Putting Together An Easy, Cute, Southwest Summer Outfit

Low budget? NO problem, you can easily put together a cute summer outfit with southwest and Santa Fe-style. Watch the video below or on my channel to find out how to put together this quick, easy, southwest summer outfit.

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Shoes from Zicac
Jewelry from Designs by Cheryl B.

About Cheryl Yale Bruedigam

STYLE Santa Fe is published by Cheryl Bruedigam.

Publisher Southwest Flair Magazine 2005-present

Former professional model and skin care consultant

Fashion Degree - Flair Fashion College, Albuquerque, NM 

Jewelry Designer and Stylist. Author and Publisher.

Visit and Shop Designs by Cheryl B

Beauty Tip - Layered Lips for a High-Glamour Look

Layering lipstick and glosses is fun and fancy. When you want to create a special look layering is the answer; it is mix and match, it is bold and flirty.

Layering lipstick and glosses can give you any special look that you wish to create from nudes with a hint of sparkle to all-out high glamour.

Gold Lipstick layered over berry

A quick suggestion is to layer a gold lipstick over a berry lipstick and you have an amazing look that is deep and lustrous, shimmering and rich. This is especially pretty for holiday makeup or for any fancy occasion. Line in a deep rich berry or red.

Be as creative and bold as you wish and develop your own lipstick looks and styles, easy and unique.

Beauty Tip: Straightening Long and Thick Hair with a Flat-Iron in Only 5 Minutes

If you have long, thick and even curly hair and want to use the flat-iron to straighten your hair it can be tedious, time-consuming and tiresome day after day. 

One tip for making the process much easier and turning a half-hour to hour procedure into a five-minute procedure, is to have your stylist layer your hair underneath as thin as it can go. A stylist showed me this trick a few years ago and it brought my straightening time from about a half-hour down to five minutes and my hair is usually no longer than my shoulders. If you have really long hair, your straightening time is probably closer to an hour but no more, not if you have your hair layered underneath. For really long hair, you will shorten that hour to ten or fifteen minutes or maybe even five because once you see how fast it can go when the hair is layered underneath, you will buzz right through it.

It is also easy to do this cut yourself if you can get a stylist to do it for you the first time. I had my stylist do it many times but I also began doing it myself with a razor comb. Just be sure to see it done professionally and talk to them about it before you try it yourself so that you don't overdo or take off too much. 

You will love this cut and style because you get the look and feel of long straight hair without all the fuss. If you are like me and have thick, wavy or curly hair, you have probably always wanted straight hair. Of course you can get a relaxer put on it but it's nice to have those waves or fullness when we are in the mood or just want a natural look. Otherwise, layering underneath will give you the perfect start to a quick five-minutes to perfectly straightened hair. 

Braided Cord Belt

This braided cord belt is easy to make and has plenty Santa Fe -style.

Pick your cord type and color. Measure cord around waste and double the length, then one half the length again.  Cut nine of these lengths.

Braid three of the lengths into one, tie a tight knot at each end. Repeat with three more lengths of the cord. Repeat with the last three lengths. Now you have three braided lengths of cord. Braid all of these together. Tie them together in a tight knot at each end.

This is your finished belt. If it is not long enough to tie  (it should be) you can make a single cord tie extension for each end.

NEW eBook - Model’s Top Ten Secrets to Beauty

Doesn’t every woman want to be her very best? Learn how with “Model’s Top Ten Secrets to Beauty.” Now you too can learn the modeling trade top secrets to beauty. Condensed and easy to follow in this top-ten layout of modeling beauty secrets from my training and experience as a former fashion model.

Learn what it takes to develop a complete look, create your own style and how to pull it all together from top to bottom, from the inside out. Inner beauty and how to get it; tips on hair, skin, makeup, wardrobe, and accessories that are actually used by working models. What to do in a pinch or what you need to know to be the best beauty that you can be.

It is all here for you in one quick, easy read. Get your copy to get started now and learn these top tricks of the beauty and fashion trade.

ORDER your copy now to get started and learn these secrets.

Whether you want to go for that big job you have always dreamed of or just improve your overall appearance and confidence, this eBook will get you there. You will achieve perfection inside and out by following these simple secrets.

Beat the Heat in Style

How to look your best when the temps are soaring near one-hundred degrees or more?

Loose cotton tops and shorts are first on the list. Stay stylish and cool at the same time in something that says Santa Fe.


Have to go to the office?
Try layering your business suit jacket in a light linen over a silky camisole. This allows you to stay cool and comfortable in your office or the car, yet look business-like and professional.

Makeup won't stay?
Give it a spritz with a makeup face spritzer
Blot with a beauty blotter (removes perspiration and dirt but won't smear makeup)
Set and re-set with loose powder.
Go a little lighter on the makeup on sweltering days so that it is easier to maintain.

Get into a stylish Native-print swim suit and just hit the pool. Sometimes you just can't fight the heat and there is no point in trying. Go to the pool, chill out near the water until the sun goes down, then hit the shower, a bit of light evening makeup and you're ready to go.

Style not Fad

Just some fun for the weekend. Chanel got it right. It should always be about style. Learning how to develop your own style; incorporating fashion, yes, but not the other way around. That way you are able to create a classic, timeless and lasting wardrobe that is suited to your taste, your body shape and your unique coloring verses just following the fads. 

