ALT SUMMIT PART 1 - Highlights

I'm back from Altitude Summit (a.k.a. Alt Summit), and I have much to share with you. Alt Summit is an annual blogging and design conference held in Salt Lake City, and I attended it along with some wonderful friends of mine (Promise Tangeman, Liz Schultz, Alyssa Yuhas and Liz Fields). Networking was the main takeaway from the five day conference, but before I divulge everything, let's start with some highlights. SWAG There was plenty of  wonderful swag at this conference. It was like Christmas. We were greeted with a box full of useful and creative keepsakes such as journals, stationary, jewelry, pencils, toothbrushes, candy, coupons and even soap. Christmas stockings have nothing on Alt Summit.

Alt was filled with parties every single night. Not only did that give me an excuse to play dress up, but it also meant more gifts including an awesome knitted monkey hat, a ceramic coffee mug and a hardcover copy of Deborah Needleman's new book, The Perfectly Imperfect Home. I read the whole book on the plane home, and really enjoyed it.

MEETING THE FAMOUS There were a couple of people at this conference that made my heart beat just a bit faster than normal. Namely the lovely Anya Ayoung Chee of Project Runway, Emily Henderson of HGTV's Secrets from a Stylist, Ben Silbermann creator of Pinterest and Kevin Sorbo....Okay, Kevin Sorbo wasn't really on my radar at all, but I happened to see him while hanging around at the Sundance Film Festival. Hercules! Hercules!

GIRL TIME Alt was basically like one giant sorority devoted to design and blogging. Almost every person I met was kind and wanted to connect. I've never seen people at a business event look so stylish and act that friendly. During the parties, meal times and everything in between, I got to build upon my current friendships and make new ones. It was worth every penny!

TIPS & TRICKS Two full days of classes definitely left me with a lot to ponder. Some of the nuggets of blogging and business that really stuck with me are:

- Act on your idea right away. Don't wait until the product or service is perfected. Just get it out there, and then improve upon it as you go.

- Original content is king. Great photography is queen. (I need to find a solid digital camera. My cell phone is NOT doing the trick).

- Your third sentence is usually your best. Start with that instead.

- Set boundaries with collaborations before you start.

- Only build partnerships that match your overall brand

- Giveaways are lazy blogging, and you legally need sweepstakes policies to coincide with them now. Eek!

- You usually will feel insecure and competitive when you're not producing your best work.

Check in tomorrow with a list of some new blogs and magazines I learned about at Alt.

Nude Pumps

Last week I had a personal styling session with a client, and she asked me to help her find ways to wear these brown shoes that she had never really worn. Of course I helped her with her request, but I also spotted that she was missing THE most important color in a shoe collection - nude.

Nude, flesh-tone, beige, tan, caramel...Whatever color your skin is you should have a shoe that is a close match. Why?

1.  Your skin color goes with everything! Yep, even more than the classic color black that we all tend to hide behind. Most women have more than one pair of black shoes and have never owned a pair of nude. They're missing out because you can always wear flesh tone shoes and not think twice about whether it matches your outfit - EASY dressing!

2. They give the illusion that your legs are longer, which means you appear taller and thinner. Um, who wouldn't say yes to that?! Celebrities definitely know this trick, and there is no reason why you can't cash in on it too.

So, if you know that your closet is missing this magic, here are some shoes you can check out...

INC Mindy Pumps - $79.00

Steve Madden GLAAMM Pumps - $89.95

Charles by Charles David Pompadour Camel Pumps - $79.90

And for flat lovers like me, check out these TopShop Micah Flats for $60.00.

Celebrity images via The Vogue Diaries

Legs for Days

I'm seeing a lot of celebrities these days wearing long-sleeved mini dresses, and I'm liking this look. I think it's a chic way of looking sexy and I prefer this to loads of cleavage. Even if you don't have long legs you can still pull this look off. Just add some nude pumps to your dress, which gives the illusion of longer legs and some height if you need it.

Legs for Days by Alexandra Evjen featuring Christian Louboutin shoes

Stylist Cassie Sawhill

I've started receiving a weekly newsletter from FIDM containing event information and news about successful alumni. There was an article about Cassie Sawhill a graduate of FIDM in 2003 who is now a successful stylist. I had always wondered how people got paid to dress up celebrities and whether or not that was a career you just fell into or that you worked toward. In her case, it has been something that she has worked toward and now owns her own business. It always seems to be the people that love vintage shopping and bargain bins that make the best stylists, and Cassie's story is seals the deal.

Working at J.Crew I felt like I was a good judge of what worked on people and what didn't, but I don't know if I'm creative enough to help people that have all sorts of unique styles achieve a specific look. Maybe it's because I don't see my wardrobe making huge fashion statements. I have a very basic, casual style, but who knows...

I just know that it would be fun to help people play dress up everyday, however, I'm sure it's not as glamorous as it seems - nothing ever is..