I Got Nothing But Love for Thrifting

Hey Loves,

Happy Friday!!! Today, is a good day to talk about thrift shopping. Since most people are selling or giving away their clothing to consignment shops or Good Will. I will discuss what I love about taking slightly worn clothing and making it 1/3 of my wardrobe. Growing up I hated the Salvation Army or any store where my grandmother would go to shop for clothes, appliances, or even furniture. I thought why are we shopping other people used items when we can just buy it brand new. I used to think I would get picked on if people found me in these places. I was blessed though I never wore any hand me downs. However, today you can not stop me from going into a thrift store looking for the vintage abstract, colorful, or one of kind clothing! The clothing I love to look for is back when we used to watch The Cosby Show, Different World, and Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Those colorful abstract vintage looking tops or skirts is what I look for. Now, keep in mind I leave in NC so that means most of the time I'm not able to find these particular looks. So, what do I do next if I can not find it in near by thrift stores? 

I go to INSTAGRAM!!! That's right Instagram is a one stop shopping experience for vintage clothing. Below I will list some of the places I've purchased my pieces from. Here is one thing I keep in mind when I purchase VINTAGE clothing online. The sizes are not always true! I have skirts and tops that say my size but really are not my size. However, I still make it work. One trick with skirts: I put over my head to wear. It works every time because I wear my skirts above my belly button right under my breast for a high waisted look. Then with my shirts which are button up, I tie them at the ends. Again, the shirts stops at my waist line. These are ways I make my clothes work for me. Also, you can find measurement details under most pieces these ladies post to give you an idea of how these pieces actually would fit on you. Here are the following IG names that I have shopped from in the past to help increase my vintage wardrobe or I really love their pieces. @Iamkfs @divaxpress @crysycouture @thriftgasms @jeweliaboutique @ladaintavintage @mochapeachvintage and @rdvclothing Please check these pages out! You will fall in love! Trust! Now, for my own presentation I took a piece I purchased from @jeweliaboutique last year and never got the chance to wear and wore it three ways! Omg I love this abstract skirt! It's awesome. Thanks for reading and I hope this helps you ladies when thrift shopping.

Happy Shopping from ViVi Styles & Image xoxo 

Breaking All the Styling Rules

Heyyyyyyy,

Hope all is well! You remember growing up with your grandmother and maybe you used to watch her get dress for church or work and she told you that you never wear white after Labor Day!? I remember growing up hearing that rule. I also remember in my adolescent years I made sure I didn't break this rule because I thought people would pick on me lol! As I got older I never really cared to follow or break the rule. So, I guess you can say I did break the rule at an early age. I wasn't scared to be picked on any longer...lol! I did some research on the rule and where it came from. Some say don't do it because the rich people wore white while the laborers continued to wear black and worked their fingers to the bones. Some say it had something to do with the weather. Lastly, they say fashion editors said not to! I'm sure it's safe to say the hell with rules altogether when it comes to fashion and your own personal style. As a plus size advocate I encourage women to wear stripes both horizontal and vertical. Floral prints, bright colors, and whatever else they tell you NOT to wear.

Also, I guess it's safe to say I have some wonderful news to share but not now. It involves me and my love for fashion. Once, I'm sure to tell it all, you all will be the first ones to hear it here. I think I will make everyone read the news from here rather than me spilling the beans on other social media sites. The dress below was given to me for participating in a local fashion show. I love this dress and the way it's made for my body. The ruching really conceals my tummy and makes me look awesomely slimmer. BINGOOOOO!! I guess the reason for this blog is to wear what makes you happy and if breaking the rules makes you happy then by all means just do it boo!

Bracelet: Wal-Mart, Dress: Local Boutique SOLD OUT, Shoes: Payless, Earrings: Aldo

The Upcoming Fall Season

Hey everyone,

I am going to be brief here and just say that I am looking forward to the Fall season. Its something about the colors burgundy, olive, burnt orange, mustard, and hunter green that drives me crazy! I know there will be a lot of dusters worn along with the newest trend of fringes. I love being able to layer up to make any look come together. Another part of the Fall season is Football! I am a huge fan of football and will be attending a game really soon here. Even though neither team is my team I am still happy to go. My favorite print that falls right into the spirit of Fall is Leopard. Shoes, dress, tops, scarves, pants, you name it I love it in leopard print. I said I wanted to bring in the upcoming season in wearing leopard print and I did just that. I really like this dress. Its so comfortable and has a lace back. I feel really sexy and this printed dress really did a wonder on concealing and smoothing out my body. I really advise you ladies to take advantage of this print. You can never have enough leopard print. Like I said this was a brief blog. Also Happy 2 year anniversary to my blog which is now ViVi Style & Image. I did not bring it up much because there is a lot of changes being made with the blog and my business. At this time I do ask my readers to please pray for me and my business. I really want this business to work. I have done some great starter work and want to continue in this industry. Be Blessed and Happy Days ahead!

