animal on IG, Old Soul. She has an amazing shop on Etsy and I am completely obsessed with her and her pieces. She takes vintage designer buttons and turns them into magic! The designer, Ashley, is totally my friend in my head. You have to check her out: Old Soul.

Today I am headed to San Fran for a few days and I will be packing my red dress to spice up the joint a little bit!

And by the way, this was my first time shooting with girl boss crush, Kaye McCoy! Total black girl magic and I loved her!

Check out the shopping links below!

xoxo,

Jasmine

photo credit: Kaye McCoy

About the Look

Dress or this // Shoes // Belt // Jewels

The Power of the P!

In honor of the beautiful outpour of women uniting last weekend, I decided to feature the Power of the P, and today, P stands for PANTSUIT!

Every woman should have a nice pantsuit! I think some people think a woman in a suit is some ultra-feminist badass, and well why not, she probably is! I got this suit back in September and I first wore it to celebrate my 35th birthday. I found the designer Mae Otti on IG. And can I say IG is the best and worst thing ever! It is way too easy to discover amazing things to buy!

Ok...back to this pantsuit. Isn’t she the prettiest thing you've ever seen?! I mean the fit is amazing and it’s PLAID! HELLO! PLAID! This talented designer is based in Lagos, Nigeria. I didn't let something silly like another continent stop me from buying this! I sent my measurements and a few weeks later my custom made suit was at my front door.

I paired it with a simple black cami and threw on my fav blue pumps; it is the perfect look for work or for going on partying!

ABOUT THE LOOK:

Suit (contact Mae Otti via Instagram @mae_otti) // Black Cami (this or this) // Shoes (here is a cute alternative!)

photo credit: Valheria Rocha

Fur-Real!

ABOUT THE LOOK

Camo Jacket (here's a cute alternative! and here's another one!) // Fur Stole // Converse Sneakers // Wide Brim Hat // Bodysuit // Purse (or this one!)

photo credit: Valheria Rocha

I love a good DIY project. When I can't find something I envision, I try to recreate it. I love taking different items and putting them together to create a new look.

This camo/fur jacket is one of my favorite DIY projects. I love anything fur and I love camo. I got this camo jacket from a thrift shop and I wore it all the time. I stumbled across another camo jacket and added it to my collection. I decided to repurpose this jacket and I thought a fur stole would look amazing on it. I did a quick search on eBay and found a faux fur stole for under $30 bucks and purchased it! I pulled out a needle and thread and brushed up on my sewing skills. There you have it, a whole new piece to add to the wardrobe. Why give up an item that you love when you can make it look like something new?!

I can’t go without mentioning this amazingly cute jeweled metal purse from ASOS! This item is no longer available on ASOS but I found a few similar items being sold on eBay. This purse is like a piece of ART! I absolutely love it. It is such a statement piece I like to wear it with just jeans and t-shirt.

This is pretty much my version of a casual weekend look. Check out the outfit details below!

Style Date with Melissa

MEET MELISSA!

The first creative to be featured is Melissa West! Melissa is a super talented young lady that I have grown to adore! She is a freelance stylist, photographer, and decorative painter. I met Melissa a little over a year ago when she joined my team at work. When she started, I told myself, I will train her up real good but I’m not getting attached (no new friends)! Well, a whole year later, we are attached at the hip at work.

We started chasing walls together here in Atlanta. As you can check out on both of our IG pages, we love colorful murals/walls. This has really become our thing, so I thought it was a great idea to not only feature Melissa and her work but to check out our new favorite mural in Atlanta by Molly Rose Freeman . So check out my conversation with Melissa, and to see more of her, follow her on IG @melissabwest.

photo credit: Valheria Rocha

STYLE DATE WITH MELISSA WEST

I am really excited to feature my first Style Date! A Style Date is an opportunity for me to feature some amazing creatives in Atlanta. I started this blog to not only share my personal style but to also inspire people by the awesome talent in this city. They will share their creative craft and talk a little style on the side.

What do you love about ATL?

The variety! There is so much to do in Atlanta and the surrounding areas. Some of my favorite things to do in Atlanta are hiking at Sweetwater Creek, shopping and eating at Ponce City Market, riding bikes on the beltline, and dancing the night away on Edgewood. Each part of city is uniquely different and has something special to offer. I love that Atlanta is a large metropolitan city but surrounded by nature.

How would you describe your style?

Quirky, free-spirited, bohemian! I think it is really hard to narrow down exactly how to describe my style. I’m casual but like to dress up, I love wearing black but also love color. I like a little bit of everything!

What’s your favorite piece in your wardrobe?

