Spring Breakin' It

The time has come the walrus said to talk of many things, of shoes and dresses, and skinny jeans, of flowy tops and rings.... Wait a minuteeee That's not how 'The Walrus & The Carpenter' goes! But we certainly like the new version.

Like the walrus said... it's time to speak of what else, fashion, and SPRING BREAK! Time for teeny weeny bikinis, catching some much needed rays, and running around in your favorite new spring outfits. You know what's so awesome about this year's fashion?! It's flowy and blousey. If you haven't gotten your body into bikini season shape just yet, you're golden! Just throw on a baby doll frock and rock that boardwalk, girl! You know what else is great about this year's fashion? Many of the dresses and tunics can be worn as bathing suit cover ups OR you can dress them up with some chunky accessories, belt, and heels for a night on the town.

Here's a great example... This playful number can be thrown on, on your way out to the beach. It's more fun than just a simple ol'cover up and it's practical. OR you can throw a belt on (as seen below), a pair of your favorite wedges, and maybe pull your hair back into a scrunched beachy bun... and you're ready for a night out with the girls!

 

Packing light for the beach has never been easier since you can use the same outfits in so many different ways on one trip. Wait... who are we kidding, we're females, we never wear the same thing twice in the same week! Duhhhh.

Do you have a one shoulder dress or top you can't wait to wear on your spring break vacation? If so, be careful of awkward tan lines from laying on the beach or by the pool all day! If you're going to be rockin' a lot of one shoulders or even strapless tops, try wearing bathing suits that are strapless as well; like bandeau tops.
The best part of these one shoulder tops and dresses is that you get to be two people in one night! On one side you're sultry and sexy like Shakira, showing off a sun kissed shoulder. And on the other side, you're more covered up yet fun and flirty like hmmm what celeb actual covers up these days? Natalie Portman? Not to mention, you'll look super cool waving your left arm around while doing the electric slide on the dance floor at the beach bar. All the cool kids are doing it...

Here's one of our fav one shoulder tops that we sold out of super fast, but no worries, we've reordered and they'll be in soon! (We don't mean to brag but this babies are only $23!):

For those of you who do not get a spring break vacation... ya know us adults in the workforce, have no fear. You can still rock a bikini and a one shoulder top around the house. I'm sure your hubby would love it! He can thank us later for the idea. Cook some shrimp and crab for dinner, make a couple margaritas in the blender, turn on a space heater and a fan at the same time to get that 'tropical weather' feel in your home, throw on your favorite sarong, and viola! Spring Break at the *insert your last name here* house! Chug, chug, chug, chug! ...understand?

While we have you here, don't forget to 'like' your favorite picture in our contest on facebook! The four girls with the most 'likes' win some major cash to spend at our store and they could all use your help! Here's the two groups, you can vote for any one you want, or, heck with it, you can vote for all of them if you feel like it!
Contest Group 1 (Blake)
Contest Group 2 (Brady)

We have some pretty awesome new blogs coming up in the near future so keep reading and make sure you click 'follow our blog' over there on the right side of the page. Just scroll up a bit... a bit more... yep there it is! We can't wait to share with you. This is going to be an amazing spring AND summer here at B&B!

Spring Trend Finale!

*Do Not Forget to sign up for our Contest! Go to the 'Contest' tab right up there, above this post, on the tool bar, and email your picture to blakeandbradyboutique@gmail.com. You could win $250, $150, $100, or $75 to spend at our store!*

Now back to our previously scheduled blog post... ZE FINALE (that's how you say 'the finale' in french)...

Onesies aren't just for babies anymore! Get out your chafing powder ladies because the bodysuit is making a comeback! We can all thank Beyonce and Lady Gaga for that. For many of us younger ladies, we were in elementary or middle school when body suits were first 'in'.

I don't know about y'all but I had a favorite body suit. It was white, with three buttons between the legs, and had the most magnificent sheer flowing blousy sleeves. I knew I had to put the flowy sleeves to work so I took a trip to the ice skating rink where I would twirl and do a double toe loop lutz finished off with a triple axle, all while my beautiful sleeves flapped in the breeze. Okay, maybe I just did a few rings around the rink and maybe one shaky turn.
Regardless, I knew that night, wearing that bodysuit, that all boys had their eyes on me and they would dream about marrying a girl like me. A girl with such grace and such a dreamy body suit. I'll talk to 'our' people and see if we can bring a few into stock so that your ice skating dreams can be fulfilled as well!