Accessorizing the Simple Things

Hey Loves,

I hope everyone is doing well. Today, I would like to discuss the simple things in life. You know the simple smile a person can give you, or the taste of ice cream on a hot summer day, or even the accessories that brings any outfit to look complete. Today, like most summer days have been nothing but HOT!!!! During these hot summer days there is not much layering or thick clothing that clings to your body because I mean its just too hot for that. Usually, I'm seen wearing dresses, skirts, and sometimes shorts; that's when I am out in the public (eye wink).

I love accessories that can bring out the look of a plain outfit. Especially, the infamous white t-shirt and jeans look. Today, I wore accessories from Rocksbox. Man did these three pieces (statement necklace, bracelet, and earrings) really add to an all around great outfit in my opinion. The statement necklace was amazing as soon as I took it out of the box. Along with these small diamond stud earrings that were really different in the make of the earrings and the bracelet just added a nice flare to my wrist. The three pieces definitely popped.

I honestly think sometimes we can let our accessory layout make the outfit. Next time try wearing jeans and a t-shirt and put together an accessory layout that adds a pop to your outfit. Because for me growing up I could never make jeans and a t-shirt look great. You know what I mean? I believe Chastity from GarnerStyle spoke on this. Jeans and a t-shirt was never an outfit that really looked good on me; I never felt feminine or prissy in jeans and a shirt. As I got older I realized what I could add to make this everyday basic fit look like money honey...lol!

The simple things can sometimes be the only thing you need to make a day seem awesome. Just like a walk around the lake in 90 degree weather and finding a resting spot on a wooden stage and just taking in the day and the moment. The whole entire time you could stress about the bugs flying all in your face lol. But the simple feeling of a laugh and great conversation is all you need sometimes. Hopefully, this analogy makes sense to those who are reading this.

If you would like to try out RocksBox and their wonderful unlimited jewelry and get a 1 month free go to www.rocksbox.com and type in code VIVISTYLEIMAGEXOXO.

Sunglasses from Aldoshoes.com

Watch from Fossil.com

I love this shot of me...Simple and still feminine. (Photo Credit: Troy Wooten)

Lady in Red Featuring Rocksbox

Hi Great People,

I hope everyone is doing great!! I wanted to share with you an amazing fit and great news about how to get unlimited jewlery sent to your door step. Recently, I was asked to be in a fashion show to celebrate a mother and daughter birthdays. I was excited to do it. And as a thank you we could choose which pieces we modeled in and keep. So out of the six pieces I modeled I kept this red skater dress. The dress is cute and comfortable; my two favorite words when it comes to clothing. When I modeled it I wore my red Converses. This time I paired the dress with some also cute and comfortable red ankle strap heels. The fit is so pleasing to my soul. Lol, just simple and yet stands out with the color red. I told myself I would start investing in more red clothing because for some reason I don't have much at all. The color is so daring, sexy, and gets attention because of the color itself. So with the dress I decided what time is better to pair it with my Rocksbox jewlery set I received in the mail today. The send you three pieces of jewelry. I received earrings, a necklace, and a bracelet. The bracelet I could not wear myself so I let my mother wear it since she had a funeral to attend. I love the earrings and necklace together. The earrings had enough bling for studded earrings. I love wearing these type of earrings with my locs hiding them. So when I move my locs it's like POW yeahhhh you see the bling...lol! I love these double string necklaces with the small beads. This can definitely be worn with a casual outfit to add just enough excitement to it. The bracelet as mentioned I could not wear because of the size of my hand. It just wasn't going to work. Big girl or just big hands for a woman problems maybe! So my mom rocked the bracelet and it looked really nice on her. I do love the detail in the bracelet.  Below I will share where you can also try out Rocksbox and even get a FREE ONE MONTH of unlimited jewelry. 

Outfit Details: Dress// Red Boutique (Plus), Heels//PayLess, Jewelry//RocksBox use code: VIVISTYLEIMAGEXOXO to get your one month free! 

