There’s something irresistible about throwing on a men’s shirt with a pair of leggings. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what it is. The cross-dresser in all of us? Or maybe we all just love turning an ordinary piece of men’s apparel into an extraordinary accessory for ladies. With that in mind, we ventured to Goodwill, grabbed a basic men’s shirt, and enlisted resident stylist Misty Spinney‘s fashion expertise to craft 10 killer looks.
1. Skinny Jeans and a Belt
This look is perfect for everyday, and gets style points from a super hot belt and pair of skinny jeans.
We rolled up the sleeves to give the shirt a little more shape, and paired the look with strappy leather sandals.
2. Sassy Cargo
For this look, we kept Brit’s sleeves rolled up and simply tied the shirt to expose a little sassy midriff.
Love these little bootie sandals to complete the look.
3. Strapless Mini Dress
That’s right. You can turn a men’s shirt into a strapless dress! Perfect for a modern cowgirl look.
First, button up the shirt without the sleeves on. Take the sleeves and twist them, then criss cross them around your back. Bring them back to the front, tie a little knot, and you’re done!
4. 90s Hipster
Hipsters were around in the 90s, we promise. This look takes the classic look of a checkered shirt, Converse, and a plaid shirt and updates it with a little suspender action.
Clip the suspenders directly onto the shirt and see what shape works best for you.
5. I’m On A Boat
A pair of boat shoes, pinstripe pants, and a ruffled up shirt are all you need to channel your inner boat maven.
To ruffle the shirt we did two things: First, put a rubber band around the sleeve and blouse it out to create a little bubble. For the waist ruffle, use a safety pin to ruche on both sides.
6. City Girl
Black leggings and boots are every city girl’s go-tos. Add a men’s shirt and hip slung belt to shake things up a bit.
We’re kind of obsessed with this belt! It’s got tons of little loops so you can wear it high-waisted, hip-slung, and anywhere in between.
7. She Means Business
A boss in the boardroom? Why yes. Tuck your shirt into a high waisted skirt, add a simple thick black belt and throw on your hottest black heels.
8. Day n’ Night
An ideal look if you’re starting your day at the office and ending it at a cocktail party, art opening, or concert.
Underneath the shirt we’ve got a lace bodice that peeks out ever so playfully. Tuck the bodice and shirt into a pair of black trousers, and throw a long necklace over the whole look.
9. Bohemian Chic
Definitely the hippiest number on here, this look pairs good old boot leg corduroys with a DIY tube top!
To create the top, fold the collar of the shirt into the inside, creating a semi shelf bra. Take the sleeves around in the back, and tie up in the front, like the strapless dress.
10. T-Shirt and Jeans Upgrade
Nothing beats a t-shirt and jeans. Upgrade your look by going for a boldly hued pair of red jean and adding an old school t-shirt. Tuck in the color of your button down to create more of a blazer look.
This is a great look for a Saturday in the park, and we love any reason to bring back vintage tees that don’t quite work on their own.
Welcome to Selfmade Finance School, our new money series with Block Advisors to help small business owners with their tax, bookkeeping, and payroll needs year-round. This week, we explore the tax implications of bringing family members into your business.
The question for today is this: Does hiring your family members make sense for your business? Let me be clear. This is not a piece about whether hiring your family members makes sense for your relationships with those family members. As someone who is part of a family business, I could fill up a lot more than 600 words on my opinions about that. For today's purposes, we focus on whether it makes sense from an overall "good business and tax implication" perspective. As it turns out, there is a decent amount of tax nuance when it comes to employing your family. Let's break it down based on relationship to the employee:
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Spouses Who Are In Business Together
Personally, if I had to be in business with my husband, it would not go well. However, many couples build viable, strong businesses together and I say, good for them! Depending on how you have your business entity structured, it will make a big difference on the tax treatment of you and your spouse working as partners. Because a business jointly owned and operated by a married couple is generally treated as a partnership for Federal tax purposes, the spouses must comply with filing and record keeping requirements imposed on partnerships and their partners. The election to file two Schedule C (Form 1040) forms, (one for each spouse) permits certain married co-owners to avoid filing partnership returns, provided that each spouse separately reports a share of all the businesses' items of income, gain, loss, deduction, and credit. Under the election, both spouses will be subject to self-employment tax and on net earnings from self-employment and receive credit for Social Security earnings.
One Spouse Employs Another
If you have a dynamic where your spouse is an employee of your business, then your spouse's wages are subject to income tax withholding, Social Security and Medicare taxes. If you are self-employed (not a corporation or a partnership), your spouse's pay does not have to be included in your federal unemployment tax account (FUTA) contributions and payments. However, if your business is a corporation or a partnership you must include that spouse's pay in your unemployment tax contribution calculation.
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You Employ Your Child
First, let's be clear. I work in my family business, but I am an adult, so I am treated just like a normal employee. However, if you, for example, run a family restaurant and want to hire your children under 18 to work for you, there are some tax benefits. But first, you should check with your state for rules on how many hours minors can work (in non-agricultural jobs) and reference the Fair Labor Standards Act for information on limitations on the kinds of work children can perform.
"This is an often overlooked or under-utilized strategy. Paying your children for true services they provide in your business can be a powerful tax-saving tool," says Cathi Reed, Block Advisors Regional Director. "If you are a sole-proprietorship or single member LLC, and the child is less than 18 years of age, the business is not required to withhold FICA or payroll taxes. The child can use his or her standard deduction against income you pay."
You Hire Your Parent
Oh dear. If you are brave enough to do this, know that you will need to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes on your parent's wages and make the appropriate withholdings, but you don't have to pay unemployment taxes. Now all you have to do is convince your parent that you are the boss. Have fun with that!
Is Hiring Family Members Worth It For The Tax Benefits?
"There are some positive tax advantages to hiring family members. It's important to treat a family member like any other employee. Hiring your children can result in substantial savings for businesses. Make sure your child has real, age-appropriate work to do and a reasonable pay rate, comparable to other employees. Consult with a Block Advisors small business certified tax pro to ensure that you are complying with all requirements," advises Reed. "Block Advisors, a team within H&R Block, is dedicated to meeting the tax, bookkeeping and payroll needs of small business owners year-round. To start working with the tax experts at Block Advisors, visit blockadvisors.com."
In my opinion, you should not hire a family member solely because of the tax benefits. You should always hire based on whether that person is right for the job and keep in mind how this hire could materially impact your relationship with that person and others in your family. Finally, as I mentioned, make sure you have a tax professional on your team when making these determinations. As you can see, things can get a little tricky!
*All details were sourced from IRS.gov and blockadvisors.com
The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect those held by Kestra Investment Services, LLC or Kestra Advisory Services, LLC. This is for general information only and is not intended to provide specific investment advice or recommendations for any individual. It is suggested that you consult your financial professional, attorney, or tax advisor with regards to your individual situation. Comments concerning the past performance are not intended to be forward looking and should not be viewed as an indication of future results. Securities offered through Kestra Investment Services, LLC (Kestra IS), member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Kestra Advisory Services, LLC (Kestra AS), an affiliate of Kestra IS. O'Keeffe Financial Partners and any other entity listed herein is not affiliated with Kestra IS or Kestra AS Investor Disclosures: https://bit.ly/KF-Disclosures