{Fall} Trends I'm Loving...

HI...

Here's a little preview of some fall trends I {SS} really {heart}. Stay tuned for more detailed posts about the trends {oxblood, polka dots, scarves, navy, peplum, glasses, blazers, bangles, color, etc...} later this week...

Fall by mynewstyleblog featuring polka dot shoes

xo, SS

Saturday Adventure

Yesterday, {KH} and I set off for another day of fun blogging collaboration. Since it was hot & sticky we headed for air conditioning. We had both heard of and were intrigued by Opitz Outlet in St. Louis Park/Edina/Minneapolis (no there are not three, it's just really confusing where it actually is)- an outlet clothing store boasting 70% off or more on designer apparel and accesories. After a sweaty car ride in which we did about 4 U-Turns (thanks "smart" phones for nothing!) because we kept getting lost... we finally arrived... and were... surprised. Somehow we had expected a pretty, beautifully laid out (maybe like Jeremy's?) boutique with great deals. Instead, we found a large, unorganized and somewhat chaotic warehouse bustling with shoppers! We realized that in order to find said great deals, we were going to have to do some serious digging (something we are both sometimes a bit hesitant about... but working to improve)... Though we didn't get completely down and dirty (we decided we would come back... maybe the second time will be less intimidating?!), we did manage to get some digging done and I walked away with a new pair of shorts (to add to my collection and further overcome my fear (see here)?!) and a dress which I think will work perfectly with an outfit idea I've been dreaming of!

Lots and lots to sift through...

Not the fanciest fitting room accommodations...

Since we had noticed it on our way, we decided to make a second stop at Second Début, Goodwill's fashion boutique. I was pleasantly surprised with their great selection and pretty displays. It truly felt like a little boutique! They were having an additional sale off the already low prices and {KH} scored a great dress! 

Shopping the racks...

Unfortunately as a result of mild crabbiness (brought upon by heat, too many crazy shoppers, hunger, etc...) neither of us were totally feeling the photo thing (it's also hard to sneakily snap photos in a store...) so we didn't take as many pictures as we would have liked. We'll work on doing better with that as we continue to do lots of collaborations. We're also looking forward to hopefully doing a [professional] photo shoot or two as well because it's pretty hard to get good shots of the two of us on our own :) 

Stay tuned this week for posts from each of us on what we got yesterday and how we plan to style it. 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!!

xo, SS

Home

I'm home, which is so bittersweet. It was wonderful to get home and be lovingly welcomed back by my mom, bf and neighbors, who had a delicious meal for me ready to eat outside. At the same time though, I miss {Europe} already... the bustling city life, the quietness of towns that have been around for centuries and centuries, flowers I haven't seen here, the smell of fresh foods, chocolate croissants, being with family, hearing snippets of conversations I couldn't quite understand and then those that I could, the sea and all those stylish Europeans!! Plus, I wish I would have had enough room in my tiny suitcase to bring back so much more... I guess I will have to go back :) I have TONS of great photographs and lots of posts I'm excited to share so stay tuned. Europe is full of great style and {confidence}. I love it. 

A Bientot! 

xo, SS

My New Style {SS}

{ SS } on Style

My dad tells a story about walking through downtown Minneapolis with me at age four when we saw a flashily dressed woman walking towards us. I turned to my dad and said, "Dad, I LOVE her style." Unbeknownst to me, she was a prostitute. And so, my take on style has always been a bit questionable.

{ With my Gramy {stylish beyond belief} and baby brother }

When KH and I decided to start this blog I wanted to have a clear understanding of what {style} represents to me. I knew style was more than just what I wore or how I dressed. For me, I realized style has a lot to do with self confidence. When I think about some of the most stylish people I have known the unifying characteristic amongst them is always confidence. And confidence is something I have had my fair share of struggle with over the years.

As a kid my style was fine, I mean sure I look back on photos and have a good laugh, but part of that was the time. The 90's weren't exactly the booming fashion decade and let's be honest I didn't care so much until I got a bit older.

{ I thought these shoes were so stylish }

I can safely say that I spent a majority of my high school years trying to assert my personal style by taking elements of everyone else's. This wasn't just related to clothes either, but rather my whole sense of being. I wanted to be a feminist, an actress, a camp person, preppy, political, and unique. People often told me to, "be myself", but I couldn't figure out who that was.

"Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say and not giving a damn." ~ Gore Vidal

In college I finally started to "blossom", but I was still a bit hesitant about committing to a certain "style" at first. I remember that I didn't want to wear makeup every day because I didn't want to be one of those girls who looked weird without it. That phase quickly ended however, and now I rarely leave the house without eyeliner.

So, how did the idea of "my new style" come to be? Well, after graduating college I found myself, like many recent graduates, job-less. I went back to working at a clothing store where I had worked the summer before. This is where I met KH. I was initially intimidated by her "style" but we eventually became friends. I would often come to work and remark, "Ugh, I need a new style," once I saw KH and her immaculately put together outfits. This went on for some time and became somewhat of a running joke between the two of us, "oh yeah, SS, your new style pending 2007." I'd have my good days when KH would remark, "Oh that's very NS (New Style) of you,"and then my not so good days when I would slump back into OS (Old Style).

"Fashion fades, style is eternal." ~ Coco Chanel

I began to realize that what I was trying to find all of these years was fashion, not style. I wanted to be trendy and wear whatever everyone else was wearing at the time, the "it" pants or the color of the season. I failed to notice that style truly comes from within. When you feel confident in yourself and carry yourself with a sense of pride, you can wear a pair of jeans and a white button down shirt and look like a goddess. It's not just what you wear either it's the way you think of yourself and present yourself to the world around you, it's your ideals, your opinions, your passion. In terms of clothing, once you have your own unique personal canvas of pieces that look great on you (which can be as "basic" as a white v-neck tee), you can embellish upon them with said "trendy" pieces and turn the latest fashion into your own. As I've become more confident in myself as a person, and more solid in my beliefs and values my style has just sort of presented itself. Style doesn't have to be hard or time-consuming. Style is different for everyone. Style is what you want it to be.

"What you wear is how you present yourself to the world." ~ Miuccia Prada

So why mynewstyleblog, you ask? Well because KH and I love reading blogs. On one of my daily blog reading sessions I began to think that maybe I could become of the millions of others who do this crazy, somewhat self-indulgent blog writing thing. One evening when KH and I were shopping (of course) I started telling her about my idea of having a blog and how I wasn't quite sure what my subject should be. As we waled from store to store the subject of creating our New Style's without going broke came up, and suddenly, standing right by the gourmet crepe stand, the lightbulb moment hit and mynewstyleblog was born. So, here we are. We're so pleased you've chosen to read this.

 { KH & SS }

 xo, SS

"Once you can accept the universe as being something expanidng into an infinite nothing which is something, wearing stripes with plaid is easy."
~ Albert Einstein

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