TotallyTot | Creating Innovative Solutions for Everyday Women: Caring

Today's edition of #SundaysWithTot is super special to me!

This super cute family is my first styling clients.

I was tasked with dressing this family for pictures for Father's Day. This "Bonus Mom" wanted amazing photos for her future husband and instead of just including herself, she brought along his beautiful 4 daughters.

I was tasked with dressing all 5 of these beauties from head to toe!

Dressing 5 people can be a little intimidating, but I figured let's start with some classics. You can never go wrong starting with classics like Converse All-Stars & denim.

Denim is truly timeless and can easily be paired with anything!

Converse is another timeless piece that can work for almost any age and almost any outfit. As you can see below, it wasn't just any ol' Converse, we picked an all white leather low-top Converse for the occasion.

I wanted them to be able to look back and love their pictures 10 years from now.

Now, let's get to the individual details.....

starting with the youngest of the bunch!

This little lady is 10 years old and popping with personality! I found her super cute dress at Macy's and it is made by Guess for Kids. I loved the layers and wanted her to feel good in her dress. The bow-tie is actually one of my headbands that I wanted to use as a tie. It was perfect!!!!

Up next, is this 14 yr. old cutie! Her personality was super chill and very feminine.

I was so in love with her skirt that I had to get myself one. lol! (see post here) I originally wanted her to wear a vest but couldn't find the perfect vest for her. So, I opted for this sleeveless denim shirt. Easy and effortless is what we were aiming for here. The link to her skirt can be found here!

Next up, we have this sassyyyy 18 yr. old! She came ready to werk it and her energy was simply amazing the entire shoot.

Her peplum shirt is from Eloquii and can be found here. I actually found her skirt on Overstock.com for $25! I added a pop of red with one of my favorite belts and the pearl cluster necklace for a bit of class. lol! Now, one regret I have is the fit of her shirt. Here's a little secret: I did not meet any of these ladies until after their first fitting. I started out with their sizes and ages. I'll give the full story of how I ended up working with this family shortly.

Lastly, we have this amazing 21 yr. old popping in this polkadot maxi skirt!

Can you believe this skirt is $20?!

Yes, $20! This skirt is from a store in Chicago called Bolton's. Unfortunately, they are not available on line but here is a similar version. Click Here for similar polka dot maxi skirt.

Now, for the grand finale....

Mama Bear herself! One of the best "Bonus Moms" that I have ever met!!

Before, I get to her outfit details I have to share the back story.....

Vanessa reached out to me with an awesome idea that she had for her future husband. She wanted to gather his children for an amazing photoshoot and she needed my help styling them for this shoot. Time was limited so I was only able to gather their ages and sizes before shopping. I sent her the below photos with the prices attached to get her approval......and she approved!!!

As, my first client I wanted everything to be as seamless as possible. I even sent her over a personality quiz for the girls so I could get an idea of what they liked and what they disliked.

Now, her fabulous sequins polka-dot dress is from Eloquii! This dress is usually $169, but was on sale for $79! I wanted to consider her wallet while not sacrificing her fancy.

Here are a few more pics.....

The 4 sisters feeling and looking good!

I love this pic of them on my rooftoop! You can see the details in each outfit so well.

Vanessa with the 2 youngest :)

Vanessa with the 2 oldest :)

This is one of my favorite and final pics of the day Mama Bear in all polka-dot and baby girl in all denim.

Of course, I snuck a selfie or 2 in! Did I mention that I had the honor of being their photographer also?! We used my Samsung NX3000 for the pics and they turned out great!

