Cliche New Years Rant

So for all of you who didn’t know today is New Year’s Eve LOL (duh of course you knew)! While you’re making your slideshows on IG I also wanted to take a walk down memory lane. Of course we all look forward to the cliché “fresh start” but this morning I laid in bed and truly reflected on my year. I’ve grown soooooo much this past year. On this day in 2013 I told myself my focus this year was finding myself and becoming comfortable in the woman I am. Much easier said than done LOL. As any other woman in her early 20’s I went through a range of emotions and situations that tested me.  I learned things about myself that I never would have learned had it not been for the struggles I went through this year. I left the only job I’ve known since college to go to a 9-5 office job (still gagging on that one LOL), I became even more passionate about my blog and gotten even closer to my family and friends. This year I also turned the big two five. I thought it would a lot more climactic but none the less it was one of my best birthdays. When I turned 25 it was like my eternal clock woke me up. I started to get serious about all the things I’ve talked about doing and working towards. I got to know myself on a more conscious level. I’ve never felt more aware and awake than I did this year. My friends and I became closer than I had ever imagined. I never knew what true friendship was until I met them. I have never been surrounded by such beautiful, supportive and loving woman. And that in turn taught me a lot about other relationships in my life, from work to home. Most of all I’ve learned how important a foundation is. There is so much I aspire to do in the next year and I wouldn’t be able to do it if I didn’t learn the lessons I learned this year. My blog means more to me now than it ever did. It’s my baby and I’m going to continue to nurture and develop it into something that I can leave behind. So overall my goal was met, I’ve grown as a woman, learning to accept the things I cannot change and be the person I truly am meant to be. It’s n never ending process though so patience is focus this year. J Alex Style has so much planned in 2015. Thank you for supporting me thus far and stick around in the New Year. Be blessed, be inspired.

*Check out my favorite looks and post I've done this year below!*

NYE Inspo

Heyyyy ya’ll! So I just wanted to give you guys some inspo for your New Year’s outfits! New Years is one of my fav holidays. I love the cliché list of resolutions, new gym memberships and the famous "new year, new me" attitude everyone seems to be on LOL. But whatever your plans are I have some ideas for you below. I'll be keeping it low key and having a nice dinner with my man then letting the night take us where it takes us. Every year I stress about finding something to do and not being in the house and this year I’m not for it. I'm just blessed to see another year so drinks and good food is all I need. I'll be keeping my look very simple with a tad bit of sex appeal (stay tuned to my Instagram LOL ) but of course I'll be comfortable. The one most important thing for tomorrow night is that you’re safe. Whatever you decide to wear or decide to go make sure you’re safe. No drinking and driving, hang out with people you trust and as my mother always tells me don't put your drink down, you don't want someone to slip something into it LOL (but that really happens so be careful LOL). Have an amazing new year and bring it in with the ones you love!

Gloomy Stripes

 Helllooooo everyone! So I know I haven’t posted in a while. I’ve been working superrrrrr hard. Between working my full time job and working at Nordstrom in the evenings and weekends for the holiday I literally have not had time for anything. I think yesterday was the first time I’ve cleaned my room since Halloween LOL…but I’m serious! So now that the holidays are over and we’re heading into the New Year I have a min to breathe and gather my thoughts. But working two jobs has taught me a lot about myself. I had no idea of the resilience and focus I had. I had days were I didn’t think I could do it, days I thought I was going to quite but I didn’t, and what kept me going was the bigger picture. Of course having the extra paycheck is great but the fact that I stayed committed to something and excelled at it was great. I’ve been doing even better at selling at work than I did when I was a full time employee. My perspective of work ethic has grown so much, so to excel and do my best is my only choice now. I’ve learned to be even more responsible and hold myself and myself only for my actions. Any who I’m getting off topic, I’ll save that for my Year End post.

This is a wool pinstriped suit I scored at H&M last spring at one of their countless sales they have and what seems to be every other month. I paired it with burgundy turtle neck, black Chelsea boots and my fav ultra thick tights that almost feel like a substitute for pants but not really. This is a more clean cut look, very simple and to the point. I’ve worn this suit in the spring but I think the turtle neck does the mock lapel better justice than the tank top I wore with previously. Hope you gained some inspo for a simple winter look!

Suit- H&M

Turtleneck- H&M

Boots- Zara

Tights- H&M

Holiday Parties

Over the past couple of weeks while I've been working at Nordstrom I've helped countless women with holiday party looks. The first thing I always ask a woman before I help her put together an outfit is what is your perfect look for this occasion? How do you envision it looking and then I work from there. One thing I've noticed is each woman has made all of the same mistakes. If they're going to a work function they're not picking out the most appropriate pieces, over-doing the look with TOO MANY accessories and my favorite, only looking for the color red, it grinds my gears! Now I get that you want to look festive for a holiday function and for a theme but know when to say when girl! And don't go out of your way and end up looking and feeling uncomfortable. Luckily each of my clients at work had me so I was able to steer them from the obvious mistakes. Here are a couple of tips for dressing for holiday events and some outfit inspo. Hope you enjoy and happy holidays.

