IFB’s Links à la Mode!

Happy Thursday, everyone! I’m completely thrilled to have been featured in this week’s Links à la Mode on IFB for the first time. Check out all of the great posts that made it into this week’s roundup!

The Style Economy

Wow, this was a tough week. There were enough great posts in the submissions to make TWO roundups… but alas, there is only room for 20. So making a mix of informative, introspective, and fun posts I really got to pick some fun posts from the community! It seemed like we had our mind on our money and our money on our mind this week as there were some great posts linking lipstick and shoes to the economy, how to set your wardrobe budget, a wonderful example of restyling items in our wardrobe and a great tips on finding Spring accessories on the cheap. So click on, you’ll be delighted by the things you’ll learn (I particularly liked the informative post about fragrance) and the new habits you just might pick up.

Links à la Mode: April 4, 2013

• à la Mode St.: Corsets: A Transcendental Garment
• All is Belle: Spring Lookbook: Monochrome
• Attire Club: The Fragrance Wheel: Choose Perfumes Like A Pro
• Burgundy Whispers: Can A Daily Routine Be Hurting Us?
• Chic City Live: Runway to Real Life: Jason Wu
• Chicisms: Spring Shoe Trends You Need Now
• City Coeur: How to Create and Maintain a Wardrobe Budget
• Coffee Breaks & Cupcakes: I Wish I’d Known: The Value of Travel
• Cosmolawitan: Lululemon Keeps Taking the Hits: IP and Fashion Woes
• Dress up on a cloudy day: 9 Ways to Wear a Striped Top
• Frantic but Fabulous: How to change your wardrobe once you become a mom
• Jolly Caucus Race: Les Sapeurs- Power Through Clothes
• Look Sharp, Sconnie: Lipstick Magic Trick
• Love Lucy Girl: Makeup Timeline
• Real Girl Glam: 4 Spring Denim Pieces to Wear Now Later
• Rose and Pine: Colorful Spring Jewelry for Under $30!
• Sophisticated Lace: Eugenio Recuenco’s Picasso Women
• The Brasharian : Five Tips to Book a Modeling Job
• The Fashion Junkie: Where is fashion blogging taking us?
• Youth Savage: ?Basta! Shoes & The Economy

SPONSOR: Shopbop: Tocca, VPL Shoes, Massimo Giorgetti, Liebeskind, Golden Lane, Moyna, Thierry Mugler, Christopher Kon, Versace, Joie bags, Rochas Bags

How did I get here? And where am I going?

Image by Chris Piascik

I’m a frequent visitor to IFB for their great posts on blogging. This week, they posted a prompt that is really quite relevant to me right now: why did you start your blog?

Between working full-time, keeping up with my friends and family, and doing all of those boring adult things (paying bills, doing laundry, cooking dinner, etc.), I often let my blog go stagnant for weeks at a time. Lately I’ve been trying to work harder at building my blog, focusing my content, and really making it a reflection of who I am, how I got here, and where I’m going.

When I first started my blog, I was on the verge of graduating from college and had just secured a new job and apartment in New York. It was a really exciting time in my life because I felt like I had finally crossed the border into ADULTHOOD, and I was filled with nothing but hope for what was to come. I didn’t really have a clear vision of what I wanted the blog to be, but I posted occasionally about things that I did, places I went, and (of course) clothes that I liked.

Going back today to think about what my vision (or non-vision) was for my blog has been really refreshing. I’ve realized that my content here hasn’t always been a true reflection of who I am, and maybe it’s time to change that. I have looked to a lot of very successful blogs over the years and wondered why I couldn’t be more like them — to have the money for travel and pretty clothes, to live in a perfectly styled apartment that provides a beautiful backdrop for photos, or to have hours each week to test out new recipes and crafts to feature. But that’s OK, because that is just not who I am at this point in my life.

I want to be able to connect with people here who, like me, are balancing the things they want in life with reality. And more importantly, I want to be able to show people that there is a positive way to find a balance — whether it’s updating their wardrobe while staying on top of their student loan payments, or finding time to whip up something homemade and fabulous in their kitchen despite their 9-to-5. So, cheers to the future of City Coeur! Here’s hoping that I can bring back that same new-graduate hope to this blog years later!