Vintage Photo-shoot

Last weekend, we completed the first of our summer collection photo shoots.   We had a blast!  The talented Toni Geib from BellaFotos took some amazing shots and we thought we should share the fruits of our labor.

These photo includes the following pieces from the MiUS Collection:

First Photo:

• Alexis skull top
• Becky Sequin top
• Courtney Lace skirt
• Pleated Hi Low
• Tuxedo Belt

Second Photo:

These lovely dresses are part of our Emerging Designer Showcase! The navy dresses are custom ordered and proudly handmade by Tidal Cool Creations.  The beautiful gray dress is designed and made in Los Angeles by Amadi.

• Diana Navy Gown
• Andrea Sheath Dress
• Samantha Belted Dress

These are my two favorites from the session. Stay tuned, we’ll post more sneak peeks throughout the week!

Photographers: Toni Gieb from BellaFotos, and Patrick Hovan

Hair Stylist:  Ginger Brock from Creative Cuts

MUA:  Chanterra

Furniture: Salvage Style

Models: Amanda Krieg, LaShonda Reed, and Stephanie Conrad

Set Design & Stylist: Yours truly Millie @ MiUS Collection

Earth Day 2013

It is Earth Day today.

Did you know that over one billion people in 192 countries are participating from New York to Sao Paolo, Seoul to Babylon City, New Delhi to Boston, Rome to Cairo; people everywhere are taking action in their communities.  This is amazing! I think it is a global reminder of how we are tied together in this beautiful planet.

So in order to make a change for the better, our family has taken steps every year to help make our carbon footprint less.  We recycle… paper and all cardboard and three years on Earth Day, our family decided to lower our carbon footprint by using reusable bags whenever we go shopping.  Kids learned in school that the process of making traditional paper grocery bags includes over-harvesting our forests, chemical off-gassing and a lot of energy consumption. And don’t even my daughter started on plastic bags!!  They blow all over the landscape, fill up our landfills and pose a hazard to wildlife.

So we made the change to reusable.  Since, i love cute, although the grocery store reusable ones are a no-brainer I wanted to add some “cute” to the tote and I went shopping for shopping bags : -) You can find reusable shopping bags in all sorts of shapes and sizes, but those with similar dimensions to brown paper bags are my favorite type. Here a list of  Made in the USA options from our friends at “Made in USA Challenge“:

• Earthwise
• GG2G
• Ityse
• Mighty Nest
• Modernest
• Our Green House
• Re-useit
• The Cloth Bag Company
• Tom Bihn
• True ReUSAble Bags

So, I got myself some cute shopping bags, but it was hard at first to remember the bags at first, always forgot them in the car!! So I had to chance some habits.  A got a small “trapper” container to keep them all together in the car, but recently I discovered The Tote buddy (another small business – I prefer to shop from other small businesses).    The Tote Buddy is a case that holds several reusable bags fashionably!   Score!

And remember you can use uses reusable bags not only for shopping, but also for tasks like gardening and toting pet supplies.

We hope today… you start doing something to lower your carbon footprint.

It’s easy! Attend an Earth Day event in your community, start doing something to lower your carbon footprint, and take a photo of yourself being part of the solution and upload it to The Face of Climate Change Wall.

What will that be?

What to Wear? The Wedding

This post is the final post of the “what to wear?” wedding series.  The wedding!  There are so many styles of weddings out there it is almost impossible to capture all in one blog post, but I will attempt to address style dilemmas for the most common scenarios.  So…which way to go first:

Let’s start with the “unwritten” rules of wedding etiquette, according to The Knot.com here are some ”Dos and Don’ts” for weddings:

• Don’t wear white because it competes with the bride. There are plenty of other colors available. This rule may seem outdated, but it’s actually just good etiquette to not compete with the bride on her special day.
• Don’t wear black or sequins during the daytime. Anything too sparkly will make you look overdressed.
• Don’t worry about wearing the same colors as the bridesmaids or mothers. You can’t possibly coordinate with everyone in the wedding party.
• Do wear something feminine and appropriate, out of respect for your hosts. Clubwear, overtly sexy clothing (strapless, see-through, etc) doesn’t belong at a wedding. If you have to ask if it’s appropriate, it probably isn’t.
• Don’t wear opera-length gloves (to top of arm) with anything but sleeveless or strapless gowns.
• Do take off gloves to eat or drink.
• Do use good judgment if the invitation doesn’t specify the formality of the event. A pastel suit or soft floral dress for daytime or a LBD for evening (after 6 p.m.) will take you almost anywhere.
• Even at a casual wedding, use good judgment when it comes to getting dressed. Casual can mean a pretty sundress (like for a coastal or beach wedding) but rarely means something as sloppy as jeans or shorts.

