Monday Maven: Chanel

I'm very happy to introduce to you this week's Monday Maven. Her style is the epitome of glamour and edge, and her blog is the kind that you get hooked on with one quick glance. I present to you, Chanel from Chanel Craves!

StyledByU: What made you begin blogging and what motivates you to keep going?
Chanel: A couple of years ago, I stumbled upon a fashion blog. I had no clue fashion blogs existed. It inspired me to start my own blog Chanel Craves the spring of 2010 as a way to express my personal style. The positive feedback I get from my readers motivates me to continue blogging and inspiring others.

SBU: What advice would you give rookie bloggers for building a successful blog?
C: Be yourself, and just have fun with it.

SBU: How would you describe your personal style?
C: I would describe my style as classically girly with a edgy twist.

SBU: Who is your all-time favorite fashion inspiration, living or dead?
C: Love, love, love Rachel Zoe. She's a fashion goddess. Also, Monica Rose the mastermind behind the Kardashian's style.

SBU: Tell us something about yourself that we wouldn't know just by following your blog...
C: I have a degree in Marketing, and outside of blogging I work in advertising at a tv station.

Thank you so much for letting us have have a peek into the fabulous world of Chanel!

My Fashion Friday: Black Jumper

I've been hankering for a black jumper for a long time, I think it's such a versatile clothing item and I have a million ideas for how I would style it, whether for work, a social event, a walk around town, or any old mundane task. Below is one of the ways I've thought of sprucing it up: a touch of color in the accessories:

My Fashion Friday: Black Jumper by elisastyled featuring clutch hand bags

Star-Studded Thursday: Raiding Her Closet

Inspired by Karla from Karla's Closet:

Dress #18
Top Not Pictured
Belt Not Pictured
Shoes Not Pictured



The uber popular blogger always shows off her UHMAZING style in duds that leaves all of her readers drooling and dreaming of having a closet as fabulous as hers. The outfit above was easy enough to emulate so that I could feel like I raided her closet for at least one day :) Ah, if only...

Tuesday Treasure: CJAJ09

I found this fantabulous little online store of beautifully designed, African-ispired clothes. They have everything from dresses and skirts to accessories, and they're affordable to boot! I spent quite a bit of time browsing through their beautiful lookbook and was so impressed with their structured and sophisticated pieces that I just knew this was the site I had to write about today on our Tuesday Treasure feature!

From their website:

Established in 2009, CJAJ09 is an independent African fashion design house and clothing store that is all about making style accessible and fashion affordable for the sophisticated, hard working and discerning woman. We believe that culture and heritage should not have to cost that much and that clothes should be an extension of ones style, belief and background, a way to show who we really are... Our designs draw from the beauty and sophisticated nature of European fashion mixed with the richness and ethnicity of African culture...

Click HERE to visit this enchanting shop today!

Start-Studded Thursday: Casually Chic

Inspired by Emily from Cupcakes and Cashmere:

I love the way she looks so put together and chic in an easy, casual way. Such a versatile outfit to go from day to night, I just had to try my own version of it!

Top Not pictured
Skirt #31
Shoes #8





Instead of a chambray shirt, I wore a light blue cotton button up, and completed the look with a my tulip skirt with the bow detail and strappy black heels.

Wildcard Wednesday: Back to Basics

So for our first Wildcard Wednesday, I let random.org choose a number between 1 and 63 in order to determine the top around which I would style my outfit.


it picked Top #38:


And this is the outfit I styled around it:
Top #60
Belt borrowed from my cousin Manuel (shhh, don't tell him!)
Skirt Not Pictured (Memo to self: gotta update pictures!)
Shoes #14



It was so easy to pull out basic pieces to dress up the v-neck tshirt, this tshirt is comfy enough to sleep and work-out in, yet it's versatile enough to be made appropriate for a business setting.

Hope you enjoyed this installation of Wildcard Wednesday! :D

Tuesday Treasure: Apartment Hunting

So I'm looking to move to a bigger apartment... and as is bound to happen with any stylish-minded person, my head is already spinning with ideas for decorating the place.


While browsing the net, I found this awesome blog, packed full of ideas for decorating small spaces. I have a feeling I'm going to be spending lots of time thumbing through all the beautiful pictures and making mental notes for my upcoming decoration projects! So exciting!!!

