Good-Bye 2014

This year has been such a fun year of blogging. I've been so lucky to my friends and boyfriend help me with one of my favorite hobbies - whether it's actually taking photos, giving me ideas or clothes, or just encouraging me. And then I must say a huge thank you to all my readers! It's not as much fun without y'all! 

I can't wait for another year of fashion blogging - I've got a lot of ideas up my sleeve.

(If you want to see more photos of a particular look, use the search bar on the right hand side!)

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Fresh Fruity Pickin's

It's so much fun noticing a trend from the inside out, sorta speak. I've been reading Style Feed, a book about popular bloggers (although it was published back in 2011 which is ancient in the fashion blogger world!) And the author, Susie Bubble, talks about the push and pull of fashion - where do some trends originate from: the streets or the catwalk? 

I started to notice a trend of fruit fashion in a lot of my favorite fashion bloggers so I immediately assumed that it was going to be a big trend this year that everyone had known about but me. So I jumped on google ready to see all the fantastic runway photos with fruits blazing from Cara Delevingne's chest. Couldn't find any except for ones from Spring 2011 (how did I not know that was a trend then?!?!) Which leads to me to think... maybe the fashion bloggers are reviving this trend for 2014...? I also struggled to find a cornucopia of fruit fashion to pick from a wide range of online sites. Although, slowly but surely things are starting to pop up. Modcloth is leading the way on this one which makes sense, being that they are lovers of novelty items and prints. I've also had my eye on an adorable banana tote bag at H&M. 

Regardless of where it started this time around, I couldn't be more pleased! I want all the watermelon, cherries, apples, pears, peaches, and bananas I can squeeze into my closet! What do you think of fruit fashion? 

The Cherry Blossom Girl

The Cherry Blossom Girl

What Olivia Did

Gary Pepper Girl on Man Repeller

The Cinnamon Slipper

Xander Vintage

Modcloth | Asos | Nordstrom | Modcloth  

Etsy | Asos | Modcloth | Delias 

Modcloth | Modcloth | Modcloth | Etsy 

Net-a-Porter | Etsy | Etsy | P Johnson

And here's my own growing collection, as seen from instagram! The strawberry earrings are actually my mom's from the 80's. :) 

Ask The Belted Pear: What Do I Add to My Wardrobe to Make It More Vintage-Inspired and Adult?

"Hey Lindsey! I love your fashion blog and I have a big favor to ask of you. I am looking to start building a new wardrobe from the very beginning. I am looking to build a wardrobe that is more adult than my usual jeans and T-shirts and has a 50s and 60s flair while maintaining a classic and timeless look. Does this exist? What pieces should I start buying? I appreciate any help you can give! Thanks!"

My answer for practically any question is: research (I guess it's been ingrained in this English major's mind). Here are some of my favorite fashion blogs that are heavily vintage-inspired. My favorite thing about all these ladies is that even though they truly love vintage clothing, nothing in their wardrobe is entirely true vintage. For one's entire wardrobe to be all vintage, it takes a lot of time, money, and effort that I think most people don't have. These ladies easily incorporate vintage styles, accessories and silhouettes into their wardrobe while still playing with that modern and classic line. Also, take a look at actual photos from the time period. What is it about the 50's and 60's that draws you in? 

Butterfly Loves Snapdragons

VintageSphere

June Bugs and Georgia Peaches

The Soubrette Brunette

Vixen-Vintage

Into the Woods

Someone Like You

Scathingly Brilliant

6 Tips to Get You Started on a Vintage-Inspired Wardrobe: 

Sometimes starting a new wardrobe can be overwhelming, even with lots of inspiration floating around on the web. I think to really create feminine 50's looks and groovy 60's ones, it's all about the dresses, skirts, and small details. 

1. Fit-and-flair dresses - You're in luck! They are EVERYWHERE. They flatter anyone's shape and they're easy to throw on and yet add that instant pulled together look. 

