by desing | Classes
Draping and adorning yourself in the colors, textures and latest looks that make you feel amazing doesn’t have to be an experience that sees you spending more money than you actually have. Being a fashionista on a budget is a reasonable goal that can quickly become a reality. All it takes is familiarizing yourself with the ins and outs of making your dollar stretch and letting prices work for you, not against you, without sacrificing one iota of your personal style.
Plan a Mix-And-Match Wardrobe
Source: The Martini Chronicles
When you’re looking to maximize your dollar, investing in outfits that can only be worn once a month and that don’t play well with the rest of your wardrobe is super limiting! Do yourself a favor and greatly increase the versatility of your wardrobe by stocking up on a ton of basics and solid colors with a few memorable prints and special pieces thrown into the mix. A white blouse, black trousers, pair of skinny blue jeans, dark blazer and black or camel colored trench act as an amazing base to a full, highly functional closet.
Let Accessories Work Their Magic
One of the easiest ways to maintain a very now wardrobe without receiving a major dent in your wallet is accessorizing. Consider some very significant options that can turn an otherwise “just okay” outfit into an on-trend dream ensemble:
Source: Atlantic-Pacific
- Hair and Nails: These accessories stay with you everywhere you go, so make the most of them. An of-the-moment hairstyle and manicure will freshen up your look immediately.
- Sunglasses: Pop on some on-trend shades, like 2013’s pastel flower-bedecked specs.
- Jewelry: Heirloom pieces are classic and simply offer an effortlessly chic look. For a modern vibe, throw on one piece of statement jewelry, from a necklace to a ring. It’s that simple.
- Scarves: Add dimension and print to your wardrobe. From cheetah prints to florals, throwing on a scarf over an outfit full of solid colors adds such versatility.
- Belts: Add a pop of color. Wear a chain. Opt for a sprinkling of metal studs. Play around with a hint of animal print.
- Shoes: A black turtleneck and skinny jeans worn with nude flats perform double duty for date night when you pop your feet into a pair of cobalt blue stilettos. Pretty powerful stuff.
- Handbags: A clutch with a chain-and-leather strap dresses up a button-down shirt and jeans while a slouchy hobo or structured messenger gives your look a casual weekend vibe. The sky’s the limit.
Keep Up With Fashion Blogs
Source: Amazon (Fashion Blogs by Kirstin Hanssen)
Read blogs that focus on budget for amazing deals you may never have come across. A few great steals from websites and stores you’ve never heard of increase your pool of budget-friendly fashion resources and … before you know it … shopping on a budget is much easier than you once thought possible.
Discount Tips and Tricks
Never ever purchase something the second you see it (unless, of course, it’s a one-of-a-kind must-have or on major sale). Whether you’re shopping at the Gap, a department store or an online boutique, there are often savings to be had. Consider some tips and tricks for extra savings.
- Shop Trend-Focused (Wallet-Friendly) Stores
Focus on what makes trends what they are: silhouette and color go a long way. Shop stores that pay close attention to trends, such as Forever21 and H&M for the look you want without the guilt.
- Use Promo Codes: Promo codes might show up with a purchase for your next buy, they may appear on a website’s banner or in a current paper catalog. Sometimes you can even register your email with online stores that offer discounts via email. Those full price jeans become affordable with a 30 percent off promo code!
- Use Online Coupon Sites: Sites like RetailMeNot.com can be accessed from your computer or cell phone and offer discounts for both online and brick-and-mortar stores. It might sound too good to be true at first, but you won’t believe how much you can save with a quick search.
- Check eBay: Don’t underestimate eBay’s powers. Just know what you’re looking at. You can bid on, make offers or buy immediately items that are new with tags (NWT), new without tags (NWOT) or pre-owned. When there’s a J.Crew coat you must have with an out of control price tag, an “I wore this once” coat for half the price can make your day.
Thrift It Up
Source: New York City Opera Thrift Shop
When you have the time, check out local thrift stores for some amazing finds. Some days are golden while others are duds. But if you put the time in, you can find some vintage treasures as well as items people decided to donate with tags still attached. Ask any thrifter and she’ll tell you about the Christian Dior blazer she found for 8 dollars or the DVF bag that looked brand new.
Maintaining a luxe wardrobe worthy of a fashionista can feel like a bit of a challenge when you’re keeping a tight hold on your purse strings. Fortunately, with a keen eye and a few tips and tricks under your (probably adorable) belt, shopping to fit your lifestyle is completely possible and becomes just as fun as wearing your amazing finds.
