Tag: look

Beauty, Fashion, Me, Woman

In Review…2019 Style

by MsSquarePeg6 Comments on In Review…2019 Style

My tried-and-true chicelegant (spell check nearly imploded with this nonexistent word, but whatevs) aesthetic didn’t change much in 2019. Here are some of my favorite looks from this year, with a bit of commentary.

When it comes to jeans and pants, I’m your typical pull-your-pants-up-every-ten-seconds kind of gal, because I tend to pull sizes a bit bigger than I should. (Le sigh.) But this year was a marked improvement. I went for more jeggings and leggings this time around, which resulted in better fits and just looked way nicer.

Dresses and skirts are my favorite things to wear. They just are.

I wasn’t kidding.

The collaged photo in the middle is from our annual worship convention this year and my theme was skirts. (Anyone else theme their outfits for events? I love doing that.) All those skirts came from Ross–all to the shock and awe of my Mom, who thinks I should be shopping at Nordstrom at my age. If I can score chic and lovely clothes for a lesser price, I’ll be staying at Ross. After loving everything I wore this summer, she agrees with me.

The Blonde Ambition Tour.

And finally, these three. The last photo is from last weekend at one of our worship events. I played around with color and combinations here and I was really pleased with the results. Woo hoo…

 

‘Twas a good year for personal style and fashion. My goals are to continue to dress for my body and accentuate better, remain chicelegant, and experiment more. As for the revolving door of hair styles and colors: of course.

What are your personal style staples?

Beauty, Hair, Inspiration, Me, Woman

Because Solange.

by MsSquarePeg1 Comment on Because Solange.

Okay, dear Reader, you know I cut my hair.

Well, I cut it again. And again.

After the first cut, I went back to my stylist and asked for another cut, to even things out, and to color it, as well, since the gray hairs were like all these changes are making us nervous so we ’bout to legit multiply. Here’s how it looked after the second cut:

I went with a wine-y, berry color, which may not be evident in these pics but will be soon. Having been red and brown red and burgundy and jet black, I wanted something in the reddish family, but a bit different than the hues I’ve tried before. Fun story: when my stylist washed out the color, it only lifted on my sides and back of my hair. purpleThe middle remained completely unaltered by the color. So…she added a bright purple color all over, hoping that it would aid the lift…and it did. But that bright purple…whew.

So I was happy with the changes.

Or was I?

This past week, I headed home to VA to spend some much-needed time with the Mama and my family. (It was awesome.) While there, I contemplated cutting my hair again. Deep down, although I liked my look, I wasn’t 100% content. Why? What was I looking for?

Her.

Stylistically, wedding-y, everything-y, Solange has long been a marvel for my eyes. And I certainly remember my gaspy (new word, just created by me, you’re welcome) reaction to her gorgeous big chop in 2009. It was everything. Do you hear me? Every. Ting. I think she was hiding in my subconscious this whole time, patiently waiting for me to bring her back up and acknowledge that this was the hair destination I was headed to. Because even the other photos I had for inspo were cuts that looked exactly like Solange’s.

cutinspo
Solange inspo.

Interesting, right? Anyway, the previous cut was fine, but there was a fro-hawk-y nature about that middle part of my head, and as much as I love frohawks, I’ve had that look before. I wanted something different. I wanted Solange. I wanted simple, chic, lovely, even–all of what you see above. So, when I had some time while home, I drove to the local Hair Cuttery and asked for my third cut.

With the color and this new look, dear Reader, I believe we have reached Destination: Solange. Or, more importantly, I can 1005 percent say I love my new look. Check it out.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

A few more things:

  1. I need a barber. My stylist is awesome and started this style change rolling, but to maintain this look, I’ll definitely need a professional barber. The search begins.
  2. I love this look.
  3. That’s all.

Have you had this experience? Loved a look but deep down, wanted something more? Shall we meet in the comments below?

Beauty, Fashion, Me

i didn’t look pregnant!

by MsSquarePegLeave a Comment on i didn’t look pregnant!

jump2

Party people: I rarely wear jumpsuits. Because when I do wear them, I look with child. And since I’m not with child and haven’t ever been with child, you can imagine me wanting to avoid appearing that way when it comes to my personal style. Nevertheless, while at Ross a week or so ago, I came upon the jumpsuit you see above and it really delighted my eye. The pattern, the texture–everything. My friend, who was shopping with me, gasped. “You have to buy that! It’s so cute!” Me: But I’ll look pregnant. “You won’t!” Me: I will. Every jumpsuit I’ve ever owned or worn–with the exception of like, one–has created a weirdness in my mid-section area, creating an illusion that I certainly wasn’t looking for. Hence my reluctance. But my friend’s encouragement won me over. Fast forward to me wearing the jumpsuit for a graduation this past weekend and happily discovering that it was lovely and non-pregnant looking!

huzzah

Here’s to taking tiny risks with style and in life, too, which all culminates to tip-toeing out of that warm comfort zone every now and again.

Soooo: do you have outfits that create said weird illusion? Wanna share?

Share!

Beauty, Fashion, Hair, Travel

Fabu Fashion Monday: Poncho, Please.

by MsSquarePeg4 Comments on Fabu Fashion Monday: Poncho, Please.

