How to Style a Chambray Shirt

September 28, 2012

Happy Friday beautiful readers!!!

I absolutely LOVE getting fashion questions from my friends. One of my good friends from college FB messaged me and said she had just bought a new chambray shirt but needed ideas on what to pair it with.

I absolutely LOVE the chambray shirt. They are the perfect combination of cute but casual....comfortable but stylish. Of course it's easy to style blue jean PANTS, but when it's a SHIRT, it gets a little trickier. Below I created 3 of my favorite ways to wear a chambray shirt: 


Styling: The Chambray Shirt








BLANK super skinny jeans
$100 - eluxe.ca


Flat shoes
$105 - witchery.com.au

Leopard shoes
target.com




1) With bright colored jeans: red is my personal favorite. I also LOVE the look with leopard print flats.

2) For a more conservative look, pair your chambray shirt with a neutral pencil skirt. This shows just how versatile a chambray shirt can be!

3) I LOVE a chambray shirt paired with black jeans. SOO very chic in my opinion. Pair it with riding boots & a black scarf for a casual but adorable fall look. 


So, lovely readers, how do YOU like to style a chambray shirt? Leave me a comment & let me know!!!

Thanks so very much for reading...and be sure to enter my giveaway HERE for a chance to win up to $45 in gift cards to Sephora, Target & Forever 21!


Thanks SO much dolls!

XOXO
Ashley

OOTN: Polka Dot Blazer

September 26, 2012

Happy Wednesday dolls!!! 

As I mentioned in my post HERE, polka dots are all the rage this fall. Not just polka dotted nails as I posted about last week, but polka dotted CLOTHING and ACCESSORIES are EVERYWHERE this fall....and I'm happy to say I'm TOTALLY on the polka dot train!!! 

I bought a polka dotted blazer at my go-to store F21 last spring but have been saving it for when the weather turned cooler. First of all I would like to mention that I absolutely LOVE blazers. I have worn them on my blog in the past, and I'm so so so excited that they are in once again this fall. A blazer is another one of my outfit game changers (along with belts...belts are another one of my fave outfit makers). Anyway, a blazer can totally pull a look together and it's the PERFECT way to transition your summer wardrobe into the fall. Add a blazer to a sundress plus booties = insta-fall outfit. 

As I was saying, I was so excited to finally get to wear my polka dotted blazer this weekend and decided to go with the classic black/white/red color combo. Who doesn't love a pop of RED with black and white?? So classy but fun!! Finally it was time to break out my red pants for this season! 

I would like to entitle this look "Date Night OOTN": 

Blazer: F21
Tank top: Gap
Red jeans: American Eagle
Heels: Guess
Owl necklace: H&M



I tried to find my blazer on the F21 website but the one they have online right now is not cropped like mine. Still cute nonetheless and only $24.80....

Check it out HERE
A couple of other cute polka dotted blazers I found online....

Lord & Taylor Blazer
$39.59 here

LC Lauren Conrad Blazer
On sale for $35!
Buy it here


Who else has boarded the polka dot train with me?! 

I hope y'all have a great rest of your week and if you haven't already don't forget to enter my blog giveaway by clicking HERE for a chance to win up to $45 in giftcards!

Thanks so much dolls, as always!

XOXO
Ashley

The Perfect Pony

September 23, 2012

Hope y'all have had a fabulous weekend! Tonight I wanted to do a hair post since it's been a while. 

One of my absolute FAVORITE hairstyles is the pony tail. Believe it or not, there really is an art to it. The varieties of pony tails are endless....but my personal favorite happens to be a high pony tail, with a bit of volume on top and the pony tail itself teased out. 

Sometimes, when you least expect it, fashion inspiration will hit. Last week this came in the form of Kate Hudson on the Ellen Show. I now present to you my ideal pony tail....


Image source

Sigh. I just LOVE the volume on top, how it is slicked back on the sides, and the pony tail itself is full of volume. So of course I did what any fashion and beauty obsessed person would do, I attempted my hand at it that day....



Next time I need to make it a little smoother on the sides, but I guess it wasn't too bad for being in a hurry! I did my hair in a similar style (but a pony tail more in the middle of my head) for my college roomie's wedding last year....




The key to hiding the hairband? Take a piece of hair from your pony tail and wrap it a few times around the ponytail holder. Put in a few bobby pins and voila, it looks like a fancy updo that took you literally no time! 

I really enjoyed wearing an easy and worry-free hairstyle for the evening!!




What is your go-to hairstyle? What is your idea of the perfect pony tail? Leave me a comment and share!

Also, wanted to share with all my blogging friends that one of my sweet friends from elementary school has a new blog. Y'all should check it out---it's SO fabulous! Check it out HERE!

Thank you for reading dolls! And if you haven't already, be sure to enter my giveaway by October 1st for the chance to win 3 gift cards to some of my favorite stores! Click HERE to enter!

