Yes, boot game is totally allowed in warm weather. Summer gave us a perfect example in this snap from Instagram, which demo'd look stuffed with the most enviable casual cool. The key to the style is using sufficiently relaxed pieces, but pairing them in a way that's un-boring. Summer accomplished that with a muscle tee splashed with marigold at the shoulders. That bright color pop gave this look a huge boost. Reach for your fave bright cropped (or knotted to cropped-length) tee as a starting point.(Hint: make a standard-sleeve tee into a cap-sleeve silhouette y rolling the sleeves. Don't fuss over flat, even perfection - crinkled is good!) Alternatively, go for a cute cami with stripes or a fun detail like tie-shoulders (or both).  Summer's look has a pared-down urban girl vibe so leave the lace, ruffles and peplum styles at home for this one. Do consider a classic ribbed tank, though! The easy grit of this pairing - especially with boots! - lends itself perfectly to that option. Pair with shorts - cutoff (or rolled) denim is top of the list. Any wash will work. Cargo shorts are a 90's-referencing alternative.  Or, ramp up the city vibe with a leather pair. Add flat or low-heeled ankle booties of almost any iteration. Suede works, leather works, hardware works, any neutral color works. Go light to nil on the baubletry.  To keep the look out of "this is what I had on last night and I don't care" territory, make sure to add a bit of polish with your hairstyle - a messy bun or cute high pony does the trick. The last crucial accessory? Oversized sunnies! They add just the right dose of casual glam to the chilled-out cool of this styling. I hope this inspires you to show off your boot game a bit this summer :) Happy fashioning, loves!

When I saw this shot of Cara Delevingne on her promo tour for her movie Valerian and The City Of A Thousand Planets, it immediately had me flashing back to Maryse's looks from last summer, where she unveiled an amazing crystal accessory, set above black clothing. I love Cara, but sorry girl - divas done it first ;). The basic concept of the look still holds it power - that's the genius of an iconic styling spiced up with a handful of statement modernity. Cara's simple black suit is gorgeous - streamlined, minimal, flawlessly tailored. She added some intrigue by wearing it without an underlayer, but the main impact of the look comes from her magnificent crystal capelet.  The styling is so unusual  and bold, yet still has that element of classic sophistication. She echoed the capelet with her crystal-embellished sandals and brought in a sweet, feminine twist with her black hair band.  Maryse went with a glamorous body chain, set above a black bodycon dress. The principles and effect are the same: chic, modern glamour. Cara's pixie cut keeps her look refined, while Maryse added polish via a ponytail.
If you're head-over-heels for this look, you can recreate it with a little black something. Both Cara and Maryse's looks come off fairly formal, but a black monochrome pairing of slim twill or ponte pants, skinny jeans or shorts will begin this styling on a more casual platform. Bear in mind that laidback pieces will be elevated by the dramatic presence of the crystal jewels. If you're going for pants, choose a cropped silhouette or roll full-length pieces (that's to show off your shoes ;)) Keep your second piece simple: a plain, refined tee, a classic black button-down. Avoid prints,  lace or other complex fabrics like mesh or distressing (we're going to zigzag around grunge-glam here) or busy embellishments like ruffles, embroidery and tulle. Sleeveless and one-shoulder necklines are do-able, though!  For shoes, if you own crystal-embellished sandals, grab those first! (Be-crystalled flats totally allowed!) Other options include solid black sandals - avoid anything especially informal like espadrilles - and crystal-studded pumps. Simple black pumps or peeptoes can work as well. Now, to the coup de grace: the crystals! I don't know too many fashionistas who have a crystal capelet on standby, but if you do, now is the time to rock it! Ditto if you own a crystal body chain. The rest of us get to be a tad more creative. Create a statement by piling up the crystal pieces you own - set a choker necklace above a collar or layer multiple chains of different length. Reach for statement rings or bangles, or trendy, unique pieces like ear cuffs. Concentrate your sparkle in one area: ears or neck or wrists+hands. Or, go with more delicate jewels scattered throughout your look: blend glittery earrings with a delicate ring and add a station necklace at your waist as a belt ( you can clip two together if they're short. Swag the end (clip it unobtrusively  in place with a small silver safety pin), or let it dangle.  Start with what you have and imagine from there how you can blend the pieces for best effect. I hope this inspires you to get your Maryse (or Cara ;)) vibes on sometime soon :) Happy styling!

