Work It, Berk: Ashley Ording of Fancy Fine Vintage and Haley Garrett of Shine On!

You can follow Ashley and Haley on Instagram.

Spotted at Bouquet Market on Fourth near Virginia.
Check out more posts from Berkeley.

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Work It, Bloggers: Kara of Whimsy Soul

Kara is wearing a shirt from a vintage store on Haight, pants from Buffalo Exchange, Gap sweater, wedges, hat, and bag from Target, rings from Nasty Gal, and her grandmother's pearls.

What’s your name? Where do you live? What do you do?

I'm Kara, I'm from the Midwest but moved to San Francisco about 6 months ago with my boyfriend. Right now I'm working with two startups as a marketing consultant and I also do freelance wedding photography on the side. 

How did you get into blogging?

This city is defiantly not easy to move to! It took us a couple of months to find an apartment. I started Whimsy Soul as a way to occupy my time so I wouldn't spend my days just binge watching Netflix between apartment showings. Since getting settled, my blog has quickly become my favorite thing to work on each week - I find it's a great excuse to explore San Francisco and have an outlet to funnel my creativity in. 

How would you describe your style?

I classify my style as "whimsical" hence the blog name. My closet is very colorful! 

Do you have any style icons or inspirations?

Amy Poehler is someone I really admire - I know she's not a style icon per say, but she's a really strong woman who encourages other women to be the best they can be. I love that. She has a collection of great quotes, my favorite being, "Great people do things before they're ready. They do things before they know they can them. Doing what you're afraid of, getting out of your comfort zone, taking risks like that - that's what life is." Honestly, whenever I'm feeling discouraged with my career or life (like our huge move across the country which wasn't exactly easy) or my blog, I read that quote. 

How has growing up in Wisconsin and living in San Francisco influenced your style?

You can take the girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the girl! But really, I can't shake my love for plaid shirts and sturdy boots. I grew up in the Wisconsin country where I spent most of my time outdoors (when it wasn't snowing and -20, that is) and now that I'm living in a city, I can't help but occasionally bringing these country elements into my outfits. 

What do you like the most about blogging?

Everything! I love thinking through outfits, scouting locations and doing shoots but also really enjoy all the back-end business things like writing, managing growth, social and my email list. 

What have you learned from blogging?

I forgot how much I love to write! Since I work in social media my writing tends to be limited to 140 characters, so blogging is a great way for me to embrace my writing voice again. 

What do you do when you’re not blogging?

When I'm not working or blogging I'm usually eating. Wait, did I just admit that? I really love to cook and am always making new dishes. I also take a day each week to explore parts of San Francisco/ the surrounding area. One of my favorite things to do while traveling is trying out new foods and restaurants... So yeah, I'm always eating in some way or another. 

What can we expect to see from you in the future?

I have a few trips planned for this summer, so you'll be seeing more travel posts and adventures! 

You can follow Kara on her blog, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.

Check out more posts from Work It, Bloggers and San Francisco.

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Work It, Bloggers: Annie of MontgomeryFest

Annie is wearing a J.Crew dress, a Mind Code sweater from Retail Therapy, a necklace from Urban Outfitters, stacked rings from a market in Barcelona, Nine West wedges, Hammitt clutch, and Warby Parker sunglasses.

What’s your name? Where do you live? What do you do?

My name is Annie and my blog is MontgomeryFest, on account of our last name and the pursuit of fun. I moved to San Francisco last summer with my husband, Justin, and we’ve been falling in love with this city ever since. I work at Minted, where my love of all things design and paper related have only gotten out of control - I’ve since started putting my painting to use on phone covers and the beginnings of an Etsy shop!

How did you get into blogging?

Four months after getting married, Justin and I moved our home from Dallas to Brussels, Belgium. Between the wedding and the move and him getting his Belgian citizenship, it was hard to keep track of to whom we told what update. I knew it’d only get harder living across an ocean, so I started MontgomeryFest as a way to keep in touch. Two years of traveling around Europe, a move to SF and so many blog friendships later, it’s evolved into a third family member!

How would you describe your style?

One part prep. Two parts free spirit. I have a lot of classic pieces going on in my closet that I like to stretch my imagination on how they can be unrecognizable. I love a good unexpected pop. I’m a big fan of mixing prints and scales. It’s both unfortunate and lovely that for such a miniature human (five foot two), I’m drawn to the largest of glasses, prints and hair.

How has living in San Francisco and traveling throughout Europe influenced your style?

