I love the crisp, clean vibe of this black and white winter look from Brandi! She gave the outfit sporty vibe by styling it with a sweatshirt on top – something else I love because blending the athletic attributes of a utilitarian training piece with the fanciness of a skirt feels totally current and fierce. To create Brandi’s look straight up, start with a pencil skirt. She went with a leather iteration, but wool will work just as well. You can also work with a knit, but lean towards polished variations over slinky bodycon ones to maintain the contrast in formality. Add a sweatshirt on top. Simple is stellar, stripes are awesome, graphics 100% fab. Leave it un-tucked a la Brandi or go for a central or side half-tuck.  Gibe it a try in black and white, explore an alternate combination of neutrals or spike the look with a vibrant color. Add black tights, or coordinate with the (or a) color in your sweatshirt. Brandi rounded off her ensemble with on-trend white ankle booties; def consider reaching for those if ya got ‘em! Alternatively, classic black is always your bff. While Brandi chose a streamlined, heeled silhouette, flat booties or a more relaxed heeled style (think combat, moto or hiking-influenced boots) work fabulously with this look! Add a backpack to amp up the athleisure vibe. Knit pom-pom beanie optional :). This styling lends itself to A-line and bell skirts* as well – think the pleated satin pieces that have been taken fashion by storm, a tulle midi or even denim. Same drill applies as above with color and embellishment on the sweatshirt and tights colors. Style your top with a half or full tuck to maintain the balance between relaxation and refinement.  Complete the look with breezily fierce pointy ankle booties in neutral leather or suede, or a coordinating color. Add statement earrings for an extra dash of va-voom. PS If the weather in your area is amenable, both of these looks would work brilliantly finished with sneakers instead of ankle booties. Happy sporty styling!
*This is an awesome example of the bell skirt silhouette.  Note that it curves around the hips, as opposed to flowing outward from them, as in an A-line, which forms a visual triangle.

The instant I saw this look from Barbie, I knew I had to make it an Inspiration Board. It typifies everything that my style heart flutter! In addition to the gorgeous pale-blue-and-blush palette,  I love the way her denim shirt dresses down the fanciness of the sequin pencil skirt and makes it day-wear appropriate. Shine for day is a thing again and the key to doing it is to find a way to offset the formality. Start with your handiest/current fave/stuck in your head piece of shine: a sequin pencil skirt, like Barbie’s, or a shimmering midi version, or a metallic pleated piece (like the one you didn’t get to wear often enough during the holidays ;)). One of the reasons I adore looks like this is that they let me get more mileage out of insanely fun pieces that I don’t want to relegate to just night-time or fancy affairs! To go 100% Barbie, add a denim shirt on top (you can totally do this with chambray or an oxford  cloth version as well!). Leave the top button or two undone (no need to give quite the shoulder show that Barbie is ;)) and add a bar or name necklace, or other piece with special meaning. Finish with blush or nude pumps. A second option for dressing down the shine is to top it with a chunky sweater. Don’t style it too primly – choose an oversize piece you can do a half-tuck or frontal-only tuck with, just enough to create a visual waist. Alternatively, do it in blouson fashion for subtle polish. Or, go with a cropped piece for a retro-chic 80’s vibe. Complete the look with fierce pointy ankle booties and a lighthearted or whimsical piece of jewelry. If you need some cool-girl-meets-athleisure vibes in your life, top your sparkly skirt with a sweatshirt: hoodie, non-hoodie, it’s all good! Like the oversized-sweater topper, this is another place where slouchy or frontal-only tucks are your friends. The crucial part of pulling this look off is your shoes: avoid formality and even fierceness. You’re looking for laidback, possibly with a hint of attitude. Keep the heel height low (some kind of heel, even just a small one, tends to work best with midi lengths, so bear that in mind if you’re using a skirt of that hem height), and lean toward chunkier heel silhouettes or materials that indicate less formality, like wood heels instead of leather-covered. A simple suede block heel bootie works perfectly. This is also the right spot to think about low combat boots or, if your weather allows, sneakers – flat ones for barely-below-knee-length and above; try a wedge version with midi’s. Forego jewels...but do feel free to add a baseball or newsboy cap! I hope this inspires you to try some shine by day! Happy styling!

If you're ready to add a festive nod to your look, Natalya's outfit makes an excellent point of departure. If you have a suitable curve-kissing LBD, do it Nattie's way and start there. Alternatively, reach for a pencil skirt of knee or midi length. Feel free to do the look with pieces that have au courant details like ruffles or lace – they’ll add depth and polish. Add a slim top (turtle and mocknecks acceptable and encouraged!).  Layer a sweater of nearly any iteration on top. Pieces of the on-trend slightly-cropped+boxy variety are especially fun. PSA: you can do a winter/holiday vibe without going full-on Hideous Christmas Sweater (please be kind...think of the eyes of the-passers-by in your life :)). Consider an intarsia version, a unique type of stitching and/or chunky cables, pom-pom or fringe embellishments or of-the-moment flared or slouchy sleeves. Do a traditionally holiday color, like Nattie's green (or any of its variations), or trendy red. Alternatively, any deep jewel tone (burgundy, eggplant, amber, cobalt) will work nicely. Nattie completed the look with leather knee boots, but I also love the idea of wearing OTKs - totally do-able as long as (here comes the caveat) the shaft of the boot extends past the hemline of your skirt/dress (like this). It's a super fiece look that adds a modern twist to the traditional feel of the knee boot. Or, try using a varsity-style or sporty sweater and completing the look with sneakers. Hot-right-now grunge-y combat boots make another super-trendy alternative, as do refined, piercingly stylish pointy-toe ankle boots. With simple sweaters, finish the look with a hint of shine: hoop earrings, a bar necklace or petite metal pendant. Skip the baubles with more complex pieces and let the pattern or details take center stage. Complete the styling with a sleek half up-do like Nattie's or a high pony. Happy fashioning!

