Banana Republic recently reached out to me to do something really fun – plan a celebration with someone who embodies the spirit of the holidays year round. The first person I thought of is my sister Heather. She’s always ready to host a family gathering or get together at the drop of a hat. No matter how busy life gets, she makes it a priority to call, get together and stay connected (which is great because I’m kind of bad about that!)
Heather recently moved into a new house and asked for my help with choosing some new Christmas decorations for her home. Everyone in my family knows how crazy I am for Christmas so I’m the designated go-to when it comes to advice on all things decorating. We both styled our outfits from Banana Republic and met up at the shopping center near her home to browse decorations and get inspiration.
These shoes are definitely the star of the outfit. I get compliments on them every time I wear them! They add a little bit of shine to holiday outfits but are equally as great paired up casually with cuffed skinny jeans and a slouchy sweater.
Welcome to our Thanksgiving edition of Word of Mouth where we share all things that help us feel pretty, get organized and just plain feel wonderful! The holiday season is in full swing and while it’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle, it’s always nice to take a step back and remember to be in the moment. At GYPO we have a lot to be thankful for this year. We have a wonderful team and the most amazing, supportive and fabulous Pretties anywhere! We have all learned so much from each other which is what lead me to ask our team this month:
What beauty, style or clothing tip are you most thankful to have learned?
Jill – The half tuck
It took me a pretty long time to come around to the half tuck. I honestly tried it and then untucked before leaving the house many times before it really felt comfortable. Now that I’ve been half tucking for a while, I feel uncomfortable without it!
Suzannah – “If it’s not a heck yes, it’s a no!”
I love Alison’s tip about only buying “heck yes” items. I love clearance racks but have recently changed my shopping strategy to look at more than just the price tag and to invest in higher quality items. Having a few solid, high-quality items has really helped polish my overall wardrobe.
Alison – Leopard is a neutral
Leopard is a neutral! More often than not there’s a piece of leopard in my outfit of the day, especially during the fall months. I love the polish it adds to an outfit and the dash of unexpected pattern. It truly goes with everything!
Coty – Less is more
This may be less of a tip than it is lifestyle advice. *Fun fact* When I was 19, I got my cosmetology license and worked as a makeup artist for many years before I switched careers. I used to try every beauty trick, buy every new product and spend way too much time/money on my appearance. Now I’m a busy, working mom/wife and I truly value the philosophy of ‘less is more’. I stick to a simple skin-care and makeup routine, and I spend much less on clothing (thanks to Style Challenges by Get Your Pretty On)! Sticking with the basics has helped my skin look better and I have much more self-confidence. My morning routine includes a gentle facial cleanser, moisturizer, CC Cream with SPF, a dab of blush, mascara, and lip balm… easy peasy! Don’t stress about having all the trendy products, because life is about more than Instagram perfection.
Lauren – “If it’s not a heck yes, it’s a no!”
I’m right there with Suzannah on Alison’s tip. ‘If it’s not a heck yes, it’s a no!’ It has completely changed the way I shop, not just for clothing but for my home as well. I want to wear clothes I feel confident in and I want to be surrounded in my home by pieces I love. I’m a pretty emotive person and if I don’t audibly gasp when I see something or say ‘YES!’ out loud when I try it on, I pass on it. Simple as that. This advice has helped me be more comfortable in making my own style choices. Before I might have taken a dressing room selfie and sent a text to a friend to ask their opinion. Now I know if I don’t feel that sense of confidence right away it’s not the right piece for me. Caveat: Getting out of my comfort zone is a whole different thing. I trust Alison’s judgment on that and am always willing to ‘try the trend’ if she suggests it. I usually opt for a more budget-friendly choice when I’m testing the waters until I’m sold on a trend.
Kathryn – The half tuck
I’m on the same boat as Jill. I’ve been into the half tuck lately and I think it makes such a difference on my outfits!
