Fashion – Page 2

The Power of Red

The color red exudes so many emotions. It is definitely a color that makes you feel powerful!

So I think I’ve mentioned before I used to hate the color red when I was younger. It is my mother’s favorite color and she CONSTANTLY dressed myself and my siblings up in it. She even bought us the ALL red Reebok high top shoes which I secretly despised. But what can you do when you’re 8 yrs old? So I had no choice but to go with it. I actually avoided wearing a lot of red during my teenage years and thru my twenties and early thirties. I am now embarrassed to say I completely understand why my mother loved the color red so much. Sorry Mama.

Sweater- H&M / Pants-Boohoo / Shoes-Sam Edelmen (thrifted)

Earrings-H&M / Lippie-Too Faced Liquid Lipstick in Lady Balls (how appropriate!)

I guess I was too young or hadn’t been thru enough life experiences to completely understand the power that comes from this emotion provoking color. The color red is said to represent strength, power, passion, determination and love. It can even raise your blood pressure!!! (Per Colorwheel pro.com) No wonder this color is trending so much this season. Especially in women’s fashion when the current powers that be want to demean women and minimize our qualifications and capabilities. I love the color because it makes me feel empowered and sexy. Those are feelings I didn’t recognize or experience until I became “seasoned” thru life’s ups and downs. Now I wear this color with confidence! I hope you give the color red a try this season, not just because of how you may look in it, but how it makes you feel!

Love Ricki

The Perfect Thanksgiving Dress!

So everyone went wild for the Tracee Ellis Ross collection at JC Penney and I fully participated and ended up scoring the perfect dress to eat all you want at Thanksgiving!

So much like every other fashionista I know or just women in general who love Tracee Ellis Ross I was super excited when her clothing collection with JC Penney launched. Of course we all saw the previews and there was one particular dress I really wanted. It was a black and white striped midi dress but it quickly sold out online and I was unable to find my size in the store. My overall impression of the collection was that I liked it and I loved that it included plus sizes but everything wasn’t my cup of tea and that’s okay because I’ve already said in this post here Everything ain’t for Everybody.

Upon visiting the store however I did find this sweater dress but I will not lie I wasn’t too impressed. It looked huge and shapeless and I am no tiny woman so I felt I would appear big in it. Well hunny let me tell you! ALWAYS TRY CLOTHES ON!!! That goes for any size woman! You can never really tell if you will like something on the hanger so trust me on this and proceed to the nearest fitting room. I actually didn’t try this in the first time I saw it but a lovely lady on IG (@divinedivastyle) modeled it and I was like hmmm I might need to revisit that. So I went back to JC Penney and tried it on and I knew instantly this was the perfect dress for Thanksgiving! This is a sweater dress made with a really soft material (the cashier kept feeling on my dress y’all lol) and although it fits large the shape doesn’t make you feel huge. And since it’s not form fitting it is perfect to hide the food baby I will have once I eat my way thru EVERYTHING my mother in law prepares for our holiday meal! I got my dress in a L/XL and I probably could have went down in size but because I’m 5’7″ I needed the extra length the larger size provided. If the tattoo shows it may be a tad bit short lol! This dress was perfect to finally wear my Scarfed for Attention necklace I got for $5 from my favorite Paparazzi consultant Eve and my OTK boots from JustFab (hurry they are currently 50% off for Black Friday and selling out fast!)

So let me know in the comments if you would rock this dress or if you purchased anything from the collection!

Love Ricki

Ruffle My Sweaters!

Sweater: Forever 21 Lippie: Avon: Superb Wine here

I love fashion because it is mostly just recycling what we used to wear before! Right now trends from the 90s are hot and one trend I wanted to try was the ruffle sweater.

If you have looked lately tops and blouses these past few seasons have been all about adding feminine details whether it’s just a touch or boldly. I decided to just go with a touch but after styling this sweater I think I may be ready for the bold! Ruffle sweaters have been seen in all the online fashion sites and brick and mortar retailers. I took a gamble and picked this one up online from Forever 21 in a size large here. It was a gamble that paid off because I was afraid it would not be the best quality considering the price. I was also afraid I wouldn’t fit it properly due to my larger chest. I am happy to say the material is great, not thin but not too thick for Houston’s “fall” weather. And this is from Forever 21’s contemporary line which runs a little larger so it fit just right. I will say I have a long torso and I am y’all so it was ALMOST cropped so I made sure to wear my Fashion Nova high waisted jeans. Are you loving all the ruffles and bell sleeves being featured on blouses this season? Do you remember this trend from the 90s?

