Girls Bouffant Slips | Sophia's Style

Petticoat Slips

You know what word I never get to use?  Bouffant.  In fact, I don't think I've ever even said that word out loud, I only ever read it.  According to Wikipedia it's a hairstyle, "the bouffant was popular in Western culture in the 1960s, when it was created with the help of back-combing and large amounts of hair spray."  Wiki also says the the style is suspected to have originated in France, where it was developed because Marie Antoinette wanted her hair to look thicker.  Fascinating.  Girls bouffant slips are used for the purpose of making skirts look fuller.  They have without a doubt been around longer than Marie Antoinette's thin hair, so I kind of feel like the word "bouffant" should reference the slips before the hairdo. 

Anyhow, enough rambling about word origins, the purpose of today's blog is for me to remind you that you might want to get petticoat slips to go with all the pretty Christmas dresses you'll be buying.  Sophia's Style dresses are made to be stunning as they are, but an extra fluffy skirt always looks extra adorable. 

In other news, did you know that as of this week, Sophia's Style is carrying a whole new line of absolutely gorgeous dresses by Sweetie Pie?  Just look at how pretty these dresses are! 

This blog was first posted at Trendy Girls Fashion Blog.

Jessi

Girls Sleepwear | Sophia's Style

 

Girls Sleepwear

I don't know about everyone else, but all I want to do today is curl up and take a nap.  I don't know why, I went to bed at a very reasonable hour last night, I should be ready to rock today.  Maybe it's because I've been browsing through our girls sleepwear and it all looks so soft and cozy. 

I especially love this red nightgown by Laura Dare.  It looks so pretty, perfect for the holidays, I can just imagine a happy little girl wearing it while sitting on the floor next to the Christmas tree opening up her presents. 

Also, I really love these black and white houndstooth pajamas by Mad Sky.  They're very pretty, and I found them in the baby girl sleepwear section.  I love the collar and the pink trim, but my favorite part is the design of the top, it's so unique and girly! 

Looking at all the cute pajamas reminds me of how much I loved bedtime stories when I was little (and still to this day).  Both of my parents to me whenever they got a chance, because there was nothing I loved more than stories.  My favorite book was Summer of the Monkeys, by Wilson Rawls.  He also wrote Where the Red Fern Grows- which is beautiful and made me cry.  My dad used to doze off while he was reading, like right in the middle of a sentence, and whenever I woke him up he'd say "I was just resting my eyes!"  Do you read to your kids?  What books are their favorites?

This blog was first posted at Trendy Girls Fashion Blog. 

Jessi

Good Morning Monday!

Boutique Girls Clothes

Good morning!  How was everyone's weekend?  Mine was great!  On Friday I went out for a fancy dinner with a friend who just got home from Afghanistan.  It was wonderful seeing him, and even more wonderful knowing he's home safe.  Then, on Saturday night I went to a super swanky club to see a DJ from Sweden.  Sunday was spent organizing my closet and reading F. Scott Fitzgerald (not simultaneously).  All in all, it was a very successfull weekend, and now I feel ready to tackle Monday. 

Project Finish Christmas Shopping Early is going pretty well so far.  I've determined what I want to give both of my parents' and my brother, and I've decided what to tell my father to get for my mother (I always wonder, what happens to moms who don't have daughters around to help out the dads and brothers?).  Now, I just need to decide what to get my future sister-in-law... would baby girl clothes be too presumptuous of me?  Perhaps, but she could save them until they're ready for kids!  When I send my wishlist to her, item number one is going to say "A Niece."  Item number two will say, "Twins." 

Since I probably won't have the gall to actually buy baby clothes for my brother's fiancee, you should take advantage of Sophia's Style boutique girls clothes for me.  Sophia's Style is the most adorable girls clothing store on the internet.  It's basically a sweet little boutique that you can access from your living room. 

Also, from now until Wednesday, you can save 25% on an order by signing up for our emailing list here.  Make sure you place that order asap, the code expires on Thursday! 

This blog was first posted at Trendy Girls Fashion Blog. 

Jessi

5 Tips for Flawless Family Photos!



Use flash outdoors and shoot vertical

The holidays are on their way, and since virtually everyone loves pictures, I put together a list of 5 tips to help you get great pictures of your family this holiday season!  Some of these are things I've learned from experience, and some are things I found out about by asking one of my old photography professors about his tricks, so rest assured- they're all actually tried and true. 


1. Use your flash outdoors.  Even- no, especially when there's enough light already.  This creates fill lighting on your subjects, so shadows won't look overly dark.  It's especially kind to do this when photographing adults, it softens the light and you'll get far more flattering photos of everyone's faces. 



Move the subject off-center


2. Move your subject off center.  Having the subject of your photo centered in the frame can cause the image to look, well, rather dull.  Try to move whoever or whatever you're taking the photo of slightly higher or lower and/or a little to one side of the frame.  Make sure you focus your lens on the subject first, then move them off center, that way they are still in focus when you take the photo. 

3. Get close.  You can't just zoom in, your pictures will look grainy.  You have to get close to your subject.


Get close, and don't pose

 4. Shoot vertical. Turn the camera sideways and shoot vertical pictures, a lot of times this allows your subject to fill the frame, rather than just getting their face and two feet of the wall behind them.

5.  Don't pose, try to catch candids.  Don't tell anyone to hold still, most cameras have a motion setting, just let them interact and start shooting when no one's paying attention. 

More importantly than any of these tips, however, is to have fun taking pictures!  Let everyone have a turn being the photographer, and you'll be surprised how many fun, silly, and fantastic photos you end up with! 

