Maternity Dresses

Let's talk maternity fashion. This is a topic that I haven't really touched on before, well, because I've never been pregnant until now. Granted, I've styled pregnant women, but I wasn't about to act like an expert on my blog without fully understanding and experiencing pregnancy. I'm obviously ready now because I have a bun in the oven and none of my clothes fit. I'm such a button-down shirt, skinny jeans type of girl, so it has been a REALLY big change to be wear nothing but dresses - MAXI dresses for that matter. I've never owned one until now. You may be asking yourself, "Why isn't she just wearing maternity pants or leggings?" Well, because the thought of anything tight even close to my stomach sounds terrible. Not to mention, the summer months are just around the corner and dresses will be a better investment.

So, before I list some of my favorite places to find maternity wear. Let me also say that I don't think I'll ever buy a dress that is actually classified as maternity for two reasons. 1. The price is marked WAY up. 2. They don't fit as well because they are made similarly to one-size-fits-all. Small, medium or large just doesn't cut it when buying a dress. No worries though because I've found plenty of other dresses at big box stores

My favorite places to shop right now are TJ Maxx and Marshalls. They are owned by the same company, so you can just go to which ever one is closest to you. They have fabulous prices and a huge selection of maxi dresses and maxi skirts!

Next in line is Old Navy. They just got a ton of really cute dresses in, and of course at decent prices. I don't know about you, but I'm not going to spend major dough on something I'm only going to wear for nine months. You may say to yourself, "I'll wear this for my next pregnancy too." Even though I'm not there yet, I've had plenty of women tell me that their body is so different the second time around that most of their maternity wear doesn't work. Also, trends change over the span of a couple of years. The likelihood that you'll even want to wear the same thing is slim to none. If by chance, you don't mind three dollar signs, shopbop.com has a lot of pretty things.

Victoria Secret is another wonderful place to find dresses. They even have built in bra support with many of them. I would definitely wait for a sale before buying one full price though. Sales happen so often at VS.

Also, Express, a place I rarely think twice about, just rolled out a ton of beautiful maxi dresses. Again, I would wait for a sale before purchasing something.

If you have some favorite stores that you like to shop for maternity clothes, please tell me! I'd love to hear!

For those of you that don't mind wearing pants, I'll be sure to post some other tips and tricks to make your bump look cute soon!

Arielle & Chris - Styled for Engagement Shoot

I had the recent pleasure of meeting Arielle and Chris - an engaged couple tying the knot this September. They are getting married in a vineyard in California, and Gina Meola gets to be their photographer. Talk about a dream wedding!?! So, of course, they had an engagement shoot with Gina lined up too, and I got to help them pick out their outfits for it. I LOVE my job!

Chris has a very classic, simple style. His favorite store is J. Crew, and that's pretty much all he shops. Arielle also likes classic, feminine pieces, but there is a bit of a whimsy quality she likes to throw in.

We arrived on two looks both staying to true to their style while channeling some east coast sophistication. Gina made a perfect choice of location and photographed the couple in Heritage Square - one of the only places in Phoenix that doesn't look like it's in the middle of the southwest.

Pretty much everything was found in their closet except the navy and white striped dress (found at Ann Taylor LOFT) Arielle is wearing and the gray v-neck sweater (H&M) Chris is wearing. Talk about economical photo style?!

I hope you think this couple is as cute as I do. Click here to see more photos on Gina's blog.

A Peek at What I Have Been Up To

You may have noticed my blog posts have been a bit inconsistent over the past two weeks. It's not because I don't have anything to share or say, but rather I have SO much to share and I just haven't had a moment to sit down and write it all out. So here's peek as to what all has been happening in the realm of AVE Styles... 1. Rory Brinker - I had the chance to pull some simple wardrobe for a look book shoot with scarf company, Rory Brinker. Kym Ventola Photographed the GORGEOUS scarves. You can see more of a sneak peek on her blog, click here. I can't wait to see how the look book and shop comes together. I will definitely be buying one of these scarves!

2. I worked on a fun style bridal shoot with Melissa Jill Photography that has been in the works since 2011. It looked MAGICAL!!! Here's a pic of me in action taken by MJ.

3. Went out to a dude ranch to do some testing with an Agency Arizona model, New York Makeup Artist Tonya Cameron and photographer Eric Cassee. Here's an awesome beauty shot!

