style
Anyone who’s been reading this blog for a while knows that one of my blogger besties is Nicolette Mason. I was introduced to Nicolette years ago via the online community Fatshionista and I was immediately drawn to her amazing outfits–it was a rare occurrence to see a plus size girl wearing Chanel. When I put out a call for New Yorkers who were interested in writing for Vogue Curvy with me, she applied and I immediately knew she’d be the perfect fit. We became fast friends, and I invited her to join the YFF Conference I was hosting that year. The rest is history!
I couldn’t be more proud of how far we both have come since those days. She’s now an amazing columnist for Marie Claire and the one person in the industry who I relate to most. We have a ton in common, including our taste in clothing. Nicolette’s style is a bit more whimsical than mine, but you wouldn’t believe how much our wardrobes overlap. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve texted her to tell her about some amazing item I’ve just bought, only for her to reply “have it too!” Since I’m in NYC so much for work, I often stay at her breathtaking Williamsburg apartment. Every single time I’m there, I raid her closet, trying on all the things I don’t have or have only seen online. We have different shapes but wear about the same size, which is so nice. How many of us have had to go through high school and college and watch our thinner friends trade and borrow clothing from each other, all while we had to sit by and watch?
When Gwynnie Bee approached us about working together with them, we were so excited because we knew we’d get to do our favorite thing: swap clothes and play dress up. If you haven’t heard of Gwynnie Bee, they’re a subscription brand with a pretty genius concept. They’re sort of like Netflix for plus size clothes–their tagline is “Clothing Without Commitment,” because you get to rent and return clothing from their online store, which carries a massive amount of plus size brands. It’s super easy: you browse their website, adding things you like to your virtual closet. They’ll send a few of your picks to try/wear until you decide you want to swap them for something else (sort of like borrowing clothes from your bestie). You use pre-paid bags to send things back and then just wait until your next package arrives. Repeat! If you’re like me and buy trendy pieces all the time only to have them sit in your closet after one or two wears, it’s an awesome service. Plus, it’s a great way to try new (and often expensive) brands and check out their quality and fit without having to pay the crazy prices. But if you do love something enough to buy it–you can do that too! The first 30 days are free, so there’s seriously no risk to try it. I’m a fan because they have some of my favorite brands, including Carmakoma and ASOS Curve.
Nicolette and I each styled three looks using current Gwynnie Bee pieces that we picked out. It’s no surprise that we loved some of the same items!
Look One – Seeing Double
First up, the red leopard print dress from ASOS. I’d been eyeing it for a while and even featured it on my September page at InStyle, so I was glad I finally got to try it out. I’m a sucker for loose shift dresses and anything animal print, and my immediate impulse was to wear it with my leather jacket. Apparently, that was Nicolette’s idea too (and yep, she has the same one). We basically ended up being twins–hence the “bitch stole my look” pose–except she wore tights and added a belt to give the dress a little more shape.
Dress-ASOS via Gwynnie Bee/Jacket-ASOS/Shoes-Isabel Marant/Necklace-ASOS/Sunglasses-F21/Clutch-Halston Heritage
Look Two – Mixing Prints
While browsing Gwynnie Bee, I fell in love with a heart print button down by New Look. I styled it with my Torrid boyfriend jeans and this amazing metallic leopard print coat from SimplyBe (Gwynnie Bee carries SimplyBe too)! Nic mixed prints as well–she wore a lip print sweater with her GB pick: a plaid ASOS midi.
Coat-c/o SimplyBe/Shirt-New Look via Gwynnie Bee/Jeans-c/o Torrid/Shoes-Kate Spade/Sunglasses-Elizabeth&James
My final Gwynnie Bee pick was a dip-dye chambray shirt from Mynt1792, which I wore open over a white tee with my leather skater skirt and loafers. Nicolette wore the same heart print shirt from my last look, but styled it with her leather skater skirt and booties.
Chambray top-Mynt1792 via Gwynnie Bee/Tee-Torrid/Skirt-ASOS/Loafers-F21/Bag-Borrowed from Nicolette/Necklace-Mr.Kate
Photos by Lydia Hudgens
I’m not even going to lie, by the time we were shooting the last set, I was super rushed because I had to head to the airport. I threw the outfit together and didn’t end up loving how things looked in the individual shots–though I did adore the Mynt1792 top. Hopefully you can see enough of the look in the picture above!
We had so much fun on this project, and I’m so happy Gwynnie Bee wanted to work with both of us (usually brands choose one of us or the other–we’d been waiting for this). To see more photos and all of Nicolette’s individual looks, make sure you head to her blog.
This post was sponsored by Gwynnie Bee, all opinions are my own.