Fashion is certainly fickle. But, at times, it is not! For each fly-by crop top, you’ll find a timeless, chic print. Here’s a look at some timeless fashion trends that never seem to lose their appeal.
The Ladylike look Way back in 1947, well-known French designer, Christian Dior brought us the lavishly feminine new look, complete with full skirt and nipped in waist. Style icons like Jackie Kennedy and Grace Kelly gave the look mass appeal during the 1950s, making it the silhouette women still turn to.
This look just doesn’t waver in popularity since it truly complements curves, and looks refined without being over-the-top. The sophistication with this look lies in the details. Choose vintage jewellery or bow-tie kitten heals for effortless class.
A modern way to wear this look is to try separates instead of the traditional fit and flare dress. A bodice and skirt combo look sensational. And for evening wear that is just as comfortable and glamorous, you can pair an embellished wrap shirt with a beautiful twirly skirt.
Animal Prints When Europeans very first began to colonize Africa and Asia during the 18th century, they brought back the skins of tigers, zebras and leopards. These prints have, ever since, left their mark on clothing and decor. A few centuries later, red carpet faces like Marilyn Monroe and Lauren Bacall harnessed animal prints’ super-sexy magnetism.
It’s easy to see why animal prints don’t go out of fashion. They’re just like neutrals – they’re made of blacks, beiges and browns. They’re seasonless. You can wear the prints with just about anything. And, they’re a great way to add a little edge to any outfit.
To pull off an uber-stylish print, use small doses, like animal print accessories. Today, we find prints that seem to be more magnified or graphic. Opt for a patterned piece with a solid tone to keep it from looking retro. Stick to simple, tasteful and sleek silhouettes.
Menswear for Ladies Designer Coco Chanel introduced us to pants for women during the 1920s. She even popularised sportswear separates, such as cardigans and jackets. Not far behind, Katharine Hepburn brought fame and glamour to the tomboy look during the 1930s and in the 1070s, musician Patti Smith added a little rock and roll to the look.
This is another timeless trend that keeps coming back. Menswear, believe it or not, is flattering on just about any body shape or size, and it works for both casual and formal wear. Choose a chunky watch, a frilly top or sexy heel to glam-up your menswear-inspired outfit. But, be sure to choose fitted cuts, though, and contrast the sharp tailoring with feminine, fun accents like colourful heels and daring jewellery.
These are just some examples of timeless trends that never go out of style. There’s also the little black dress and floor length ball gowns. What’s your go-to classic for a formal occasion?
If you are like me, the digital age has left my handbag full of wireless gadgets. From smart phones and tablets, to headphones and MP3 players; it seems that there is another device out there that becomes the newest necessity. When taking these items on-the-go with us, it is important that we keep them charged up so that they can be fully functional when we need them. More than ever, the most important necessity is a portable charger, like the MOPHIE POWERSTATION PLUS, for those emergency situations. Thanks to our partnership with Verizon Wireless, we were able to demo the Mophie for thirty days.
The Mophie portable charger is capable of charing smart phones, tablets, or any other mobile device. Depending on the device and how much the battery is depleted, the Mophie 1200 mAh can charge your smart phone up to four times on a single charge. The Mophie Powerstationis designed to charge two devices, whether they are Apple and micro-USB devices, at one time because of the charger’s built–in, switch–tip cable — as seen in the photo below.
The Mophie Powerstation Plus 12000 with Switch-Tip Cable
The Mophie Powerstation Plus portable charger is one of those items that I would recommend for every member of your family. Nowadays, everyone is carrying some sort of wireless device and the need to stay connected is vitally important. Maybe it is for your teenager who has his / her first smart phone and he / she is away at summer camp. Maybe it is for your spouse who takes public transportation to get to work. You never know when you will need to have to have that emergency boost. What would you do if you were out late at night and you have a dead battery – in your vehicle and on your phone. You need to call for a tow truck to help. You want that peace of mind knowing that you can to make that call to a family member or to stay in touch with the technician as he makes his way to help you.
