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Showing posts with label Fashion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fashion. Show all posts

Monday, November 6, 2017

Dressing the Bump | Postpartum Style

Dressing the Bump | Postpartum Style


This post was created in partnership with PinkBlush Maternity but all thoughts and opinions are of my own.

The last time I shared a dressing the bump post, I was in the second trimester with Sophia. Since then I have played around with my style as a stay at home mom and then I shared snippets of my outfits and growing bump with baby Anthony. Once I was in the third trimester with baby Anthony, I started to look for inspiration for my postpartum style and one of the styles that kept appealing to me was the peplum top.

I love how it has a flowy drape that could easily disguise your postpartum bump so when I saw this maternity peplum top at PinkBlush, I knew I had to try it out. 



Again, what I love about PinkBlush is that their items stretch across your closet no matter what season of life you are in. Even though this top is technically labeled as maternity, my normal size fits me perfectly postpartum. The only con, depending on the importance to you, is that it isn't nursing friendly but I honestly don't mind lifting up my shirt to nurse my little babe so it isn't really a con to me. I guess from breastfeeding for 15-16 months with Sophia and now baby Anthony being my second babe to breastfeed, I feel more confident and don't necessarily need my tops to be nursing friendly. My bras are a different story, haha.



What is your favorite style to wear postpartum?



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stormieariel
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Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Fall Transition Fashion Tips

Fall Transition Fashion Tips


This post was created in partnership with PinkBlush Maternity but all thoughts and opinions are of my own.

As many of you my know, I live in Texas and as I mentioned in my Surviving a Summer Pregnancy post, we do not have seasons really. We are stuck in summer year around with a few nice days in between therefore I thought I would share some tips on dressing for Fall without dying of a heat stroke.


Warm Tones

The easiest way is to showcase fall in your wardrobe is to pair warmer tones together such as olive, burgundy, cognac, black, grey, etc. In this look, I pulled together three of these warmer tones: black, olive and cognac.  


Lightweight Material

This PinkBlush dress has the perfect amount of thickness to it that it isn't sheer but it isn't too thick that you are sweating crazy especially since I paired it with a utility vest. Again, by wearing a vest instead of a utility jacket, I still get to have a layered fall look but I am keeping my layers lightweight.

Shoes

Wearing the right shoes can determine the look of your outfit and although I am wearing sandals which is traditionally a summer/spring staple, it works with this outfit since they are cognac. At least in my opinion they work; besides I am pregnant and they are what fits so whateves, haha. You could easily pair this outfit with open toe booties to make it more fall "appropriate."


By the way, I am absolutely in love with this maternity dress, I even plan to switch it out as my coming home dress in my hospital bag. It is extremely soft and so flattering and I am loving that it is nursing friendly so it will be transitioning with me postpartum. And because it is a neutral colored dress, it can transition with me to all seasons giving me even more bang for my buck.

Shop this Look:
Dress: c/o Pink Blush (exact - wearing Small)
Utility Vest: Charlotte Russe
Shoes: Old Navy

What are you fall fashion tips if you live in a warmer area?





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Friday, October 13, 2017

Tips for Thrifting Children's Clothes

Tips for Thrifting Children's Clothes


Last month when I shared on Instastories (be sure your following me @stormieariel to keep up with our day to day life) my second-hand finds for Sophia's fall capsule wardrobe, I received quite a bit of feedback wanting to know my tips for thrifting as this was the second fall capsule wardrobe I shared of hers using second hand finds (see her 2016 Fall Wardrobe here and her 2017 Fall Wardrobe here).



A little back story first...

For Sophia's first nine months, we were extremely fortunate enough to receive an abundance of clothes that we did not have to buy her anything. For 9-12 months, we were given quite a bit of second-hand items that were still in great condition. This was also around the time I started thrifting for clothes for her which now makes it a year that I have been thrifting for second-hand finds for our constantly growing toddler and new baby to be so here are the things I have learned in the last year about thrifting for children's clothes.

Brands

I personally look for name brand items only such as Carter's (I'm talking Carter's Carter's, not Child of Mine Carter's or Just One You Carter's, more on this in a second), Baby Gap, OshKosh, Children's Place, etc.

Here is why.

When I am thrifting I am trying to save money but I do not see a Baby Gap onesie for $1.50 and a Garnamials onesie for $1.50 to be equal in quality. I am not saying there is anything wrong with Garnamials but I could spend another dollar or two to get it brand new at WalMart so it just is not a good deal to me. This is the same for the different sub-Carter's brand at Target and WalMart. They are cute and I buy them but I would buy those brand new since the pricing isn't that far off. Also to note, there is a difference in quality between the Carter's main brand and sub-brands, hence the different pricing at each store and why they are made specifically for those stores. I have personally found that Carter's main brand can withstand a lot more washes then Just One You and Child of Mine therefore again I wouldn't buy those sub-brands used since the quality has already started to deteriorate depending on how many washes it already went through which gives you less uses of it.

