New Format…but not because of a Fashion Falling-Out!

As I start to refocus on my blog & pump out more post you’ll probably notice I’ve made a few changes – the most major being the images you see. Instead of styling each outfit & photographing it on my mannequin, Lola, I’ve started creating clothing collages made up of all the elements in the ensemble. Think very Polyvore-esque.

To do this I had to first take a picture of each and every article of clothing & accessory I own. Yep, that means E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G!

– Every tank top, t-shirt, blouse, sweater, blazer, jacket
– Every pair of pants, shorts, skirt
– Every onesie, every dress
– Every hat & handbag
– Every scarf, belt, pair of shoes & boots
– Every bangle, every cuff, necklace, ring, earring – even those pesky little studs
– Every pair of dressy stockings, tights & any other necessary undergarments (within reason – obviously I’m not going to put my panties out on blast for everyone to see :/)

Then, using Photoshop I edited each image to remove the background.           Time consuming? Touché

It sounds like a lot of work…and I’m not gonna lie – it was! It was quite the undertaking at first! There were times I questioned if what I was doing was worth it; but, piece-by-piece I persevered. And what I have now is a database for getting dressed!

When I last backed up my computer I had over 2,500 files in my “clothing catalog”. To be clear – I don’t own 2,500 things! There are duplicates, detail shots, and I took multiple photos if there were multiple ways to wear something.

But now that all of the initial grunt work is done, when I go to style an outfit, all I have to do is drag & drop the individual “floating” garments into a collage, similar to the way one would when getting dressed.

In the end, it’s actually quite an efficient way of doing things! Before, I would steam everything, get Lola dressed, then pin, tuck, or tape things to make sure it looks good (some of the manipulation tactics I’ve come up with are rather clever :), move my furniture out of the way, then wait until the perfect time of day to have a photo shoot – when there’s just the right amount of natural light (when the sun’s not too bright that it creates a glare, but it’s not too dark out that it casts shadows). That ‘ideal time’ is usually during early to mid-afternoon (but now that it gets dark so early there’s an even shorter window of opportunity), which is not very conducive for someone who works during the day. :/

However, now, with my new system in place – I can create new looks whenever I want! Whether its 10am or 2am, I can jump on my computer, open up my fashion files, & style!

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Talk about a streamlined approach to styling! It’s clean, consistent, & straightforward. I use this format for the look books I create for clients. It truly is a fool-proof guide to getting dressed!

So…what do you think of the new look?

BTW – Don’t worry, Lola and I didn’t have a complete fashion falling-out! She still gets a lot of love with other projects I’m working on…and she’ll comeback for a cameo in future posts :)

Styling to Take Center Stage Once Again

I’m embarrassed to admit that it has been for-ev-ER since I’ve published a new post! It wasn’t my intention to put my blog on the back burner & I know taking such a long break from the blogosphere is a big no-no; but, what can I say, it’s easy to lose track of time and before I realized it, months have gone by since I’ve pressed the publish button.

My extended hiatus has to do with a number of things, those being 1) struggling with a bit of writers block (happens to us all), 2) spending little time at home (transcribing your thoughts is one thing, taking pictures to support what you’re saying another, then editing the images, and finally sitting down at a computer to combine all of the parts. Then there’s proofreading, making the necessary changes, rereading it again…you get the idea), 3) my introduction to Photoshop (learning how to use the program is a feat in & of itself; but once you know how to use all of the functions it’s hard to stop playing around with all of the features – leading to hours spent of altering photos!) And 4) yet another exciting new endeavor that I’ve been working on – which I’ll be sharing with you shortly :)

But enough with all that! Even though I haven’t shared any new stuff with you lately that doesn’t mean I’ve stopped styling! I have a back log of looks that I’m excited to show you!

So on that note, here’s a “casual comeback” outfit I came up with a couple weeks ago. Here I paired my Free People plaid corduroy skinnys (a fabric which also makes a comeback during the Fall/Winter season), with my ivory “rockin’ the stage” graphic tank from Urban Outfitters layered underneath an Anthropologie fine-knit cardigan. When I wore this outfit originally I was able to opt out of outerwear entirely (a nice option to have at the end of October), but now that it’s December that’s no longer the case. Depending on the chill factor I add on the necessary layers. In early fall, I got away with just wearing my dark brown moto jacket, but now that it’s gotten a lot colder, I throw on my Arden B brown faux fur vest for a little extra insulation.

The rich burgundy hue from within the primary plaid bottoms really brings out the tonal shades of red from within the rock band cotton top. Although it would’ve coordinated seamlessly, I thought the gold grandpa cardigan that I have would’ve been a little too matchy-matchy; so I went with a muted, earthy olive one instead.

For accessories, I stick with my usual suspects (my pocket knife pendant, forearm cuff & fist full of rings) and add on my ivory leather & gold metal mismatched earrings when I’m not wearing the fur vest (it gets to be too much going on if I wear them both). For footwear, like my layers, in the fall I went with my tonal tan Sperry’s and with winter – my brown buckle boots from Free People.

Which combo do you prefer – the matchy-matchy gold cardi that coordinates perfectly with the plaid pants or the alternative autumnal shade of olive that slightly off-sets the color scheme?