Editor's note: Below you'll find another blog post from Poplin contributor and plus size fashion guru, Jordan Richardson.

Hello Dear Reader,

I hope you are all staying cool in these record breaking warm days. Who knew the PNW could sustain such heat, Yowza! In the hotter times I know I feel a bit more sluggish and have trouble motivating myself to dress up; so I try to look for throw on pieces to make it easier. Lately I've been thinking about power pieces, pieces that stand out and look instantly put together. I've culled together a couple eye catching, easy to wear pieces that will see you through the summer and into the cooler months.

Stand Out Styles

Get This Nail Polish.

As a personal stylist, I'm often asked what is the "must have" piece of the season. I'm always hesitant to answer this question because I believe that every woman is different. The unique combination of her figure, her personality, her lifestyle, her budget and her personal style determines her must have piece, not what the magazines are telling her.

That being said, it's vital that we all stay current.

And, in order to keep our looks fresh, we need to know what's out there. My current obsession is "mood nail polish." More accurately, it's a hyper color shirt from the 80's on your nails. That's right. Watch your nails shift from orange to yellow as cold water alters their temperature. Or, go for purple and pink.

If you like _ Then Try out _

Editor's note: Below you'll find another blog post from Poplin contributor and plus size fashion guru, Jordan Richardson.

Hello my dearest Reader,

One of my favorite parts about working with Poplin is that I get to share some of the latest and greatest industry news with all of you. One of my hobbies among the glitter and paint strewn across my desk is illustrating, and some of my favorite pieces to illustrate are up and coming designers and their wares. For this I get an excuse, if you will, to follow closely upon the heels of plus size industry big wigs and shakers to see what is coming up that will inspire me!

Last Minute Father's Day Gifts. It's Not Too Late.

Happy Father's Day, Dear Reader.

Holidays are a nice time to reflect on life with the ones we love. Personally, I'm a huge advocate of surprises, so there is much planning that goes into these seemingly innocuous holidays. Although, I must admit that I'm not above the last minute gift. So, before you make that call home, let me just make a few quick suggestions in case you are just realizing you neglected to send something over to dear old dad.

Last Minute Father's Day Gifts that are Still Right on Target

JCOCO's Pop Up Means Couture Chocolate at Your Fingertips

As your very own personal stylist, I think a lot about what works for your individual style. That means your body type, your budget and how you want to express yourself with your clothing. This also includes how you like to spend your time. If you live in Seattle, it's highly probable that you spend some portion of your time savoring high quality food that is responsibly sourced, drinking coffee and entertaining out-of-towners. And, of course, let's not forget shopping.

All worlds collide at JCOCO's new pop up store in Bellevue Square. So, today, it's all about JCOCO and you'll soon see why.

Local chocolatier Seattle Chocolate launched its couture brand, JCOCO, over a year ago. You may have seen my post when things kicked off. As you can imagine, this is chocolate at its finest.

5 Reasons Why You Need JCOCO in Your Life

Giving Back, Seattle SundaymelliciaJune 16, 2015JCOCO, JCOCO Bellevue Square, JCOCO Pop Up StoreComment

This is where I shop.

As a personal stylist for women and kids, people are always asking me to list my favorite retailers. Here's the thing: where I like to shop for myself may not be the place I'd send you. After all, it's all about identifying your personal style, not trying to make you embrace mine.

That being said, I do have a lengthy list of retailers that I adore and send clients to on the regular. Interested?

Summer Sandals- Narrow and Wide Widths

Editor's note: Below you'll find another blog post from Poplin contributor and plus size fashion guru, Jordan Richardson. It's more common than you would think to struggle to find the right width of shoe. Lucky for us, Jordan is on the case!

Hello Dear Reader,

I come to you today with just a quick little post about SHOES! As we approach the summer months, school letting out and vacations being planned; we find ourselves in need of the ubiquitous sandal. Like finding an amazing boot for fall and winter a perfect summer sandal is an elusive but worthwhile endeavor. Just like clothing, finding a great fit can be a challenge especially for those of us with narrow or wide width feet. So while I myself was on the search for a great summer sandal, I thought I would share my finds!

Date Night Heel

Must Know Now: Zara, Uniqlo and Nordstrom.

One of my favorite parts of living in the Northwest is the ramp up in spring and summer. Let's face it, we all have Seasonal Affective Disorder. Need proof? Check out your social calendar. I expect it is jam packed. The challenge during this time of year is choosing what to share with you, Dear Reader.

As your very own personal stylist for women and kids, I'm so overcome with joy about a long list of developments. I'm opting to focus on big news with three large retailers that I love: Zara, Uniqlo and Nordstrom. I hope you are on the Poplin email list as there will be more good stuff to come in this week's email. Off we go!