About Tarah Damask
Tarah Damask holds an MA in English and Creative Writing and recently launched her blog The Squeaky Spoon where she shares her passion (and easy steps) for a plant-based, oil- and-gluten-free lifestyle. You can follow her on Twitter and check out some of her other writing here. For those in need of a master wordsmith, blogger and editor, she would love to write for you.
by desing | Impact Lives, Our Legacy, Services
Embrace Her Legacy works closely with NYC non-profit organization, Building Young Minds, in creating programs that will educate young women on how to embrace their legacy and empower them with the knowledge needed to develop self-esteem and self-awareness. Here are some images from our previous programs.
by desing | Faith & Purpose
I love this quote by Wayne Dyer: “Self-worth comes from one thing- thinking that you are worthy.”
The level of your self-worth will affect so many areas of your life: your relationships, career, aspirations, spirituality, etc. Most women struggle with insecurity at one time or another, but it is important to be able to understand how the lack of feeling confident can affect your life.
To be insecure means that you lack confidence in one or more areas of your life. To come to a point of becoming less insecure and more confident, it will take a commitment to honestly look at your core beliefs and take steps to change them. You must take responsibility for your power, confidence level, and potential. After all, you have immense potential to be and do anything you want in life!
Insecurity can affect your relationships, career potential, growth level, and more. Here are some tips for you to consider in order to free yourself from little to big insecurities that you may be holding onto.
Surrender to the truth. Eleanor Roosevelt said, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” Surrender to the truth that you are responsible for how you feel. Don’t put the blame on your dysfunctional childhood, rude partner, bad luck, etc. If you carry around the victim mentality, you will continue to struggle with insecurities and your personal and professional growth will be stunted emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.
Allow healing to begin. Most likely you have insecurities because of unfortunate situations or hurtful things that happened to you in the past. You may have been hurt emotionally by a family member or spouse. Maybe the kids at school made fun of you. Perhaps your friends let you down. Think about the things that happened to you that made you begin to feel sad, fearful, or angry.
Process the feelings, forgive anyone who needs forgiven, and let the negative emotions go. Allow healing to begin in your heart. You must let go of the past and the negative feelings associated with it if you want to experience freedom and more confidence. As you do, you will begin to feel happier and more confident.
Change your thought pattern. A belief is just a thought that you keep thinking. Do you believe that you are unworthy of success? Do you believe that people don’t love you? That you’ll never get ahead? That you’re too damaged, too shy, too lazy, too unfortunate, or too late to find happiness and success in life? All of those beliefs you have owned because of the negative thoughts you’ve been thinking up until this day.
If you’re experiencing insecurities such as fear and doubt, you are surely thinking fearful and doubtful thoughts. You must change your thought pattern to break free from such insecurities. Changing your thought pattern is easier than you think. Take a couple of days and monitor your thought life. Take note of your negative thoughts. Write them down and then cross them out and replace with a positive thought that counteracts the negative one.
If you tend to think:
“I’ll never get that promotion”, cross it out and write, “That promotion is mine!”
If you think, “I’ll never find a guy that will love me”, cross it out and write, “I am beautiful and lovable. What guy wouldn’t want to be with me?”
Every time you catch a negative thought coming into your mind, mentally shout, “Stop!” and recite the positive affirmation out loud. Do this over and over until positive thinking becomes habitual for you. Doing so will certainly help you to overcome your insecurities.
Be proactive in raising your self-esteem. If you have some insecurities, you’re self-esteem is lacking. Make a commitment to become more confident by engaging in behaviors and activities that accomplish this.
If you want to be more confident in your career, take time every day to invest in becoming an expert in your field. As you do, you will be less insecure and more confident. You can also change up your business wardrobe, as dressing to impress actually increases your confidence level and other people will look at you as more professional.
If you want to be more confident in your relationship, be sure to discuss all issues honestly and openly with your partner. Set appropriate boundaries. If you are wrestling with things like jealousy or the fear of abandonment, do some research on these topics and allow relationship experts to teach you how to be your best in a relationship.
Visualize rock solid confidence. Visualization is a powerful tool that you can use to become the confident person that you desire to be. Many successful men and women have envisioned their success long before it manifested. Mental imagery is an easy avenue to create forward momentum to becoming all that you want to be.
See yourself confident, abundantly happy, peaceful, thriving, advancing in your career, experiencing financial abundance, and in relationship harmony with everyone. Do this as often as you’d like- in the morning, at the office, sitting on your porch, and while you lie in bed at night.
Remember, what you think and see in your mind becomes a reality. Think positive thoughts and see your desired results NOW. As you continually do these, you will be able to say goodbye to insecurity and hello to sweet confidence- and that is something to smile about.
