Pics from the Fashion Show!

Morning, girls! I hope you all enjoyed a blissful weekend of relaxation and, if you live in NWA, fashion. As you know, Friday night I got the opportunity to walk in the Savoir-Faire runway show as part of Northwest Arkansas Fashion Week. It was an amazing experience that I'll never forget, (and will hopefully get to do again next year!)

Here are a few gazillion pics from the goings on Friday evening. Enjoy, bunnies.

The theme for this year's Savoir-Faire show was "electricity". Think lots of chartreuse, cobalt blue, day glo yellow, neon green and bold, black and white stripes. One of the things I thought that made this show stand out was Tess's genius use of head wear. From turbans and beanies, to baseball caps and floral headpieces, every head was adorned with something fabulous.

 One darling girl right there.

Top left to right, clockwise: 

1) A very pretty line-up before the show. 2) Tess and her amazing team. 3) Moi. Getting runway ready. 3) A little kissy face on the runway.

Left to right: 

1) SF models before the show! 2) Fun stripes and bright blue were a crowd favorite.

The amazing Josh applying my make-up.

My style sistah : ) Love you G! 

This man came and waited for five hours while I got ready and walked. He is AMAZING. 

 Final walk through with sweet Tara rocking her floral headpiece.

 "Oh, hello NWA fashionistas."

 Gina works the catwalk.

 Because we take everything very seriously...

Gina and I pose for a quick pic after the show. Sidenote: I had a blast getting to wear the dramatic make-up and turban. It was such a stretch from my day-to-day look, and so much fun. 

Top left to right, clockwise:
1) Champagne, hairspray and curling irons - the makings of a great fashion show. 2) Keslyn getting her make-up done by the uber-talented Josh. 3) Beautiful Anna poses with her stunning headpiece. 4) A room full of excited models!

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*Stay tuned tomorrow for a recap of some more of my favorite shows, including Maude!

**And on Wednesday, I have a fun, casual Savoir-Faire outfit post featuring the amazing Chaser tee and Blank Denim Boyfriend jeans they gifted me last month.

Floral Frenzy: {Guest Blogger Outfit Pics}

A girl can dream of spending her life attending fashion shows. Paris. New York. Anna Wintour. Olsen Twins.  You know, living the fashionista dream.  While this is only a reality for a handful of lucky ladies (and gents, too) – the rest of us spend our time in the real working world.  The typical office-cube cannot handle Vogue’s spring styles. Trust me on that.

As excited as I am to attend the shows, there is a boundary with office chic and show chic. I snagged this fun, floral blazer from Savoir Faire, and styled it office appropriate and then dressed it up to attend the shows. My favorite purchases are always the most versatile pieces, and this blazer is easy to work into your wardrobe.

Blazer: SF // Scallop tank: TJ Maxx // Black skimmers: F21 // Gold capped flats: SF (on sale in store now!) // Watch: LaMer for Target // Spike Bracelet: Maude Boutique (buy here)

Can I be cheesy and say that fashion week is all about having fun? There you have it. My kind of fun is a full-length tulle skirt. You’ve seen it before here when Leslie rocked it out of this world. Carrie Bradshaw would totally approve.

Tulle skirt: Riffraff // Statement Necklace: Riffraff 

Thank you Leslie for the photo shoot and my Blonde Ambition moment of glory. See you on the runway!

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Thanks, Gina! Y'all be back here tomorrow for Confessional Friday AND a bonus post starring my friend Christi : ) You won't want to miss her. (You know that moment when you realize your friends are way cooler than you'll ever be? This post and tomorrow's really drive home that point ; )

Lights. Camera. Fashion.

Greetings, bunnies. How did the weekend treat you all? Ours was fairly uneventful, and involved lots of sweat pant wearing and fast food. And in my book, that's a weekend well spent.

First order of business: Sweet Kirsten from Riffraff (one of the newest blog sponsors) is offering you girls 10% off on your online purchases! How awesome is that, right? I'm sure you saw the banner on the side bar, but in case you didn't, the code is blonde. Now go forth and do some spring shopping!

