When in doubt, cuff ’em, tuck ’em, and go!

When in doubt, cuff ’em, tuck ’em, and go!

Ya gotta love being either too short or too tall for clothes, am I right?

In my case, I am always a little too short for clothes that aren’t sized “petite” or “short” and lets be honest with ourselves, there is always a piece of clothing that doesn’t come in your size. Rather than trying to make myself fit into clothes, I am a firm believer in making clothes fit me 😏. When I find that my shirts or even my pants are too long, I “cuff ’em, tuck ’em, and go”.

What does that even mean? 

Well let’s take shirts/sweaters for example, if you have short arms, like me, you may find yourself constantly pulling up your sleeves of feeling like you have no waist due to your extra long top. This drives me absolutely crazy, especially when I am doing something with my hands!

To solve this issue I have learned to cuff my sleeves, tuck the front, and be on my merry way out the door. I do this with pants as well. I personally do not like to tuck my pants in my booties (knee boots are different story); therefore, I cuff my pants–only when needed.

When cuffing my sleeves I try to follow the wrist rule. When I stretch my arms out, I want to be able to see my wrist bone. I also cuff only once or twice. I don’t like to add too much bulk (especially when layering).

When cuffing my jeans I take into account a couple of things. First, my shoes. Are they high? If so, I try to cuff them just above to where a little bit of skin is showing. Are they low? If so, I definitely want to go just above my ankle–this adds height! I also consider the jean and how I want the cuff to look. Sometimes, I go for a thicker cuff. This is to add visual interest. Other times, I cuff at just the hem line. This typically depends on the top I pair it with or my mood haha!

This “cuff ’em, tuck ’em, and go” technique not only adds visual interest, but it looks purposeful and thus, nobody will even notice that the clothes you’re wearing weren’t exactly  “made for you” 😉.

With that being said, I pulled together some examples of outfits for you guys in which I have had to “cuff ’em, tuck ’em, and go” and I truly wouldn’t have it any other way ❤️!

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Photo 1: Flannel | Turtle Neck | Similar Jeans / (Petite Option)| Boots | Bag | Sunglasses

Photo 2: Similar Sweater | Jeans / (Petite Option)| Boots

Photo 3: Blazer | Turtle Neck | Jeans / (Petite Option)| Boots | Bag |Sunglasses

For reference, I am 5 ft tall. In photo one, I am wearing petite, photo two I am wearing regular, and photo three I am wearing regular!

*This also works with clothes that are slightly too short. Don’t get me wrong, there is a point of no return with some clothing, but if things are slightly too short, you can “cuff ’em” and pair them with higher boots to make the outfit look more purposeful and if you have high waisted pants you might even be able to tuck ’em 😉!

 

How to Maximize Your Suitcase this Summer

How to Maximize Your Suitcase this Summer

Ok, raise your hand if you’re an over-packer 🙋🏻. I mean yeah…I tend to over pack ok? It’s something I am actively working on. With that being said, I have tried a few different tips and tricks that I have found to be very helpful. I decided to condense these for you into one post!

Number 1:

Research the climate. This is probably something you already do, but when you’re packing for vacation, you should definitely research what the weather will be like, temperature, humidity, that sort of thing.

I am going Holden Beach soon and it looks like the weather is going to be in the 80s with humidity at about 45%. Now, this is in NC and it is HOT. In my suitcase, I have packed three pair of pants. This is because I typically find myself getting chilly when going out to eat or going in to stores. If you do not get chilly easily, your suitcase may look a little different. Also, if I am on the beach, I won’t be wearing anything but a bathing suit and sunscreen 😎.

Number 2:

Make a list. What? Make a list? Are you kidding? Nope, it actually REALLY helps me to make a list. Now, you may be thinking what a time consuming thing to do when packing for vacation. But I decided that if I made a realistic list of items I wanted to pack, it would save me time in the long run.

I literally used to just grab stuff off of hangers and throw it in my suitcase…big mistake. I rarely wore ANY of it and ended up washing it all when I got home and taking up too much time to unpack.

Ok, with that being said here was my list:

  1. Basic tops (tee shirt, button downs, tanks)
  2. Shorts
  3. Pants
  4. Bathing suits
  5. Shoes (limit 5 pair-this was a personal preference, you can limit this even more if you want)
  6. Accessories (a good rule to follow with accessories is to pick some that will go with MULTIPLE outfits. I also limit myself to two purse options)

I am a visual person so I layed out all the pieces I wanted to bring:

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P.S. I packed two other swim suits, but wasn’t able to find a picture of them! The leopard swim suit can be found here. My other swimsuit is by Kortni Jeane!

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The pink and green earrings are by Jules Co.

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(FYI, you can find the linkable items here)

 

Number 3:

Make sure you select items that can be mixed and matched. I treated this like a capsule. Making sure my pants worked with multiple tops and vice versa. With that being said I came up with, drumroll please,

44 outfit options!

I know…probably overkill, but hey, I told you this gal likes options! See below all the outfits I put together!

Everlane Jeans styled 8 ways!

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Madewell Overalls styled 6 ways!

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Madewell Shorts styled 8 ways!

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Abercrombie Pants styled 8 ways!

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Madewell Slim Wide Leg Jeans styled 8 ways!

