As most popular trends go for me, I'm a little hesitant to try them when they first appear. I don't really like change, and that seems to even apply to what is in my wardrobe. It may also be because I don't like to draw attention to myself all that often, or broadcast what I'm wearing because I am still a little self-conscious about my body. So imagine my surprise that the trend I'm focusing on today, and never thought I'd try on, is something that I actually really love and it's showing skin! There are fireworks going off right now in my brain, just to let you know.
If you keep up with trends, have two eyes or just simply go shopping, you will have seen the cold shoulder trend everywhere! Whether it's on the runway, in magazines or on blogs, this is the trend for S/S'16. The thing that I love the most about this it, and what I've literally just learned a couple days ago, is that it can be worn as pretty much anything you want it to be. I also learned that it is super flattering for my figure, which makes it even more amazing. If you're someone who likes to leave a little to the imagination and eye, like me, then this trend is definitely something to try out. When I put on the dress (pictured above + #4 below) at Old Navy, I felt sexy, feminine and sensual. WHEN DO I EVER FEEL THAT WAY? To answer that, hardly ever, so this is going to be something to embrace all summer.
Obviously I wanted to go on the hunt to find more options, and I surprisingly found a lot for plus size! ASOS Curve always has the 'on trend' items, but Eloquii has one of my favorite dresses right now that accentuates the cold shoulder. Here are six different ways to rock the trend, so shop them below!
1. ASOS CURVE Off Shoulder Midi Sundress In Stripe ($52): I never tend to gravitate towards wearing stripes, but if they're going horizontal on a chambray fabric? I can deal.
2. Cold Shoulder Gauze Blouse ($25): Longer sleeves are my best friend, so this gauze blouse is now in my circle.
3. Studio Off the Shoulder Chambray Dress ($111): Gimme, gimme! I am SO obsessed with this dress, and it's just been restocked on the website. It truly hurts that I will not be able to wear this for my birthday weekend, but hopefully I'll be able to get it someday. Look at those sleeves, and the length! I could see myself dancing the night away in this.
4. Off-Shoulder Tie-Belt Dress for Women ($26): Ah, the first dress that showed me the glorious power of a cold shoulder. Thanks for opening my eyes!

5. Ivory Floral Cold Shoulder Top ($44): Okay..... How gorgeous is this? I'm all about a botanical floral print, and this would be just so much fun to wear during the summer.
6. Stoosh Plus Size Cold-Shoulder Chambray Top ($40): While this looks like it's part of a top + pant set, I could definitely see wearing this with a cute pencil skirt. Also, I love the ruffle effect on the sleeve.

Would you ever bare your shoulders this summer?

Here we are again! June has officially started, I'm closer to being a year older, summer is beginning soon and life is moving along as quickly as ever. When I was thinking of what I wanted to start this month with, I was going back and forth between an idea that I had come up with for May, but never got around to finishing. It's an interesting theme and one that I've not talked about before on Mostly Lisa. Since I really enjoy talking about trends and how they relate to each season, finding ways to talk about this one has kind-of put me into a loop. The idea was how to incorporate maximalism into a post about fashion, even though it's mostly used in the artwork world. Then I instantly thought, "well, isn't fashion art?" and so here we are today.  Maximalism is defined as, "a reaction against minimalism,  an aesthetic of excess and redundancy. The philosophy can be summarized as “more is more”, contrasting with the minimalist motto "less is more". 

I am definitely not someone who thinks about more is more when it comes to fashion, but I wanted to step out of my comfort zone and think about ways that I could be that person. Getting inspiration from Dries Van Noten, Gucci and Jackson Pollock really helped get the creative juices flowing, and I've slowly realized that when it's done right, this aesthetic can be really beautiful. I've also noticed that maximalism has been taking over the runway lately, starting just a few seasons ago. Designers are being bold when it comes to mixing patterns, creating layers of different fabrics to cohesively serve one another and unexpected colors are getting mixed together. When I found the inspiration from Gucci, it was like the heavens opened! For real though, go check out their Spring 2016 RTW collection for all your maximalism needs. Enjoy my take on what this trend means for me, and shop all the links below!