SimpsonStyles

If you’re like me, your closet tends to get a little cluttered from time to time. Clothes that haven’t been worn in months taking up too much space, but there is a simple solution, and it’s not as unbearable as it sounds.

Every few months I go through all my clothes, try them on, then decide whether or not I’m going to keep them. I used to be super attached to all my clothes, and hated the idea of letting them go. I had to tell myself that the clothes I was getting rid of no longer served a purpose, or reflected my style. Purging your closet is suppose to free you, and be the beginning of creating a wardrobe you love, one that reflects your personal style today. Purging isn’t just going through a few things, it’s when you take EVERYTHING out of your closet, drawers, bins, and try them on one by one.

The best time to purge your closet is when you have the time to spare, with no interruptions. Since I don’t work on the weekends, that’s when I take the time to take everything off the hangers. The last time I purged my closet was probably in March, and I think it took me about 3 hours. I know that is a long time, but they are a lot of things you can do to make purging a lot more fun. For instance, I always play music when I purge. I also want to make sure I look good, you get a better understanding of how clothes look on, if you look good and didn’t just roll out of bed. If I’m wearing my hair natural, I wash it and style it. If it’s straight, I just brush it a few times and voilà, ready to purge! For those of you who like to wear makeup, if it helps you to determine whether or not you want to keep something by doing your makeup and hair to get the full look, by all means grab your makeup and hair brushes and start purging. Another thing I do every-time I purge is style everything I try on. I don’t just pick something and throw it on, I put together an outfit. When purging I also like to involve my shoes, and accessories such as bags, and jewelry.

When purging your closet you have to be ruthless almost. Either you love it, or you don’t! There is no “I’ll hold onto this just in case.” If you have to second guess, there’s no reason to keep it around. If your clothes don’t fit right, are damaged in any way, or your style has evolved way past the clothes already in your wardrobe, why are you holding onto them? When you hoard clothes you end up with a lot more than you’re actually wearing, and eventually you’ll be another person saying you have nothing to wear. Besides there are tons of people who would love the clothes that you’re not even wearing.

The first step is to get all your clothes, that includes the ones in your dirty clothes hamper, even if you have to wash them before trying them on. Once you have all your clothes and accessories in your room, that’s when you start trying them on. If you’re not like me, and you don’t want to create an outfit with every single article of clothing, try picking a pair of bottoms that will go with every top you try and vice versa.

I also take the time to try on all my bras and make sure they still fit me, and still offer the support I need. I even take out all my socks and make sure they all have a matching pair, and are free of holes. As I’m trying on everything I either throw them back on my bed, in my chair, or on the floor.

If I throw the clothes back on my bed, that means I’m keeping them. I try to hang them back up on their hangers, so I’m not making a bigger mess for myself to clean up later. Trust me when I tell you trying everything on is a workout, and you will be hot and exhausted afterwards. If I throw the clothes on my chair then that means I’m giving them away, and if I throw my clothes on the floor that just means it’s going in the trash. I rarely ever have to throw clothes away, because I’m really good about keeping everything in perfect condition.

As you’re trying the clothes on you’ll know if you plan on keeping them or not. For those of you who are short on cash or could use some extra money to create a wardrobe you’ll love, selling the clothes you don’t want is a great way to do it. My advice is once you decide you don’t want to keep something take a few pictures of it, on you and on a flat surface. Download Poshmark or Depop, I have both just because it increases my chances of selling, but I do prefer Depop. Upload pictures of all the clothes you want to sell, along with a price and a short description, and your store is now open. I’ll include the links to my Depop and my Poshmark accounts for you guys to see. You can also take your clothes to the nearest Plato’s Closet and get cash or the spot.

Make note of all the clothes you’re keeping, and the ones you’re giving away. What do they all have in common? What made you want to keep a certain item? Or why is this item being given away? This prevents you from making the same shopping mistakes in the future, you don’t want to buy clothes similar to ones you’ve already given away.

I’ll also be more than happy to help anyone do a closet purge, apart from the sweating I really enjoy it, and I feel a lot more organized after. It also might be helpful to have someone else’s opinion, or have someone there to tell you when it’s time to let go of something. I can also answer any questions about selling clothes on clothing apps.

Once you get over the sentimental value you have with your old clothes, you’ll feel great after your purge. It honestly feels like a weight being lifted off your shoulders. Not only do you end up with space to buy more clothes, you’ll have an organized closet, and a greater understanding of what you need to shop for next. Whether those are your wardrobe essentials, or anything that fits your style. If you don’t love your closet now, know that there is always something you can do about that, and I will be here every step of the way. Xoxo, CC

My Depop account: https://depop.com/cshmoneyhoney

My poshmark account: https://posh.mk/yRMkYKeRCbb

This post is long overdue, but better late than never. Before we continue on with trying to shop for all the latest trends, we need to take a pause and talk about clothing essentials. Clothing essentials are the clothing items you need in your closets, knowing them and bring you one step closer to having your dream wardrobe.

If you know me, you know I absolutely love shopping! It’s gotten a little ridiculous over the years, but I didn’t choose the fashion life, the fashion life chose me! When I first started shopping for myself, I didn’t know anything about closet essentials. To prevent you guys from making the same mistakes I did, and to make shopping a lot easier you need to know what your essentials are!

Closet essential really are the building blocks to your wardrobe, they make styling outfits so much easier. You ever stand in front of you closet struggling to find something to wear? Your closet could be overflowing with clothes like mine is, but you still find yourself saying, “I have nothing to wear.” We’ve all been there! Sometimes when you have too many clothes, of all different varieties, it can get a little overwhelming, especially if you’re like me and can’t stick to just one aesthetic. This is where your essentials come into play. You can build tons of different outfit combinations centered around just one article of clothing.

Essential pieces focus mainly on simplicity, and comfort. Your wardrobe essentials should be in tune with how you structure your outfits, along with your body shape, color palette, and lifestyle. Knowing your personal style is the first step to finding your essentials, you may need to refer back to my first blog post about how to find your personal style! https://simpsonstyles.fashion.blog/2020/04/12/finding-your-own-style-aesthetic/

For those of you whose brows furrowed when I said color palette, let me quickly explain what that is before we get into anything else. A color palette is a group of colors you look best in. The method I used for learning my color palette was by looking at my veins, which determines your skins undertone. There are 2 main undertones, warm and cool. There’s also a neutral undertone, which means both color palettes work equally for you. By looking at the veins on your wrist or palm you will see what your skin’s undertone is. If you have green looking veins then you have a warm undertone, while people with a cool undertone have blue or purple veins. My veins are like a greenish blue, and sometimes they even look purple. I would say I have a neutral undertone.

Jewelry and natural sunlight is another method you can use to find your undertone. Under the light wear a silver and gold bracelet on each wrist, whichever one enhances your complexion will help you find out your undertone. If it’s gold, you have a warm undertone, and if it’s silver, it’s obviously cool. Warm colors have a yellow tint, while cool colors have a blue one.

Once you’ve figured out your undertone, you can start picking out neutrals that you’ll look best in. The basic neutral colors are black, white, grey, navy, brown, and khaki. There are many variations of these colors, also knows as tints and hues. Some different tints that come from our basic neutral colors are charcoal, light grey, sand, ivory, cream, mocha, olive, nude, taupe, beige and tan. Keep it mind that it’s best to avoid colors that make you look washed out or dull, instead go for the colors that enhance your complexion.

Now is the time to pick the neutrals that go best with your skin tone. Colors, such as, olive, taupe, camel, and cream look best if you have a warm undertone. If you have a cool undertone, grey, navy, black and white are your colors. For neutral tones taupe, grey, or cream. Of course you can still pick whatever colored essentials you want, but these are the ones that will suit your undertone better.

Essential clothing should be durable as well as stylish and versatile. When building my essential wardrobe I asked myself what did I absolutely need in my closet? Then I asked myself how many outfit combinations could I come up with centered around that one piece.

I’m going to share my list with you, hoping it will give you some sort of guide to finding your own clothing essentials!

1. Tees– Whether they’re cropped or full length, neutral colors, or graphics, they’re definitely an essential item for me! They go great with jeans, biker shorts, leggings, you name it!

2. Little Black Dress (LBD)– A little black dress is a perfect staple. I can dress it down with a pair of sneakers, like Air Force 1’s, and a denim jacket. I could also dress it up with some scrappy heels, with some gold accessories, and a cute bag!

3. Denim Jacket– I actually own three denim jackets. One cropped, one black and cropped, and then an oversized one! Denim jackets have been my go-to for a long time! If it’s a little windy, or chilly I’m grabbing my denim jacket and going about my day, they’re always in style, and you can do so much with a denim jacket!

4. Leather Jacket- I bought my first leather jacket last January, I’ve always wanted one, but could never find one with gold detailing until recently. Leather jackets are a layering piece, they can make a basic white tee and jeans look cool, or make a black slip dress look more casual, or sexy! They just make any outfit look cool, and you feel cool in it too!

5. Biker Shorts- I know a lot of people have opinions on these. You either love them, or hate them, I, on the other hand, absolutely love biker shorts. They’re super soft, and comfortable and come in so many colors. I own a couple grey pairs, a black pair, and a leopard print pair. They’re definitely a staple for the spring and summer!

6. Shoulder/ Baguette Bags- An outfit doesn’t just mean clothes, you need accessories to tie the whole look together! Baguette bags have been making a huge comeback recently, and I am here for it! I like to buy mine from Prettylittlething, but they’re way more affordable on shein!

7. Gold Jewelry- If you know me you know I love gold. Jewelry is essential because by accessorizing can make your simple outfit look more put together.

8. Bralettes/Bra Tops- If I could wear a piece of clothing everyday, it would definitely be these! I get mine from either PLT or Aritzia, they’re really flattering and look good with anything. I wear them with jeans and oversized flannels, or sweatpants and a denim jacket for a more comfy/casual look.

9. A Great Pair of Quality Jeans- When I say jeans I don’t mean the stretchy jegging material, although they are comfy, it’s 2021! Put on some real jeans sis! Urban outfitters and American apparel have really great jeans! Baggy jeans and little cute crop tops have been my vibe lately, and I honesty prefer baggy jeans over skinny jeans!

10. Joggers/Sweatpants- I have been living in sweats even before quarantine, they’re so comfy and if you know how to dress it up you’ll manage to look cute without much effort. Pretty Little Thing has the best sweats, I own at least ten pairs from them, and I dress them up in so many different ways.

11. Solid color bodysuits- Long sleeve, short sleeve, spaghetti strapped, strapless, scooped neck, v-neck or a mock neck, having a few bodysuits in my closet is a MUST. They look especially good with jeans, and even though they’re simple they’re just super flattering.

12. White & Black Tanks- Tank tops come in many styles, and are perfect for the spring and summer. I love racerback tanks especially! There are really cheap ones at Target, Zara, and PLT. I wear them with skirts, shorts, jeans or sweats.

Your list may be very similar to mine, or very different. Your clothing essentials are what work best for you, and for your style.

Lastly, I am going to share some of the stores I believe are some of the best places to buy your essential wardrobe.

Pretty Little Thing and Boohoo– These two stores are fast fashion brands, which are more on the cheaper side, these stores are also always having sales. If you type “Basics” into the search bar, you’ll find everything you need without having to search the entire site.

Urban Outfitters- Urban has some of the best jeans, along with graphic tees, and other wardrobe essentials. A lot of their prices range from affordable to expensive depending on the item or brand.

Naked Wardrobe- Started by three sisters, NW is a brand that focuses on being trendy, fashionable, and making every woman feel confident. I personally love their crop tops and biker shorts. Their fabric is unlike anything I’ve ever felt before, it’s stretchy and the quality is amazing. I also love how most of their clothes are black, white, and grey. I love neutral colors, so if you’re like me be sure to check them out. They also have lots of sales, like $25 Tuesday, or $15 Friday.

Aritzia– Aritzia is more on the expensive side, they are kind of like Urban Outfitters in the sense that they sale other retail brands at their stores and on their website. They have the most gorgeous tops, and I specifically love their bra tops.

Joah Brown– I discovered this brand on Instagram last year, and instantly fell in love with their pieces. Their clothing is so unique, and stylish. They are pretty expensive, but the quality makes it worth the price. This is honestly one of my favorite brands, and one of the brands I shop from the most.

In order to get the most wear out of your clothes, and successfully put together outfits, it’s important to build an essential wardrobe that works for you. Your essential wardrobe is just as important, and just as unique as your personal style. They should reflect not only your personality, but also your day to day activities. They will be your go to pieces when you’re in a rush, or when you just want that effortless on the go look. Never underestimate the power of your essentials, once you find them, you’ll feel happier with your closet.

As someone who is obsessed with fashion, the main question I’ve been repeatedly asked over the years is how I’ve found my personal style. To be completely honest there was never a specific time that was profound, eye-opening, or even an aha moment that brought me to where I am now. My personal style isn’t something I had to find, in fact, I think I’ve always known it, however the more I’ve grown, I’ve explored my creativity and really tapped into my passion for fashion.

As early as elementary school I had a really strong opinion of what I wanted to wear, and was determined to dress myself and experiment with different aesthetics. I think the most important thing to finding your personal style is not caring about what other people think. Your style is specially for you, and that’s the mentality I developed at a very young age. I never cared about others opinions on what I wear, but rather it’s always been about the way the clothes make me feel. Knowing at a young age how I wanted to look when I got older has been my guide to defining my style now. Where you live, who you’re around, and what you’re exposed to has an impact on your style just as it does your identity.

My mom is the main reason for my love of fashion and clothing. She’s always been very stylish, if I could describe her style in three words I would say: timeless, classy, and sexy. As a little girl she always dressed me in the cutest little outfits, and of course making sure I was well accessorized. Everyday I was dressed to impress, even on the weekends when we had absolutely nowhere to go. Once I was old enough to read, my mom bought me tons of fashion magazines which kept me up to date on all the latest trends. She always gave me the freedom to express myself with my clothes, even as a toddler. Even though she would lay my clothes out for me every morning, she let me choose what I wanted to wear, as long as I was matching.

Another question that seems to come up often is how I would describe my personal style. As I said before, it’s an accumulation of where I grew up, who I was around, and what I was exposed to. Other than my mom, I loved Fran’s style from “The Nanny,” and the Bratz were also a huge fashion influence for me as a child. Most of my childhood I remember being very girly, as my favorite colors were pink and purple, and of course wore skirts and dresses everyday for the first seven years of my life which easily became a statement for me at that age. As you evolve as a person, so does your style. This can go from a drastic difference in such little time, or years on end to see a drastic change. I still do consider myself girly, however, I have added different aesthetics to the mix. Aesthetic fashion is a type of fashion that is pleasing to look at. It’s unique, artistic, bold, and makes a statement.

I could go in depth about my personal style, along with the many influences I’ve had over the years. A very important thing to realize as you go on your journey to finding your own personal style is that you are bound to experience some hits and misses. Although we try to avoid it, these hits and misses are a part of the process. I would be lying if I said I’ve never made a fashion faux pas, which is just a fancy word for a fashion mistake. Hopefully the tips I share with you guys can help avoid these scenarios, and get you well on your way to looking and feeling more like yourself.

1. Dress For Yourself– As I said earlier, your style is YOUR style. It doesn’t matter what everyone else is wearing, if it makes you look and feel good, wear it! As Gianni Versace once said, “Don’t be into trends. Don’t make fashion own you, but you decide what you are, what you want to express by the way you dress and the way to live.” Just because you see your favorite celebrity or influencer wearing it, doesn’t mean you have to. If you follow me on Instagram you know I post a lot of my favorite influencers, and my favorite looks on my story. It’s kind of like a virtual mood board. If I really like the outfit, or certain concepts of it, I know I can come back to it later. I then say to myself, “I really like this concept, how can I incorporate this to where it fits my style?” You can like and admire someone else’s style without having to copy it to a T. It’s always nice to have inspiration, but make it your own. Also know that it’s ok to have more than one aesthetic, I have at least five. Don’t confine yourself to just one style. You can be a “girly girl” one day, and then be a “tomboy” the next. As long as you feel comfortable, and feel like yourself, that’s all that matters at the end of the day.

2. Finding Your Wardrobe Essentials– I’m not going to go super in depth about this topic, because I plan on making a separate blog post specially about all the must-have items you need in your closet. These items that are considered essentials are more on the basic side, but can be accessorized to fit into any style. They give you plenty of options to mix and match, and of course add substance to your wardrobe.

3. Document What You Wear– Something that I found very beneficial was documenting what I wore. The only problem that I ran into while trying to collect my data was that I barely left my house. For those of you who actually go out, this will work better for you. The idea is to take a picture of your outfit for that day for at least a few months consistently. Whether you’re going to school, out with friends, on a date, or just running some errands, don’t forget to snap a picture. Once you think you’ve collected enough data, go through all the pictures. I found it easier to make a photo album, just because all the pictures are in the same place, and you won’t have to go looking through thousands of pictures. Look to see what’s reoccurring, do you wear a lot of tight clothes? Baggy clothes? Crop tops? Sweatpants? Whatever it is that’s reoccurring ask yourself three questions: 1. Do I like the way I look in this? 2. Do I feel good wearing it? 3. How can I switch it up to elevate this look?

After you’ve asked yourself these questions and have come up with answers, take a look at what you don’t wear. What pieces in your closet never worked? Which items still have the tags on them, and why haven’t you worn it? What did you buy thinking you would wear it at the time, but never did? Ask yourself why these items didn’t work, and then keep that in mind when you go shopping in the future. You should also probably get rid of those clothes that aren’t working, as there is no point in keeping them around.

Once you’ve figured out what your style is, you can start looking at inspiration from others with the same, or similar styles. Instagram and Pinterest are a good source to find fashion inspiration, sometimes I even turn to YouTube. On nights where I can’t sleep, I’m scrolling through Pinterest, pinning new inspirations, or looking at styling videos on YouTube. For those of you who don’t shop often, or just don’t have the budget, inspiration is key. You can see an outfit you like, go to look for similar items in your closet, and aim to pair how someone else did. Style inspiration will have you visualizing how to put together clothes in a new and creative way. For me, it’s really fun finding inspiration, and then turning it around to make it your own. If you don’t already follow fashion bloggers then going to your explore page to find one with the same style as you is your best bet. When you find outfits that you like, you can save it on Instagram, or even screenshot it. On Pinterest you can just type in the style you want, and get to scrolling. For example, if you search street style, that’s what will come up and you can pin, or screenshot anything that catches your eye. When finding bloggers to follow, look at the ones that relate most to you whether it be because of similar styles, budgets, or even similar body types. From pairing my skirts with tops of my choice as a kid, to now being able to represent my style as well as using my resources and creativity to allow me to dig into my passion for fashion more than ever.

The journey to finding your personal style is well worth it, so just be sure to invest in yourself and be the best dressed that you can be! Xoxo, CC

Hey guys, welcome to my blog! For those of you who don’t already know me, my name is Chandler Caroline, and I am the star of this show. I am so excited to finally get this blog up and running, and I’m even more excited for those of you who are going to venture in this journey with me.

SimpsonStyles is the first of many projects I’m taking on, making this blog my first baby. Which has been in the making for about a year and a half now, maybe even longer. The reason it took me this long was because I have a specific process, and I really wanted to take my time perfecting my ideas before I just put it out there.

For as long as I can remember fashion has always been a passion of mine. My mom used to dress me up in the cutest little outfits when I was a baby, and as soon as I was old enough to read she would buy me tons of fashion magazines. As I’ve gotten older clothes and fashion have become a huge part of my life. Starting a blog just made the most sense to me, since I’m combining all three of my biggest passions. Fashion, writing, and helping others. Whether you need fashion advice, relationship advice, or just advice on life. Anything you may need, I want to help in any way I can, the best way I know how.

Not only will I be giving you my take on fashion, beauty, life, and love. My hopes are that throughout this experience you will learn more about me, my passions, and what I value the most.

Thank you so much for stopping by, talk to you guys again very soon!

Xoxo,

CC