Trend Update: Bolero Jacket Bust!

As originally posted here, I saw this bolero jacket at thebudgetbabe.com (new favorite blog!) and became OBSESSED with finding a bolero jacket of my own.

So I went over to Target to try the exact bolero jacket in the picture, and it was a total bust. Literally. I was WAY too busty to get that thing buttoned. Undeterred, I went to four different stores on my mission to find one that fit and looked good. I finally found one in a black and white houndstooth at Maurices that I thought would do the trick.

I wasn't quite sure about it, so I tried it on in front of the Style Council, which consists of:
- my mother (style icon, fashion buyer and fashionista, aka Toni of the Ashley's Big Secret Podcast)
- my boyfriend (perpetual nice-guy, incapable of saying anything negative about my appearance, possibly out of fear)
-my father (maker of infuriatingly correct, if unspecific fashion critiques, such as 'something about that just looks... wrong')

The verdict? An overwhelming 'that jacket makes you look like a giant houndstooth barrel'. Apparently, this one just isn't a trend for the busty.

So I bought this to make myself feel better:

Black Tie Optional Ring
Originally $72.00
On Sale Now! $57.20


For fabulous accessories, visit AshleysBigSecret.com.

Please feel free to comment here, or give us a shout out at writeus@ashleysbigsecret.com.
© Copyright 2007. Ashley’s Big Secret, Inc.

Let True Beauty Shine Through!

I am just LOVING this commercial! It's so important to teach young girls that they don't have to look like a supermodel. How long did it take you to realize that it was much more important to find a flattering look for you instead of beating yourself up about your hips/cellulite/skin/grey hair/breasts?

While I'm on my soapbox, kudos to Seventeen Magazine. I still read this mag every month to stay on top of trends, and have taken note that they now have style tips for fuller figured girls, something I would have loved (and really needed) when I read it as a teenager.

Accentuate your natural beauty!

For fabulous accessories, visit AshleysBigSecret.com. Please feel free to comment here, or give us a shout out at writeus@ashleysbigsecret.com.

Tip from Toni: Beauty Is...

When I was in my thirties, I was lucky to meet and become friends with a very beautiful woman. She was well traveled, well read, and very interesting to be around. She attracted people like a magnet because she was such fun to be with. She had flaming red hair, beautiful skin and a great figure. Her stories of her life were vivid, funny and exciting. She lived in Texas and carried a parasol to keep the sun from her face. Carrying a parasol to match her outfits did not seem odd at all but rather a reflection and an extension of who and what she was. She was in her late seventies and I wanted to be like her.

I have reflected over the years why I was so taken with this woman. And I continue to emulate her to this day. She was not young and beautiful like the models in magazines of the time. She had wrinkles and arthritic bony hands. She dressed elegantly but quirky. But she was the complete package. She was herself, comfortable in her own skin. I adored her.

Beauty is what we love about our husbands, our children, our best friends. It does not matter if they are short, tall, thin or fat, have curly or straight hair. It does not matter if they are rich or not. What matters is that we have peeled away the layers to find the things we really like about the person.

Beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder.

Bring out your true beauty!


For fabulous accessories, visit AshleysBigSecret.com.

Please feel free to comment here, or give us a shout out at writeus@ashleysbigsecret.com.

© Copyright 2007. Ashley’s Big Secret, Inc.