My DIY Project: Turns into a New Upcoming Journey

Hey everyone!!! I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend. My weekend was blah just sitting around and thinking why me? Lol I know but it's all for good reasons. I believe I am in a season of quietness and waiting on God to move over my life in the most biggest way possible. I am making moves in many different ways and this DIY project I did on my shorts as brought me to thinking about designing clothes for women! I said when I made this move I would invite you guys to join me and see the strides, the ups, and downs of owning my own business. Trying to accomplish something no one in my family as ever done. I am blessed to have these thoughts of working with fashion in every aspect of it; for both men and women. I've already started thinking of pieces to create. I had a FB friend encourage me to take up sewing because she can see me designing clothes. I tell you I have so many people that can see me be great, I just hope I don't let anyone down. Having so many believe in you can be scary! I really want these thoughts to come to light and in store or on the body of many. I want to contribute to fashion in my own way. I love blogging because it gets me to talk about the things that I think about all day; every day. I think about fashion and what I can bring to the table every day. I just pray that God puts the right people in my path to get the work done. I know I can't do this on my own. For my true readers please pray for me! So DIY project was just another idea I was thinking when I was laying around. I wanted to add some fabric to pair of cut jeans I had. Just wanted to spice things up. So I went to youtube to see how it was done. When I got the video I also did my own 15 second videos to show how I did it. I love that they came out great. I even have few more people who want theirs done as well. The Top is from Wal-Mart, Jeans from Ross cut into shorts and added my own fabric, Shoes from Lolashoetique! Thanks for reading! Xoxo

Boutique Shopping

Yes, I know I'm a stranger! I really don't have a great reason other than trying to build a business and trying to keep a cap on these different ideas that keep formulating in my head lately. In the mean time I'm still low key shopping when I know I should not. So this and the next few blogs will be discussing online and in-store boutiques. Today's feature is from glamazonfashions.com; which by the way I love this store. I purchased a few pieces from the site and I love the fast shipping and the fit. This t-shirt dress is a trend that is comfortable, stylish, and reasonable in price. These are some pros of shopping from boutiques. Because these stores will keep up with the trends as time goes by. Most boutiques have a wide variety of sizes and some are even unique in their merchandise. That's my favorite part about this boutique and a few other boutiques. I found glamazonfashions on Instagram about two or three years ago. Recently, I purchased two dresses from them. The one pictured below and a bad ass black mesh; see through dress that I will feature here later.
As I mentioned there are some cons about online boutiques as well. From my experience no one piece of clothing should take so long in delivering; we're talking 2 months later. Those type of boutiques will never have to worry about me. I think that's bad customer service and pretty much false advertisement. Some boutiques also give out wrong size information then you can not return the item back like majority boutiques. Which is why when you have nothing but good things to say about a store stick with them. Some clothing is cheaply made which is something else you have to watch out for. Something I look for in a boutiques from Instagram is the number of followers and to make sure it matches the number of likes and comments under their pictures. Also take a look at their website. You can tell a lot about a boutique as far as how the website is presented.
www.glamazonfashions.com is a great store and they will continue to have my business :)
Until my next boutique feature Happy Shopping!

Converse: Amazon, Plaid Shirt: Forever 21, Dress: T-Shirt Dress

Birthday Behavior

Heyyyyy!!!

So I recently celebrated my 32nd Birthday!! Yes, I know I don't look like 32....thank you so much for your kind words! My birthday I can honestly say I wasn't looking forward to this day. Well because I knew I would not celebrate how I wanted to. Yes, you can call me spoiled while I say I wanted something different! I wanted to celebrate my bday in a different way. I've always spent time with my family and friends. As a long time standing single woman lets just say I wanted a man for my birthday. I mean the attire I chose to show off my body in my birthday behavior I needed a man for my birthday. I decided to dress in all black which just puts me in a different state of mind. The age of 32 stares at me and yells hey bih you need to get yourself together. You're not getting younger girl you better get some crumbsnatchers, a strong man, and a big house. Let's just say my life is not so clear cut just like my outfits! I can so relate to my clothes. Daring, never settling, and risk taker is what my clothes say about me. Needless to say I spent my birthday with family... Never did get a man  to celebrate with me. I guess it's just not my time. I'm not upset; my mother made it worth my while!! Even spent some quality time with my brother. He took me out for my day. I love my people. My number 1s. I will get the birthday where I will have my man will spoil me. If yall understand where I am coming from you would understand. Nonetheless, I thank my Lord and Savior for allowing me to see another year of life. It's been full of learning of myself and what I am capable of doing in this life. That's for damn sure. Now, I got SO much love on my birthday from social media and questions about my attire and where I got it from. So here goes nothing.

Head Crown, Earrings, and Bracelet from Walmart, Dress, Shoes

BodySuit: Forever 21 (Similar) Skirt, Shoes: JustFab, Chain Belt: Online boutique, Sunnies: Amazon
                                   

Body Confidence is Everything

Heyyyyyyyyy Ya'll!!!

