STYLE GURU STYLE: Dress Up Your Wardrobe

July 13th, 2016 at 2:00am

My favorite pastime from my childhood was playing dress up. When I would open up the big bedazzled costume box overflowing with tulle, I would choose an outfit based on shape, texture then color scheme. If I had a tea party “scheduled” in my afternoon, I would wear a rose-print blouse and skirt set. If I felt sassy, I would wear my lime green Tinkerbell tutu dress.

Today, fashion still sets the tone for the rest of my day. Regardless of my plans, proportion is probably the most important factor of anything I wear.

Carolina Herrera has been one of my favorite fashion designers because her creations are always tailored to perfection. Her resort 2017 collection played with bow embellished dresses, wide leg pants and cropped jackets among other feminine silhouettes. Candy-colored stripes, embellished tulle gowns and floral appliques proved that you don’t have to be 5 years old to unlock a fairytale wardrobe for your current lifestyle.

Rifling through my mother’s closet, I found a scarf that brought me back to my dress up days. Do you remember how great it felt to find the other princess slipper after searching through oodles of ballerina skirts? I came close to that elated feeling after discovering a vintage emerald green Oscar de la Renta scarf tucked away in a corner of my mom’s closet.

I couldn’t wait to wear it, and I found inspiration in Carolina Herrera’s most recent collection for this CollegeFashionista post. A-line midi dresses from the collection slipped a bit of princess style into the everyday-wear realm. I decided to wear a simple black midi skirt that would work well with my scarf’s bold print. Herrera’s use of different textures, from wool, to tulle to fur, challenged me to combine different textures into my outfit. Instead of choosing my go-to black tote, I carried a snakeskin clutch and wore Swiss-dot kitten heels as opposed to my traditional nude pumps.

Overall, this resort 2017 collection inspired me to open up my “dress up box” to more textures, vintage and current styles. Even by mixing vintage accessories with updated clothing, you can discover a new fashion fantasy all your own.

Get My Look: 1. A black midi skirt. 2. A white T-shirt. 3. A silk scarf.

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