When I saw this post come out, I began to wonder and now, I'm pretty certain: WWE is reprising Summer Skin! It's fitting, considering that this is the 10 year anniversary of the original concept 'shoot's release. And since it coincided with my early wrestling fandom, that 'shoot has a special place in my heart :) More on that later. Let's get to this rendition of Summer Skin. Emma kicks things off with a simple halter bikini, accented with touches of metallic gold. The standout feature of this set is the divine color, a rich hyacinth shade that's crave worthy! She accented it with a statement lariat necklace that's dripping with tiny seed beads. The interplay of colors - aqua and plum with the hyacinth shade - is stunning, but I also love the way the piece is light and airy, despite its strong presence.
Next up is a trademark Emma look, hearkening back to her earlier days of Aussie lingo and tons of prints. Here, she's evolved that concept from innocently playful to maturely sassy. She skips the all-over print and goes for a printed top, paired with solid bottoms, which enhances the color and makes this busy print much more appealing. The tart pink is a fab summer shade that works flawlessly on her. The only thing I'd switch here is her earrings - the red is a little jarring since it comes pretty much out of nowhere. Aqua or banana would have been my preference for their light, warm-weather vibe, followed by burgundy. Her frosted blush lip shade is amaaaaaayzing, tho! It's my fave color of the  three she used and looks utterly gorgeous!
From there, she moves on to an aqua french top with a fluttery mesh overlay. The set has a summery softness due to the combination of the pastel blue-green shade and the texture of the mesh . How pretty is that?! The white bottoms are accented with touches of print in a coordinating tone which pulls the look together perfectly. Side cutouts ramp up the sexy and add a modern edge to the overall vibe of sweetness. A selection of thing bangles - white, gold crystal on a black backdrop and horn w/ gold accents - add extra dimension, but in a suitably subtle way.
Last up is a cloud-like lilac tie-dyed one-piece. The swimsuit gets a massive dose of flirtation from the lattice inset from the bust upwards to the halter neck, but the overall feel is dreamy and restful. Emma brings out the softness in the shading by adding a stack of slim white bracelets. Pastels are a departure from the norm for her, so I naturally applaud it - I always love seeing the ladies expand their comfort zone and try new things. To that end, I also wouldn't have minded seeing her play with an up-do or ponytail on this look...or at least lift her hair up with her hands :)
Throughout the set, her stances are excellent. She particularly nails a number of the shots done in her printed bikini. On my wish list: a little more focus on facials - several of her half-smiles lean into 'grimace' territory. Fortunately, her stares make up for that - they work fabulously, making for consistently gorgeous shots.

Between La La Land and the live Beauty and The Beast, 2017 has felt like the year of the yellow dress - especially with Nikki wearing it for the Oscars! Periodically, movies create fashion longings because something you don't usually gravitate to looks amazing on-screen. If you fell in love with a yellow dress (I've focused on dresses here to keep things simple, but it all holds true for yellow tops and/or bottoms as well :)) due to either of the above and are now a bit lost because it's a shade you don't often wear and even if (or now that) you had/have one, you wouldn't/don't know what to do with it, fear not! Your friendly neighborhood Lover Of Yellow (disclosure: does not come with superhero cape or goggles) is here to help! First important point: I strongly feel that clean yellows are the easiest to wear. And no, I don't mean you need extra Clorox. Shades of yellow can be straightforward and "pure" or they can be mixed with other tones. The color of a buttercup for example, is fairly clean, while dried ginger is "muddy" in that it has more brown to it. (If you were making a ginger shade with paint, you could get it by adding the right shade of brown to buttercup, plus some white.  Or, you could also add purple...but that's a whole other essay ;)).  Yellows intended to suggest "vintage" tones tend to be in the browned-yellow family (imagine mustard-y 70's shades).Yellows can also be warm (ok, obvi) or cool - a lemon (on the green side of the yellow spectrum - think of moving backwards through a rainbow) is a much cooler yellow than mango, which is on the orange side. Dandelion is nearly smack in the middle. Any of these colors are pretty accessible, as long as they are of the "clean" variety. If brightness makes you feel awkward, go for a pastel (which has a lot of white in it), rather than a drab yellow.