This blog was first posted at Trendy Girls Fashion Blog.

Jessi

Yes, that's a photo of a beach towel, and yes, this is November. Let me explain...

I'm always telling you to buy things early, get ahead, take advantage of off-season sales, etc.  Well, our girls swimwear is on sale, because unless you're lucky enough to live in a tropical climate, no one is doing any swimming right now.  So I really recommend that you check out our baby girl swimsuits and little girl's swimwear, while practically everything is on sale for less than $10.  

To make myself look less crazy, I've come up with a list of things your kids can do with swimwear and beach accessories during the winter:

1. They can use beach towels as magic carpets and pretend to fly.

2. They can use their beach towels to make tents, and pretend to camp.

Ok, those were the only two I could come up with.  I'm crazy.  But our swimwear is so cheap right now!  Take advantage, you'll thank me next July!

This blog was first posted at Trendy Girls Fashion Blog. 

Jessi

Girls School Uniforms | Sophia's Style

School Uniforms For Girls

Last night I had to furiously clean my entire apartment because we just got new management and they're doing inspections today.  Granted, they probably aren't going to raise my rent just because all my dishes aren't done or my kitchen floor hasn't been mopped in ages, but I'm on month to month right now and I feel like I can't be too careful.  Also, I secretly got a kitten about six months ago and never paid a pet deposit, so I'm hoping the tidiness of my residence will help them to overlook that paragraph in the lease agreement. 

Anyway, there is nothing more satisfying than waking up and getting ready for work in a sparkling clean apartment.  It's easier to focus when everything around you is in order.  Tonight my plan is to get all my laundry done, so I'll have clean clothes to go with my clean home.  I also need to replace some of the more basic clothing items in my closet that are starting to look a bit shabby. 

Speaking of wardrobe items that get so much wear that they sometimes need to be replaced, how are your girls school uniforms looking?  Does she have enough of everthing?  If not, Sophia's Style does have some pretty sharp looking school uniforms for girls.  She'll feel and look much better if she has clean, crisp uniforms everyday.  Now that the weather is getting cooler, I recommend going through her closet and making sure she has at least five nice-looking shirts, three to five sweaters, three to five pairs of nice pants, two good belts, and ten pairs of nice socks.  This way she'll always have something to wear, and you'll be able to keep up with her laundry on the weekends. 

Keeping her closet organized will help her to learn the organizational skills she'll be needing for the rest of her life.  You might be able to save her from ever having to stay up late on a week night to scrub her kitchen floor in fear of her landlord's wrath. 

This blog was first posted at Trendy Girls Fashion Blog.

Jessi

Girls Outfits For Every Season | Sophia's Style



Baby Girl Outfit


My officemate is already getting excited about playing Christmas music at work.  I told her it's too early, and then I started browsing our girls outfits, looking for blog inspiration, and came across this baby girl outfit.  How cute is that?!  The leggings look like candy canes, and the tunic is decorated with gingerbread cookies!  Now that I've looked at it, I want to listen to Christmas music and eat cookies.  *Sigh,* I give in.  As soon as the weather gets cold, I can't help but think of the holidays. 

Does anyone have big plans this year?  The more I look at our girls outfits, the more I miss going to my grandparents' house when I was a kid.  I loved sitting in my grandma's kitchen near the oven while she made dinner.  I always had some kind of Christmas sweater or dress that was really warm and cozy, and my mom always made me let her curl my hair.  I may be a bit of a girly-girl, but that doesn't mean I like having my hair fixed.  I'm pretty sure we had a fight everytime she came anywhere near me with a brush, a curling iron, or (heaven forbid) a bottle of hairspray. 

I hope everyone else is as excited as I am for Christmas this year!  We only have a couple more months, it'll be here before we know it!

This blog was first posted at Trendy Girls Fashion Blog.

Jessi

99 Cent Embroidery!

Personalized Baby Clothes

I cannot for the life of me figure out how to make a cent symbol on my keyboard.  Is that weird?  I feel like I never see that symbol anymore, it seems like one of those things that disappears from life after grade school, like long division and recess. 
Anyhow, how was everyone's Halloween?  Mine was great, I went to the masquerade on Friday- it was gorgeous, everyone was dressed to the nines and had really elaborate masks, and I did enough dancing to ensure that I'll be walking with a limp for about a week.  Then, I spent all of Saturday drinking coffee on the patio of a little cafe downtown and people watching with some friends because the weather was beautiful!   On Sunday night we went to a friends' house and handed out candy to all the trick-or-treaters, they looked so cute!
I was sort of sad this morning, I love Halloween, and it's already over.  Then I remembered that it's time to start planning for Thanksgiving and Christmas!  I really want to get all my holiday shopping done this month, so next month won't be chaotic. 
Sophia's Style is running a great promotion from today through Thursday, we're making embroidery only 99 cents (See?  How on earth do I make that symbol?) for items priced $9.99 or more.  This whole 99 Cent Embroidery promo is really great, because if you take advantage of it you can get a major Christmas shopping headstart.  Personalized baby clothes are, in my opinion, really awesome presents.  Gifts to babies are also gifts to their mommies and daddies, they'll definitely want to save personalized baby gifts as keepsakes- but also they can use them now. 
I also like the idea of personalized kids clothes, specifically with the boutique style clothing.  Those kinds of outfits and dresses are unique and so adorable, personalizing them is just the perfect finishing touch. 
We have a really great embroiderer here, she's very nice and really good at her job. 

This blog was first posted at Trendy Girls Fashion Blog.

Jessi