Jewel Love It – Rock the Heavy Metals

One of the hottest jewelry trends this season is bold, heavy, chunky metals. Amazing statement pieces, but for the fashionista who’s faint of heart, they might seem intimidating at first, and we all know we can’t rock a look if we don’t feel comfortable in it. Our advice? DON’T get trapped inside your comfort zone. Take a little fashion risk now and then and you might surprise yourself. If there’s something you really want to try, all it takes is some guts and a few baby steps. We’ve come up with some knockout pieces to help smooth your jewelry transition from lightweight to heavyweight.

The Titan bracelet by Vita Fede ($275) is the perfect, edgy starter piece on your way to the rockstar Ava Arrow cuff by Paige Novick ($345).

Titan bracelet by Vita Fede.

Ava Arrow cuff by Paige Novick.

Metal fringe is a showstopper but you can find lots of starter options so you don’t feel like you’re headlining ahead of your time. These Tassel earrings from H&M ($7.95) will hold you over until you’re ready for this Fringe hoop from Guess ($25).

Tassel earrings by H&M.

Black and Gold fringe hoops by Guess.

Chain link is huge right now. It says, I know what I’m doing, and trust me, you CAN pull it off. This Bee Charming two tone chain link necklace from Max & Chloe ($75) isn’t out of your league, but if you’d rather ease into it, go for the Marc Jacobs Enamel Toggle necklace from Bloomingdales ($168).

Bee Charming necklace from Max & Chloe.

Marc Jacobs Enamel Toggle necklace.

Two more sweet additions to the chain gang! The Christina link bracelet from Stella & Dot ($49) creates that powerful look but without the awesome bicep workout you’ll get wearing the Tia Bracelet from All Saints ($175).

Christina link bracelet by Stella & Dot.

Tia bracelet by All Saints.

FOLLOW US on Pinterest and check out our Accesorize Me board for some more jewels you’ll love!

She’s All That – Lena Dunham

Vogue cover, February 2014

‘Why did you all make us look at your thighs?’ My response is, get used to it because I am going to live to be 100, and I am going to show my thighs every day till I die.” – Lena Dunham

My instinct is to immediately glance down at my thighs as I write this, always quick to judge and certainly lacking Lena’s bravado.

Let’s talk about Lena Dunham.  It seems like people are always talking about Lena Dunham, and more often than not, it’s about what she looks like rather than what she is capable of (Emmy winner, writer, director, actress, etc.). Last year, I posted a link on my Facebook timeline to the Dove “Real Beauty” campaign, lauding their efforts to encourage all women consider to themselves beautiful.  One of my Facebook friends commented on the post with:  “Why is it important for women to be beautiful?”  It made me think – my impulse had always been to want all women to think of themselves as beautiful, even if they don’t conform to traditional or popular standards of beauty.   The discussion of Lena Dunham, and her insistence on challenging conventional expectations for female beauty helps answer this question.

Why is it important for all women to be considered beautiful?   It’s simple: beauty makes us happy.  It’s why we listen to music, admire art, and travel to breathtaking places.   The more important question is:  why can’t more women see the beauty in themselves?  In 2011, @KiyahDuffey blogged about her daughter’s “beautiful body.”   In the post, she redefines very notion of bodily beauty as strength, ability, sensation, function — not size, texture, clarity, or symmetry.   Her daughter’s body is beautiful because it can, and not simply because it is.   Here’s a lesson for all of us:  let’s start some loving self-talk, why don’t we?

Quite frankly, it’s a little bit of upstream swimming to challenge what we think we know.  Just look at the number of women who criticize and judge Lena’s nudity in the HBO series Girls — this is nothing more than, as Tina Fey once put it in Mean Girls, “girl on girl crime.”   The best way to move forward?   Think about this:  my 3-year old daughter tells me I’m beautiful every single day, even when I’m feeling my worst about the way I look (should lose some weight, don’t like my nose or teeth, etc.).  Does she think I’m a supermodel?  No.  Does she think I’m flawless?  No.  She doesn’t associate beauty with that yet.  To her, beauty comes from love and a completely innocent belief that beauty is there because it just is.  And it’s hard work for me to stop self-criticism and doubt in front of her – why should I unteach the secret that she already knows but so many adults struggle to grasp?

Let’s go back to talking about Lena Dunham.   Lena is the rest of us….but she knows the secret:  beauty isn’t externally defined, it’s internally generated.  In our hearts, in our minds, in our friendships, our talents, successes and failures.   When I wrote “beauty makes us happy,” I meant feeling beautiful in your own skin and opening yourself up to the (often unsung) beauty of others and the world around us.

Why this post?   When you create a game based on fantasy shopping, wearing beautiful things, and looking at a zillion pictures of people who look completely flawless and fabulous at all times in their clothing, it’s easy to focus on external and traditional notions of beauty.  Let’s battle that impulse, shall we?   Let’s live in the fantasy world of fashion and keep dreaming of shopping glory, but let’s feel good about ourselves, shall we?   While women are BattleShopping, we want you all to be brave, to take good care of each other, and know that beauty is everywhere.   Including Lena Dunham’s thighs.

Life’s a Battle – Choose Your Comrades Wisely…

Proud to say we’re members of a legion of powerful forces we call our friends.

This amazing quote, by Jeanette Leblanc, is for them.

Tuesday Shoesday – Hurts so good…

“Sometimes comfort doesn’t matter. When a shoe is freakin’ fabulous, it may be worth a subsequent day of misery. Soak in Epsom salts and take comfort in the fact that you’re better than everyone else.” 

