I am finally wearing that black and white striped shirt that I picked up on sale from Zara weeks ago! Not like anything was stopping me, but I have impeccable timing... it was really hot today... despite the look of the sky. I really like outfits that have different layering; I just think it makes the overall look more visually appealing! And quite frankly, there is nothing wrong with layering in the summer (although I could have done with a few less layers today...). I always like to take basic outfits (or basic pieces that make an outfit) and then think of different garments to add that will make it unique to my personal style. If I just wore my light wash, ripped skinny jeans with the black and white striped top, to me, it would feel boring, and quite dull. So I rooted through my closet, and knew exactly which piece would amp this outfit up! I layered a light grey, long, silk tank top with a bit of lustre to it, under the heavier striped top. I think it makes the overall look more interesting because not only are there different layers to look at, but there is a contrast between heavy and light weight fabrics, and a dull, sort of wool fabric, with a lustrous, silk fabric! The texture combination is quite chic, while the ripped denim make it more casual!
Thrifting for brooches is incredibly satisfying if that's the sort of thing your into. Actually, thrifting for anything is quite satisfying. When my brooch obsession was just blooming, my mom surprised me with 3 beautiful, thrifted brooches, and a fabulous square Paris themed scarf! Since then, looking for brooches in thrift stores has been on my mind. When you think about it, if you went to the Bay for example looking for a statement brooch, you could potentially be paying $25.00+ for a piece of plastic made in China with absolutely no history or background whatsoever. But if you hit up a thrift store and look in the jewelry section, there a countless beautiful brooches that are super cheap compared to retail, and a good portion of them are vintage/antique and have been passed down in different families from great grandmothers, grandmothers, and mothers, and each piece is almost guaranteed to have some type of background to it! Each brooch I got cost between $1.00-$5.00 which is a good price to pay for a quality piece of statement jewelry! ($2.00) Shop your local thrift stores to find unique statement pieces that nobody else will have! I felt very Upper East Side again today- very preppy and sophisticated. Especially with a fresh, shorter hairstyle. I spent a good portion of my day thrifting with my mom, on the hunt for some vintage brooches. We went to 5 different thrift stores: 2 different salvation army's, a church thrift store, hospital thrift store, and the classic Value Village. I scored quite big today with brooches, and a few other things (which will be shown in the next few blog posts!) I seem to be completely oblivious to the fact that it is STILL summer, because of all the new Fall additions to my closet. I am so past wearing shorts, and ready to layer! Today I went for a very classic (upper east side vibe) look by pairing light grey, ripped skinny jeans, with a white blouse (with my signature 'half tuck') layered with a black/white bomber jacket from Loft. I felt this look was too 'dressy' for a leather watch, which I think is more casual, so I accessorized with just a silver watch- no additional bracelets. I usually use my large, light beige leather bag in the summer just because the colour is very light and fresh, but it just didn't work with this look. I went into my archive of bags, and pulled a black with brown accent leather bag with studded straps, and matched my brown open toed heel booties with it to tie the browns together. For a (rare) pop of colour, I added 2 thrifted brooches from a church thrift store to my wardrobe. I think layering brooches creates such a unique look, and is such a fun, and personal way to amp up an outfit! I paired a yellow and gold flower brooch, with a gold brooch with 2 (fern like) leaves, and I love how they compliment each other, and add an interesting feature to this outfit. (I would just like to inform you that it is after midnight and I am listening to rap while starting this post.) I just thought you should know that. Anyways, during these confusing summer days where the weather is bipolar and the sun is like "where's Waldo", I am opting for more Fall inspired looks. But who can blame me- 4 months of summer break and I am so ready for school and fall! I really love looks that are incredibly comfortable, low maintenance , but look really put together, and I think this look is the perfect example. All of the elements of my outfit are loose and a little slouchy, but somehow it really works! I paired high waisted, draw-string, olive green rayon trousers, with a black bell sleeve pull over sweater like top and tucked a small portion of it in to show that there is fit in this garment around my waist. It creates a slimming focal point while the rest of the outfit stays 'oversized' looking. To accessorize, my staple brown booties and classic brown and gold watch make yet another appearance and tie the look together. I had a long overdue coffee date with a life long friend a few nights ago who I haven't seen in about 5 years. Needless to say, things picked up right where they left off, and just because Starbucks closes at 11, doesn't mean our coffee date was over. That's why there's benches outside Starbucks. For people like us. I went for a very simple, and classic look of pairing black pants with a white blouse, half tucked and half un-tucked to look more relaxed, and topped if off with an oversized, dusty rose coloured kimono type garment. To play off of the