The Mophie needs to be in everyone’s handbag, backpack or vehicle console. No one in your family should leave home without one.
FTC Disclosure:
Verizon Wireless provided us with the Mophie Powerstation Plus in order to write this review. After thirty days, the Mophie was returned back to Verizon. Bubbling With Elegance and Grace received no monetary compensation to write this review. All opinions are our own.
Have you ever had a handbag that stopped you while in your stiletto heels?
The Florentine Toscana Front Pocket Satchel stopped me, literally.
I had said before that I was going to not get another handbag for a little while because I am focusing on saving and achieving that nest egg.
While at work and in a public area of the building, I had walked by a lady standing at a counter when I noticed her Dooney and Bourke handbag. Being a Dooney fan, I stopped and said to her that I really liked her bag. She turns to me and says, “Oh you mean my Dooney?!?” I said, “Yes, the strap is really different.” She told me that was one of the reasons that she purchased the Florentine Toscana. I knew by seeing the bag in person I had to add that bag to my wishlist.
Designer notes from the Dooney and Bourke website:
“Luxurious Italian leather and signature Dooney design elements combine for a collection that is truly exceptional. Inspired by one of Dooney & Bourke’s original styles, the Front Pocket Satchel speaks to our legacy of crafting and designing timeless, iconic shapes and features a variety of carrying options.”
The bag on the Dooney and Bourke site retails for $568.
Would you believe that this bag requires no creams, lotions or leather cleaners? To take care of the bag, all you need is a cloth.
The bag is soft but durable, sturdy but elegant. I received this bag as a Christmas gift and I must say it’s the gift that keeps on giving. This is an all-season handbag that has become a work horse in my wardrobe closest. I gave a full review of the handbag on my Youtube Channel.
I styled the handbag for an updated chic look. It is very classy with town and country vibes.
You are beautiful. It’s so easy to think that you’re not. To let insecurities in. To beat yourself down. But it’s time that all stopped. Because you are you, and you can never change that. So you’re going to want to stop wishing that it could. Even if you don’t realize that you’re doing it, or you don’t mean to be so hard on yourself, you really do need to start being a lot kinder to yourself. You’re all that you have, so work it! Instead of looking in the mirror and criticizing what you see, why not choose to see the positives? Choose to focus on the good things that you’ve got going on. Because we all know that you have them!
For some people, this entire process can be a lot easier said than done. But it doesn’t have to be. You just need to know what to do to make it happen. Sometimes, you’re going to need to work on your mindset more than anything else. And that will take work. But if you want to feel great about yourself, you’ll be able to do it. Then you have some of the physical changes that you’ll need to make. Because if you’re not already rocking what you’ve got to the full potential, you have to change that. You’re going to want to work in some key changes and enhancements of what you already have to feel at your best. So let’s look at exactly how you’re going to do it.
Focus On Positivity The first thing that you’re going to want to do is adjust your mind. If you’re always so hard on yourself or you know that it’s going to be tough to feel confident, here’s where to start. Work on developing a positive mindset. By learning to become positive, you’re going to be in the best possible position to start changing your life and how you feel about yourself. So work on this before you do anything else. Well, except for the second point.
Stop Comparing Yourself At the same time, you really need to stop comparing yourself to others. It’s something that we all naturally do, but it’s not really something that’s good for you. This can often be the reason why you get so insecure in the first place. But you do need to know that you have the power to stop these insecure feelings. So it’s time to stop comparing yourself to others and to focus on yourself instead.
Look For The Good Next, you’re going to want to start to focus on the good things that you have going on. Of which there will be a ton. Now that you’re not focusing on others, but you’re focusing on yourself instead, you’ll want to start to pick out the things that you do like about yourself. Whether it’s your long and strong nails, your beautiful eyes, or your great figure, focus on that. Make sure that you feel good about the things that you have already.
Change Your Energy At the same time, if there’s any negativity in your life, you need to let it go. Even if this is certain people. Because when you start to change your energy, you’ll learn that you can attract what you want. If this means that you get to start feeling better in your own skin and bringing out more positivity, isn’t it worth it?