4. FINALLY got a change to collaborate with Miss Andria Lindquist - a photographer from the Seattle area. We put together a desert fashion shoot. Sadly, I forgot to take some pictures with my cell phone. I've seen a couple images, and they are GORGE to say the least!

5. I've been styled 5 different engaged couples this month, and I can't wait to see how all of the photos turn out. Hopefully, I'll get to share some this week! EEK!

6. I tackled my first children's fashion photo shoot with Kym Ventola. WOW! WOW! It is definitely rewarding, but it is a totally different process than anything else I've worked on. I can't wait to share more. Here's a peek at the wardrobe...

7. Wrote an article for Wonderfully Made about quality vs. quantity when shopping. Click here to check it out!

Additionally, with growing a baby, working for Promise Tangeman, four fashion shows and some other AVE Styles gigs I am pretty darn exhausted but sooooo happy to see all of the hard work paying off. I think April is going to look very similar. Whoa baby!

Keep checking the blog to see releases of all of these projects and of course MORE style trends!

The Not So Glamorous Side

Most people have the idea that being a stylist is just shopping, picking out clothes and dressing people. They think it's a glamorous job, and anyone and everyone wants to do it because you're basically getting paid to shop. TRUTH: It's actually only about 20% glamorous and the rest is physical, emotional and mental labor.

When someone seeks out a stylist for a personal shopping job they are in a moment of dissatisfaction with their wardrobe. BUT usually the culprit is much deeper - the dissatisfaction often comes from feeling like they don't fit in, feeling fat and lacking confidence. Personal styling is mostly a counseling job. You're usually meeting a person for the first time, quickly discerning their likes and dislikes all while reading in between the lines of what they want and what their insecurities are dictating. Of course, the wonderful reward is getting to encourage those people, lifting their spirits, and seeing their faces light up when we find the perfect clothes that complement their bodies and personalities. But again, that's only 20% of the job. It can be emotionally draining, and of course, physically draining as you spend hours walking from store to store.

As for styling for commercial and fashion shoots, it's first hearing the client, reading between the lines of what they want, and then story boarding everything out. From there, we sometimes have to find makeup artists, hair stylists, locations and models. A lot of the time I do all of those things. Once I have measurements, I have to go hunting for clothes, which takes a full day (8 hours) because you not only have to find what you need, but you often need to pitch the ideas to get stores to lend to you. Once you find 8 full looks at least, you have to steam and prep all of the clothing for the shoot. (Last week, I spent FIVE HOURS steaming wardrobe on my knees for a cast of 24 people).

The day of the shoot you have to have fittings, adjust the clothes with clamps and pins, and of course be there for every second of the shoot to keep an eye on the clothes, placement of the jewelry, etc. After it's all over, sometimes you have to re-tag everything, fold things, and then drive all around returning the clothes.

This whole entire process takes about 25 hours of work.

The reward is seeing the finished product in a photo and a happy client.

For me, even though the glamorous moments are only 20% of the job, they weigh far more than all of the time put in doing everything else.

I say all of this for those thinking about being a stylist, for those that know nothing about the job, and for those that work with stylists all of the time. It's a serious job and art form. I can only hope that one day it's valued more than it is now!

Most Popular Pins

I have over one million followers on my personal style board, trends board and recipes board, and 560,000+ overall followers. I have no idea who all of these people are, where they live or what they do. BUT, now through this new social media platform, I do know what they like. That's one of the best things about Pinterest. You not only can categorize your favorite things, but you can keep track of what the majority of the people love too!

So, I thought it would be interesting to see what trends and outfits everyone thinks are the best and to see if y'all agree. All of these images have received 600+ repins, and some of them have received over 1,000. AND the ones at the VERY top have gotten 3,000+ repins. Next time I have a party I will wear a yellow dress and make margarita popsicles and turtles. =) haha!

It is apparent that my Pinterest followers are obsessed with shoes. The funny thing is that I'm not really a shoe gal. Are you?

These are the top four shoes. Out of this group the ones that I would actually purchase are the flats. I love the others, but I would be a walking giant if I gave the rest a go.

I guess a lot of users on pinterest are ready to put on a pair of shorts!

The interesting thing about these top pins is that there isn't a specific style that is represented. There's glam, all-American AND indie.

As far as beauty trends, women are ready to put their hair up in elegant ways.

And neon and gold hues are catching their eyes!

But what outfits are their all time favorites?

There is something for everyone woman - pretty lace, simple white, or tomboy chic. I'd wear them all! Would you?

All of these images and their sources can be found here.