goldenpig

After yesterday's UWP discussion, I wanted to come up with an outfit that felt very UWP to me and see if I could really pull it off. So last night I was scrambling in my closet trying to find clothes that felt UWP but still fit (there's not a whole lot left!) Here is what I came up with. I saw that some of the pics on the pinterest board that Una linked to had fur collars, so I picked my burgundy cardigan with fur collar. And used my burgundy zip boots to match. With some skinny black pants (less feminine than a skirt, so maybe a little more tough chick). Then the accessories--the most UWP ones I have: snake earrings, spiky bracelet, and black studded satchel.

So in my mind, this is the best UWP look I can achieve right now. And yet I'm still not convinced it's UWP. What do you think--UWP or not? And if not, how would you describe this style? I'd love to hear your analysis of this outfit!

In my mind, I feel like a Russian spy. I know my descriptors are always more fanciful than the outfits themselves, but that's part of the fun of playing dress-up! I love creating little characters for the day. And being pregnant is the perfect decoy--nobody expects a pregnant woman to be a spy!

And lo and behold, I looked up "Russian spy fashion" and found an actual Russian spy who was deported and now is a minor celebrity, and she walked the catwalk in her spy fashion! Outfit is kinda similar to mine! Not too far off, wouldn't you say?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/.....92532.html

Una suggested we start some more threads for style families. Who else here self-identifies as a bombshell? I know MaryK is a Business Bombshell, and Teri has said she is a bombshell too. I think Kari and TXSarah have also been described as Bombshell, but I don't know if they consider themselves bombshells.

I would never have thought of myself as a bombshell--neither my personality or my body type matches the typical bombshell persona. I'm not a diva, star of the show attention getter...I'm more of a quiet unassuming type. But when I was searching for a descriptor for my style persona, I read the Lucky Guide to Mastering Any Style and the one type that resonated with me the most was Bombshell, surprisingly enough. I love red and other bright colors. Pencil skirts and full skirts and dresses. Leopard print. Fitted waists. Very feminine clothes. Flirty details like ruffles and fur collars. But I don't dress in tight, sexy, revealing clothes or wear feather boas and mules at home, dahling. My aspirational style would be more 1940's secretary than 1950's pinup. So I came up with the oxymoron description Demure Bombshell for myself. Whether or not it's accurate is maybe beside the point. It has helped me shop because in my mind I can picture who that person is and what kind of clothes she likes to wear. I know Angie doesn't think I am very bombshell, and not UWP either even though both of those styles inspire me. Actually I think I have to agree with her, when I wear an "UWP outfit" in my head I feel very UWP, but when I go back to the pics later I can tell it's not very UWP at all. I suppose maybe I'm really more of a Modern Classic, but for some reason I really don't identify with that term. Maybe because I think of it as my old pre-YLF style--Ann Taylor and Banana Republic and classics and trousers and it's too generic for me to help me shop. But I know lots of YLFers who really embrace that style and have the killer style to match! Anyways, I'll still call myself DB even though I'm probably more of a pseudo-bombshell. My mom, on the other hand, is more of a classic bombshell, both in personality and the way she dresses (she even dressed up as the Playboy bunny for Halloween a couple of years ago, and her husband was Hugh Hefner. Gack!).

I couldn't find much on the forum that actually talks about bombshell style, mostly about how to avoid looking bombshell. So I think this is not a popular look here on YLF. But here are some of Angie's original threads where she talked about de-bombshelling pencil skirts.
http://youlookfab.com/2012/10/.....-pullover/
http://youlookfab.com/2012/02/.....cil-skirt/
Funnily enough, lately I've been wearing chunky sweaters with pencil skirts just like in Angie's first thread! Hmm!
http://goldenpig.lookfab.com/p.....irtbooties
I posted a couple of threads in response to Angie's threads, asking about the definition of bombshell style--not sure I ever got an official answer on that but the discussion on bombshell style was interesting!
http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....-bombshell
http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....hell-style

Here is the original thread where I was trying to find my style persona.
http://goldenpig.lookfab.com/p.....on-persona
And here are some of my demure bombshell looks:
1. http://goldenpig.lookfab.com/p.....e-personas
2. http://goldenpig.lookfab.com/p.....tfit-tweak
3. http://goldenpig.lookfab.com/p.....ure-outfit
4. http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....-bombshell
5. http://goldenpig.lookfab.com/p.....this-style
6. http://goldenpig.lookfab.com/p.....-bow-pumps
7. A page from the Lucky Guide to Mastering Any Style, bombshell section.

