What you decide to wear to a hot new restaurant is becoming just as much of a plan as figuring out what to eat when you get there. Instagram-savvy Philadelphians are thinking about what restaurants will make their picture stand out, so they can receive more engagement while their followers are scrolling. The newest trend involves not only the restaurant decor and the influencer’s outfit viewed as separate entities, but it’s about what outfits will make them look their best with the décor. It’s not even about wearing your newest, cutest outfit (that’s so 2017). That all being said, I have created a new series that is all about the collaboration of style and restaurant décor, starting with one of Philly’s hottest restaurants, Louie Louie.
In this series, I am able to use my background in fashion styling by styling models, using clothes and jewelry from Philly boutiques. Each boutique is thoughtfully selected and paired with each restaurant, so that their outfits shine and complement the restaurant’s decor, and the decor reciprocates for the clothing.
Before getting to all the good stuff, let me share the credits for the wonderful people involved in every single photograph for this shoot. Working with them made this shoot go smoothly, and I am grateful for that! Give their social media pages some love. You may recognize some of these incredibly talented women from other posts I’ve done here…
For this first shoot in the series, Louie Louie was the first restaurant that I booked, and immediately, I knew that Smak Parlour would have the exact looks I wanted. Townhome allowed me to add jewelry, so we could also get beautiful close ups.
Hexagon sunglasses (and other fun shaped lenses) are a new up and coming trend. Get yourself a pair and rock them with confidence.
If you’ve been to Louie Louie, you already know that the decor is heaven for both social media influencers and photographers. Everywhere you look, there’s a beautiful spot to pose (and post). There are lots of vibrant warm colors, with an occasional pop of blue velvet in the lobby. Beautiful textures and patterns are also found throughout the decor (both inside and outside).
With the different looks I selected, you can see exactly how style and decor converge. If you’re trying to level up your style game, this is how you do it. When you go to Louie Louie, you immediately notice a lot of warm colors (yellows, oranges, browns, etc.). What you can do to complement these colors is choose clothes in those same warm colors in the decor, but opt for different hues/level of saturation. Haven’t heard the terms “hue” or “saturation” since high school art class? Google it, or just look at the picture below. This is what I mean:
The lobby just outside of Louie Louie.
The outfits that Allie and Jasmyne are both wearing in the photo above feature pieces that are on trend, especially for street style – crop tops, faux fur, high waisted pants, and jumper style mini skirt. There is a lot of orange used throughout Louie Louie, but the way to wear orange and still pop, is by wearing it in a faux fur crop top.
Gray is one of my favorite neutrals, especially when you are incorporating it with a space that has a lot of warm colors, and the occasional cool color, like Louie Louie does. Gray helps bridge the gap between warm and cool tones. These outfits with either the gray pants or mini skirt, still give off a cool, casual vibe, but are still more elevated than jeans.
Wear pieces that also have texture, pattern, or movement, so they’ll add another element of visual interest to the picture.
Louie Louie and Smak Parlour both have the coolest balance of “vintage meets modern”. That was one of the main reasons that I selected both of them together. This outfit that Jasmyne is struttin’ in really highlights the vintage meets modern feel from both locations. (Bonus points since we ended up matching Jasmyne’s bag to the seating like we did in this pic.) A really vibrant red dress works everywhere in Louie Louie. It feels vintage in the mint colored booths, French against the black and white tiles, and modern with the peachy pink and yellow. I mean, honestly, don’t we all want to look that striking and stunning while walking down the aisle in a restaurant?
When you’re ready to embrace the fun shaped sunglasses trend, and either wear hexagons or hearts like my lovely ladies did, you can make them look like a “classic” accessory, by keeping the rest of your outfit playful, without being too loud. Allie’s sexy red dress has the ruffle across her body, and Jasmyne’s sleeves have a little flutter to them. But overall, the cut of both dresses is classic and easy to wear. Pairing both dresses with mules gives the dresses an effortless feel. The sunglasses play off of the flirty details in the dresses without being bolder than you’re comfortable.
One of my main goals for this series was to highlight as many Philadelphia based creatives as possible, and I hope you’ve enjoyed all of the Philly details in every image. You will definitely see that with everyone involved in this series and all of the others.
A huge shout out to my team for this shoot! Thank you again ladies for making this incredible shoot a reality.
Photographer: Photography by Jessica Lynn
Styled by me.
If you own a business in Philadelphia, and you would like to be featured in my Fashion + Food series, email me!