Be Unconventional- I get it it's your yearly holiday function and all of your co-workers are talking about their dresses they got and how much sparkle they plan to add to it. That's cool and dandy but I say be edgy with your look. Now I myself am attending my company holiday party this evening and have been back and forth about my look. I decided to wear my John Altuzarra wrap dress that I have yet to wear. I went through this same thought process of playing into the holiday party norm so I plan to spice up my look with a snakeskin bootie and my wild hair. Try it, it's always cool to stand out once and while.

Don't Overdo it- You’re going to a holiday party not the prom. Don't waste your time or money having your cousins, sisters, best friend make a dress. It's not that deep. A dress or dress slacks is not the hard to find. Take it easy.

Try Not Splurge- This is a one-time event. Try your best to wear things from your current wardrobe and buy accessories or maybe a new pair of pumps. Remember you do have Christmas shopping to get done!

Be Comfortable-Nothing is worse than watching someone walk around in 6 inch heels that they clearly are not used to and can't handle. Now I'm not a pro when it comes to heels but I choose my battles wisely when it comes to them. And as far as your dress just make sure it's not too tight, you don't want to look like you're trying to hard ya know.

Make sure you're appropriate- Holiday events may be ones with your friends, family or work. And most of the time it's work. Try and keep the high slights, plunging necklines and cleavage for another event. Now my dress I'm wearing has a plunging neckline but I plan to pin and double stick tape it to keep it in tact. Remember you’re at a "fun" work function but it's still work.

Red is not always your only option! - Red is defiantly the color for the holiday but it's not your only option of what to wear. Now I say all of this and I'm wearing a red dress (which was never the plan) I was trying my hardest to not wear it LOL, but it worked out that way. Don't be afraid to mix it up. Try other colors like hunter greens, silvers, gold’s and the classic black.

Over all just have fun and drink a bunch. There will be a ton of funny office stories to tell on Monday. Happy Holidays!

I Had a Party!

So this past weekend I threw a small house party to celebrate my one year anniversary of running my blog. The night was filled with laughs, lots of food, plenty of drinks and hilarious moments. My day was so hectic but I knew it would end up being a great night. I told everyone the party started at 7ish but of course black folks don't actually start coming to things till its 2 hours into the event LOL, but it all worked out. I was surprised to see some of the people I invited actually come, everyone who was there was supposed to be there. The point of me throwing the party was to celebrate not only my blog but celebrate being young and driven.  One thing I love about my generation is our drive. A lot of young people have ambition these days. Now not everyone is doing what they need to do to get where they want to get but the ones who are super inspiring to me. And that's what was in the room in Saturday. It was a great energy. Of course I gave a drunken speech and I cried like a baby LOL. I have no shame, I'm rather emotional LOL. Overall I'm just thankful for my ambition and thankful for everyone that chilled with me on Saturday.

So about my look. I'm at work about 2 weeks ago and I'm working my regular shift doing the regular things I do. I walk over to the Savvy floor and I spot this feather top on the wall. I LITERALLY did a triple take, yes a triple take. I immediately ran up to the shirt and I was in awe. I couldn't believe how beautiful this blouse was. The feathers just layered each other perfectly and I knew I had to have it. When I saw it I thought of wearing it I had the vision of Chaka Khan and Tina Turner having a girls night at Studio 54, just dancing on tables and owning the night LOL.  My second thought was what shoes am I going to wear. I had already had my eye on these cute snakeskin booties downstairs in the shoe department and I thought of feathers and snakeskin together...whattt?! That's a combo! From there I got on the hunt for a cream mini skirt but literally had no luck and the week before the party I said whatever..I have other things to get done so I decided to wear a taupe mini I've had for some years and it all actually ended up working out. I decided to do very subtle jewelry and of course my huge bush. Personally this is one of my fav looks I've worn this year. Can't wait for my next event so I can dress up again lol!

Top/J.O.A Nordstrom.com

Skirt/H&M

Shoes/BP Nordstrom.com

Gifts For Her

Soooo I just wanted to give the fellas a few ideas on what to get the women in their life for the holiday. I wanted to come up with a diverse list were not just clothing and accessories are included but other cool items that a woman would like. Now I can be one to attest that woman can be very fickle to shop for. We say we want Frye riding boots then on Christmas Eve change our mind and decided the Stella McCartney satchel is a better gift. And fellas let me be completely honest, any gift a woman asks for from you is because she doesn't want to buy it herself, I know I know terrible but it's the truth! So go for the most hard to come buy or even priciest item on her list. I tried to compile a list with something that all women would love but to be honest they're all most of my personal fav’s and are on my list. Mike I hope you're reading this LOL. Happy shopping people!

