Fashion – Ensemble of Elan

Farewell, Friends

We’ve had a lot of fun over the last year and a half, but all good things must come to an end. Thank you to everyone who has been apart of this incredible journey with us ❤

Xoxo,

S & H

Video Taken & Edited by: Daniel Nansel

Music in Video by: Yuni Wa

Photos Taken By: Daniel Nansel

Photos Edited By: Hannah Lewter

Good Fashion Is Meant to Be Shared

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, for which we will receive a small commission if you click on our link and buy a clothing or accessory item. Our opinions on those pieces are always our own! ❤

There are two types of people in this world: Those who don’t want anyone to copy their look, and those who want everyone to copy their look.

We can easily say we fit into the second category, but what about you? Let us know in the comments!I’ve seen a lot of other industries starting to share more and more (think AirBNB or Uber), so I asked myself, how could the fashion industry incorporate more sharing as a way to save money and the environment?

It seems wasteful for everyone to build their own fully comprehensive wardrobes with every style and every trend, especially when most of us get tired of looking at the same old clothes day in and day out anyways.

What’s the answer then? Renting clothes instead of purchasing them. To use this type of service, you do have to get over the fact that a lot of other people are going to be wearing not only the same styles as you, but the same exact pieces as you.

You may have heard of Rent the Runway, Le Tote, or AirCloset, which allow you to rent stylish clothing items from their enormous (and amazing!) collections. One quote from a clothing rental company CEO (Satoshi Amanuma of AirCloset) that stuck out to me was:

“I want to offer people, especially busy women who don’t have spare time to buy clothes, more opportunities to encounter new clothes and apparel brands, and to enjoy fashion more.”

By renting clothes, you effectively get a brand new wardrobe every month without having to put much thought or effort into it.

No unwanted clothing gets thrown away because every item gets enjoyed for the first time over and over again.

The only catch? You have to share it.

This could be the next big transition in the fashion industry, and I am excited to see where it leads.

-H

I for one see someone copying me as the ultimate compliment.

I’ve never been one of those people who, if you ask me where I bought something, refused to say because I didn’t want you to have the same purse/boots/whatever as me.

If I love that piece and it brings me joy, I want to share it with other people, so they can experience the same happiness that item has given me.

There are plenty of people out there who do not feel the same, and when I ask them where they bought something, they hesitate to tell me. That’s fine if you feel that way, but for the record, there is plenty of amazing fashion going around, so there is no reason to try to hoard it all to yourself.

You probably noticed that Hannah and I are wearing the same ankle boots in this shoot. A lot of fashionistas would cringe at the thought of wearing the same shoes as someone else for a photoshoot, but we DGAF.

If Hannah finds an amazing pair of earrings, or I find the perfect pair of jogger pants, we actually encourage the other to go out and buy one for themselves.

I truly believe that one of the reasons we are such good friends is because we share this approach to fashion, and I think this mentality is crucial to making it in the fashion industry.

Good fashion is meant to be shared.

-S

Hannah’s Wearing:

Sabrina’s Wearing:

Photography by: Rainwater Reflections Photography

Editing by: H+L Creations

The Brunette Salad: Making a Style Icon Accessible

If you know anything about anything in fashion, you know who Chiara Ferragni is.

But, if you are a fashion novice, it’s essentially our civic duty to fill you in. Chiara Ferragni started the world’s most popular fashion blog, The Blonde Salad, and over the past eight years, turned it into a fashion empire (Harvard Business Review even did a case study on her success story!). She also started her own Chiara Ferragni collection and boasts over ten million followers on Instagram.

Sheer Pearl Top, Denim Skirt, and Velvet Sneakers

Basically, she is blogging badass #1. As such, her eccentric sense of style can feel a little out of reach for us normies. But as your resident fashion gurus, we are here to help you appreciate her sense of style and even make it your own.

Let me start by saying that until about six months ago, I did not really care for Chiara Ferragni’s sense of style. I thought her looks were strange, and I did not understand how she gained millions of dedicated followers. But then we started this blog, and everything changed. Having to put together intriguing outfits on a daily basis has pushed my creativity beyond my wildest dreams, and it was then, and only then, that I could truly begin to appreciate Chiara’s sense of style. (And now she is my fashion muse.)

I love Chiara because she puts pieces together that should not work, but she makes them work. She is willing to take some daring fashion risks, and honestly, they don’t always pay off! But that makes me love her even more because she is willing to go that far outside the box and put in the effort to constantly evolve her style. And when her outfits do work (which is like 98% of the time), they absolutely blow me away.

When I’m looking for fresh outfit inspiration, I usually go to her Instagram feed instead of browsing Pinterest. When I’m out shopping for new clothes or putting together outfits in front of my mirror, I ask myself, “Would Chiara buy this?” or “How would Chiara style this?”. The key to putting yourself in this mindset to not try to copy her looks exactly. Just look for specific elements that she frequently wears, like I did with these platform sneakers, a sheer top, and a mini skirt. Chiara is all about getting creative, so it would be a disservice to everything she stands for if you simply recreated one of her looks. Choose an element (or two or three), put your own spin on it, and run with it!

