In February, DC stylist (soon to be Nashville stylist and resident!) Shell B Cheri contacted me about participating in a photography + styling project with her, Ashley, Waverly, and several other DC bloggers. (You may also remember Shell B as the photographer from my Airport Style post.) The concept of the project is for each blogger to choose a "trouble piece" in her closet, an item that is loved but never/rarely worn because she doesn't know quite what to wear with it and let Shell B or Waverly come over and style the "trouble piece" with other existing clothing in her closet. Of course, my exact and immediate response was "YES! YES! YES!" I'm always excited to help friends execute their creative vision, and I would never pass up an opportunity to get photographed by Ashley of Ashley in DC! I love all of her pictures.

My "trouble piece" is/was the grey H&M top. I frantically picked it out at this event with visions of wearing a bandeau top underneath - not thinking about the fact that (1) it was winter (a long winter) and (2) it's made of wool so even if it was warm enough to wear, it would probably end up being too hot in the sun. I tried to wear it a few times but would changed my mind because it just wasn't working for me. When I showed it to Shell B, she immediately thought vest and not top and began layering it over clothing. Hashtag Shell B is a genius! It seems so obvious now. Duh, wear it as a vest, but I was so adamant about wearing it as a skin revealing top. That's what's great about having a fresh set of eyes on anything. Shell B picked out several styling options and stressed that she wanted me to be 100% honest about how I felt because she wanted me to be completely comfortable. The dress we decided on was actually another piece that'd I'd only worn once for a different shoot. I wouldn't describe it as a trouble piece, because it's really easy to wear/style, but I just didn't have the right opportunity to wear it. So pairing it together with the vest was fun and something I would never have thought to do. The whole experience was so quick and easy that we had time to go to two events together afterwards.

And the fun didn't stop there! Shell B herded all the participating bloggers together for a group shoot at Malmaison. I was really tired and a little out of it that morning. It was one of the busiest weekends of my life but being around the strong, positive, energy of these ladies lifted me up, and I had a blast. I'm so thankful to have been a part of the experience. Thank you to Shell B for asking me, thank you to Ashley, Julian, and Rosa for taking so many beautiful pictures, thank you to Elle for doing my make-up, and thank you to Malmaison for the providing the perfect shoot location.

Be sure to read about all of the other blogger's experience as well. They are all listed after the group picture. Also check #styledbyshellbcheri for more behind-the-scenes pictures!



Alicia of River City Chic \\ Alissa of Feeling Good Style \\ Carmen of Compact Closet \\ Elle of Elle Choi \\ Erin of Currently Coveting \\ Krystin of Be Loud, Be You \\ Meaghan of District Sparkle \\ Michelle of Eat Style Play \\ Natalie of The Fashionably Broke \\ Rachel of My Fair Vanity \\ Trish of Fashion According to the Menu \\ Vivi of Heart Print Style \\ Waverly of Pich and Roor