mood

As I continue to grow as a woman, my favorite part of it all is watching myself adapt to my own fashion style. As I began to create my mood board, I was looking back through the years and honestly, it was terrible.

Growing up in a small town means malls are about 2 hours away from where I live. When I was in high school, technology was nowhere near where we are at today with it. Smart phones were just beginning to become popular. Our main social media platform was Facebook, because sadly, MySpace was dying. Never forget MySpace, designing your own profile page was the bomb. Anyways...

You are probably asking, "why am I talking about this nonsense?" Well, honestly, as I was looking at my past, I was also paying interest to my present. I was watching my own style evolution grow and expand and I want to thank technology for that. If it weren't for all the up and coming blogs, online magazines, and Instagram I would be so blindsided on what was trending and what was not. I wouldn't know what my favorite style influencers were wearing, and what pieces they were done with.

Fashion will always live inside me, whether it's clothes, home decor, or even buying gifts for others. It will always have a huge impact on me, and I love it. Especially now with my blog. I can create and explore all the different opportunities I have for my future as I continue to grow as a person.

Anyways, I created this post in particular, because the last mood board I created for my personal style was about 3 years ago. Like I said before, my style has changed. Maybe not a lot, but I definitely matured through the process of it. Also, a lot of people have been asking me where I buy certain items at, and where I get my inspiration from. So, why not make a post about it and explain?

My main two influencers I look to are Selena Gomez and Ariana Grande. My favorite part about these two is how they work athleisure and trends into their outfits. They even make their own trends, like Ariana's signature ponytail look. Their styles are trendy and comfy, my two favorite words when it comes to fashion. I enjoy the sporty look very much, but when it comes to work and play I'm never afraid to spice it up a bit. That's my favorite part about it all, experimenting with different things, layering, mixing and matching different prints. I like to think my body is the canvas and how I cover myself is the art. I love it all honestly.

My basic colors are black, gray, blue, purple, and maybe some print every now and then. When I was younger, I was obsessed with printed shirts and leggings. However, as I became older and wiser, I started to make the print my staple piece and work from that. For example, when I wear my favorite camo jacket, I make sure that it's clear that's what I'm trying to sell for my outfit of the day. If it's a baggy jacket I will either pair it with a sweater dress, leggings, and boots. Or, I will put a simple graphic tee underneath, some jeans, and boots or sneakers.

One of my favorite things to do is go on Pinterest or Instagram and search for what is on trend. When I find a picture of an outfit I love, I check to make sure I have one of the staple pieces in my wardrobe already. Once that happens, I think of everything I have and what's similar to the picture, or if I could style it better. Then, once again the experimenting begins.

For that past year or so, I have also become obsessed with beauty. Thanks to my discount at Sephora, JCPenney perks, I was able to try the higher end makeup. After experimenting with different brands, I was able to pick my favorites. Which include, Tarte, Urban Decay, and BareMinerals, mainly because the majority of their products are animal-tested free. Once I found my "look" for the basic makeup routine, I soon started watching YouTube videos, and even going back to Pinterest for more inspiration.

Once I became more comfortable using makeup and making sure it looked somewhat natural, I went to my hair. At the time, I was trying to go platinum blonde. That lasted about a year, I was never truly platinum, but my hair was light enough to where I loved it. After the platinum phase, I grew fond of the rose gold hair. Thanks to my genes, I already had hints of red in my hair and my skin just naturally looked good in those types of colors. So, before my trip to Denver with some friends, I went rose gold. That lasted about a week, sadly, because the pink fades so quickly. As my hair was fading, I knew I wanted to keep the red in it somehow, so, I went back to my pure natural hair color of strawberry blonde. I loved it for the summer, but, as winter came closer I wanted the darker look, so now we are at the dark purple-maroon phase with my hair, and I love it...and the compliments I receive.

As I look back at the past five years of my life, I have enjoyed becoming the person I am today. How you choose to dress is what truly makes yourself, you, and makes you become more self-confident in yourself as well. You figure out what styles you can rock, and the items that just don't work for you. It is a work in progress for everybody, and honestly, I don't think our "style" will ever be the same, from the moment you were born, to when you land your dream job. Fashion is forever changing, and so are we. So the best advice I can give you on how to land "your style" is do what makes you happy, because honestly, that's all that matters in the end.