WORK & PLAY LIKE A GIRL BOSS - SHARING CAREER ADVICE WITH VERA BRADLEY

*Thank you to Vera Bradley for collaborating on today's post!

Photography by Madi Flournoy Henderson

DRESS || SHOES || NECKLACE || BRACELET || RING 1 || RING 2 || WATCH || ELLA TOTE BAG || MALLORY SATCHEL || TO-DO LIST NOTEPAD || WRISTLET 

It's been a while since I graduated college (GO TIGERS...Clemson that is!) but I specifically remember graduating and being so uncertain about what my future may hold.  Going into college, I was so certain I knew what I wanted to do but as time passed, I became less and less confident.

I didn't have a job lined up right after graduation so I spent my summer working at a country club driving the beverage cart around serving golfers and working evening banquet events.  I did this while I job searched and interviewed for jobs.  I searched and searched and searched for "that perfect job".  Job offers came and went but I didn't accept my first job until many months after graduating when I started as a Store Analyst for the Cato Corporation, which is a women's apparel corporation based out of Charlotte, NC.

My first job came about because my Sister worked for the same company and she put in a referral for me.  Lucky for me...my Sister's connections helped me get my foot in the door.  Had I known then the importance of networking, I would have done more of that much sooner!

So today...I'm sharing some personal career advice to those who are graduating or to those who may need a little pep talk in their current career.  Vera Bradley and I teamed up for today's post...they asked and I answered!  Hope you enjoy reading and thank you for allowing me to offer some advice, tips, and guidance on the must have Vera Bradley pieces that every career woman should have!

By the way...if you are looking for the perfect graduation gift...the pieces styled here today are such great options for any gal starting her career!

GIRL BOSS MUST HAVES

Do you have any great tips or advice to share?!

As always, thanks so much for stopping by...hope you have a great day!

CAREER ADVICE Q&A WITH VERA BRADLEY

Tell us a little about yourself!
“I’m Brooke Webb, the Editor and Creator of a top Nashville-based style, beauty and lifestyle blog, KBStyled! I live just south of Nashville, in Franklin, TN, with my husband, Peter, and our two children, Reins and Addison. Of course, I must mention our fur babies, too — Cali and Carolina. I grew up right outside of Charlotte, NC and graduated from Clemson University. For much of my career, I have worked for a Fortune 500 company as a Vice President, Corporate Recruiter, within Human Resources. A little over two years ago, I launched KBStyled as a platform to inspire other women and to encourage them to find their own personal style. Since then, KBStyled has become a destination for women of all ages to come for style inspiration, as well as fitness, beauty and lifestyle tips!”

What do you look for when selecting a bag for work?

“My ultimate work bag is a tote bag like the Ella Tote. My work bag must be a carryall that is large enough to carry my laptop and to-do list among all of my other workday necessities! It needs to be practical and functional with interior pockets, but most importantly, I must be able to carry it comfortably over my shoulder!”

What surprised you the most about working full-time after graduating?

“I found the long workdays and how tired I was at the end of each day the most surprising. It was quite the adjustment to go from maintaining a class, study and social schedule to managing a work schedule. I could no longer take naps in the middle of my day!”

What do you wish you had known when you were applying for your first job? 

“I wish I had known that networking plays such an important role in landing a great first job post-graduation. I thought I could do it all on my own and didn’t take the advice of some who encouraged me to network more. I job searched for a while before accepting an offer post-graduation — and the offer I ended up accepting came about through networking with an employee of the company that I was hired by.”

What tips would you give those still job hunting?

“Take your time, don’t settle and get on LinkedIn! It is tempting to rush and make a quick decision so you have a job lined up post-graduation, but there is nothing wrong with working part-time while you job hunt and interview for the right opportunity. Also, network, network, network! Consider joining a young professionals group in the city where you live and utilize social media to your advantage — you should absolutely have a LinkedIn account!”

What advice would you give to recent graduates about to enter their careers? 