All images via www.smallplacestyle.blogspot.com

Blazerless Blogger

Suggested by Juanette from Fashion Nette-Work

Dress #2
Shoes #8
Belt #7

I absolutely LOVED the way the salmon-colored belt pops against the dark background of the rest of the outfit, while playing nicely off the hints of salmon on the dress' print. I didn't have a blazer to wear with this outfit (a style blogger who doesn't have a blazer?!? I shudder at the thought!), so I opted for a cardi instead.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is why Juanette is one STYLISH maven! :D

Loved wearing this. Thanks Juanette!

Monday Maven: Juanette

Hi Dolls!
So for my very first Monday Maven feature, I was able to chat a bit with Juanette from Fashion Nette-Work and got her insight on blogging, fashion inspiration and more!
I present to you the lovely Juanette:


styledbyU: What made you begin blogging and what motivates you to keep going?
Juanette: I started my blog to generate interest for my styling/personal shopping business but the blog was very "safe" in those days. It started out mainly as fashion advice and photos of looks and trends and then evolved into what it is now, about my style, trials and tribulations. I must admit I enjoy blogging more now that I've found my voice but the time factor is putting a dent in the time that I can devote to blogging.

sbU: What advice would you give rookie bloggers for building a successful blog?
J: Keep at it and be yourself! I would say make your presence known on other blogs and sites to get exposure. I also have a tendency to look over blogs that are too wordy unless it's broken up by photos, so keep it simple. My attention span is short!


sbU: How would you describe your personal style?
J:Hmmmm, I would say ever changing, one day I'm "sexy secretary" and the next I'm "boho chic." But I get stuck in style ruts and feel that I have to shake things up so I try to challenge myself and will shop my closet or think of ways to update my look without breaking the bank. My style is definitely girlie, I love a dress or a skirt! And I wear heels more often than not so people always say that I look "dressed up" but I can be "my kind of casual" and still feel like me.

sbU: Who is your all-time favorite fashion inspiration, living or dead?
J: I'd have to say Tracee Ellis Ross and Solange Knowles are current style inspirations and I sometimes say "WWJennaDo" (Jenna Lyons, the creative director of J. Crew) when I need to think outside of the box. But my all time fave is Willona from Good Times, I covet her style, I would love to have her wardrobe from the show.

sbU: Tell us something about yourself that we wouldn't know just by following your blog...

J: Hmmmmmmm, it has to be something that I don't mind sharing, lol! I'm a true Jay-Z fan but I think I've mentioned that a few hundred times already. But I've found most people are surprised that I'm such a fan. But I listen to everyone from Jigga to Esperanza Spalding to Coltrane to John Mayer. I also have a "wicked" sense of humor, I like to fancy myself as witty but in a "OMG I can't believe she said that" kind of way. I definitely try to keep it PG-13 on the blog but odds are I've thought or said something waaaaay worse in real life. I call that being a "realist" lol.


sbU: Will you style my outfit for the day?

J: I like dress #2 with some tights and shoe #8 with belt #7 and paired with a cute blazer.

Thanks for agreeing to be featured as this week's Monday Maven Juanette!
Stay tuned for my outfit post from Juanette's suggestion :)

New and Improved!

Top: Not pictured
Pants #10
Belt #10
Shoes #2










This is my outfit for the day, but that's not what I want to talk about today...

I want to tell you about the new and improved blog that this will be from now on! I'm really excited about this, it's going to be oodles of fun.

Check out the blog format I will be doing:

Monday Maven - Once a week feature where I interview a style/fashion blogger I love and admire so we can all get to know him/her better!

Tuesday Treasure - A gem I found while perusing the net during the week. A link, an outfit, a tweet, a quote, a picture, ANYTHING basically that tickled my funny bone, inspired my style, or piqued my interest in any other way.

Wildcard Wednesday - I'm going to be daring and let random.org pick a number, and base an outfit around a clothing item with that number for the day. Wild, eh?

Star-Studded Thursday - I duplicate an outfit inspired by a celebrity or fashion blogger.

My Fashion Friday - I style an outfit via Polyvore or some other medium to show what kind of creativity ensues from this majestic head of mine!

So what do ya'll think! I'm so excited to get started!

Thanks for reading, it only gets better from here :)

P.S. To stay true to the whole concept of this blog, I will still be taking suggestions for my daily outfits. The only days that I wont be wearing outfits suggested by my readers, given I receive enough suggestions, will be Wednesdays and Thursdays. So keep sending in suggestions so that I truly keep being Styled by U!

Better StyledbyU

Hi Dolls!

So I've taken a hiatus due to life getting hectic, but now I'm back and ready to take on this blog to a whole new level! Thanks for those of you who stuck around, and I hope I wont disappoint y'all from this point on! Stay tuned though, great things are about to start happening here at StyledbyU!