Accidentally twinning with my bff!

Might I add she's pregnant and STILL more fashionable than I am. Ladies (and gents) meet my BFF, Rachel aka 5oclocksunday, and her little baby girl bump! These pictures were taken as we headed out for our afternoon coffee and lunch date. It's normal to eat lunch at 4pm right? Glad I found a friend whose eating habits are as often and sporadic as my own.

Now onto the clothes! Rachel showed up in a pleated black dress from H&M and these white platform sneakers. I have a similar pair -my favorites- from Grates. Meanwhile, I am absolutely loving this flowy white top by I.Am.Gia (similar here). The movement in the arms make me smile and all I kept thinking while wearing this was, "Where's my Beyonce wind at?" I chose to pair it with a high-waisted XIX palms skirt - you may remember the brand from my last post. Finally, I had to throw in my new favorite winter trend: metallic rose gold shoes. These particular mules are from Boohoo and so affordable.  Note: I'm currently screaming #ICan'tEven! I topped the look off with my two most important coffee date accessories: Rach & the bump.

Look 1: Chantelle

Featured piece: Cropped blouse by I.AM.GIA

Paired it with: A high waisted black skirt and metallic mules

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Rachel's Look

Featured pieces: Pleated Dress by H&M

Paired it with: White platform sneakers and oversized plastic headband

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What about you guys? Do you like to twin with your bestie? Comment below and send us photos of you and your best friend's fashionable twin moments.

With love, Chantelle

Worn two ways: Oversized Striped Sweater by The Knot Sisters

I've been following The Knot Sisters on Instagram for a while now, and have gotten their incredible clothes from various boutiques in the past. I love the brand's laid back style/aesthetic and the fact that they were founded in Orange County (basically my second home) and that their "casual cool girl" style reflects that. All that being said, when I got invited to their holiday party at their pop-up shop this winter I had to make the trip down to meet the founders in person! I dragged my sisters, Savannah LaBrant, and bestie, Rachel Richardson, with me as well.... OF COURSE! The Knot Sisters owners, Cheryl and Jamie, are incredible boss babes that have been friends for years, might I also throw in that they have amazing personal style themselves. These besties were constantly mistaken as sisters, so when they started their own business and it came time to name it, it only made sense to let people know that they were kNOT SISTERS. 

One of the favorite pieces that I took home was this striped sweater so I decided to show you how to wear it two different ways. 

Look 1: Bundled up and casual

Featured pieces: Oversized striped sweater by Knot Sisters

Paired it with: A pink shearling coat, light denim jeans and bohemian accessories

Photography by 5oclocksunday

For the first look, I paired the sweater with DSTLD jeans, Nena & Co purse, Artemis sliders, and a shearling Guess Jacket. 

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Look 2: Unexpectedly dressed down with a sneaker.

Featured pieces: Oversized striped sweater by Knot Sisters

Paired it with: Printed knot sisters skirt, a Motif necklace, and custom sneakers by Shoes of Prey.

This second look is my slightly dressy, yet still casual, alternative. I loved pairing the sweater with a midi skirt, and dressing it down even more with a sneaker (similar item here). I have genuinely LIVED in this sweater since I got back to cold SF after my Hawaiian getaway. It's a go to piece for me currently, and I'm obessed with how cozy it is and how easy it is to style. 

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What do you guys think? Which look better suits your style? Let me know your favorites in the comments below. 

With love, Chantelle

As you can probably tell from my Instagram feed, I've been traveling non-stop for the last month. First we went to Costa Rica, then to Orange County to celebrate the holidays and on to Hawaii to bring in the New Year. It's been an amazing break and a great adventure but now I'm headed back home to San Francisco and couldn't be more excited for everything that's to come in 2018. Luckily, most of my travel time was spent in tropical destinations so packing for a month straight was fairly easy. The trick to my vacation style success? Effortless dresses that are breezy, flattering and can be easily translated from beach days to dinner nights. This coral dress from The Knot Sisters is, by far, one of my favorites that I brought along. I've included a full list of my breezy dress favorites for you. If you want the exact dress I lived in this last month shown above, you can find it here.  Note: It's currently on sale! I absolutely love this brand's effortless Southern California style and the way they style their pieces is always perfectly on point. Don't believe me, just look at the photos below. 

With love, Chantelle

Shop breezy and beachy outfits:

More from the Knot Sisters

All photos via www.knotsisters.com

This is my "serious journalist" face. All Photography by Dani Nagel from Dazey LA

You've seen me rock her vintage-inspired, female empowering, killer t-shirts on Instagram but what you probably didn't know is that Dani Nagel, the founder and artist behind Dazey LA, is a total woman-to-watch.

