How to Style a Top Knot Bun Using IdentiFemi Products

Hey Ladies! For today's post we will show you how to style the fabulous top knot bun!

                                                      (Photo Source)
Top knots have been all the rage this past year and I (Myah) love them! Top knots are chic and super easy to do. There  are tons of  top knot tutorials so we won't recreate the wheel (check out here, here, and here for some of the chicest top knot tutorials around), instead, we will show you how to style your top knots with IdentiFemi products.

The Head Wrap/ Head Scarf
Top knots with a head wrap are the perfect way to cozy up an outfit. We love the subtle beige and gold tones in this wrap. Find it here at IdentiFemi.etsy.com.

 The Bow Hair Pin
Bow Hair pins are a delicate, girly way to spice up a top knot. We love the earthy green tone of our bow pin. Find it here on identifemi.etsy.com.

The Bow Headband
Who doesn't love a sweet bow head band. This is the perfect hair accessory for a sloppy top knot. The black elastic makes it easy hold back fly aways and keep your bun looking chic. Find it here on identifemi.etsy.com.

Check out these products and many others on identifemi.etsy.com and as always, don't forget to Identify your Femininity.
Love,
The IdentiFemi Girls.

Mallory's Thoughts: Happy Birthday Femininity

              A few weeks ago I celebrated another birthday. Each year, on my birthday, I take time to reflect on the past year. My standard reflection includes several things: goals I set on my last birthday, my accomplishments, things I would do different, and new goals for the year to come. This year, I decided not to reflect on my goals. Instead, I decided to reflect upon my femininity. Over the last few years, I have begun to embrace everything that encompasses being a woman. This process of embracing my womanhood has caused me to take notice of things that I would not normally notice, has caused me to celebrate small joys, and has increased my gratitude for the simple things in life. On my quest to reflect upon my femininity, I asked myself one question. How has my view of my femininity changed over the years? Before I answer that question, I think it is important to discuss the definition of femininity. In the traditional sense, femininity means: the quality of being feminine, womanliness; woman collectively (Collins English Dictionary complete & unabridged 10^th edition, 2009). My simplified definition for femininity is defined as: encompassing every part of a woman.  Have you ever thought about your femininity and how it is impacted by and impacts every area of your life? For just a moment close your eyes and envision your femininity. What did you see? How do you feel?

                Mallory at her birthday breakfast. The restaurant she went too didn't have a birthday tradition so the waitress got creative!

           
               As I closed my eyes, I began to think about how my expression of femininity has evolved. Over the years, I have learned the importance of taking care of myself. There was a time in my life when I was so busy being involved in projects and helping others that I had very little time for myself. I took pride in knowing I could take a bath, get completely dressed and be out of the house in 15 minutes. Sometimes I would brag about being time efficient. Now, several years later, I have learned the value and importance of starting my day off by nurturing myself.  I begin each day with a bubble bath and candle light. This helps me remember how important I am. I have regularly scheduled days for exercise, cutting my hair, manicures and pedicures, and I plan and prepare most of my weekly meals which includes a sweet treat at least once a week. I choose age appropriate clothes that look and feel good on my body. I believe a woman who takes time to nurture herself daily will feel better about herself.

            Part of embracing my femininity includes paying close attention to my mental and emotional health. There was a point in my life when I did not take the time to observe the mental and emotional cues my body was giving me. I had the mentality that I was strong. Regardless of how people treated or responded to me I was fine. I rarely addressed the true inner feelings I felt from the misunderstandings and mistreatment I experienced. I constantly went out of my way to over extended myself to others. As a result of my neglecting my mental and emotional cues, I began to experience several things: my hair began to fall out, I started gaining weight, I began to have random pain all over my body and I begin to exhibit symptoms of depression. As I began the process of addressing my mental and emotion cues my body began to heal itself and my health began to improve. The results have been astounding. I have learned to set appropriate limits with helping others. I keep a “short stack,” which means, if I have a problem with someone I try to resolve the issue quickly. I have learned that I am responsible for my actions and I can only change myself. I cannot change others. I forgive quickly and I accept the things that are outside of my control.