— Clinton Kelly from Freakin’ Fabulous: How to Dress, Speak, Act, Eat, Sleep, Entertain, Decorate, and Generally Be Better Than Everyone Else

Amen, honey. Anyone who’s ever unstrapped a pair of stilettos and waltzed barefoot down the streets of Manhattan just to ease the firepinchingknifestabbing torture of a good shoe knows what Clinton’s talking about. Anyone who’s ever bought a pair of killer heels (even though the shoes were a size 6 and they’re feet were a size 7.5) because the heels were on sale AND the last pair AAANNNDDD because they didn’t want anyone else to have them? Not saying we’ve done that here at BattleShop, but uh, we’re sure someone out there’s done it before. In honor of those shoes and our feet, today’s Shoesday post goes out to some painfully delicious finds.

Manolo Blahnik – Cricata Crisscross Sandal, $845, Barney’s

Burberry – Delabole Suede High heels, $675, Saks Fifth Ave.

Giuseppe Zanotti – D‘orsay peep toe pumps, $402.75, Bluefly

Jessica Simpson – Seigfried heels, $109.95, Shoebuy.com

Joe’s Jeans – Laney Suede D’Orsay pump , $135, Shopbop

Don’t forget to check out our *SHOW US YOUR BATTLEFACE* Contest ladies!

Click here for more details!

Grammy that dress, please! – Our faves

Grammy fashion rules because you get a great mix of serious styling and off-the-wall, edgy looks. We were digging the more elegant looks last night. Our best-dressed went to Foxes (aka Louisa Rose Allen), who looked gorgeous in Vivienne Westwood. Here are some of our  other favorite glam moments. Whose look did you love and whose did you think was a little TOO edgy?

Foxes in Vivienne Westwood

Chrissy Teigen in Johanna Johnson

Kasey Musgraves in Armani Prive

Ariana Grande in Dolce & Gabbana

Julia Roberts in Elie Saab

Zendaya Coleman in Emanuel Ungaro

**CONTEST ALERT** – Show us your BattleFace!

**CONTEST ALERT** –  Show us your BattleFace!

We want you to Show Us Your BattleFace! Get fired up and show us your

fight face! Submit a picture of you in the BattleShop pose (see our logo) and

be sure to wear your BattleFace.

CLICK HERE TO ENTER

Make it count, ladies! Wearing your powershopping, fashion, or sports gear (attire, makeup, and accessories) is highly encouraged! Please submit your pics to Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter with the hashtags #battleshop and #mybattleface between January 27 and February 10, 2014.

We will share all photos across our social media platforms so all entrants can see their competition! After all of the submissions have been entered, all of us at BattleShop HQ will decide our favorite BattleFace. The lucky winner will receive a BattleShop canvas tote bag!

If you have any questions, please email us at: info@battleshop.co. Please note that emails collected during the contest will only be used to contact the winner and facilitate prize delivery.

On the 7th Day…

We made it. We’re back to our day of hanging out and not having to gussy it up for anyone if we don’t want to. Today we’re talking about the coziest collection in your dresser, your pjs. The kind of pjs you’re mad to take off in the morning. Right now all of these pieces are saying, “Chill out, girl. You’ve had a long week being fabulous. Let’s cuddle on the couch.” Happy relaxing!

Linen Paneled Tee – $39.50 J.Crew

Mezzaluna Hoodie – $70 The North Face

Monrow Cosmic Fleece Cuff sweats – $112 Piperlime

Chestnut Faux Fur slippers – $33.99 Roxy

We’re Preparing for Battle. Are you?

The BattleCEO and the BattleCOO are rocking our Chucks in NH this weekend while we get the beta test ready. If you’d like to test, shoot us a private message on our FB page with your email address and we’ll get you on our roster. Oh, and check us out on Instagram! Here’s a sneak peek of the BattleShop home page.

Ice, Ice Baby – Stylin’ in the Vortex

Hey look who’s Pinning! Once BattleShop is in full effect, Pinterest will be an excellent resource for building cohesive and competitive closets to advance within the league. And even though we’ve been in the frozen grips of the almighty JANUS here at BattleShop HQ, finding pinspiration to leave our second string winter wardrobe on the bench is mandatory. 10 degress feels like a cruel joke but we have to get serious and stay bundled, and sorry, walking out of the house in our electric blanket isn’t an option. Follow us on Pinterest and check out our “Keep It Hot In The Cold” board for some icy-temps encouragement to step your outdoor fashion game up to an A+. Here’s a sneak peek.

LBD Day – WWYW (Which would you wear?)

This Ted Baker Nitcha dress has one of the sweetest bibs we’ve ever seen that wasn’t actually attached to a baby. Flirty and timeless, just the way we like our LBDs. And PSST, it’s on sale right now from $275 to $192.

Out of these two vintage-inspired looks we created on the Polyvore, which would you wear? Comment below and let us know. And if you’re already hanging out on Polyvore, follow us so we can share looks!

The red look is rocking Kate Spade Red Nuovo pumps ($328, Nordstrom), Judith Leiber’s Whitman Anaconda clutch ($2,495, Neiman Marcus), Max & Chloe’s Carnelian and Pyrite bangle ($98, Max & Chloe), along with Max & Chloe’s Multicolored Drop Cameo earrings ($145, Max & Chloe).

Ted Baker Nitcha dress with red accessories by battleshop featuring snake skin handbags

The gold look shines with TDF (To Die For) Seychelles Dynamite Fishnet wedges ($100, Heels.com), KOTUR’s Espey Snakeskin Marguerite clutch ($850, MarissaCollections.com), Betsey Johnson’s Skinny Heart Bangle ($30, Nordstrom) and Armenta’s Gold Diamond Tapestry earrings ($1,770, Avenue32).

Ted Baker Nitcha dress with black and gold accessories by battleshop featuring ankle tie wedge shoes