“Work hard, always be on time and remain confident in your abilities!”

What is the most unusual thing you keep in your everyday bag?

“Baby wipes! Although our children are seven and five and we are well out of the diaper phase, I still carry baby wipes in my Mallory Satchel because I use them to wipe nearly everything down. They are perfect for gentle makeup touch-ups throughout the workday as well!”

Lastly, what would you say is your key to success?

“I’d say my key to success is maintaining a work-life balance. I’m able to compartmentalize my day — when I work, I’m dialed in with work and when I’m with my family, they’re my focus. If you don’t balance the many aspects of your life, one area will suffer more than another.”

BRIGHTEN UP WITH A YELLOW SWEATER + $500 GIVEAWAY

Photography by Madi Flournoy Henderson

SWEATER (SOLD OUT, LOVE THIS, THIS, AND THIS) || DENIM C/O || MULES || BAG C/O

Anytime I wear yellow, it just brightens my day and puts me in such a happy mood.  It's not a color that I wear often but when I do wear it, I always wonder why I don't wear it more.  Its bold and cheerful!

Lately I've been browsing yellow sweaters and may just have to add another one to my wardrobe for the upcoming spring season.  I love yellow paired with royal blue, grey, white, red, and tan...you can be as conservative or as adventurous as you would like with this color.  

To keep my look casual, I paired my sweater with jeans and a great pair of mules, which I obsessed with by the way!  Add a complimentary pop of color, like I did with this saddle bag, to complete your look.

Do you love yellow as much as I do?

Also, before you go, don't forget to enter this incredible $500 Lush Fashion Lounge boutique giveaway.  Entering is super simple and will only take you a couple of minutes and believe me, you will want to enter this one!  You may enter the giveaway below.

As always, thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you have a great day! 

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Dress For Success + Tips On Dressing & Preparing For An Interview

Photography by Madi Flournoy Henderson

DRESS C/O || HEELS || BAG C/O 

I'm excited to team up with Vanity Fair lingerie today to share more about Dress for Success as well as share some of my personal tips around dressing & preparing for an interview!

If you aren't familiar with Vanity Fair lingerie, I encourage you to read my first impressions post HERE.  I've been wearing my new Vanity Fair bras for approximately the last 4 weeks and I can't tell you how much I love them.  After having a professional fitting, I feel so much more confident in the bras that I am wearing on a daily basis.  Hope you will take a few minutes to read about my experience.

Okay...let's chat a little bit about Dress for Success!  I've always been familiar with Dress for Success so I'm super excited to share more about this not-for-profit organization.

Dress for Success "empowers women to achieve economic independence by providing a network of support, professional attire, and the development tools to help women thrive in work and in life."  They teach women the tools to help them get bak to work and assist them in remaining employed.  Dress for success can be found in almost 145 cities throughout 20 countries.  Even more impressive, they have service more than 925,000 women in their 19 years of operation!

Dress for Success has several "signature programs" but the two that I've always known about include their Suiting Program and their Career Center.  As many of of know, preparing for an interview often times means having access to clothing and resources to present yourself in a professional manor, which is exactly what their Suiting Program does.  To help prepare themselves for an interview, each client works directly with a trained volunteer personal shopper  to ensure that they have the appropriate outfit, makeup, accessories, and footwear to feel confident when they attend an interview.

The second signature program is their Career Center program which helps prepare the women with interviewing skills, preparation of a professional cover letter and resume, as well as access to their professional skills training course.

Dress for Success has had such great results helping women get back into the workforce and the work they do through partnerships with companies like Vanity Fair lingerie is truly admirable and very impressive.

I'd also like to share my personal tips for dressing for & preparing for an interview.  Some of you may not know this, but I work within HR for a large worldwide bank institution and interviewing candidates for various roles with our company is something that I do on a daily basis.

