“What are you wearing? Where is the dress I left out for you on your bed!?“

When we were little, my mom loved dressing me and my sister in matching outfits. I had a closet-full of big, puffy dresses and skirts in every single color and pattern you can imagine.

Unfortunately, I Hated Wearing Dresses.

My mom’s eyes would sometimes fill with tears of joy after she was done dressing me and telling me “my princess, look how beautiful you look!” I’d take one look in the mirror, while also trying to flatten my dress and say: “nope. I’ll take those overalls, thank you“.

Funny thing, I eventually did fall in love with wearing dresses. The only problem was that I started wearing them over jeans in the early 2000’s…. my mom wasn’t very impressed. I still remember the days when I hid an entire closet-full of clothes in the basement, and would change after leaving for school. All unbeknownst to my mom, of course. Ah… the good old times.

Well, I can easily say that as an adult, I completely approve of wearing both dresses and skirts- especially during spring.

As I’m writing this, I’m looking out the window and the weather couldn’t be more perfect. There’s just something about spring that makes me feel excited about everything- yes, that includes wearing dresses.

SHEER FABRICS

I love all seasons, but towards the end of every winter I start feeling tired. Tired of sweaters, scarves, jackets, thick and uncomfortable coats. I love fashion, but during those colder months I often sacrifice style for warmth. Now that spring is here at last, I finally get a chance to wear some of my favorite pieces; those usually include sheer, soft fabrics, flowy tops, maxi skirts and dresses. When the weather isn’t quite warm enough to rock a spaghetti-strapped dresses or tops, sheer fabrics are the way to go. They keep me warm enough, but also let that spring breeze through.

As I told you guys in one of my previous posts, I recently got rid of a huge chunk of my wardrobe and I’m controlling my impulse buys and only invest in pieces I know I’ll wear. Crazy thing is that now that I have less, I don’t find myself saying “ugh I have nothing to wear!” too often.

SECRET CLINICAL STRENGTH

Because nothing ruins a cute outfit faster than… a pit stain. I mean, it’s either that or you spilling food or a drink on your outfit (which happens to me more often than I’m willing to admit… seriously, I’m the most accident-prone person you’ll ever meet). We talk a lot about beauty here on TT but I also love writing about mindfulness and lifestyle and most of you know that I sometimes tend to overthink the smallest of things. If I’m facing a minor crisis or a setback at work, my mind tends to jump to the *worst case scenario*. Thankfully, practicing mindfulness equips me with great mechanism to deal with sudden stress. I recognize those stress signals; I take a few deep breaths, most recently I started implementing the 5-4-3-2-1 method… BUT there’s one thing I, alone, can’t control.

Yup.

You guessed it.

It’s sweat.

I’ve been using a clinical-strength deodorant for years now, because… well.. it’s the only thing that works for me. I mean, we’re all friends here right? Right. Well, I sweat a lot- especially when I’m under stress (emotions can affect your sweat glands) or when it’s very warm outside (it’s your body’s natural way of maintaining body temperature). It’s not the most comfortable thing to admit; “Hey, I’m Paula and I sweat a lot when I’m nervous!” but we’re not here to pretend we’re perfect, are we? Also, sweat is natural.

Although it’s not always pretty.

I’m sure that Secret doesn’t need an introduction- after all it’s been a part of women’s lives for over five (!) decades. Secret Clinical Strength Clear Gel and Secret Clinical Strength Invisible Solid both provide more sweat and odor protection than traditional antiperspirants. I usually go with the Clear Gel formula. It doesn’t matter what your day throws at you; one thing you don’t have to worry about, is protecting your clothes form a sweat breakthrough. Regardless of what fabrics or colors you wear. Also, no midday-pit-checks needed (you know the casual “ahhh… let me stretch real quick and casually sniff my armpit“).

I’ve been using Secret for probably as long as I can remember, so I can’t tell you how excited I am to share Secret in my life as part of a sponsored series for Socialstars™.

LAYERS

When it’s 45 degrees early in the morning and 85 by midday, layers are a must. It seems that the weather here on the East Coast has calmed down a bit, but only last week the temperatures were already nearing the 90s (!). While I do love that cool morning breeze, I can’t stand being cold. So, to battle those awkward in-between temperatures, I layer. And I then layer some more.

For work, blazers are usually my go to because they’re so easy to style. Black goes with everything- it also happens to be my favorite color- it’s no wonder that I have about 10 black blazers hanging in my closet. I love that you can also pair them with jeans and a basic tee and not just cigarette pants. Jean or cotton shirts are also staples for me during this time of year and those once again, go with everything.

What are some of your style staples for spring? Anyone else hated wearing dresses when they were little? (love you Mama!)

This post was created in partnership with Secret + Socialstars™

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