How to: Style The Plain Tee

You already know about our love for the basic tee, so we won't bore you with the details. Here are a few tips from our designers for styling a plain tee shirt. If you have your own suggestions, leave us a comment! 

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Decorating With Your Valentine's Day Flowers

We hope everyone had a love-filled Valentine’s Day this year. One of the Luv4Anouka designers got 50 red roses for Valentine’s Day and when they started to wilt, she couldn’t bear to see them thrown out. To Pinterest we went, trying to find ways to preserve their life, but there was not much creativity in the dried-flowers department. Sure you can dry the flowers and pin them to your wall, but here is another simple approach that works just as well!

Here they are before...

And after!

1. Cut off any leaves or thorns and cut the stems to your preferred length
2. Fan out flowers and tie a small rubber-band (like one you would use for the end of a braid) around the middle of the stems
3. Using some kitchen twine or string, tie around the rubber-band tightly (just to provide some extra reinforcement)
4.  Find a nice long ribbon and begin wrapping around both the flowers stems and the post you’re tying them to. Loop around several times and make sure it’s nice and tight. Then tuck it under and tie a knot to keep it in place. (She was able to tie it around the perpendicular posts for even more support).  

How To Style Printed Pants for Spring: Do's and Don'ts

The most playful trend for spring is undoubtedly the printed pants. Eye-catching bottoms are a nice break from over the top embellished blouses and the likes; they are almost like an accessory in themselves. This trend hit the runway in Spring 2012 and you've probably seen the fashion savvy begin to embrace them. But if you're thinking... Really? How am I supposed to pull those off without looking like Kelly Kapowski from Saved By The Bell? We've got you covered. Floral print pants are actually kind of (dare we say it) flattering. Here are a few DO'S and DON'TS to follow:

DO layer on top. With all other trends, the key is balance. A few layers on top will balance and soften the look.

DON'T wear knee high boots. Show off those pants, don't hide them under your shoes. For some reason, this trend just works better with delicate flats/loafers, classy heels or ankle booties.

DO experiment with tops. We love styling printed pants with a simple knit top, but we would never knock mixing prints! Floral and polka dots or stripes are some of our favorite combinations.

DON'T stray too far from the colors in your pants. If your wearing printed pants its likely that there are a variety of colors. Pick one or two colors from the pattern and match the rest of your outfit from there (especially if you're mixing prints).

Here are two ways to style our floral printed pants! In the first photo we styled them with our shadow stripe sweater knit and our blazer with cable rib pockets.  In the second photo, one of our stylists, Preethi is wearing them with a knit and hoodie from our fall 2012 line. These pants have zippers, buttons and pockets so they look like jeans but they are just as comfortable (if not more) as a pair of leggings!

Glitzy Photo Board DIY Inspiration

If you can remember (and long for) a time when photos used to be showcased around your house, and not your Instagram page, this DIY is for you. Here’s the situation: The walls of your bedroom are bare. The photos in your frames are over 10 years old. You and your significant other have no photographs together, but you’re tagged in about 50 of them on Facebook.

This is what happened to Samantha when she moved into a new place, so she decided to get creative! She ordered a set of 24 instagram photos to be printed by printstagr.am. She went to Michaels and picked up a corkboard, heavy duty double sided tape, glitter tape, sequin and pom pom string. It’s so easy to create your own photo board with the right materials!

Easy Vanilla Cupcakes with Tiramisu Mascarpone Frosting

Most of us here at Luv4Anouka have a sweet tooth, but that doesn’t mean any of us are excellent bakers. The thought of making our own cupcakes was always intimidating – why make your own when you could go out and buy them? With the cupcake craze still going strong, the price of cupcakes have gone through the roof. Last time we bought 4 cupcakes it cost $18, so, we went out on the search for cupcake recipes (from scratch). Finding one for novice bakers that didn’t include a boxed cake mix wasn’t easy. Fortunately, the first batch we whipped up was easy AND tasty! If you’re like us and need your cupcake fix but don’t know your way around a kitchen (or own a $250 mixer), this recipe is for you! Although the mixer wouldn’t hurt and would probably deliver a fluffier frosting :)

PS - these are addicting. One of our desginers said she could eat these for breakfast. The tiramisu mascarpone really takes it above and beyond. 

Classic Spring Prints: Falling for Floral

You know about our love for stripes, but when it starts to warm up outside and the flowers bloom, we can't help but fall for floral. Why should a girl be forced to chose between the two? Some of our best items for spring combine stripes and vintage-esque blossoms. It may only be January, but here are our favorite picks you can find in stores now.

Suggestions and Tips for Styling a Maxi Skirt

One of our signature styles at Luv4Anouka is the maxi skirt. Our maxi is a little more contemporary than the maxi skirts of the past. Made from the softest cotton, the Luv4Anouka maxi is form fitting at the top and flows at the bottom. The fold-over top adds the perfect amount of ruching and texture. It comes in a variety of colors and prints, so it can be the star of your outfit or just a nice solid canvas for a fun top and statement necklace, like Rach from Pink Peonies does with the Luv4Anouka maxi here. 

We love how Rach tucked in her chambray button up top to create a seamless silhouette. This neutral maxi is perfect for all seasons and can be brightened up with accessories during the spring/summer or cozied up with a sweater for the fall/winter. See how we've styled our Holiday maxi below. The rich color and beautiful lace insets make it a statement piece that you can wear for fun occasions. Tuck in a tee shirt and cover up with a cardigan or go with a simple chunky cable knit sweater. 

And to see our new Spring/Summer maxi's and skirts, click here!