It has been ridiculously long since I have posted! I have had all kinds of fun things happening and have just been a bit of a slacker on the blogging side. What are these things you may ask…well… a 6 month old, a new job, clients, starting a Portland Chapter of NSHMBA and 2 of my best friends had babies this month. And those are just the big things!! Anyway, I've been having a great time doing what I've been doing.

Out of the blue last Friday, I got a call from a reporter at the Bend Bulletin. She was doing a story on summer fashion and was looking for a stylist to interview for some tips. She found my website through Google and decided to give me a call (ahhh the power of the internet). Below is the story:

Keep cool, stay chic
How to look tailored for work without overheating
By Eleanor Pierce
/ The Bulletin

When the weather warms and the hopeful pack away every winter-weight work sweater and heavy wool trouser in sight, a problem sometimes appears: What's left behind after the winter purge looks worn and tired. Maybe it just doesn't fit anymore.
Perhaps it's time to add a few new pieces to the summer work wardrobe. With some forethought, the smart shopper can buy items that are both appropriate for the season and appropriate for the office.
Cheryl LeDoux, owner of The Difference, a Lake Oswego-based personal style consultant business that's been in operation for 26 years, said when adding to your work wardrobe, the key is to find a balance between personal style and professional standards.
“You could have a higher fashion-level person who's going to have to filter her look down a little bit,” she said.
Some trends, such as tight leggings and billowy tunics with sky-high platform heels, may not work in every workplace. But others, like the current penchant for big, graphic prints and bold colors, can easily be adapted to nearly any workplace wardrobe, from the teacher's closet to the banker's.
Aside from finding the right balance between personal preference and professional standards, LeDoux said to get the most out of the money you spend on your clothing, assess carefully what you already wear.
“You can (have) a closet full of clothes, and you still default down to the black pants, which you do three and four times a week,” she said.
Often, her female clients wear 20 percent of their clothes 80 percent of the time. Instead of fighting that tendency, she suggests they work with it. Figure out what the workhorses in your wardrobe are and buy additional pieces that work well with those.
She said walking into a store and falling prey to inappropriate trends or sales and later realizing they don't fit your existing wardrobe is akin to shopping for groceries when you're hungry.
“You buy a lot of fun food and candy, but you can't make dinner when you get home, because you didn't have a good plan,” LeDoux said.
That said, there are some fun fashion trends that, depending on your workplace, might be good additions to your summer work wear arsenal.
Brianna Showell, of Portland-based Reina Style Consulting, said convertible outfits can be great for the office.
“You can't wear a tank top by itself in the office,” she said, but you can if you top it off with a ¾-length-sleeved cardigan.
“Then when you go outside for lunch, you can take your sweater off,” she said.
Showell and LeDoux both said feminine touches are big this season. One way to implement the look without getting overly frilly is to add a fabric flower brooch — not a grandmotherly silk flower replica, but a stylized version of a flower — to an outfit.
“If you have a little blazer, you can put it on the lapel,” she said. Another option is to pin the brooch to a T-shirt worn on top of a skirt.
One issue that refuses to go away: The question of shorts.
If you take your job seriously, you probably already know whether it's OK to wear cut-off denim shorts at work. For most of us, the answer is no. But many women have found shorts can be acceptable in the workplace when done well.
“I would say for women, as long as it's the knee-length, tailored kind of tab-front shorts, and you wear them with nice sandals, you're OK,” Showell said.
But for men, she said shorts are probably best avoided in the office.
Misty Huber, chief creative officer with the shopping and fashion website Stylesalt.com<http://Stylesalt.com>, said in most office-type environments, “you can dress up summery items as long as you're not trying to get away with midriff and flip-flops.
“The trick is to mix something more casual with pieces that are more conservative.”
For instance, if you have a sleeveless top that's perfect for a warm evening about town, top if off with a structured blazer while you're in the office.

SO that's the story morning glory~

Lots of love,

Brianna

Part one of the Photo Shoot for the Model Contest was with our lovely friend Rachel. I liked that she called herself a "short, spunky, ethnic girl", so we chose her as one of our models. She wore some beautiful clothes from Mabel and Zora, and shoes from Solestruck both in the Pearl. I REALLY want that dress she wore, you can tie it like 100 ways to make different looks! Anyway, take a look at some of Melissa's beautiful work and let me know what you thought of part one.

As many of you know, I'm a bit of a crafty lady and have been doing quite a bit of sewing lately. Most all of the things I make are gifts for people, there are just so many fun things that are EASY to make. Anyway, after a bit of urging I finally bought some labels and made my first item with my OWN logo on it!! Check it out and see what you think!!

After MUCH consideration, I have chosen the winners of the Reina Style Consulting model contest!! I was overwhelmed with all of the amazing women that were willing to share a bit about themselves, what great stories! I wish I could pick ALL of you. Anyway, on to the winners right?!?

