Monday Muse: Sea of Shoes

When I was Jane Aldridge's age, my idea of fashion was a bag my dad made for me out of an old tank top I bought in high school from American Eagle Outfitters. I thought that Comme des Garçons meant nothing more than "Like Boys" en français. 

At the young age of 16 Texas native, Jane Aldridge started her blog 'Sea Of Shoes' with the help of her mom. Jane's profound love of designer shoes catapulted her into the forefront of fashion bloggers at the time. I don't know about you, but when I was in high school, a pair of Miu Miu glitter booties were the furthest thing from my mind.

Over the years Jane has captured the attention of fashion movers like Karl Lagerfeld. We love Jane for her uncompromising stance on staying true to yourself. Even after an unflattering article about her was published, Jane was able to let the incident slide and move on. Among other salacious comments in the article, Jane was accused of dismissing college and undervaluing education. She later clarified that what she meant was that college just wasn't for her. We admire Jane's stick-to-your-guns attitude and her remarkable wisdom in feeling comfortable with herself and her path in life at such a young age.

The fact that she has refused to move to more fashion-oriented cities and decides to stay in Dallas with her family is another reason why Jane's impeccable style is only augmented by her smart-cookie attitude.

Check out after the jump for our tips on getting Sea of Shoe's spot-on style!

Monday Muse: Elin Kling

It's no secret that here at VAM we LOVE strong, independent women. Especially women who chase their dreams and make things happen.

One such woman is Elin Kling, one of the most influential and trailblazing fashion bloggers out there. Elin has taken her little blog, Style By Kling and turned it into a business by adding it NowManifest, a fashion blog portal owned by Conde Nast (Read: Vogue)

The past couple years has seen Elin transfer from blog to print with her own Swedish-based magazine, STYLEBY. Acting as the creative director, Elin's work for the mag is beautiful.

She's also been the face at the front of some pretty stellar campaigns, collaborating on a line for H&M in 2011, becoming the first blogger (many more to come) to do that kind of thing. In 2012 she did a line for Marciano that borrowed heavily from her minimalistic style. She's also been featured in campaigns for Net-A-Porter as well as Louis Vuitton. Proving that she's more than just your typical fashion blogger.

We love Elin's minimalist style, nothing too fussy; the result is an always chic and classic look that will stand the test of time and will save Elin the embarrassment of ever seeing herself in a weird outfit.

Check out our tips on getting Elin's look after the jump!