Everything is more tousled. I immediately gave up doing my hair every day upon moving to Europe. The more bed-head it looked, the more I looked like a local. The French’s je ne sais quoi is a magical thing. It’s this mix of perfectly placed messy and I worked at it. Things have also become a lot more practical. I used to wear heels. I couldn’t let go and took my edited collection of twelve with us to Brussels. Hilarious. In the past two and a half years, I have worn heels maaybe three times. We walk everywhere now.

What do you like the most about blogging?

The people. The stories and the characters and the unending different ways people tell their tales. I started out in the expat community and let me tell you - that has got to be the most encouraging, most supportive community there is. We’re all displaced from our homes - Americans in Belgium, Brits in Tanzania, South Africans in Tokyo. We all struggle picking out groceries or figuring out directions in another language or currency. Our friends back home see it as an incredible vacation, which it is some ways, but not in others. There is no way I’d have this international network of amazing people in my life without blogging.

What benefits and challenges have you experienced blogging with your husband?

Ooo! Good one. As I mentioned up there, this thing has become a third family member. It’s a sort of project that we get to create together. We’re constantly chatting ideas (or rather, me bugging him to indulge in mine) and coming up with adventures we can go on to show off our city. I always have a second set of eyes if I need help on choosing photos or editing my, too often, overzealous words. When we introduce something new, it’s a team effort to figure out how it’ll work for us….for MontgomeryFest. But challenges! Oy vey. It can often become too close to home, so to speak. It consumes a lot of our time together when sometimes we need to be unplugged. When it comes to photos, he’s the main taker. Then, I choose, edit and incorporate it into my blog post. When he has the camera in hand, the day often looks dramatically different than how I was envisioning the story. It has taken us a long time to get down this bumpy road of transferring his vision to my vision. We’ve got a good vibe of it now, but if there’s an exact frame I have in mind, I know to capture it myself now. I don’t want to brag about the Portuguese sunset if I can’t show you a photo. And I want to brag about the Portuguese sunset!

What can we expect to see from you in the future?

I’m excited to be building my style column and featuring some really great local brands. I have ideas brimming for inspiration shoots and gatherings. We also have a few travels planned around the US and nearby. In between all of that, I’ll be working on collections for my designs and paintings. phew!

You can follow Annie on her blog, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram.

Check out more posts from Work It, Bloggers and San Francisco.

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Work It, Bloggers: Kathleen of KatWalkSF

Kat is wearing a Carolina K dress, Goorin Bros. fedora, Prada wedges, bag and belt from Gap, and Ray-Ban sunglasses. Here she's with fellow blogger, Caity of Moi Contre La Vie.

What’s your name? Where do you live? What do you do? 
Kathleen Ensign, San Francisco, CA, Co-Founder of Les Méchantes

How did you get into blogging? 

I was traveling to Paris with my best friend and co-founder of Les Méchantes and decided that I wanted to document my outfits!

How would you describe your style? 

My style is very hard to describe! I am currently obsessed with 'advanced style.' I love love love a good caftan, oversized sunglasses and all the ghetto gold jewelry. My style is eclectic, never trend focused and fun.

What do you like the most about blogging? 

I love getting dressed in the morning when I know I will have time to shoot that day! I was once told by a co-worker that everyday is Halloween for me! I am not sure if that was a compliment or not but I know that I love to dress up and I love to take photos!

What have you learned from blogging? 

So much! How to pose, how to deal with criticism and how to network!

In addition to maintaining KatWalkSF, you recently started your own company called Les Méchantes. Can you tell us more about it? 

Yes! We launched in November! Les Méchantes is a San Francisco lifestyle brand. We sell everything from women's apparel, accessories, jewelry and home goods. We have a very strong focus on locally sourced and produced products, including our very own private label that we produce here in San Francisco.

How has working in the retail industry helped you with blogging and starting your own company? 

My background has given me far too much knowledge on fashion and has driven my love for shopping! Spending 12 years at the Gap taught me (almost) everything I need to know about starting my own company.

What can we expect to see from you in the future? 

Much more from Les Méchantes! LM is a huge focus for me so you will see it featured all over my blog, Instagram and me!

You can follow Kathleen on her blog, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

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Work It, Bloggers: Caity of Moi Contre La Vie

Caity is wearing a Free People dress, kimono from OASAP, Steve Madden heels, Chanel bag, Christian Dior sunglasses, Marrin Costello earrings, and bracelets and necklaces by BCBG. Here she's with fellow blogger, Kathleen of KatWalkSF.

