THE ART OF LAYERING (fuss free + fancy)

xo

When it comes to layering, let's be frank with each other ( we're friends), it can be a pain in the derriere region. You know, the attack of the bunched up undershirt or the discomfort of having what feels like 20 layers of clothing on and my favorite, the dreaded button view- where the buttons from your undershirt are imprinted through your sweater...ugh! I'm going to give you the scoop on layering that will have you singing all the nice f-words- fantastic, fabulous, freaking (awesome)!!

fly!

Let's get to the meat of layering shall we. You have a sweater and a shirt that you love and all your little cuteness want is to marry the two and be on your merry way (preferably paired with something on the bottom ;)...My bottoms of choice today are my beloved skinnyjeans. With layering, it comes down to the weight of the fabric. The under layer should me lightweight, so that the layer stays neat and for the love of peas and carrots, your comfortable...rightttt!! The sweater, should have a bit of weight to it but not to the point your sweating bullets prior to leaving your casa.

I'm wearing this blush pink ( I'm still drooling over this color) silk blouse from JCrew paired with highwaisted skinnyjeans and layered with a cropped cotton navy sweater. You know all those cropped sweaters that you love but hate that they are cropped, this is a great way to get them in your closet and rock them. They also play very nicely with highwaisted anything, if you dare to try the 9-12 inch rise world ( don't be scared). Back to the layering situation, I find that if my sweater has a bit of structure and shape it allows my layering to look more modern and sleek and not so, how do I put this softly, ummmm dated preppy ( we'll go with that descriptive for now). Layering can create a look that's interesting, chic and classy.  I operate under the mode of fuss free style (emphasis on style). This means, I dress myself and my awesome clients to eliminate tugging, yanking and frequent adjusting to maintain said cuteness.

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I'm loving the feedback!!! Insert happy high five with a twirl here :) Let me know how these layering tips work for you and share below. I've had a few inquiries on the location of the heart button and it's just below to your right ( I know, it's so tiny and cute). I'm off to dive into a closet and make the pretty happen. I freaking love my job. See you next Thursday for some badass blazer loving in a pretty cool and spectacular space!! MUAH!

How navy + black became friends

When I was moving to Boise Idaho a few of my friends (ok more than a few) thought I was crazy. It was true...I was crazy IN LOVE with then boyfriend now hubby and knew I had to be here otherwise my heart would explode (drama queen).  I've also fallen for Boise in a big way :) This city has a unique vibe all on its own. As the years go by I can feel and see the city growing with the injection of culture on so many different platforms. Fashion in Boise is certainly on its way forward and I'm thrilled to be apart of the style journey. 

One of the things that excites me with my job is showing my clients the many varied ways they can wear their clothes. This includes mixing colors and prints they normally thought MUST be kept apart.  Black and navy is that taboo combination that I think we've all had on our style radar as a DON'T at some point. Here are a few of my ways to make it a definite "DO". Let the happy dance begin! WOO!

Pastel tones like this yummo melon brushed scarf works well to soften the navy and black.

I paired these black distressed skinnyjeans with a navy metallic sweater and printed pumps. It's simple and works because I said so (haha!! just kidding). If you want to pair your navy with black, I believe that one of the color must be textured. So we could pair this black pencil skirt with a cable knit navy sweater, like this .  This navy lace top ( so darling) with black skinny or boyfriend jeans. BTW, this is a great way to make those dressy pieces more casual. If the texture matches ( cotton with cotton, wool with wool)  then it looks like we got dressed in the dark and we don't want that...righttt. Eyes wide open :)

I'm working on some cool updates and projects coming your way on the blog and on my website.  I'm dying to share it with you!!! AHHHH!! You've asked and I now have an easy peasy and pretty aqua SUBSCRIBE button in the side bar for your fashion viewing pleasure. It's the new year and I know there are things on your style agenda that you want, need and are a must! Share away!! I'm listening :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

2016 will be spectacular!! Throw on some swanky goodness and let the party begin! Okay, you want to know what I'm rocking!! I'm a denim shirt lover and no one does it better than Current Elliott. I paired it with these must have, super comfy skinny jeans from Banana Republic. This was my first time trying their denim and it was a love y'all.

Dance...even if you're the only one on the floor!

A big awesome filled THANK YOU to my mountainman hubby ( this could be the year we upgrade the flannel- or maybe not), adorable stepdaughter, family and absolutely amazing friends that fill my happy cup. My vision would not be possible without the amazing photography talents of Deborah Hardee and Karen Krum ( hugging you both really hard right now). I feel the love and support and cannot express enough what that means to me!! Well I can try....it means the freaking world!!! The fashion filled adventure is going full force for 2016 and I'm so thrilled that you will be joining me along side some pretty awesome peeps!! It's going to be a great ride!!!!!

I Wear White in the Winter

"When you learn to love who you are on the inside, things fall into place on the outside" LT

So excited for this week!! Why?!! Because I'll be talking about breaking some of those pesky style rules. YES!!I Why, what do you mean my poofy hair and oh so stylish friend?!! Well, we are going to throw out some of those fashion rules that we culturally abide by and also attack (gently) those personal style rules we create for ourselves. Okay, the first style rule that we will "kick to the curb" like this 90s slang phrase is no-white-after–Labor Day (bahbye). I thought this rule was on life support and was no longer viable but I had to address this several times in my personal shopping world. The great thing about white is that we can play on texture, throw in a multitude of shades, hello ivory, cream, beige, snow ( one of my faves) and it brightens the gloomiest winter day like a BOSS! OK...I hear it, but Laura I'm so pale in the winter. This is why we have SO MANY great shades to work with and your cuteness can rock yo white and not feel like Casper the friendly ghost. Beautiful porcelain skin- love on soft cream colors with texture; warmer skin shades, go after snow whites;  if you have yellow undertones in your skin, give some love to white or pure white. Here's a few of my favorite white styles below...click on the pic to add to your closet and start strutting your winter white.

