Color, Daytime Look, haley hoover, Real Talk, Shopping Guide, Spring/Summer

Bare Boned

I’d like to start out by giving a nod to The Bachelor for keeping me in the know of what cool girls are wearing in fashion. Ever since our move to New York, I’ve been pursuing an NYC look; streamlined, darker, cool shoes. But every now and then, I find it wise to look west to our ~~rivals~~ friends in LA and see what they’re wearing, especially in summertime. In this case, I found my LA-inspo via Bachelor Ben’s gaggle of lovely, *mostly* mild-mannered honies (ps, there’s some debate on how to spell the plural form of Honey, but per urban dictionary this is right). Sure Lauren B and Amanda had some incredibly Cali Style, but I loved Jojo (of course)—she’s from Texas so we are kindof southern sisters and she continually rocked amazing off the shoulder tops. I’d seen shoulder baring tops here and there at the tail end of last summer, but once the girls on America’s Reality Show starting wearing them, I knew we’d be inundated with options this summer, because nothing says, “It’s summer. Let’s date.” like a pair of suntanned shoulders and collar bone.

Wanna climb aboard the trendy train? It’s so easy this summer! I love the off the shoulder top vs. the crop tops and deep v’s of days past because a) everyone has shoulders and b) almost always they are worth showing off and c) you can show them off in a decent, classy way. You can pop this little top on over cutoffs or distressed jeans or dress it way up with a fitted skirt and heels. I posted a picture of me in this outfit a few weeks back and someone commented that this is the “ultimate flirty outfit.” To that I say thank you, first off, and also I don’t disagree.

A little shoulder goes a long way.

I love how this top floats; it’s so easy to pair with whatever!

This is me thinking about how many times I’m wearing this top all summer.

I think this style has longevity. Get ready—I predict designers taking the off the shoulder look far into cooler months because it’s just so dang fun to wear. Plus these tops are flying off the shelves; retailers everywhere are thanking their lucky stars for The Bachelor, probably. It’s like they always say: Shoulder Sells.

Wanna get in on the action, but not sure where to start? I’ve pinned TONS of tops, outfit ideas, and dresses right here on my new Pinterest board to get ya going. Like seriously, there is so much to see. Click over and get to shopping. Don’t forget to email me if you have questions!

xx – Haley

Key Pieces: Top – Zara // Earrings – J Crew // Shoes – Sam Edelman // Nails – Be There in a Prosecco, OPI

Casual, Daytime Look, Real Talk, Spring/Summer

Hi, Denim on Denim

When it comes to shopping, we all have a different approach. Some people shop to bring home something fresh, while others shop to lift their mood or stay on top of the trends (that’s you, bloggers). Still others shop because they have an event coming up, such as an interview or a party or a big date. The latter-est group is where I fall. I like event-based shopping because all of the pieces I’ve purchased for weddings, work parties, fashion weeks, or whatever else have now become little closet bookmarks for me. Many pieces in my closet hold significance because of where I wore them—my rehearsal dinner, my first party on Park Avenue, my last day in Nashville.

But it’s not just party dresses that I hold dear. Some of my casual go-to’s bookmark my life too. Case in point: my trusty denim shirt. Really, I should say this denim shirt because it wasn’t mine to start. I still remember standing over my friend Lynsie’s open trunk in an empty parking lot in Jackson, TN. We had just finished another work day and closed up the little boutique we worked in together and trudged to our cars, a bright orange sunset likely burning over our heads. Lyns—ever older, wiser, and cooler—let me rummage through a pile of clothes before she dropped them at the local consignment store. I triumphetly fished out this soft, oversized chambray shirt. The brand is Velvet and its role in my closet is pivotal.

Canadian Tux

I wear this guy with pencil skirts, leather pants, white jeans, and, oh yes, regular jeans to pull off what is known as the Canadian Tuxedo, more commonly known as Denim on Denim. D on D is the perfect weekend look with boots or the perfect unassuming date night look with stilettos. It goes preppy with a little knit jacket over top or hipster with a beanie on your head. It truly is a workable palette for every style. Get thee to a store this week if you don’t have a chambray shirt (or blue-jean shirt as my friend Mallory calls it)! Commit to whatever title you want, but seriously, just pick one of these up. Wear it on a date or out on an epic girl’s night, because something this cool should feel just as special.

Need some more inspiration? Welcome to my brand new Pinterest board – where I’m shopping as I post. There’ll be a new board with every post so we can all keep up together. Follow me on Pinterest because, yes, I think it is still a thing. More a thing than LinkedIn. #relevant Hi, Haleyannie x Pinterest

Have fun bookmarking this week –

xx – Haley

KEY PIECES: Denim Shirt – Velvet // Distressed Jeans – Joe Fresh

Per usual, all photos taken by Julia Hembree. Isn’t she great?

Cold Weather, Daytime Look, Holiday, Real Talk, Recap

Best & Worst of Times – 2015

I’ve always liked the little newsletters that come in Christmas cards. Maybe I’m nosy, but I like knowing what’s going on in people’s lives. I like the context, I guess. This is my last post of 2015 and a long overdue one at that. So, in honor of the season I thought I’d write my own newsletter.

