In Spades

Style... in abundance

Little White Dresses Under $150

Need Supply Stelen dress

You guys, it is almost June.

I’ve amassed a collection of little white dresses over the years from glam to casual.  And if there’s one time to wear a LWD, it’s summertime.  There are some gorgeous ones on sale right now so I had to share my favorites under $150.

Most of these are cotton so you can dress them up or down.  I love a light-weight long-sleeved option too.  So chic with a pair of strappy block heeled sandals.  Go bold with your jewelry or throw on a straw hat for some added edge.  I’m loving these lucite bangles or a dramatic hat like this one.

Some of these LWD’s are part of Target’s upcoming designer collaboration.  It launches June 6th and they’re $50!

Voila, your summer uniform.

Little White Dresses Under $150

Memorial Day Sales

Current Elliott The Perfect Muscle Tee DressHappy Memorial Day!

We plan on spending the entire day outside – BBQ in the front yard, a bike ride and lots of nature excursions with the dog and toddler in tow.  Sending you all well wishes for a wonderful holiday and an extra special thank you to all the men and women who have served and continue to serve!

This weekend also kicks off the beginning of sale season, so I’m rounding up my favorites.  Below are items I’m coveting.  Some items I’ve already purchased – stay tuned for photos and reviews!

Need Supply

I’m dying over these tennis shoes. Such a rad Nike collaboration!

The subtle glitter on these sneakers is SO fun.

I own this dress and adore it.  See how I styled it here.

The block heeled sandals scream chic and can be paired with ANYTHING.

Levi’s

Now’s the time to stock up.  This style looks good on EVERYONE and is on sale in 9 washes.

This style is a classic and all 4 washes on sale are divine (the white is amazing for summer).

These are a recent addition for me (see how I styled them here) and I can’t get enough of their chic vibe.

You’ll live in these denim cutoffs this summer.  They also come in white.

Moda Operandi

They have tons of amazing swimwear on sale and I just picked up this bathing suit.  The sparkly fabric is insane!

This leopard print summer dress is too cute to pass up.

I’m dying over the mod 60’s vibe of this mini skirt.

This is the time to pounce on one of my favorite designers.  This dress is so gorgeous it hurts.

SSENSE

I just picked up these jeans and shared them on Stories.  You loved them too and I can attest that they are worth every penny.

They have one of the best sales on Dr. Marten’s.  I have my eye on these sandals.

These jeans have a high waist and edgy 90s vibe that I adore.  I own them and wear them a ton.

There’s a reason these jeans have a cult following.  I featured them here.  Get them while they’re on sale!

Fashion Friday


Happy Fashion Friday!  So much to discuss!

Target’s Next Designer Collaboration

First, Target is launching its next designer collaboration on June 6.  It will be available online starting at 12am PT.

They are featuring 3 designers: LoveShackFancy, Cushnie and Lisa Marie Fernandez.

All three brands will only offer dresses.  How perfect for summer!

Each dress averages about $50.

LoveShackFancy offers super feminine prints and silhouettes.  Think Free People’s older, more refined sister.

Cushnie is the posh, sexy boss babe.  I adore this color block slip dress.

Lisa Marie Fernandez is resortwear at its finest.  These are the dresses you wear from the pool to a fancy brunch.

Amazon Launches Common Threads

After trying to enter the luxury sector for a better part of a decade, Amazon finally got their wish.  Common Threads features storefronts for luxury designers like Phillip Lim and Jonathan Cohen.  The catch?  The designers get to dictate their pricing, images, marketing and overall look and feel of these virtual storefronts.  The benefit to designers?  Amazon’s robust supply chain and data capture.

Have we entered a new realm of luxury retail?

The Jerry Maguire Manifesto of the Fashion World

Heavy-hitting designers like Dries Van Noten and Tory Burch PLUS governing fashion bodies like the CFDA and British Fashion Council have sent a plea to the fashion world: revamp the fashion calendar.

These manifestos call for a slow down in production.  Rather than 6 collections per year, the revamp calls for just two: spring/summer and fall/winter.  Moreover, they want to adjust the release dates to actually fall within season.  So instead of seeing a winter coat on sale before you even need to wear it, this shift, if implemented, would put fashion back on a realistic time table.

What does it mean for you as a consumer?

Winter clothes being released in winter.  Summer clothes in summer.  Say goodbye to Black Friday, Cyber Monday and any other major shopping discount “holiday”.  Why?

Inventory will no longer sit in stores for months before it becomes relevant.  When it’s released in real-time, the cycle for discounts shortens.

An offshoot effect of this is luxury pricing.  Ever wonder why some brands get away with pricing a cotton hoodie at $900?  Technically, they don’t.  The 1% buys full price.  But the rest of us wait for it to go on sale (in say, the after Christmas markdowns) and buy it at 40-60% off.  That’s the price the designers expect to collect.

With a shift in the fashion calendar, luxury brands may be forced to reconsider their pricing models.

6th Blog Anniversary: Things I’m Afraid to Tell You

6th Blog AnniversaryWhile going through old files, my husband stumbled upon a video from 2009.

It was filmed on his handycam and showed me, in full hair and makeup, preparing for a photoshoot.  He catches me looking in the mirror and I lament to him that I don’t feel like shooting anymore.  I ask him to “turn the camera off”.

What I had envisioned for that shoot clearly wasn’t coming to fruition.  So I got frustrated and gave up.

There would be several stops and starts like this… for years.  I didn’t actually start In Spades until 2013.  And even once I did, I told no one about it for 6 months.  6 months!

Because I didn’t “reveal” myself to the blogging world until 6 months after launching, I consider May to be my blog anniversary month.  So…

Happy 6th Anniversary, In Spades!