 Now that the whole clean/muddy thing is behind us, what shades can you put with yellow? Black, right? Black goes with anything. True. You can always reach for ye old go-to standby. It rarely, if ever, fails. A dash of black with yellow looks amazing. If I do too much  though, I feel like I get into bumblebee territory. So, other options? The simplest is blue. Blue *always* goes with yellow. Light or dark, pastel or bright, cool or warm, blue and yellow are a match made in heaven. Purple, yellow's color wheel opposite, is similar, with blue-purples (lilac, grape) being safest. If you want to do color and be daring, try a clean (there's that adjective again ;)) pink - carnation or candy shades, rather than blush or antique rose. That's not to say the latter two can't work; they just depend on a firm color sense to mix two appropriate shades (I happen to love coral with mango yellow and wear the combo periodically in the summer). If all this color has you dizzy, there is always silver.  It's my favorite neutral to pair with yellow. It harmonizes with cool yellows, contrasts distinctively with warm tones and avoids any suggestion of bees.
Certain pairings of yellow gain impact based on hue. Of course, white goes with anything, but it's especially stunning with lemon-y hues, due to the crisp feel. Red is one notable deviation from the cool-to-cool, warm-to-warm rule. It gives a classic, primary-colored pop to lemon. (Note: it can also go with warm yellow - think jewel tones and autumn leaves). In fact, most autumnal hues work nicely with warm yellows - nude/beige, caramel, chocolate, pumpkin and melon blend beautifully, as their warm tones echoes those in the yellow. (Note: lemon can be paired with brown also, but choose cooler tones, like taupe. Also note: the closer to the center of the yellow spectrum you get, the less the warm-cool distinction matters, i.e. dandelion will coordinate with any brown tone).
 Cliff Notes version of this: put cool tones with cool (greener) yellows, warm tones with warm (orange-er) yellows and blue or silver with any yellow.
 Handy Thought: Instead of being the main shade, yellow can be used as an accent for an  outfit done in any of the listed colors.
XO!

I've always maintained that belt 'shoots are some of the hardest to do well.  So often, the ladies have to stand in front of a blank backdrop with the belt as an unwieldy prop and try to make it compelling. No small feat. It helps if you have  a new angle, which Naomi certainly does :) And it makes her title 'shoot one of the awesomest in recent memory! It's shot in semi-darkness, with the glowing belt throwing a significant portion of the light. That alone gives it a very distinctive and super cool look. But Naomi and her photog don't stop there. They literally come from a different angle - lots of them! Above, below right, below left: they experiment with in every shot and it works. It's funky and intriguing and makes you eager for the next pic to see what they came up with next. The belt takes a good bit of the stage, due to it's lighting effects, but Naomi isn't overshadowed. Her neon lime gear reflects the light from the belt, making it look like it too is glowing, whichjust adds to the shoot's dramatic interplay of brightness and darkness. The lettering of her top injects some extra color, which she echoes via her lime, aqua and pink hair colors - that looks SO FREAKIN' AMAZING! A touch of purple sheen from her lips brings one more succulent shade to the mix  - so, more fabulosity, basically. She explores a myriad of facials from a full smile, to a delightful half-smile to a look of vindication. The excellent variation keeps the set from getting stale or repetitive. There's something of an 80's vibe to the snaps due to the neon, but it's less wide-eyed and innocent. There's a maturity and strength here - despite the appealing colors and totally fun use of light. It's like Naomi has found her zen, but it's not merely meditative. It's a pulsing, vivacious electric zen... and I'm savoring it! If she hadn't mentioned how long it took her to devise this character and work out the kinks, I could regret all the directionless silliness of the Funkadactyls. Think of that when she had this kind of amazing-ness in her consciousness all the time! This is an incredible concept  which comes across as feeling like home for Naomi - something she has a clear vision for and a bulls-eye-like sense of how to convey. Tremendous work!

