Clean lines. Jeans. Cut-offs. Sneakers. Crisp White Tee... These are a few of my favorite things.
I love all things athleisure! Stretchy black leggings, cut-offs and sneakers are some of my favorite things. I've had a sneaker obsession for years! The bolder, the brighter, the more obnoxious, the more I love it!
My sneaker fangirl started when I was in my early teens. I had an obsession for #Nike! The track suits, the air max, there was something about that "swoosh" that excited me. I always felt unstoppable when I had on a new crisp pair of sneakers and if they were Nike, then I was on fire. I also love heels, especially since I'm 5'2'' on a good day, but I love being comfortable more.
I used to have tons of sneakers when I was younger. Before the beginning of every school year, I vividly remember going to Foot Locker or Finish Line to get a new pair of sneakers. My mom would budget $75 for my new kicks and I'd agonize over which color, style and sometimes, even which brand to choose from. Of course, I was always drawn to the most expensive ones, but lucky for me, I have small feet, so I could squeeze into little boys size 4 sneakers, which where half the price of its adult counterpart. I used to wear my new sneakers carefully and avoided all things dirt. Year after year, I would get a new pair of sneakers, until we moved to Brazil.
When we moved to Brazil, money was tight and Nikes were more expensive than a flat screen TV, so that was the end of new sneaker Jen. When we moved back to NY I vowed to get a job so I could buy new sneakers. I made $5.25/hr and after 2 weeks of work, I would've saved up enough money to buy myself those limited edition Nike Air Max (in boy sizes of course!). Fast forward to today, I'm still an avid sneaker lover! The only thing that changed is my style...actually that's a lie! The bright neon colored, animal inspired prints and funky designs still call out to me, I just have to contain myself since I had to wear "work" shoes for so many years.
For almost 20 years, I had to find a balance between my casual somewhat eccentric style with stifling corporate America, it was particularly style crushing since I worked in finance.
The suits, the God awful uncomfortable slacks. I still don't understand why work pants have zero stretch and never seem to "give" - You know, that I've worn you many times, never seen a dryer, sort of "worn in" feeling.
So for all those years, I succumbed to heels, flats and work "appropriate" boots. On the weekends, I'd break out my sneakers, but two days never seemed enough to have them shine in all their glory. Well, all that changed now that I'm an entrepreneur.
No work clothes was one of the things that I wasn't prepared for when I left corporate. I no longer had a dress code. I no longer needed to wear stockings with a dress. Goodbye undershirts and modest clothing. Hello, I'll wear whatever the F&%! I want... which brings me back to the main subject of this post - T-shirts!
Sneakers are the perfect accessories to jeans and t-shirts. For some reason, I can never find the perfect tee, so I've decided to start making what I want. I dabbled in creating an athleisure line, Brolic and Beautiful (I'll save that story for another time) to wanting a nice crisp white shirt that represents who I am. I love shirts with personality! Hence, my new tee!
Yes, I know, a white shirt! Seriously?! I love white, crisp tops, but for some reason they're always attracted to whatever I'm eating and typically within 20 seconds I find a toothpaste, coffee or some other dark cringe worthy stain front and center on my white shirts. The more I try, the quicker the stain attracts itself to me, but good news! You can wear this shirt, wash and DRY it and it'll make it out in one piece. Then after you accidentally mix your white shirt with your black jeans and your jeans "bleed", you can transform your now off-white shirt into a one-of-a-kind tie-dye shirt! Thanks Mel for introducing me to the world of tie-dye (Mel's my mother in law btw).
So, go out there and take some risks! Buy an all white t-shirt and wear it out for an Italian dinner. Live a little! What's the worst case scenario? You get some tomato sauce splatters or an oil stain from that heavenly bread? Don't fret! Tie Dye.
If you'd like to join me in the white t-shirt revolution you can purchase your very own crisp Renaissance Woman tee:
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