Bali Style Summit Recap

Last week I attended the Bali Style Summit in NYC.  It was an experience that I'm immensely thankful for.  I've traveled a few times for my blog (to NYC in fact) and this trip was the most rewarding blog experience I've had to date.  I never got the impression that I should "just feel lucky to be there".  Rather, I felt appreciated and greatly valued.  Granted, Bali sought me out to attend the event and even paid for every single one of my expenses (thank you Bali!), so I'm sure that helped me feel special in some way.  But I also feel the need to tell you that Bali never once asked me to blog about the event.  So everything that I write today is truly coming straight from me... things that I want to share with you.

I should start by saying that my pre-conception of Bali Intimates was the same as what yours might be... affordable, plain bras and underwear for older women.  Well, we're wrong.  Yes, they have the more "mature" bras that made me suck in my breath when I saw them.  But did you know they also have some gorgeous younger styles?  Really.

See?  Really hot.  They have plenty of other patterns and styles too.  And I'm super excited for this bra (the Suresize Wirefree 3484) to come out in Spring, 2012.  I have a feeling I'll own a few of these for around the house and running errands!

Bali also brought in stylist Jennifer Rade to chat with us over lunch.



She's all sorts of fabulous.  Her celebrity list of clients is unreal (hello Angelina Jolie!), but after hanging out with her I can see why so many people love her.  Like myself and Bali (and hopefully many of you), Jen is all about empowering women and embracing bodies for what they are.  I certainly have my days when I dream of changing this or that, but those who know me well know that I love myself enough to be completely comfortable in my own skin.  I don't deprive myself of treats and sweets (in fact I'm eating french onion dip as I write this post!), nor do I spend loads of unwanted time in a gym trying to achieve that perfectly toned physique so that I can impress in a bikini.  This is just me.  And I've learned you have to accentuate your assets (and minimize what you don't love so much) and just feel good about yourself.  Which brings me to this question: Do you shapewear?

Don't be afraid of it.  It can be beautiful too.

Okay, so let's move on to some of the other fun photos I took.  Wanna see some of the other bloggers that were there with me?  Here's a shot of a few of us arriving to the summit on Tuesday morning.  {There were about 15 of us bloggers there, and about 10 people from Bali. Unfortunately I didn't get a shot with everyone to share.}

{Me, Natalie Elle, and Rachel - all fabulous ladies!}

 {Natalie, Cynthia, Marie, Vaughn, Nichelle, Me, Nicole}

{partial room shot}

{Did I mention this guy was there videotaping it all?  If I get my hands on the video I'll let you know.}

Here's another shot of Jen Rade.  She's demonstrating what she believes to be the best "red carpet pose".  I knew ya'll would like to see this.



There was also a makeup tutorial session (where we were given customized makeup from MAC - score!), and also a bra and shapewear fitting (yes, we received some pieces here too- score again!).  The night ended with a show on Broadway.  We saw Anything Goes.  It was SO FREAKING GOOD.  I was enamored by all of the costumes.  And I'm kinda girl crushing that Sutton Foster.



{With two of the Bali girls}



All this in 3 days, and I even managed to get together with a couple of NYC girl friends.  Thank you so much Bali Intimates for providing me this incredible opportunity to not only surround myself with uplifting and empowering women, but to also learn more about how your brand can help me live beautifully.

PS, I wiped out half of my container of french onion dip while writing this post.  OY!