I'm excited to announce that I'm bringing back the Work It, Bloggers series I started years ago. Over the past few weeks, I've had the privilege of photographing and getting to know some of the Bay Area's finest fashion and style bloggers. Without further ado, I'd like to kick off the series with Caity of Moi Contre La Vie.

What’s your name? Where do you live? What do you do?

Caity - Telegraph Hill, San Francisco - I'm a Compliance Officer for a local hedge fund as well as a freelance writer, stylist, and blogger.

How did you get into blogging?

I started blogging as a creative outlet. I've been writing since I was a child and this was my first step towards getting my writing out there.

How would you describe your style?

Classic with a twist. I like timeless silhouettes and pieces that you can wear season-after-season, paired with bold accessories and on-trend extras to give my look some modernity. 

In addition to blogging about fashion, you also cover food and fitness. What do you enjoy most writing about these topics?

My first exposure to the wonderful wide world of blogging was actually food blogs. When I was diagnosed with gluten-intolerance that's where I found recipes, support, and explanations, things that my doctor didn't offer. When I created MCLV I knew that I didn't want to limit myself in my writing, I'm not all-fashion-all-the-time, so why should my blog be?

What I wanted to do was create a space where people could come for inspiration - From how to put together a look for a hot date to what to make for dinner to how to get off the couch and to the gym. And, fortunately, in addition to inspiring others, writing MCLV has inspired me to keep going on my journey!

How has being a stylist and freelance writer benefited your blogging?

You can write about the fashion industry from the sidelines all you want, but until you see what goes into an editorial, and what it takes to get something published, and how much work it takes to publish a magazine - You can't really wrap your head around just how intense, passionate, and insane fashion really is. I think my freelance work allows me to offer my readers a more well-rounded perspective.

What do you like the most about blogging?

The people I've met! The San Francisco blogging community is amazing - I've met some amazing and talented writers since I launched MCLV. What I find most compelling about the SF Bloggers is that they almost all have careers outside blogging, it's fascinating to meet these men & women who are putting all this time, energy & dedication into carving out a niche for themselves online while also running start-ups, working for tech giants like Google, Facebook & Twitter, or starting their own companies. They're an endless source of inspiration!

What have you learned from blogging?

Not to be so hard on myself. As I mentioned, I've been writing since I was a child, but I'm a perfectionist and have trouble sharing my "personal" writing. Starting MCLV has given me a safe place to create and hone my voice, which gives me confidence in all aspects of my writing - From freelance pieces for local magazines, to taking on the role of Fashion Editor for Legally Vogue, to finishing my first novel. 

What can we expect to see from you in the future?

I'm working with the team at Legally Vogue to re-launch the website, and throw a killer party this Spring, so that will be a great platform for people to get to know me on a different level - From monthly videos to weekly pieces on branding, marketing, PR, and business techniques. I'm also looking at expanding my writing repertoire and publishing more of my work. 

You can follow Caity on her blog, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.

Check out more posts from Work It, Bloggers and San Francisco.

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Work It, Los Angeles: Kaho

Kaho is wearing a top, skirt, and kimono jacket from Urban Outfitters, hat from Melrose Trading Post, and Forever 21 wedges. You can follow her on Instagram.

Spotted at Melrose Trading Post.
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Now and Later: Heather Ross

Heather as a spunky kid and as a stylish adult

For the third installment of Now and Later, the series that examines a subject's style in the past and present, I'd like to introduce you to Heather Ross. I first met Heather when I photographed her for the co-op series way back in April 2011. Since then, we've left our co-op roots, graduated college, and have become fancy working people in the city. Fortunately, Heather has not lost her sense of style along the way. She's clearly had it since the beginning.

What's your name? What do you do? Where do you live? (In other words, A/S/L?)

My name is Heather and I live and work in San Francisco. By day I'm the editor of Healthline News, and after hours I design jewelry.

What was your style like as a kid? How would you describe it now?

My parents, to their credit, let me wear just about whatever I wanted to as a kid, which meant I went through every phase in the book: punk, goth (for a hot minute), grungy, girlie, hippie, hipster, and "screw this, I'm late for school." I also had (and still have) a huge collection of theater costumes, so I played dress-up constantly as a child. In fact, I've never really stopped.

Today, I'd say I'm firmly on the hipster spectrum, though I still like to experiment—some days a bit more boho, others more punk, and the rest pretty feminine. And I never shy away from BIG—big hats, big rings, and big statements.