So what do you think? Care to 'snap on' or 'pull up' a bodysuit again ladies?

Jennifer Says: Love! It's fashionable and functional! People will have no idea you are wearing one unless you pull a Lady GaGa and go out without pants on!

Carly Says: Love! What better way to keep your shirt tucked in than to have it attached to your underwear? Wait do you wear undies under your bodysuit or just the bodysuit? hmmmm...

 What's better to compliment your bodysuit than to sport a hot sleek new pair of colored denim! Spring brings flowers and color... but we never knew it would be taken to this extreme. Enhance your thighs with a big splash of color. Us ladies always want to draw attention to our thighs and butt right? No? When will you be purchasing an orange pair to rock at Clemson games? Up for a dare?

Jennifer Says: No thanks! These scream 'pay attention to me!'... girls should be classy and fabulous, two words that I would not associate with colored denim.

Carly Says: The 80's called... they want their pants back! My muffin top gets enough attention on it's own! What's next, white eye liner and jellies? I wouldn't doubt it.

This next spring trend, we are loving! The nautical theme we keep seeing at shows and in magazines is something to be desired. Nautical and horizontal stripes kind of go hand in hand. Friendly tip, wear thin horizontal stripes or oversized stripes. Anything in between can make you look wider than you are. Well, on some of us, stripes don't work at any width. Want to make your girls (you know which girls we're talking about) look bigger? Turn to horizontal stripes, they'll make them pop! When we think of nautical we think of navy blue or black, and white, and maybe a touch of red. Always classy and always fun. What do you think?

Jennifer in one of our awesome Nautical dresses!

Jennifer Says: Love it, of course! So flattering, flirty, and fun! It gets me excited for summer and my rapidly approaching honeymoon!

Carly Says: Love it as well! It's just plain fun. It makes me want to use navy terms like 'ahoy matey' and 'we're underway!'... ummm or something like that.

Here's some more spring trends we'd love to know whether you Love or Loathe... maybe you'll see some or many of these popping up in our store over the next few months! 

White Leggings

Flashback to Easter Day when you were 8 years old. All you need is your hand made bonnet your mom made you with tulle and glued on peeps. There's a big difference between white skinny leg jeans/pants and white leggings, in our opinion. What do you think?

Cargo Pants

Not just any cargo pants, skinny leg cargo pants! These could be fabulous on the right figure and with the right shoes but for the women who have bigger thighs or hips, these could be all wrong. Another buyer beware.

Tiered Ruffles

We're seeing them everywhere, tiered ruffle tops and dresses! We think they're fun and youthful. Mix up your daily basic wardrobe with some ruffles! They also make it fun to shake your body like Charo! Don't know who she is? Look her up, you won't be sorry!

Crop Tops

You know when football players cut part of their practice jerseys off to look cool? Well this is the girls version. Make sure you have a flat tummy if you rock this look, or else you may get a lot of the wrong looks. Pairing it with a cami underneath can make it wearable by all. You like?

Whether you like it or not, spring is upon us. Actually, if you're one of the people who don't like it, what is wrong with you!? Time for Spring Break, Prom, Spring Football, the works! We can't wait for everything that will be arriving in our store that we'll get to share with you. Will we be ordering colored denim and body suits? You will just have to wait and see won't you?

The Blake & Brady March Madness CONTEST!

Are you ready for this?!....

Four Winners - All receive money to spend at Blake & Brady!

1st Place - $250
2nd Place - $150
3rd Place - $100
4th Place - $75

Wow! is right! This contest is going to be so much fun and we can't wait to get it started! Here are the details, read them carefully, and act fast!

Note: This contest will be held on Facebook. A Facebook account is needed in order to participate!

Announcing our March Madness, bracket style contest (yep, like College Basketball but the name of this game is fashion!)! The contest will begin with 32 pictures of girls who love fashion, love having fun, and love Blake & Brady! These photos will be posted to photo albums on our Facebook Page where we'll divide all photos into 4 groups of 8. We call these 'divisions'.