Quality

Since I started talking about quality, let's discuss this next. After sorting through brands, I check the quality of the item. Does it have any stains? Is it faded? Are there holes? Just because something is a brand name doesn't necessarily make it a great buy if there is baby spit up or food stains stuck in the item and there better not be any holes. I guess faded items could be up to your discretion but I personally don't buy faded items no matter how good of a deal it is unless it is handed down to me for free but that is a different story.

Tags

There will be times when you come across items that are name brand AND still have the store tags on them. As in, never have been worn. I typically do not even hesitant and will just grab these items before anyone else sees the goodness I just landed on. Of course, I do make sure the sizing and season is correct for us and if they aren't I think of friends' and family members' whose children's birthdays or baby showers are coming up.

Frequent Shopper

My last piece of advice is the more often you go, the more often you find steals. You don't have to buy something every trip but going often allows you to see the newest stuff they put out and you are more likely to find those items that still have store tags on them. You are also more likely to figure out their sale schedule. The second hand store I frequent has their onesies for 10 for $10 every so often which is a great deal especially when I find all Carter's. Also following your local second-hand store on social media, they may list bigger items (like cribs, strollers, etc.) or their latest sales so you know exactly when to go in if you don't have time to stop by a few times a week.


Do you buy your children's clothes second hand? Are there any tips I left out that works for you?


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Friday, October 6, 2017

Infant Wardrobe | What You Really Need

Infant Wardrobe | What You Really Need


After having one baby make it to toddlerhood and only using clothes she was gifted instead of splurging for more clothes, we found the magic number to make a capsule wardrobe work especially since babies are constantly growing the first year. These numbers are suggested for each sizing stage but ultimately it will vary per a child as some babies grow faster during certain stages then others. Also note that clothing before 6 months is typically in better condition since babies are not eating solids yet so those sizes typically stay nicer looking longer which allows you to rotate through them more often.

14 bodysuits/tops

My personal ratio would be around 10 bodysuits and 4 tops but really any combination of the two would work depending on your personal preference. Having 14 suits/tops allows you to be able to maybe make it to two weeks without washing clothes just depending on how much your little babe spits up or how many blow outs he or she may have but this amount will, at the very least, allow you to wash once a week instead of having to wash multiple times in one week.

2 rompers 

Rompers can be a great step up outfit than the typical bodysuit which is why I recommend having two in your baby's basic wardrobe. If you have a girl you could easily do 2 dresses instead of 2 rompers or 1 dress and 1 romper. Again, it is about your personal preference and style.


2-3 sleepers

For some reason, I see people recommend having like 7-10 sleepers but we did not find that many necessary at all, even with all the blowouts Sophia would have. We were able to make it fine with each sizing only having 2-3 and still only having to wash once a week. Also, I dressed Sophia everyday after waking up whereas I know some people do leave their baby in the sleeper all day so that could be the difference in why others suggest having so many. Therefore my suggestion would be to start off with 2-3 sleepers and see how your lifestyle goes from there with a new baby and add more to your collection as you see the need. 


3-4 pants/shorts

Having a few shorts or pants or even leggings and skirts will help complete the bodysuits and tops and making full outfits for when you are out of the house and you don't need a ton since you can just mix and match them.


1 sweater (season/location specific)

This item will depend on where you live geographically and what season it is. We live in South Texas and it does not get cool until maybe November so only 1 sweater is needed but really even then we could just get a long sleeve bodysuit or shirt and it would work just fine.


1 jacket (season/location specific)

Again, it just depends where you live and what season it is. We don't experience cold weather until January but even then there is no guarantee you will need an actual jacket because a sweater could work just fine. If you live in more colder regions, you may want more than 1 jacket that have difference thickness or even a full snowsuit. So just be mindful of where you live and what the weather is like and adjust your needs accordingly.


1-2 hats

Depending on the season, will determine what type of hat you may need for your baby. Is it summer? Then go with a sun hat to protect their head from being sunburned. Is it winter? Go with a beanie that covers their ears to keep their heads and ears warm. Are they a newborn? Most newborn sleepers come with cute matching newborn hats, just don't let them sleep with the hat as it could become a suffocation hazard if it slips off their head while sleeping.

1 pair of crib shoes

As you will notice, I don't have socks on the list because if you have crib shoes then socks aren't really needed. I recommend getting a neutral pair that can match with everything in the baby's wardrobe. We personally love Freshly Picked moccasins and it helps get baby use to having something on their feet so when they get older, you don't have to fight with them about having shoes on. Funny story is we actually have to fight with Sophia to take her shoes off because she wants to wear them ALL THE TIME. Which is a good problem to have.

Most importantly, just keep in mind of the climate and location and your personal lifestyle and adjust the numbers as needed. And keep in mind this list is for a capsule wardrobe, if you want to add more dresses and rompers or suit and ties then go for it!


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