Anyone who knows me knows that when I saw shoulder pads emerging from the high street stores this season I was guaranteed to lose my mind. I love a good statement suit, tailored blazers, clean cuts, I'm all over that. Looking across to the clothes rail opposite me at the moment and I can spy my favourite floral ensemble from Topshop earlier this year which I'm still absolutely obsessed with. The addition of shoulder pads to the strong cuts just stepped that game up one notch. I've always thought power dressing to be mainly linked to suits but I never realised how complimentary a power piece over something so utterly feminine could be.
The dress in these photos is from Nobody's Child, it went in to the sale a few days after shooting this which of course, one, annoyed me because who wants to pay full price when you could've gotten it cheaper and two, I can't give you guys the link for it *begs for forgiveness* but I have seen a lot of similar styles floating around the stores at the moment so don't fret!. The jacket is a slightly different story, when the shoulder pads started to make their arrival late last year I found the most insane blazer in Zara which coincidentally ALSO went in to their most recent sale, but at the time it was £80 and I didn't feel like I could justify it (she says even though she most probably went on to spend more than that on cocktails and food that week, where is the common sense). I think the restraint mainly came because you never know how quickly trends come and go and I didn't want to be stuck with a rack full of padded shoulder pieces I wasn't going to get much wear out of.
So after a lot, probably too much pondering I decided I was going to take the plunge and just do it because I knew as a person I've always loved an over exaggerated silhouette so even if it was going to go out of trend, I'd still be wearing it for months to come. The price point of said blazer was still an issue in my head but after searching online for one I could justify I realised that *DUH* the majority of men's suit jackets have shoulder pads AND they're luxurious as hell... *but Beth, won't buying a mens suit jacket be just as expensive if not more so?!..* I totally feel that however if you know where you're looking then you'll be saving rather than splurging. Don't underestimate your local charity shops, without fail whenever I go in to any of my locals I'm greeted by an array of different designs and patterned jackets, you've got to spend some time getting the size right because you don't want to look like you're drowning in material but if you can find a good fit then you're on to a winner.
I think people still way underestimate local charity shops, the straw bag in my previous post ALSO came from the same place. A given, you're not always going to stumble upon those 'WOW' pieces but damn, it's so satisfying when you do, especially when you're shaving off 90% of how much you would pay for it elsewhere.
The cherry on top of power dressing is getting to whip up an striking and equally as strong hair and make up look, I tend to opt for a sleeked back pony with a super bold lip. Don't be shy when it comes to these choices, I'm telling you now there is no better feeling than having your hair and makeup bold and beautiful to compliment what you're wearing and walking out of the house feeling empowered.
TOP TIPS
- find what appeals to you, power dressing is no good if you don't feel comfortable in what you're wearing.
- don't forget to accessorise to accentuate, pulling in a top heavy silhouette padded shoulders with a belted waist is DREAMY.
- match the outfit with the attitude and you're good to go.
TOP TIPS
- find what appeals to you, power dressing is no good if you don't feel comfortable in what you're wearing.
- don't forget to accessorise to accentuate, pulling in a top heavy silhouette padded shoulders with a belted waist is DREAMY.
- match the outfit with the attitude and you're good to go.
Power dressing does the world of good, it can give you that boost of confidence and drive on those days where you really need just that little extra somethin' somethin'.
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3 comments
I've always had a bit of a personal vendetta with gingham, I think this goes back to when I was at school and my mum would go out for the yearly school summer dress shop and come back with a puffy beast of a dress, yes mum, I will never forget, but you are forgiven.
After a long hate fuelled relationship with gingham, we've come to a resolve. It's taken a lot of searching to find a piece that didn't make me want to curl in to a ball, often when I was trying on gingham print I'd be in fitting room wondering when in the past 2 hours I managed to put on 10 pounds "Jesus, I really shouldn't have had that 5th tapas dish..". Of course this wasn't actually the case, there was just some styles that REALLY did not suit me. I'm keen to hear whether anyone else has had the same issue with gingham as it really did take a lot of trial and error to find a piece that was genuinely flattering!
After a long hate fuelled relationship with gingham, we've come to a resolve. It's taken a lot of searching to find a piece that didn't make me want to curl in to a ball, often when I was trying on gingham print I'd be in fitting room wondering when in the past 2 hours I managed to put on 10 pounds "Jesus, I really shouldn't have had that 5th tapas dish..". Of course this wasn't actually the case, there was just some styles that REALLY did not suit me. I'm keen to hear whether anyone else has had the same issue with gingham as it really did take a lot of trial and error to find a piece that was genuinely flattering!
