Closet Organizing Ninja.

I didn't die, I promise.  But when life gets busy, my Mom Uniform blog posts are the first things to suffer.  

But I LOVE the few days right after deadlines.  You take a day to relax, NOT shower and stay in your jammies all day.  Like a sick day.  Except that you spend the whole day working on projects that you finally have time for.  The next day you get tired of living in your own filth and clean the WHOLE house top to bottom and then take a blissfully long shower.  And get dressed up, curls and all.  

Cardigan: Downeast

Tank: Forever 21

Jeans: Downeast

Shoes: Forever 21...this is getting weird....

Oh and guess what else I did?

Yep.  I organized my closet.  I haven't done this in years!  Who has time to organize their closet, let alone put away the basket of folded laundry that's been sitting in the hallway all week?  But my closet has been looking abominable for awhile now and I just couldn't take it anymore. 

Just look at that!  All the skirts and dresses are on the far left.  Next are jackets and sweaters.  Next to that are collared shirts, then long-sleeved, then short-sleeved, then tanks, then belts.  And all sections are organized according to color.  Everyone needs to do this once in awhile!  It really helps you to evaluate your closet.  And discover stuff you forgot about!  And discover stuff that you now fit into because you haven't cheated on your diet in two weeks!  

And while I was on a roll, I just went across the closet and organized Hubcaps closet too!  He thanked me.  Right before he passed out on the recliner because he pulled another all-nighter.  

Shoes-Ties-Belts-Scrubs-Short Sleeved Button Ups-Long Sleeved Button Ups-Polos-Jeans-Shorts-Scout Stuff-Jackets.  And of course all organized by color.  Yeah, I'm awesome.  

Life is good, my friends.  Life is good. 

Dress For Your Body Type: Spoon Figure

According to the Shop Your Shape Website,

"As a Spoon Body type (sometimes called figure 8), your hips are larger than your bust and you have a defined to somewhat defined waist. Your hips have a “shelf” appearance and you are prone to gaining weight in your tummy and have a tendency towards love-handles. While you may gain weight in your upper thighs and upper arms, your lower legs and arms are shapely and your best assets."

 Hmm...Wide hips?  Flabby tummy?  Love handles?  This body shape should be called "The Mom Shape"  because anyone who has given birth to a baby probably has all of these problems.  Let me add in: "stretch marks and saggy breasts" and it's the whole package.

Lucky me, this is MY body shape!  So how do we Spoons best dress to disguise our problem areas?
Also from Shop Your Shape:

"The key to dressing a Spoon body type is to draw attention to your upper body while deemphasizing your tummy and hips to create a more balanced appearance and create the illusion of an hourglass figure. Your legs are your best asset, so feel free to play with skirt lengths and show them off!"

Let's not forget that I'm a Mormon.  This means that I dress modestly.  My skirts generally should not be shorter than knee length, unless I'm wearing leggings underneath.  And I don't wear sleeveless shirts unless they also are layered.  (So my less-than-modest suggestions I would wear with something under or over.)  Here are my suggestions:

From Left to Right, Top to Bottom:

Downeast Sweetheart Top

Anthropologie Fairy Dance Top

Old Navy Jersey Blazer

Downeast Corduroy Skirt 

Gap Wide Leg Trouser Jeans

Gap Chambrey Tie Neck Blouse

Old Navy Dolman Sleeve Cardigan

Target Red Maxi Dress

Gap Perfect Khaki Pants

RULES:  

1. Wear tops that have details around the chest and arm area, which will draw attention away from the middle.  
2. Look for empire waists, as long as they drape close to the body (so you don't look pregnant.)  
3. Tie belts above the 'shelf' to draw the eye away from the tummy.  
4. Wear jackets that are tailored to fit snugly around the narrowest part of your waist to create the hourglass appearance.  
5. Wear skirts that are A-line or straight, nothing that will add bulk to the hips.  
6. Show off your legs by experimenting with different skirt lengths.  
7. Wear pants that fit well on the top, are boot cut, straight leg, or even wide leg.  (I love skinny jeans with loose flowy tops, but they aren't for everyone.) 

For more details, check out Shop Your Shape!

What's Your Body Shape?

This week we'll be talking about the different body shapes and how you can dress for your particular body shape that will best flatter you.  Note:  I am no expert in this topic, I am still learning.  I just thought that some of you might be interested as well!  Dressing for your body type REALLY changes things.  

First up, have you checked out the site "Shop Your Shape"?  It's a pretty cool website.  You can enter in your measurements and then figure out what your body shape is and they'll even give you recommendations on what kinds of clothes would work for your figure!  (I'm a spoon, just so ya know.)  Anyway, my body shape definitions are going to be straight from their site, and I recommend you spend a few minutes over there to figure out your shape type!  During the next couple of weeks I'll do designated posts on each shape and find outfits that flatter them.  

Without further ado...meet the 8!!

STRAIGHT

PEAR

SPOON

HOURGLASS

TOP HOURGLASS

INVERTED TRIANGLE

OVAL

DIAMOND

Okay!!  I just so you know I have yet ANOTHER cold so I'm not so much into the 'getting dressed' business just now.  I seriously NEED to get better.  Grrr....

You Can Look Good In Clothes!

Wow, sorry about the delay.  I am totally in over my head with projects.  I wish there were 20 more hours in the day (and that they come after my kids go to bed.)  I signed up for 30 in 30 but I don't think I can do it.  I've barely even showered this week.  Life is just crazy right now!  Not to mention that I sliced my finger open last night and it's making typing blog posts tricky.  

I fully intend to keep doing the posts I wanted to do, but I hope you'll bear with me if I don't post every day.  And I did the survey in a stupid non-calculatable format so I have to tally those results by hand.  Yay me.  

