We're happy to bring you Volume 2 of Makeover Story by Red Velvet today (see Volume 1 here). This is such a fun project to work on and I am happy to introduce you to our next makeover guest, Kelsie. She's a sweetheart and she has no idea how pretty she really is. I handpicked her for this feature because I knew she had a love for thrifting, but lacked the confidence to really enjoy her personal style. I looked forward to this all month, and we had tons of fun. Enjoy!
Kelsie: "I've been vegan for seven years, so it's very important to me that the clothing I wear is vegan. I avoid textiles like leather, suede, silk and wool. My current wardrobe is full of hand-me-down clothing and random thrift purchases. A lot of my clothing didn't fit very well. When Elsie asked me to be a part of Makeover Story I was excited because I've always been a little intimidated by trends and style. After my makeover I felt really confident and excited to try more vintage styled looks!"
The first thing we did when Kelsie came in on makeover day was a little fringe trim. I gave her cute bangs that feather down on the sides and a few extra curls for her long hair. Kelsie also shopped for new frames before the makeover and they're super cute!
In Look One Kelsie is wearing a cute little 1970s dress with bright tights and vegan boots.
Vintage is a great way to shop for vegan clothing. Not only are cotton and polyester pieces vegan friendly, but they are also environmentally conscience because wearing pre-owned clothing reduces waste. If you're interested in shopping for vegan garments, just check the tags and remember that cotton is always a good choice!
One thing that I focused on in my makeover with Kelsie was variety. I wanted to teach her tons of new 'tricks' that she could use on a regular basis. She loves color, so we played with this little handmade floral clip for some fun photos.
In Look Two Kelsie is wearing a cute vintage plaid dress, from Red Velvet, along with an intentionally mismatched belt (too much matching is no fun...) and braids. Long hair is so much fun to braid and play with. This hair style was built with four large braids and a messy bun in the back.
Braids are one of my favorite styles because they're easy to do in 5 minutes and they can be dressed up or down.
The goal of our Makeover Story feature is to inspire readers that vintage clothing can be worked into any wardrobe in a modern and stylish way. Thank you to Kelsie for being a part of this month's feature!
XO. elsie
wow, she looks great! &what a beauty! i hope that now she has the confidence she should!
tutorial on the braided up-do, please!!! <3
Posted by: xoxo nicole | January 31, 2011 at 12:33 AM
These are my favorite posts yet! Kelsie looks soooo pretty. I think I'm going to go braid my hair now. :)
Posted by: Erin | January 31, 2011 at 12:45 AM
O-M-GOSH! She must NEVER forget how gorgeous she is! I love her hair, it's so pretty and long. And I also love everything else of this makeover! I want one too! Can I can I can I pleeeeaase?!
XO
Jo
Posted by: Jo | January 31, 2011 at 12:47 AM
Wow! You guys really brought our her natural beauty. Kelsie, you are GORGEOUS!
Great job, ladies! <3
Posted by: Danielle | January 31, 2011 at 12:49 AM
My turn! lol. But seriously :)
Yowza! She looks so pretty. I love the splash of color the blue belt adds to the dress :) And her hair is awesome.
Posted by: Rachel | January 31, 2011 at 01:03 AM
amazing!! so loving this.
that black and white photo from Look #1 is so naturally gorgeous.
beautiful work!
Posted by: karen | January 31, 2011 at 01:38 AM
she's beautiful!!! love the makeover and both looks!!!
Posted by: Jamie Wyckoff | Julia's Poppies Design | January 31, 2011 at 01:49 AM
Another stunning makeover Elsie, I am SO loving these features, thank you for inspiring us. I was wondering, do you think you could do something like this for us 35+ Mummies. I am 38 and adore all that you wear and share but worry that it would look wrong on someone my age. I would be super grateful for any tips for my age group. Thanks SO much xx Janelle
Posted by: Janelle Wind | January 31, 2011 at 01:54 AM
Oh my gosh Elsie, you are amazing... I so wish you could make me over... Too bad I'm ALL the way in England. Kelsie is sooo pretty and you just brought it out perfectly. Wow.... All I can say is wow
Xxx
Posted by: Danielle hodgson | January 31, 2011 at 02:09 AM
She looks fantastic! Great job!
But I don't understand the part about cotton always being a great choice for the vegan consumer. Cotton is a heavily-subsidized crop that really destroys the soil and where workers in the developing world are frequently exploited (there reasons it's really cheap...). Not to be all "wuh, everything sucks" on you, but I just don't get why vegans would so vehemently reject other textiles and then embrace cotton so heartily.
Well, thrifting is a great way to fight senseless waste, that's for sure! I like the last look here best of all.
Posted by: Lisa the knitter | January 31, 2011 at 02:50 AM
Elsie you made magic! :) She is beautiful and I adore the braids! This is my favorite feature on your blog and cannot wait to see more makeovers!:D
Have a wonderful week!
xxx
http://gypsy-diaries.blogspot.com
Posted by: Gabby / Gypsy*Diaries | January 31, 2011 at 03:08 AM
She is gorgeous! Y'all did an awesome job. Her hair was a very nice touch and pulls it all together, Love it!
<3
Meggerz
Posted by: Meagan Henderson | January 31, 2011 at 03:21 AM
This is amazing!! I want an Elsie makeover!! ;D
Posted by: Millie Bell | January 31, 2011 at 03:22 AM
Great job!!!! ;)
Posted by: marie laure | January 31, 2011 at 03:23 AM
Wow, look at Kelsie's beautiful hair!
I always think being vegan or even vegetarian must be so limiting in what you can eat (and is the reson I couldn't do it, being that I'm omnivorous!) but it never occurred to me that it would limit what you wear too ... but you've done a great job with limited means!
Posted by: Lucy | January 31, 2011 at 03:30 AM
Wow, the look with the plaid dress and braids is amazing, and the glasses really gives it an edge. She looks beautiful!
And like many others here I would love to see a tutorial for the braids! :)
Posted by: Benedicte | January 31, 2011 at 03:30 AM
Fabulous! Do you know where she bought the frames?
Posted by: Jennifer Goldsmith | January 31, 2011 at 03:31 AM
you must do a tutorial on how to braid this hair!!!
Posted by: Isabel Marques | January 31, 2011 at 04:03 AM
Love the look, really really pretty. Do you think you could do a step-by-step on the braid and bun hairstyle? I'd love to try it, but I'm pretty rubbish with doing my own hair!
Posted by: Nikki | January 31, 2011 at 04:19 AM
What a beautiful girl!
Lovely clothes :)
I find that the hardest part of vegan clothes shopping is finding a nice warm coat that isn't made of wool. It took me months to find mine!
Posted by: Marije | January 31, 2011 at 04:20 AM