The Biggest News (for us, anyway) from Zara, Uniqlo and Nordstrom.

Guest Post: 5 Warm Weather Essentials for Teens from The Official US Lifestyle

Editor's note: I can't tell you how long I've been looking forward to this post.

We're very fortunate to have a collection of really remarkable nephews and nieces. (Well, technically there's just one nephew; but he's pretty incredible.) I digress. There's a long list of reasons why we adore them all and of course, each one brings different interests to the table.

Our niece, Isabel, lives in Chicago and one of her many interests is fashion. She has a real gift for it. I've known her since she was three and she was already way ahead of the game at that point. As a personal stylist, when I learned that Isabel and two friends, Ava & Sisley, started a fashion blog, The Official US Lifestyle, I was all over it.

Lucky for me, the team accepted my invitation to do a guest post for Poplin. The girls (who are between 12 and 13) have created a jam-packed list of warm weather essentials for teens and tweens. If there's a young lady in your household, please feel free to share their wisdom. Alternatively, you can simply show off how hip you are by purchasing one of the items as a gift. Because, let's face it: you are that cool.

—

Spring is just starting to roll in, at least here in Chicago. We have gathered a list of our top five essentials for the rapidly arriving season, and have written about how to use them. So, without further ado, let’s get into it!

UncategorizedmelliciaMay 29, 2015Comment

Holt & Lulu: One of My Favorite Brands for Kids on Sale NOW

In addition to styling women, I am also a personal stylist for kids. As you can imagine, I'm on the eternal quest for hip, high quality and affordable children's apparel. It's fun. It's time consuming. And, it can also be incredibly rewarding when something inspirational comes along. Enter: Holt & Lulu.

I discovered local brand Holt & Lulu a few years ago and highlighted the company in the blog last year. That was just the beginning. Now, you can find a number of pieces at Nordstrom.com and expect to find more there this summer and fall. As you may know, Dear Reader, we are in the midst of the Nordstrom Half Yearly Sale. That means crazy savings on all sorts of pieces. In this case, it also means crazy deals on Holt & Lulu.

Holt & Lulu: Clothes for Hip Kids

Are You Missing Something?

Happy Thursday, Dear Reader!

I'm enthusiastically working on the upcoming Poplin Style Direction newsletter and something occurred to me: maybe you aren't going to see it.

Oh, Dear. How's that possible? It could be anything. Maybe you don't want emails cluttering up your inbox or you didn't realize there was a newsletter. Perhaps you thought you were on the list, but now that you think about it, you've never received anything. The options are seemingly endless. In the event that you need a little nudging, here are some reasons to get on board. Go!

5 Reasons to Receive Emails From Poplin

Summer Workwear - Plus Size Edition

Below you'll find another blog post from Poplin contributor and plus size fashion guru, Jordan Richardson. Like what you read? Jordan's research on Sizeism was featured in an article in the Everett Herald? Check it out!

Hello Dear Readers,

If you caught my last post I went over some styling tips for the warmer months since summer can be a rather challenging season to dress in. I touched on tricks to minimize or maximize parts of the body to make you as comfortable as possible. In summer there is an added challenge of dressing cooler but also appropriately for ones' workplace. Therefore, I've decided to offer summer styling ideas for various work places. Enjoy!

Your Summer Work Wardrobe

There's More to me than my Face. How do I Take Care of the Rest of my Skin?

It feels like we are bombarded with information about skincare. Well, it feels that way to me, anyway. Thanks to the skincare team at Cake Skincare, I feel like the skin on my face has never looked better. (At 40, that's really saying something.) However, I struggle with the best course of action for the skin on the rest of my body. As a personal stylist for women and kids, ask me about clothes, and I'm all over it. Ask me about skincare, and I turn to Cake.

So, on a recent visit I asked Amber and Kelly, two Cake Skincare Experts, for some advice and realized this is gold for you, Dear Reader. Below you'll find a comprehensive list of what you must know now to take care of your skin. Can't wait for you to read! Happy Weekend!

Body Skincare 101 from the Experts at Cake Skincare

Retailers for the Woman who is ready to Rock Menswear

My favorite thing about Facebook is discovering that two people you thought were unrelated are actually connected. Two friends from different circles, different cities, different generations. Last week, I was informed of one of those happy accidents. Thank you, Facebook.

As it turned out, two friends of mine from different worlds both mentioned me in a comment string for a mutual friend of theirs. She was looking for help for yet another friend finding menswear-inspired clothing for women. You know how much I LOVE helping people out with this sort of thing. So, as your very own personal stylist for women (and kids), it seems only right that I share this information with both friends, their friend, her friend and anyone else who might be struggling with this. Because everyone deserves the joy of expressing him/herself through fashion. Here we go!

