ABW Challenge: Day 32

 

 Day 32

Previously, I would shy away from mixing prints. I always had the belief that mixing doesn't always work when it comes to clothing. But today, I played around with different prints. I paired a new top I got from my F21 with the striped blazer. I feel like it worked out partly because they both have the navy blue coloring in it, but expressed differently in the tops. The pink in the flowers paired great with the bow flats.

ABW Challenge: Day 31

Day 31

Edgy style today! I paired the moto vest I got from Forever 21 with the stripe top I got from the same haul, and they worked perfectly together. I decided to go again with the faux mohawk style with the vest, making a deep part and french braiding the left portion of my hair. It seems like the perfect 'do to put with the moto vest. Instead of pairing it with combat boots as I originally planned, I went with the studded oxfords.

ABW Challenge: Day 30

A month's worth of outfits!

Day 30

I didn't realize how 80s themed this outfit was until I took the picture, but there's nothing wrong with a good theme day; I was kind of punk when I wore the Joker shirt, so maybe this is just in line with that. 

I don't own a lot of sweatshirts or hoodies, but this is one that I adore. It is a comfy crewneck that I usually throw on if I'm on my way to the dance studio or if I have a doctor's appointment. Last semester, I dressed it up with a skirt and loved how it came out, and did the same thing today. The long socks were something I found at Sears, of all places. It's usually hard for me to find over the knee socks that fit comfortably, but these work out great. To keep them up, I safety pin the sock to the tights.

The hair took zero effort. Because of the curls I had yesterday, all I did at night was twist my hair back on either side, pin it with bobbies, and wrap my hair. I took the pins out and had waves! It was a quick and easy way to make sure I didn't heat my hair again

Shopping List:

• Socks: Sears
• Crewneck: Pink by Victoria's Secret

ABW Challenge: Day 29

Day 29

Today was the ACTUAL day for my presentation, in which I led a discussion about PETA, social media, and DKNY. I believe I did well, even though people were not readily participating. But, hey, that's life.

There are many reasons why I love this dress; the color, the cutout, the swingy skirt. It's just a fun dress to wear!

Because I woke up early to work on my online course, I had enough time to curl my hair with a wand. I thank my sister for the idea to do a waterfall braid with wavy hair. I love the way it came out. The curls were defined enough that they were noticeable, but not coiled so tight that I had to brush them out.

Shopping List

• Blue cutout dress: TJ Maxx

ABW Challenge: Day 28

 

Day 24

I nearly forgot what it was like to wear jeans after so many days of wearing skirts and tights. This is a rather mundane outfit compared to the others I have worn: just a Zara tee, grey cardi, and a pair of jeans. After a very long day and night on Wednesday, I wanted to go a little more casual. And really, this is as close to casual as I can get. I felt that both the pearls along with the violet high tops added a little spice to the outfit, enough that I didn't regret putting the outfit together.

Shopping List:

• Grey cardigan: JCP
• Striped tee shirt: Zara

ABW Challenge: Day 23

Day 23

Very dressed up today. I was under the impression that I had a presentation today... Apparently, I had the wrong day, and it isn't until Monday. Although I do feel I wasted a more formal outfit for an informal day, I still love this dress. I got it from Forever  21, and have mixed and matched it with different sweaters, blazers, and tight combos. Earlier, when I thought I had the presentation, I went with just the dress and the waist belt, along with the cute F21 t-strap flats. When I realized my mistake, I decided to dress it down by putting on a blazer. Typically, this would make the outfit even more formal, but because the blazer is oversized, it gave it more of a laid back feel.

Shopping List:

• Grey dress: Forever 21
• T-Strap Bow Flats: Forever 21

ABW Challenge: Day 22

Day 22

This was a cute little outfit I put together. I just recently found this longer body con/fitted pencil skirt in the back of my drawers from Forever 21, and forgot how versatile it can be. It has a floral print all over it, but the colors allows the print to become a part of the skirt rather than the center piece of the outfit. I loved adding the cardigan blue cardigan as a a little color pop from the grey and black of the rest of the outfit.

The highlight of today's outfit was actually the quick, five minute hairstyle I came up with on a whim. Drawing from a few Pintrest pictures, I went with a little braid and bun combination. 