Let me tell you about the last time I wore a poncho, which was sometime in the early 2000s: quite unnerved by the lack of actual sleeves, I wore it once and stuffed it somewhere in my drawer after ripping it off at the end of the evening. Yes, folks, my name is This Square Peg, and I openly admit to being freaked out by the non-sleeves of a poncho. But that was then. Girls become women, and non-sleeves grow less terrifying.

poncho1

I snagged this poncho a week ago at Rugged Wearhouse, a local store I’m newly obsessed with and mentioned here. Despite the unfortunate store name (rugged? wearhouse? just no), this place has some of the chicest finds in all the land. And dare I say it, that poncho above, with its faux leather lining and those patterns, had me drowning in le chic. I wore it a ladies lunch that I was invited to and paired it with black skinny jeans and a pair of clunky boots. By the way, have I mentioned how much I love a twistout and red lips?

blackwhitered

Black, white, twists, and red. Can’t beat it.

Anywho, I fell so in love with the poncho that I took it along with me this past longish weekend to Arizona, where I headed to visit my beloved cuzzo. After she informed me that the weather there was actually cool (no kidding; while we shivered in the cool temperatures, it was 75 degrees here in Somewheres, VA), I threw that thing right in my suitcase and wore it again for an evening out in Phoenix.

All in all, good times were had with my dear new poncho, and there was hardly a non-sleeves panic attack in sight.

Are you a lover of the poncho, too?

Beauty, Fashion, Hair, Me, OK Corral, Writing

Fabu Fashion Galore.

by MsSquarePeg5 Comments on Fabu Fashion Galore.

First off, thanks to everyone who read, liked, and/or commented on The Wedding and the Web. Sharing is caring, and it’s always my pleasure to share my writing on This Square Peg.

Now. Here’s an assortment of outfits and ensembles I’ve worn in the past few weeks. We said sharing is caring, riiiight? By the way, I don’t have the ability to pat myself off on the back (ask every gym teacher who tried to get me to tumble), but I have to admit: I’m proud of the direction I’m going in with my style. It’s constantly evolving. With the weight loss, I was focused on simply not wearing clothes two sizes too big. Now I’m just having fun with it. Fun is good.

Fabu1

OK, so this blouse is basically my new best friend. Do you see it? That rockin’ zipper on the top? The way it parts in half? I wore it to the OK Corral one day and I was so feeling myself, as one should. Paired it with a pair of pants that actually fit me. Blouse and pants from Rugged Wearhouse, a local store that I’ve been ignoring until now. Yes, it owns me.

Another day at the OK Corral, another selfie session in a well-lit washroom. I loved the simplicity and comfort of this outfit. Lots of gray and black, so I threw on some patterned tights and some sparkly silver and gold flats. Skirt from Dress Barn, blouse from Mom’s Closet of Dreams, and gray sweater from Ross.

Fabu4

You see that African blazer? I tried it on and it fit like a glove and I was poised to put it back because, well, your girl isn’t used to things fitting like a sweet glove and then my good friend basically yelled at the top of her lungs for me to buy it. I’m occasionally obedient, so I did just that. And as you can tell from the smile on my face, I loved it something awful. Got it from a pop-up shop that Zuvaa Marketplace put on a few weekends ago. (What a great idea, huh?) What I love even more is its versatility: I can wear it with a skirt, with jeans, a dress. So for this wonderful, faith-strengthening event that I attended, I paired the blazer with a leather pencil skirt that I scored for a great price from Amazon dot com a few months ago, Jessica Simpson tights, and a pair of booties that I’ve had forever from DSW.

I rarely wear suits to the OK Corral. The dress code is business casual; I tend to stick to simple fare. But on this particular day, I wanted to look like Angela Bower from Who’s the Boss? (Without the massive 80s shoulder pads, of course.) So I wore this pantsuit that I had purchased from Ross some months ago and paired it with a simple blouse. Done and done. The house in Connecticut and the cute, Italian housekeeper would have been nice, though.

Worn for last week’s casual Friyay. Not much to add, other than officially deciding that I’m done with the cheesy hand-on-hip pose.

That’s the rundown for my looks these past few weeks. Onwards, as always…

Fashion, Me

Peplum and Me.

by MsSquarePeg11 Comments on Peplum and Me.

I was so with the peplum craze when it all started. I thought it was such a classy look, for one thing, and/or something to dress up an otherwise casual outfit. It really was a pleasure to see ladies rocking their peplum outfits all around me. But there was no way I was joining them.

See that cling in the middle? SEE??
See that cling in the middle? SEE??

See, I had this view of me wearing peplum: the fabric resting comfortably on my belly and my nonexistent hips. The problem with that is, as you’ve read, me and the belly have a love/hate relationship (despite my continuing efforts to love/love it), and there was no way I was wearing something designed to rest comfortably on an area of my body that gives me a headache every now and then. No, thank you, kind sir.

But I gave in. I was in Ross one day, playing that game with myself where I pretend like I didn’t come in to put some damage in the ole wallet, and saw a cute olive green-y peplum top on the rack.

Self #1: That’s cute. It would look great with a pencil skirt or jeans.
Self #2: You know where that peplum is going to fall. You’re going to wear it and wish you could burn it in a field somewhere.
Self #1: But we’ve lost some poundage! The mid-section has significantly gone down. And anyway, who cares? It’s cute!
Self #2: Regrets and burning fields, sweetie. Regrets and burning fields.

I’d like to announce that Self #1, she with the ever expanding goals to step out of her style comfort zone and worry not about arson and regrets, decided to buy the top. And no regrets! The slightly exaggerated image of me carrying a peplum-covered spare tire was exactly that: highly exaggerated. For one thing, I feel like the top highlights my natural waist, which I’m all for, and not necessarily my mid-section. In fact, it gives me a great sleek look, which is nice. Wanna see? (I’m wearing it as we e-speak.)

Pep1 Pep3 Pep5

So it’s a yes for peplum. And a yes for This Square Peg’s ignoring of that pervasive voice that gives rein to exaggerated fears about fashion (and everything else in life worth trying).

Any new style choices you’ve made recently?