Personal style rules that we will bid farewell to is I'm too curvy to wear skinnyjeans. Ummmmm....no! Yah!! I'm talking to you. Five and a half years ago, some dude said you were curvy and you panicked because you were rocking your skinnyjeans and now you've sworn off skinny jeans... FOREVER!! Stop the madness. First, dude mentioning your curves is because he likes them and said curves are fabulous. Curvy girls, you've got a great waist and I want to see it ( operation- liberate the waist! WOO!!) It's all about finding the right kind of skinnyjean that says "hey girl, I wanna marry you" (said in a seductive Barry White tone). If you are petite curvy, I'm a fan of this style and these. If you are medium built curvy,  loving on these and my tall drink of water with curves, love this style and these ( ummmm 34 inseam...yes girl!!). I find that if the denim has a higher rise, it really flatters the curves best. Thereby eliminating these offenders- The "crack kills" - the act of bending down or simply sitting, revealing all of one's backside business or the "ride em cowboy" the act of inserting your hands on the side of your denim or through denim belt loops and yanking them up...all the freaking time ( yep, we've all done that..rightttttt).

I'm wearing this loved distressed Rag and Bone white denim skirt, paired with a J.Crew military green button down and vintage fur jacket that is pure classic Luxe.

 I love pairing unexpected styles together and streamlining them in a way that injects my own personality.  I'll be bringing some effortless ways to COMBINE PRINTS and LAYERING 101. Get EXCITED!! Next week it's all about wear to work chic....say goodbye to stuffy office wear and lets have some professional fun. YAY babe!! I'm all about the feedback, so comment below, click the heart icon (don't leave him out) and SHOUT OUT topics you want to read about (hey, we're friends and I listen). Thank you for all the love and continue sharing, mama is digging it ( do people still say "digging it"?!...they should). So much coming your way, the party is only beginning!! YIPPEE!!!!

HOLIDAY!!! CELEBRATE!!!

Christmas, gifts, snow, travel, parties, what to wear-ugh it's freaking cold but I wanna look cute, food- oh the FOOD!!! ahhhhh!!! BREATH and come to my "happy place"...I've got yo back and it's covered in something chic and cozy.

I'm currently doing some major shopping for a few of my lovely clients and can I just say, there is so much cuteness out there! OH MY GOODNESS!! Let's talk about some of my favorites. I'm becoming more of a pajama girl ( I use to rock old tees hard ) but as I get older I just want to feel good even when I'm about to power down. You can find the coziest and cutest jammies here.  I'm currently loving on Sugarbums Intimates uber cute Cosabella Amore pj set and Skin ribbed shorty set. I also love the JCrew bow flannel pajama pants...ummm they have bows ( so cute) and the dreamy cotton stripe pj's #slumbergoals. I'm a brushed cotton kind of gal but the silks, flannel and lace are pretty sweet as well. TIS THE SEASON FOR GIVING!!! So what do you get the friend that has everything?!! I find it more meaningful to go for the heartstrings (kleenex please). Make it personal and thoughtful.  That means you might have to bust out a DIY skill but don't worry this one is on my level of amateur status. All you need are treasured photos and a pen. I'm sending out some cute and chic personalized cards with a little surprise attached. I used the app PRINT STUDIOS (download here) to turn some of my favorite photos into my own cool stationary.  There's tons of options out there for ACTUALLY utilizing the 2,453 photos you have ( guilty, 5,629) on your iphone or smart phone. This one is awesomely fantastic and you can upload your photos directly from your computer, tablet or iphone and pull from your Instagram or whatever photo library you utilize. SUPER DUPER ( and I don't use that duper word lightly) EASY. THE PRODUCT- it is beautiful ( see below y'all) - printed on amazing paper and your photos become a work of art!! poof, ping, wow- those are my "magic happening"sounds.

There's 3 things I love in life ( okay I've got tons of stuff, things and people that I love but I'm partial to these 3 things for the moment). FIRST,  a great party outfit (any...as in I will go to ANY holiday party because I love to dress up and it's freaking FUN). SECOND, staying warm (cute and warm must be combined in the winter months for me...seriously ask my GFs). Third, wearing all my clothes. Yes, I have my seasonal put away stash but for the most part I wear most of my clothes all the time, mixing and changing up how I wear them. Unless it's a booty short and it's winter. I'm a fan of mixing high pieces (fancy, dressy, ta-da) with low pieces (casual, cozy, pass me my coffee on the sofa comfy styles).

I paired this flannel JCrew beauty with one of my favorite Spring/Summer skirt from Alice and Olivia that I got a few years back from Fancy Pants. You can find similar styles here . It's one of my faves (I've got tons of faves, so hang in there with me). It gives an elegant but not overdone look. So attack your closet and pull out your fancy styles ( yes, I know you bought it to wear to that special what-cha-ma-call-it, so what! you bought it, it looks great on you, so wear it #bossypants.

SHOW ME YOUR FANCY!! Share with me on INSTAGRAM your high low and fancy blends with #SHOWINGMYFANCY and tag me @lauratully.co.  I'll repost my favorite ( but you know I love you all) and I'll have a LITTLE SURPRISE for my fancy instaPOSER!!  WOOHOO, CAN'T WAIT! I'm soaking up all the love like Buhl butter on warm artisanal toast!! THANK YOU!! KEEP THE LOVE COMING...it won't go to waste, comment below and click the heart icon (it's adorable). I've got some goodness coming your way next week so buckle your seat belts and make sure you've got snow tires!! LET'S GO!!