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Life and Style by Tammy Leopaldi

DATE NIGHT FAVORITES

 

When I was a teenager my mother NEVER let me wear ripped jeans. NEVER! EVER! She had fashion rules that she made me abide by. Minimal black (because she didn’t like the color black worn on young girls) and no distressed denim. It’s funny because as I dress Summer I kind of stick to these same rules. I don’t put her in much black and all. I like neutrals and brights when I dress her. Guess that rule got passed down the line! However, her rule of no ripped jeans got tossed out the window once I moved out. Probably one of my biggest go to trends, can’t live without, synonymous with my look is a distressed pair of jeans. I love that you can dress them down or dress them up depending on the occasion. Throw them on with flip flops for errands or match them w/a flowy shirt and high wedges for date night like I did here.  I often think my friends and family must place secret bets on whether I’ll have ripped jeans on the next time they see me. What can I say? I just feel good in them! In a future post I will feature my favorite ripped jeans. Stay tuned for that!Read More

Why I Started Blogging

Top New Jersey life and style blog, House of Leo, talks about the reasons to start blogging

If you are reading this then you have discovered my blog and have taken the time to come check it out and for that I have to say thank you! This is hands down the scariest thing I have ever done. Most people have a passion, a hobby they love. Hate to admit it but one of mine is shopping. I know on the surface that sounds so tacky and cliché. But truly I do. I love putting outfits together on a budget. It’s like a high for me to put something together that I truly love and know I did it for the look for less. I do it for myself and for Summer (Erik on the other hand…well let’s just say he tends to splurge on his clothes). I love when friends come to me for shopping or outfit advice. I love scrolling through Instagram and getting inspired by other fashion lovers. For so long I’ve wanted to share my great finds, my great outfits with others, but so much has held me back. Would I seem full of myself? Would I look like a narcissist? Would my friends think less of me? Would people think I lack style and character?Read More

CLASSIC AND EDGE WITH DENIM AND TULLE

Shop my look: GAP denim shirt / Steve Madden boots / Tulle skirt (old) similar here, here / StitchFix necklace (sold out) similar here, here /MAC lipstick in Relentlessly Red

Shop Summer’s look: Children’s Place skirt / Old Navy shirt / Carter’s boots / GAP hair bow

Shop Erik’s look: Hugo Boss similar sneakers / Alternative v neck  /

Photo Credit: April Narby

Put on a tulle skirt and you instantly feel sassy and girly. There’s something so sweet and fun when I see girls wear full skirts. I just love how they frame the body.

A few ways to style a full skirt:

  1. Add a tight tank, tucked in and finish it off with a heel or wedges. Add a blazer if it’s a more formal event.
  2. Wear a crop top, and finish w/opaque tights and wedge booties if it’s cooler out. Finish the look with a leather jacket.
  3. Wear a button down tied in the front for a more casual feel.

For this look I went with option 3. Had I been going to a dinner or more formal event I would have gone with option 1 or 2. But I wanted to dress the skirt down and make it casual and fun. The denim shirt tied in the front helped tone the skirt down and I added combat boots to give the look an edge factor. I had so much fun in this outfit! You can’t get away with tulle skirts everyday but styled this way you totally can.

BONUS: If you can get your hair into a sock bun with this look it’s absolute perfection!

A little about this photoshoot: My amazing photographer, April Narby, took these on the boardwalk in Asbury Park. It was so cold, windy and misty that day. I had my hair perfectly blown out but it didn’t hold at all because of the weather AND once we got to the shoot I realized Summer’s tights were navy blue and NOT black! Talk about stress! All in all though we had a great time and even got Erik to make an appearance in some of the photos. I’ll link some of his clothing, but warning…he spends WAY MORE on his clothes than I do!

Thanks for stopping by!

XO! Tammy

 

 

 

DENIM VEST FOR A SIMPLE COUNTRY LOOK

 

Shop my look: My dress is old. Similar  here,here, and here / Similar Vest/ My boots are old. Similar Matisse cowboy boots.

Shop Summer’s look: Similar Old Navy Dress / Similar Payless Boots

Photo Credit: April Narby

These photos were taken awhile back but the look is timeless and many of the items featured can still be purchased today. That’s why I love classic pieces. Not only can they transition from season to season but even year to year.

Not that I cringe at what other people wear, but I often think better choices could be made for long term use. Example, if I see someone wear a bold pattern dress (think bright colors, busy patterns) that dress will leave a lasting impression. If I see her in that dress again I’ll instantly remember I had seen it before. I don’t know about you, but I want to change up my look when people see me. I don’t want to feel like I wore that same old dress again and look exactly like I did at the last event I wore it to, but I also don’t want to buy a dress that only gets worn once or twice.  The key here is to buy simple dresses (think neutrals colors and solid colors) that can be worn several different ways and also add in classic pieces such as the all American denim jacket or denim vest.

I remember my first denim vest. It was from the GAP and I wore the heck out of it back in high school. Nothing is more casual cool then adding denim into an outfit. If you don’t have one yet consider adding in a denim vest into your wardrobe. It can be worn over a short dress. It’s completely changes the look when worn over a maxi dress. I will often wear a maxi dress to work with the denim vest worn over and it instantly becomes work appropriate. Hides those open back dresses too that are just a little too risqué for the office. It can add edge to an outfit or add a touch of country flair as seen in this photoshoot.

The must have dress I’m talking about in today’s post is a flowy, bohemian solid white dress. I am not generally bohemian in how I dress, but gosh how I love flowy pieces in light material. You can do so much with this dress. You can style it as I did here with a denim vest and cowboy boots. You can make it beachy and add cute flat sandals or wedges. And once you’ve loved it enough you can turn it into a beach or pool coverup. I find I do that to a lot of the pieces I have that have seen better days but I’m not quite ready to retire yet! Heck this one is so comfy I could probably turn it into a nightgown (not really) but you get my point.

And this is a perfect time of year to add some simple, flowy dresses into your wardrobe. Don’t count out surfer brands such as Roxy, Oneill, Volcom, etc. They are perfect for those of us who are petite.

XO! Tammy

TIMELESS FREE PEOPLE DRESS

 

Shop my look: Free People (sold out) similar dress/Boots (similar)/ Grace & Lace socks

Shop Summer’s look: GAP denim jacket/Old Navy skirt/Old Navy cami

Photo credit: April Narby

There is nothing I love more than finding a dress that can be worn all year long and styled different ways to change the look. Over the years I have bought so many dresses that I only wore once and now they just sadly hang in my closet because they are either too trendy, no longer in style or I simply just don’t feel good in it. Now when I look for a dress I make sure it can potentially be styled different ways so I can wear it more than once. This dress has been a dream to style. Here I added a belt, lace socks and tall boots for the fall. You could easily add a denim vest and wedges for spring and summer.

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