Cardigan Empire

Salt Lake City Fashion Stylist

Using Social Media to Share More Than Cupcake Recipes

IMG_9155

I’ve been tight on cash before.  Like when my mom would make us underwear from fabric scraps.  Or when my husband and I would wash out our plastic bags for reuse. But I’ve never been hungry, not really, not long term.  And I’ve never had to feed my family of 6 for a day on on a single digit budget.

Unfortunately, that isn’t true for 1 in 4 families in my community.  25% of Arizonan families are food insecure, meaning consistent access to adequate food is limited by a lack of money and other resources. And at present the situation shows every indication that it will reach 1 in 3.

IMG_9168

Social media is dominated by competitive super diets, exotic ingredients, and perfectionist plating presentations.  But what if we used our digital connections to do more than share cupcake recipes?

Valley of the Sun United Way is working to spread their Breakfast in the Classroom program.  This allows every child to quiet the hunger of their bodies, so they can devote their attention to feeding their minds instead.

Hunger is a 100% curable disease and while I won’t be able to fund a food bank anytime soon, I can buy a kid breakfast, maybe an entire classroom can eat on me. If you want to sponsor a stomach too, donate what you can, whether it’s a few dollars or help in spreading the word.  Every dollar you donate will be matched by Edward Jones.  Our goal is to bring the program to more than 7 additional schools.

IMG_9216

Sponsored by Valley of the Sun United Way

5 Steps to a Closet Boutique

First, your wardrobe is, or should be, a carefully curated collection: the eclectic pencil skirt that you fished from between velour hot pants and a brocade tapestry jacket at the discount outlet, the immaculate fit jeans you discovered after three hours of slipping your thighs in and out of denim,  the quilted handbag you watched until two in the morning when the eBay auction ended with your winning bid.  You have sought these pieces out.  You waited for them to blossom into sale.  You altered them to your exact measurements.  The collection of garments cooperates as a team, the sum more than any one part, confiding in one another their flattering secrets.

This is not the realm of storage but display.   Your closet is a demi-temple of peace and sanctuary.  A space harmonizing yourself and your body.  An opportunity to shroud your external self with your internal desires, free from anxiety or conflict.

A personalized boutique where each piece offers a comfortable fit, a blush inducing hue, a style that unifies your internal and external being.  Hunting should be done on the sales rack, closets are for efficient decadence.