In January I was thrilled to interview for an editorial position at the magazine I had always dreamed of working. (Think: Devil Wears Prada). After a—no joke—8 minute interview I learned the position I was interviewing for had been filled already. I was crushed.
In February I went through 3 weeks of casting for a well-known fashion reality show and learned why they say acting is not for everyone. I also learned that reality TV is for SURE acting. After just barely missing the final cut I stood weeping in the kitchen in Ryan’s arms. Crushed. Again.
A dear friend moved away in February and after watching two dreams slip through my fingers by what seemed, at the time, by my own doing, I felt like God had tricked me. Life didn’t feel fun.
In March, through a series of unexpected events, Ryan’s company shuttered and he very quickly (thankfully) started working at that same magazine I had interviewed with 3 months prior. I struggled to juggle my genuine happiness for my husband finding his place and panicked anxiety —why I wasn’t good enough to land that job in January? The year wore on and I continued to look for work that excited me but nothing came. During my 26th birthday weekend, while watching the sun set over Brooklyn with some of my dear friends, I decided I had to let go. It was time to love myself fully and to trust the Lord’s plan for me fully-er.

That’s when things turned. When you open your palms up to God’s way and just stop trying, amazing things can happen. Honestly that statement is more deserving of a full essay, or a compilation of them, than one, trite sentence. It has truly taken me 20 years to arrive at this realization.

Here’s the rest of the story –
In July, Ryan and I opened a business back home with our friends. Although it’s a random field in the entertainment industry, we’ve enjoyed six very good months of business with our three counterparts. Come to find out, a new business keeps one very occupied, so you can imagine my surprise when it was the end of October and there was still no change to my full-time work scenario. I began to question how to move forward in my career. Should I freelance again? Should we move back home? Should I quit writing on the side? Was I wasting my time? No sooner did Ryan and I begin to pray about next steps when I received a call from the publishing company that I had interviewed with in January, this time for a different position at a different magazine.
After three rounds of interviews, I ~~tearfully~~ happily accepted a position in a role that seems to have been designed perfectly suit to my skill set. Here I was, at the culmination of everything, towards the end of the year and finally my context arrived.

So of course, the moral of the story is that it all works out, but more so, the moral of the story is that I just walked through a year that seemed so wrong for so long only to be peacefully led into a place that is perfect. I learned how to love myself, realized that “not now” doesn’t translate to “not enough,” and that all those bumps in the road shouldn’t load up as chips on your shoulder, but rather, boosts to stand higher on.
I wasn’t joking about my impatience. The struggle is SO real. And your twenties are SO weird. But God is good. I’m overwhelmed by His grace and abundant love. I’m thankful for one of the hardest years of my life. When I think of how He loved me hardest when I felt rejected, I about go weak in the knees. I’m most thankful He gifted me with my kind, patient, best friend of a husband, who, by the way, totally rocked out this year. Seriously, Ryan is the best.

So if want, you can fold up my newsletter and put in in your back pocket or you can throw it away. As for me— I’m boarding a plane to fly to my family’s home in Kentucky and I couldn’t be more excited to watch what unfolds in 2016.

Merry Christmas,

Haley

KEY PIECES: Sweater – Banana Republic // Boots – DSW // Vest – Intermix // Ryan’s Jacket – Jack Spade // Ryan’s Boots – Billy Reid // Ryan’s Glasses – Warby Parker

Per usual, all photos taken by Julia Hembree. Isn’t she great?

NYFW, Recap, Spring/Summer

Fashion To Go – NYFW

The invasion has begun. My instagram feed is flooded with pictures of my favorites spots around town, but now by out of towner bloggers. Blacked-out windowed Escalades and Suburbans are hunkered down in front of the hotels Mercer, Crosby and Trump. When I walk home from work, my route is a little less direct as I swing by these spots to try and spot/restrain myself from tackling a celebrity. Fashion’s bi-annual Christmas has begun –

WELCOME TO NEW YORK FASHION WEEK.

Sadly, I’ll be missing many of this season’s shows due to an overly hectic personal schedule, but I’m following along via that oh-so-helpful, yet FOMO inducing social media. If you want to bone up your fashion intake this week, I highly recommend checking into Vogue’s site VOGUErunway.com (RIP STYLE.COM – you will be missed!)

If you just maybe want to know what’s hot and what’s not this NYFW, I’m your girl. Today is all about the quickest Fashion Week rundown ever.

Let’s jump right into Hihaleyannie’s First-Ever Fashion To Go!

The Favorite – Public School

photo cred: vogue.com

Right now, these two designers are the hottest thing out there. Between their much adored line and manning the helm at DKNY this season, Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne are honing their A game and bringing it hard. Passionate lovers of the city, it’s easy for us all to pull for the street-style guys whose line’s style is a little goth and a little prep and very, very clean. Not to mention, their ready to wear items sell out faster than you can say,”Where do you keep your Public School shorts?” As my friend, Russian GQ photographyer, Volodya Timchuk, would say, “They are cool, Soho boys.” Yes they are Vlad, yes they are.

