Tag: beauty and style secrets

Maternity Style ~ Rachael Weaver

I recently got to style the beautiful Rachael Weaver of Denver’s Rachel Grace Photography for a fun and surprising (snow!) session with Meghan Valentine.  Rachael has so much natural beauty and is a no fuss kind of gal, so I loved doing her hair and makeup with a neutral smoky eye and curled soft waves into her hair before putting it up into a top knot.  She looked so gorgeous it took my breath away!    Baby Weaver is due any day now and I can’t wait to find out what they’re having!  My guess is a girl and I hope she’s born on my birthday – February 13th.

For Rachael’s first look, I restyled her baby shower outfit, adding a more ornate belt from her closet and matching boots.  The second look is a wonderful tube dress by Heidi Klum from A Pea in the Pod Maternity.  The wrap is from H&M and earrings from Claire’s.  You can’t see her boots very well, but they are amazing Frye knock offs from Target.  I have the real harness boots from Frye and they look exactly the same for only $59.99!  I brought along a sweet elephant from India to place on Rachael’s bump since the Weavers have decorated their baby’s nursery with items inspired by elephants – the belly photo is going to look so cute in the baby’s room!  The last look is a bright tee from A Pea in the Pod paired with Rachael’s own jeans and a sweater borrowed from my closet from the Missoni for Target collection last Spring.

Here she is… The woman all other pregnant women are jealous of…

 

And here comes the surprise SNOW.  It was actually so wonderful because Rachael had pictured her maternity shoot surrounded by white and a light snow fall.  This has been one of the driest winters I’ve seen in 35 years so we never thought it could happen.  But it did. :)

Rachael, you’re going to such an incredible mom.  Good luck and I can’t wait to hear the happy news!

Jill

 

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February 11th, 2013
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Thirty Five ~ Growing Gracefully

It’s my birthday next week – the big 35.  When I turned 30, I felt a huge shift happen internally regarding my purpose, my body image, my life in general.  I think that the twenties have so much angst attached to them and all the “who am I?” stuff seems to fall away on that magical 30th birthday.  It’s like we get numerical permission to just BE who we are and stop agonizing over the “becoming”.

I feel like 35 is a little scary as the scale tips toward the next big birthday of 40.  (Holy balls, did I really just type that number???)  I’ve found myself examining the lines in my face with scrutiny and anything but thoughts of love.  Here’s where I admit that I wanted to get botox for my birthday.  I truly wanted it!  I wanted my frown lines to be erased.  I wanted my kids to stop asking me if I’m mad at them when I’m just sitting there calmly sporting my permanent frown.  But sigh… I’ve worked too hard to get healthy on an extreme diet to inject some crazy chemical into my body.  And oh, my husband.  Not a good reaction from the man who loves and adores me with a blind love I’ll never understand.

So I got bangs.  My bangs have gotten an extreme reaction around town.  Everywhere I go, people I didn’t even realize knew me have commented and complimented this new ‘do.  People say I look younger and sexier.  My sweet dad says I look like a super model (he’s hilarious) and the kindergarteners I volunteer for ask, “are you still Zeph’s mom?”.  My manicurist didn’t recognize me the first time she saw me post hair cut – “I say, that’s not Jirr!!!”  It’s a major change!  I hate attention (honestly!  I know several of you don’t believe me and that’s okay, it means I’ve gotten better at putting myself out there) so I’ve been going around quietly saying, “oh.  thank you” while internally blushing and feeling victorious over said frown lines.

The moral of this story.  We all have things we wish we could permanently change about ourselves or wish we could take away completely.  I’m not saying I did the better thing by getting bangs.  It was a risk that turned out well.  It saved me from altering my face.  I’m not making judgments here and I assure you I have no place to (that’s a whole other Oprah). I’m just trying to encourage women to grow gracefully. Notice I did not say “old”.  Perspective on that is key.

We are supposed to age and we are supposed to change.  Anyone who says otherwise is just plain wrong.  I want my face to tell the story of my life.  I laugh a lot, I squint a lot, and when I am actually mad, I want my forehead to SHOW it.  I hope I can stay strong and stay graceful.  I hope you can too.

Now someone stop me from getting a tattoo.

Jill

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February 7th, 2013
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Making Magic ~ Drawing Kids in to Family Photo Sessions

I recently worked with Shannon Kaple to capture some magical family photos of my ever-growing and changing children.  This time of year, we all think about Christmas cards, some of us with excitement and some of us with dread.  Through my years of styling family photo sessions, I’ve learned a thing or two to improve on the typical family session!  There are the obvious things like having your kids rested and fed and dressing your family in their best clothing, but sometimes you need a little more than that.  Maybe because it’s been a hard year, maybe because it’s been a good year, or maybe because you love your beautiful family and want to make your photo session memorable beyond the photos you’ll get as keepsakes.

My motivation for putting in extra effort this year is that my children are at the age of being too young to do as their told willingly and too old to play peek-a-boo to evoke smiles.  No matter what the reason, your family session doesn’t need to be a nightmare.  Taking the time to think about how to draw your kids into the process is worth all the effort.  Here is the product of my time and effort planning WITH my kids.  Giving them ownership in the event is the way to their hearts.  Every child loves to have a job – marshmallow holder, laugh maker, pose maker, prop master, or in our case, Fairy Catcher.

We regularly spend time in the woods near our home hunting for fairies so I knew it would be the perfect way to get the kids excited about our family photos this year.  The kids and I prepared glass jars with our fairies’ favorite things, brought our best fairy books, and the kids went to work, setting beautiful traps for the winged creatures I’m so happy they believe in.  Especially because they might not believe this time next year.  Thank you to Shannon for capturing all the magic so beautifully, these are my favorite family photos yet!

