Last week I talked about old friends…
THE STORY
…This week I’m turning the topic to a relatively new breed of friend; those we discover online. Whether it be via blogging or Instagram or some other form of social media, technology has opened up the world for us, and in essence made it a much smaller place. At the touch of a keystroke we’re now able to find kindred spirits whom we otherwise wouldn’t have known existed.
In the four years that I have been blogging, I have been fortunate to “meet” so many excellent human beings. Some of those women are acquaintances, some are buddies, but a few are truly my friends and in some cases, long lost style sisters. The lovely Ann at Krembdelakremb.com is definitely one of my style soul sisters. She’s quirky, she’s fun and she is hands down, one of the most creative geniuses at putting together a look that I’ve ever seen. Since we are literally worlds apart, she’s in Hong Kong and I’m in Pennsylvania, we would have never ever met had it not been for technology and blogging.
Ann and I really have a similar aesthetic when it comes to putting together an outfit. We often see one another’s outfits and think, “Damn girl, I must copy that look!” So when Ann messaged me a few months ago with the idea to collaborate I was all for it. We set a budget and then each of us shopped around for pieces that we thought we both would love. The idea was, once we found a piece that we could agree on, we would both purchase it and style it without consulting one another on how we were styling it. Our looks would be a surprise to one another. Which brings us to today. Here we both are, in all of our sartorial glory, to share with you how we individually styled the same top on opposite sides of the world.
THE OUTFIT
This plaid slip dress really gets a lot of play. Typically I style it during the colder months (here and here); something about the red plaid just says cold weather to me. Even so, the fact that it’s a slip dress and it’s lightweight allow it to translate well to any season.
When Ann and I set out to find a piece that we both loved, we truly thought this top was a hands-down winner. The thing is though, sometimes when you’re shopping online, how a piece looks on your monitor and how it translates into real life are not the same thing. Sadly that was the case with this top. Neither one of us were really loving it. The problem? The cute little peplum is cut way up high on the sides which makes it blouse out in a really unflattering manner. Now you all know that I don’t get too caught up in how flattering something is if I truly love it. But this top? Um, no.
Initially I had it layered over the dress. Yuck. I tried a plethora of different belts to try to rein in the wild erstwhile peplum, but to no avail. Finally, I resigned myself to leaving it unbelted. About midway through the morning at work, I simply couldn’t take it anymore. I thought, “Hey…why not layer the dress over the top instead of the other way around?” Fortunately, that was much better than the top over the dress even though the peplum caused the slip dress to pouf out a bit.
Ann chose to pair the top with a fabulous little leather mini and crazy cute bag. Somehow she managed to make the peplum behave itself. Maybe it was her mad styling skills or maybe some superhuman posing abilities…perhaps we’ll never know. In any case, doesn’t she look outstanding?
Definitely take a moment and stop by Krembdelakremb.com to find out the details on how Ann styled the top. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed and I have no doubt you’ll become a repeat visitor.
THE TIP
If you own a piece of clothing that you don’t quite love, try styling it in an unconventional way. This top is an example. The peplum was too flouncy for my liking so I disguised it under the dress. One might not think to do that simply because the point of the peplum is for it to be seen. Sometimes you just need to think outside of the box to make something work for you.
**Don’t forget to enter the JORD Wood Watch Giveaway!! It’s easy to enter…details and entry link below!**
THE LINK UPS
Check out the weekly link ups I participate in for even more fashion and style ideas…
Dress: Target (Similar); Top: Shein; Jacket: Similar; Adidas: Nordstrom