I’ll be honest.  Each anniversary is different.  Some came and went without me even remembering.  Others were celebrated.

Here’s what I’ve learned after all these years

1. Just start.  Complete but imperfect will ALWAYS trump incomplete but perfect.  I wanted to start a blog 5 years before I actually did!  I waited 5 years to do something that brings me so much joy simply because I was scared it wouldn’t be perfect. Perfect doesn’t exist!

2. Be consistent.  This was another very difficult lesson for me to learn.  Prior to having a child, I averaged only 1 blog post per week and would only shoot 1 outfit at a time.  Now that I have a child (and am infinitely busier), I average 3 blog posts per week and shoot up to 8 outfits at a time.  I look back on how inefficient I was and can’t help but laugh.  I don’t know what it is, but it took me having a child (and being zapped of free time) to make me realize efficiency and consistency are paramount.  I no longer have time to hem and haw about how and when to do something.  I just have to DO IT or it won’t ever get done.

I love this quote about consistency and use it as my mantra:

“If only people understood how important it is to be consistent.  Everything that has value in life is a product of consistency.  Success, health, fitness, wealth, friendships, relationships, and all other aspirations are all about consistency.”

3. It takes a while to find your niche.  And that’s okay.  Some people go through life knowing exactly who they are and what they want and implement it to the “T”.  I am not one of those people.  My Fashion Friday series didn’t get developed until last year and it’s the piece that most perfectly envelopes my niche.

Fashion Friday really is who I am as a blogger – someone who cares deeply about brand history, the business of fashion, and the extreme importance of individual style.

4. Hone in on your true motivation.  I will be honest.  When I started In Spades, I fully aspired to be the next Chriselle Lim.  I had such a powerful belief that I would be a powerhouse, top 1% blogger.  Years of inconsistency and struggling to find my niche proved this was not going to be the case.

Sometimes I mourn this.  I think about what could have been.  What I thought would be.  Every time I see Chriselle sit front row at Paris Fashion Week and get massive deliveries of yet-to-be-released Givenchy my heart aches a little.

But then I think back to my true motivation.  Why did I start In Spades?  Interestingly, it was never about making money.  It was never about fame.

It was about communicating a love for an industry I deeply, deeply respect.  I have always felt fashion is the highest art form.  I’m motivated by what clothes teach us.  What they can achieve.  How they can transcend reality.  Clothing truly is transformative.

My motivation is to educate.  If I look at my end goal for In Spades, it’s that one day I will be able to call the fashion industry heavy hitters my peers.

The Moral of the Story

This quote by Ira Glass perfectly describes the old video that my husband found.  I’ve lived this quote.  I’m still living it.  Each post, each shoot, gets me closer to figuring out who I am as a creator.  It’s a never-ending journey.

“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”

Thank you to all who have followed along on this journey.  Your support truly means the world to me.

Life Lately

Janessa Leone Siro

Last month I shared a post about my life, lately.  It’s been one of my most popular posts of 2020 so I thought I would make it a monthly series.  This unprecedented time of coronavirus has definitely shifted my routines, priorities and attention.  Here is what I’ve been loving lately.

Binge-Worthy Shows

I thought I would start Tiger King, Cheer or Schitt’s Creek, but what has captured my attention of late is The Amazing Race.

It’s one of the only reality shows I enjoy, and although I’ve seen every season, it’s been awesome to go back and re-watch my favorites.

Here’s why.

I love to travel.  Since it’s going to be a long time before I can indulge my travel bug, The Amazing Race is the perfect solution.  I get to revisit my favorite cities and see parts of the world I’ve never visited.  The show does a great job of incorporating local customs and off-the-beaten-path venues.  My husband and I have been analyzing each episode to determine how well we’d do if we were on the race, haha!

Workouts

Last month I talked about my journey with BBG (the Bikini Body Guide).  In addition to these 30min circuit workouts I can do from my phone, we also invested in a Peloton.

I’ll be the first to say it’s a significant investment.  We do not plan on flying anywhere for the rest of 2020, nor do we plan on going back to the gym, so we decided to invest the money we would have spent on those things into a Peloton.

Has it been worth it?

1000%.  I can honestly say this is one of THE BEST investments we’ve ever made.  My husband and I have both ridden the bike every single day since we got it.  You can choose between cycling classes ranging from only 5min up to 45min.  They have low impact, HIIT, rides with arm intervals, and every musical genre you can imagine.  I love having the camaraderie of a group class from the instructors (my favorites are Robyn Arzon and Cody Rigsby).

I seriously don’t ever plan to return to a normal class unless I get to see friends and meet for brunch afterward!

Fashion

Now that the weather is warming up, I’m spending more time in shorts.  I wrote a review on my favorite denim cutoffs and they have all been on constant rotation.  From high waisted with a longer inseam, to the coziest pair ever, there’s a pair for every summer activity.

Straw hats are another must-have for me right now.  I just picked up this one and it’s a dream.  A true gardener’s hat (TONS of coverage) but elevated and stylish.

Sandals are the last must-have in my summer arsenal, and I’m all about the platform.  I desperately want these, but think I may try these instead because they’re on sale for $70.

Shop my Summer Favorites
Life Lately

Two-plus months into quarantine life and things are starting to shift a little.  I went to a coffee shop for the first time to grab an iced coffee to go and it felt so indulgent and lovely.

We also made the decision to utilize outside childcare, something we haven’t done since quarantine started (hello, grandma and grandpa’s house).  Having time to catch up on chores, do a long workout, and sit at my computer uninterrupted felt so foreign – it was amazing.

As we move forward into the new normal, I’m discovering new things that I consider must-haves (journaling, time to exercise).  Slowing down has made me more reflective of all the blessings in my life.  I hope you are doing well and staying safe!