Jessica – Dry shampoo anytime
I always used to wait until I was getting ready in the morning to apply my dry shampoo. It seemed like it would take forever to get my hair to a manageable state as I tend to have naturally oily hair. Learning that applying dry shampoo at night and even to just washed hair has drastically helped me control the oil and even extend the life of my hair between washings.
Your turn! Comment below with the style or beauty tip are you most thankful to have learned.
Fun fact: I’m a bit of a rebel. When someone tells me I can’t do something it’s pretty much a guarantee that it will be the next thing on my agenda.
Take white jeans for instance. They’ve been a particularly polarizing trend among GYPO readers for the past few years. One of my favorite things to do is shove you kicking and screaming right out of your comfort zone and it usually pays off.
Lately I’ve done a few Facebook Lives about styling white jeans for winter that were met with resistance, so naturally now I want to pair them up in as many ways as possible.
When I walked into J. Crew Factory last week, all I could think of was ways to wear their new arrivals with white jeans. I ran around the store like a crazy person grabbing as many things as possible to try on with them. They had so many cute holiday pieces perfect for pairing with white jeans. They can also easily be dressed up for parties with a little bit of sparkle. If you don’t have a pair of white jeans that you love, I highly recommend this pair. They are just right in two very important areas – they have the right amount of stretch and they’re not see through.
If you share my affinity for white jeans, read on to get inspired. If you don’t then maybe, just maybe one of these outfits will convince you to give them a chance.
One of my favorite ways to pair white jeans in the fall and winter is with other neutral colors like beige. This tissue turtleneck is one of my favorite layering pieces. It’s so lightweight that it works with everything. Throw a plaid blanket scarf over one and you can wear it indoors all day.
Now through 12/3/18, enter to win J. Crew Factory’s Happier Holidays giveaway! One grand prize winner will receive a $2,500 gift card,10 second prize winners will receive a $100 J. Crew Factory gift card. You can enter online here or in any J. Crew Factory or Mercantile store.
Big thanks to J. Crew Factory for making it so easy to wear our white jeans this holiday season and sponsoring this post!
Back in August I invited you to complete a reader survey and boy did you deliver! The GYPO community is truly the highlight of this experience for me and it has been so amazing to read through your responses, get to know you a little better, and hear what you really think about Get Your Pretty On.
This information and feedback helps me and my team make GYPO a better resource for you. Our mission is to be the ‘go-to resource for inclusive fashion inspiration and lifestyle advice’ and we can’t complete that mission if we don’t know who you are and what is going on in your daily life.
So, thank you. Not only for the time you took out of your busy day to answer the survey, but for the candor of your responses. You truly are the best! Let’s dive in to the results of the survey.
Who You Are
Most of you fall into the 45-54 age bracket with the 35-44 and 55-64 age brackets nearly tied.
84% wear regular size apparel and 10% are wearing plus size. 20% of you wear petite fit and 11% are shopping for tall fit clothes.
36% of respondents are SAHMs while 48% of you work outside the home. 18% of you work from home and 12% are retired.
You + GYPO
65% of you have been reading Get Your Pretty On for a year or more. Thank you!
13% of you just started reading GYPO in the last 6 months. Welcome!
65% of you are keeping up with GYPO social media on Facebook and 54% are showing us love over on Instagram. Our Pinterest account has 32% of you pinning away. (Did you know over 1 million people check us out on Pinterest every month?)
18% of you aren’t following us at all on social media. Ouch! What are you waiting for? You’re missing out on lots of giveaways, inspiration, and live videos. We’d love to have you join the fun! Find us on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.
Your favorite posts on GYPO are the Style Your Budget series as well as the oldie but goodie posts from The Pretty Fix. If you are looking for fresh trends to try I share a Tuesday Trend Watch post every week in our Pretties Facebook group. You can request to join that group HERE. It’s a lot of fun!
As for what you’d like to see more of on GYPO – the top two responses are polar opposites! More SAHM outfits and more work wear style looks. How funny is that?