PREPARING FOR & DRESSING FOR AN INTERVIEW:

1)  Ensure that you have professional attire to wear...this could be a pants suit, a dress (similar to something like I am wearing in this post), and skirt and blouse, etc.  Some may say dress for the type of job that you are interviewing for (which in some instances I agree) however, I would always recommend dressing more professional than not. You can never be overdressed for a job interview!  Keep your pieces simple...stick with black, navy, grey, etc.  Ensure that your outfit is pressed too!  Although I am wearing open toe shoes in this post, I actually would recommend wearing close to shoes to an interview.

2)  Wear comfortable undergarments.  In today's post, I am wearing my Comfort X 3 bra from Vanity Fair...not only is it comfortable but it stays in place.  The last thing you want is to find yourself adjusting your undergarments or feeling self conscious because your bra strap may show or something of that nature.

3)  Wear minimal accessories.  If wearing earrings, wear stud earrings (this is not a time to pull out your gorgeous statement earrings) and don't pile on your best arm party.  Accessories can be a distraction for both you and the Interviewer and you may find yourself fidgeting with them if you get nervous.  Minimal is always best.

4) Don't overdue your makeup.  Of course, wear what makes you feel comfortable but if you tend to normally wear heavy eye makeup for example, I recommend softening your look a little bit for an interview.  Makeup can also be a distraction.  Wearing a more neutral lip color is also recommended.  As much as I love a bold red lip, there is a time and place for that...plus you wouldn't want to be self conscious in the case that a little red lipstick has found its way onto your teeth.

5)  Wear your hair in a way that keeps it out of your face and keeps you from fidgeting with it as well.  Simple is always best and if you tend to fidget with your hair when you get nervous, you should consider wearing it in a sleek low ponytail or a style that keeps it out of reach.

6)  Ensure that your cover letter and resume is up-to-date and take several copies, on resume paper, with you to your interview.  You always want to have a copy of your resume in front of yourself so you can also reference it throughout the interview.

7)  Learn as much as possible about the company and the position that you are interviewing for and also know why YOU are the best candidate for the job.  You do not need to memorize company facts or statistics, etc but you do need to be able to speak with confidence when answering the question "What interests you in working for XYZ company?".

8)  Role play...it never hurts to sit down and role play with a friend or a family member.  Have someone ask you interview questions...this helps get your mind thinking and helps you preplan how you may answer a similar question during the interview.  

9)  Prepare some questions to ask your Interviewer at the end of the interview.  I always recommend preparing 2-3 job related questions to ask at the end of an interview.  This not only says that you are prepared in general but it also further demonstrates your interest in the role/company and learning more about it.

So now that I have shared more about Dress for Success as well as shared some of my own personal tips, I'd love to hear from you!  Do you have any interview tips to share?  If you have any questions, please leave your question/s in the comments below and I will be sure to answer them.

If you would like to get to know more about Dress for Success, you may simply visit their website and/or follow along on their social media channels.

Also...you may find Vanity Fair's amazing bras at Kohl's or Macy's and right now they are running a BOGO 1/2 off sale!  Now's the time stock up on some gorgeous new Vanity Fair bras!

As always, thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful day!

*Thank you Vanity Fair lingerie for partnering on today's post!  All tips and opinions shared are 100% my own.  It's partnerships like these that help make KBStyled possible.

A Million Reasons (Why It's Good to BE a Girl) with Vera Bradley

Photography by Madi Flournoy Henderson

JACKET (SIMILAR) || DENIM (SIMILAR) || TEE || BACKPACK || BOOTIES 

Vera Bradley is on a mission to share a million reasons why it's good to be a girl and I'm thrilled to team up with them to share "MY reasons" why I think it's not only good, but that it is GREAT, to be a girl!

I think back to my early childhood and I can't help but think of my parents who helped form my perception of what it meant to be a girl.  They guided me but they also allowed me to form my own opinions, develop my own self and my own life experiences, and turn into the "girl" that I wanted to be (as long as I was following the rules that is ;-)).

