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Monday, December 11, 2017

Holiday hair + twist back sweater

We are officially two weeks away from Christmas. Eeeek! I need to get my crap together! We are doing Christmas with his family early this Friday because his brother and his fiancé will be in town for the weekend. That moves up the deadline for gifts a bit! Outside of that, we had our department holiday get together last week and our party for the Pilates studio is on the 21st! Needless to say, I'm fully in holiday mode whether I'm ready for it or not!

Outfit details--- Earrings: Kendra Scott "Bexley" (option) | Necklace: Kendra Scott "Rayne" (current colors here) | Sweater: ASTR | Bag: Kate Spade (optionoption, cheapest option) | Bottoms: American Eagle | Shoes: Kate Spade "Licorice" (budget option---

Kim at Boldly Defined Beauty reached out to me recently to see if I wanted to do a holiday collaboration with her. She is a local St. Louis blogger/ hairstylist and you have seen her on the blog in this post here. Holiday hair + a holiday outfit? Yes, please! You all know I love playing with hair and mixing up my styles based on what I'm wearing. She styled my hair two different ways, but I wore one outfit. I love how your hair can make subtle changes to the overall vibe of your outfit. 

ASTR twist back sweater outfit


You have probably seen this sweater floating around Instagram, and I finally caved and bought it. It was Christine's post here that pushed me over the edge. The drama of the back-twist is seriously awesome. I'm still able to wear a regular strapless bra with it, and the simple, covered-up front of this sweater is a nice contrast to it's sassier backside. If I had faux leather pants that were not leggings, I would have worn them because this sweater just screams the need to be worn with faux leather. Since the length basically rules out leggings for me, I decided to go for winter white and grabbed these skinnies and some glitter heels. I'm wearing a small in the sweater.

Winter white pants outfit

Holiday hair updo

A loose updo like this is perfect for this sweater since I can clearly show off its back. Kim separated my hair into three braids then pinned up the braids to create this look. I will have to see if I can recreate this myself!

Glitter bag and shoes outfit
Ring: Kendra Scott "Naomi" (current colors here) | Polish: Essie "Exposed" with Chanel "Graphite" accent nail




Leaving my hair down with tighter retro-inspired curls is also great with this sweater, especially when I brush all my hair over one shoulder. It makes the outfit just a touch more casual than having my hair all up, though the curls are still nice and romantic, which plays well with the sweater!


Kendra Scott Rayne


Retro curls hairstyle


These curls are tighter than I normally go on my own which is why it looks like I got a good three inches cut off my length! No cut here, just nice bouncy curls. The volume and dimension are great, and she used this Amika touchable hairspray that smells uh-mazing!


Sweater and heels outfit
Hair and Photos by Kim: Instagram | Blog


None of my holiday parties this year are formal or even semi-formal, so simple outfits like these with interesting details like the twist back and fun accessories like the matching glitter pouch and pumps are definitely right up my alley! A good holiday hairstyle is such a fun added bonus! Thanks to Kim for not only styling my hair for this shoot but also taking the photos! If you're in the St. Louis area, definitely go see here. You can also stalk her on Instagram here.

As we bring 2017 to a close, I just wanted to give you a heads up about the linkup schedule! Christmas and New Year's both fall on a Monday. We will have our last linkup of 2017 next Monday the 18th, and then the Hello Monday linkup will be taking a holiday break! We will be back in full force on Monday, January 8th! I do have some posts to share with you before the hiatus - a couple of more outfit posts and then I'll be recapping the year with highlights, bloopers, and my favorite outfits! I'm still not quite sure how 2017 has come and gone!!

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21 comments :

  1. Love the sparkly accessories with this - perfect for a Christmas party! :)

    Hope you enjoy your early Christmas celebration! We are going to do both families on Christmas day, so we will see how that goes, haha!

    Thank you for the link up!

    Hope you had a wonderful weekend and your Christmas preparation is going well. We'd planned to attend a few Christmas events but thanks to getting sick we spent the weekend at home. I got to wrap some pressies though! :)

    Away From The Blue Blog

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  2. Gosh I don't know where to start! I love your jumper, hair, shoes, bag, jeans...! Really lovely style x #hellomondaylinkup

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  3. Love both hair looks! You look stunning. That detail on the back of your sweater is so beautiful too. Thanks for the link up!

    https://www.kathrineeldridge.com

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  4. Loving the back on that sweater!! It is so cute!

    Katherine | www.oneswainkycouple.com

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  5. I've seen this sweater and I love it. You hair looks so pretty and thanks for the heads up about the link-up, totally forgot lol.

    xo
    Pinksole

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  6. You are absolutely gorgeous in this outfit! I love the grey and white together. The sweater has such a gorgeous back. LOVE your hair. Great glam touch with the clutch.

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  7. Your hair and photos turned out beautifully! Kudos to Kim on that. And this sweater is so fun! Love the color and dramatic back view!
    Gina || On the Daily Express

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  8. Your hair looks so cute both ways! Kim did a great job! I love the sweater and those sparkly pumps, so fun!

    Brooke
    pumps and push-ups

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  9. Love your hair pulled back! So stunning!

    Mary
    https://marymurnane.com

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  10. Both of these hair styles look beautiful on you, and are so fun for the holidays! I'm loving the sweater paired with the white jeans!
    Rachael
    www.threadsforthomasblog.com

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  11. I just have to say that you look incredible with your hair up like that Carylee!!! You should wear it like that more often!!! It's so sexy!!
    Have a wonderful Monday!
    XOOX
    Jodie
    www.jtouchofstyle.com

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  12. That sweater is so beautiful! Looks great paired with white skinnies as well!

    xo Jules

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  13. Love your outfit , the sparkles and your hair looks so pretty up!
    jess xx
    www.elegantlydressedandstylish.com

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  14. Your hair is stunning, your jumper is cute - I want them both. x Jacqui
    www.mummabstylish.com

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  15. I love the back twist on the sweater. Also, I love a local STL blog! So glad to have you found your blog. :)

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  16. Your hair always looks gorgeous! Love this outfit and that fab clutch!

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  17. Your hair looks amazing here, Caryl! What a perfect holiday 'do!

    http://www.avecamber.blogspot.com
    http://www.bloglovin.com/avecamber

    I hope you are having a great week so far!

    Amber

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  18. I am loving the twist back sweater! So fun and interesting. But those shoes really have me swooning! they are just fabulous. Great outfit. I cannot believe how close Christmas is either. I am completely unprepared!

    Shelbee
    www.shelbeeontheedge.com

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  19. I love it with the white jeans and sparkly accessories. Your hair is gorgeous!

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  20. That is a really cool sweater, and I love how you've styled it—especially with the sparkly clutch!
    Cheryl Shops | www.cherylshops.net

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  21. This is such a cute outfit! I absolutely love the way you accessorized this sweater, and paired it with a sparkly clutch. Your updo looks so gorgeous with this look! I would totally wear this.

    ~xo Sheree
    PoshClassyMom.com

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