Feast- ival Dressing!

By Jacqueline Davis Moranti

The time has come to that time of the the year, where we spend most of our days with families and close friends, and we stuff our faces with a little more than we are used to because we don't know when the next time we'll be getting that fabulous meal again! Thanksgiving is only a few days away, so it's time to think of an outfit that will impress and look great with all the family photo taking!

The perfect Thanksgiving ensemble should be comfortable enough to contain a full belly, kitchen helping, table setting, tv watching and chasing your little niece and nephew! Another thing to keep in mind, which may not mean much to some, is dressing in seasonal colors.

During this time of the year, neutrals play a big part in fashion and bold, less saturated colors too. I love mixing in jewel tones with the neutrals, think burgundy, ochre, forest green, sapphire and plum strewn in with navy, black, camel, grey and wintery white!

The first outfit, top left, combines this gorgeous forest green blazer with a camel/ gold sequin dress. This is an outfit for the girl who wants all eyes on her! What's great about this dress is that it's a shift/ sheath style, meaning it is more of a straight line. Making it a pretty forgiving style!

The top right look is for the edgy girl who has no problem with standing out! Put together a sapphire blue maxi dress with a metallic silver blazer and a black and white striped blouse and you've got a winning look! Maxi dresses are a great option, hides bloated tummies really well and provides you with a long, lean, flattering figure.

The bottom left image is a more low key look. A black and white A- line dress paired with a long sleeved, sheer blouse. One of the key points to think about when it comes to family functions is to not be overtly sexy.... unless, for your Thanksgiving dinner it's just you and your significant other! Honestly, when you show too much skin, it tends to make you feel a bit uncomfortable because you start to wonder whether this or that is too short or too low. It's not fun going a whole day thinking that way. The sheer blouse under the dress, provides the right amount of "sexy" plus it's a great way of updating a summer dress into the cooler months! This dress has an a - line shape, making it the perfect amount of forgiving!

For the girl who wants to wear pants rather than dresses or skirts, try patterns! Patterns help distract the viewers from one part of the body, to the part with the patterns, in this situation, the legs. But why not mix it up with another pattern?! The key point to mixing prints is pairing a smaller print with a bigger print, that way it doesn't look confusing. Wearing a chunky sweater is also very comfortable and accommodating to a full belly. 

The best thing to remember this Thursday, is to be comfortable and suited to your personality. Have fun, eat as much as you want, get rested and then prepare to shop afterwards! Happy Thanksgiving readers!

                                                                                                                          Xoxo,

                                                                                                                              Jacqui

Transitional Cools.

I love the period between August and September, that's when the best transitional pieces are introduced.  Don't get me wrong, the summer season is great but by the time August arrives, i'm ready for Autumn! This maxi dress from Sparkle & Fade, from Urban Outfitters, is a perfect transitional piece, I got the dress about two years ago and I've been wearing it in so many different ways. It's great for dressing up, which I have done with a cropped silver, metallic blazer or dressed down with a thick sweater and boots. 

Photos C/O Drake Murray

Dress: Urban Outfitters, necklace: Anthropologie, Guess, belt and bracelet: Forever21, heels: Steve Madden via Shoemint, bag: H&M

It's the season to have fun with layers and I can't wait to experiment!

                                                                                                 Xoxo,

                                                                                                       Jacqui

Colorblocked Love.

        

Dress: C/O Sugarlips Apparel, jacket: Guess, shoes: Forever21, jewelry: Forever21, thrifted

Can I just say I'm extremely in love with this dress! The color, the fabric and the fit is perfect on me. It combines this seasons hottest trends, colorblocking, asymmetrical length and cut-outs. I knew when I saw this bad girl on Sugarlips Apparel, we'd have a lifelong relationship! More brownie points because my BF declared this his favorite dress on me! Can't wait to wear this dress to my many summer events! And when the autumn season arrives, it will be great for layering!

And now for a public service announcement, it's rude to stare! You ever get so many looks that you just want to turn around and say something? Unfortunately (or fortunately?!) since I have this wild head of hair and "eccentric" sense of fashion it kind of comes with the territory. 

                                                                                     Xoxo,

                                                                                            Jacqui

Color Fusion.

Razzled, me.

Let's face it, it gets boring wearing the same clothes a lot. Shopping is always a lot of fun, but sometimes you know you really shouldn't spend more money on clothes. The only solution to that is to get creative with your closet! 

Recently, I've taken some neutral pieces from my closet and paired them with some bright counterparts. It was the perfect way to liven up demure looking fabrics. 

The order of the illustrated outfits are the same order of the photos.

           

The first outfit, is a great choice for a night out with the girls. Bright and architectural are fun GNO(Girl's Night Out) choices! It's actually a black peplum dress paired with a pink pencil skirt. I love reinventing my dresses!

The second outfit is great to run errands in and still look great while you're mailing out your bills or buying a soy latte from your favorite coffee shop. A neon maxi dress with a light, fuzzy, white top. This outfit screams for comfy, flat sandals!