Fads can be fun and fashionable but they should never be the center focus of your wardrobe. They may be added on as extras in the form of an accessories or a single piece. Otherwise, if you only follow fads, you will never have more than a mix-matched collection of pieces that not only cannot be worn next season but that do not go with anything else that you have.Whereas classic pieces allow you a foundation to build upon year after year, especially if they are quality garments. 

Next time, a look at what pieces you need to build a classic, timeless wardrobe.

New Video on Getting the Adobe Nude Look

Watch the new video on getting the Adobe Nude look from STYLE Santa Fe.
Makeup application and instruction drawing on the pale, natural shades of adobe clay. This look is light, lifting and will leave you looking younger and feeling fresh.

Give Yourself a STYLE Santa Fe Manicure

When other women ask, AWho did your nails?!@  You may confidently just smile and say, AI did.@

This takes a little longer than usual but for a special occasion or just to add a little STYLE Santa Fe to the same old drab look, why not? We did!

Soak nails in olive oil for a few minutes.

Gently pat dry

Massage cuticles with natural aloe vera from the plant.

Air dry.

Select your three favorite Santa Fe shades of nail polish.

Apply a single stroke down one third on side of nail with a darker shade.  Repeat on other side with another dark shade.  Using the lightest shade last, paint one single stroke down the middle.  Repeat on all nails. Seal with clear polish or nail hardener.

We used Revlon=s Tuscan Sun, L.A. Colors Antique Rose, and Revlon=s totally Toffee for this look.  Color coordinate with your favorite southwest outfit and you=re ready to go!

Lace Bandana Headband

Great look for casual or dress, this bandana lace head-wrap. These may be easily made by simply sewing the lace around a piece of elastic.

In Love with Turquoise

At STYLE Santa Fe, we are in love with turquoise and a girl can never have too much turquoise, there is no such thing. From boots to jewelry to clothing, purses and accessories, turquoise says STYLE Santa Fe. Nothing more need be said. 

A STYLE Santa Fe Make-Over

This make-over may be in the opposite tradition of glamour make-overs because although being a  woman with Santa Fe style can be a state of mind, it is also a lifestyle; a toned-down, natural, exuberance radiating the warmth of Santa Fe, the enchantment of the desert and mountains, colors of the rich palette here, and the use of natural fibers.  Jewelry is locally made but of excellent quality and famous to the region.  Fashion styles are comfortable, functional and flowing, drawing on the cultural influences that abound in this region.

Make-up, if worn, is subtler, for an attractive yet natural glow.  Colors are blended to almost mute, and tanning is as easy and natural as simply getting out of doors.  Gaudy brightness and overpowering make-up is not meant for Santa Fe style.  A good daytime routine includes a protective moisturizer, a natural base if needed, just a stroke of light blush, mascara, lip-liner if a business or social engagement, and lightly colored lipstick.  For evenings, go a shade darker and add layered earth-tones eye-shadow applying a light base color from lid to brow, adding a darker shade in the crease and blending well, re-blend all with the base shade once more from lid to brow.

As for hair, a lot of sprays or gels are not advisable.  There are some windy days in the Santa Fe and a spritz of pump spray does a lot better than the aerosol so that while outdoors the wind does not Alift@ the entire style. A scrunched natural look is great for this look and if you have fine thin hair, a perm may be a good way to add the body lost in the dry climate as well as to cut down on the static fly-away that can happen here.  Styles that have to be curled or set in the mornings will not hold in the dry climate, you curls will be gone before noon.

Clothing of course should be suited to the occasion but business dress is a little more lax in Santa Fe, sometimes incorporating boots with a western or desert style, while native American fabrics and prints are popular and worn for almost any occasion.  A carefully planned wardrobe can carry you from home to a casual to a dressy affair; rather it is knowing how to piece it all together that is the trick, how to dress up or tone down with colors and accessories.  Individual style plays a much bigger factor in Santa Fe fashions than in other areas.  With such a mix of cultural influences, a mixture of lifestyles and climates, and occupations, a unique blend of tastes make up our STYLE Santa Fe.  Women who want to add a touch of Santa Fe style need to use a creative flair for fashion through the use of colors, fabrics and cultural influences found in the area.

Elevate Your Style

Fashion is no=t about trying to be something you are not; fashion is about knowing who and what you want to be and expressing it.  Expressing the inner through the outer, that=s really what it=s all about.  Outer expression should affect inner desire.  This is where your own unique style comes from.

As far as STYLE Santa Fe, we are not talking about walking around in fringe all day (although that works too!), we are talking about being inspired by the culture and adding a bit of it to your own style.  The Santa Fe-style breaks conformity and rules but before you can break the rules of fashion, you have to learn them, otherwise it may come out chaotic, unorganized, and this is the last thing we want when learning to express our own style. Without the basic foundation, we cannot put our best foot forward. Learning and understanding the difference between fad and fashion is first and foremost which I will cover in another article.

To add a little STYLE Santa Fe to any wardrobe, you can do so with as much as an entire outfit or a single accessory such as concho belt, the right pair of boots, a woven scarf in earth tones, or a single piece of turquoise.  It is a matter of what is uniquely you.

With STYLE Santa Fe, you will find tips from the pros, advice on makeup and wardrobe, and how to be the best you that you can be.

Cheryl Bruedigam

Stylist and Consultant