I went head over heels for this dress of Renee's when she wore it to the Wrestlemania Hall Of Fame ceremony. I would 100% wear this dress with a denim vest or jacket and sneakers for date night, a picnic, a girl squad meeting. But if you're not quite ready to jump that far off the night-for-day diving board, it's easy to be inspired by Renee's look in a subtler way. Her printed floral gown was to the informal side for a black tie event, so she elevated the styling by pairing it with black satin sandals.  So, how about reversing that formula? Go floral on the finish. Instead of reaching for an all-over printed outfit, do a black monochrome look. Pair a simple tee with tie-waist satin shorts, or a pretty blouse with cutoff denim. The key is to mix something more formal with something more laidback, a la Renee.  Complete the pairing with floral footwear. I love the pop and summery vibe of ankle strap sandals, but pointy toe flats or floral sneakers will work nicely as well. The florals really take on a big presence when set against a black outfit - not only does the color stand out, but the softness of a floral creates a more startling contrast against a dark, solid canvas. It's like a textural contrast without the texture. Conversely, the chic, moody power of black undercuts the garden-y sweetness of the print. It's a perfect example of the dramatic tension of opposites. Consider adding a floral statement ring or necklace  to reinforce the beauty and colors in your shoes.
Alternatively, be a little more direct: keep the fancy-shoes-to-elevate-the-look concept, but dial the whole clothing situation back. The theory still holds. Renee's sandals add polish and formality to her gown because of the material they're done in - the sheen of satin always gives it a dressier vibe. So grab your nearest pair of satin shoes and design your look around it, from the bottom up :) Almost any satin pair will work: sandals, pumps, flats. Because your shoes are so formal, the rest of the look should stay refined, but chill. Pair a simple tee with a ruffled wrap skirt or a denim pencil piece, staying within a monochrome neutral color family.  If you're craving texture, add it with one lace, crochet, eyelet or sheer-accented piece, but keep item #2 basic.  Or, do an A-line (pencil will work nicely too!) floral skirt (or trousers) that includes the color of your shoes within the print. Either way, lean toward a minimalist silhouette and matte materials to help create the laidback vibe that will contrast with the formal sheen of your shoes. Stay with the edited aesthetic for your baubletry - simple stud earrings, a pearl collar. Note: Annabelle @ Viva Luxury has a great example here of pulling this styling off using pants. Her graphic tee is super chill, her cotton cargo pants are a shade more polished. Her leather jacket ups the pants a notch, but the whole look is solidly under the heading of "Casual"...until she gets to her blush satin heels with their crystal accents - they make it fierce! To highlight the difference for yourself, block out just her shoes in a full-outfit pic and imagine the look with sneakers or ankle boots. I hope this inspires you to play with some floral/monochrome and laidback/satin pairings sometime soon :) Happy styling, loves!

To round off our 4th of July posts, how about this scintillating set from Nikki? She posted a selection of pics on Instagram (also, head over to the Bella's youtube channel for a BS vid) and they are amaaaaaazing! She gives us three different Americana-themed looks.  The  first pairs a white-starred blue halter top with a red and white side-tie bikini . Nikki looks fantastic in it and I love the sporty vibe of the halter styling, but I love her pose even more. Hands-in-her-hair, flaunting her curves - slay my life! Nikki owns this pose 100% and the attitude with which she carries it off is crave-worthy, a flawless example of giving me something that's inspiring, that I want to recreate and feel. It's a common theme through the rest of the snaps; every pose she hits has that same quality, including her next one: a stripe-lined star string bikini that she pairs with striped bottoms which appear to be red and white on one side and red and blue o the back. She adds a pair of light wash denim shorts to play with and the result is this iconic high-shouldered stance that gives me Sports Illustrated cover-bombshell vibes.  She does her hair with a side-part which only accentuates the seductiveness. I love how she doesn't over-work the facial - it's a perfect balance of "come get me" and "can't touch this". Her final offering strips things down even more - literally, as Nikki wears only a flag-themed banner. I applaud her for noting on IG that the piece is not an actual flag; it's reassuring to anyone who feels that it might be disrespectful to wrap our country's symbol around one's body as clothing, and I respect that she thought both of using a banner and mentioning it.  Having addressed these concerns, Nikki proceeds to nail a killer pose and another softly sultry expression. This look gets an extra pop from vibrant red lips. While I loved the blush-taupe palette of her other snaps, the extra color brings a nice polish to this look. As with her other poses, she's working the stance and using her hands up the impact and it succeeds fabulously. This is an A+ effort from Nikki!