Last week I had the honor of being invited to preview Spring 2013 collections of about 30 brands — such as Twenty8Twelve, Mara Hoffman, Milly, Myne, Wren  – at the Cooper Design Space in LA’s fashion district. A group of fashion bloggers…and me…were asked to come into the showroom, pick out pieces to style an outfit, wear that outfit, and get our photo taken. This photo would be then blown up to 7′ tall (!) and displayed in the lobby of the Cooper building next to our pieces.

Needless to say, I was not entirely sure I’d be up to the challenge — me? Stylist? Fashion blogger?! I felt completely unprepared and had no idea what to expect. It was intimidating to say the least. Thankfully, everyone was super nice and now I have new blogs to follow:  Sydne Style, Damsel In Dior, Reyal Fashion, That’s Chic and Could I Have That? (all total naturals, of course!).

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Here’s how it went down:

Step 1: Peruse the collections…grab some options…

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Step 2: Finalize the pieces…I was digging the pattern on pattern…
Addison / Whetherly / Twenty8Twelve (pants & jacket)

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 Step 3: Model that outfit yourself!
(My first thought: whyyyy didn’t I look at Pinterest for pose ideas???)

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The showroom is massive with racks and racks of lustworthy clothes! I’m such a fan of boutique brands, it was tough to pick just a few pieces. But I knew the look I wanted (my go-to look, above) and I knew that I really wanted a Twenty8Twelve piece in there somewhere (the jacket! I want!). We also had to bring our own shoes & accessories so you kinda had to work with what you brought.

It was such a fun experience and I’m so glad I didn’t chicken out! Much love for Chelsea for inviting me in the first place — she is just the sweetest and I’m thrilled I got to meet her.

Lesson learned: what may totally terrify you could actually turn out to be a ton of fun.

Street style photo by Michael Dumler