The Elevated Basic: 1 Top 3 Outfits
Whenever I am making a purchase I try to visualize myself wearing the piece a few different ways so I can get my money worth and feel good about the purchase. When I saw this top I got so excited thinking about all of the looks I could put together and it inspired me to put together a blog post with those options! This tee is an elevated basic and I am so obsessed with it, the touches of ruffled eyelet and bell sleeves make it super feminine and fun. If this top does not tickle your fancy then you can recreate this look with any of your favorite white tops in your closet! I have also rounded up a bunch of other elevated white basics that are priced so well and super versatile, too!
To see the first way I wore it CLICK HERE to check out my blog post for the full look! Keep scrolling to see the other two looks and for links to all details on this look!
I have so much fun mixing and matching the pieces in my closet to create a bunch of different looks! One thing I look for when trying to find versatile pieces is fun details but also neutral colors, that way it can match a variety of colors. I also like to find pieces that don’t have details on the hem because that can limit the number of ways it can be worn. For example, if I get a shirt with a peplum I know that it can only be worn with pants and certain skirts, it cannot be tucked in so it limits the ways to wear it.
As much as I love buying new clothes I also feel like it is really important to use what you have! All of these outfits can be applied throughout the Spring and Summer and the number of looks that can be created makes me feel good about the purchases I have made. As I have gotten older I have learned that basics are the foundation of a great wardrobe to really build a closet that keeps working for you.
Shop these looks:
Shop some of my other favorite elevated basic tops:
Why I Cut My Hair
The last year has been one of the best and worst of my life. I gained a brother in law and a nephew and I also got to marry the love of my life at the most special place I could ever think of and go to Greece for the most amazing honeymoon I could have ever asked for. I also started my own company and have been working through the ups and downs of doing so. Thinking back on these things truly make me so happy and they have all impacted my life in the most positive ways making me grow as a person more than ever before. There is always bad that comes with the good and unfortunately, that meant lots of loose. Unexpectedly, our pup of 5 years had to be put down due to cancer, it was really sudden and the most heartbreaking moment of my entire life. He was my first dog, our first dog together, we got him in California and he traveled the country with us. He was the love of our lives and it was a hard pill to swallow. While dealing with the grief my paternal grandmother was in the hospital because of cancer as well, after a 6-month battle the sickness got the best of her and she passed. About 23 days after that her husband and my paternal grandfather passed because of a broken heart. I went from having the best year of my life to the worst year of my life in the blink of an eye and I struggled to keep up with everything, mourn these losses and process it all.
Time has been helpful in moving forward but I was craving a change and I could figure out exactly what that entailed. Once I made a hair appointment I started thinking about what I wanted to do and thought about a dramatic chop, then when I was sitting in that chair I was inspired to go with it. I didn’t know if I was going to love it or hate it but I did not want to do the same old thing I have always done. I know it doesn’t seem like a big deal but anyone who has grown their hair super long knows how much time it takes, I would be undoing that and starting all over. Once I thought about it as starting fresh I knew this is the change I needed to move forward once and for all. I needed to pull myself out of the rut I was in and take charge of my life again. Instead of letting my emotions keep control over me I wanted to flip the script and do something unexpected.
Once my hair was cut I felt like a new woman, I don’t know how to explain it but something felt different. It’s like all of the baggage I was carrying suddenly felt really light. In this past year, I have grown as a person in multiple ways, more than I ever had before and this haircut has symbolized the new me. The future was so fuzzy and scary for so long but it is as if the clouds have lifted and my three new angels have given me the strength to move forward. Through the hard times, my relationships have grown stronger than ever before and my faith has become a bigger part of my life, I am finally able to see what is truly important and that is a blessing. By no means is my life perfect, there is lots of room for improvement and I am very aware of that, but the awareness of the fact that life is full of good and bad things has helped put everything into perspective. Life is short and change is inevitable so embracing new experiences and taking chances are important to me.
Over the past 6 months, as I was watching those closest to me leave this earth, I struggled to understand why this was happening to me and my dad kept reminding me that this is life. We have to go through the hard times to truly find happiness in the good times. It is scary to not know what is going to come next but there is also some beauty in that, it makes me never want to take anything for granite and continue fighting for my dreams to make my life the best it can be.
This haircut symbolizes so much more than a change in appearance – it is a fresh new perspective on some very difficult times, it is me shedding the bad and taking in all the good. I feel ready to move forward and take life head-on. I know there are going to be sad times, hard times and times that I am weak and that is okay. But those times are not going to take control of me, they are going to inspire me to be as happy ask I can in the moments that mean the most to me. I am not sure if any of this makes any sense but I hope at last one of you can relate to this on some level or in the very least inspired someone to make a change that they have been thinking about for a while and embracing it! I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
xo
Let me know what you think!