I first parted my hair on the left, and made a small braid on either side of the part. I then put my hair up in a high ponytail, and gathered the hair together and gently rolled it clockwise around the base of the ponytail. Then, I pinned the bun so that it was secure. I then pinned the braids at the back of my head. I just added a clip to the 'do, and voila!






Shopping List:

• Body con skirt: Forever 21
• Tank top: JC Penney's

ABW Challenge: Day 21

Day 21

I am seriously in love with this shirt. I spotted it across a crowded room and through the noise of music and people, I made my way over to it.

Of course, the crowded room and music was provided by a lively Macy's during Black Friday. I was getting pretty frustrated on not finding one thing that I needed to buy, and did not have the patience to stand in a long line to get into Victoria's Secret. So I spotted this shirt and thought, "This will do."

Unlike many of my clothes, its very trendy, as in it will only have a shelf life of a few months before it becomes dated. The cutout sleeves, the bejeweled collar, and the sheer fabric all make this possible. Typically, I try not to spend too much on a trend piece like this. Thankfully, it was only $15 that night. 

Shopping List:

• Ultra Flirt cutout top: Macy's

ABW Challenge: Day 20

Happy Valentine's Day!

Day 20

I put together  this dressy outfit in spirit of the day of love. The floral body con worked great with dark opaque tights. The button up is actually a high low top that I tucked into the skirt. To pair the F21 collar necklace with it, I buttoned the shirt to the top.

Shopping List:

• White high low top: TJ Maxx
• Floral body con: Rainbow

ABW Challenge: Day 19

Day 19

Color or print pops are one of my favorite items in an outfit. A plain outfit can come to life with just one item standing out from the rest. I paired this cowl neck sweater dress from Old Navy with some bright violet tights I have. The color pop looks great with the outfit because of the neutral grey and black colors in the dress. I also went with the tall boots just to keep the outfit balanced between the bright color and the dark shade of the rest of the outfit.

 



I love this simple twist on a side pony. I found a great list of hair tutorials over on Babble which I found pre-Pintrest and still reference. This particular hairstyle was originally posted on Measured By The Heart. At first, I was a little confused on how to do the twist; when I first attempted it, i simply gathered up my hair and spun it around, but the french braid effect was lost. The video serves as a great visual on how to get the hairstyle!

ABW Challenge: Day 18

Made it by 2 minutes!

Day 19

This is one of my favorite shirts that I thought years ago was lost in the abyss that is my room back home. Luckily, my mother came across it in the laundry, and I knew I had to try and incorporate it in an outfit this week. 

I was inspired by the shirt to go with more of a punk rocker looker. I tucked the large shirt into my black body con, with a little going over the top to give it a little volume. You may not be able to tell in the pictures, but the tights have a great leopard print that I found at Target awhile back. I put the look together with some arm candy and a Jac Vanek bracelet (Alex DeLeon of The Cab). 

Shopping List:

• INSPIRE Bracelet: Jac Vanek
• Joker tee shirt: Hot Topic

Pinterest Inspiration

 

                                                                              Source: elisamclaughlin.com via Noelle on Pinterest

I love the idea of tucking hair into a headband. I decide to make it look more like a ponytail as opposed to a bun. The headband also gave the hair volume, which I definitely liked.

ABW Challenge: Day 17

Day 17

There seems to be something magical about this skirt that pictures are not able to capture. If you look closely, you can see that the pink skirt has a gold hue to it that makes it shimmer when the light hits it. When I originally purchased it, I was not aware of this (awesome) effect. Every single time I have worn it, I have received compliments from people, from my boss at work to random people in the hallway.

Because the skirt is so unique, I chose to pair it with simple pieces that would not take away from the skirt itself. Wearing a black sweater and pairing it with dark tights was an easy way to draw eyes to the skirt. I also put my pearl necklace with the outfit, just to add something to the black crew neck.

Shopping List:

• Short Lame Skirt: Forever 21

Pinterest Inspiration

                                                                      Source: model-mode.tumblr.com via Noelle on Pinterest

I love this model's curls and pushed back headband. It reminds me of the Disney cartoon of Alice in Wonderland and her black bow headband. As opposed to doing the soft curls above, I went with pincurls I left in my hair overnight (see this entry for pin).

ABW Challenge: Day 16

So comes to a close Week 4!