Did you have any style icons growing up? How about now?

As a very little kid, Esmeralda from my favorite movie "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" was the end-all be-all. In high school, I idolized the "dolls," a group of girls with bobbed hair cuts who shopped at Urban Outfitters before I knew what that was.

Nowadays, I read tons of street style blogs (The Sartorialist, Vanessa Jackman, Chictopia, Lookbook, and of course Work It, Berk), and Anne-Catherine Frey may be my biggest fashion crush. I also really admire my mother, who in addition to collecting all those costumes for me, also made and modified many of her own clothes.

How has your approach to dressing changed? 

In middle and high school I was a big proponent of the "try on everything in your closet until something comes together, then add Chucks" method of dressing. Now I try to dive into my overstuffed closet with a purpose. I'll either find a picture of what I'm going for and try to recreate it, or I'll find an item I really want to wear and build an outfit around it.

See more of Heather on her blog and Facebook page for her jewelry line.

Want to be in the series? Let's make it happen.

Check out more photos from Now and Later.

Pssst! Have you heard our September Playlist?

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Work It, Los Angeles: The Head Scarf

Spotted at The Grove.
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Work It, Berk: Bow Belt

Spotted by the Valley Life Sciences building.

Check out more photos from Berkeley.

P.S. This photo was previously posted on ELLE.com.

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Bay Area Blogger Meet-up: Michelle

This is Michelle of Women Enough.

Check out more posts about bloggers and San Francisco.

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Work It, BARE: Kathleen

What's your position/contribution to the magazine?

I'm on the Creative and Blog teams and I do styling for the shoots. So far, I've only done one, but I'm super excited to do more next year and in the future! I was involved in the "Summer Daze" photo shoot led by Jonathan Rodriguez and Justine Carreon. And, to my surprise, I got to model too! :)

What are you most excited about the new issue?

I really want to see everyone else's hard work in their unique editorials. I'm super excited to see the rest of the Americana shoot. The cover looks amazing!

What are you planning on wearing to the BARE Launch Party?

Going to dig out from my closet a bunch of clothes, and just throw them on the day-of.. which is what I usually do. So it'll be a surprise. :)

Check out the Facebook event for the Launch Party.

Check out more photos from the Work It, BARE series.

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Work It, Bloggers: Jackie of The Hourglass

Today I met up with Jackie of The Hourglass, a San Francisco native. Her blog is quite a treat: besides killer contemporary and vintage outfit posts, it features posts about fashion history, DIY projects, and food from delicious restaurants across the Bay Area.

Check out more photos from the Work It, Bloggers series.

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Work It, Bloggers: Halie of The Vivian Girl

A couple of days ago, I met up with Halie of The Vivian Girl. Her blog is pretty eclectic: she discusses everything from her love of Mila Kunis to her favorite looks from Milan and murals by Banksy. Check out more photos from the Work It, Bloggers series. Subscribe | Facebook | Twitter | BlogLovin'

Work It, Co-ops: The Roommates

Check out more photos from the Work It, Co-ops series.

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Work It, Berk: Gold Studs

This girl is pretty nifty; she sewed her shirt herself.

Spotted at Durant Hall.

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Work It, Bloggers: Christina of Profresh Style

After a short stint in San Francisco, the Work It, Bloggers series continues in Berkeley with Christina of Profresh Style. There are two things in this photo that definitely sum up her blog: an excellent collection of wedges (see exhibits A, B, and C) and priceless facial features (see her latest video).

Besides maintaining her blog, Christina recently became the owner of Riki, a Vine Street boutique in North Berkeley that sells stylish European-inspired women's wear. Follow Christina's blog for updates on the store's grand opening.

Stay tuned for more Bay Area bloggers! Up next: Erin of Calivintage.

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The Denim Shirt

SPROUL PLAZA

Coffee in hand, this girl shows off her perfectly worn-in denim shirt and black wedges.

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Strappy Red Wedges

GOLDEN BEAR CAFE

This is what I love about street fashion -- like Forrest Gump and his box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get, or, in this case, find. These wedged beauties are a case in point; they’re a completely unexpected find, yet I’m so so glad they walked on by.

The Wedge

BANCROFT & TELEGRAPH

Want to add a few inches to your height, but fear the mere sight of stilettos? Oh boy, do I have a solution for you! Try out a pair of wedged heels, like these wooden beauties. The brown leather straps and the solid heel are guaranteed to keep your from experiencing any lethal tumbles.