LA stylist and native, Felicia Arlin, is a firm believer that we all should keep challenging ourselves while maintaining our sense of humor. Felicia defied the odds and surfed. Yep! That’s right! You’ll be amazed by Felicia in her story: “Never too Old”. And in “Blinded by the Bright”, Felicia extolls the beauty of bringing light, dark and bright colors together to make a fab and cool summer look.  I love bright and I love her Pro-Tip this week!

LA Story: Never Too Old

This is not a #fashionpost but rather a post about challenging ourselves and not taking ourselves too seriously. I haven’t surfed since high school and wanted to see if I still could, and I’ve never tried to stand up paddle board but always wanted to so, I booked my lessons for both. I met up with my darling 20 ’something instructor for my surf lesson. He made it so much fun even though he worked his butt off carrying my board and pushing me into the waves so I could catch one. On the first try, I immediately, wiped-out but I jumped back onto my board and paddled back out to catch the next wave. The next handful of times, I got to my feet but couldn’t stand straight up. During all of this falling and paddling back I noticed that I was feeling a little sick. I chalked it up to way more upper body work than I usually do but it kept getting worse – my teacher saw that I was really pale and asked how I felt. He realized that I was sea-sick and got me right out of the water and on to the sand work on my tan.

The next day with my sore arms and tired body, I met up with my very tall and insanely fit, 20 ‘something teacher for my SUP lesson. He showed me how to get right up on the board and maneuver around. We went all over the harbor, under the pier, took a break on the beach then went out for more. I fell only once and am happy to say that I didn’t get sea sick, at all! Thanks to these 2 young and patient men, I had a blast! I can’t wait to get back on the SUP!

Style Story: Blinded by the Bright

It’s another bright, hot, sunny day in LA. So, I’m wearing a vintage scarf, vera, as a top. It’s a rectangular shape so it gives my midriff less coverage but since I’m short-waisted it’s not overly revealing. I love how the light and dark blues from the scarf work so well with the highs and lows of my low-rise jeans, Zara. To really, pop, the red, I’ve added a bright orange and red jacket, Zara, to bring texture, balance, and proportion to my look. My vintage red satin handbag brings my, reds, together and my metallic sandals, ysl, with their distinct gold hardware pulls all the gold from my jewelry and accessories, together.

Style-tip: if you want to wear a scarf top but are worried about, over-exposure, layer them over a t-shirt or a blouse.

*please treat your wardrobe well. many people worked very hard to get it to you.