Blue butterflies on Mustard

Hi everyone!

So this week I've been loading some #howto posts which were so much fun because as I'm typing them I felt like I was learning too! It's very difficult for me at the moment to upload ootds because I almost never like the background and I always have to go into town to get them uploaded so I'm sorry for providing less style posts.

This outfit is basically something I always knew would work ever since I got those shoes! They belong to my mom though(lol) so when I looked in the mirror I was satisfied with the combo!

What do you think?

Do you wear your mother's things sometimes?

Mini dress(can also be worn as a top in winter) > Jet

Shoes > Ackermans

Reach me --->>@closetfreedom

xx

How to || Find your own STYLE!

Happy Wednesday!

So today I thought I'd share something that I used to struggle with.

Today's #girlchallenge: How to find your OWN style!

I truly believe style is a word that should be left out of a dictionary because it’s like a fingerprint! It’s unique and no-one else has what you have. After cleaning up your closet (previous post) I think it’s the perfect time to figure out what you like! Again it won’t be accomplished in 2 seconds. There are ridiculous sales going on everywhere and this time – instead of just buying it because it’s 50% off – decide : Does this say ME?

So this post won’t help you find your style but encourage you to find it! It’s not an overnight process.

So start with what you can’t live without. It can be as simple as jeans (the ones that suit your body best) so don’t stick with a trend that clearly doesn’t look right. Boyfriend jeans look awful on me. So the ones I’ve purchased I kept for a little while then gave them away because I just couldn’t make it work. So now when I’m looking for another pair I’ll be looking for an investment piece and it will be the only one I’ll own.

 It’s okay to be judged. In life and especially here in SA we tend to judge each other a lot. Especially girls. I understand why. Most of us were raised conservatively. Only those strong enough became rebels and were lucky enough to be accepted by their families. The rest of us had to change the outfit just so that we could be allowed to get in the car. The only time you were truly free is when you were at university and no-one knew where you came from. So to take huge fashion risks you have to be okay with the fact that not everyone will like it BUT if you like it then that’s all that matters! Rock it with confidence!

Style doesn’t cost a milli. I truly believe that style doesn’t need to break the bank. I have huge financial constraints right now but my style is not affected because it doesn’t depend on funds I don’t have. That’s why I’m a huge thrifter. This way of shopping is not for everyone but I believe that amazing classic thrifted finds can add something extra to your closet. Atleast in the US and maybe in the UK they have thrift shops. We only have a market with no building. Then they pile up all the clothes in there and you just have to find what you’re looking for! Sometimes it’s not even washed or has a giant stain on it but you’ll have to decide whether the purchase is worth it. The process gives me such a rush! Try it! For shoes however, quality is key. So I always go with a reliable brand.

 Find people like you! I think blogging is so healthy for whatever people need it to be but more especially for people who feel alone in their community. Suddenly there are people out there just like you! That’s the joy blogging has given me. I also love that magazines and media businesses are now also available everywhere online, connecting you to things that you love and also finding people out there to talk to. And you can do that with your style. A particular pair of shoes can make people friends because they share something and I believe that that’s better than having a style icon. Instead of dressing like someone you take the risks yourself! If it works then it’s fantastic and if it doesn’t (and this should also be according to you ONLY) then own it!

 In order to see if this works, one day you’ll just come to realisation that you like certain things and you definitely don’t like some other things! Then you’ve got it! Then SHARE how you got it and help other people find theirs. With helpful suggestions!

 Till next time!!

How to | De-clutter your closet!

Hi everyone!

So today I'll be tackling a #girlchallenge. Girls never have issues. We just want to chat about things without being told what to do or when to do it. I know some girls start the week on Tuesday after they've celebrated some victory over #BlueMondays!

Today's challenge: How to say goodbye to a cluttered closet! 

Make a decision. I think all major changes in life come from making a decision and sticking to it. I’m a girl too and I love everything I’ve given money away for. And I do think my world will end if I had to lose that top, this skirt and that other scarf I got at that fleamarket 3.5 years ago. I get it. I also know the power of girls finally making up their minds. When we’ve reached that point we’re just capable of doing amazing things!

De-clutter. You don’t need ALL your clothes. You know you have items you never wear. Why keep them? Personally, I hate smothered closets. It’s as if you’ll die before finding that other basic white tee. You want your closet to represent you fully. Not you and your other personalities. If you have them, then get additional storage spaces for them too! Storage. When I was in university I could never go home so I had all my winter and summer clothes in my room. Thankfully we had storage underneath our beds so in summer I would store all my winter things in there and keep a cardigan and a blazer for emergencies. You can’t have 4/5 jackets hanging in your closet during summer. Because then you’ll have to fight with them each morning looking for a blouse that’s deeply tucked into one of those jackets. Buy a storage container and neatly stack unused clothes in there to open up more space in your closet.