Side note: Yes, I understand that menswear-inspired pieces, androgynous pieces, "butch" pieces, etc. are not all the same. Nor am I in any way grouping folks together. The goal here is to offer up some resources for shopping. I'll let you take it from here.

Rocking the Menswear- Inspired Look? Here's Where to Shop.

Seattle Sunday: Announcing the Winner of the Finerie CoLAB Mother's Day Giveaway

Happy Mother's Day, Dear Reader. As your own personal stylist, I'd like to start the day by thanking you for reading the blog and for entering (I sure hope you entered!) the Finerie CoLAB Mother's Day Giveaway.

If you like Poplin Style Direction on Facebook, follow Poplin on Instagram, follow Poplin on Twitter or subscribe the Poplin newsletter, you were entered to win $100 gift certificate from the Finerie CoLAB for you and another one for your mom. That's $200 in total! That's right. If you do all of the above that's four entries.

If you shared the giveaway on social media, you were entered 10 times for every share! Believe it.

So, to celebrate Mother's Day, it's time to announce our winner. Here we go!

And the Winner of $200 to spend as you choose at the Finerie CoLAB is

The Finerie CoLAB: Because you are THAT Cool.

I am obsessed with the Finerie CoLAB.

There are two stores: The Finerie and The Finerie CoLAB.

The Finerie CoLAB is in a temporary location and will be moving from 2nd and Virginia to Western Avenue in the coming months. What does that mean to you, Dear Reader? It means get there now and then again after the move. From housewares to apparel, accessories to furniture and everything in between, this swanky spot is filled with unexpected items.

Owner Tanya Friberg takes special care to curate a collection of unique items from local, national and international designers. You'll find well-known brands like Desigual. In fact, the Finerie and CoLAB are THE place for Desigual in the Northwest. But, you'll also find a plethora of labels that are most certainly new to you. I'm loving Bitte Kai Rand and de Rosairo right now. And, because of the constant change in inventory and the Finerie's commitment to keeping the shops as destinations, you won't find pieces online.

Where you will find them is in my closet, for starters.

5 Reasons to Visit the Finerie CoLAB Right Now.

Poplin Giveaways, Seattle Sunday, Women's fashionmelliciaMay 6, 2015Comment

$100 for you and $100 for your mom. You're welcome.

Yesterday a client told me about her favorite Mother's Day card. It read,

"Thanks, mom. I turned out awesome."

I love it. And, if you are starting to fret about getting the perfect Mother's Day gift for your mama, never fear. As your very own personal stylist, I have two suggestions for you.

Celebrate Mom with JUST the Right Thing

How DO I Choose a Sunscreen?

The weather is crazy. Is it sunny? Is it rainy? Who knows?

What I do know, is that it is vital to protect your skin from sun damage. As a personal stylist, I spend my time making sure you know how to look and feel like your authentic self. A delightful byproduct of this work is the opportunity to mix and mingle with other experts focused on skincare and lashes in addition to boutique owners and the like. This culminates into lots of useful information for Poplin clients and for you, Dear Reader. So, as we head into a sunnier time, I asked some of my favorite people from Cake Skincare to share tips on choosing the best sun protection for your body. After all, there's more to you than your pretty face.

How Do I Choose the Ideal Sunscreen for my Body?

SkincaremelliciaApril 30, 2015Body Sunscreen, SPF products, Sun protection Comments

My Favorite Things Right Now

Who knows why I own a gorgeous three piece suit? I don't. And, by three pieces I mean a skirt, trousers and jacket that all coordinate. After all, I'm a personal stylist. I don't have any conservative corporate events to attend. I'm not representing another entity. I'm representing myself. And, so began my extreme closet edit. That and a few more of my very favorite things right now. Off we go!

My Very Favorite Things Right Now

Summertime Solutions

Three things: 1. Below you'll find another blog post from Poplin contributor and plus size fashion guru, Jordan Richardson. Like what you read? Jordan's research on Sizeism was recently featured in an article in the Everett Herald? Check it out! 3. She wrote this prior to this beautiful weather. Love her and you will, too.

Hello my dear readers,

As spring settles into full swing with its hectic weather patterns, I cannot help but cherish and look forward to those sunnier warmer days ahead. Though with the sun and heat comes a potential deluge of new styling challenges that can be difficult to traverse. A lot of us are uncomfortable with certain areas of our bodies, and with the warmer months approaching that usually means less layers and clothes, which can at times be uncomfortable. I am hoping to offer some solutions on minimizing the areas you're not as hot on, and maximizing the ones you adore, while remaining comfortably cool in these months to come.