CONGRATULATIONS to Emily Johnson, Jala Smith Huys, Cathrin Bruederle and Rachel Mejia. I look forward to meeting you and know this will be a fantastic experience.

So for those of you who did not win, I want you to know that you will not go away empty handed. Just for entering you're gonna get some pretty cool perks: 15% off any service with Reina Style Consulting and 20 "Mandy Bucks" good for your first cut or color with super-stylist Mandy Zelinka (Just give her a call, she has a list of all of the contestants). Thanks again for entering and keep in touch!

*To the WINNERS: Please drop me an email to let me know you got this and for me to get details to you.

Hello all,

The submissions for the contest have been amazing, I don't know how I'm going to choose only 4 of you!! Well, the deal has just gotten sweeter. In addition to getting a photoshoot with Soulmates, Shopping with me, 20% off at Mabel and Zora you will also get a free cut and color from the amazing Mandy Zelinka at Ginger Salon!! (I wish I could enter!!!) There are still a few days to get your name in there, so be sure to enter or tell a friend or two.

I'm going to leave you with a pic that makes me happy from last week's Paris Fashion week.

Wow, I am so excited about the responses I've gotten so far on the contest…I have no idea how I'm gonna pick only 4. Anyway, tell your friends as there is still one more week to enter. So this week I've been doing a bit of online shopping for a couple of clients and have employed the help of a really cool website that I found. It's called COVET, and the way it works is that you "teach" it what your style is like and then it tailors emails to you with products that you will like. Not only are they things you like, but they are all on sale or in your selected price range. It's kind of dangerous, having an email with ONLY things you like sent straight to you, but if you just take a look once a week or so it's not so bad.

Take a look and let me know what you think!

Calling all real women!

We’re looking for women of all shapes and sizes for an upcoming photo shoot. Curvy or small, boyish or tall, we want to hear why you'd be perfect for the job. If you’re one of the four women selected, you’ll win full hair and makeup done by an on-set stylist, a photo shoot by Soulmates Photography, an hour of free shopping with Reina Style Consulting and 20% off your next purchase at Mabel and Zora.

To win, leave a comment on this post telling us why you should be one of the models. Winners will be notified by email, so be sure to leave contact information. All entries are due by April 1st, and winners will be notified by April 3rd.

Own your inner catwalk and show us how it's done.

I recently did some shopping for a client/friend of mine who was in dire need of some jeans. Yes, the dreaded jean shopping trip. She's a beautiful and strong and TALL gal who has some unique sizing needs…she needs a 35in inseam! It's hard because many men's jeans don't even come in that length. So we set out to find something that she would like and I would approve of (; We tried all of the stores we thought would have lengths (Nordstrom, Lucky, Gap) and didn't have much luck. Finally we parted ways not having bought anything, and she found something on her way out at Macy's…she didn't need me afterall (;

Anyway, there are a couple of things that came up during our trip that I wanted to talk about. First of all, I really don't buy into all of the fashion "rules". You know, like the "no white before labor day", or  "don't mix brown and black", etc., etc. Obviously there are some guidelines that are usually pretty sure bets (like the things I mention on my site) but there really are no absolutes. If it looks good on you, and you feel good in it…it works! Unfortunately it makes it harder if you don't go by rules because then you have to trust your gut to know if something looks good or not. One of those "rules" that my friend kept reminding me of was that only really skinny people can wear skinny jeans. Not so. She apparently learned that from What Not to Wear. Don't get me wrong, I love me some Stacey and Clinton but I think they go a bit far sometimes with their fashion rules.

Here are some photos of some curvy women that are lookin' hot in their skinny jeans!

Ok, the other thing that I need to throw out there is fit. Jeans are made with cotton, so they STRETCH. Thus, you need to buy your jeans tighter than you would wear them to compensate for this. We struggled with this the WHOLE time, because it's hard to believe that you need to buy them that tight…BUT YOU DO! Trust me, you need to get them snug or else when you wear them a few times they are gonna be baggy and look sloppy.

What are some of the style rules that you stick too???

Well I never turn down a request for a blog post topic, so for my good friend Megan…ROMPERS. Very cute for the spring, rompers can be tricky for some body types (pear and apple) but are fairly good on others (especially petite). The only thing is that they tend to be a bit short, so make sure you've got some stems to pull this off (or wear heels to make your legs appear longer)! Bring it into the fall with leggings, boots and a cardigan (I feel like that is my answer to EVERYTHING); or keep it spring/summery with bare legs and a light cardigan or bolero on top. Don't be afraid to scrap the belt that comes with it and use a fun belt of your own. If you do a "statement" belt, however, go easy on the other accessories.

Here are a few ideas…as always, I love to hear your thoughts and questions!