Hope all my readers are doing lovely! Today's blog will be discussing body confidence. I stated that like I'm teaching a class. I guess in a way I am. So listen up closely. Love your body and your body will love you back. What I mean by this is even the biggest person can be in love with their body and exhume confidence. I mean look at Tess Holliday the creater of #effyourbodystandards and now a supermodel; a size 22 supermodel. I mean COME ON!!!!!! If she can do it why can't we all? Stop finding parts you hate about your body and focusing on them. All you are doing is body shaming yourself basically! We have enough of that going on from complete strangers on social media. Focus on parts of your body you love and build on that. Alright a moment of truth for me. What I don't like about me is my legs; the blemishes and dark spots etc. I wish I had smooth looking legs free from scars and blemishes. However, guess what I don't! Do I care, yes, but do I focus on it Hell No! I wear shorts, short skirts, skirts with splits, etc. Ok I will give you one more and pretty much the only other thing about me I really don't like; I have fat wide feet. Does that stop be from buying cute shoes; sometimes lol but I keep looking and studying what works for me. I have been told I have a nice collection of shoes. So what I am saying stop focusing on the negative and flaunt the positive. People will never realize what you don't like about your body when you exhume confidence overall.

Ladies, if you are dating this also helps the relationship with that guy you are dating. If you focus so much on the negatives of your body this can also be noticed by him. Men love a confident woman. When a woman understands who she is and how she carries her confidence a man can't help but love it too. When you don't focus on the negative parts of your body neither do they. In turn they can sometimes love your flaws, oddly. Example, lol omg ok so as I mentioned I don't like my fat feet right?! Well, he does! Lol! He calls my toes Vienna sausages...lmao! Which makes me accept my fat feet because he loves them. See??? Omg, I've always told myself I don't know anything about men/dating/love but I just clearly taught myself about body confidence and men. I love writing. Because you can learn from yourself while teaching others! So, even your love can help you accept your body as is so you can flaunt the body even more.

The outfit I'm wearing is to celebrate my birthday month. This outfit was colorful and sexy. However, wearing the outfit really put me in the mind of wanting to be somewhere near the beach and enjoying life. I don't know about any other blogger but, when I take pictures my thoughts are not where I am physically. I'm somewhere further down south, the west coast or on someone's island. I hope that one day my background will match where my mind puts me. Hope you enjoyed reading. xoxoxox

Top: Target, Skirt: JCP, Shoes: JustFab, NeckLace: Versona Accessories, Earrings: FabuLess Creations

Lessons in Life

Hello everybody,

Hope all is well with my readers. I am finally getting to this week's blog post. I have had a busy three days and I loved every minute of it. It was a very eventful pass three days with a lot of learning and understanding of myself and those around me. Starting off I had death in my family where my uncle from Germany passed away. Of course the family was not able to attend the funeral because it was in Germany. So we here in the States had a memorial service to celebrate his life. During this time I had the pleasure of hanging out with my uncle from Alabama. He was just pinned as the Captain of his local sheriff department. He left some very insightful advice to me and just showed some amazing love to me that I have been missing in my life when it comes from a man. If you know me you know that I grew up without a dad/father in my life.

I've come accustom to that life of not having a paternal influence. So to have my uncle hugging and kissing my chicks; I was just not used to it. At first I was all like hell nawl lol! I don't like this. Like Major Payne, "Made me feel all funny inside" lol. Then something triggered in me and I ran to him to get that feeling of hugs and kisses, to be held, and to be told how proud he was of me. As I am typing this I am literally tearing up. Its rough for any little girl not growing up in this world without their father the same as it is for a boy to not have the love of their mother. I never knew I needed this type of love to make me feel like a new person. I am growing to acknowledge my feelings and to even except that I have feelings. I try to carry myself like a robot and I have to come to grips that I can't live like that.

Then I realize that friendship is so important to have and to meet up with an awesome friend after not seeing them for awhile was great. Its like we never missed a beat. Toasting, conversing, and laughing was SO needed in my life. I feel like I have been closed off from the outside world a lot longer than the 5 months since I have been back home. Have you ever met someone who lights up your world in sooooo many ways? Yes, its a guy lol but its more than some fling its an honest and pure love for this person. I rather have this person as a friend than nothing at all. Although now if it was up to me we would be waking up to each other everyday! OH BUT YOU DIDN'T HEAR THAT FROM ME lol!   Enough of that because it is much more I would say about this person but, he may read this...lol.

The next day I went back home to where my adult life began and enjoyed my la familia at the Durham's annual Bimbe Festival; got a chance to enjoy a pineapple drink and some old school music. I was able to see DJ Kool and MC Lyte perform. Then we went to my favorite place in downtown Durham and that is Dames Chicken and Waffles! Overall this week was a week of blessings, love, and togetherness. Or should I say LIFE, LIPS, and LOVE lol that's an inside joke. Thanks for reading until next time xoxo and a xoxo for you! ;)

Top: Forever 21, Skirt: Target, Belt: Target, Shoes: JustFab, Bracelet: Wal-Mart

My uncle Captain Marion Bulluck (Skirt: Asos, Belt: Target, Top: Forever 21)

 

My brother and mom 

Us

Vest: Wal-Mart, Tank: Forever 21, Skirt: Ross, Chain Belt: Stacked Apparel, Clutch: Catos