Donate/Sell. I donate because my mother has an orphanage so we do it every year. It’s just so nice to see how you grow through a process like this. Once I only owned cartoon themed tops. And at the end of that year I gave them all away because I was just more attracted to things with bling and light frills! Gave away some items that I bought because of a trend hype(never doing that again) so now I know what to look for. You usually say goodbye to ‘what was I thinking’ pieces and items you have 20 other replicas of..like the poor basic white tee. Don’t you always just buy those for the sake of buying them?

Get a system that works. I like folding my clothes. They drive me crazy if they are just hanging around and have no order. So with a bigger closet space I’d fold my clothes all the time. But with a smaller space like the temporary one I have now I rolled my clothes then stacked them in those rolls. It saves space and it still gives off the ‘organized ’look.

Decor. Everything else can be used as decor. We girls like to see our investment so that it can reassure us that - you know what? Life out there is bad, but atleast I’ve got that pair of (*insert fave shoes here*). And we can look at it and point at it and just feel better already. So don’t throw your heels in a box. Find an open space in your room and display them!

I hope these tips will help you make your space more breathable and proud to look at!

 Till next time!

XX

Blue and Brown MisMatch

Hi everyone!

Shut down my blog last week because I needed to focus on looking for a job. And honestly - it was the best decision ever. Drawing up a schedule made me feel in control but last week I just couldn't stick to it and I'm terribly sorry for that.

But I'm here now and so excited to share this Sunday outfit!

To be honest I would have never put this together because I just always know that I wear pants with this blouse but decided to take a risk and this was the result!

What do you think? Leave a comment below!

My hair is such a hot mess but it just reminded me of slightly worn out white All Stars and they always look better when they look like you just picked them up from the street!! Lol!!

Top - thrifted

Skirt - MrPrice

Shoes - MrPrice

Earring - local craftshop

Sunnies - Cotton On

Reach me on @closetfreedom

xx

LIFE| How to deal with waiting for a job.

Hi everyone!

So today I thought I'd open up more by talking about a personal struggle and what I've learnt from it.

How to deal with waiting for a job/ post graduate blues?

So it goes a bit like this. You had a blast at university/college and now there’s no funds for you to remain at university/college and you have no choice but to look for something to keep you busy! It might as well be what you studied for right? So you go onto Google to poke around and a few things you like pop up and then you send in your resume/CV and have some ice-cream on the way home with the hopes that they’ll call you soon to start working...or so I thought.

I think it’s been about 3 months now and I’ve made more than 70/80 applications for me and my brother. My brother recently got some responses but I’ve gotten almost no feedback and most of them said if there’s no communication from their side then consider your application unsuccessful. So I assume that’s what happened to most of them.

By now I’ve gone through just about every emotion. It started at positivity/optimism through to confusion and frustration and then just sadness, disappointment and despair. I even stopped looking for a while. Convinced myself that it wasn’t worth it. I’ll just sit at home and ‘rest’. But then resting becomes tiring and it takes up a lot of energy to do nothing day in and day out. I’ve always had something to do and somewhere to be and I quickly realized that I needed to get the quitting attitude out of my system. I didn’t suit me.

What really helped was having something to do. For me- it’s this blog. The planning, the photos, the uploading, the constant hassle at the internet cafe and trying to keep up with current trends.
Now I’m more determined. It’s okay to give up today. But only today. Tomorrow shouldn’t carry yesterday’s burden. I’ve now learned that the hard way.

Here’s what I recommend to help you try again!

Don’t give up. Have atleast one thing that keeps you going. Even it’s money. Sometimes people say you shouldn’t be motivated by money but if you can’t even buy toiletries on your own then you obviously need money! Let that push you!

Surround yourself with cheerleaders! It’s easy to not take negative feedback well. So you need those people who know how suitably qualified you are! They are also the people who’ll put in a good word for you with their associates/colleagues who know someone’s aunt who’s looking for someone with your qualifications.

Keep yourself busy. Depression lurks when there’s nothing going on in your life. It will keep the war in your head. Instead fight against it with having something to do even if it’s doing something for someone for free. It’s frustrating but it will get you out of your head. Michelle Phan couldn’t get a job and then filmed a make-up tutorial. And now she’s a successful millionaire.

Keep an emotional cycle. If you’re emotional like me, it’s quite easy to be totally destroyed by negativity or the waiting game. So always have a restart point. Mine is Mondays. I don’t take the previous week’s things into the next week. So on Sundays I make sure that I recharge to go into the week on a high. I push through with the applications till Friday and then focus on my blog on the weekend.