Since leaving corporate America, I don’t really do work wear anymore but I’m happy to add in a feature here and there for those of you who do. Also, work wear is always one of our popular seasonal Style Challenges® capsule wardrobe builders. You can check them out and sign up for one HERE.
Your Feedback
I asked what you’d like to see more of on GYPO and once again you came back to me with work wear looks as the top response. It’s clear that many of you are working outside the home and looking for more inspiration in this area. While I try to “keep it real” around here and show you what I’m actually wearing in real life, I’ll keep this feedback in mind for a special seasonal work wear feature.
You also want to read more about budget friendly style and outfit formulas and tutorials. Posts that don’t just showcase an outfit but breakdown in detail why an outfit works. Small, actionable steps you can do to replicate the look for yourself. I have some fun plans to provide this information for you going forward so keep an eye out for future outfit posts.
Your Goals
The common thread in these answers cannot be overlooked. Ultimately, they all boil down to inner peace and happiness. Things like figuring out being an empty nester (right there with you!) or how to spend your retirement; organizing and minimizing your home/life; finding direction in your life; raising happy, successful children; and mental and physical happiness and health. You wish you had more ‘me’ time, time for family and friends which was tied with reading, as well as time for exercising and being active.
If you haven’t caught any of my daily live Coffee Chats yet, I highly recommend checking them out. You can catch past episodes on Facebook or by subscribing to my Youtube channel. These are exactly the types of topics I’ve been tackling. Many women have also found inspiration and a framework for making changes through doing my Rediscover Me 28 day challenge.
Your Struggles
You were so very honest and open about sharing your struggles with me. The interesting thing to note is that for the most part, we are all struggling with the same types of things. Keeping our homes clean, organized, and decluttered topped the list while making time for healthy eating and meal planning came in second. Many of you are struggling with your mental and physical health. A common response within that was that you deal with anxiety. If you haven’t already heard it, I highly recommend Episode 26: The Truth About Anxiety and Episode 101: The Truth About Anxiety Part 2 from the Sorta Awesome podcast. I also have some Coffee Chats planned around anxiety and depression, two things which I’ve struggled with personally but haven’t shared much publicly.
Your responses to what style and beauty challenges you face isn’t so much style and beauty itself, but that you don’t feel confident in the choices you are making. From finding the right fit, colors, or flattering pieces to lacking an overall confidence in your appearance.
In this case, you’ve definitely come to the right place! From free resources like the Pretties Facebook group community to online personal styling services through Style Challenges by GYPO, I’m here to help you feel confident in your style and beauty choices. My goal is to make all of this as easy as possible, to break it down into actionable, easy to implement steps and to make it work for any budget. No matter what Style Challenge program you sign up for, they all come loaded with resources like figuring out what colors are most flattering for you and learning how to dress your body shape.
Sharing The Love
Aside from GYPO, the blog you love to read is Modern Mrs. Darcy. This is a new blog to me but as an avid reader I’m excited to dig in! Thank you so much for sharing.
Are you surprised by these results?
Do you share similar goals and struggles?
Let me know in the comments.
Hey pretties! If you’ve been tuning into my daily live Coffee Chats on Facebook and Instagram lately, then you already got a sneak peek review of this post.
If not, then last week I shared that I recently made an upgrade to one of my fall and winter closet staples – my faux leather leggings. Over the past two years, I’ve worn them more than any of my jeans or other “pants” (which I use the term loosely, they ARE leggings). However the cheap pair that I bought a few years ago has completely worn out. I started researching some options a few weeks back and kept coming back to Spanx faux leather leggings. The only thing I couldn’t get past was the price tag. At a whopping $98 they would take up a big slice of my winter shopping budget.
But I ended up pulling the trigger anyway and here’s why.
Faux leather leggings are what I consider to be one of my closet staples which means on a cost per wear basis, they’ll be worth the investment.