About the Author
Dominica Applegate is a self-employed writer who loves to write about mental health, relationships, success principles, spirituality, and fitness. Merging a BS in Psychology, MA in Counseling, and fifteen years’ experience as a mental health professional, she’s gained a great deal of experience helping others reach their full potential. She is the founder of Extreme Life Potential blog, which is dedicated to encouraging, motivating, and empowering others to reach their full potential by redefining who they are from the inside out.
by desing | Tools
Starting your own business can be an anxiety-filled venture. So much depends on you, and there are so many responsibilities to oversee, that it would make anyone more than a little nervous.
The good news is that many of the traits that drove you to become an entrepreneur are the same traits that often lead to business success. Take a look at the following list and see how many of these traits you have. (I’m willing to bet that if you’ve decided to give your own business a go, you’ve already got quite a few of them!)
Passion
There are plenty of ups and downs in starting your own business, and it can get tiring and discouraging. This is where your love for your business will get you through many a long night or a bad bit of news.
If you’re not head-over-heels in love with your business—if it isn’t something you feel called to do and eager to get up for in the morning—then you should ask yourself why you’re really doing it. Are you just sick of working for someone else? (If that’s the case, maybe you can still start a business, but in a field you are passionate about?) Are you doing it because it’s a hot market right now and you want to jump in on the action? (So are plenty of other wannabe entrepreneurs. Most of them will drop out once things get tough.)
Determination
Entrepreneurship isn’t for the faint of heart. Those ups and downs I mentioned? All the passion in the world won’t help you through them if you don’t also have a dogged determination to see things through. If you can accept the fact that things won’t always be easy, but keep plugging ahead in spite of it, you can ride out the downs and start creating more and more ups for yourself and your business. Stick-to-it-iveness goes a long way.
Willingness to Learn and Adapt
In today’s ever-shifting digital landscape, new technologies and social platforms are coming out at a dizzying rate. You don’t want to get caught up in chasing every shiny new strategy that comes along, but you should be open to learning new things when it becomes clear that it’s time for your business to evolve in order to survive.
Maybe that means learning how to use Facebook and Twitter to promote a small business. Maybe that means taking professional courses and attending seminars. Whatever it is, if you’re open to learning new things and incorporating them into your business, you can continue to thrive no matter what new shiny things crop up next.
Ambition
Ambition is different than passion. Plenty of people have passion but no ambition, which is why so many people talk about how they’d love to write a novel/own a restaurant/go skydiving, but they stay comfortably put on their couches.
Ambition is drive. It’s that restless, hungry energy inside of you that makes you want to change things, to improve things, to push yourself to the limit and test the constraints of what can be done. And it’s what makes some of the most successful entrepreneurs a force to be reckoned with.
Self-Discipline
When you’re an entrepreneur, the great thing is that you’re your own boss. The bad thing is also that you’re your own boss.
When you don’t have a manager or supervisor checking your timesheets every day, the job of keeping yourself on task falls to you. You need to be able to set deadlines, stick to deadlines, keep your records organized, and resist the urge to take a day off when things get tough just because technically no one will care if you do.
Many entrepreneurs are fiercely independent; that’s what led them to go into business for themselves to begin with. So if you find yourself tempted to slack off a bit because you can “get away with it,” just imagine what it was like when you did have to clock in and account for every minute of your day. Be glad you’ve earned the freedom to work on your terms. Then remind yourself that working on your terms still means working, and hard.
A Bit of a (Healthy) Ego
We’re taught that it’s best to be humble and not to brag about our accomplishments. But when you’re your business’s only advocate, you’d better be willing to get out there and promote yourself from the rooftops.
Of course, there’s a difference between marketing yourself and shoving your business down people’s throats. Being pushy and too used-car-salesman-y will only turn prospective customers off. If you’re not quite sure how to walk the line between selling and shoving, there are plenty of great resources available to you, including blogs like Copyblogger and books like Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World. Chances are if you’ve taken the leap into entrepreneurship, you’re pretty certain you have what it takes. Now, you just have to get out there and show other people that.
by desing | Tools
Women’s earning potential continues to rise. One indication of this financial success is more than a third of American women today are now the family breadwinner.
Overall, this is a triumph, yet in today’s economy money problems worry women more than ever before. Studies show that women are uneasy about financial management. Do you empathize with this challenge? Are you facing a similar situation?
The good news is it doesn’t have to be this way. By arranging personal finances into a system of four “buckets” – expense, investment, reserve, and giving bucket – anyone can experience peace of mind and achieve financial success.
Bucket One – Operating
This is your general “home base” account to deposit all incoming revenue, and from which you can withdraw funds for day-to-day expenses.
