There is a lot of negativity surrounding social media, and some of it with good reason…
THE STORY
…The internet as a whole and social media platforms specifically are rife with bullying and nastiness; as a matter of fact I’ve written about something that I call “keyboard bravado” in the past. Social media has been found to contribute to feelings of inadequacy and ironically, social isolation; it can negatively affect our spending habits; it can interfere with our real life relationships… and the list goes on.
Since starting my blog six years ago and hopping on to Instagram shortly thereafter, for the most part, I have found the opposite to be true. I have found a posse of like-minded women who are kind, supportive and whom I consider to be friends. Real, true friends…even though most of us have never gotten together in real life. There are also women whom I’ve met through Instagram who have actually become real life friends. And I would have never been fortunate enough to know any of these women had it not been for social media.
To reinforce this point the emails, dm’s, comments and IRL conversations with many of these women during my recent difficult time meant the world to me. The support, encouragement and wise words made everything just that much more bearable. Knowing that there were women out there who got me and what I was feeling and who had my back no matter how many miles were between us was simply the best feeling.
I may not have been super active or responsive at the time, but words cannot express how happy it made me feel to see a kind heartfelt comment or dm any time that I checked in on Instagram or the blog. So to all of you who took the time to reach out, a big heartfelt thank you and a virtual hug to go along with it.
The next time that you see a negative article in regard to the downside of social media, or receive an unkind comment from a troll that makes you feel badly, just remember…there is a great big amazing flip side to it all. There is a worldwide group of friends, real true friends, and a support network that would have never otherwise been available to you if it weren’t for social media. And at the end of the day, isn’t that what it’s really all supposed to be about?
THE OUTFIT
Nothing particularly earth shattering going on here outfit-wise. This is a super casual look that I wore about a month ago when my bestie and I took a day off work for some much needed girl time. On a side note, many of the outfits I’ll be sharing in the near future are from a month or so ago. I haven’t exactly been dressed for photos lately and I have a number of outfits that didn’t get shared due to all of the craziness.
Anyway, this is another of the American Eagle peplum tank tops that I have in several colors paired with my ever present distressed Tomgirl jeans. I styled the pink one with a boho work look (coincidentally in that post I had written about the fun I had on the day I wore the outfit in today’s post) and I wore the blue peplum tank top when we went on our adventure on the Abandoned PA Turnpike.
I’m sure that you noticed the back of the top is cut in, thus making for visible bra straps. That is one of those sartorial choices that can sometimes be a point of contention for some people. I personally often purchase bras and bralettes with that visibility in mind because I like the look. I stuck to an under the radar black bra on this particular day, however my neon pink bra or my fuschia lace strap bra would’ve also made a pretty statement. If you are in the “never show the bra straps” camp, then either a racerback or strapless bra would do the trick with this particular top.
THE TIP
If you like to show some bra strap every once in awhile, I suggest having several bras and/or bralettes on hand in a variety of colors. Make sure that the straps are in good condition though because, at least in my opinion, when the visible bra straps are attached to your old just doing the yard work bra (c’mon…we all have that bra we should have gotten rid of years ago, but keep around for some reason) that’s when the look veers into icky territory.
If you don’t dig VBS (visible bra strap), then make sure to have a good strapless and/or racerback bra to wear under tank tops and strappier pieces that would put your bra on display.
THE LINK UPS
Check out the weekly link ups I participate in for even more fashion and style ideas…
Peplum Tank Top: American Eagle; Jeans: American Eagle; Sandals: JCPenney (Similar); Belt: Amazon