I don’t need a lot of winter clothes this year due to living the Style Challenges’ philosophy of “less stuff, more style”. I only need to add a few new sweaters and some ankle boots which gives me the freedom to spend a little more on these basics.
A few years back I was spending even more than that on premium denim brands (aka “designer jeans” for those of us who grew up in the 80’s!)
I ordered them online from Nordstrom.com and they arrived last week. Not gonna lie, when I pulled them out my initial thought was “I paid $98 for THIS?”
Then I slipped them on and caught a glimpse of my booty in the mirror and said “TOTALLY worth it!” 🙂
No seriously, they are. There’s the obvious benefit of sucking me in (they are Spanx after all) plus they have a nice wide, comfortable waist band. I love that they aren’t super shiny or stiff like some faux leather leggings can be. This is a subtle pair that’s easily dressed up or down. I’ve had fun pairing them up with everything from long tunic sweatshirts and sneakers to cozy sweaters and ankle boots. Yep, you better believe I’m already getting my money’s worth!
Sizing Tip: I got them in a size small which I consider to be true to size. I’m only 5’4″ and they are slightly long but I was able to pull them up a bit higher.
Conclusion: If you wear faux leather leggings on the regular and only need to add a few pieces to your fall or winter wardrobe, I highly recommend these. You won’t be disappointed! (and if you are, Nordstrom will happily accept your return).
This cozy tunic turtleneck deserves a little love too. It’s super soft and comes in five colors including gray, ivory and blush (which I may also end up getting!) This time of the year I’m often asked where to find good quality basic sweaters to add to your collection and always recommend Nordstrom knits. Their sweaters hold up really well and this turtleneck tunic is a classic that will stay in style forever.
Meet my new favorite black ankle boots! These are another closet staple that I decided to upgrade for winter. I love the little metal accents on this pair but the stacked heel is what really sealed the deal.
SHOP THE LOOK
Big thanks to Nordstrom for sponsoring this post and allowing me share my thoughts on some new closet staples!
Do you struggle to put outfits together? Are you stuck in a yoga pants rut? Not sure if you can make the latest trends work for you? You’re in the right place!
I’m Alison, a mom of three and recovering yoga pants addict on a mission to make getting dressed and feeling pretty the easiest thing you do all day! Learn more about my story HERE.
I am so glad I was part of the Fall 2019 Style Challenge. It gave me confidence and so many great outfitt ideas. The ladies in the group were very supportive and I will defintetly be doing another challenge in the future.
Betty Weyandt December 20, 2019
I’ve been participating in the GYPO Style Challenges for three years now and I’ve loved it. I’ve always loved clothes, but I didn’t know how to put outfits together. My closet is now full of mix-and-match outfits, I have learned how to dress myself, and there is no more stress in figuring out to wear. The private FB group is full of wonderful ladies that build each other up. It’s so fun and is seriously the best group on FB.
Kirstin Rasmussen November 20, 2019
Get Your Pretty On has changed my life, seriously. I have always chased what is trendy but found from season to season, that things go out of style and I was wasting money on items that I would only end up wearing a few times. GYPO has enabled me to simplify my closet, helps me make smarter purchasing decisions, and I feel so put together and confident using the outfit formulas that are provided. This program is a GAME CHANGER. I've been following GYPO for a few years now and my only regret is not jumping on board sooner.
Michelle Kline November 20, 2019
Great community of ladies, helping each other look stylish, without breaking the bank, and using much of what you already own.
Chosen Faith November 19, 2019
GYPO challenges have been one of the best things I have done! It had taught me so much more than just creating a closet of clothes that I love but also to have confidence in myself, how to pick and choose colors that work for me instead of against, and had given a wonderful community of Pretties who are so special.
Maraline Freeman October 16, 2019
I love GYPO!!! I finally feel put together and stylish! The shopping lists and outfit combinations make shopping and getting dressed effortless.
Krista Probst October 16, 2019
SHOP THE ACCESSORY LINE
SHOP THE LOOKS
A NOTE TO READERS
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