Lilac Trend - Fruta Fresca

Lilac is the color of the year. Shying away from millennial pink, the color adds a pop of color to any look. Lilac is modern & sophisticated. It took me a while to come around and wear this color but I love it! 

Over the weekend I wore this handmade crochet skirt from    Fruta Fresca  a Cuban artisan Houston based label 

I love this skirt because it’s a fresh take to your heavier crochet skirts. It’s perfect even for fall (at least here in Houston). But what truly really sold me was the color of the skirt, I love purple, and although technically this is lilac I love it just the same. I’ve linked two similar skirts below that wont break the bank and are just as cute.

BCBG Skirt House Of Harlow Skirt

Loving Your Hair

Protecting your natural hair at all costs always seems everyone's last concern, until they realize that not caring for their hair whether it's dying constantly, using too much heat not washing with the right products. We all want something different from time to time, and that can cost us our natural healthy hair. For me it was after dying it multiple times in one year, using too much heat and not cutting the dead ends often enough. Always having had healthy long hair I was under the impression that, it would be okay to dye my hair, and put it through extreme heat.

I've seen the same happen to many people I know, they continually change so much that, their hair ends up lifeless and dull, for some even falling out. Seeing your hair fall out by simply running your fingers through it can be scary to say the least. I was there for a short amount of time myself. After dying my hair many times, I started to notice how dry and unhealthy my hair was. The last straw to realizing I needed to do something different was when one morning I was brushing my hair and it was falling off, as if it was being cut. I was horrified I looked in the mirror and noticed the bottom half of my head had significantly less hair than I was used to. I remembered seeing many friends with crochet braids and realized that might help strengthen my hair it was a way to leave it alone for a while. 

Up until that point unhealthy hair had been the least of my worries, because my hair had always been so manageable, and strong. It took a while to get back to healthy hair. Crochet braids were definitely a big helper to getting my hair back to normal. Healthy hair  now is always a must for myself over anything else. That's why I love DivaTress, trusted by professionals stylists, and beauticians. They have thousands of options for crochet braids to help protect your hair, and even help your journey back to healthy hair. There are different colors for when you don't want to wear you regular hair color making the process fun, without sacrificing your strands. I love my hair now and having a protective style was a fun way to get back to my healthy hair. 

*This post was sponsored by DivaTress but all opinions are my own.*

5 Favorite Sweaters To Have This Winter

 Cyrus Ribbed Cowl Neck Sweater

I love this sweater because of the neckline, and that you can layer a dress under it or wear it half tucked into a pair of trousers, or jeans like pictured above.
 

Any minute now the Houston weather will go from hot to cold and back, to permanently cold for at least a good month or two which means you're going to have to bundle up for good. So I've listed below a few of my favorite sweaters all under $40 to keep you warm this winter.

                                                      Express Cowl Neck Sweater

This sweater just looks so so cozy, and although it comes in white I love this mauve color so much, gives a different vibe to the sweater. 

                                                        Express Cowl Neck Sweater

This sparkly number has got to be my favorite. The sleeves give you enough room to move comfortably and I absolutely love the loose turtle neck look.

                                                 Cable & Gauge Cowl Neck Sweater

 This off the shoulder look is a classic, in white perfect for all the holiday parties coming up this month. 

                                                        Project Social Cold Shoulder Sweater

This off the shoulder sweater gives a vavavoom you cant ignore. I love this look for those cold days when it's not too cold to bundle all the way up.

All these sweaters are ALL under $40 and are sure to keep you warm and in style all winter long. 

                                                                     xx -Steph

Clouds At Last ; Urban Outfitters Dress

Ever search for that perfect dress that makes you feel good every time you wear it without fail? I found that in this dreamy flowing bell sleeve dress from Urban Outfitters. When I got this dress it wasn't on sale, but after trying it on I just couldn't leave without it, it fit like a glove.

I took this dress with me to New York and got so many compliments when I wore it on one of my last days there. And although it can ideally be worn as a dress I'd go so far as to say that you can even wear it with pants and half tuck it orrr that you can hide the bottom under a skirt maybe? It would have to be tested (lol).

I just love the boho feel of the dress overall and my photographer really caught that vibe.

 You can shop my exact dress HERE I've linked similar dresses Here  Here and Here .

xx -Steph 

ATM Collection FW16

 This past Friday I got to interview designer Anthony Thomas Melillo at Neiman Marcus and have a luncheon while models strutted in his favorite pieces for fall, many which can be easily worn in the cold winter months. ATM Collection is about taking basic everyday pieces like your favorite t-shirt, terry sweats, and your favorite cardigan and making it as comfortable and wearable as possible, the fabric will make you fall in love with every piece. Check out our interview below, and some pieces from the collection. 

