The Sweltering Sweater

Form-Fitting, Floral and Fringe

11:59 AM

If you read my previous blog, you know that my taste in accessories tends to veer towards tiny and complimentary. Nothing too big or too in your face. But continuing with my goal to push myself to try new looks and styles, I wanted one outfit in this Bella Mi Jewelry series to be taken over completely by accessories.

To do this, I started with a very simple piece of clothing (a black bodycon dress) and built the outfit from there.

The clutch is from Charming Charlie (It was a sale item. A similar bag can be found here or here) and the shoes are Karah by Brash (found at Payless Shoe Source). Both pieces are unique and add a pop of color to the outfit.

My favorite part is how the accessories all tie together.

The shoes have orange tones that go with the clutch, and the clutch has fringe just like the Bella Mi necklace I am wearing.

This beautiful necklace (seen here on my Instagram) has a labrodite oval stone with a black onyx stone at the bottom.

Thanks again to Bella Mi Jewelry for the necklace and Aurora Grace Photography for the beautiful photos.

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accessories

Bali Beads and Bella Mi

4:49 PM

Hey lovebugs!

So this post is really cool for me because I paired up with Bella Mi Jewelry to showcase pieces in the current collection!

So for this post, as well as a few upcoming posts, I will be styling different outfits to go with Bella Mi creations.

In general, I usually stick to very delicate, tiny accessories. The idea of big chunky necklaces seemed very intimidating to me. On top of that, I have also lived in this mindset that dangly earrings were 1. not safe (thanks mom for warning me about getting my earlobes ripped out), 2. not my style or 3. could only be worn at fancy gatherings.

So I went out of my styling comfort zone and the end result was this!

I wanted to keep it casual and cool as well as practical. My shorts (from JCPenney in the color Orange Sherbet) are super comfortable and this shade is very summer-esque.

Other than the buttons on the shorts, the look is rather simple. It is the accessories that really bring this outfit to life.

My Bella Mi necklace and earrings are made of turquoise and bali sterling silver beads. The sterling silver beads are handmade by tribes in Bali! I love how the tones of the shorts and necklace really play off of each other. The earrings are casual enough to wear in an everyday setting, but can still be paired with a dressier outfit and look just as fabulous.

For more information on Bella Mi Jewelry, follow this link.

Big shout out to Aurora Grace Photography! She did all of the pictures for this series and I could not thank her enough! For her Facebook page, click here. For her blog, click here.

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fashion

Menswear Shoot #1: Fearless Flannel

1:07 PM

So you may not have noticed, but most of my models are female.
And although I love connecting with other women, there is a whole group of followers who are not being represented.
So here is The Sweltering Sweaters first menswear shoot!

In classic Andy fashion, here is a blog filled with flannel.

When people think of Minnesota, I'm pretty sure this is what they think of. In reality, yes flannel is big here, as are beards, but not all men are duck dynasty-esque lumberjacks.

The great thing about urban fashion is that regular pieces like flannel can look presentable instead of sloppy. The "I tried but don't look like I tried" style is really big right now. You can present it like Andy did here or as a long sleeve cover up over a short sleeve tee shirt. For the ladies, you can wear a black shirt and leggings and tie it around your waist. Flannel is a very easy item to interchange and individualize outfits. Along with that, plaids are popular right now as well and it is an interesting pattern to play around with.

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dress

Street Style: Part 2

6:25 PM

The term "street clothes" can be very misleading. If I told someone to dress in street wear, they would most likely come back wearing an outfit similar to Elizabeth's in Part 1.

In actuality, street wear can encompass multiple styles. Street wear includes not only the hip hop inspired (Some might term it "hood fashion") but can also include elements of high fashion as well.

What I like about Elizabeth's dress is that it is casual enough to be considered "street clothing," but detailed enough to fall into the high fashion/upscale category as well.

Being able to find items that can be worn in a multitude of ways is really key when you are putting an outfit together. It allows you some wiggle room and a greater opportunity to differentiate yourself without having to break your bank account by buying multiple pieces.

Thank you again to Andrew Dean Productions. He's very easy to work with and did a great job on this shoot, Street Style: Part 1 as well as Stars and Stripes!