FreeCity sweat shirt
$42 - yoox.com

H M v neck sweater
$24 - hm.com

T By Alexander Wang coat
$480 - ekseption.es

Rag & bone distressed jeans
$315 - mytheresa.com

Joie short boots
piperlime.gap.com

Madewell leather shoes
madewell.com

STELLA McCARTNEY crossbody handbag
$1,105 - nordstrom.com

Goyard change purse
$350 - beyondtherack.com

Clay mask
lushusa.com

Lip treatment
chapters.indigo.ca

Beeswax candle
beehivecandles.com

Happy Anniversary!!!

So a year ago today I started blogging. Now when I started blogging it was just something to do. I mean I always looked at different blogs but never thought to myself that this was something I wanted to pursue. During this time I was a Personal Stylist at Nordstrom and also doing freelance wardrobe styling for some friends. I felt that I needed more of an outlet for my ideas and things I loved and just something to occupy my time. For about a year my boyfriend’s sister kept suggesting that I start a blog and I always would say "yeah that would be cool...maybe" until finally one day I said fuck it. I'm just going to start a blog. I had no idea what I was doing or where I was going with it. I just jumped in and said here goes nothing.

As the months went on I honestly found myself feeling bored with blogging. It didn't excite me, I wasn't eager to post or promote it. I wasn’t committed to it.  I can't recall exactly when but I came to a point late this year and I said ok Jordan what do you want to do? Do you want to pursue styling full time or try your hand at this blogging shit. I don't even remember making a decision but overtime I feel in love with blogging. I don't know what it was but I just started to become very eager and excited about it. I spent soooo much more time researching ways to put myself out there more and become an overall better blogger. I make a point to read at least one type of article or blog post (from any blog) daily and of course I keep up on what's going on in fashion...duh! It may sound like it’s an easy task but working two jobs and staying committed to something so tedious isn't easy.

Blogging has meant so much to me this last year. I've grown in ways I never thought I would get to at this point in my life. At first this was just something to do but now it's becoming my life. I've honestly never known what it felt like to truly be passionate and in love with what I did. I mean granted I've always had a love for fashion and love styling people but blogging took me on a journey. It gave me a platform to express and challenge myself.  I've always been a person who was searching...never knew what it was until J Alex Style came along. I knew I loved blogging the minute I realized I was doing it for myself. I'm not going to lie at first my thought process was, ok how am I going to get people to read this and care about what I have to say?  But now I truly only want the support of individuals who appreciate my views and what I have to say. My perspective and views have grown tremendously and I’ve realized as long I’m staying true to myself and being honest my blog will take me places I never imagined going.  I'm still on this amazing journey and I have soooo much learning to do! I'm amped for everything to come and all of the amazing lessons ahead. I want to thank each and every person that supported me over the past year and I promise to continue to put and devotion and passion into my work.

Marsala Madness:Pantone Annouces the Color for 2015

Good morning Sunshine’s! I hope you all had a sensational weekend and got to start some holiday shopping and a little bit of partying. I had another long weekend doing the two job shuffle and house sitting for my mother who took a weekend get-a-way. On Friday I was pretty chill. I laid in bed and spent about three hours perusing the internet for news in fashion and ran across some cool info. So if you know me you I’m a huge fan of The Man Repeller . Leandra Medine is the crème de la crème of fashion bloggers but I'll save my long winded admiration for a post I'm working on in January. So any who one of her contributors posted about Pantone (pantone.com) announcing the color for 2015 (drum roll) being Marsala!!! Now I'll be honest I’m familiar with Pantone as a company but I never knew they forecasted colors for the year, what a cool tid bit. It's not surprising that they named Marsala to be the color for 2015 I mean we've been seeing so much of it. You can call it oxblood, bourdeaux or good old burgundy, the point is it's here to stay. I remember when Elie Saab sent that dashing floor length gown down the runway in Paris Fashion Week in 2013 and I thought how rich and elegant the color was. It's just something about a burgundy hue that makes me feel mature LOL. Like it's not red but it's not brown, and when you wear a mono chro (monochromatic) look with it…girlll! It's like wearing all black which is mysterious and sometimes sexy but has the attitude like I'm still approachable. Marsala looks good on just about every complexion and is pretty easy to come by in local retailers. I challenge you all to style yourself in a Marsala piece at least once this season. I promise you it'll be one of your most swank looks.