I asked Vanessa for a review to add to my blog and you can see what she said below which completely blew me away. I asked to tell me what she liked, disliked, what she would change and etc and this is what she sent me:

"Have you ever secretly admired someone without their knowledge? Of course you have; who doesn't? Often times we just don't have enough time to let people know how great they are or how much we appreciate their contribution to the universe. With that being said... its getting close to Fathers Day and I was all over the place trying to figure out how I could surprise my future husband. All I could think of was hiring someone to style us for a photo shoot and I remembered a post/screenshot I had seen online and began to scrolling looking for the information. TADA! There it was Totally You by totallytot, some one I secretly admired is now offering styling techniques and so on. I emailed with the words "Help" in subject line also sharing how much I enjoy her style and my plans, needless to say Tot was amazing from beginning to end. She opened her doors for my family and allowed us to play dress up while preparing for our event. TOT is Everything! I mean she even filled in for the photographer. I love how energetic and patient she was with my family! No complaints here. Keep letting GOD use you! I will definitely be in contact in the future." -Vanessa

Admired?! Who me?! Nothing BUT GOD! I am so thankful for this amazing opportunity which I know was ALL GOD!

If you are interested, please don't hesitate to reach out.

Caring - Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Special Edition of #SundaysWithTot - My 1st Style Consulting Clients

Today's edition of #SundaysWithTot is super special to me! This super cute family is my first styling clients. I was t...

Week 2 of the Totally Tot Teenage Blogger takeover!! I am thrilled to introduce my readers to 13 year old Kailyn Smith! From the moment I met Kailyn, I knew that she was something special, she was 10 years old rocking bowties and delivering nothing short of style and “sass” in such a confident way. Kailyn radiates love, light, and fun! She’s often the life of the party with her bubbling personality and her “Youtube worthy” dance routines that I can never seem to get. Lol! Kailyn and I have discussed her writing for my blog for almost 6 months now; I quite frankly admired how Kailyn was so comfortable in her own skin and I wanted her to share her secrets here on TotallyTot, not only for my teenage readers, but for the adults as well.

Now, fast forward to 6 months later and Kailyn presented me her blog post on friends and relationships. All I can say is WOW!!!!!! Kailyn speaks of our relationship in her post but I have to admit she has taught me so much in my short time knowing her. Our heart to heart chats reminds me of how much I need God in my relationships. I sometimes find myself wanting to go to Kailyn’s school and teach these so called friends a lesson, (I’m kidding) but, I am reminded that God has the answers for all of our burning questions. So, our best chats always end in prayer and I thank God for these heartfelt conversations I am able to have with this young lady that will lead her right to HIM. She’s a sensitive soul who genuinely loves everyone and I know that God created her with this huge heart for HIS kingdom.

Meet my honey dip:

Kailyn Smith

My name is Kailyn and I am 13 years old. I’m in 8^th grade and I’m ready to take on high school (insert sigh emoji here). I am the oldest and it’s a very hard job being a big sister but I am proud to take on these responsibilities. I realize that I have to set a good example for my sister because I know she watches what I do and she wants to do what I do. Even though she can sometimes be a little mean, I love my little Keiran.

I love to dance, sing, and most of all I love fashion. Fashion is something that makes me very happy and I love it with a strong passion. Being able to mix and match clothes and, as Tot calls it, playing dress up is really fun. I love to express myself through what I wear and I want people to see me and be encouraged to be confident with their style like me.

I’m going to talk about friendships and how God helped me with my friendships. All my life I had a lot of friends, I wasn’t popular but I was well known throughout the school. As I’m getting ready to graduate 8^th grade and enter into High School I’m realizing all of the friends I thought I had were not really my friends. I dealt with a lot figuring out my true friends and the ones I had to let go. Please believe that I couldn’t do it without the help of God and the Wonderful Lady herself Tot!!

Praying to God about friendships is one of the best decisions you can make because He really opens your eyes to who is really with you and who can also help you make God decisions when you are not in your right mind.

It also good to have someone to talk to so you don’t hold your feelings in. Being able to talk with Tot about things and my friendships really helps me. I know that she was sent from God to be someone I can talk to and someone who can help me make better decisions and someone who prays for and with me. I even know that Tot has a mentor that she confides in and I believe that it is healthy and helpful to have someone that you can trust. Our conversations pretty much look like this:

Now, I’m going to talk more about my past with friendships and how God really helped me. In the past I’ve had friends who bullied me, broken my heart, called me fake and some who said they didn’t want to be my friend any more.

