MEGAN AUMAN

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one dress challenge, day 8: grey wrap dress, charcoal cardigan, and aqua skirt

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one dress, thirty ways style inspiration: playing with layers with a grey wrap dress, aqua skirt, charcoal cardigan, and chunky gemstone statement necklace

I really wanted to just toss this charcoal cardigan on over the wrap dress and call it a day. (Because tossing on a cardigan is pretty much my go-to solution both for keeping warm and for adding vertical lines to an outfit.) But after looking at my outfits for the first seven days of the challenge, I thought maybe it was time to add a bit of color.

I decided to layer on this aqua (teal? turquoise?) skirt that I’ve had for a while, but never really worn because I wasn’t thrilled with the length or thinness of the material. But it’s perfect for adding a pop of color to this outfit. (And can we all just agree to pretend it’s not so wrinkly. I have no idea where my iron is!)

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one dress challenge, day 7: grey wrap dress over black and grey striped dress

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one dress thirty ways style challenge: grey wrap dress over grey and black striped dress with chunky gemstone statement necklace

Today’s outfit is pretty much as comfortable as it gets, as I’m layering this cozy wrap dress over this oversized grey and black stripe knit dress that was already pretty much the most comfortable thing in my closet. And I love how the result ends up being kind of playful, with the vastly different hem lengths and the the striped sleeves sticking out underneath. (But at the same time, still kind of badass with the short hem of the under dress and chunky boots.)

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one dress challenge, day 6: grey wrap dress and black pleated skirt

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one dress, thirty ways style inspiration: inspired by late 50s, early 60s movie style: grey wrap dress, black pleated skirt, and chunky gemstone statement necklace (for a touch of attitude)

Today’s outfit has me channeling my inner film vixen. Like Sophia Loren or Marilyn Monroe. Or if we’re being totally honest, Maureen O’Hara in the second half of the original Parent Trap. (Which I may have watched six times in the week between Christmas and New Year after I found out it was leaving Netflix on January 1st. Not to mention the probably thousand times I watched it as a kid.)

Actually, the original Parent Trap has a lot to offer in terms of style inspiration. As a kid, I envied the outfits worn by the twins. (That yellow dress and sweater that Sharon wears getting off the plane in California was always my dream.) But watching it again now that I’m older, I have a newfound appreciate for the looks the mother wears. (When she becomes a California style icon, not a matronly Boston mother.) And I can see how some of that rubbed off as I was photographing today’s look.

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one dress challenge, day 5: grey wrap dress and flannel button down shirt

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one dress thirty ways style challenge: grey wrap dress, black and white flannel plaid shirt, and chunky gemstone statement necklace

Of all the looks I’ve styled so far, I can’t say this one is my favorite. While it does make for some interesting detail around my face, neckline, and sleeves, I don’t think it does enough to break up the grey mass of the dress. (Even with the addition of the black belt to break it up.)

But I decided to post it anyway, because I think this is an important part of the creative process. When you do this kind of challenge, not everything is going to be a slam dunk. What’s more important is that you’re trying lots of different ideas.

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one outfit, three necklaces: how to wear a thin strap top when you have broad shoulders

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holiday party style: necklace with thin strap tank top and skirt

As someone with broad shoulders, I was always under the impression (helped along by various style advice) that I couldn’t wear a top with really thin straps. But this has always been a bummer, because I happen to really like wearing tank tops. (I blame spending my college summers at the beach.)

But the reality is that, like many style rules, this one can totally be broken with the right styling. Case in point: this cami and skirt combo that I was wearing under the wrap dress in today’s one dress, thirty ways challenge post.

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one dress challenge, day 3: grey wrap dress and pleated metallic skirt

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one dress thirty ways style inspiration: grey wrap dress as duster cardigan over metallic pleated skirt and velvet cami

One of the keys to making this creative challenge work is to embrace the idea that there doesn’t have to be a single “right” way to wrap this dress. In this look, I’m using it more as a duster, and that opens up a whole world of possible outfit ideas!

Plus, wearing it in this way lets me take some of my fancy holiday party clothes, like this pleated metallic skirt and velvet cami (that I didn’t get to wear that much), and extend their life into January. (A month where suddenly the velvets and metallics of holiday party clothes seem a little over the top.)

