Sometimes I love to get dressed super girly so I was pretty pumped when I saw ruffles and bell sleeves make a comeback. A few things come to mind when I think of bell sleeves. I was in a talent show in the 7th grade. I was in the show with the "cool girls" and we thought it would be brilliant to wear tight black bicycle shorts (yes people actually wore those outside of a spin class, SoulCycle didn't even exist yet), a big ruffle top - mine was amazing- and a choker. 2 out of 3 of those things are popular again. This was in fact "the 90's". Two things make me cringe when I think about that experience, 1. that I wore those tights in public and no my shirt did not cover my booty and 2. we danced to Janet Jackson's "If I was your girl" and I had no idea that song was inappropriate but the entire audience sure did. Now that I have shared my Little Ms. Sunshine personal rendition with you, let's move on to the fashion part of this post because I am personally still cringing. A brand who I think is killing it with this trend is N/NICHOLAS. I am going to show you a few looks I put together with just a few items.
These statement tops need very little help to work their magic. I am obsessed with the first off the shoulder fringe trim top . You can pair it with skinny jeans like I did (even white ones come summer for an all white ensemble), a pair of shorts with a simple pattern, denim shorts or leather leggings are all great choices too. I got it from SHOPBOP (it's on sale there: you're welcome) and wore it to my bon voyage party in NYC. It also comes in a dress that is equally to die for. I went with the shirt versus the dress because I felt like I could get away with wearing it more often. The second top is a flared top with short sleeves, this is the current version available and also on sale. This one is shorter so I liked wearing it with a high waisted pair of flare jeans. I might try some shorts that are loose around the stomach come summer. The last top has a little more sex appeal and should be reserved for when you are looking to pull out all the stops. I like the idea of a long necklace outlining your décolletage as the perfect accent. I kept the same pair of skinny jeans on for this look. You can keep the bottoms super basic with all of these pieces.
In all cases, when paired with jeans, I kept things tame with a nude sandal. I decided to take it up a notch with a higher heel and more fem features when wearing shorts. I pulled out an amazing pair of Moschino's that I have had for a while but you can get a similar cool look with these puppies. Lots of my jewelry that I wore were gifts from bae, some Alexis Bittar statement bracelets make a nice touch.
Special thanks to Hardings for allowing me to capture these photos in their amazing space. We hosted our bon voyage party there and the service was excellent and the food was SO good. The hand cut fries and flat breads kept me full and fueled the night of our event. I would highly recommend them when hosting a private occasion, each room in their space has special character. At least get some delicious brunch there if you are in NYC. The lovely Elena Eshleman captured these great images.