I struggled with that a lot because I considered myself a good friend and I dealt with anger in myself for not being good enough. When my Mother took me and my sister to church, it was one of the best things to happen to me. After finding a relationship with God and figuring out who I was, my true self, I was able to open up to certain people about how I was feeling. Tot being one, has given me good advice and she helped me pray about a lot of situations in my life.

Now here’s some advice to the readers:

1. When looking for friends pray about your relationships

2. Have faith that God will send friends that will support you and bring joy in your life

3. My final tip is to find someone to talk to about your feelings. Make sure you pray for the right mentor that can provide some advice, guidance, and prayer.

That’s all I have to say and I hope you enjoyed my testimony.

Kailyn out (Mic Drop)!!!!

Interested in learning more details about my skirt?

Click here for the full post on the skirt and the link to where you can purchase!

#GuestBlogger - Thursday, February 18, 2016

Meet Kailyn!!! 13 yr. old Guest Blogger Alert! Kailyn talks friendships!

Week 2 of the Totally Tot Teenage Blogger takeover!! I am thrilled to introduce my readers to 13 year old Kailyn Smith!...

I am so excited to have Kimberly Wilborn as my first guest blogger. This 13 year old is truly a dynamic teenager who unapologetically lives her life for Christ! I met Kim through a close friend and I immediately could see how different this young lady was. She’s full of love and energy and she understands the power of being true to herself but more importantly she understands the power of having a relationship with God. Yes, at 13 years old she has a very real testimony and she is not afraid to share it. She even realizes the importance of giving God the glory and that is huge and should be celebrated in this day and age!!

I have a number of teenagers that will be sharing their stories and testimonies this year! I am so grateful to God to be able to have this platform for these amazing young adults. I asked Kim to write for TotallyTot.com because I knew that her story is not only encouraging to people of all ages but it has the power to change lives!

Of course, no blog post is complete without a “TotallyTot” photoshoot! So, Kim and I took to the Chicago streets to snap some pics. My dear friend Mary who I met Kim through (Kim is Mary’s boyfriend’s little sister/cousin) was gracious enough to be our photographer, makeup artist, prayer partner and so much more.

Sooooooo, here’s Kim’s story in her own words!

Hi! My name is Kimberly Wilborn, and I'm a 13 year old believer in Christ. I enjoy writing, vintage music, fashion (I'm really looking forward to learning how to sew!)and showing compassion by spreading the love of Jesus Christ. I come from a pretty large family and I'm the baby!

Many people think that means I'm spoiled but trust me it has its ups and downs! Living my life as a believer is awesome, but of course like any other believer; there are some challenges.

As my journey continues with Christ, I've learned how to deal with things the correct way, instead of letting my flesh talk for itself. Ha, we all know how that can go down!

For example, God has taught me how to bite my tongue. Once I was cleaning my room, and my sister entered screaming, and yelling at me for not being ready on time (when she's barely ready herself). I honestly, wanted to just yell and fight back with her but the Holy Spirit immediately made me stop in my tracks and realize what I was doing.

The truth is, secretly, nobody is perfect. And that's really what the Holy Spirit is here for! To be our comforter and our guider, and without his help and His confidence He plants inside me, I wouldn't be here. His guidance is what kept me sane and in peace.

I'm honestly blessed to be saved at my age because I get to learn a lot of things that it takes years for others to learn. One thing that I've learned was to just be you! Once I really started to find out exactly who I was in Christ, I couldn't help but to love His people, and to love the world. I couldn't help but to love those who hurt me, and that's why I'm blessed today to say that I've forgiven an absent father, and an addict-prostitute mother, all because of God!

God's grace is what keeps me moving, honestly. He keeps me in his wing and protects me, He always reminds me, when I worry about something, that His mighty hand is on my life. Nothing can fail when you have Zion! And that's what really keeps me going, is Him! Love you, and God bless you!

Here's a few more photos and a link to a story that Kim wrote for school!

How I learned to forgive my Mother

I think it's extremely important that we celebrate our youth, especially being from Chicago where we are known for violence, we must show love and acknowledge this rose that grew from concrete.