2. Full and A-line skirts - For a vintage look, remember everything goes at your waist. Swim suit bottoms, shorts, pants, and especially skirts. Even skirts that are not particularly full. I can find tons of skirts like this at Goodwill. 

3. Blouses - Adding ladylike blouses to your wardrobe instantly add a more adult, feminine look - exactly what you want for a vintage-inspired closet! A simple button-up is great; make sure you button it up all the way. Puffy sleeves, lace detailing, bows, and collars are other little things that make your outfit go the extra mile. 

4.  Wiggle dresses - These were worn in the 50's and 60's. Think Marilyn Monroe is a slinky, sexy number. Wiggle dresses are a nice change of pace from the full skirt silhouette. And again, this is something tons of clothing companies still create. 

5. Mod shift dresses - These are dresses that just hang straight down via Twiggy. Almost like a carefully-crafted box. While the focal point in the fit-and-flair and wiggle dresses is the waist, with shift dresses it's all about the legs! To jump right into rad retro 60's styles, get a shift dress with a peter pan collar, with a bold geometric print, or daisy or plaid print. Again, you are in luck! The 90's are back in full swing and guess what? A lot of 90's fashion was inspired by mod 60's. It's all full circle in fashion, isn't it. 

6. Details, details, details - Now that you've got the silhouette's down pat, you might want to add extra details to pump up the vintage volume. For the 50's, think pearls, scarves around your neck or your hair, hats, hats, and more hats, cat eye glasses, gloves, structured bags, and curls (so many great vintage hair tutorials on youtube!) For the 60's, add knee-highs, mary janes, beehives and wide headbands. 

I hope this helped, Lauren! Thanks for asking The Belted Pear and happy hunting! 

         

Blogs I Love: Melodic Thrifty Chic

I've been wanting to do a "Favorite Blogs" feature for a while so I'm excited to kick it off with my absolute favorite! You might recognize her because I've used some of her pictures before on my blog.

Anna Martin's fashion blog, Melodic Thrifty Chic, is exactly what the name says. She takes all these interesting pieces she finds and then pairs them in the most surprising way. My favorite thing about Anna is how seamlessly (no pun intended) she layers clothes. As I've talked about before, I'm not good at this and am slowly learning - in part, thanks to Anna! I mean, in the first picture - a poncho under a leather jacket? Genius! Not something I would have even thought of. 

She is also the queen bee of graphic tees. She always has these quirky, funny t-shirts (or sweaters) but when she matches it with the rest of the outfit, it always looks so chic and put-together. The photo on the top's shirt says: "Death - Our Nation's Number One Killer". I like that she never takes fashion too seriously. 

She always is a whiz kid at playing with prints - another thing I've become obsessed with and am always trying. Here she's paired two floral prints together - not to mention the lace socks! Oh, and she's wearing two skirts so as to get the lace detail at the bottom of the skirt. And she has an adorable bicycle necklace. Honestly, you have to go check out all of these outfit posts because she does a beautiful job of documenting all the details in her outfit - and there are plenty! 

This look above is just yet another great example of the details and layering that goes into her outfits. I really love this particular look because it's one of her more androgynous looks. She plays so expertly with menswear and yet then looks effortless in these beautiful feminine looks (shown below). She has a wide range of styles she favors, but yet when you look at an outfit of hers, you somehow always know it's hers. I don't know how she does that - she just has this iconic style. 

One last thing before I go that I gotta mention - Not only does Anna have brilliant style, but I also really admire her as a blogger. She is all over the interwebs blogsphere but not in an annoying way - she comes across as so personable, warm, and genuine in all her comments, emails, and narratives on her blog posts. She is motivated and driven. (Did I mention she also has a music blog for heaven's sake?!) She has only had her fashion blog for ONE year but it is already so successful. I think the combination of her playful, killer style, her hard work and warm nature really makes her blog the creative force it is. Don't forget to comb all over melodicthriftychic.com and check out (and read!) all about Anna's style.