This dress ticked every single box for me, the bow on the back is so sweet and the button down front was definitely pulling at my heart strings. Of course there was no other bag to pair it with than a classic straw design, this particular one was from a charity shop near me (never underestimate the bargains you can find at your local charity shops ! ) but they've absolutely flooded the high street stores so I'm sure you can find one to take your fancy, I've linked some of my favourites below.
I was so torn between pairing this with white trainers or mules, it's such a versatile piece, layering with a tee is also such a cute option & if you're wanting to go a little more edgy with it, rock a leather jacket over the top with some statement earrings. I could ramble on about styling options for this dress for days, it's so re-wearable, definitely a new "keeper" in my wardrobe.
It's safe to say I'm over my gingham grudge and if any of you have the same fears I had then hopefully this has given you a little inspo to dive in head first, you can shop the look below and I've thrown in some pieces that could look insane to style it with.
It seems that you'll see a lot of posts from bloggers stating that they're writing at the most peculiar times and in the strangest of circumstances because they have an idea that's taken over their thought space, this will be one of those posts. I think I'm writing this almost as one of those reminder sticky notes to myself as much as I'm writing this to everyone else as I've been sat here on the last day on easter bank holiday wondering where the hell I went wrong...
It's safe to say that if you invest time in to your social media, more specifically, Instagram, then you'll be more than aware of the algorithm shift that has been causing us all merry hell. This is a worn out subject at this point in time but I feel there is a lot of people being dragged down by this still now and it's causing many influencers to lose passion for what they're doing, including myself. I've adored photography since I was 14 or 15 years old and I've studied it from that point, in one way or another it's been a huge passion in my life since. When I started to get in to Instagram, and I mean really get in to it, themes and all; I found that I felt at home. I was surrounded by people that had a genuine passion for the same thing I did, it was a sphere of people creating incredible, unique content and of course, when you love doing something, there is nothing more heart warming than having someone tell you that they also love what you're doing.
It validates, it encourages and gives you the confidence to pursue it.
So then, when less people acknowledge your work, do you feel that you're not doing a great job?
It's the same in any work place, it's always nice to be told that you're doing well. Of course it's never expected to be cheered on if you clear your email inbox but every so often to have that reassurance that you're doing well, can be a huge weight off your shoulders. If you're pouring your heart in to your work every day and having something completely out of control devalue it, how on earth can you combat that.
AKA - The Algorithm.
It's not the same situation where you can turn around to your boss in the quiet corner of the office with a warm cup of coffee in hand and tell them that you don't feel valued in the company. There is no one you can go to in order to vent your frustrations who will actually make a difference, no one to tell that your work is being dragged along the bottom of the feeds with minimal engagement, no one will listen. When no one listens, you start to wonder what on earth you can possibly do that is within your control to better the situation. Unfortunately the reality is that there is not much you can do, you can change up the hashtags, the posting times and pray that you hit the gold mine but it's like playing battleships, you're taking a leap in to blind sight every time. So you sit and you wonder, you get yourself worked up and question what on earth you're doing wrong and how you can change your content to gather more engagement...
...YOU are doing nothing wrong.
This is the point I want to preach and this is what I want people to take to heart. I have felt so incredibly demotivated of late because of the pressure of numbers & the engagement dips. But I cannot stress that this is explicitly out of our control, sure we can all try to understand the algorithm, we can all try to work around it the best we can, but they alter and tweak the formula so often that what we clarify one day could be irrelevant the next. One thing I learnt from dealing with anxiety for years is that you have to let go of the things causing you worry that are out of your control, you do the best you can do and let go of the things you can't change.
I can't change the algorithm, neither can you. We can all beg and plead for the chronological order to come back but there is more chance of the GBBO & TopGear coming back to the BBC than that happening. So here is my words of (late night rant) wisdom..
If you create amazing content, you WILL get noticed.
If you love what you do, success WILL follow.
Invest your heart and you will in return be loved for what you do.
Stop letting social media dictate whether your content is good enough to broadcast, if you love it, you bloody well post it and be proud.
PHOTOS BY MICHAELA TORNARITIS // PORTFOLIO // INSTAGRAM
SHOP
TOP - H&M (S/O)
TROUSERS - NEXT
SHOES - H&M (S/O)
BAG - KAREN MILLEN
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