warm colour of the Kimono, my brown open toe, chunky heel booties, and brown watch with gold bracelet complimented the look quite well. If it weren't for the power suit worn by women in the 80's, God only knows we'd be stuck in skirts and dresses for the rest of our lives. As nice as that sounds, I'm sure it would get old after a while. I love skirts and dresses as much as the next girl, but thank God for pants. I am really digging' menswear inspired looks in women's fashion lately. And by menswear, I don't mean actually wearing pieces meant for men, I mean women's wear that has taken inspiration from typical male garments, but designed with a female's body in mind. I paired black skinny PANTS (not jeans) with a blue and white J Crew (womens) striped linen button up shirt that I half tucked in on the side, loosely cuffed up the sleeves, and kept a few buttons open on the top for a very relaxed look. To keep the look feminine, I wore brown open toe and heel booties. To personalize this look I added two brooches: a gold heart, and a gold rose. I also added a brown and gold classic leather watch which has more of a simplistic, masculine feel to it, and layered it with a gold bracelet and brown leopard studded cuff. The relaxed, minimalistic menswear look is very easy to achieve and is incredibly comfortable; everything is a little more loose fitting. It's as easy as grabbing a button up from your brother or boyfriend and pairing it with skinny jeans/pants, and adding a few dainty accessories! Super easy, and effortlessly chic! It is especially a great look if you need to quickly throw something on and run out the door! (Had to get a lame pun out of the way before going any further with this post) Every once in a while, I will get a new accessory obsession, and today was the beginning of a brooch obsession. Maybe it was the preppy look I was sporting when I noticed that the one brooch I had on my vanity would look quite smart with my outfit...but whatever it was, I could tell brooches would be 'my thing' for the next little while. My mom and I then began to find a whole bunch of beautiful brooches, some of which are from my grandmother, and others from my great grandmother that have been passed down to us. They are so beautiful and sentimental, and I feel like they are as stunning as a statement necklace! It is a fun and quirky way to bring life to an outfit! I am so excited with my tray full of brooches, and can't wait to accessorize with them! I believe accessories can take a mediocre outfit and make it completely unique to ones own personal style. Throughout the day, I slowly kept adding accessories to this look and was quite pleased with the end result. I paired medium-wash ankle zip denim jeans with an oversized white blouse, and navy blue sweater over top with part of the collar peeking out of the neckline, and part of the hem un tucked for a very loose and relaxed look- plus I love blue on blue looks! I finished this very simple look with black patent loafers (Olivia Palermo is the loafer goddess and encouraged my love for this sleek shoe). I felt this look was lacking something, so I added a statement necklace and was satisfied. After looking through my closet, a black square scarf with gold damask (very baroque) caught my eye and I immediately knew how I could incorporate it into my look. I scrunched the scarf up and tied it ascot style around the collar of the white blouse and it hung over my statement necklace which peeked through the scarf. I had never layered a scarf with a bold necklace before, and I think with an ascot scarf, it looks quite nice! A gold bangle and leopard studded bracelet added more visual appeal, and doesn't look too 'overdone' considering the amount of accessories. I felt very preppy and Upper East Side today.
12:00 pm- Let's go to the States. 3:00 pm- In the States. Incredibly impromptu. With Fall-like weather upon us today, I decided to give some of my new Fall clothes the opportunity to get out of my closet and into the real world. I brought out all the Fall stops today: pants, a jacket, lots of Fall colours, a sweater... I was fully prepared to frolick in crisp, colourful leaves... in style of course. In my last post, I mentioned that I was dreaming of tailored pants from Loft. Well here they are- the Marisa Skinny and I tell you they are a beautiful thing! Being blessed with short genes, shopping in the petite section means I DONT HAVE TO HEM MY PANTS! Other than the length being incredibly satisfying, the fit throughout my waist, hips, and thighs are perfect! For being a well tailored, and creased to perfection pant, they are quite comfy which is a plus for me. I paired a navy blue sweater from Zara (shown a few posts ago), with my black tailored pants, olive green utility jacket also from Loft, with a silver spiky necklace, large tan bag, and open toe (and heel) booties. I opted for somewhat Fall makeup: My typical lip, and a little bit of a darker eye by putting a dark(ish) matte brown shadow in my crease to darken my features considering I don't normally wear eye shadow anymore. Welcome to my Family. I made some friends today, and I'd like you to meet them: I like to think I am the ultimate deal finder. Some call me "a tiger in department stores". Well it's true. I wanted a pair of loafers as a chic pair of flat, comfortable shoes and found these black patent ones by Style & Co. Luckily Macy's is known for having sales on sales, so I managed to pick them up for $12.00! As soon as I laid eyes on the black leather lace up MIA shoes, I was immediately in love! I was even more in love when I saw the price tag of $22.00 marked down from $90! I am now set for back to school, and need to cut myself off, or cut my credit card up. |