Come on, admit it. You remember wishing you could kidnap your mom and dress her when you were 17. We all did. And, if you have a daughter now, you know she’ll want to do the same to you. Knowing this, we allowed the StyleBlueprint interns, both rising seniors in high school, to have fun living out this fantasy. Remarkably, their moms agreed, as we assured them Rebecca Thompson, a fabulous local stylist, who is also the mom of two teenage daughters, would be on hand to choose the best, most age-appropriate items that would still be “daughter approved.” We set them free at The Hill Center to show off some fall trends.

 

Emma:

Unlike many other seventeen year old girls, I actually like my mother’s style. Of course, she has the occasional 90’s throwback piece and some clothes that would fall into the “soccer mom” category, but overall she dresses in an eclectic way that I admire. Consequently, when I was brainstorming for this post, I had trouble thinking of how I would want her to dress differently. After a while, it suddenly clicked: I want her to own more clothes that I can wear. Surely the only thing better than one wardrobe is two! When I asked my mother how she envisioned my closet, she also saw the benefit of sharing clothes. After coming to this consensus, my mom and I set out to the Hill Center to have a wonderful day with StyleBlueprint.

 

First, the fabulous girls at The Cosmetic Market did our makeup to give us a natural, everyday look. Then, we met Rebecca Thompson, a brilliant stylist, at Hemline and tried on clothes that went with our vision. I ended up wearing Free People turquoise jeans with a cream top and a subtle necklace. Leopard print wedges from Posh were a great finishing touch to this ensemble. I loved every part of this outfit, but the shirt especially caught my eye. This piece is extremely versatile, whether it is worn while running errands or going to a nice restaurant. It is even versatile enough for my mom to wear. I ended up buying this shirt, and my mom is already threatening to move it to her closet. My mom’s outfit consisted of a dark taupe jacket over a cream tank top and dark, flared jeans. She looked great and age appropriate, while wearing clothes that I could easily share. I would pair the jacket with a black tank and skinny jeans for a more youthful edge.

After modeling the casual look, we went to H. Audrey to try on dressier apparel. I landed on a snakeskin-patterned, silk shirt and Rag and Bone black pants. We both loved this outfit and could see ourselves wearing it. My mother wore a tea-length black dress with a pleated bottom and a vintage, colorful necklace. While I would not necessarily choose that dress length for myself, I would make an exception for this dress.

 

I learned so much from this experience and loved modeling beautiful clothing from Hemline and H. Audrey. As soon as I save up all my babysitting money, I will definitely know where to spend it.

 

KK:

When Liza and Amy explained to me exactly what our Freak Friday-esque blog post would entail, I couldn’t help but to imagine all the things I could put my mother in (against her will). I describe my mother’s day-to-day style as casually chic – nice jeans or shorts, a cute top or blouse (usually a tunic), and some stylish flats. However, I wanted to channel her inner New Yorker. I was dying to see her in some sky-high heels and a fabulous leather jacket, something impractical for a mom on-the-go, living in the heat that is so abundant south of the Mason-Dixon.

As I explained to my mom that I wanted to see her in edgier clothes than her typical garb, her “all right, let’s hear this” face grew to a twisted grimace. My mother, under the impression that I would have her decked out in Avril Lavigne-style Converse and eye makeup so dark it could rival that of Snooki, was not impressed. However, after learning that the clothes would come from the gorgeous H. Audrey, her twisted grimace changed quickly to a puppy dog grin.

 

 

After our makeup session, Mom and I made our way to H. Audrey where Rebecca – can you say amazing! – was waiting with two changing rooms full of beautiful clothes. We decided to have a dressy look and a casual look to show readers two different ways to rock the “edgy” style. As soon as we were camera-ready, Ashley, our talented and “with-it” photographer, started snapping away.

We concluded the day with some Citrus Mint Green Tea Sparklers from Whole Foods and some outside group photos. I just want to thank everyone who helped with this project. You made me feel like one of Nashville’s very own country music stars and it was a really fun experience.

And I just gotta give kudos to my mother. You’re lookin’ pretty good, Momma.

 

Credits:

To have Rebecca Thompson help you with your closet and wardrobing needs, contact her at [email protected]. Her rate is $85 an hour.

All photos are by the lovely Ashley Hylbert who also photographs our FACES of Nashville profiles each Monday. For more behind the scenes photos from today’s shoot, click here.

Thanks to The Cosmetic Market and their makeup artists Camille, Paris and Hillary for getting our crew ready for their close-ups, as well as H. Audrey, Hemline and Posh for wonderful wardrobing. Thanks also to Whole Foods for providing a great backdrop for our shoot.