It’s time to wrap yourself up in a faux fur vest. That you made. This easy-to-DIY garment will give your outfits a fresh and sassy look while helping you keep up with the latest fashion trends. As Hansel would say, “those fur vests are so hot right now.” And they are. Follow our tutorial below to make your very own vest and then check out all the ways you can style it. We went girl boss, date night, casual and a night on the town.
Materials:
– fake fur
Tools:
– sewing machine
– fabric shears
– measuring tape
Instructions:
To start, head to your local fabric store and find some faux fur. We got some that has a real feathery feel to it, yet it’s got the weight necessary to keep you warm. Fold your fabric in half with the fur on the inside. Then measure the width of your shoulders (or if you’re making this for someone else, make sure to get their measurements). We found that cutting into the fur created sharp edges, much like a buzz cut. And as much as we loved the 80s, we don’t want our vest to look that clean cut. Instead, snip into the fabric and then use your muscles to rip it into a rectangle.
- Fold your fur fabric in half with the fur on the inside.
- Measure the width of your shoulders and then use that measurement to measure and mark your fur.
- Determine the length of your vest and mark your fabric.
- Snip the fabric at your marks and then rip the fabric, creating a rectangle with the folded fabric at the top.
- For the arm hole, measure approximately nine inches, and then cut into the fabric and rip up towards the folded top.
- Snip and rip along the center line, creating an opening in your vest.
- Cut a “U” shape at the collar.
- Sew along the sides and then pull out the fur that’s caught in the stitches.
- Flip your vest inside out.
Next you’ll need to cut some arm holes. Cut half of a “U” shape on either side of the vest, up near the folded edge. Remember to rip the fabric rather than cutting it.
Cut and rip the center line. It’s really starting to look like a vest now! Cut a “U” or “V” shape for the neck.
Now you need to sew the sides. Though it’s a little hard to see, you should be able to work your way through the fur to sew the sides together. Just don’t sew the arm holes shut! After you sew, you’ll need to pull some of the fur out of the thread. It gets caught in there, but with a little tug, you can mask any inconsistencies as well as the seam.
Turn your vest inside out and then get ready for a fashion show.
As we mentioned, we’ve styled four looks with our new piece.
First we’ve got casual. Throw your vest over a white tee and wear it with your boyfriend jeans.
Next up: date night. Wear a form-fitting turtleneck with a high-waisted skirt and then top it off with your fur vest. You’ll be looking nice and sassy for your date.
Oh what? You don’t think you can pull off the girl boss look with this vest? Think again. Style it underneath a blazer and over a classy dress. You’ll add a little punch to your I-mean-business look.
Finally, we’ve got a night out on the town… because right?! This is the perfect accessory to take your jumpsuit from cool to verrrry cool.
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