Blah to BAM! ~family style!

This weeks's blah to BAM comes courtesy of my gorgeous niece. She is such a great supporter of this little blog and is always up for trying out our fashion tips. She texted me a few pics asking for a little advice on how to get a dress to work with layers. Honestly, I didn't even give her any tips before she texted me with her BAM! outfit. To say the least I was impressed and not to mention, a little proud. On top of it all, she was willing to let me use her photos for one of these posts. Thanks girl!

 Blah....

This is not a bad start. The dress is a fabulous cobalt blue which is totally on trend. Also, she did what I probably would have done first too--grabbed a blazer to make a summer dress work for winter. However, a few things make this look a bit blah....

1. The blazer is a boyfriend style and therefore has no shape. Her waist is completely lost somewhere in the middle. Never a good thing. 

2. The outfit looks mashed together color wise. This is due in part to the similarity in color tones of the blazer and dress. 

3. Lack of accessories doesn't give our eye anything interesting to rest on. 

Three easy additions to move this from blah to BAM...

WOW. What a difference. She made some super easy and super quick changes and the WHOLE outfit is way better. 

1. Contrasting cardigan: This was a huge change. Adding a cardigan in a much lighter hue than the dress makes the whole outfit pop. Despite the overall new color tone, the outfit appears MORE cohesive than the original. 

2. Belt: Holy moly did the belt MAKE this outfit. She has a waist! A tiny, gorgeous waist! Whoo Hoo! Never underestimate the power of a good cinch at the waist. Well played girl, well played. 

3. Accessories: She added two simple accessories that gave us the perfect focal point. Her necklace is SPOT ON for placement--just above the belt and her bangle bracelets add a air of femininity that I am a sucker for. 

The cognac boots are a perfect winter option for this outfit. I maybe would have even thrown on some gray boot socks too for a little extra warmth, but I live in the frozen tundra so...

Feel free to send us your Blah to BAM photos! We would LOVE to feature them on the blog!!