Next, remember that NWA Fashion Week starts tonight! Here's a little rundown on what's happening tonight:

Finally, I'd love to see what you girls are wearing to NWA Fashion Week throughout the next seven days, so if you plan on heading to the shows...

1. Snap a quick pic of yourself in your outfit, any night this week.
2. Upload to Instagram
3. Use the hashtag #NWABlonde

I'll be streaming photos of all you girls right here on the blog all week long. Be sure to type out a link to your blog in the caption space of your post, and I'll be sure to link to it when I post your pic on here.

The Weekend a Famous Designer & I Became Insta Friends

I'll explain the title after a brief prologue, but first...I'm back- a fact which you likely deduced from seeing this new {!!} blog post. I had surgery on Friday and spent the majority of my weekend doing this:

Pain medications! Icy Hot! After-care instructions galore!

I'm still really sore, but also very grateful for my doctor. Sometimes it stinks being a girl (men have NO idea what it's like to deal with "girl" issues!) This was an annoying, but very necessary operation and Dr. D made me feel so calm about everything. (As did the anesthesiologist, who looked just like Vicki's ex-husband Don from that show Real Housewives of Orange County. Thank God for that sweet man and his syringe of happy juice.)

Anyway, back to the real point of this very insightful blog post...

So, last Thursday night, I posted a photo on Instagram of a delicious pair of Brian Atwood heels. Here is what that Insta photo and caption looked like:

Saturday morning, two days later, I checked my Instagram and saw that Mr. Atwood himself had replied.

I had to have my mom double-check for me, just to ensure I wasn't hallucinating from the meds.

{I wasn't.}

How crazy, right? Just bananas, bunnies.

I'm off to...well, nowhere. My derriere is staying on this couch until tomorrow when I can return to work. See y'all tomorrow for an outfit post featuring a delicious little faux-leather skirt from Maude Boutique. You'll want to have your debit card nearby so you can purchase one for yourself.

Be blessed, lovelies-

Wedged In

via

Wedges. There's never been a more classic spring shoe than the wedge. Although they can make walking gracefully a bit difficult without practice, when worn correctly, they're a piece of art.

I love all of the following equally and would gladly welcome any of them into my closet. Here at A Blonde Ambition, we don't discriminate when it comes to shoes.

Or clothing.

Or accessories.

Elie Tahari 'Megan' Wedge

Cole Haan 'Air Tali' Wedge

Nine West Packpunch Ankle Strap Wedge Sandal

Michael Antonio 'Alura' Wedge

Lela Rose for Payless 'Clarendon' Wedge

Here are a few self-learned tips for wearing wedges, if you're a newbie:

1. Make sure they fit correctly. You want them snug. More snug, actually, than your regular heels.

2. When walking in wedges, lean forward slightly in your stride. This keeps you from looking like a mule, plodding along the farm : )

3. Start small, then work your way up. Start with a 2 inch "kitten" wedge. Once you're comfortable with that, take off the training wheels and go for the classic 3-4 incher. You'll be walking sky high in no time.

4. Try them with flare leg jeans for a retro, fun look this summer. Just make sure to pair the look with a simple and fitted top, to look "retro chic" instead of...well...just old.

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I'd tell y'all how I feel about them, but I think this post speaks for itself. Big, colorful, insanely high shoes...I'm 5'4", ya'll! These are a God-send!

What say you about the wedge? Classic or cumbersome?

Be blessed, lovelies-

A Little (Pep)lum to Your Step

Elements for opening collage from Style.com

Ok. So. Peplum is apparently back in style this spring/summer, so I felt the urgent need to make sure you fair friends of mine are aware.

To me, peplum is one of those styles/cuts that comes and goes in circles, appearing for a season, then disappearing for a while until someone forgets it was once in style. Then said person says, "Hey, I've got a brilliant idea! I'll bring peplum back. No one will expect that."

Gotta admit, I didn't see this one coming.

via Style.com

So to said trend-making designers out there who decided to catch us off guard with your flouncy ways...I commend you.

I feel like I can't give much advice on wearing/styling this particular trend, simply because I haven't tried it out yet. But I SO plan to give peplum a fair shot.

Diplomacy and equality in fashion. That's what we're all about here at A Blonde Ambition, folks. Any or all of these seem the most wearable to me:

Get it here.