The third look, is perfect for a date night. This outfit is also a dress underneath a skirt. Tangerine is one of the hottest colors of this season. Paired it with some colorful accessories to dress up the neutral skirt.

The last outfit, is also a really great choice for GNO. When it comes, to hangin' with the girls, for me anyways, I like to dress a little more sexy than I would for a date. I'd rather be more feminine than too sexy for a date, I don't want to send the wrong vibes!

Dress and skirt: Forever21, Belt: J.crew, sandals: Colin Stuart, jewelry: thrifted

I've recently worn the 3rd outfit. I truly love this pleated skirt, it makes me feel like a ballerina! Have you tried the dress and skirt combo yet?!

                                                                                      Xoxo,

                                                                                             Jacqui

Experimental Fashion.

Dress: Forever21, Skirt: Nastygal.com, Wedges: Steve Madden via Shoemint, Jewelry: Forever21, thrifted

I'm really starting to love pairing brights with neutrals! It gives your eyes a different focus. You see the "top" i'm wearing? It's actually a maxi dress that I tucked into the skirt. It started with me wanting to wear this dress, but I really wanted some more color into the outfit, and not by adding a belt or scarf. Experimenting is key to a fun wardrobe!

The illustration conveys, my night that day. I was at the launch party, #Wearthebeach, for Duke and Winston's latest summer collection. You should definitely check it out on their website. The party was hosted at the North Shore Beach Club, it was my first time there and it definitely won't be my last! That place was gorgeous, it reminded me of a night club in Ibiza, Spain, which says a lot! A pool party combined with a club atmosphere. It was just fun all around, afterwards went out to this cafe/ restaurant with some friends and chatted about the event. Ps, wedges are a girls best friend!

                                                                                      Xoxo,

                                                                                           Jacqui

Date Night.

        Have you ladies ever just sit in front of your closet and wonder what to wear for a date with someone you really wanted to impress?! I know I have, and I'm hoping I can sort of ease your woes. The thing with date nights is that, even if it's not the first date with this person you still want to look just as great as you did the first date, you still want that "wow" factor. First and foremost, I should state that these are only my silly opinions. I believe that the first few dates should show 20 to 0% of skin, too much skin seems like your're revealing too much of yourself, way too soon. You want mr. right to wonder about you, not know you within the first 10 minutes of meeting you!

        All of these outfits show skin in one way or another but it a smart classy way that doesn't mean your revealing too much. Top- left outfit shows off toned abs in a cropped, sweater. Paired with a high waisted, maxi skirt, printed with enlarged florals, very on trend this season with a statement necklace to top it off! The next outfit, top- right, shows off your body in a  nude colored, body suit. It's the perfect amount of tease! it is paired under a polka- dot maxi skirt, that has a slit that ends right above the knee. The bottom- left outfit has a flirtatious flair to it! A lace dress over a chartreuse tee dress, both minis, meaning time to show off those legs! I also put a chartreuse scarf on top to accentuate the color more while the belt and necklace compliment it, with blues and greens.  The last outfit, bottom- right, is my favorite! It's an off- white, maxi dress that has a sheer overlay on top of a mini slip, that also shows off your legs. I have a silky, kimono jacket and a beaded necklace to add some more interest to the dress. Can't wait to wear these out!

        I hope that I may have been able to help out any frustrations!   

                                                                                                            Xoxo,
                                                                                                                Jacqui

One Little Dress...

     I've taken this cute little dress from Forever21 and reinvented ways of wearing it. I hate wearing things how they're meant to be worn, unless it's something super dynamic by itself! The color of this dress is great especially for color blocking.

     The major theme I was going for was the color blocked look, great for the warmer months. The first outfit (top- left) is great for a night out, the pink dress is worn underneath a teal mini skirt with a tassel belt to show off the waist and it also ties in the striped blazer. The look next to it, wears the dress under a button down top, in person, the pink in the blouse looks super similar to the dress, but the camera seems to make it look a lot lighter. It's a really casual feel outfit, the denim jacket also helps to fulfill that, and the necklace ties in the blue from the jacket. Great outfit for a day in the city with some friends. Bottom left outfit is a more sophisticated, pulled together look. Very office friendly and fun! A basic blue button down is worn over the little pink dress and then a very bright colored sweater over top of that. the belt helps to show off the waist and the scarf adds some more color to the outfit. The next outfit is a more bohemian look, my trademark looks... looking through my calendar to find an event to wear it to already! The LPD is worn under a black t- shirt and then a teal button down is thrown on top of it, unbuttoned. the belt helps to, once again show off those womanly curves! This outfit definitely called for a statement necklace! 

     So I was still feeling experimental and tried the LPD in another option. I have it worn under a sheer citron, maxi dress. In person, the pink of the dress shows through more than it does in this picture. I'd wear this to a date with a special someone! 

Keep mixing and matching, readers! 

                                                                          Xoxo,

                                                                                    Jacqui