By setting up your online banking so that a percentage of disposable income can be withdrawn from your Operating Bucket, you will be able to deposit monthly allotments into the three additional buckets listed below. After disbursing funds to Buckets two, three, and four, aim to have 70 percent or less of your disposable income available in the Operating Bucket to pay for expenditures and expenses.
Bucket Two – Investment
If you can regularly set aside 10 percent of your income for the purpose of investing, you will develop a fund that builds working capital. In other words, this money isn’t a long-term savings to counteract foreseeable money problems. Instead, this account is intended to be carefully invested so you can generate new income and build wealth.
However, a type of investment meant for long-term financial gains is found in retirement funds. Aside from having a 401k, women are wise to explore other investment opportunities, like annuities and bonds, which can provide income in years post-employment.
Bucket Three – Reserve
It’s ideal for this bucket to receive 10 percent of your monthly income as well. This account is available for urgent matters like out-of-the-ordinary medical expenses or a job loss. You may want try collecting 3-6 times your monthly income in this bucket so that when money problems arise, you’ll have a reserve from which to draw.
In addition, when configuring how much money you want to reserve, try to be conscientious of your retirement needs. There are many different schools of thought on how much a person needs to retire comfortably. This number is unique to your lifestyle and medical needs. By setting a financial goal for retirement, you can begin building your future today.
Bucket Four – Giving Back
The final bucket is set up to fund donations, as in making a tax detectable contribution to local charities, international aid organizations, and/or your place of worship. Transferring approximately 10 percent of your disposable income to this bucket allows you to give and monitor money going to philanthropic purposes. This bucket is optional, but included because many women agree that making generous contributions brings great return.
By adopting the “Bucket Banking Strategy,” created by financial coach, Frederick W. James, women today, of all ages, incomes, and backgrounds, can create an outstanding, stress-free financial future for themselves.
Sources:
http://frederickwjames.com/finance-coach-banking-program-builds-wealth-manages-cash/
by desing | Faith & Purpose
Your true purpose is knocking on the door. Will you let it in?
Whether you realize it on a conscious level or not, life is always handing you opportunities – but what you choose to do with it all depends on you. Do you fear the unknown, or are you willing you take the plunge? Will you accept another ‘comfortable’ job offer (just like every other job offer you’ve taken in the past) or will you seek out unfamiliar territory, listen to your gut, and live the highest and happiest life possible?
Will you let your current career establish your true calling for you, or will you dictate what you’re meant to really, truly do for others, and for the world?
It’s all up to you. It’s all in your hands, and should you go for the gold in your life – your true life calling – you’ll discover the new ‘you’ that’s been in hiding all this time. It could be that for years and years, as you suffer through an unchallenging, comfortable, and monotonous job which pays your bills (but doesn’t provide much else), you dream of a career that is creative, intellectually stimulating and full of adventure. Whatever that may be – a brave new career in fashion, becoming a cookbook photographer, or traveling the world as a travel writer – know this: it’s possible because you have all the talent, passion and desire to make it so.
So what are you waiting for?
Here’s how to dive right into 2013 (without wasting another second!) and live out your highest purpose to land the career of your dreams. Apply these three tips to discover where your talents really lie (and chances are, there are many talents you possibly never knew you had), how to leverage them to make a living, and how to exist outside-of-the-comfort-box.
- 1. Think with your ‘gut, not your brain. There’s a trick that millionaires and some of the most successful CEO’s, Presidents and world leaders use on a daily basis to make accurate decisions in business, and in life: They think intuitively.
When is the last time you stopped thinking exclusively about an upcoming important decision you had to make intellectually, and thought with your gut? Women are naturally born with a sixth sense, and while everyone has the ability to tap into their inner wisdom, many women have a stronger sense of what’s right or wrong than men do. So use it, and as a result, develop a higher sense of what your true purpose is.
We’re all faced with decisions, and sometimes we have so many of them to make, it can feel like we constantly doubt ourselves. When is the best time to talk to my boss about my yearly evaluation? How do I possibly switch careers at this point in the game? What action can I take to prove to my supervisor I’m capable of a more challenging workload to demonstrate my capabilities?
Whatever decision you have to make – and there’s dozens a day – you have the opportunity to stop, listen to the whispers of your ‘gut’ and take action on it. Here’s a tip: Ask yourself what the right action to take, in fact, is. If you think about choosing ‘A’, do you feel anxious, nervous, and stressed? Then your body is giving you a clear “Red light! Don’t go!”
If you choose option ‘B’, and you feel relieved, calm and confident, then you have you answer: “Go! Now!” With practice steering away from thinking intellectually and responding instead to how your body feels, you’ll always make the right decision – in your relationships, in your communication with the power players of your life, and especially within the scope of your true life’s work.
