Fashion Forward Fridays: Reader Submitted - Meet Denise!

Happy Friday! I'm very excited to have a reader submission for today's Fashion Forward Fridays since I haven't had one for a while! Today I'm introducing to you a friend of mine from Seton Hill, Denise. She's a great girl and has recently launched her own blog, Beauty Beyond The Scale, so I was very excited when she submitted photos because I knew this would be a great time to introduce you to her blog as well. I hope you enjoy her interview and sense of style!

How would you define your style?
My style is very modest, professional, & dressy. Nothing is too formal for me. I like skirts, dresses, & fancy blouses. I especially love layering. Black leggings, cardigans, & big, chunky statement jewelry are a staple in my wardrobe. Also, I love black clothes & that's what most of my wardrobe consists of.

Where are you favorite places to shop?
Honestly, the majority of the pieces I buy come from thrift stores. I love that I can find unique things there, save money, recycle, & put my money toward charity all at the same time. There are a lot of great reasons to shop at thrift stores. Other than that, I'll shop anywhere I see something I like. I'm not picky at all.

If someone asked you for fashion advice what would you tell them?
Wear whatever you want. Do whatever makes you happy & confident. Honestly, don't ever worry about what other people think. I can't stress that enough. You don't want to live your life doing things just to please other people. There's nothing wrong with breaking "rules" when it comes to fashion, makeup, & beauty.

Tell us a little bit about your blog and why you started it.
 I love makeup, fashion, & all things beauty. I also struggle with my weight. I am currently implementing lifestyle changes to put an end to that struggle. Over the past year, I’ve lost 40 pounds and plan to continue losing weight & becoming a healthier person. In the summer of 2012, I started having health issues, no doubt because of my unhealthy lifestyle & food choices. I developed a stomach ulcer, Acid Reflux Disease, & became really depressed about the state of my health & overall self esteem. I set out to teach myself how to be a healthier person & to try & cure myself without having to start a course of scary medication at such a young age. Since then, I’m happy to say that I have cured my ulcer, have far less severe episodes of Acid Reflux, & have changed my attitude about life completely. With my blog, I want to share the things I have learned so far that have helped me, as well as things I am currently learning. I’m by no means, a health expert, but I have learned a tremendous amount of things that have helped me & my health. On my blog, I discuss healthy eating, exercise, makeup, fashion, & anything else that I have learned to help me build my self esteem & appreciate my own beauty beyond the number on the scale.

What do you hope to accomplish as a blogger?
I realize that there are so many blogs in the beauty, fashion, & health community that having your voice heard is hard. That's fine. I don't have to receive millions of views. If I can have even a few people read what I have to say & take away something positive that might help them, I've done what I'm here to do. 


Anything else you'd like to add...
Love yourself as you are now, today, just as God loves you. Express yourself & be unique. Otherwise, you're denying both yourself & everyone around you.

Hope you enjoyed reading through her interview as much as I did! Such good advice and inspiration. If you'd like to be featured on an upcoming Fashion Forward Fridays Reader Submitted post, email me at chelsandthecity(at)gmail(dot)com

- whether you're a blogger or not, I'd love to feature a fellow fashionista! 

Happy Weekend!

Fashion Forward Fridays Reader Submitted: Meet Tara!

So, you know what a great feeling is as a blogger? Getting your stuff read and liked. Even if it's just by one person, it's fabulous. Since I moved, I guess word got out that I would probably be doing "reader submitted" Fashion Forward Fridays until further notice. Which is basically true and thanks to friends and friends of friends and genuine readers, I think I'm pretty set with this little segment of the blog for awhile and I so appreciate that. I love that you guys love this section of my blog so much that you're willing to get someone to take pictures of you of cute outfits and be featured. 

Admittedly, I do miss the little rush of nerves that race through my veins as I'm about to ask someone randomly on the street to be on my blog and I miss making that in-person connection through those little interviews, I do very much appreciate the emails and Facebook messages asking to be featured. Today is no different. Tara, today's fashionista, is actually a close friend to Jodi, whom I met at Jodi's birthday party. And once Jodi let her know I was accepting reader submissions for Fashion Forward Fridays, it was on. We were supposed to meet up in downtown once, but when that didn't work out, Tara still found a way to get pictures taken and email them to me, along with her interview. (Thanks, Tara!) And below, in her own words and showing off a cute and simple summer outfit, here she is...

Love these sandals!

How would you define your style? 

My style is very comfortable and affordable. I won't wear anything that I am not comfortable in. Being a post college grad, affordability is essential. I am also pretty versatile. I wear big, sparkly, studded earrings one day and then skulls the next. I try not to limit myself to one particular style or trend. 

Where are your favorite places to shop? 