Anthony takes pride in having the best fabric (which is light as air BTW) Melillo owns the machines that produce his fabric in Peru, making unique to his brand, something other designers won't have. A short and honest overall thought on this collection is.. It was chic, elegant, and very comfortable.

What was the inspiration behind the fall collection?

ATM: What we see each season is that more about our brand aesthetic, we look for inspiration in fabric, to have the fit, the feel and the relaxed elegance. The drape of the fabric is important, maybe we'll add a cargo pocket to a great shirt dress, etc.

I love the brown suede dress I saw, are there any more like it in the collection?

ATM: I wouldn't say we've done this exact dress more than once, it's an easy dress. We'll do different versions maybe in silk, in washed jersey, in the spring collection I know there's one in pique,  The dress might be snug around the chest but gives you room around the hips and the waist. Dresses are  fashion pieces so, the fabrication changes every season, but the silhouette remains.

What can we expect for the spring collection?

ATM: For spring we developed more into fabrics, we did a group of sun bleached jerseys, sweats and t-shirts, washed silk. We also did micro modal rip, which is throughout the whole collection in tops, dresses, and skirts. Bodysuits are one of the big pieces coming for spring for us since we had really good feedback.

I love how easy going the pieces are.

ATM: We pride ourselves in our easy going color palette, but you know people fall in love with the fabric and the ease of it, people buy multiples at a time, because of how light and soft the fabric is. We always will go for softer fabrics than we had the previous season, the fabrics are really important in the way they feel when you pick it up and wear it.

Comfort & Style

I grew up around, seamstresses, tailors, artisans, you name it. Art and fashion were a big part of my daily life, specially on take your kid to work day, when my  mom would take me with her to meet all these wonderful people she worked with daily. 

So in getting dressed to get some work downtown. I decided to follow a rule that is always very present when I get dressed. " Don't sacrifice comfort for style." This is something my grandmother used to always tell me

Houston has been unbearably hot as of like ... all Summer long, and we don't get fall around here. When I got dressed Saturday I decided to be as comfortable as possible. This is how this outfit as simple as it looks to my surprise walking down the street I got a lot of questions about the skirt and the hat. Saturday was in the hundreds here so this was definitely the right move, jeans would have been a bad choice after a few hours of running around in the heat.

Thank god after a little while I got to sit down in the A/C inside of Tout Suite and grab an iced coffee.

Denim Obsessed

Denim... How can I begin to describe denim? 

Ever since I can recall I've always had this need to have a good pair of jeans in my closet, when my mom would take me shopping first thing I always went for was the jean section. I am a firm believer that price doesn’t always amount to quality of manufacturing. 

 I recall a few years back I went jean shopping at this random vintage/ self producing denim store near my house which is now sadly gone due to other businesses thriving more where they were formerly located I suppose. My longest worn jeans were from this store, I owned two pairs.  

They were well made, dark wash and very versatile when it came to pairing ,as almost all denim is. $20 Bought me two of my favorite pair of jeans I have ever owned, and now that they finally gave up on me (after 5 years) I am on the hunt for a new denim love.  

Nevertheless this taught me that I didn’t always have to go for super pricey denim like I was used to, but that as long as I knew the feel, fit, and stitching was good  I could find a good trusty pair.  I have linked some of my favorite budget friendly as well as brands worth splurging on below! 

Wallet Friendly:   $50- $100

 Levi's 

Unbranded

Zara

Gap

Mid Range: $100 - $175

Levi's Vintage Clothing

Marc By Marc Jacobs

High Priced $200+

Seven For All Man Kind

Citizens Of Humanity

Rag & Bone

Feeling Blue

The weather has officially begun to cool down, just not enough to forego wearing ripped jeans, dresses, or showing off a little leg here and there. I love comfort and with the cold weather this dayI had to pair this outfit with my favorite Steve Madden Espadrilles. My dress is from Romwe I love this dress because it is off the shoulder and can be worn in many different ways such as a blouse (look here)

Dress: Romwe Similar

Steve Madden Espadrilles

Clutch : Nine West (oldie but goodie)

Zara Dress

I finally got a chance to catch up on outfit posting. This new app I found for scheduling my time seems to be working so far, time well divided between things I need to do is has been a struggle (tbh).

Its been almost a month since I started to wear my hair curly and although I lack ideas to making hairstyles I am managing just fine :) It has started to cool down pretty much every night/morning here in Houston and although I am not confident it will remain that way for long at least I get to wear things such as my new favorite Zara Sateen Tunic. The moment I saw it in the store I knew it had to come home with me, and the buttons allow you to wear it as a cardigan of sorts like I wore it. I've worn it day and night already and have gotten lots of "where did you get that?" ;)

I've linked what I am wearing below!

 xx-Steph