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one dress challenge, day 2: wrap dress and striped midi skirt

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one dress, thirty ways style challenge: grey wrap dress with striped midi skirt and chunky gemstone necklace

What’s better than wearing a dress with pockets? Wearing a skirt over it that also has pockets!! (Especially on a day as cold as this, where the mantra is definitely the more layers the better.) I love a good high waisted midi skirt, and the fact that this one has an elastic waistband makes it easy to toss on over this dress.

This outfit is also a perfect example of how little details can make a big difference. When I shot the full length version of this look, I had the wrap dress belt tucked under the skirt, with just the bow hanging out. But as I was shooting the details, I realized it looked so much better with the belt OVER the waistband of the skirt. It just makes the whole look more finished and cohesive!

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one dress challenge, day 1: wrap dress and military jacket

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one dress, thirty ways style inspiration: grey wrap dress, military jacket, and chunky gemstone statement necklace

I know the idea of simply throwing a jacket over a dress isn’t the most groundbreaking styling trick, but often simple things can make a big difference when it comes to style. Adding a jacket is a great way to add some vertical lines to an outfit, breaking up a wide expanse of a single colored dress. Plus, this military jacket is my go-to piece for when I want to give an outfit more badass attitude, and it was actually tossing this on that made me realize I could make this wrap dress work for me.

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the challenge: one dress, thirty days, thirty ways

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style challenge inspiration: one wrap dress, thirty ways

Last week, I purchased a grey sweatshirt wrap dress online on a whim. I don’t normally wear wrap dresses, because despite every piece of advice you’ve ever read about them being universally flattering, they generally don’t look good on me, thanks to my broad shoulders and wide-set boobs.

(To be clear, when I talk about having broad shoulders and wide boobs, I’m not making a judgement about my body, just stating facts. Plus, I actually like how my broad shoulders make me feel strong and I love how my smallish, wide-set boobs give me ample chest real estate to rock a statement necklace. It’s just that wrap dresses, in general, accentuate those two traits on me in a way that is awkward rather than awesome.)

Still, I really wanted to like this dress. It’s cozy and warm and crazy comfortable and it has pockets! Pretty much everything you dream about in a dress. (Especially in the winter.)

But on its own, it pretty much confirmed my suspicions about the way I look in wrap dresses. It’s just kind of a grey mass that doesn’t do great things for my shape.

new year style challenge: wear one dress thirty different ways over the next thirty days

But I’m not one to give up so easily. (Especially on a dress this cozy.) While the dress on its own isn’t the best for me, I think this is a problem that can be solved by styling. (Rather than the alternative, which is simply to return the dress.)

So I’m giving myself a challenge. Over the next thirty days, I’m going to come up with thirty different ways to style this dress. My goal is to come up with ways to wear this dress that take it from kind of blah to totally badass and fun.

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your face doesn’t need facetune

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why we need more real portraits and less facetune

Yesterday, I got served an ad for the facetune app, and frankly, I was horrified. Not only can you remove blemishes and smooth out your skin, but you can literally change the shape of your facial features. All, so the app claims, your seflies can get more likes.

Since I’ve been photographing my jewelry more on myself, and posting more images of myself (without makeup), I’ve also been thinking about the faces we’re used to seeing online and in the media.

We’ve been told for years to take the images we see with a grain of salt, because literally everyone famous has been airbrushed or photoshopped. But now, thanks to technology, you don’t have to be famous to get the smoothing treatment. You can literally smooth and alter the shape of your face, all with the swipe of an app.

Lately, I’ve been following more people in the body positive community online, and the Militant Baker recently shared a post about the importance of changing our media diet by following more people with diverse body types. I think the same needs to be true for faces.

Because if all we see online are perfectly facetuned faces, it can only make us more critical of the actual faces (ours and others) we come across in our everyday lives.

So here’s my face, as it is. No makeup (except for lipstick), under eye circles, pores, and a zit I forgot to photoshop out.

Oh yeah, and a new Contra Necklace with a gorgeous stone I’m obsessed with. (And that’s available in my online store!) Because I’m trying this radical thing where I assume that real people (not smoothed out selfies) wear my jewelry, and I’m photographing it accordingly.