XOXO
Ashley

#TheArtOfTheDot

September 20, 2012

Happy Thursday!

I am super happy to report to you (being the fashion reporter that I am) that polka dots are going to be BIG this fall. Honestly I have ALWAYS loved polka dots no matter if they are a "trend" of the season or not. Regardless I will be in luck this fall because when something is a trend you know what THAT means. Polka dots will be flooding the stores and filling our dreams with little circle cuteness (you don't dream about polka dots too?).

Polka dots are SO on trend this season that they were even spotted on the nails of models on the Kate Spade Fall 2012 runway.....


Tell me you don't just DIE when you see those gorgeous nails!? Especially in contrast with the red skirt....swoon! 

So having this screen shot stored away on my iPhone, I went into my last nail appointment wanting my nails to look just like the Kate Spade ones you see above. And of course, any blogger knows that an essential part of any manicure/pedicure session is Tweeting about it. So naturally that is the first thing I did. Literally a few seconds after I posted my Tweet, I get a notification on my phone....

Please tell me I'm not the only one who screenshots things like this :)
Oh HEY there, Kate Spade, favoriting my Tweet. As if that wasn't good enough....I also got a response from Kate (ok ok I am sure it was her PR team or whatever, but it still might as well have been Kate because I was SO excited & STILL am!): 


"Art of the Dot" is Kate Spade's Fall 2012 campaign celebrating...you guessed it...the polka dot! Just take a look at some of their campaign....

Image source


I really got my "art of the dot" on with my nails this time. I know I've raved about my nail technician on here before, but she is simply THE BEST. She can do simply ANYTHING! I was very happy with the way my nails turned out....





I was super excited that my nail technician was able to recreate the Kate Spade look! 

So what do you dolls think of polka dot nails? Will you be trying them this fall?

Thanks SO much for reading! And if you haven't entered yet, don't forget to enter my giveaway HERE for a chance to win 3 gift cards to my favorite stores! 

XOXO
Ashley

Hello, lover!

September 16, 2012

Happy Sunday, dolls! Hope y'all had a great weekend! 

So remember when I went to Chattanooga Fashion Week HERE? Well my girl Gracie could tell you that there was this AMAZING pair of heels I was obsessed with at the show.....I'm talking a pair of show-stopping heels that steal ALL your outfit's attention. I kept trying to take pictures of them with my iPhone while the model strutted down the runway but of course they turned out blurry and I left not knowing who made these fabulous shoes or where I could buy them. Despite never figuring out at the show who makes the gorgeous heels I never forgot about them. Fast forward a couple of weeks later when I was browsing around my local Dillard's. In a moment of pure fashion serendipity, the clouds parted and there, right in front of me, were THE shoes. It was a total Carrie Bradshaw moment and I couldn't help but think...."hello, lover".....




Instead of Monolo's like Carrie's on SATC, they were made by Jessica Simpson (maybe a step down from Monolo's but hey, I love me some Jessica Simpson nonetheless!). And I fell in LOVE in person just as much as I did seeing them on the runway. So one day a week after seeing them in Dillard's, my man & I were walking through the Dillard's shoe department when we walk by none other than MY shoes. I mention to him how "I LOVE these shoes, I saw them at Chattanooga Fashion Week and would love to have them one day." 

SO then....fast forward to last Sunday, September 9th, our 6th month anniversary. Bill got me a gift...and gave it to me a couple of days before our anniversary because he wanted me to "have a chance to wear them all weekend." So ladies and gents, what do YOU think he got me!?!? That's right.........the shoes of my dreams!!!! 

And ok, ok, I'm not going to lie. I cried. SHOES MAKE ME CRY TEARS OF JOY!!!!!  Also so does the thoughtfulness of the sweetest guy I've ever met!! Thank you SO much Bill...I love you and can't wait to wear these shoes ALL THE TIME. Here is a Polyvore I made of how I plan on wearing these beauties into the fall...

Styling: Jessica Simpson Heels


The Row long sleeve dress
shopzoeonline.com

Miss Selfridge peplum top
missselfridge.com

Helmut lang
shopzoeonline.com

Jessica simpson shoes
piperlime.gap.com

Necklace
$185 - peeptoeshoes.com.au

Turquoise jewelry
beckleyboutique.com


So if you want to own a pair of these beauties yourself, check them out HERE!!!




If you haven't already, don't forget to enter my giveaway for the chance to win a giftcard trio to 3 of my favorite stores...check it out HERE dolls!!!

Thanks SO much as always for reading.

XOXO
Ashley

1 Year Anniversary Blog Give-Away!!!

September 14, 2012

Hi dolls! 

Happy 1 Year Birthday to my blog!!! Starting a fashion blog had always been a dream of mine when I wrote my VERY first blog post HERE on September 14, 2011. 