Don’t compare yourself with your peers. This is a mind thing. Don’t count the people in your age group who have jobs now or are progressing in their lives. This could destroy you. You are you! And you’re on your own path! I think this might make me preach! Point is..5 years from now you all be in different stages of life. Focus on your own goals and not on how far someone is ahead of you! God has a plan for your life. The road has been set. You’re currently travelling on it which means that this time in your life is suppose to teach you something. That’s why I choose to look for the lesson in it.

So today’s lesson is – NEVER STOP DREAMING!

Fifty shades of BLUE

Hi everyone!!

I hope you are all well!!

I think this style truly represents me! Effortless, chic and means business!(lol) or atleast that's how I feel in it! Recently, I went to the flea market with my mother and I picked up this crisp and clean shirt and I just fell in love! Tried it on and fell deeper! And I just couldn't wait to style it.

Here I've paired it with a pair of amazing skinny jeans from Edgars that I got last year and these FashionWorld heels and I just thought it would tie the look together nicely.

Leave your thoughts below the post!! Would love to get your view on it!

Top - thrifted

Jeans - Edgars

Shoes - FashionWorld

Blazer - MrPrice

Earrings - artshop

On my lips I have Avroy Shlain ColorLook lipliner in grape and the Coppelia matte lipgloss( If you need info about how to get it--tweet me or e-mail: jabi.closetfreedom@gmail.com)

If you need to reach me--->>@closetfreedom

xx

Casual B&W //day look

Hi everyone!!

I hope you guys read my previous post about what you can expect from my channel in 2015!!

It's so overwhelming - but I'm so determined to make this happen!!!!

So today I'm doing 1 of 3 looks that I want to create with this dress!! I got it from Cotton On and I've been in love ever since!! It's made from the most amazing material that's both soft and breathable and I just love the swoosh movement it makes when I walk!

I think Cotton On will be getting new collections so I'm not sure if you'll find it in store(sorry!)

Lemme know what you think!!

Dress - Cotton On

Hat - Touba

Shoes - MrPrice(old)

Accessories - ring(crafts shop) and earrings(mom!)

xx

Reach me --@closetfreedom!

What you can expect in 2015

Hi everyone!!

So I’ve been doing a lot of blogging research lately and I’ve decided that I want to put in a little more effort into my blog. I definitely know that I want it to be sustainable one day and I’m willing to put in that time and effort to make it unique!

What I’ve realized is that I definitely want it to reflect who and what I am. So far I’ve focused on style and fashion and had no idea that I loved dressing up and collecting shoes. Before I was just satisfied with sneakers, flip-flops and something for church, but I have since then significantly increased my shoe collection!

I also used my blog as a creative outlet from a suffocating career and to be honest I would just upload pictures because I took pictures of my outfit that day to send to my mom! But looking back I’m happy that I atleast started it (my blog) because I don’t know where I would be right now without it. This year I’m determined to make it more than a hobby and I’m so eager to get started!! I hope you are too!!

So this is what you can expect from me in 2015:

Blog

I’m launching #GetYourLifeSundays which will be motivational posts. It’s going to be about my life (for now) e.g what I’ve learnt and the challenges I’ve overcome! I think here I’ll be free to be myself more. I think you’ll also get to know me more this way.

Expect 2 style posts (Mondays and Thursdays) and 1 #GetYourLifeSunday post each week.

I will try to increase the quality of my photos this year. I’m saving up for a quality camera and I can’t wait for you to see amazing photography on my blog!
I’m changing my blog name. (it’s a suprise!)
From now (after my blog name change) I will be blogging under my real name (I will explain in a blogpost)
I will have monthly favourites here and on my channel.

Channel

I have filmed and edited 3 videos that I cannot upload so consistent uploading will depend on my internet access situation when I get my own place.
In a perfect world (which I will be in soon) I’d be able to upload 1 video a week.
The editing quality will be better once I have proper editing software and a good set-up!
My videos will consist of lookbooks, hauls, monthly favourites, tags and travel diaries and others that I can think of!
Exciting times ahead!!
Till next time!!

Classic NYE look

Hi everyone!

I hope you had a fantastic entry into the new year!

I'll be quick!

Here I created a sort of dinner party look. I'm not into clubbing or crowdy places so I'll probably always spend my new year indoors and just having a good reflective evening with close friends and good food!

The look is sort of dramatic because I still wanted that classic look and what better than a bright red lip?! I hope you like it! Talk to me in the comments section! xx

Jewelry- handmade gift(2009)

Top + Skirt - MrPrice

Shoes - Dunns

Reach me --@closetfreedom