Put Yourself First If you’re someone that has always put others before you, then it’s time to stop. You want to work with what you’ve got? Well, that’s going to take work. And how can you work on you when you’re giving others all of your energy? It’s like they say with your putting on your oxygen mask – you need to have yours on first so that you can help others. So do you, and then go back to helping them.
Focus On Your Health How is your health looking lately? Sometimes, the reason we don’t always feel at our best, is because we don’t actually feel at our best. When your not that healthy, you won’t always feel great. So work on becoming a little healthier in your life, and see how it makes you feel about yourself overall.
Exercise A really great way to emphasis what you’ve got is to exercise. Now, everybody has a different shape. And you were born that way. You won’t always be able to change that. But you can use exercise as a way to shape your body and feel better about yourself. Because exercise makes you happier too, so it’s a win-win.
Fuel Your Body As a step on from that, you’re going to want to look at what you’re eating. Because one of the simplest ways to really boost your beauty naturally is just to eat well. When you’re eating foods that fuel your body, it shows. From lean proteins and whole grains to fruits and veggies, when the bulk of your diet is highly nutritious, you will look and feel great. So if you’re tired of your skin looking dull or your hair feeling limp, look to your diet.
Avoid Stress If you’re dealing with a lot of stress right now, it will show in how you look. So work on changing that. Make sure that you’re staying away from stressful situations and toxins. Not only if this important for anti-aging and your overall beauty levels, but it’s also important for your mental health overall.
Take Care Of Your Skin From here, you’re then going to want to make sure that you’re really looking after your skin. If you don’t have a solid skincare routine, now’s the time to start. Make sure that you read up on your skin type. Find out everything from the best type of cleanser to use and when to wear a face mask to what treatments you should be using. Then, you’ll be in the best possible position to work on your skin. And a better complexion always gives you a better base to work with.
Dress For Your Shape But don’t forget about fashion either. If you want to make sure that you’re able to work with what you’ve got, you need to be able to dress confidently. What you wear really can affect how you feel about yourself. So make sure that you’re dressing to show off your body type. Whether this is accentuating your waistline or working with your long legs, go for it. You’ll be surprised by how powerful this one step can be.
Accentuate Your Natural Beauty Being naturally beautiful doesn’t always mean rolling out of bed and hoping for the best. If you want to feel at your best naturally, then you have to work on that a little. From getting that good base like we said, to taking care of your teeth, looking after your eyelashes, shaping your brows and making sure that you treat your hair well, it all helps. So make sure that you’re doing what you can to highlight your beauty naturally.
Take Pride In Your Appearance From here, you’re then going to want to ensure that you take as much pride in your appearance as possible. To really rock what you’ve got, you need to get into the habit of doing your makeup and dressing well on a regular basis. This always makes you feel more put-together too.
Go All Out And while you’re there, why not get yourself a new hairstyle too? If you’re not really doing much with your hair, you’ll want to change that. Because different styles can show off your natural bone structure, so speak to your stylist about what kind of shape and style you should look to have.
Become Your Best Self Finally, you’re going to want to ensure that you do what you can to make sure that you’re becoming your best self. You should find that, as you work through each of these steps, you start to feel incredible. And you’ll pretty much be your best self. But this should be your goal. Don’t see this as changing who you are – it’s showing off the person that you already are. So embrace these changes and realize that you’ve always been beautiful, you just didn’t believe in yourself.
So now that you’ve seen the steps, do you see that you can do this? Do you realize that you just need to change the way that you see yourself, and how you think about yourself, and you’ll be able to make it happen? Because you can. If you want to feel beautiful and become the very best version of yourself, you just need to believe that you can do it. Because it’s already there inside of you, you just have to let it out.
Now that you know how to do it, don’t let anything hold you back. Make sure that you’re focusing on yourself, you’re working on your mind, your body, your health, and your appearance, and you’ll be looking and feeling your best before you know it.