Day 16

This not-quite-a-poncho top is one of the oddest, but favorite items I own. I think I mostly like it because I have never seen anything like it. I found it on sale at Rainbow a few years ago, and was a bit confused as to what to make of it. But it was on sale, and I was eager to buy something, so I went with it. 

The top has dolman sleeves and made of a sweater knit material. I sometimes like to pair it with a waist belt, making the top into a cute tunic. It's comfy, but not to the point where I feel like I look sloppy. I thought it worked great with the long necklace and combat boots I wore with it. 

I did a quick version of the vintage hair. This time, I french braided one half of my hair, and didn't leave the curls in as long as I normally would. The first few pictures were taken by the time my hair was a little flatter because I had to tie it back to dance, but you can see in the other pictures that the curls had a lot of volume!

Shopping List:

• Leggings: Pink by Victoria's Secret
• Dolman top: Rainbow

ABW Challenge: Day 15

Day 15

Today, I had a presention in my Public Relations class. Even though the class wasn't until 6pm, it gave me an excuse to dress even better than usual. 

This outfit came out great! Both the skirt and the top are from Forever 21 (bought on two seperate occasions), and I think they are both pieces that can work with a number of different pieces in my closet. The knife pleated skirt can be paired with a tee shirt, blouse, or sweater in any color because of the black coloring. When it's cooler, I opt not to wear tights with it. Seeing as its about 20 degrees outside, I went with the opaque tights. 

Similarly, the shirt works out great because of the black and white print. I can definitely see pairing some burgundy bottoms or even my moto vest I got to make a little color pop. Plus I love the open bow back (When I bought it, I didn't even though it was there; great surprise!).

 

The necklace was something I got from Rainbow awhile ago that wasn't more than two bucks, but I still get compliments on it. I love the seashell and medallion look to it that goes great with the black and white outfit. 

The hair, on the other hand... Didn't love. Tried the flat iron technique I found on polyvore, and although it did come out curly, the curls didn't stay and ended up just making my hair poofy. An easy fix for this was to put my hair in a casual low bun and stick in a pretty flower clip to dress up the outfit as well as put more concentration on the accessory as opposed to the no fuss bun.

Shopping List:

• Ruched Geo Print Top: Forever 21
• Knife Pleater Skirt: Forever 21
• Shell necklace: Rainbow

ABW Challenge: Day 14

 

Day 14

 



I was a little hesitant to wear this outfit. The concept seemed great: lots of solid colors that matched up with the floral printed top I got from H&M. But as soon as I put it on, I felt like Rainbow Brite. As I was already running behind, I didn't second guess myself and went with it.

Apparently, Rainbow Brite would receive much praise from my campus, especially if she were wearing the sneakers. These Levi (who knew they make sneakers?) high tops were given to me by my dad, who knows I have an infinity for any shade of violet.  I had been trying to figure out how to coordinate them into an outfit, but most days I chickened out and went with my oxfords. I nearly did today, too, except I couldn't find the other one (of course, it was under my bed the whole time). 

I think this is a fun, bright outfit that stands out from the cool and dark colors of winter. The top itself is sleeveless, which is why I paired it with my blazer. I think it worked well with balancing the bright blue jeggings. 

I also paired it with my peter pan collar necklace, also from H&M. I seldom wear this top without the necklace. I think the high cut of the top makes the necklace really stand out. 

 Another comment I got today was how nice my hair looked. For this I would like to thank my beautiful, wonderful, brand new.... 

PYT Styling Tool!

My mother originally bought one for herself from one of those mall vendors. As I live on campus now, I find it a lot more difficult to mooch off of her straighnter. Luckily, I was able to find one on Amazon for about $40. I think it is well worth the price since I go to my hair salon to get my hair this straight and smooth for the same price per visit. 

I'm not exactly sure what makes it so different from any other straightener, and I am not sure what importance ceramic plates are to hair. I'll be honest; I don't really care how a product works, as long as it does work without any serious repercussions. But it's great. I love it. Great investment if you have thick or naturally curly hair that needs to be smooth. Tomorrow, I hope to use it as a curler (Pintrest will be used in the making of this hairdo!). 

Shopping List:

• Floral top: H&M
• Collar necklace: H&M
• PYT Styling Tool in Purple Cheetah: Amazon