 

After our time with the fairies, I had us change into a more colorful and playful wardrobe.  As a stylist I constantly get asked what families should wear for their photos and one of my most frequently asked questions is “no bright colors, right?” followed closely by “no patterns or plaid, right?”… My answer is always “that depends!”  Families can dress in bright colors and patterns if they are careful to keep everyone’s look cohesive.  As you’ll see here, I am wearing plaid pants and a bright orange top, my son is in orange pants and a plaid shirt, husband in denim and plaid, and my daughter wore bold striped leggings and a brightly patterned poncho.  It could have looked CRAZY but the trick is keeping individual looks cohesive.  Matching is never the goal.  I love that everyone’s personality and unique style is still showing through.  I kept the kids involved and let them choose the pumpkin chocolates, pack the marshmallows, and prepare the hot chocolate for our “halfway through reward!”.  We hit the pumpkin patch the day before so they could pick out whatever pumpkin they loved so that they would be happy and proud to show them off!  It all worked like a charm…

And back to the making of Christmas cards, here’s our end result.  Lovely cards ordered from Minted.

Merry Christmas!

Jill

 

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December 12th, 2012
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It’s Party Time ~ Are You Ready?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s the eve of my husband’s Christmas party, a.k.a. “Holiday Party” to be P.C.  I’ve known what I was going to wear for about….. 3 weeks.  That’s how I roll.  And it’s how you should roll too.  We’ve all had those horrible last minute shopping trips where we’re racing around desperately – it’s no way to go into an event!!!  My man works his a$$ off and he deserves to have me prepared and focused on him and his company’s success on the night of his party.  Not whining that I can’t find anything to wear and griping that nothing fits and being selfish in general.  (Yes, that’s happened.  More than once.)  This black dress is my pick for most versatile, can be worn by anyone, most flattering, most appropriate, most affordable for what you get, most likely to be worn again dress.  From Anthropologie, of course!  And with Pantone’s announcement, how could I not pair it with these gorgeous emerald earrings?

Planning ahead is crucial to having fun at a party.  And my gosh, if you’re like me and you rarely get out and dress up, you deserve to get out and have some FUN.  The key to planning ahead is knowing what to expect.  If you know the hostess of a party, simply ask her what she’s wearing, it’s the easiest way to make sure you’re dressed appropriately.  If an invitation is nondescript, take your cues from the venue and the time of the event.  An evening party will always be dressier than an afternoon one.  A party at a Mexican restaurant will always be much more casual than one at a hotel ballroom.  And remember that it’s ALWAYS better to be OVER dressed than UNDER.  If needed, you can say you have to stop by some fabulous event after the one you’re overdressed at.  :)

My goal in dressing my clients for special events is to make sure they are 1. appropriate, 2. comfortable, and 3. confident.  Allowing yourself time to be thoughtful in your dress choice is just kindness!  Expecting yourself to find something that fits the above criteria in one afternoon of shopping is not realistic, so don’t set yourself up.  Finding a dress that’s perfect in almost every way is why God inspired people to become tailors.  If the dress you love is too tight in one area, buy the next size up and have it taken in.  Do NOT shop for a number or a size, shop for what you love… most things can be made to fit by a tailor that ends up being YOUR size, not a 6,8,10, or 12.  You are not a number and a size 8 will look different on you than your other size 8 friend… and it should.  Because we’re all different!!!  (Okay, I’ll stop lecturing now)

Once you find your piece, make sure you try it on with the proper undergarments.  If you don’t have the proper undergarments, don’t say, “oh, I think I have this one old strapless that might work” and then wait til the night of to try it.  Just don’t!!!  Undergarments are as important as your outfit.  Make sure you have the correct fit of spanx, hosiery, bra, etc.  And remember to try your outfit on with the shoes you plan to wear.  I had to have my strapless black jumpsuit (yeah, you heard me) hemmed up so that I can show off my gold platforms (yeah, you heard me again) and have the right shape to my outfit.  An $18.00 investment.  So worth it!  And remember to be thoughtful about your outerwear.  It’s not okay to wear your fleece or ski jacket over your cocktail dress!  With even Target putting out cute faux fur coats, you can find something, I promise!  Beg, borrow, or buy!

When I’m hired to personal shop, my clients have to fill out a questionnaire for me that asks details like sizes, venue, color preferences, and even metal allergies for jewelry.  The details matter so much!  This is how I decide on where to shop.  Most often, I find special event wear at Nordstrom or Nordstrom Rack, Anthropologie, White House Black Market, ModCloth, or LOFT.  The best deal on dress shoes is Nordstrom Rack, hands down!  They also carry larger sizes that can be difficult to find elsewhere.  Accessories are what I scrimp on if need be, finding deals on costume jewelry at Francesca’s or even Forever 21.  If something is truly going to be worn once with one special dress, let’s not spend our hard earned cash on it!

Want to avoid “Bitch Stole My Look”?  My favorite trick to make sure my clients are not wearing the same thing as their co-partiers is vintage or separates.  Vintage is a no brainer but requires more time for acquiring and tailoring.  If you’re limited to off the rack, finding an amazing skirt at one store and pairing it with a blouse from another, with jewelry from yet another is a surefire way to set your outfit apart and show that you put effort into your look.

Easy links to fabulous dresses are here:  Anthropologie, Nordstrom, LOFT, ModCloth, Francesca’s, White House Black Market, Spanx, and in case you walk on the wild side like me… Linda the Bra Lady’s got you covered.

Remember, there’s really no excuse to not being prepared, especially because you have me!  :)

Jill

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December 6th, 2012
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