-S

I have a confession. I am currently obsessed with turning shirts and dress backwards. Weird, right? Well, that’s exactly what I did to this dress. I found this velvet, vintage dress at Goodwill and loved the beautiful colors, but I hated the neckline. As I was trying on this dress at home, inspiration suddenly struck, so I turned the dress around and unzipped the zipper a bit to make it a bit more sexy like Chiara’s style, and viola! It was like an entirely new dress with a different neckline!

I’ve always loved thinking outside of the box when it comes to fashion, which is why I’m so inspired by Chiara Ferragni’s style! Her eccentric, weird outfits get my creative juices flowing because she puts so many odd elements together that normally wouldn’t go together, but they always somehow complement each other.

Being daring in your style takes bravery, and Chiara Ferragni is the epitome of that. She is never afraid to wear outrageous, crazy pieces, but she ties it all together through her styling. I chose to be a little more weird with my styling by doing space buns and going for a pair of mule loafers instead of heels (which is hard for me because I love heels with dresses!). What I’ve learned from Chiara Ferragni’s style is that it’s okay to dress sexy and wear whatever the hell you want.

Sometimes we forget that everyday you get to choose how you present yourself to the world, so rock those silver metallic loafers or that completely see-through dress. When it comes to style, just be yourself.

-H

“My secret has always been to be true to myself.”

-Chiara Ferragni

Sabrina’s Wearing:

Hannah’s Wearing:

Mastering the Edgy Cool Girl: Happily Grey

Mary Seng of Happily Grey has long been one of our favorite fashion bloggers and Insta-girls. We love her edgy, yet feminine sense of style and how she can make anything from leggings to ruffle dresses feel effortlessly cool!

Here’s our take on how to emulate her fashion sense and photography style:

Delicate Gold Necklace and Emerald Dress

What I love about Mary Seng’s blog and Instagram feed is that even though she wears a wide variety of styles and colors, it all feels cohesive due to the nature of her styling and photo editing.

When I was choosing an outfit for this shoot, I went through several of her favorite styles in my head: ankle boots, statement sleeves, funky footwear and more before I settled on wearing a pair of white, wide leg pants with a feminine, floral detail.

I didn’t want to make this outfit too girly by adding ruffles or a colored top, so I stuck with a simple black cami and added a mesh bomber jacket to give this outfit the sporty edge it was lacking. I finished off this look with these pale blue, strappy mules because Mary Seng is not one to stick to neutral, basic footwear.

If you want to create a look inspired by Mary Seng, I would suggest you pair clothes that you wouldn’t normally think to put together. Wear a fun, off-the-shoulder dress with tennis shoes or layer a top with statement sleeves under a dress or overalls. Mix and match styles, but remember to not try too hard because if there’s one thing that sets this fashion blogger apart, it’s that even though her outfits are unconventional, they always look natural.

-S

So Mary Seng’s blog, Happily Grey, is literally my favorite blog in the world. My role model, my icon, my inspiration to start a fashion blog all comes from this fashion influence in Nashville, TN. I was drawn to her because I was surprised that such an edgy, modern presence like Mary could come out of the rootin’ tootin’ south. It made me believe that I could make my footprint on the fashion industry too.

What I love about Mary Seng’s style is how she is never afraid to break the rules. Her style is the epitome of the edgy cool girl, but she also breaks out flowy dresses and skirts from time to time, which is how I chose my ensemble (see what I did there). I leaned towards Mary Seng’s more feminine side with this emerald green dress, which I paired with black heels and gold accessorizes. I even styled my hair in the famous Mary Seng low, messy bun!

One of the reasons I think I was so drawn to this blog was the photography. I found Mary’s photographer, Alaina Mullin, on Instagram, and I must say this woman knows how to take some damn good photos. There is always so much movement in her photos, and the editing is incredible. They keep a pretty unsaturated background, usually urban and grey (hence Happily Grey), but they keep the subject in bold color! The skin tones are pretty dark, so if you were trying to edit similarly, I would suggest keeping the exposure down and bringing that contrast up to the moon, baby.

-H

Mary is relatable because unlike many fashion bloggers who take some truly daring style risks that don’t always work, her style is always easy to love. We adore her, and we think you will too!

Check out some of her looks at http://www.happilygrey.com.

Sabrina’s Wearing:

Hannah’s Wearing:

Using Fashion to Craft Your Personal Brand

There is so much buzz right now around crafting your “personal brand,” whether it’s for the purpose of getting a new job, promoting your own business or craft, or simply giving the world an accurate idea of who you are and what you stand for.