Not only has fashion always been my biggest passion but I also LOVE writing, so I knew this would be a fun and creative outlet for me. 109 posts later I still love writing about fashion and am always trying to think of new ideas to blog about. One thing I haven't done in my year of blogging is host a giveaway. 

So today I wanted to say THANK YOU to all the followers of Ashley's Passion for Fashion by hosting a little giveaway. I will be giving away THREE gift cards, valued at $15 each, to 3 of my favorite stores....Forever 21, Sephora and Target:







It's really easy to win! Leave a COMMENT in the COMMENT SECTION below this post to tell me which of the following things you did to enter. If you ALREADY have done any of these things in the past, be sure to just leave me a comment below & tell me you want to be entered. (FYI: you do NOT have to have a blog to leave a comment...please read my post HERE on how to comment without a blog). 

1. For one entry, follow my blog via Google Friend Connect. 


2. For two entries, "Like" Ashley's Passion for Fashion on Facebook. Click HERE to go to my FB page.

3. For two entries, follow me on Twitter by clicking HERE. For one more additional entry, TWEET about my giveaway and post the link to your tweet.  

If you do all of these things, you could be entered to win this gift card trio (total value of $45!) SIX times. Those are pretty good odds, ladies & gents. Once again, to enter, simply leave a comment in the comments section with which of these things you did by 5:00 pm (Eastern Time) on October 1, 2012. Be sure to include your e-mail address with your comment. The winner will be notified via email!!!

I never imagined all the fabulous bloggers and friends I would make via this blog. Thank y'all soooo much for your support!!! I'm looking forward to giving away these gift cards!

XOXO
Ashley

Birthday Recap!

September 3, 2012

"Go shawty....it's your birthday, we're gonna party like it's your birthday"

That was my anthem this weekend for 3 reasons: 1) it was my birthday 2) I am definitely a "shawty" considering I'm only 5'3 and 3) I had a weekend full of good times!!!


What better way to start out a bday recap than with a picture of me with my birthday surprises....





one of which happens to be what I am blogging from right now. I am SO excited to be writing my very first blog post from this baby....




My new MacBook pro---an amazing birthday gift from my sweet parents! I have always been a PC girl but I have enjoyed my other Apple products (iPhone & iPad) so very much I thought I would jump on the Mac bandwagon too! Loving blogging on it so far. 

I also had a little blue box as one of my presents. Ladies, you all know what that means! He went shopping at Tiffany's! :) he is the best boyfriend in the world. Look at this beautiful necklace he bought me....



So as you have guessed I celebrated my birthday (September 1st---the same day as the one & only fashionista Rachel Zoe's bday!) this past weekend and I had SUCH a great time!!! Friday I went up to Knoxville and met one of my best friends out for a night of dancing (and watching a little UT football). Of course first thing's first....shopping for a new outfit at Forever 21. I ended up buying 3 dresses but only wore 1 as planned (neither of which are pictured below. I KNOW y'all have missed my dressing room pics...wink wink)...



A little neon yellow never hurt anyone. I was going to wear this dress out Friday til I realized I was watching UT play, and their color is orange.
Check it out HERE for $17.80 (also available in pink online!)


Little red dress. It reminded me of a Victoria Beckham style dress...although not near as expensive haha!
Check it out HERE for $22.80

As I said, I didn't wear either of these out on Friday night but instead I wore a little zebra dress I found that day in F21. And to make my outfit scream a little more "Go Big Orange" I added my new J. Crew orange bubble necklace! I feel as if I will be wearing it a LOT this football season....



Dress: F21
Necklace: J. Crew
Birthday crown: compliments of my boyfriend!

With my great friend Sherrie! :)

Watchin the Vols win!!!

So not only did I go shopping for a few dresses to wear this weekend for my birthday, I ALSO went shopping Friday for accessories to wear to a Braves baseball game on Saturday (my actual birthday) with my great friend (and previous college roomie) and her husband!!! Of course going into the mall I had planned on just buying some red jewelry, but I ended up leaving with not only a red necklace and ring but ALSO these babies.....


Yes that would be RED cowgirl boots!!!! I have always wanted a pair and these were pretty reasonable at $90.


I also bought this really adorable red purse from Charming Charlie's! LOVE LOVE LOVE. It has amazing pockets and was so easy to carry around to the game.

We had some AMAZING seats in the SunTrust Club right behind first base thanks to my roomie and her husband. It was SO sweet of her to invite me and my man & I had a wonderful time!!!! 












I am one blessed girl! I couldn't have imagined having a better birthday. Thank you to all my friends and family who made my fun day possible! I hope everyone has a great start to their week!


Enjoy your day off from work & school, and Happy Labor Day!


Thanks for reading pretties!


XOXO

Ashley
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