DFW Blogger Meetup - April 2011

My first official fashion post! Woohoo!

If you notice the button on the right side of the blog, you will see that I am a member of the DFW Blogger Network. We are a group of fashion, beauty, and lifestyle bloggers that come together for support and networking. It’s all thanks to Kileen of Cute and Little for getting it off the ground and rounding up everyone. As a new blogger, I’ve learned a lot just from hearing about each blogger’s experiences and any advice that they have to offer. This past Saturday was our 2^nd monthly meetup. Elissa of Dress with Courage was gracious enough to organize the event.

We met at 9:00am in front of the Ann Taylor LOFT at West End in Uptown Dallas. They opened the store one hour earlier just for us, and had their style experts ready to help with everything in the store 40% off. As soon as I got there, I spotted about 50 different items that I could already imagine adding to my closet, but I had to control myself, because like most women, I was on a budget. Did I mention that I absolutely love LOFT?! Lauren, a LOFT stylist, immediately greeted me, and helped me for the rest of the hour finding my size and outfits that she thought would be great for me. She was amazing! I just told her my style, and she picked out several options, all of which I loved. In the end, I bought a dress and a pair of shorts.

(From left: Isabel, Stephanie, Nekiah, Tina, Juanette, Charis, Chastity, Katie, Julie, Elissa, yours truly)

After one hour of shopping, we walked over to Lemon Bar for brunch. I had the breakfast flatbread which was delish, but the best part of the brunch was the bottomless mimosas. It was a good morning. Girl talk, food, and shopping….yes, it was a good morning.

I wore a dress from Express (another favourite store!), but my favourite part of the outfit was my leopard print handbag. I love a good leopard print. It’s so fierce and fun. Actually, leopard may need a separate post of its own…lol.

Here’s a quick styling tip for everyone. This dress originally came with its own waistband made out of the same material as the rest of the dress. For me, I needed something that popped a little more, so I swapped it out for this bronze skinny belt for an added statement. Metallic skinny belts are a great accessory to have in your wardrobe. It can be dressed up or down, and they go with almost anything. There are no rules that say you must wear an outfit with the belt that it came with. Have a little fun with it. Mix it up and play with some colours!

So there you have it….my first “real” post. Drop a line. I’d love to hear from you.

P.S. I'll blog about the first meetup sometime soon.

Keeping it classy,

Janell

xoxo