A good pair of jeans! My current favorite pair are a skinny high-waist light denim jean from Anthropologie. I can’t get enough of a comfortable pair of jeans!

How did you get into decorative painting?

I grew up crafting with my mom and working on rental houses my parents owned. Even though the painting and laying wood floor as a kid wasn’t the most fun and creative thing to do, it taught me how to use my hands to build and create things. In high school, I took photography, ceramics, and graphic design classes. I always had a love for art. My love for fashion brought me to SCAD to study Fashion Marketing and Management. After graduating from SCAD, I started my first job running a small women’s apparel and home boutique. This is where I was introduced to Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. From there I worked on finding furniture and decorative pieces to paint and sell in the shop, teaching workshops on how to use the paint, and custom painting client’s pieces. I’ve painted everything from a ceramic planter to a king size bed to kitchen cabinets. Annie Sloan Chalk Paint can truly paint anything!

Tell me about your style of work.

I typically like to make things look old when I’m painting. I can take a new IKEA dresser and make it look like it is 60 years old. Layering, dry brushing, distressing, crackling, these are all techniques I do quite often.

Who/what inspires you as a creative?

I get inspired by my surroundings. I can honestly say I can be inspired by anything. Buildings, nature, people, food, anything can spark inspiration for me. Specifically for my decorative painting, I really get inspired by old things. The older the better. An old rusty bike, a French chateau, a house that has been painted over a million times. I love laying colors when I’m painting so when I see something that has years of paint layered on I get really inspired to paint.

Forever I Love Atlanta

Winter Wonderland Gear

Well, it’s the first of the year and the weather is quickly changing here in Atlanta. I can’t believe I’ve lived in Atlanta for almost 8 years now! I love where I’m from (Delaware) but Atlanta has really become my home. I lightweight love it here but I'll never admit that to Sid because he'll take all the credit for me being here. One of the things I love most about Atlanta, besides all the great restaurants, is the weather. I don’t know how I lived my whole life up north with the snow! My favorite season in Atlanta is fall because it really just feels like spring. We have way more warmer days here than cold. The weird things about me is, I love the warmer weather but I like to dress for colder days (but not too cold). I like to layer up; I love hats, coats, boots, sweaters…you name it, I love it! So, now that we are in our colder season I’m trying to get good use out of all my winter gear. I started off the year with a cute and casual look while I hung out over at Jackson Street Bridge, which by the way has one of my favorite views of the city!

Word on the street is, it’s going to snow in Atlanta this weekend! I really don’t think that is going to happen but it looks like I’m ready for some snow! I have on my new fav go-to bomber from Target (Who What Wear) line. I am also rocking my favorite jeans, I can’t go wrong with a little high waist and wide-legged jeans. I feel very ‘70s when I wear them and I wear them a lot!
Style tip: find “the” pair of jeans and wear them every which way you can!

ABOUT THE LOOK

ALDO Boots // H&M Jeans // Forever 21 Tank // Target Bomber // Atlanta Braves Hat

photo credit: Valheria Rocha

New Year, Who Dis?

I cannot believe 2016 has come and gone! I remember last New Year's Eve like it was yesterday.

I have never been one to do a lot on this particular holiday. This year will be like years past; I plan to keep it pretty low-key, just good food, and fun with friends...oh and course champagne! But no matter what I plan to do on New Year's Eve, I always like to dress up, as if I need a reason. I could be staying home walking around the house with sequins and fur on. The look I went for this year is pretty '80s, channeling the '80s baby I am. I love tulle, so when I found this dress on ASOS, I had to have it! I think throwing on a leather jacket with anything can change the whole look of an outfit, and I thought this was the perfect combination. This leather jacket is a staple in my closet! I refuse to get rid of it even though I can't even zipper that bad boy anymore. What pieces in your closet do you refuse to get rid of?

Along with dressing up for every New Year's Eve, I also like to set new goals to work towards in the upcoming year. This year, I made my new goals back in November to get a head start on things, hence, why I started my blog before the end of 2016! High-five to myself for marking one thing off the list already!

Oh! How awesome is this mural by Felipe Pantone?! Edgewood would be a great neighborhood to hangout in for NYE! You guys should check out this wall at The Sound Table!

Happy New Year!

ABOUT THE LOOK

ASOS Tulle Dress // ASOS Flat Patented Boots (mine are a year old but these are the closest I could find! Also: a cute alternative.) // Necklace (this was a DIY project!) // Bebe Leather Jacket (mine is ten years old - here is a cute alternative.) // SojoS Sunglasses

photo credit: Melissa West