Over the year that we have known each other we've become friends and I have grown to not only admire her awesome designs, but also her work, talent and energy. That's why I wanted to take this chance to interview her during our recent coffee and content date on my trip to LA, so you could all get to know this #girlboss a little better! I'll be sharing my questions, her answers as well as my favorite photos from our shoot taken by Dani herself. 

You can find this shirt here.

Tell us about Dazey LA! 

Dazey LA is my art apparel line with a mission to empower women! The artwork and tees are all 70’s inspired and I hand drawn all of them myself.

Most of the shirts have awesome girl power phrases right on them! We also carry other female-owned brands and artists in an effort to promote our fellow Girl Bosses. We want more women in business so we make a big point to celebrate and support that!  

Another mission of our is to create guilt free fashion. We make every shirt just for you as you order it right here in LA! The "fast fashion" industry wastes so much fabric every year on cheap clothes that don’t event sell, so we are trying to do the opposite by creating things in small batches or as they are purchased. We like to call Dazey a “slow fashion” brand! Everything is made ethically, locally, and with lots of LOVE. Our goal is to make people feel good about supporting Dazey because they know they are supporting so many good things!

 

What inspired you to start your own business? What made you decide to design Tees?

I have wanted to have my own clothing line since before I can remember! I had been sewing clothes for my dolls as a kid and decided I wanted to be a fashion designer when I was in middle school. I’ve also always loved drawing and art, my family is super creative so they really encouraged it.

I ended up going to school for fashion design, but it wasn’t until i had an internship with a graphic tee company I realized that t-shrit design was a career option! It was a combination of two things I love, fashion & art! I designed for many corporate companies over the years including Urban Outfitters and Nordstrom just to name a few. Then I finally built up the courage to leave my job and start my own brand! Haven’t looked back since.

Is it true that Chantelle was one of the first influencers you ever worked with?

Yes!! When you’re a brand new company it can be really hard to get people to want to support you. A lot of influencers like to work with more established brands and us little guys still have a lot to prove. As we all know Chantelle has a big heart and was so so sweet when I reached out! She was kind enough to do a post just to help out my newly launched brand! As both of our brands grew we ended up meeting in person to shoot though our friend Nikia. Now whenever she’s in town we try to meet up and get some coffee and content! 

You can find this shirt here.

Did your shirts have a feminist undertone from the get go, or when did that become the backbone of Dazey?

At the very beginning I just wanted to make happy colorful tees! I have always had a feminist viewpoint and it wasn’t long before I started to integrate that into my graphics. As it turns out so many women loved it and got on board to support! As I began to grow as an influencer and promote female entrepreneurship it naturally became apart of the brand. By showing my journey of starting a business it began to empower other women to start their own as well. It feels so good to have a mission behind what you do!

That incredible Youtube video you put together was was inspiring. What gave you the idea to make it?

It all started from a challenge we did on instagram! My past summer collection was called the “summer of Self Love” and celebrated learning to love who you are despite everything. We started the #shareyourselflove challenge asking girls to tell us about their self love journey, good or bad. The pure honesty and vulnerability that came from those who entered was incredible. It broke down barriers and let so many of us know we are not alone in our insecurities. I had to share some of the stories on video so we posted a casting call. Everyone you see in that video was casted a week before through that post. We could not have asked for a more incredible and diverse group of girls. The power that video hold is all because of them and their bravery in sharing! 

Now, you’ve done swim suit and clutch collabs ... What other fun #BossBabes endeavors have you previously done, are currently working on, or aspiring to do in the future? 

We love collaborating!! Our goal is to break down the stereotypes that women should compete with one another and replace that with a spirit of collaboration and support. We have done printed headbands, swimsuits, clutches, soaps and more! We’re currently working on one with an amazing yoga and athletic company called Wolven Threads! 

You can find this shirt here.

I know first hand what an incredible photographer you are! The fact that you shoot all your own content is phenomenal. How did you get started in photography? 

I am totally self taught! I had a friend of mine show me the settings and I just kept practicing. I got a decent used camera and would set up shoots with whoever was down to play around. I knew when I was going to start my own brand on a budget I couldn't afford to hire photographers all the time so figured I would do it myself! I also used to blog was back in the day so that experience helped! But yes if you’re naturally creative picking up photography isn’t so hard!! 

Speaking of photography, your boyfriend takes your pictures, right? ...and, of course, Franklin (her dog) is the world's best Creative Director.

Ahh yes! It was a similar situation with him as well, just had a natural ability with a little practice. As I began to shift from Dazey just being a brand into a brand/boss blog I wanted to have more photos of me. He has already been taking outfit photos on my phone for years so I enlisted him! And wow it took to it right away and is amazing! I am so grateful to have such a supportive boyfriend. And yes our new puppy franklin is officially know as “Franklin the photo-bomber” because he loved getting in every shot!!