Each girl who has submitted a photo in the contest will ask her friends to 'like' her photo on our facebook page. The 4 girls, in each division, with the greatest amount of 'likes' by a certain date will move on to the next round of the contest, and the rest of the girls will be dropped (gently, don't worry, it doesn't hurt!). We'll continue doing this (cutting each division in half each round) until we get down to the Top 4 Photos.

We'll then start the contest from zero 'likes' and each girl will have to get as many 'likes' on her photo as possible by a certain date. Good news! All 4 girls will walk away winners! The girl with the greatest amount of 'likes' will be our winner and she will win a $250 shopping spree at Blake & Brady!!! 2nd place will win $150 dollars to spend at our store, 3rd will receive $100, and 4th place will win $75!!!

To Sum It Up: Submit a photo, get people to 'like' your photo the most, and win! :)


How to Enter:
If you would like to participate in our contest please submit a picture of yourself to blakeandbradyboutique@gmail.com ASAP! Make sure the picture is of YOU (only you!) in either an outfit you got from our store or wearing something you love, out and about having fun. Photo must be of more than your face. Photo must be fun! Please shy away from submitting model photos. The first 64 girls to submit their photos are entered into the contest, so hurry and submit before it's too late!

You will have a few days to pick a photo to submit, but like we said, the sooner the better because only the first 64 will be entered!

When:
The contest will begin very very soon! We'll give you a warning of the exact date when we have all 32 contestants! Keep checking our blog, facebook, and/or twitter for updates. Need a quick link to our facebook or twitter? Just click the buttons on the right of your screen and they'll take you to each page.

We can't WAIT to get started! Wishing y'all the best of luck!

The Three 'F's (no...not that one!)

Hello Ladies (and gents), let's take a short intermission from discussing Spring Fashion and switch topics over to Online Shopping! We all do it, it's an epidemic.

You know the drill. You find something you absolutely love online, place an order quickly without your husband (or parents, or whoever watches over the finances) knowing and you anxiously await the package to arrive (because it's exciting and because you need to make sure you intercept the package before someone else sees it). It's like Christmas without a big fat hairy man and cookies. Well, we don't know what your FedEx or UPS driver looks like, but ours isn't big and hairy; and he's never asked for cookies! And thank goodness, because we don't bake.

Many of us, when shopping for clothing online, don't pay quite enough attention to the way the clothing fits on the model, the fabric the piece is made out of, nor do we take into account that model may be built much differently than we are (and this is true in most cases, if it's not, then you have been blessed by the skinny model Gods!). We have three tips for you to keep in mind when online shopping for clothing. We like to call them the three 'F's!

Let's talk Foto (it's spelled with a 'ph' normally, we know, but then that ruins our three 'F's, plus it looks cute spelled with a 'F')...
For those of you who have never worked in clothing retail, you probably don't know about the tricks stylists and photographers use when photographing a model in a piece of clothing. Their big secret to make, let's say, a baggy dress fit tight on a model is using a clip. Yep, a clip. They pull the fabric back and clip the dress in a way that makes the dress appear like it's fitted and it flatters the model's body. Sometimes, when stores really want to get crafty they use their other secret weapon, their hands! They have the model pose awkwardly with one hand behind their back pulling the dress tight. To the untrained eye, you may think the model is just making another one of those weird artsy modely poses, but really they're pulling a fast one on you.

Here's a great example (for those who learn visually):

 Such a sweet innocent pose, looking all model-ish and stuff... BAM, you've been fooled! This girl doesn't have a bad back, she's no granny. She's pulling that dress back with her hand. Perhaps she's too skinny for it or perhaps it blouses awkwardly on the sides and she's trying to hide it. We added the back view as well so that you can see she's doing it at a different angle as well.

Buyers beware. Watch how models are standing! Don't say we didn't warn you! You can't always detect a clip but you sure can detect the 'hand pull'.

When we post pictures on our Facebook page of Jennifer in a piece of clothing, She always stands 'normal'. We want to make sure you know how the dress will fit just by looking at the photo so that you can be confident with your purchase.

Speaking of Jennifer, want to know why she's such a great model for our clothing? Because her body is just like yours! She's in shape and slim but she has curves and she looks great! She's not another skin-n-bones model who makes a pouty face just to make her cheek bones appear higher. She's the real deal Holyfield! When you see Jennifer modeling clothing, what you see is what you get. Which brings us to discussing, THE Fit.