OK…Now that we have the Dos and Don’ts here are my style suggestions for wedding receptions based on the type:

• Informal Daytime: Short dress or suit (business attire OK for morning weddings)
• Informal Evening: Cocktail dress (which is any dressier dress — for example, a LBD– that’s not full-length.)
• Semi-Formal Daytime: Short dress or suit
• Semi-formal Evening: Cocktail dress
• Formal Daytime: Short dress or suit. Hats and gloves optional (although it’s rare to see hats and gloves at most weddings.)
• Formal Evening or Black-Tie: Long or dressy short cocktail (beading, glam accessories, wrap)
• Ultra-formal or White Tie: Long gown, extra glitz (furs, diamonds, etc.)

Here are some of my picks from MiUS Collection boutique:

Informal-day time wedding:

Add a cardi and jewels to accessorize this daytime wedding appropriate frocks.

Evening/Formal Receptions: 

All these beautiful dresses are made in the USA and available at MiUS Collection.

If there are other wedding styles you want me to address, feel free to make comments and I can answer them for you.

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A Jewelry Addict’s Organization Tips

In previous posts I have admitted my weakness and obsession with anything that adorns the body (i.e. necklaces, bracelets, earrings, pins, etc).  My compulsion to buy such items (at any time) has lead me to a serious storage issue.  I have now outgrown 3 jewelry boxes, so it was time to re-organize my pretties!! I was crumbling for hours trying to find a way so that they look nice and not messy.  I realized I am not the only one ever came across with this, so here I share some tips. Happy organization..

First, I started with my large pile ( I dumped all my jewelry on my bed)

Then I separated them into categories:

• Keep = these are the items that I wear, are in good condition,or I just purchased
• Say “Good Bye”= items that have been subjected to a hard life of wear, may be missing parts, or you clearly purchased while blinded.   You can donate and trash those broken, missing, etc.
• Re-home = pretties that you don’t wear, but may be happier at a friend’s house where they will get proper wear.

TIP: As long as you have them separated, you know how many you have of each category, so you can chose the right storage solution.

Since I had outgrown my jewelry boxes, I decided to organize my lovelies this way:

• I used my jewelry box for earrings. The one I picked up from Red Envelope  and it has pretty leaves and branches that can be used as ring holders, and it has a large drawer I used to store my watch collection.
• Then, the bulk of my collection I decided to keep in my top dresser drawer.  I purchased clear organization trays from Target.

Then I stored them by color (golden, silver, pearl, pink, blue etc):

I am displaying my jewelry ideas, I hope they are inspiring.

Made in the USA: Weekend Style

I took a little break from blog writing during our spring break vacay, but I am back refreshed and ready to share some style ideas with you First, now that warmer weather is finally here, I thought some made in the USA options for the weekend would an appropriate blog piece. So I created this board with a breezy spring feel and a Saturday afternoon:

Here are the items I included in this board from MiUS Collection:

MacKenzie top is a sheer mint perfection @ $29.99 (made in the USA)

Khloe Boyfriend Jean from Just USA is perfect fit @ $45.99

Whiskey Leather Belt made in Texas from the finest leathers with a rocking jig zag style buckle @ $84.99

LaMer Wrap Watch handrafted in Los Angeles with leather and chains @ $135.00

Multi Circle Necklace  creative minds from Maryland state make this awesome simple necklace for you @ $22.99

Perfect match for that necklace is the multi circle bracelet with a green stone!  So cute @ $19.99

Sperry Top Siders and Kate Spade sunglasses finish the look!

What do you think?   Do you like the spring weekend look?  What would you add?

 

Sunny Days are Coming!