I work at Target, therefore I shop a lot at Target. They have some really great affordable basics. I get my jeans from Old Navy. I love that they fit me perfectly. 

Left: Closeup of Forever 21 earrings | Right: Closeup of Tara's, Charming Charlie's necklace.

Where are the pieces of your outfit from? 

My dress and shoes are from Target. I bought them both for the summer and can't wait to wear them constantly! My necklace is from Charming Charlie's. That store is an accessory heaven and I highly recommend it. My earrings are from Forever 21, which is my favorite place to go for super cheap earrings.

What advice would you give to someone trying to amp up their style? 

Accessories. Fun earrings can do a lot for an outfit. I always try to wear a great pair of earrings every day, even if I am only going to work. Also, make sure that whatever you choose to wear, you are comfortable. There is nothing worse then getting an outfit to keep up with style trends to realize how uncomfortable it makes you feel. 

Who doesn't love a great maxi for summer?

GQ named Pittsburgh the third worst dressed city - do you agree/disagree and why/why not? 

I think that Pittsburgh gets a bad fashion rep because of our love to wear sport jerseys. For some reason people in Pittsburgh think it is okay and reasonable to wear their favorite jersey everywhere. 

 

 

True, people do think it's okay to wear jerseys everywhere. Let's try to settle down on that, shall we?

At least to nice places...and church. Anyway, Happy Friday, everyone and since the word is 

officially out now, by all means, if you'd like to be featured on Fashion Forward Fridays, or 

know of a designer, boutique or fellow Pittsburgher who should be featured, 

email me at chelsandthecity[at]gmail[dot]com and I'll get back to you asap!

 

     

Fashion Forward Fridays Reader Submitted: Meet Jodi!

What would you do without fantastic friends? Well. I wouldn't have had a fashionista for Fashion Forward Fridays to share with you today without this friend. Knowing that I would be moving and not really have time during the week, and especially not today, to find someone to feature, I called upon my trusty friend Jodi to send in to be a reader submitted fashionista. Jodi was one of my first friends I met when I moved into downtown and I love this cute and simple, kinda hipster, look she's got going on.

I emailed Jodi the questions I usually ask people on the street and since she's a writer herself and she has so much personality in her responses, I'll just let her explain her style in her own words...

Clutch made by another friend, Laura Greenawalt.

What do you consider your style to be?
I think my style is pretty relaxed. Jeans and tees have always been my go to. The kid in me will always love a good graphic tee and I also love color, so I try my best to have at least one colorful piece in my outfit.

Where are your favorite places to shop?Target. I LOVE Target..it's kind of ridiculous. I also shop at Old Navy and some online shops like ModCloth and Threadless.

Fashion Forward Fridays Submission: Meet Mae!

You're in for a treat fashion-lovers. For Fashion Forward Fridays today, not only is a great outfit being shown on a beautiful reader who submitted her photos to me, but this reader also happens to be a friend of mine, and a ModCloth employee. Say what, karaoke? All of you are already hooked, I know it. Mae is so obviously a ModCloth girl too. She always has a great look and is so on trend with a vintage feel. She's that girl who is setting the bar with her style and puts pieces together that you probably never would have thought of otherwise and makes you want to dress better yourself. An inspirational fashionista if you will...

Mae, who is my friend and who works at ModCloth is today's reader submitted fashionista!

Fashion Forward Fridays Submission: Meet Richelle!

Hello friends & fashion lovers! As promised in two previous posts, I have brought to you a reader submission for Fashion Forward Fridays! This week worked out perfectly for the submission because like I've mentioned in my Christmas post, I am at my parents house back in little ol' Ellwood City. Where the fashionable are few and far between, so like I said, submission equals perfection. Especially when that submission comes from a little Point Park senior (and cutie) Richelle.

Richelle's quirky & classic combo.

I am always infatuated with Richelle's outfits when I see her around campus, so naturally wanted her to be my first reader submission post. When she texted me Thursday afternoon asking "How do you feel about printed pants?" before sending in her submission, I knew we would be in for a treat. Richelle is quite possibly the only person I know who can pull off anything. Literally. This girl wears a hoodie and it looks fashionable. Alright. Let's move on before I get too far into sounding like a I have a major girl crush. Although I might. haha

Anyway, Richelle likes to shop at H&M, ModCloth, Madewell, Forever 21, Francesca's, and of course like any fashion connoisseur at vintage and thrift stores as well. Admittedly, she says her closet is "quirky" and made up of a lot of different kind of pieces. By seeing her on a daily basis, you would be able to tell that she knows how to make the funky look great by pairing it with classic pieces. Richelle says, "I like bright colors, but I also love black and white. Basically, I'm pretty much all over the place, but I find a way to make it all me."