Shopping in Stripes

I’ve got two things for you today, a style post (per usual) and a little bit of a sneak peek into the “behind the scenes” of a style blogger shoot. 
After all, you may be wondering why my cup of coffee changes back & forth in each & every picture in this post.  
Because blogging can be very “original” you guys. šŸ˜› 

Shop the Look: 



As I mentioned last week, I had the wonderful opportunity to team up with some of my favorite Houston bloggers to take over the LiketoKnow.it account! I was THRILLED and wanted to take just the “right” photos of my favorite spots in HTX.

We had only four days notice for the takeover, and 3.5 of those four days I happened to be in another state. Let’s just say shooting these two looks took place extremely last minute and came down to a very very very very thin wire.

Because doesn’t everything super important tend to happen that way?  Makes life exciting, I suppose!

(Thank goodness for my wonderful photographer, Lauren who happened to be free that day!)

I chose the Historical Houston Heights Shopping District on 19th Street for my second LTKTakeover post.  Living in the Heights, and having a love for all things quirky & vintage, this is one of my favorite spots in all of H-town. 
I take every guest who visits us here, to sip, stroll & shop. 
So in the first picture in this post, as well as in the one just below …. I’m holding a cup of Boomtown’s delicious Milk & Honey Latte.  So good, so warm, so not an iced coffee. 
In the photo above I’m “magically” holding Boomtown’s super strong – great for a warm afternoon – iced coffee. 
No, I do not have Harry Potter-esque powers and can instantly “transfigure” my drink whenever I please. (I wish, duh!) 
I just happened to shoot this one look twice, six hours apart, in one day!   
The struggle!  

PS: how cute is this striped button down and gray vest? Both closet staples & recent scores from Anthro that I’ve been able to style many many different ways! 
Okay back to why did I shoot this one look twice in one day? Because I guess I just found out I was perfectionist? And when you have a full time job outside of blogging, you don’t really have the luxury of taking your time … 
I usually shoot for this blog of mine every other week or so promptly at 7 am (or 7:17 am, whenever the sun starts to rise), then off I run to work at 8:30. By the time I get home those evenings I am WIPED out! 

For this particular look, I knew it was going to be featured on @liketoknow.it … and I knew that they had a whopping 1.6 million (no pressure) followers. Holy cow did I want to get it perfect! 
So we shot early in the A.M. on a super quiet 19th street.  The ambiance of 19th street is really what makes it fun.  Usually the shopkeeper’s doors are swung open, clothing racks and statues of Elvis & what not are lining the streets. People fill the sidewalks and all of the cars are parked haphazardly. 
It’s completely different in the sleepy mornings when not a door is open or a car parked in sight. 
Which is mostly what we captured (other than myself and this outfit that I truly adore!) 

Another PS: can’t stop/won’t stop wearing these booties! 
There was no way I wanted to share 19th Street at it’s not so quite best with 1.6 million peeps! 
So on my lunch break at work, I frantically called Lauren. { (who is literally the best HTX photographer, she rocks my socks! … and even photographs them at times! šŸ˜‰ }
It happened to be MLK Day, so she was free and able to meet up really quickly for a last minute shoot.  We found a section of the street that maybe didn’t show off everything fabulous about 19th, but you could still see from the reflections in the windows and from the cars passing by that it was a bustling few blocks. 
And 30 minutes later, I emailed the photos to LiketoKnow.it … then I went home that evening for a very tall & relaxing glass of wine! 

Shop the Look: 

Now to talk about this outfit, finally! 
My style is very much a mixture of classic/trendy/bohemian
and southwestern. I myself canā€™t put my finger on it.  So when I had the opportunity to style two
looks that best represented ā€œmeā€ for the takeover, I made sure to do one boho
inspired & one more classic and structured. 
One for the work week & one for the weekend, I suppose!
I absolutely love the flattering pleated cut of this
Anthropologie striped blouse.  And the
colors are so much fun for spring!  In
Houston, a jacket isnā€™t always needed but a vest definitely helps when the
temps dip into the 50s.  This structured vest definitely dresses up this look for the office, but itā€™s also casual
enough to be thrown on over a flowy dress for a weekend vibe.  I have a feeling it will be on heavy rotation
in the coming months! 
My go-to black bucket bag and the booties I canā€™t stop
talking about tied my outfit together.
Check out the other stylish Houston fashionistas that
participated in the takeover with me last week. 
I love how everyoneā€™s personal style is shining right through the
photos.  

We all chose such fun & different locations that I
thought really painted a great picture of our city.
For those of you intrigued by the Shops on 19thStreet, if you get a chance to visit be sure to check out a few of my
favorites: Boomtown Coffee, Emerson Rose, Torchyā€™s Tacos, Manready Mercantile,
Casa Ramirez & Replay on 19th.

As always, thanks for following along this little blog of
mine! I appreciate it more than you know!
alice
photos by lauren beatty