My Dad would spend time blow drying my hair into the most perfect little bob and my Mom would spend time taking me shopping at some of the most girly stores.  At the same time, they would send me out the door to play baseball in a field of boys, to trample in the creek, to shoot hoops, and to do anything that allowed my inner tomboy to flourish as well.  I've always been a girly girl yet I could hang with the fellas as well.

One of the most amazing things about being a girl is that I have been able to bring life into this world and have two beautiful children who I now have the honor to parent and help guide just as my parents did with me.  I just had to pause and think about that sentence...I brought LIFE into this world...man, I am LUCKY and BLESSED to be a girl!!!

There are so many reasons why I think it's good to be a girl, like being a Momma, and here are a few other reasons that I wanted to share with you all!

1) I can provide the BEST comfort!  As a Momma, I'm able to comfort our children in a way that no one else can.  It is such a privilege to be the one that they run to when they need comforting and when they need a little extra TLC.  Don't get me wrong...Dad's have a very special way of doing this as well but there is nothing like a Mother's hug and a Mother's touch when it comes comforting a child...it's good to be a girl!

2) I can cry at a sappy commercial and not feel embarrassed!  I don't know about you all, but I can be moved to tears pretty easily sometimes...especially when I see a commercial that pulls at the heart strings!  I don't hesitate to get teary eye or even shed a few tears if something moves me and I never feel embarrassed when I do...it's good to be a girl!

3) I can collect & carry all kinds of different handbags!  Handbag collector over here my friends...two hands raised!!  Can you ever really have too many handbags?!  I love being a girl because I can have a killer handbag collection and switch my bags out daily if I want to!  I'm currently obsessed with backpacks, just like this gorgeous mustard yellow Vera Bradley backpack that you see in this post!  Again...it's good to be a girl!

4) I can get DEEP with my girlfriends!  Let's be honest...girl talk is some of the best talk and I love that I can get super deep with my girlfriends.  No surface level conversations here.  No subject off limits.  We scratch the surface open and then peel back the layers!  We aren't afraid to share our feelings, our joys, our fears...you get the picture.  Girl talk fuels the soul...it's good to be a girl!

5) I can rock a camo jacket with confidence!  Ladies...camo jackets aren't just for the fellas anymore and no, I can assure you that you won't look like a hunter.  Rock a camo jacket with some distressed denim and a tee for a casual chic look.  As a girl, I love that I can wear something more masculine and make it look feminine...it's good to be a girl!

Now your turn!  I'd love to hear why you feel that it's good to be a girl!  Leave a comment below...can't wait to hear from you!  You may also share "your reason" HERE or on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook with hashtag #itsgoodtobeagirl!

*Special thank you to Vera Bradley for partnering on today's post.  All opinions are 100% my own.  It's partnerships like these that make KBStyled possible.

Vici Lately

Photos || Madi Flournoy Henderson

VICI COLLECTION DRESSES

TUSCAN ROMANCE WRAP DRESS 

BLUE BONNET MAXI DRESS

BERNAL FLIRT DRESS

To no surprise, my obsession with Vici continues and my wish list keeps growing!  Their pieces are just so fun, unique, and GORGEOUS!  Not to mention...they quality is excellent and their prices are amazing.

First off I have a thing for dresses, I think you all know that by now.  Secondly, I especially have a thing for long floral maxi dresses and dresses that have interesting details to them.

How gorgeous is the Tuscan Romance wrap dress and the Blue Bonnet maxi dress?!  The colors and the prints, #SWOON...need I say more?!  Both of these dresses are wear now wear later.  Wear now with sandals or strappy heels and wear later with booties, a cute floppy hat, and a moto jacket.  Because the colors are richer with fall undertones, you can totally take both of these dresses right into Fall!