- Focus on thoughts of gratitude for what you want, as though you already have it. It doesn’t matter what you currently have, or don’t have in your life today. Act thankful for everything and everyone that have made their way into your life, and you’ll reap more prosperous opportunities for the future. It’s as true as the birds in the sky or that coffee cup sitting in front of you – when you send out thoughts of self-love, appreciation and gratitude for what you do have, you’ll reap more of the good stuff along the way.
Now, take it one step further. When you visualize what you do want in a career, an intimate relationship, or even how your upcoming meeting will go – as you want it to go and believe it can go, you’ll create a magical attraction to you, each and every day. It could be that you are sending your resume to a new company that you’re a perfect fit for, or you’re pitching your fictional story to a publisher.
Utilize the power of your imagination to believe that the end result is a phone call from that person telling you that not only do you have the job, but you are just the person they’ve been waiting for. The trick is to practice sending thoughts of gratitude for that dream job opportunity to appear in your life. Practice imagining what emotions you’ll feel as a result of doing the work you were born to do. How does it make you feel in that position – happy? Confident? Fulfilled? Practice holding onto these emotions in your mind daily, and your life will begin to bring them to you, as opposed to struggling to achieve it.
- Let go of your need to make others happy. Being a woman means that you’re made of sugar and spice, and everything nice…or so the nursery rhyme goes. But how can you make that work for you as a serious professional with a rare gift to offer the world that no one else can? You can be nice, sweet, and full of sugar and spice…but if you’re serious about developing a career utilizing your unique gifts and make a living from it, you’ll need to create strong, definite boundaries for yourself.
No matter what your true calling is, there will be someone along the way you may think differently. Maybe a potential investor won’t agree with your business plan, or a colleague will have something negative to say about your dream to become a muralist.
Develop a mindset as you endure the trial and error of your true life work by remembering this: What they have to say has nothing to do with you. As you remember that and keep pressing on, you’ll discover that not only will your true work begin to manifest into your life, but that your tough boundaries have become part of who you are and long to be – a woman who doesn’t take “No!” from anyone. And as a result, you’ll become who you’ve always been and doing what you were born to do.
by desing | About Maria, Our Legacy, Our Media
Our founder Maria I. Melendez talk about what makes her an empowered woman. Thanks to Overture for providing this incredible video.
What do you think makes you an empowered woman? Let us know in the comments below!
by desing | Tools
If you’ve broken into the industry of your choice you’ve most likely paid some dues. “Paying dues” represents the “work your way to the top” concept that most old-school leaders (I’m one of them) deem mandatory for success. It’s the foundation of what your career journey is built on, and keeping track of each “brick” is valuable. Whether you’ve started out as an assistant and worked your way up to manager or began as an intern and secured yourself a full-time gig it’s important that you always “keep your receipts”. Now when I refer to the “receipt” I’m talking about the list of your accomplishments, your track record; the hustle you put in to land your dream job. Whether you keep your receipt physically or symbolically it’s imperative that you do so for three reasons. First, it will serve as a reminder of how far you’ve come. Staying on the grind is great but you can grind so much that you can forget the work you you’ve already put in. Keeping your receipt handy will keep you focused on where’ve you been and where you are going. The key to success is to always work smarter not harder.
Secondly, keeping your receipt is your record of time purchased. Paying dues is all about putting in the long and hard time of learning your craft from the ground up. You should always be moving forward and never backwards. Sometimes we don’t give ourselves enough credit when it comes to our talents and expertise. We often take on and accept responsibilities and jobs that we are overqualified for because we forgot our “receipt”. Respect is not given, it is earned. And your earnings are in your receipt.
Lastly, keeping your receipt is a humble reminder that nothing is owed to you. As you continue to grow and succeed in your career it’s important that you never forget where you came from and never allow your coveted position to define who you are. I’ve seen so many successful people climb to the top and kick the ladder once they arrived. Only to find their self stranded when they were kicked and needed a crutch. I’m not saying that you should not celebrate your merits and pat yourself on the back for a job well done. However, I am reminding you that you should always keep your receipt because if you ever need to start over your work and character will already be spoken for.
About Rashana A. Hooks
Rashana A. Hooks is writer, editor and author. Follow her on twitter @rashanahooks
by desing | Classes, Our Media
Learn how to transition your make-up from day to night with Shameika Bowman, our guest celebrity make-up artist.
by desing | Events, Our Legacy, Our Media, Services
Watch our exclusive footage from our “Igniting Your Legacy” event with guest-speaker, Gilt Groupe executive and marketing extraordinaire, Rashana Hooks.