This black monochrome look from Nikki was among the transitional outfits that signaled the advent of greater sophistication in her style. It highlights her core fashion principles: modern, chic, sexy and looks totally fierce! My guess is, though, that if she were styling this genre of look today, she’d make a few changes that would show her more honed and mature fashion sense. How might she do it? Well :)…
The simplicity of the look lets it translate excellently over the years; a few  small tweaks would be more than enough to update it! The formula is a dose of urban, minimalist chic injected with a shot of sexiness. While then, that was represented with a leather-panelled mini skirt and a cut-out cropped top, today I think Nikki would reach for a midi pencil skirt: same sleek lines, far greater sophistication. Or, she might reach for a full-on leather skirt…perhaps with a statement detail, like a laced-up faux wrap or buttons. On top, she’d trade the cut-out tee for a classic sleeveless shell, an off-the-shoulder or boatneck tee or a bodysuit (possibly with a sheer detail). The black-on-black color palette she’d keep! But, she’d spice it up a bit with scarlet nails instead of cranberry and a flame lip. The major switch would almost certainly be in footwear. Then, Nikki completed the look with knee-high leather boots – plenty hot, but she’s since upped her shoe game dramatically! These days, she’d go for the dark drama of ankle booties in patent leather (see a similar here for the pair shown), the fun glamour of fur-embellished sandals or the iconic fabulosity of Chinese red pumps. As the weather turned chillier, she’d toss a varsity bomber jacket or simple cropped blazer with a  strong shoulder-line over the top. And she might just reiterate her trademark red with a bold, massive pair of earrings or a statement ring. Feel like doing the look of today’s Nikki? Break out the black pencil skirts and slim tees, babes! Add a chic, urban shoe and a classic red lip and get that fearless feeling! Happy styling :)

McKenzie's Fourth Of July look was about as classic as American-girl-next-door can get: white tank, blue denim skirt.  The pencil version is streamlined and classic; if you're digging that jam, def go that way :)  Do a knee-length piece, or go with a  hot-right-now midi.  I've been loving the movement and lightness of the pleated skirts which have been all the rage on the runway, so I re-envisioned the look with pleated denim. Note: a simple flared/ A-line silhouette will create a similar vibe. McKenzie's tank is just right for a super casual event - a girl's day, picnic, movie, etc, but, because of the the skirt switch, I wanted to bring out the chic vibes of the look, so I re-imagined the styling with a blouse.  I love the 70's luxe feel of a  simple silk long-sleeved one (which makes the look office-appropriate). Alternatively,  an off-the-shoulder  piece represents the decade theme in a summery (and flirtier! ;)) way. The denim offsets the selection of the blouse to create the  laidback ease of 70's fashion that was polished without being overly formal. Reiterate that statement with un-fussy footwear:  boho-leaning mules or simple slides strike just the right note. Add a long (but not super-bold) pendant necklace (or two) for a hint of quiet shine, or reach for the organic tones of a woven or tasseled belt.  Or, with a more detailed blouse (think ruffles, gathered sleeves, eyelet), jettison the accents and let the fabrics'  textures and movement do all the talking.  Disclosure: I went with red because it shows up better on-screen :) but white would be stunning here as well. I used caramel accents to scoot around the whole red, white and blue theme (chocolate, black, beige or dusty olive would work fabulously as well), but the Americana vibe could be played up instead with white accents, or alluded to via powder blue or cobalt). I hope this inspires you to try a hat tip to @ the 70's sometime soon. Happy styling!

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!

This look from Brandi is a flawless example of tempering the sweetness of a look without making it dark. The warm, light neutral counteracts the sugary vibe of the pastel pink flawlessly.( As an aside, you could use a light gray here to do something similar, with a  slightly cooler color story. To recreate the look, start with your favorite cardi. Brandi used a round/jewel neck, which has a very polished, classic feel, but a v-neck will work nicely as well. Any sweet hue will work: sky blue, mint, pale banana, lilac - so pick your passion! If you wouldn't be caught anywhere, any time, for any reason in pastels, consider doing this outfit with ivory. The second element is a coordinating skirt. Matchy-matchy is 100% allowed here (really :)), but you can use a solid, similar hue (slightly lighter/slightly darker) of the same shade, a soft print or a simple pattern (polka dots, stripes) as well. Since Brandi wore this look in early spring, she topped it with a textured faux fur jacket, which looks amazing..but might be a tad toasty for 90 degree days. To make it warm-weather friendly, consider a trench coat, laidback blazer (think collarless or band collared silhouettes), or a twill jacket. Don't fear pieces with statement details like asymmetrical panels, ruffles or hardware details that add interest and drama . Alternatively, a classic suiting blazer in a slightly cropped length will give a chic, schoolgirl vibe to the styling.  While Brandi went with a colored topper, a neutral shade is practical, accessible and conveys the theme equally well. I love the femme-tough vibe of Brandi's boots, but this styling also lends itself to culminations involving pointy pumps and flats.