And the Bernal Flirt dress is such a fun edgy dress to wear for a date night or for a night out with the girls.  The back detail of this dress is my absolute favorite!!!  Wear now and wear later...switch out strappy heels for over the knee boots, throw on a black moto jacket, and you are ready to take on the town!

Check out these pieces and more over at Vici!  They have some gorgeous new arrivals and my cart is already full with my next selections...can't wait to share my next picks with you all.

As always, thanks so much for stopping by...have a great day!

HADID FLORAL STRIPED ROMPER

Photos || Catherine Truman 

FLORAL ROMPER C/O || HEELS || BAG C/O || EARRINGS C/O

It's turned into the summer of florals and the summer of floral rompers...my obsession continues on but can you blame me?!

The vibrant bold floral print of the Hadid Floral Romper immediately caught my eye and the unexpected black and white stripe breaks up the floral print in all the right places.  Daytime, nighttime, vacation time, anytime...yet another piece that can be worn from day to night and for just about any occasion!

p.s if you love this romper, you MUST head to Goodnight Macaroon to shop this style and more!

As always, thanks so much for stopping by and hope you all have a great day!

Addison, Me, & Matilda Jane

Photos || Madi Flournoy Henderson

DRESS C/O || BAG C/O || HEELS || NECKLACE C/O 

ADDISON'S TUNIC TOP/DRESS C/O || ADDISON'S PANTS C/O

Do you see that little ham?!  That's our Addison and she and I had the best time shooting these Matilda Jane looks together.  She didn't need much guidance, she kind of just "did her thing" if you know what I mean. ;-)

Addison loves trying on clothes.  She will put on an outfit and within 15 minutes she is back in her room changing into another outfit.  This would go on all day long if we would let her!  So when she receives new Matilda Jane pieces in the mail, you can image the fashion show that she puts on for us. I can always tell how special she feels when wearing her Matilda Jane pieces and I can totally understand why...they are ADORABLE!

She always tells me how much she loves dressing like Mommy or dressing to match Mommy so when we have the opportunity to dress in coordinating pieces she is sooooo happy.  I've enjoyed wearing Matilda Jane as well...their pieces are feminine, classic, pretty, and down right comfortable!  

I adore the floral print on this "Marzipan Rose Dress"...the colors and print POP on the muted grey backdrop.  I've added the "Spoonful of Sugar" dress extender to add an extra feminine layer with a little peek-a-boo of lace detailing.

Stay tuned for some fun Matilda Jane looks that I've recently shot with Addison.  Excited to share more with you all.

As always, thanks so very much for stopping by and I hope you have a great day!

Cream Pleated Halter Dress

Photos || Madi Flournoy Henderson

DRESS C/O || BAG C/O || HEELS 

For those of you that count on a Monday post each week, my apologies, my need for sleep caught up to me on Sunday night and I fell asleep while writing my post.  It happens to the best of us!  Plus we had to stay up a bit later to watch Game on Thrones...I couldn't have possibly missed that. ;-)  Who else is a fan?!

Moving on...

I recently discovered the brand Sosie and I can't tell you how OBSESSED I am with their pieces, like this gorgeous cream pleated halter dress.  They have a great selection of summer dresses, tops, etc and all of their pieces are priced so reasonably.  The pleated halter that I am wearing is priced right at $50 and it also comes in black. 

Something to note about this dress is that it does have a lining that is fitted and not loose.  Keep this in mind when you are looking at the sizes.  If you are anything like me and have hips, you may need a little extra wiggle room.

Like most dresses that I wear, this one is perfect for a variety of occasions and can be dressed up or dressed down.  Take it up a notch for a more formal event with a bold pair of statement earrings, a clutch, and some strappy heels.  Add pops of color for a more fun flirty look...think turquoise open toed heels, a bold red clutch, or even a stack of colorful bangles.  Or even wear a bold red lip or a bright pink lip!  Not to mention, you can easily wear this dress in the Fall as well...think knee high boots and a moto jacket!

As always, thanks so much for stopping by.  Hope you have a great day!