Alright, any artist has had a bartending, retail, juice shop job at some point. What were some of your hustle jobs along the way? 

Haha SO TRUE!! I worked at buffalo exchange for a bit right out of school but that lasted a few months before I was fired for reasons I’m still not sure about lol. Then I took a graphic design class at a community college and had a slew of odd jobs after that. One of them I did cold-call telemarketing for pharmacy bag ads and then created the graphics. It paid horribly and was miserable. I also worked at a print shop cutting designing and business cards and flyers.

Where do you see Dazey in 10 Years? 

I want Dazey to be the ultimate shop for female-owned ethical brands! Like the revolve of guilt-free fashion. I also want to expect the media side of things and really fill our boss blog with more tips, videos, and cool articles! I want Dazey to be the ultimate shop for female-owned ethical brands! Like the revolve of guilt-free fashion. I also want to expect the media side of things and really fill our boss blog with more tips, videos, and cool articles!

Would you ever do influencer collabs? (Wink wink, cough cough)

Haha yes totally! Been meaning to do some in the next year. Lets talk.

Since Dazey has such an inspirational, love more, feminist message... what are some words you have for the Dazey babes as well as the Bridge to Bohemians?

Above all believe in yourself and keep pushing. Life is full of ups, down, and uncertainty. Every bad thing that has happened to me or door that has closed   has prepared me and brought me closer to living my dream. It took some time and life lessons, but now I do what I love everyday.

Be bold, be brave. Know what you want and ask for it! 

To purchase any of the shirts I'm wearing in the photos above and to see more on Dani Nagel head over to her shop www.dazeyla.com and follow her @dazeyLA on Instagram. 

With Love, Chantelle

As I'm sure you've noticed, my sister Savannah and I are big fans of wearing bohemian braids. These are especially great if you have second day hair yet still want to look like you put in a little effort. I also love the versatility of braids which can dress up a casual every-day look or even dress down fancier cocktail attire. Last time I was down visiting Savannah, we decided to get our friend Chrissy from Hair by Chrissy to show us how to take our braided hairstyles to a whole new level. 

For my before look, we started with my hair's natural texture and added subtle beach waves with a 1.5" curling wand. Next we let Chrissy work her magic while we messed around with my niece, Everleigh. Side note: For those of you interested in what I'm wearing, the tee above is Vintage Havana. For the rest of our looks check out the shopping guide at the bottom of this post. 

Hair: Hair by Chrissy; Photography: White Locket Films

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What do you think, which was your favorite braided style? Leave me a comment below and let me know which hair tutorial you'd like to see next. Also, if you want to see the full details on how these styles were created, check out Savannah's YouTube tutorial below.

With love, Chantelle.

Photography by Nathan Martell

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I'm obsessed with these embroidered jeans from Shop Resurrection. There are comfortable and add something a little extra to my everyday denim look. I wore this outfit while shooting with Bedstu in Los Angeles and it was the perfect California fall look. Shop alternatives to these pieces above or check this out for another way to style your embroidered denim jeans. 

With love, Chantelle

Worn two ways: Dressy Tank

Look 1: Girl's Night Out

Featured pieces: Dressy Tank

Paired it with: Velvet Suit

Photography by Breana Taylor of Brilliantly Bre

I'm all about finding versatile pieces that can be dressed up or down. That's why this sea foam mesh tank top was so appealing to me. Here I've shown two ways to wear it and transition this top from day to night. 

For the first look, I paired it with this amazing pink velvet suit from Shop Resurrection. If you are worried about what to wear underneath note that I wore a matching skin tone bralette that practically disappeared under this layered look. This outfit is perfect for a night out with the girls or a funky art show opening. This is something I'd usually wear if I wanted to be a bit more adventurous yet still keep the outfit more playful than sexy. 

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LooK 2: Girl's Night Out

Featured pieces: Dressy Tank

Paired it with: White Crop Top and Embroidered Denim

This second look is my casual alternative. I took a note from the 90s here by layering this top with a cropped white tee. As an added benefit it gave me a bit more coverage. Lately, I've had a thing for this embroidered denim trend and it added an unexpected twist to a dressier top. These Two Bandits earrings add a bit of art school credibility to any denim ensemble. This is such an eclectic outfit that I figured adding a punch of color with my new Zaful shoes was only fitting. Use CODE: FASHION for a discount + free shipping on these amazing fringed heels.  

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Alright, I know you were all checking out this amazing birthday cake latte more than my outfit so go stop by Home in the Outer Sunset to taste all their colorful creations. Also, check this out for alternative looks with these embroidered jeans? 

With love, Chantelle