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Madewell Midi Dress styled 6 ways (this exact dress is sold out, but here are some similar options: Cami Tier Midi Dress, Silk Cross-Back Midi Dress, Lanhtropy Linen Cactus Button-Front Dress)!

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Number 4:

Have “fold awareness” (I just made that up). Be sure that you are folding your clothes in the most efficient way. For example, Marie Kondo folds like a champ. Now, her whole angle is to love your clothes and it isn’t about making your clothing more compact, but for me it is 😂. I want to fit AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE in my suitcase that I share with my husband 😳.

Bonus tip: Make sure your cover the bottoms of your shoes as well, a good trick is to use shower caps or plastic bags. Shoes are germ-y (haha). You could pack your shoes in a completely different bag as well, which I have done before, but I try to limit packing to three bags.

  1. Clothes
  2. Toiletries (including makeup)
  3. Towels (for the beach and bathing)

I hope this somewhat helped you! If you want to see the final product of my suitcase, let me know and I will post some photos! Be sure and share any tips and tricks you have with me, I would love to hear them!

A Short Girl’s Guide to Madewell Jeans

A Short Girl’s Guide to Madewell Jeans

Madewell is perhaps my FAVORITE clothing store. I first discovered them while shopping–yes, actually shopping in person not online😂! Their visual display window caught my eye. As I walked in and fell even deeper in love with their overall style, I was a little taken back by the prices.

Sticker shock is an understatement. But, as I often do, I told myself I would try their clothes on “for fun”.

THE JEANS FIT LIKE A GLOVE…A GLOVE I tell you!

I have a very difficult time buying jeans, because of my body type. I am 5′-0″ and have, what I like to call, a thicker frame. My thighs and calfs have always been bigger, I credit that to my soccer playing years ⚽️. So anytime I find jeans, or shirts for that matter, that fit me well I tend to want to purchase ASAP!

The jeans were perfect and I just knew I had to buy them. I told myself that I would purchase them and they would be my “good” pair of jeans. Little did I know that I would be purchasing about 5 pair after that…and counting.

The key with Madewell is to purchase on sale. First of all, they are currently doing a promotion where you can bring in ANY old pair of jeans and you get $20 off your next jean purchase. They also have sales quite frequently and you can find their jeans at Nordstrom.

*Side note: Madewell offers petite sizing (this sometimes means that everything is sized differently, but a Madewell associate told me that their “petite” is basically a “short” meaning they cut off a few inches). Correct me if I am wrong on that!

Now, let’s break these jeans down shall we?

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These are the 10″ High-Rise Skinny Jeans in Hanna Wash

These are one of my favorite Madewell jeans. They fit so good and those pockets that Madewell has literally make me feel so tiny. I am pretty short and have a lot of curves; these jeans definitely enhance those curves and make me feel super good! They are tight fitted, but slightly flare at the ankle. I love them with a cute bootie or even a sock boot!

 

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These are the Roadtripper Jeans in Jansen Wash

These babies are only $75 which is pretty cheap for Madewell. Plus, as I mentioned earlier, if you donate a pair of jeans, you’ll get $20 off! I love this wash, you can dress them up or down! They fit very well, but I have found them to be the stretchiest of all the Madewell jeans. I would recommend sizing down!

 

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These are the 10″ High-Rise Skinny Jeans: Drop-Hem Edition and they are currently only $59.99, but there are limited sizes so hurry!

These were the first Madewell jeans I ever purchased–the ones I mentioned up top 👆. They are my favorite of all time, probably slightly due to the fact that they introduced me to a whole new world of jeans and partly due to the fact that they go with just about anything. They’re comfy too–I hate jeans that are high waisted and feel like they are cutting you in half when you sit down, these aren’t like that! The button detail add so much visual interest when you tuck a cute top. They also have a cute detail at the ankle that makes them pop from just any old pair of jeans.

 

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These are the Wide-Leg Crop Jeans in Finney Wash

Talk about the perfect summer jean…these are it. I am really digging the wide leg trend and these hug in all the right spots. Another awesome thing about these jeans is that they can totally transition to fall/winter. They look great with a cute sock boot and dressy top to give off a modern 70s vibe. These jeans fit nice and tight to your waist and start to flare right at the high to elongate your legs and make you look smaller around the waist!

 

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These are the 9″ High-Rise Skinny Jeans: Seamed Step-Hem Edition

I have to say that these are my least favorite. Although I love them, they fit big and I got the wrong size; however, they are a great weekend, errands to run, baseball game to attend, carpool duty jean! They offer some visual interest with the front leg seam and look extra cute with some sneakers! The drop hem and light color are nice for a dressed down look.

 

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These are the 10″ High-Rise Skinny Jeans: Drop Step-Hem Edition

These are also on sale for $59.99 and they have a lot more size options! When I purchased these, they didn’t have any petite in stock, but luckily, Madewell hems FOR FREE…yes, free! You also get to pick the hem you want! So I got these bad boys hemmed and we both lived happily ever after 💕! They have a similar fit to the 10″ High-Rise Skinny Jeans: Drop-Hem Edition , but I would say these are little less stretchy. Is it just me or is this totally a Christmas day outfit?

There ya have it, my Madewell jeans explained! I hope this helps you with any future purchases from Madewell and remember they’re an investment piece 😏.