Who else here is a bombshell? Post your looks please!

Even though I normally bat for Team Color, I find myself wearing a lot more black lately. Maybe because it's winter? My black booties and new black satchel have been getting quite the workout! Still wearing mostly non-maternity except one old maternity shirt...the rest are dresses I'm still squeezing into or stretch waist non-maternity skirts. Thirty-two weeks now, so only 2 more months to go!

1-2. Macy's Calvin Klein black and white sweater dress. I've always worn it with an obi belt in the past but now that my belly is getting huge I thought I'd try it sans belt.
Kate Spade Melissa black ruffle trench
Frye Melissa black lace-up boots
Le Sak black purse
WHBM silver cuff

3. Classiques Entier sweater/blazer via OC swap
ASOS black stretch waist skirt
Michael Kors Astor black studded satchel
Clarks black pumps
WHBM black pendant

4-5. Japanese Weekend raspberry shirt with faux white collars and sleeves (from my maternity wardrobe 6 years ago)
Soybu black and white patterned stretch waist skirt
Kate Spade black and white floral patterned satchel
J Crew black bubble necklace
I originally bought one of these on sale for $90 (normally $150), but of the stones fell out, so I took it back to the store to see if I could exchange it. They didn't have one to exchange, but put me through to the online service to order an exchange. And because they were having another sale the CS gave me an additional discount and I ended up getting it for $45! Yay J Crew customer service! I think that's the best sale deal I've ever gotten!

7-8. Target Converse black zipper shirt
Nordstrom Bobeau grey and black polka dot skirt
MK black satchel
Mia Nanette black ankle booties
Secret Santa hand-crocheted burgundy ring necklace from Diana
Isn't this such a cool necklace! I love polka dots and burgundy so this is perfect! Thanks again Diana!
I love polka dots so much I ended up keeping both colors of the polka dot skirt! They went on sale for $35 down from $58, so I got a price adjustment and decided to keep both since they were essentially 2 for 1. I love the high contrast look of the taupe but the grey matches better with more colors. I often buy boots and shoes in both brown and black, so this isn't that unusual for me to duplicate in two colors.

9-10. Nordstrom Ralph Lauren purple dress
F21 brown stretch double buckle belt
Anthro purple tweed coat
Mia Nanette brown ankle booties
Fossil floral satchel
Ann Taylor burgundy beaded necklace

11-12. Target Converse zipper black shirt
Target ponte leopard stretch waist skirt
MK black satchel
Banana Republic gold chain necklace (new for Christmas)
Mia Nanette black booties

My Fast Fallback Outfit used to be dresses...whenever I was rushed for time I would just throw on a dress and go. But lately my dresses have been getting tighter and shorter as my belly is growing, so I've switched to a new FFBO formula for winter...chunky knit sweater+stretchy skirt+booties. I bought three ponte skirts from Target that were only $19 apiece--black and white snakeskin, turquoise snakeskin and leopard print. They are non-maternity but very stretchy so I'm hoping to still wear them postpartum. And of course my Gap dolman sweaters in navy and cream, and I have a pair of cowl neck sweaters from H&M in black and burgundy. My black lace-up ankle booties are getting quite the workout lately--I'm wearing them all the time! And my new black studded satchel is fitting right in as well. I've already worn this formula at least twice a week for the past month or so! So easy to mix and match! And it works for both work and MOTG. I usually pick one piece of jewelry--either bracelets for the cowl neck sweaters or necklace for the funnel neck sweaters.