      

                                                                                  Mallory at her birthday dinner with family.
To sum up how my view of femininity has evolved over the years I would say, my idea of femininity encompasses peace, simplistic joys, genuine, honest, transparent relationships, having a heart that is honest and a mind that chooses to think the best of others. My evolution also includes taking care of myself inside and out, celebrating my life and being thankful for life’s challenges that have caused me to grow in wisdom, staying true to my personal style and taste of material possessions, embracing my individuality and appreciating the differences of others. I have come to terms with the idea that my femininity will always be evolving and changing just as I will be. So here’s to embracing new femininity discoveries every year. Happy Birthday Femininity!





*Want to see a funny snippet from Mallory's birthday celebration? Watch the video below.

 

 

Model Spotlight: Kelly

(As part of our mission to provide accessories that help women "identify their femininity" IdentiFemi utilizes real girl models in all of our product shoots. Each model brings a set of skills, experiences, goals, and style preferences that make her amazing! We want to share our amazing models with our customers and blog readers.)

 

Meet Kelly!

Name: Kelly

 

Age: 20

Relationship Status: Single

Career Aspirations: To become a counselor for marriage and family.

Describe your style: I would probably say hipster and hippie. I kind of like to mix up the two and I like to shop at Forever 21 a lot. I kind of go for that vintage look.

Do you have a favorite piece in your closet?  I have a few. I really like this new top that I just bought from Kohl’s. It was part of the Vera Wang [collection] and then I got this really cool hippie dress, from this store called Earth Bound Trading Company and it’s really long and I think it’s fake silk but it’s really awesome to hang out in.

Who is your style icon?  I’d like to say Miley Cyrus, but she’s a little expensive. Yeah, [but] probably her.

Describe what femininity means to you:  Just being able to express yourself without having to feel obligated to be something that you are not.

Have you ever experienced a time when your style or femininity were challenged?  I am a tomboy, I kind of always have been.  And I know that my sister said I looked like a “boy” one time when I wore this dress and I know it’s not like a bad thing, but I don’t want people to get the wrong message either. I just kind of wear what I feel comfortable in and if it makes me look like a boy then I guess I can’t help that .

Feeling beautiful can  be a challenge in today's world, what are something's that make you feel beautiful? I think the shirt that I’m wearing [now] I really like it; I like how it fits me. And I like when I get to show off my tattoos even though older people stare at me like I’m crazy.  I don’t like wearing a lot of makeup, I’m usually really light on it. That’s what makes me feel good about myself. My sister she likes [to] put a lot [of makeup] on and to each their own.

 

If you could give advice to your younger self, what would you say? Don’t give a crap about other people’s opinions. I learned that the hard way. I used to care what everybody thought and I went through this transition where I was evolving into myself and I was in a crappy relationship and I was emotionally damaged and I just learned how not to care about what anybody thought.  Because why should I care about what they think?

 

How do you stay confident? I like to pretend like I’m conceited (laughs). I’m always like" mom don’t I look hot today" and she’s always like, [sarcastically] “shut up.” I don’t know I guess it kind of helps. My friend Jordan’s always like “ohhh your so pretty” and he’s always boosting my confidence.

Where do you see yourself in five years? Ten Years? In five years I hope to not be living in my parents’ house, who knows though. I plan to have some sort of financial stability and then in 10 years I hope to be married or getting married, that seems about the right age.

Kelly was a blast to work with! Don't you just love all her insights? She had so much wisdom to be only 20 years old. Her tattoos are fantastic. We also loved how her sweet friend Rose (pictured above with Kelly) stopped by to watch her friend model. What a sweetie!

IdentiFemi VLOG: We Had A Show!

On Sunday March 3rd, we had our first IdentiFemi show of 2013. The weeks leading up to the show were both exciting and stressful! In the end, we were very pleased with our set up and the amount of product we were able to create! Here are a few photos and a video of the experience. (Note: The volume of the video may be a little low, make sure to turn your volume on high so that you can hear it.)

