Today I want to introduce you to someone who I’ve only “known” for a short time, yet immediately struck me as a girl I need in my life. Meet Katie…

Katie’s blog Hems for Her is the ripe old age of 3 weeks, and I couldn’t love it more! I first found Katie through this little post, and immediately fell in love. Scary patterned tights, skinny jeans, belts, Katie goes for it all with no fear!

She embraces her bod, she embraces her style, and she looks incredible doing it! Amazing style and an amazing attitude simply make me smile with every post I read.

Without further ado…here’s Katie!

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I didn’t coin the phrase FATshionista, but I wish I had because if you looked it up in The Dictionary of Awesome Words (not an actual dictionary, yet), you’d find a picture of me.

Our culture is inundated with unrealistic expectations about beauty and what makes a woman attractive, and for years, I fell into that “trap” and unhealthy mindset of “I’m not pretty.” I dressed myself as plainly as I could, as not to draw attention to the obvious fact (like someone pointing out that huge zit on the tip of your nose) that I wasn’t a size six – or the now in-vogue size 00 (that is a for real size- what?!?!?) I admired clothes only in terms of “If Only” (for example, “If only I lost 30/40/50 pounds I could buy that”) and “Somedays” (as in, “Someday when I’m skinny I’ll be able to wear that”).

I know I’m not the only woman out there who’s been missing out because of that little self-hater buried deep inside!

But no more! Today I dare you to step up and step out. Wear that “If Only” or that “Someday”. What are you waiting for Carpe Diem!

If only I could lose 50 pounds then I’d wear those skinny red jeans.

Someday when I’m a size six, then I’ll be able to wear those skinny red jeans.

Today, was that “someday”. “If only” I had worn these pants sooner! I rocked it!

When my son was younger, I took him to the playground. He wanted to go down one of the big kid slides. I was afraid for him, but he insisted. He was so small and the slide was so high that when he got to the bottom he flew right off and fell on the ground. He cried; I cried. It was traumatic. A few minutes later though, he got up and wanted to do it again.

I asked him, “Aren’t you afraid?”

He told me, very emphatically, “No! I’m Sean Logan Frost!”

And he went down the slide again. Without fear.

Why do we lose this fearless spirit? Why do we allow other people to dictate what makes us feel good? Why do we deny ourselves red pants?

So what are you waiting for? Here’s your challenge and your invitation! Wear that something you’ve been too afraid to wear. Wear it today! Today my motto was, “Carpe Denim”. What’s yours?

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THANK YOU KATIE!!!!

I’m totally afraid to wear patterned/textured tights for fear of making my childhood nickname of thunder thighs (thanks Beck, love you!) look like a reality. But I say NO MORE!!!! So when you see patterned/textured tights appear, we all have Katie to thank 

Ashley, you are a GENIUS! It is so easy for many of us to get wrapped up in everything needing to be “perfect”. Thank you for reminding us that beauty comes from being unique and different, not cookie cutter copies of each other.

Take it from Ashley and go try a look that you think might not be perfectly polished. Or take pictures somewhere that has a different beauty. Dare to be imperfect!

Head over to i believe in unicorns to check out all of Ashley’s amazing looks. They will seriously get your wheels turning

Have you ever stumbled upon a blog that has made you stop and think, “hey, what a great idea!”. I swear that happens to me every time I stop by to read Kayla at Freckles in April.

Like this little piece of genius… a super chic water color cloud tunic made from 2 Hanes v-necks….for realz??? I’m not cool enough to ever have thought to do that, let alone have it look that awesome!

Today, Kayla is here to show us how we can take those things that sit in the back of our closet and make them some of our favorite pieces!

My guess is that you’ve got at least a small handful of things that have been banished to the dark recesses of your closet for one reason or another. It doesn’t fit quite right. The color isn’t flattering. There’s a stain that won’t come out.


Here’s my philosophy: if I’m not wearing it then I might as well attempt to get it to the point where I WILL wear it. And if I ruin it in the process, eh. Who cares? I wasn’t wearing it anyway.

This black and white maxi skirt had been languishing in my closet for well over a year. I loved it once upon a time but it got these weird yellow stains in the perfect position to make it look like I had wet my pants. Lovely. I finally used a couple shades of RIT dye and had myself a lovely new skirt/dress that I will actually get some use out of.

I occasionally make my husband clean out his side of the closet and give the castoffs to me. This shirt had just sort of been hiding in the back for a while. He kept thinking he’d wear it again but he has a similar one that he likes better. I thought long and hard about what to do with it but ultimately decided to just take it in to fit me. It was a simple fix that cost me nothing.

My mom let me go through her Goodwill pile a couple days ago and I snapped up this shirt. I love the mandarin collar and the fantastic blue color but it’s too big. Instead of using my sewing machine to take it in, I just wrapped it around me as far as it would go and added a belt. It’s commitment free and I love the asymmetrical effect.

Be honest, raise your hand (I can’t see you), who else is about to go running to their closet to find something to dye or a shirt they can pilfer??? Raise ‘em high! I know I am!!! I told ya Kayla was that awesome!

Don’t forget the NEW STYLE LINK UP this weekend! One of you better show up with a new piece of dyed awesomeness!

You know when you “meet” someone and you just know that you were meant to be friends….that’s Cori. Now only if we could get those pesky few hundred miles out of the way  

Second, accessories are your friend.  Start out with good, basic, well fit wardrobe staples and then stock up on accessories.  Scarves, shoes, statement necklaces, and belts are all a great way to remix an outfit and take it from “half-baked” to “holy-heck she looks good.”  Keep in mind that there are many ways to wear a scarf, necklace, belt, or brooch.  Don’t be afraid to make your accessories pull a double duty.  But make sure you don’t go into over-kill land either.  My mom used to tell me, you should never have more than ten points of interest on an outfit.  And I try to remember that when I get dressed. 

Third, don’t be afraid of colors.  Repeat after me: colors are your friend.  Things don’t always have to be too matchy-matchy to work.  My best outfits are the ones were I throw in a splash of color here or there, something unexpected.  Don’t be afraid to experiment with color pairings that you’ve never tried or even considered in the past.  You might discover something fabulous.  Be aware though, there should be an underlying structure.  Make sure the colors complement each other, and don’t get too busy with the colors either.  Remember the ten points.  We don’t want to look like Rainbow Brite threw-up on us.  Keep in mind also, that going monochromatic is a great option as well.  When done right, it creates a long lean line which make you look taller, and ahem, slimmer.  You can always add a splash of color with an accessory.