FTC Disclaimer: This is a collaborative post and may contain affiliate links.
What do you think about your heritage? Do you feel that it is important? Or that it is not important to know where you came from?
JT and hubby
I used to think that it was not really a big deal because it was all in the past. My mother and grandmother would tell me my great-grandmother was a Cherokee Indian. My Grandmother said that my great grandmother had long black hair and how she would brush it when she was a little kid. I always wondered why I never saw a picture of her. My father did not talk much about his family, maybe because his own father passed away when he was only six years old. When I was in grade school, the other kids would tease me and call me Injun Joe (a derogatory term for a Native American). Where the heck did this come from? My mother told that people would look at me when I was a baby and that I would get darker over time; but I never did.
Am I Native American? My hubby and I took the 23 and Me DNA test this year so that we could confirm or discredit the myths and theories that existed that had been presented to us about our ancestors. We were not shocked by the results; but we were surprised at the diversity of our ancestors. I discussed the DNA complete findings in an earlier post (found here). I found out that the Native American DNA was only a very small percentage (0.5%), which discredited my grandmother’s story. It made me rethink what my family had told me. I learned that through history that most African Americans are multiracial with European blood. And even though this occurred through many Africans being enslaved, not all were enslaved. Yes, some Africans were free and married Europeans.
One Drop Theory According to the 23 and Me test, one-fourth of my DNA is non-African, with 22% being European and about 4% coming form other peoples of the world. For me to say I have African ancestry alone would be a disgrace and an insult to all the cultures that are found in my genetic makeup. I am a multiracial, African-European-American. It is a good feeling to know where my ancestors lived. Just because you have two parents who are African American, does not mean that you are 100% African American. The term ‘biracial’ really is saying you have two parents of different cultures; but the DNA doesn’t necessarily come out 50/50. I really am sorry to break this to you; but the majority of African Americans are multiracial. And being multiracial comes in all variations of skin color, isn’t that beautiful.
How do you feel about someone being called an African American? I would often wonder myself about the term African American because what about the Africans who come to American and become an American citizen? They are African Americans too. My former pastor would say that he is not an African American because he did not come from Africa, but instead he come from Los Angeles. He would say that he is not black. The heels under his shoes are black, and that he is brown.
After I took the DNA test and saw in the results what parts of Africa my ancestors came from made me think a little more about the politically correct term, “African American.” If you are not 100% African American; do you also recognize the other ancestors? So many questions come up because again the majority of African Americans are mixed. I am multiracial. From my genealogical research, I determined that my grandfather on my Dad’s side is listed as a mulatto — derogatory term used in the 19th Century for a person whose parents are European and African. I still need to do some additional research to find out more about him.
Research
I am an American with SubSaharan African, Northwestern European, Native American, Scandinavian, Iberian, and Oceanin ancestry. There are still many more questions that need to be answered, but my husband and I will be doing more research to see what we can find out. We have been searching for more on my grandfather on my Dad’s side, but it is not easy. We want to find out what his story is and what that story can tell us.
I would like to know if the Africans in my ancestry were all enslaved, free or both. I would like to know who the European ancestor was that was a part of my father’s family.
What’s the point?
Through this journey, I am learning about my parents, about my ancestors and most importantly about myself. It is worth the time and effort. I know that as a child of God and that I come from our father Abraham. However, my ancestors individual stories are being pieced together to create an amazing story. A story that tells the world what makes me uniquely me.
It is just amazing that this journey all started by me sending a saliva sample in a test tube.
Your thoughts
Let me know your thoughts about the DNA research.
Is the research worth the time and effort? At the end of the day, does it even matter. Do you agree with the term African American? Do you recognize all of the ancestry that exists in your DNA?
Learn More About JT
Bubbling with Elegance and Grace started out as an outlet for my passion for fashion but has evolved into a place for me to teach, collaborate, and inspire. My hubby has since joined the team and we have been digital creators for 13 years. We are thankful for those who believed in us from the beginning and those who have just started riding with us on this lovely journey.
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