I am loving it!!! (well the updated version!)

And for all who have asked for details about my hair on my social media pages it’s a half wig which I purchased here. And here is a link for the video I followed to achieve this style. Thank you for the compliments! And if you would like to see a video or blog post about my wigs and why and how I wear them let me know in the comments below because I would be happy to make one1

Love Ricki

Not Today Satan!!!

Tell the enemy to kick rocks!

Satan definitely tried it when I was trying to get this post done! So I had planned this post about 3 weeks ago when I first saw this skirt here. When it went on sale for 50% off I grabbed it and I planned on finding a graphic tee to wear with it. I have fallen in love with graphic tees thanks to my blogger boo Ranisha (check out her blog here, she’s awesome!) but I knew I didn’t just want any shirt, I wanted one with a message or something I really liked. As a seasoned woman I just don’t like to walk around with just anything on my chest. I want people to feel something even if it’s just nostalgia. So I was just about to click the buy button on a Sade T-shirt (and don’t worry I’m still gonna get it lol) but something said hey this would be a chance to style an outfit for church especially with this gorgeous velvet skirt. So I searched some Christian tees on Etsy and this was one of THE first shirts I saw. I knew this was it because I had a friend/co-worker who would always say “Not Today!” whenever his conversation with a client was going in the wrong direction if you catch my drift.

Shoes: Lola Shoetique Fishnet Socks: Rue 21

So this is when things went left. I ordered the wrong color shirt. My original vision for this look was a white tee with black writing but oops I don’t think I paid attention when checking out. BUT I didn’t open the package until the day of the shoot. I also planned on wearing a pearl bib necklace with it to dress it up for church but the necklace was so big it covered up the writing. So I took another L and just settled on simple accessories since it was my goal to just get this message across. I struggled y’all because I stayed out too long and my makeup sucked, my wig wouldn’t act right (hence the ponytail) and my photographer failed to tell me one sock was falling down around my ankle. BUT I still fought and pulled thru bc when I heard what happened in my home state of Texas Sunday I knew everyone I could reach needed to see this. The difficulties I ran into were NOTHING! People lost their lives AND the fear of not feeling safe in their place of worship, which should be a sacred place, was felt in the hearts of Americans everywhere. Well I am here to say on my small piece of the web that fear does not exist except when it comes to fearing God and Him only! I still have my faith because I know what God has done for me and delivered me from. With age comes experience and the knowing that this too shall pass. I pray for everyone that was affected and hurt and my prayer is also that we continue to go to our places of worship wherever that may be. Praise and worship confuses the enemy so let’s make sure he stays out the loop. Not today Satan, or tomorrow or ever! I’ll see y’all at church.

Love Ricki

DVF Vibes!

Trending and classic at the same dang time – The Wrap dress!

Yaaasssssssss to this dress y’all! When I saw it on Zara’s website I knew I had to have it! As a seasoned woman (Thanks Sheena!) you discover what looks good on you and what doesn’t. You discover classic items that you need that are seasonless and this dress is definitely one of them. If you don’t know who I’m referring to when I say DVF, I’m talking about Diane Von Fürstenberg who made the wrap dress popular and classic back in the early 70s which falls in line with the fall 70s trend as well. Her dresses and prints are bomb but are expensive and I will definitely have one in my closet one day (I would love a vintage one!) but for now this Zara one did the job. And well I might add ! The material feels good and it’s thick and it was actually priced at right at $50 so I was all in. And I think you should be too! The wrap dress works on pretty much every body type as the wrap around designs cinches in the waist and creates an hourglass shape even if you don’t have one. So go try one! I am wearing an extra large and even though I could use a little more fabric up top (large chest problems ugh) it’s nothing a safety pin can’t fix when I’m in more conservative company. I decided to add more 70s vibes with these red leather (like) slouchy high heeled boots from Shoedazzle. Continue reading