Most Instagrammed – Givenchy

photo cred: @VogueParis

The inception of the Givenchy show began and concluded on Instragram. Last week, Givenchy announced via Instagram that they would give away 425 +1 tickets to whomever signed up in time. Givenchy’s acclaimed designer Ricardo Tisci was thrilled to be presenting in NY for the first time and wanted the world to see it happen. Well we all signed up and the site crashed several times and yours truly is ~~proud~~ sad to say she did not land a ticket. BUT good ol up-to-the-nanosecond Insta was there for us. Snaps of Kanye and Kim finding their seats flooded my feed, along with the gorgeous West-side sunset glowing in the background while cream colored ladies with bejeweled faces stoically walked the catwalk. I feel like I was there! But not really.

Most Runwayed – Gigi, Kendell, Cara, Karlie and the rest of the PYT Squad

photo cred: Vogue.com/Getty Images

Fashion’s darling girls are only gaining momentum this season.This group of gorgeous, barely-of-age ladies will walk in almost every show imaginable. You can’t swing a stick in Manhattan without hitting one of these doe-eyed, long-legged vixens. And they’ll be walking every show from DVF to Tommy Hilfiger to Oscar de la Renta. I mean you can for sure swing a stick without hitting one of them. But it’s so crowded in the city lately that you can’t really swing a stick without hitting someone. Also, where would you find a stick? #nonature

Most Under The Radar Runwayed – Anna Ewers

photo cred: vogue.com

She’s the face you’ve seen but just can’t place it. But Anna walks in hundreds of shows a season and no doubt this season is no different. Her face is strong or soft or sexy or whatever mood a designer is attempting to create. She’s the ultimate muse to any artiste and we’ll continue to unknowingly see her face in ads for many seasons to come.

Back At It – Lauren Conrad

photo cred: @lclaurenconrad

If you are my mom, you may actually recognize this name! Everyone’s favorite Kohl’s designer is back at it with a new line. LC didn’t quite graduate from soft sweetness, but hey, you do what you know. And yes, there’s a time and a place for girly girls and that place is a place where girls where bows in their hair (that means you, the South!) and bikinis on the reg (heyyyy California!).

Hot Colors – Just take a look at the most recent shows showcased on Voguerunway:

photo cred – Voguerunway.com

Hard to say as today really dives into the deep end of the shows, but I’m saying we’re coming back to bright, bold color and lightness in general. Yesterday, Idan Cohen sent his models down the runway in bright, candy-colored and beaded gowns. At Givenchy last night, Ricardo Tisci sent his girls down his highline runway in white silk slips and cream colored jackets. Better up your spray-tan budget for Spring 2016.

Hot Trends

photo cred: voguerunway.com

I’m calling for another round of off the shoulder tops coupled with high-slit skits. This season will be about showing skin in new and exciting ways. Less cutouts, more slits.

Keep your eyes peeling and your ‘liking’ finger ready because now you know. Next week we’ll recap shows and drool over all the pretty clothes. Merry Fashion Week to us all.

Haley

Casual, Daytime Look, Real Talk, Spring/Summer, travel diaries

There’s More to Explore

As the dog days of summer truly start to become their most dogged – long hot days that drift into nights, last minute trips into Zara because you’ve worn all of your sundresses at least thrice, and the ~~fear~~ fact that fall and winter (!) are just around the corner, I’m beginning to reflect on the places I’ve seen since Memorial Day.

Many plane rides drew me southward while numerous other free weekends led my husband, Ryan, and I to new sights in the city. There was a weekend a failed attempt to visit the Bronz Zoo on a dime turned into a full on exploration of the Bronx and a new venture into Ecuadorean food. Another weekend we lounged on an old blanket at Rockaway Beach and watched the surf set catch wave after wave. There was also a hot Saturday in July when we attended the DETAILS magazine pool party at the McCarren Hotel and then afterwards I dragged Ryan ALLL the way to the upper east side to take in China: Through the Looking Glass at the Met.

We’ve had picnics at dusk in Central Park and an evening where we ran through a torrential downpour on the way to catch Jurassic Park at the Battery Park movie theatre. The streets were so empty I thought maybe we were living out the plot from I Am Legend and two of us were Will Smith and the dog.

My husband always laughs at me come May because my alter-ego, “Summer Haley,” comes to life. Summer Haley does more, sleeps less, and takes in absolutely everything possible. Summer Haley is my best me, for sure. When my photographer friend, Julia, suggested we shoot up in Harlem, I was so game. Welcome to the best wall mural you’ve ever seen, in all its Sesame Street, primary-colored, happy-drawing glory.

My best piece of advice for loving where you live? Experience it. Every part of it. Get outside, because there’s more to explore.

Lots of love,

Summer Haley

Key Pieces // Tank – Vince | Hat & Pants – Joe Fresh | Shoes – Sam Edelman | Clutch – Anthropologie

HI, HALEYANNIE | STUDIO H

style, self, & motherhood

Tag Archives: nyc blogger