My Style: Tomboy/Tomboy Femme

Tomboy or Tomboy Femme style is a mix of masculine and feminine elements that involves pieces as simple and casual as flannel shirts and sneakers to ones more classic and complex like trousers and button downs. I have always deemed myself a tomboy. I loved chasing after my older brothers when I was growing up, especially when they were riding dirt bikes in the field near our house. I would follow them on my bicycle, longing for the day when I could join them on their noisy, dirty motorcycles.

While my longing to race motorcycles never came to fruition, to this day I love the rumble of a Harley Davidson, and all the leather and denim that goes along with it. I enjoy playing outdoors whether it be hiking, camping, fishing or even hunting, occasionally, with my spouse.

When puberty came with all of its teenage angst, it also came with a full swing into things that were girly. I did play with dolls growing up and definitely loved Barbie and all of her friends, but after puberty I noticed I became acutely aware of clothes, boys, and hair styles. Make up came later when I was in college.

To this day, I still prefer jeans and sneakers to dresses and heals. I can totally dress up for a special event, but the bulk of the time I feel most confident when I am wearing a casual look that involves both feminine and masculine vibes.

This look came together after I picked out this multi-print babydoll top with peasant sleeves. This is a fun piece I thrifted a while back, but it is definitely made for cold weather as it is a heavy weight material. I wore a tank top underneath to keep the chilly air from coming up under the top. This is definitely a feminine piece by its silhouette, but the colors keep it more grounded and even masculine in nature.

After I picked the top I knew I wanted to use an oversized button down to hone in on the tomboy nature of the look. I remembered I had this wonderful thrifted corduroy shirt so I dug through my cold weather clothes, which are slowly being transitioned back into my closet after their summer hiatus. This piece matched perfectly with the rusty orange in the top.

Style Tip: Look for heavy weight, oversized button downs in the men’s section at thrift stores. You will most likely find a few gems. Use these like a cardigan, blazer or jacket for a casual, relaxed tone.

Knowing my top half was going to be more bulky and oversized I wanted to go for a slimmer leg jean. I grabbed this slightly distressed, high waisted pair from Maurice’s on clearance. I rolled the hems to add to the tomboy demeanor, but I look forward to wearing these with boots later this season and into winter.

My high top Converse seemed the perfect choice to drive home the tomboy nature of this look, however I wanted a few more feminine touches so chose a pastel pink cross body bag, and two rosy gold necklaces that my bestie gave to me a while back. She gave me a box with multiple necklaces and scarves that she was no longer using, so I finally pulled it out of my closet and took everything out so I can use it. I love the layered look these two necklaces provide. I also added my sparkly rose gold faux leather bracelet.

Do you think I pulled off the tomboy, or tomboy femme look? Do you wear outfits like this? Do you have pieces like this in your closet? Do you own a corduroy button down? Be sure to leave me a comment or two. I always love to hear from you.

I was also participating in an Instagram challenge yesterday that involved our favorite hat, so I added my hat to the outfit and took a few more pics.

I am including a few shopping links. These are affiliate links. All opinions are my own. Note I included a few men’s corduroy button downs as they will provide a bigger, oversized look. I typically get a men’s Medium or Large so there is a bit more room in the hip area, but if you are petite order a small.

Have a great week!

Working Undercover - Battle of the Bulge - Part 1

One of the biggest struggles we have as we age is the increase in weight around our middles. Here is an informative article By Elsie Velazquez about the issue, Middle-Age Bulge - Why Does it Happen and What We Can Do to Prevent it.  Velazquez points to 5 common mistakes we make that contribute to our bulges, including stress, decrease in sleep and mindless eating. She also points to exercise mistakes such as doing cardio only and never changing up the routine. I am so guilty of all of these.

The reality is, however, that without totally revamping our lifestyles those bulges are not going away easily. Until, I actually come to the point where I am willing to put in the work, both mentally and physically to change, I have to live with my extra baggage and find a way to either accept it or cover it up until I feel better about it. Since this series is about covering up our flaws that is the area I am going to concentrate on. 

I'm going to take a few weeks to get through this, because there is so much to share. 

This outfit was one I wore while we were in Florida. I thought it an appropriate outfit to start off my series on "camouflage". I found this cute top at H&M on a sale rack. While my husband is a big fan of camo during hunting season, it is not a trend that I have gotten into for my blog until recently. I've seen numerous bloggers wearing camo, as it seems particularly trendy now, and I will admit, when worn the right way it can make a fashion statement. 

In order to understand the bulge dilemma, I thought I would show you a few pics of my own spare tires.

I am fully aware that wearing tight pants will make bulges more prominent, but I did that for the sake of the pictures and because I do like my pants to fit securely around my torso. I feel like I am continually pulling them up if I don't have a belt on, but to get them to fit around my bum and legs they have to be the size I wear. The joys of being a woman, right?

Bulges make us curvy. There are women who are thin and straight and would give their right arm to have bulges. As I said in last week's post we are on a journey to self acceptance, but we also want to look and feel confident and put together. I do not feel confident if my bulges are sticking out inappropriately, so for me, wearing a tight tee shirt is not going to happen. 

So, how do we dress in a way that is stylish, but still covers our bulges? The word you want to remember is skimming. It isn't just about fabric. There are fabrics that cling and fabrics that flow or skim. We want our clothing to show off our shapes, but at the same time be forgiving of our bulges. 

Here are a few examples of dress waistlines that offer a forgiving or camouflage feature. 

1. Empire Waist

The empire waist is a high waist that falls just below the breasts. This is the point where the material is gathered in some way to make the high waist more fitted. From this point the clothing piece subtly flares out either in wide flare or a straighter more a-line silhouette.

2. Ruched Waist

Ruching is a technique used on fabric to gather or pleat a particular area. This technique is done on tops, pants, skirts, and dresses. Ruching in the right spot can cover a plethora of flaws. 

3. Fitted waist

A fitted garment is one where panels of fabric are sewn together to give the piece a more curved look in through the bust and waist area. In a dress like this one, the panels then flare out making this piece more of a swing type dress. 

These waist lines are available in tops as well as dresses, so when you go shopping start looking for articles of clothing that have some of these features. 

Next week we'll look at some other ways to camouflage our bulges. Just because we want to cover things up a little bit doesn't mean we can't wear fun things like tee shirts. I'll show you how next week. 

Here are a few more pics of my Florida outfit. Be sure to check back tomorrow for a new faith post and Thursday for some more layering love. 

Tuesday linking up with Jess of Elegantly Dressed and Stylish. Thursday linking up with Shelbee of Shelbee on the Edge.