5 Spring Essentials

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Saturday was one of those days when I sat in the reserved section at a fashion show and interviewed a celebrity. You know, a typical weekend. In case you don’t recognize the adorable little man in the picture above, it’s Nick Verreos, who was on Season 2 of Project Runway. And on Saturday, he had the fabulous opportunity to meet ME and host a fashion show at Macy’s featuring “5 Spring Essentials.”

Nick was an amazing host. He interacted with the crowd and the models and explained each trend and how to wear it. And did I mention he’s adorable? And that he had a pocket square in his pink seersucker blazer? If I were a boy, I would want his outfit. Hell, I want his outfit anyway.

Oh right, the trends! Here they are. And be sure to check out some of the highlights of my interview with Nick at the end of this post!

1. Lace

I love me some lace in any season. I would definitely wear this lace top, maybe with faux leather leggings (because on me, this shirt would be a tunic), or just plain old skinny jeans. I would also wear it with the sassy face this model is making.

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2. Peplum

A friend asked me recently when the peplum trend was going to end. Apparently she’s not a fan. The answer is: not yet. And I’m happy about it because I love peplum, including this fancy dress (which I couldn’t find online, but here is a similar one).

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3. Printed Pants

Not to brag, but I totally wore polka dot jeans to this event without even knowing the printed pant was one of the spring essentials. I am so on top of it. I’m not totally sure how I feel about these floral jeans for myself, but I did like how the model wore them.

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4. Dresses (Shifts, Sheaths, and Shirts)

The best part about this portion of the show was hearing Nick try to say “shifts, sheaths, and shirts.” But the dresses were pretty cute too. I liked the color combo in this shift dress, and I found it in coral online, too!

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5. Pullovers

The outfit below led to a long tangent about “Flashdance,” which was good because talking about sweaters can only be so interesting.

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Finale!

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So there you have it! I think my only complaint about the show was that all the models were tall and skinny. Since the audience consisted of Midwest department store shoppers, it would have been nice to throw one petite and one plus size model into the mix. But that’s just one petite person’s opinion. The show was seriously fun and I’m more excited than ever for spring. And of course it’s still freezing. Fantastic.

But wait. There’s more…

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I was lucky enough to get to spend a few minutes with Nick in the beautiful ambiance of the Macy’s conference room to ask him any questions I wanted! We had a pretty interesting conversation. He told me that he wears H&M underwear, and he favors Indiana to win the NCAA Tournament this year. Keep that in mind when you’re filling out your brackets! Here’s a little more of what we chatted about:

Q: What makes you stop in the middle of the street, style-wise?

A: Somebody who’s working it from head to toe. I travel all over the country and I love it when somebody took the time to work it. It doesn’t mean they have to look especially fabulous. It could be a kid with 18 piercings and a punk mohawk and combat boots. I always say go 110%. If you’re only doing 95%, stay home! Being fearless with your style – no matter what kind of style – makes me want to cross the street faster and say, “who are you?!”

Q: What other Project Runway contestant would you like to dress you?

A: That’s a good question! I would say Jay McCarroll. He’s very quirky and fun. He does great prints, and I love prints. He just came out with a sock line. Printed socks! In airports, I get fabulous reactions!

Q: The name of my blog is Sarah’s Real Life because I document the outfits I actually wear. So I wanted to ask you, what do you wear on a typical day when you’re just dressing for yourself?

A: If I’m working a lot at my studio, I like a comfy pair of skinny jeans, and I roll ‘em up. And I go for the American Apparel deep V t-shirt. I like the deep V, the plunging neckline! Then I might just have a little blazer, roll up the sleeves, and then loafers. Sockless. I do Miami Vice Eurotrash. That’s my look. I’m owning it.

Q: What is your guilty pleasure TV show?

The Daily Show. I’m obsessed. And then BBC World News. I love finding out what’s happening in the world. The BBC makes me pretend I’m in Europe when I’m not. I need my tea and crumpets! I wish I could say the Housewives and American Idol, but I don’t watch much reality TV shows. I think it’s because I’ve been on one so I know too much. I almost feel like I can hear the producers saying, “We need you to start something with that person!” So it’s hard for me to watch. I think that’s why I go for John Stewart and BBC World News!

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Just one more reminder: he’s adorable.

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Everywhere. However, opinions expressed are my own!

Bracelets for Small Wrists

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Much like most of the rest of me, my wrists are very petite. They’re great for looking dainty while I’m fanning myself on my fainting couch, but they can make bracelet-wearing a challenge. Bangles slide up, they slide down, they get stuck on my hand…OK that’s pretty much it, but it’s still annoying.

I used to buy bracelets without trying them on, which was a big mistake because I ended up not wearing them once I realized how distractingly large they were. I remember Googling “bracelets for small wrists” at one point and didn’t find anything helpful. Now that I’ve found a few favorite bracelets that work for my small wrists, I thought I’d share my findings and fill that little void on the interwebs.

For reference, my wrists are just slightly over 6″ around.

Madewell

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These are the only three bracelets I have from Madewell so far, but I’ve tried on others and they fit very consistently. It’s hard to find cuffs that fit skinny wrists, and I like how Madewell cuffs are simple but unique.

Marc by Marc Jacobs (rubber)

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This bracelet is actually more average sized, but since it’s rubber – not metal – it’s light and doesn’t fall down too far even when my arm is dropped. Marc makes a couple different styles and colors of this bracelet (changing each season), and they’re available at various upscale department stores.

Nordstrom Juniors’

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I’ve also had good luck with funky, trendy bracelets in the Juniors’ department at Nordstrom. The three in this picture are all stretchy and fit nice and snug!

J. Crew Pavé Link Bracelet (with link removed)

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After seeing the popular J. Crew pavé link bracelet a zillion times, I decided I simply had to have my own even though it was way too big. You can’t remove the big pavé links from this bracelet, but there is a little link that connects the last big link to the fastener. My father-in-law removed that piece easily with needle nose pliers and sidecuts.

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Voila!

A Note on Watches

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I love the look of oversized or men’s style watches, but on me the face alone is wider than my wrist. I realized that a “normal” sized watch has an oversized look when it’s on a small wrist, and a traditional adjustable leather strap makes it easy to adjust. Anne Klein makes some cute and affordable options, like the one I’m wearing here.

Forever 21

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The quality can be inconsistent, but Forever 21 has a ton of stretchy bracelet options that almost always fit well on me. Since they’re cheap, I don’t worry too much about how long they’ll last. It’s just fun to mix and match different styles.

Nail colors: Essie Tart Deco and Penny Talk

New Additions (updated Jan. 2014)…

Since writing this post back in March 2013, I’ve added more bracelets to my collection! I want to keep this post relevant by adding new options for all of you skinny-armed girls, so here are even more petite bracelets to shop! Let me know if you know of other stores/brands that are good for small wrists! If you are a retailer and you want your products featured on this post, please contact me.

ASOS Charm Bracelet

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This little bow bracelet is so damn dainty there’s no wrist it could possibly overwhelm! There are quite a few links, so it’s adjustable for a range of sizes. I removed all but the last 3 or so links so there isn’t a long chain hanging down. (This bracelet was provided to me courtesy of ASOS.)

Dainty Wrist Jewelry

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Dainty Wrist Jewelry is an online shop that specializes in – you guessed it – bracelets and watches for people with very small wrists. Each product’s description will let you know what size wrist it is made for. (This watch was provided to me courtesy of Dainty Wrist Jewelry.)

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