As three creatives, we love using fashion to promote our personal brands because how we present ourselves to the world is quite important in each of our lines of work. Here are our thoughts on how we use fashion to bolster the world’s perception of ourselves and how you can do it too:

To use fashion to cultivate your personal brand, you first have to figure out what your personal brand is. Do you want to be seen as a logical woman who has her head on straight? A free-thinking creative? I personally want to be known as the girl people can turn to for advice or assistance with any of their personal style woes, even if their preferences differ from my own.

We will soon be launching a styling service (stay tuned for more details on that coming within the next few days!), so it’s important to me to instill a sense of confidence in my potential clients. That means even though I love risky, out-of-the-box styles, I know not everyone does (and I don’t want my clients to think I’ll be dressing them all in high-waisted referee pants and lace crop tops!), so I need to make an effort to reflect a variety of styles within my own personal style so clients trust that I can meet their own fashion wants and needs.

This is why I chose a relatively simple look for this shoot. I realized a while ago that I almost never wear jeans in photo shoots, and I don’t think I have literally ever worn a t-shirt for a shoot, so I figured I would give it a try and make those seemingly simple pieces feel fashion forward! There are a lot of women out there who live in jeans and t-shirts, so I needed to make myself relatable and my style accessible to them.

So for you, what do you want to reflect? What do you want people to know about you before you ever even open your mouth? Keep your personal brand in mind when choosing outfits, and it will not steer you wrong.

-Sabrina Runge

As an independent musical artist, I choose how I am represented. I don’t have a record label telling the world who I am, and I like that.

As a natural performer, it’s easy to perform on and off the stage… to try to be something I’m not in order to feel “good enough.” I had to learn how to stop performing, and, as a dear friend put it, “just be.”

This year, I’ve begun to take that mindset on and off the stage; to do what I love because I love it, not to fulfill others’ expectations. It’s a privilege to “fill the air, the silence” (as my boyfriend says it) with whatever I choose and to remember that people show up to hear me and let me be myself with them. Nobody likes false advertisement, and with that in mind, I use style to visually represent my true self.

I prefer minimalism and consistency in my style. If I go a little out of the box from my day-to-day for a show, it’s because I want to use style as another way to express my creativity. However, with that exception, I usually prefer to let my personality and music do the talking. Choosing a simplistic, neutral-based style allows room for interpretation. It doesn’t make such a statement that others can automatically have a definitive opinion about me before actually knowing me. I desire to know others and be known truly, not superficially. I’m not saying I wear plain, homely things in some sort of “stick-it-to-the-man” mindset against our society’s focus on image. I do enjoy many trends in our culture, and I love expressing myself visually, but I do not depend on it.

All that being said, my style usually consists of mostly black, flowy pieces. I wear a lot of black because I view it as a confident color. (Honestly, I love any outfit that feels like pajamas.) I’ve come to love my nearly shapeless body, and I try to not deceive anyone into thinking it’s anything else. If my shape disappears under a flowy dress, that’s okay with me because in this heat, I’m just happy for cool clothing. As far as accessories, it’s safe to assume that I’ll almost always be wearing a key necklace that says “BE” on it to remind me to be real, along with the same gold studs, my mother’s ring, and black booties. I value consistency and simplicity. My style is constantly swaying between simply confident and confidently comfortable. That’s the mindset I try to live in as well. Confident but not conceited; comfortable and content with myself.

–Tiffany Lee: Musical Artist, Nap Queen, and Plant Mom

Whether you are a business owner, lawyer, or fashion guru, you are your brand. So, as your brand, the way you present yourself is the way you display your business. As a fashion blogger, photographer, and soon-to-be stylist, I use fashion as an avenue to make a good impression on others, thus creating a good impression for my business. Even if I’m simply running to Kroger to buy more Halo Top ice cream at 11pm, I still try to make an effort to dress nicely and look my best no matter the occasion because I never know when I’m going to run into a present or future client.

Always looking presentable and approachable instills a kind of trust with my clients. I’ve branded myself so they know they can trust me to always do the best work I can for them because I put that same kind of effort into myself (almost) everyday. Jogger pants, loafers and a chic, silk cami is one of my go-to outfits because it’s effortless yet sophisticated for wearing out, and I can still go home, plop down on the couch, and spend the day working and editing photos without ever having to change clothes!

When I started out branding myself as a photographer, I dove in headfirst and told people I was up for anything, from newborn sessions to weddings. Yet, I realized this wasn’t what I really wanted to do, so I began focusing on what I loved: fashion photography and portraiture. As a fashion blogger myself, I see both side of the lens, so I have a unique perspective when it comes to fashion photography, which sets me apart in this field and aligns with who I am as a photographer and a person.

It’s a lot easier (and more authentic) to cultivate your personal brand when you are honest with yourself about what you want to do. It’s no surprise that I didn’t get booked for many newborn sessions because my heart wasn’t really in it. Once I created my personal brand that aligned with each and every one of my passions, I began to see a lot more success in each of those fields, and you will too.

-Hannah Lewter

Black Maxi Dress, Black Jeans, and Graphic Tee

Hannah’s Wearing:

Tiffany’s Wearing:

Sabrina’s Wearing: