{How to Wear Tacky Christmas Sweaters}

Hi readers! My name is April and I blog over at The Striped Flamingo. 

Can I talk to y'all for a second about tacky Christmas sweaters? 

Mmmkay. So, there's this store near where I live, which shall remain nameless, so as not to incriminate those who shop there for actual clothing. It kind of sells grandma type clothes. Well, for some reason, this store seems to be the tacky Christmas sweater mecca. For real. Every year, they come out with a fresh crop of terribad sweaters. It really makes you wonder if there really is a market for this type of clothing. 

Note to readers: apparently there is. Whilst shopping at said store for a tacky Christmas sweater to give at my work White Elephant gift exchange, there were at least 5 little old ladies animatedly combing through the tacky Christmas sweater racks, wearing, of course, tacky Christmas sweaters.

Something that has gained popularity in the last few years are tacky/ugly Christmas sweater parties. The main idea is to invicte people to wear these horrible sweaters/ensembles and revel in each other's Christmas tackiness.

Sounds fun, right?

So, besides the obligatory tacky Christmas sweater, what does one wear to this type of party? Well, I'm a firm believer that there is such a thing as over-accessorizing. And, these sweaters...well, they should be treated as an accessory. (Because, in all honesty, most of them contain no less than 7 bags of seed pearls and sequins anyway...) So, when Jamie asked how can you rock a Christmas sweater and still look "cute" (which I took as meaning "not like you shop at said old lady store on the reg") I figured others might benefit from my answer. 

As mentioned earlier, treat the sweater/vest/etc. as the accessory. You want to keep everything else you wear very basic. Obvi, the main attraction of your outfit is the sweater/vest, so don't mix a lot of other prints with it. I like the idea of a pop of color in a bag or shoes, but keep it to one color, balanced out with neutrals. 

Try to keep the rest of your outfit as modern as possible. I loved the idea of doing a tacky Christmas vest with black skinnies, a black t-shirt and red booties. The jewelry is very minimal with this outfit. For the other, more casual outfit, I like doing jeans and navy accents to balance it. (Navy Toms, um...yes?!?!)

All this to say, it IS possible to look "cute" while wearing one of these tacky sweaters. 

SO......Have you ever been to a tacky Christmas sweater party?

Thank you SO much April for the fun post for any upcoming holiday ugly sweater parties!!! I can't wait to post photos from our holiday housewarming party!! *I had previously emailed April asking her for some fashion advice before our party and that's how this guest post came about!! :) 

Please go check out her blog! I've been following April's blog and her Instagram for some time now and she writes about tons of great outfit inspiration, (this page here) crafts, photography, home decor, Christianity, and more! She also loves to sing (check out this song here)!!! Just a peek into a little more about her (how cute is this?!)......

Thanks again girl!!

Live FashionABLE

 

{liveFashionABLE}

I received these 4 beautiful scarves in the mail the other day and I was SO excited to get them!! I think I have a slight obsession with scarves......I may or may not own 30......HAHA!!

What I like about these scarves is that each scarf has it's own story and is personally made by someone. Not mass produced. Not sold in 5,000 stores. Not made by huge machines. 

AND I love that they help support a worthy cause!! 

One of my friends from college moved to Nashville not long after I did (we share the same major and were roomies my last yr at UK) to attend grad school and worked with the Mocha Club (you may have heard of this project if you've ever attended a Dave Barnes' concert) ;)  She so graciously mailed me some scarves from the bin. 

Anyhow, I wanted to share with you about this wonderful non-profit and the blessing it has become for many.

Read about each of the women's stories HERE

Here are close up shots of my new (YAY!) scarves : 

MESELU in Sage Green

ETANESH in Jade Green

DEMBER in Plum/Teal

ETANESH in Ivory

I am lovin my new scarves! They are super soft and versatile! :) The striped one is my favorite followed by the ivory one (it's stretchy)! All scarves come in a variety of colors, textures, and designs and they are all made with 100% cotton. Go check 'em out!!!!

& I'm pretty sure your mom wants a scarf for Mother's Day!!!!

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{Just had to add this cute photo of Beaux modeling one of the scarves LOL}

Disclaimer: I did NOT receive the scarves as a payment or promotion for blogging about them. These scarves had slight (minor) defects and were not for sale on the website and are not for resale. The company logos and facts come from their website. Any personal opinions are my own.

Simple Fabric Headband

Kentucky has made it to the Sweet Sixteen! Hooray!! They play tonight for the Elite 8- GO CATS!

SO......While trying to break up the monotony of making little cosmetic bags and clutches (all that I am practicing my sewing on), I decided to try my hand at a fabric headband!

My best friend owns 2 or 3 of these,  and I thought they would be a cute change to the hair clip, bobby pin, or regular headband. You can buy them OR you can make them :)

Now, this is the first headband I've ever made, so it's not perfect.....

But I'll give you the basics..........

Supplies

Cute Fabric

Scissors/fabric cutter

Cutting mat

Ruler

Sewing machine

Elastic hair band (you'll need 1/2 of it)

1. Cut your fabric 13" lengthwise and with a 4" width

2. Sew the ends first. Fold the end corners of your fabric into triangles 2" up leaving a 1" gap in between. Then, fold up the center 1/2" and sew (see picture).

3. Fold the fabric in half with the right sides facing each other. Sew on the outer edge with a 1/2" inseam. Trim the edges.

4. Turn the now "tube" inside out and place the seam in the middle. (You can lightly press with iron if you want- I didn't).

5. Cut the hair band perfectly in half. Taking one side, sew the elastic onto the fabric end (do one end at a time) about 1/2" into the hole. (Try not to sew all the way across the fabric, you just want to secure the elastic to the fabric - did that make any sense?) Repeat on the other side making sure it's not twisted.

6. Finally, while still working at the underside of the headband, fold the corners up around the elastic

and sew (they should make a triangle again) to completely enclose the elastic.

7. It's ready to wear!!

* Apologies for the VERY orange looking photos and the quality since they're from my phone!!! Sorry! 

The fabric is really a light peach with aqua flowers.

* Thanks for bearing with me on my first sewing tutorial! I'm not sure I know the exact lingo :)


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ps- And a very Happy Birthday to my sister (in law) Lauren!!!!

Happy 24th! Love you!