              Love,
            The IdentiFemi Girls

New This Week In The Shop 4/8/13

Ooooo La La! IdentiFemi has new items in the shop. Check them out!

 What's not to love about this huge two-toned shopper. This bag is chic and big! A great bag to carry all of your stuff. Shop here:

 Isn't this orange and brown upholstery/vinyl bag adorable? We think so too. Shop here:

 We love the color palette of this shopper! This is such a comfy, sophisticated bag. Shop here:

 One of our beloved bows. We love the gorgeous plaid patteren and the rich red hues. This headband is super comfy too! Perfect for dressing up any outfit. Shop here:

 

Another one of our bows in a trendy Aztec print. Shop here: 

 We love this leather wrist bag! So cute! Shop here:

Thanks for checking out our new shop items for the week! Shop IdentiFemi at identifemi.etsy.com and as always, don't forget to identify your femininity.

Love,
The IdentiFemi Girls.

Myah's Words VLOG: Balance

Thanks for visiting our IdentiFemi Blog!  Here is a video Myah did on balance. Do you struggle with balance? We know we sure do. In this two and a half minute video, Myah  gives three tips that she uses to help her balance her work load. Watch and let us  know what you think!
The IdentiFemi Girls

Model Spotlight: Yakima Whitehead

(As part of our mission to provide accessories that help women "identify their femininity" IdentiFemi  utilizes real girl models in all of our product shoots. Each model brings a set of skills, experiences, goals, and style preferences that make her amazing! We want to share our amazing models with our customers and blog readers.)
 Meet Yakima!

Name 
Yakima "Kima" Whitehead

Age

23

Relationship Status

In a relationship

Career Aspirations

I want to be a nurse practitioner. I’m working on getting there. I graduate on December 15th, 2012. I’m going to try to get into some type of grad school program and work my way up.

Describe Your Style

My style is sort of chic, a little bit modern, and very girly, like classic girly.

Who is your style icon?

I don’t think I really have a style icon. [I wear] what I like and what I see. I kind of put my own stuff together. I may take bits and pieces, I may look at Vogue or Elle or Cosmopolitan but it’s not one  particular person that I always [am inspired by], because style changes. I take what I like and put a twist on it.  

Describe what femininity means to you?

Being a woman. Being comfortable with yourself. Feeling liberated and feeling like your own. Being unique in your own type of way and being able to open up.

Have you experienced a time when your style and femininity were challenged?

Coming to college, transferring from [having a] teenage, young girl style to young adult style. [That battle] between “do I still dress like I’m in high school or do I dress like I’m in college now?” It was challenging trying to find out how I should look since [ I was] transferring to a different stage of life.

Feeling beautiful can be a challenge in today’s world. What are some things that make you feel beautiful?

When my hair is done. I love coming home and washing my face,  giving myself facials or having natural facial remedies. Just being comfortable in my skin just and relaxed.  [When] I’m not too dolled up, just effortlessly beautiful. 

 If you could give advice to your younger self what would you say?

Less is best. Let your inner beauty shine [by] not putting on so much makeup and jewelry to mask how you feel or how you view yourself. Most people find you more beautiful when you don’t have all that on you. I’ve heard that from lots of people, “ohh you look so much prettier without the makeup.” Just find your own personal look. Even if you want to put on a little make up, look like you’re not trying.

How do you stay confident?

Telling myself I’m beautiful. I may not be the prettiest girl in the world, there is always someone prettier than you, but as long as I’m happy with myself, then that’s good enough, that’s all you can ever really be. If you’re happy with yourself, other people become happy with you too. 

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?  10 years?

[In] five years, probably still going to school (laughs). Probably trying to be a nurse practitioner.

And in 10 years,  I am a nurse practitioner, traveling, just enjoying my life. Taking every aspect of it and enjoying my life as I can. 

 

Congratulations Kima on your recent college graduation! We are sure you will go far!!!