I have really been craving some sun lately. I am in northeast Ohio and the past couple of days have included temperatures in the 30 degrees and some snow. But I can still feel spring coming and I with April right around the corner I can almost feel the sun on my face soon. So inspired by those days, here is an outfit option from MiUS Collection (sunnies and sandals from Piperlime)

First, I love maxi skirts, floor grazing maxi skirts and dresses are having a moment right now. Maxis have always been a style staple for me. They are comfortable, easy, incredibly flattering, and the style is versatile and perfect for transitioning your spring to summer wardrobe.  OH and if you are petite, don’t be shy, try it with some wedges for the maxi perfect length. Above is the Zoe Maxi from MiUS, features a dip die design with gray, white and pink.  Made in the USA of course

The Lily Chain Tank in pink is the perfect combo for this skirt.   The chain adds just the right amount of edge to this feminine color top.  I added this fabu necklace, it is adjustable length and it adds just the right amount of accent to the outfit. Pair it with this Just USA jean jacket, some sunnies and sandals and you are out the door looking stylish and cute.

What do you think?  Do you like the maxi length?

 

wiSww – Easter

linking up again this week with lindsey from the pleated poppy for what i wore (or in my case…what i should wear ) wednesday. This week, an outfit pick from MiUS for Easter brunch.   Love the color combination of coral & turquoise.   What do you think?

Kaylee Dress – $49.99 

Jennifer Cardigan in Mocha – $24.99

Oversized Cocktail Ring – $22.99 

Nude shoes and turquoise belt from Piperlime.com

Remember…all MiUS products are made in the USA.  visit our sitewww.miuscollection.com

What to wear to a wedding: The Bachelorette party 2

This is is the third segment of “what to wear” wedding series.  We are focusing on the bachelorette party again this post.  This time however we are looking at a winery tour or vineyard getaway as a destination for the bachelorette party.   So you may ask yourself…”What should I wear?” and we have a few suggestions from the MiUS Collection boutique.     For a bachelorette party winter tasking try these options:

Add heels or flats, depending on the winery atmosphere to make it dressier or more casual and  toast to a fun night! Which one is your favorite?

pinterest craftiness…plus some

again..back with pinterst…thought i would fill you in on some crafts i am making around here all with the help of pinterest.  they must have really boosted sales at craft stores no?

we don’t do much in the party sense for birthdays, but i always decorate for everyone’s special day.  i am in the process of making this wreath…and if it turns out half as good as how does she ? ,  i plan on making some for christmas gifts!

i am going to attempt to make this.  i got some similar stuff at the craft store to try it out.  though i don’t have as cool or a front door as they do…nor am i that crafty…the good news is…if it doesn’t work out, i can buy it from their shop!

i have this marked on my craft board.  my friend,  we will call her jill, called the other day to see how they turned out.  i had to laugh…just because i pinned it doesn’t mean i tackled it yet.  so she decided to.  i am not sure how they turned out…at first her texts were nice..saying she would make me some…then she texted that if i don’t come over and help she would only make me black eggs…then she stopped texting…wonder if she got them done?  they are cute….

as a side note… i tried the shower cleaner from this site and it totally works!!  i use it every time i shower and am really happy with the results.

my next search is finger desserts…we have a huge church function coming up and we need small baked goods for over 600 people.  what do you do with recipes on Pinterest?   do you try them first on people at home or just bake/make and hope for the best?

What to wear to a wedding: The bachelorette party

This is the second part to our “What to wear?” wedding series.  That simple question that can send any woman into a tizzy, especially when it involves an outfit for an epic night of fun and mayhem:  THE BACHELORETTE PARTY.

These parties are celebrated in many different styles, therefore, I’ve compiled outfits from the MiUS Collection for every bachelorette party atmosphere from crazy festivities at the club to relaxing at a vineyard.    The first part of the “What to wear to  bachelorette party” we’ll share some options for that  for the clubbing party night.

Other great options from MIUS for clubbing would be:

Suede Waist Cincher Belt available at MiUS (brown or black) $69.99

Included in this posts are the following pieces from MiUS:

Black Zipper Dress 

Cowl neck Jumpsuit 

Zipper Belt 

Jaime Sequin Top 

Sequin Trim Jacket 

Carrera Chain Watch 

Studded Wristlet

Pink & Black Wristlet

On monday, we show options for a wine tasting to spa parties.  Which one is your favorite look?  What do you think about this series?