Thursday, September 19, 2013

Announcing the Lulu's Fashion Flashback Contest!

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I'm super excited to be partnering with Lulu's today to help announce their Fashion Flashback Contest! Lulu's is offering four lucky winners the chance to update their look with $500 to spend on Lulu's! Pretty awesome, right? Have you given much thought to how you'd update your former self's image? In high school, I wanted nothing more than to just be one of the guys. My uniform -- seen below in embarrassing and unflattering photos from '98 through '02 -- being baggy jeans, a snowboarding sweatshirt, and a giant hemp necklace (self-made, of course). I shopped mostly in the little boy's section of thrift stores and skate shops, and was completely intimidated by the concept of make-up.

While I still love a laid-back look, I'm no longer hiding behind a boy-ish disguise. Jewelry and make-up are no longer mystifying, but finishing touches that I enjoy adding to my outfits when I feel inclined. These days, I'm more likely to pair a drape-y top with skinny jeans, a favorite beanie, and interesting jewelry, to play with proportion rather than hide myself beneath it.

In this outfit: Sweater, tee, jeans, heels, midi ring c/o Lulu's, Wife ring: Bueno Bueno, Sun necklace c/o Sisters of the Moon, Claw necklace: Black Sparrow, other necklace: various, Bracelets: Thrifted
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Yep. That's me. It would be easy to dismiss my teenage self as an unfashionable, mousy tomboy, but when I look at these photos, I can't help but feel a deep appreciation for this person who -- despite a complete lack of confidence -- wasn't afraid to leave the house with messy hair, no make-up, and clothes that were far from the norm for a teenage girl. The girl who skipped school to go skateboarding, who woke up at 6 a.m. to hike up a mountain to go snowboarding with the team the day after prom. And a deep appreciation for my parents (all of them), who never pressured me to wear make-up or dress more feminine, even though I know for a fact they were rolling their eyes behind my self-righteous back. I was allowed to find my own way, to figure it out. And while I do wear make-up now, and have fully, finally embraced my life-long love of fashion, I'm perfectly fine leaving the house without those trappings of femininity, because I know I don't need them to be myself. Whether I like it or not, this girl laid the foundation for who I became, and I'm grateful for that. Even though it is painful to look at.
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It's time to dust off your old yearbook and relive those incredible (and unforgettable, although you've tried) fashion moments of your past self! Whether you ruled the school as a trend-setter or were a total fashion victim, your past style choices are the foundation of who you are today, so why not celebrate it? We wanna see the most epic example of your throwback style in our LuLu*s Fashion Flashback Photo Contest!

Check out these details to enter:
* Like Lulu's on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
* Upload your flashback photo to one of those platforms and be sure
to @mention us and include the hashtag #lulusfashionflashback
* Four entrants will be chosen to win $500 to LuLu*s!
* Winners will be announced on the LuLu*s Blog on Sept. 30th, 2013
at 4pm PST.
** You will not be entered by posting to this blog, only by following the steps above.

 Good luck!