Found here.

Get it here.

Buy it while it's hot!

I plan to try peplum pieces out with caution...kind of like I did with colored jeans, (which, as you know, I'm now hooked.) What do you think? Is this a trend you'll be trying or will you leave it to the girls on the catwalks?

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P.S.- Got to see our niece and nephew that belong to my SIL Sarah this weekend. Ava and I were proud to rock our spring appropriate yellow shirts together : )

We also had a nail painting party. She did mine. I did hers. Win-win for both of us. We also talked about hair poofing and boys and how Aunt Leslie has to approve before she's allowed to date said boy.

Our baby nephew Reed enjoyed his evening in his car seat at Abuelo's. He's such a good-natured baby!

Finally, have I mentioned how much I love this man? His name is Stephen. We are married. I am lucky.

Be blessed, lovelies-

Something Else

I'm over Trend Watch Wednesday. At least for this week. I told Stephen that writing about spring trends right now made me want to yack. I've been shopping, bought some spring stuff for myself and now I'm over it.

His reaction, "Why do you have to write about clothes and stuff tomorrow? Can't you talk about something else?"

Me, (emphatically and with gusto), "Because it's TREND WATCH WEDNESDAY!!! The schedule! We must stick to the schedule!!"

"Write about something else," he says, "Or just don't write tomorrow."

He cares deeply about the content of this blog, you see.

But I think I'll heed his advice.

Rather than bore us all to tears with pleats and pastels (!!), here's my 'something else':

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1. We may have found love for Ari. After combing through a few emails from NWA residents and owners of female dogs, we found a match that we believe could work out well. Her name is KC, she is from Fort Smith and is part German Shepard!

This was Ari's dramatic and moving reaction when I told him that we'd found him a love match.

2. Fear not though, KC, I saw him doing push-ups and crunches in the backyard this morning. Obvi, he is excited and trying to get in shape before their first "date".

3.  I'm tired of hearing about NYFW. I mean, I love fashion as much as anyone, but I'm tired of self-proclaimed high-style bloggers pretending they're "SO excited for the Meadham Kirchhoff Fall RTW collection, I can't stand it!".

Honey, you're not there. You're in front of your computer. And pretending you're excited for a collection you can't even pronounce doesn't earn you street cred in any fashion community. Let's be real here. Will any of us actually replicate an outfit like the one below:

And just think, this is considered "Ready to Wear".

 
It'd be a real head-turner at the staff meeting though, wouldn't it.


4. That's why I would consider myself more of an "average girl's fashion blogger". I work on a budge. As Brad Goreski would say, "A low budge." : )

5. And I'm quite sure I've never owned "couture".

6. Unless you consider my Juicy Couture tracksuit, circa 2005. That's the closest I've come to "couture" of any variety.

7. Dance Moms continues to be my favorite show on TV at the moment. I love me some Abby Lee Miller and her scratchy, pack-a-day voice. And hot-rolled hair. Love her.

Aight, that's my "something else". I hope you enjoyed this detour from Trend Watch Wednesday, brought to you in part by Stephen.

Be blessed, lovelies-

Pink Jeans are Made of These

via Kendra Scott

I think I'm in the minority, but I really, really love a pair of whacky, colorful pants. Pants that say, "Hello. I've arrived."

The whole colored jeans bit will carry on into this spring season, but the focus will be primarily on one color: Pink, baby!

My favorite way to wear them is with a navy blue striped shirt, nude heels and tons of gold accessories, kind of like the chica in the opening picture. They also look tres chic paired with a cherry red shirt, kind of like the color combo Ms. Bradshaw, err SJP, wore in the photo below.

A good rule of thumb to remember is that if you're 30 or younger, you can go for hot pink, fuchsia pink and reddish-pink. If you're 30 or older, steer towards pastel pink or rose!

1 / 2 / 3

4 / 5 / 6

Dark, light, reddish...all pinks are dandy this spring. This trend honestly reminds me of these pink pants I had as a kid. I think they were Guess. I loved those stinkin' pants.

Ahhh memories...

Pink jeans are made of these. Who am I to disagree? Travel the world in....

Okay, I'll stop.

Be blessed, lovelies-