A BIG mistake we women make when shopping online is assuming that dress we love will look the same on us as it does on that 5'10", 100 lb model. First of all, these lovely underfed (that's a guess, not a fact!) ladies do not typically have large chests, or any ta-tas for that matter. They also, typically, don't have big hips or big booties. Their legs go on for miles and they have no arm fat that jiggles when they waive 'hi'! They're not like you and me. They make clothing look fantastic, true story, but they don't reflect how the product looks on a real woman. When online shopping, make sure you keep this in mind. If there are reviews under a product, read them! If they have measurements, jot those down too. There's nothing more dissapointing than getting that gorgeous ruffled front dress in the mail, only to try it on and it doesn't fit or it's unflattering.

Here's a comparison, Twiggy vs Jennifer:

Okay Twiggy, if the dress is that tight on you, how on Earth is my junk in the trunk (and the dashboard) going to fit in that dress!!? Get the point?

Now, here's a simple tip all of us can understand easily, always try to examine or find out what Fabric a piece of clothing is made out of. Typically you can tell from looking at a photo what fabric the item was made out of, but when in doubt, ask! Some of us look great in knit or cotton, while others of us prefer jersey or a poly blend. We all have different bodies and our bodies look better in different fabrics. Personally, I choose items with more 'give', fabrics that stretch a bit so that when I eat too much and have a food baby, I don't feel like I'm suffocating! Come on, you all know what it's like to overeat and about pass out at the table!

So there you have it, three great tips to keep in mind when shopping online. You can thank us later, or just come in the store and do it in person! :)

Happy Shopping!

Kitten Heels, Open Toe Boots, & Clogs... OH MY!

We're slowly but surely inching our way to Spring. Wouldn't it be cool if seasons lasted half as long and occurred twice a year instead of once? Whenever we got sick of a season... BAM... there's a new one. No one would complain saying "ugh I am soooo ready for scarf weather!" and others wouldn't be able to say "I got these super cute flippity flops that I've been waiting all winter to wear!". I don't know about y'all, but I think this idea is genius. I'm thinking about calling a meeting with God, Mother Nature, and The Fashion Queen (Gwen Stefani of course), to negotiate the seasons. I'm sure we can figure something out. I'll keep you posted.

Anyway... No offense Winter but we're over you. I know harsh, but it's the truth. Spring fashion has made it's debut and we're ready to embrace all of it, even the new shoe styles coming back into style. Our toesies are ready for some pampering and pedicures... oh and to see the light of day again. Poor little fellas, always stuck in socks and suffocated. Pale toes are not cool.

We're super pumped about the early 90's Miss Bliss (throw back to Saved by the Bell, the early years for those of you who watched) kitten heels making their return! Wait, scratch that, kitten heels are a no-no unless you're over the age of 40 or want to be modest about your height.

Don't know what they are? Here's a peek...

For those women who never stopped rocking the kitten heel, more power to ya, your time to shine has finally returned. Now we ask... Love or Loathe? We want your opinion as well! 

Jennifer: Loathe, I prefer my heels to be at least 2"!
Carly: Loathe, except if Suri Cruise is wearing them, she pulls them off well, but she's also what, 5?

Not to leave kitten heels in the dust or anything but a bigger, badder, and... clunkier shoe is back in town. May we present to you the CLOG *dun, dun, dunnnn*

GOEDE DAG! That's 'hello' or 'good day' in Dutch. That's the language of the clog you know... if clogs could speak. These bad boys showed their wooden soles on the runways of designers like Chanel and Louis Vuitton, recently. Their clunky goodness is making a mark this Spring... will you be stepping out in a pair?

Jennifer: Love! So cute and beautifully reinvented for 2011!
Carly: Love/Loathe - leaning more toward loathe. I'd rather be light on my toes!

Speaking of clunky...boots are typically a heavier pair of footwear, wouldn't you agree? Well not when they're OPEN TOE BOOTS! Say What?! Ladies & Gents, allow us to introduce to you the new trend for Spring, open toe boots. They're so hip that even Victoria's Secret is selling them.

There's really not much to say about these. They speak volumes for themselves. Sooooo... what are your thoughts? Love them, or Loathe them?