1-2. WIW today: Gap navy sweater, Target turquoise snakeskin skirt, Mia black booties and Michael Kors black satchel. I used a blue and turquoise necklace from F21 to tie together the navy sweater and turquoise skirt, and black bag to match the black booties. I am so matchy matchy--I always like to bookend my colors!
Other recent examples which I've posted previously:
3. H&M black cowl neck sweater, ASOS yellow and black chevron skirt, yellow D&B satchel
4. Gap navy sweater, Japanese Weekend maternity skirt.
5. Gap ivory sweater, Target leopard skirt, La Canadienne boots
6. H&M black sweater, Target black and white snakeskin skirt.
7. Another matchy matchy favorite--H&M black sweater, Nordstrom Bobeau polka dot skirt, Marc Jacobs Dotty purse, Ann Taylor polka dot cuff. Polka dots are so fun!
8. Just realized this was a repeat of 6, but with my new Michael Kors studded satchel.

We spent Christmas in Hawaii--last chance to get away before the baby comes! I have very few actual outfit pics to show, since I was mostly living in a swimsuit the whole time! But after seeing Alicat's gorgeous bikini pics in the favorite outfits thread, I figured it would be OK to share mine too!

1. DD was so sweet and held DS's hand during takeoff so he wouldn't be scared.
2-4. Swimming in the pool (we have an underwater housing for my point and shoot camera).
5. Santa and Mrs. Claus came to the beach on an outrigger canoe!
6-7. My love of matchy matchy extends to Christmas pajamas! The kids were so excited that Santa came to Hawaii!
8. INC keyhole maxi dress (not maternity but perfect for maternity!), nude sandals and KS orange slice bag (the only purse I brought). And more matchy matchy with the kids in Tea Collection.
9. Orange maxi skirt, white T shirt, AE denim jacket, orange flip flops and orange slice bag. It was almost too hot for the jacket.
10-13. At the beach. DD learned how to snorkel, and DH took the kids out on an inflatable raft with a viewing window and they both got to see turtles in the water!
14-15. Aloha from Hawaii! Mele Kalikimaka (Merry Christmas) from our ohana (family) to yours!

I am posting these to Angie's Favorite Outfits thread (http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....-2012-here), but wanted to repost them here as well so I can keep them on my YLF blog.

This was a really big year for me fashion-wise! It was my first full year at YLF--I joined in the Summer of 2011, so I became a Veteran this August. I learned so much from seeing everyone's WIWs and getting feedback on my own WIW's and K/R's.

This year I figured out my style rubric:
Color or contrast
Matchy Matchy
Patterned
Fitted
Flair

All of these outfits fit the above rubric and I felt fab and happy wearing all of them. I know there a bunch of favorite outfits here, but I had to edit heavily just to get down to 30, so that says something about how happy I am with my clothes!

Besides my primary style persona (Demure Bombshell), I also realized I have a shadow persona--I like to dabble in polished UWP looks once in a while as well. My style is very ladylike (I wear mostly skirts and dresses) and I tend to be a bit on the maximal/ALGO side--my favorite quote this year was from MaryK who said about one of my outfits "anything worth doing is worth doing to excess"! This year I am really into pattern and texture mixing as well as hypermatchy looks (like 5, 8, 9, 21, 27 and 29) and I love polka dots, orange, ink blue, and burgundy. And I still love to match my handbag, shoes and accessories to my outfit. I also purged and organized my closet this year which was huge.

But the biggest fashion change this year by far was becoming pregnant and dealing with the anxieties and challenges of re-working my wardrobe to fit my changing body. I had to adapt both my wardrobe and my attitude about maternity dressing, but am happy to report that I've been able to stretch (literally, LOL) my pre-maternity wardrobe and limit new purchases mostly to stretchy non-maternity pieces which can be worn after baby as well. I really have not had to wear my old pre-YLF maternity clothes much and only bought a couple of key new maternity pieces (like a pair of burgundy maternity skinnies, which was one of my best purchases this year). I am amazed that I am still able to wear a lot of my old wardrobe. Because of this, I am sporting more fitted/bodycon silhouettes and am embracing/highlighting the bump. Even while pregnant, I am still feeling fab and am having more fun with fashion than ever before! Looking forward to even more growth and style evolution in 2013!

Thank you to Angie and all of YLF for your help and inspiration! Here's to another stylishly fab year for everyone in 2013!

1-8. Jan-May Pre-pregnancy
9-14. June-Aug First trimester-hiding the bump
15-26. Sept-Nov Second trimester-embracing the bump
27-30. Dec Third trimester-flaunting the bump