Dress:  Forever 21; $22

Tank: Old Navy; $4

Skirt: Gap, Thrifted; $5

Boots: Famous Footwear; $50

Scarf: Walmart; $5

I was watching "What Not to Wear" tonight and this Dolly Parton reincarnated girl was on the show.  After her makeover she looked SO much better (as they always do) but she hated her new look.  She wanted to go back to the over-madeup face, the huge bumped up platinum blonde hair, and her teeny bopper style.  You know why she did this?  Here's my theory:

You get used to a certain idea of what looks good.  For me, for a very long time, the only way I thought I could look good in anything was if I lost 10 lbs.  And even now that I'm dressing more for my body type which is helping so much, I still have to push away that idea about myself.  I will always want to lose that last 10 lbs, and I'm always trying to.  But if you are anything like me or the Barbie girl, you have to open up your mind to the possibility that you could actually look good in clothes how you are (without loads of make up, without Spanx, without huge bleached hair, without losing weight.)  You CAN look good in clothes, but you have to figure out how.   

That's my Soap Box for the night.  Good night y'all.   

Dressing For Your Confidence

If you didn't read my post over at Momma Go Round, you should.  Otherwise you'll just be completely lost.  Lost as in starting to watch LOST during the middle of season three, lost. 

Just kidding.  It's pretty self-explanatory. 

Dressing For Your Body Type
Sad as it is, our bodies don't stay the way they were when we were 18.  But really who can expect that with all the drastic changes we make throughout our lives?  Seriously, if your body is the same when you're 80 as it was when you were a teenager, take a good long look at your life. 

I remember the first time I had the realization that I needed to change the way I dressed.  I was in my first year of marriage, and as you know, marriage comes with at least a few comfort pounds.  I had been wearing tight jeans and shirts for a long time and then I realized I was sucking in my belly a little more frequently and looking, well...fat. 

Source

 But the weird thing was that I hadn't gained more than five pounds.  It's like the entire composition of my body just changed.  I could have had super powers for all I knew. 

So I went shopping.  But this time, I shopped in the LADIES area (I think this was a department store) instead of the MISSES area.  I was totally embarrassed to be shopping with all the frumpy old ladies in there who wear pants up to their chest.  But I actually found some clothes that didn't make me look like a teeny bopper.  And then I went to Charlotte Russe and bought jeans that were in a bigger size.  That made me sad, to be buying a bigger size.  But I needed it.  I just wasn't cutting it in the jeans I had. 

The clothes were revolutionary for me.  I realized that there was a whole world of clothes that I could wear that would make me look like a woman rather than a high school student whose love handles look like a Play Dough fat factory.  I looked good in clothes again, and I gained back so much confidence that I'd lost.  And I actually came to terms that maybe my body wasn't so much 'fat' as it was just a woman's body, rather than a girl's.  

Kudos to you if you are skinny.  Seriously, everyone loves to hate you for your body.  :)  But the majority of us have a few extra pounds that we would love to ditch but it just ain't happenin'.  And it's really easy to get depressed about it.  But guess what?  Maybe you just aren't dressing for your current shape.  And I don't just mean buying clothes that actually FIT (but that helps loads.)  I mean dressing to flatter your lumps.  

It's important to me, ladies.  It's important to me that you all recognize the beauty that you have, obviously INSIDE of you, and that you can radiate that beauty outwardly as well.  You may have forgotten how good you can feel about yourself when you actually feel beautiful.  Looking good always makes me feel so much more confident, and I hope that I can inspire you to do the same. 

Source

So without further ado, I bring you the new series "Dressing For Your Body Type."  I will discuss the different body types there are, what these types need to emphasize and de-emphasize, and then find clothes for that body type.  Get ready to assess. 

I'm Visiting Nina Today...

Welcome to everyone visiting from 

Momma Go Round!! 

 

I'm not posting here today, but I'm visiting the sweet Nina at her fun blog Momma Go Round!  I'm writing about Dressing For Your Body Type.  Please go check it out and feel free to follow Nina's blog because she is pretty much awesome.  She also has a great series on vamping up your blog, so if you need help, check her out! 

I will be starting a series called "Dressing For Your Body Type" where I investigate all the different body types and find the best outfits for that type, as well as being in a good price range.  

I'm so excited about all the survey results so far and I'm going to close up the survey really soon so get your answers in ASAP!!

Take the Survey

How to Wear Skinny Jeans

Top: F21, $14

Tank: Old Navy, $4

Jeans: Downeast, $15

Shoes: F21, $11 (Buy HERE)

Headband: F21, gift

This whole outfit cost me $44.  (Not as impressive as yesterday, but still!)  

How to Wear Skinny Jeans

Skinny Jeans have been around for awhile now.  And it usually takes me a few years to adopt a new trend.  I like to make sure that it's sticking around, long enough to make it worth my time to try it out.  

"Skinny" is actually kind of a misnomer.  I thought you had to be skinny to wear skinny jeans.  And I'm not so much skinny anymore.  But I read somewhere that the key to skinny jeans is wearing loose, flowy tops with skinny jeans.  And that makes perfect sense!  Because unless you are 14 or a supermodel, you really shouldn't be wearing all skin-tight clothes.  

So go find some skinny jeans you like, find your size in the waist, try out a few pairs until you find one that fits you well.  Then wear your looser, more flowy tops with  them.  For shoes, wear flats without socks, boots, or high heels.  (Or flip flops, who cares?!) 

Skinny jeans are a better way to show off your cute, cute shoes.

And these shoes are a great way to show how much you need a pedicure.