Jennifer: Absolutely not, Loathe! I don't think boots are okay in the spring, or summer for that matter, in any form, closed or open toe. No thanks!
Carly: They're like leg warmers and hoochie stilettos in one... a stripper's delight! But for me, I'm going to have to go with Loathe.

No worries y'all, along with the above mentioned stylish Spring shoes, cuffed sandals as well as wedged sandals are still in this Spring. We've seen wedged sandals for a few years now, and cuffed sandals last year. Which ones will you be wearing the most?

You can find these lovelies in our store!

Jennifer: Love them both and will be an 'equal opportunity employer' of these two types of sandals this spring and summer!
Carly: I don't understand the whole 'keep the ankle warm' campaign this spring. Between the open toe boots and cuffed sandals...my ankles will be losing lots of water weight! Love the wedge sandals of course, always adorable and flattering to the calf muscle!

Which Spring shoes do you love or loathe? Are we off our rockers with our opinions? Should we bring some kitten heels into inventory?

Check us out HERE for some Spring Shoe Fashions that are starting to arrive in store!

Well Hello There!

Welcome to Blake & Brady Boutique's first blog post! We're beyond excited to share with you our inner most fashion and fun thoughts.

If you found our blog from our facebook page, website, or store front we welcome you and thank you for your continued support. If you just stumbled upon our blog or heard about us from a friend, we thank you for stopping by and can't wait to get to know you and have you get to know us! Is this starting to sound like one of those awkward Academy Award thank you speeches? If so, disregard this whole paragraph. Moving on...

Allow us to introduce ourselves (does anyone hear trumpets?). We are a vibrant yet relaxed clothing boutique located in Downtown Anderson in the wonderful state of South Carolina. Although our actual store is located in the South it does not limit us to shipping only in this region. We sell and ship to customers all over the United States. Yes, it's true. We were established by Owners Chris & Sissa Sullivan who named the store after their two cutie-patootie daughters. Don't worry, neither Chris nor Sissa are writing these blog posts so we (I) get to brag about their little ones without being called a boastful parent. They really are cute, seriously, I mean it. Chris & Sissa are accompanied by their absolutely gorgeous (see there I go bragging again about something that isn't mine, which makes it okay!) store manager Jennifer. Chances are that if you have commented on our Facebook page or stopped in the store, you've spoken to miss Jennifer. She's also the girl who models all of our wonderful new arrivals for us in the photos we post on Facebook. Somedays she may rather not be in front of the camera but we twist her arm until she screams 'uncle'! Okay maybe not but that sounds like it would work well!

 Jennifer in one of our quickest selling dresses!

We, at Blake & Brady Boutique, do not take ourselves too seriously. We're the type of people who trip walking up the stairs, spill drinks on ourselves even though we were sure we had the cup to our mouths, we wake up with bad hair days sometimes, and we sing Mariah Carey in the shower when no one is around. We are real, normal, every day people, just like you. We are silly and aren't afraid to make fun of ourselves.

You know those cute clothing boutiques that have just the most adorable clothes that you fall in love with and then you look at the price tag of that cute top you were eying and it's priced at $180.00 instead of around $60.00 like you assume it would be? Ya... that's not us! Whew! Scared you for a minute didn't we? All of our clothes are priced fairly and as low as possible so that when you purchase from us you don't feel like you broke the bank. You will walk away happy... and looking fab-u-lous! 

Let us make one thing very clear right now while we have your attention (you are paying attention aren't you? hmmmm?). This blog is not to persuade you to purchase from us. The main purpose of this blog is to interact with YOU (don't look behind you, yes, we are talking to you) and start conversations with and between our followers and friends. We want to hear from you and post about what you might find informative. We want this to be fun and carefree just like our store. We promise to leave you smiling each time you visit our page. If you're not smiling, well then you better go grab a piece of chocolate and maybe a glass of wine (21+ only please!) and get in a better mood! This is a happy place  :)

Do you have anything you'd like to know more about or subjects you'd like us to post about? Let us know! Like we said before, we want to hear from you!

Now back to our awkward Academy Awards speech..... We thank you for stopping by our blog and hope you'll return again soon to read our next post, and our post after that, and then the one after that, and the one following that one. It will only get better! You can also subscribe to our blog so that you're automatically notified when we write a new post. Come back and see us soon y'all (we did say we were in the South didn't we?)!

Peace, Love, & Affordable Style,
The Blake & Brady Team