Blog Crush: NAT THE FAT RAT by Tiffany

I've been a fan of Natalie's blog, Nat the Fat Rat, for some time now. She is truly a lover of life and the way she appreciates the world around her makes you want to do the same too! The way she shows her affection for her husband and her son, Huck, shines greatly through her writings and photos. To me, her blog is like cozying up on the couch with your favorite drink and a warm fire going and watching your favorite movie. She has described her blog to be a love letter to the city she lives in (New York) and there is no doubt that she loves her home. The best part is she is also a woman who has much style and grace. Follow her!

How would you best describe your personal style?
classic, and just a little bit edgy.

What celebrity has the best style?
oh gwyneth paltrow. always. and freja beha and jane birkin and miroslava duma too.

Do you face any challenges in keeping your style authentic? If so, how do you deal with them?

it's pretty silly, because i love fashion, and i love trying every trend that passes my way and playing dress up in the morning, but when it actually comes down to it, i know what i feel most comfortable in, and that's basically a variation of the same exact outfit every day. so i constantly find myself wanting to buy trendier pieces that i know will only be worn once, maaaaybe twice. but buying the work horses that i know i'll wear over and over is just so boring to me! it doesn't feel "special" or "exciting!" i could go on about this topic forever. i'm slowly coming around to the idea that it's okay to let trends pass you by and instead keep a minimal closet and dress "the same" every day. slowly. i'm getting there. ;)

Parenthood and fashion:  how have you kept up? Or, had to cut back?

you know, parenthood and fashion do not have to be mutually exclusive. not at all, in fact i feel like i've found the most enjoyment from fashion since becoming a mom. we have slow mornings in our pjs at our house, and when we get home from our errands at the end of the day we change almost immediately into lounge-y clothes, so there are just a few hours in the middle of the day where i get to look "presentable" and dress up, and that's somehow made it really fun for me to pull together a fun, maybe not totally realistic outfit. it's just for a few hours, how dirty could it get? (it gets real dirty some days but luckily i have a great relationship with the dry cleaners up the street and they know how to take care of the applesauce smears ;).

Where are your top five places you shop? (Both online and in your "hood.")

i could go forever only shopping at these four places:  forever 21, madewell, zara, barney's co-op. throw in american apparel for my boys. (they have the best basics.)

What’s your go-to outfit?

skinny jeans, a slouchy white v-neck tee, a nubby sweater or tough-looking jacket, stupidly tall shoes, and messy bed hair. sometimes a good, loud accessory for fun.

What are some key pieces in your closet that tie your wardrobe together? What can't you live without?
the number one most important item to me in my whole entire closet is a really great slouchy white tee. i sort of hoard them. i'm slowly starting to get a handle on what style feels most "me" and unfailingly, it involves skinny jeans and a white tee and impossibly tall shoes, so the tee in question has to be clutch. it's a little silly how many variations of the basic v-neck i'll find lurking in my closet. my favorites are from the forever 21 basics line (can't beat $4.80 for a tee shirt!) and from splendid, which are a little pricier but hang juuuust right. ;)

What was your last purchase?
i'm hosting my entire family for thanksgiving this year (look at me, such a grown up!) so i've slowly been amassing some "matching" china, so the newest thing in my house these days are two 4-packs of white latte bowls from anthropologie. it's come to that weird place where i almost get more satisfaction from buying "clothes" for my apartment than clothes for myself, haha.

What are your favorite colors?
i tend to gravitate toward dark colors and cool tones, most especially cool shades of gray, like nobody's business. i also really like mustard yellow, which is NOT a cool tone, but my love for it is strong even after the past few years where it seemed like mustard was getting abused pretty righteously by the retail industry. mustard EVERYTHING! didn't it seem that way? my least favorite color is purple. i have such crazy purple fatigue (especially after every make up sales person ever has tried to sell me on purple eye shadow--look, people! no!), so this oxblood business has me frustrated. on the one hand, i want to like oxblood, it looks great on everyone, but also it's A PURPLE! and i am just not ready to forgive purple.

What is your nighttime face routine?
now that i'm thirty (deep sigh) i figure it's time to pay attention to this kinda stuff, right? so my routine is super simple (i'm so lazy). i use a diy apple cider vinegar toner, the la roc retinol cream, and the basic kiehls moisturizer. i also use a clarisonic mia which (i hate to say it) is really worth the splurge. i wrote about all this in a post here.

What was your biggest wardrobe splurge? Was it worth it?
with my birthday money this year i splurged on a gray DVF poncho. the thing is huge and drape-y and splendidly soft. i was really worried before i plunked down the cash that i'd be too afraid to wear it out (you know how special things can feel too "precious" so you "save them" for a "night out" or whatever?) but happily that hasn't been the case. i've worn it three times in two weeks. i call that a success! (typically i take birthday money and spend it all on little, silly things. this is the first time i've held out for one big item. i feel like i'm growing here!)

Who is your favorite fashion designer and why?
i'm really drawn to edgier looking classics these days, so the recent lines from rag and bone, alexander wang, helmut lang, and isabel marant have been really speaking to me. if i had a million dollars i'd shop exclusively at the barney's co-op and die a happy girl.

Thank you, Natalie!! You can follow her blog and find her on Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest!