French Essentials

French Essentials by elle-kelly featuring a purple tote

Classy French Fashion

This was the first week I had for my classes here at the Universite Rennes 2 in Rennes, France. Since arriving week ago, I've been slowly observing how people typically dress around the campus. As I had assumed, people were dressed a lot more formally than they would back home. Actually, since I've arrived here, I haven't seen not one pair of yoga pants/leggings worn as pants/sweats. At all.

I talked with one of my new friends I've made since arriving, and when she asked about what I saw differently, I described to her the typical uniform of people on my campus. She was nearly in shock when I described to her how informal we Americans are for class. But there's no use changing it; we just feel more comfortable, I suppose. 

At any rate, here are some pictures from my first two days of classes.

Besides people dressing more formally, I also noticed another thing with fashion: layers. Black tights, a blazer, and a scarf are essential to fitting in fashion wise here. Luckily I came with plenty in stock, and for my first outfit, I put together a T.J. Maxx dress and Zara blazer (both bought while I was in Atlanta) with a scarf my grandmother had bought me for Christmas and tights I already owned. Of course, I couldn't come here without my beloved oxfords, even though a few of the studs have begun to fall off one of the shoes. In this pic, you can also see my ombre hair in curls. 

Oh, and about dyed hair: I have yet to see a French person with it. The only people on campus who have dyed hair (as in with color that they were definitely not born with) have been American or people from the U.K. I'll get back to you as soon as I figure that out. 

This outfit was made with my ruffle blouse, Zara blazer and skirt, and of course my oxfords. Pretty preppy and a little more monotone than my usual outfits, but I still love how it came out.

Studying Abroad!

I have probably mentioned this before, but now its super official: I'm in Rennes, France for the semester!

I know I mentioned all the awesome clothes I got when I was here last time, but budgeting is a little different when you're here on a school trip compared to actually trying to live here. Not sure when I'll have any haul (probably not til October when I can figure out finances and such), but eventually, I'll put up pics of new clothes. 

I went out tonight with some other students and wore this outfit.

I combined my Macy's top with a scarf I got from NY&C for the last time I was here (seriously, everyone wears scarfs) and a new pair of pants that fit perfect from (of all places) Sears. Yeah, Sears. Nearly embarrassed to say it, but whatever. It's hard finding pants these days that re decently priced straight legs and not skinnys. These were parfait perfect. 

I've mostly been doing French braids while I was here, mainly because I was petrified to plug my straighter in. Last time, even with my adapters and voltage convertors, it blew out. Just plugged it in and *knock on wood* the light is on! Let's hope nothing awful happens...

New Hair: Red Ombre

 

If you weren't already aware of this, I have never had my hair dyed. Ever. But getting prepared to study abroad this semester (leaving in six days!) made me feel like I wanted to do something different. Even though the ombre trend seems to be slowly dying out, I couldn't help but still want it. At first, I was going to go the popular route and get blonde on the ends, but my older sister insisted I get red. So voila, here it is!

My sis did a great job on it. She separated my hair in half (top to bottom) and then separated those sections again (left to right). She inserted hair bands where I wanted the ombre to stop, and then separated the portions in thirds that were to be dyed. Working from the bottom to the top, she applied the dye and let it sit about twenty minutes and washed it out.

I love how it came out. It's something subtle, which was what I wanted.

My sister did a lot of research for the process, and here are some tutorials that were helpful:



Even though I did not dye my whole head red, it gave good tips on dying the dark hair read without bleaching it. I did not have to do it twice, though, since my hair had never been dyed before and the dark color lifted easier than hers. 



I first found this video on Pinterest after seeing her after pictures and adoring them. I used the same brand (L'Oreal HiColor) as she did for my ombre.

Rockstar Part II

Meeting Fall Out Boy AND going to a Panic! at the Disco concert in one summer? My 14 year old would be squealing. My now 20 year old self just feels lucky she has access to a car.

Rock concerts are notorious for making you feel like you're going deaf, that you can't possibly get physically closer to the people next to you (but somehow you do), and walking out with your hair and make-up looking disgusting. The latter is a fashionista's worst nightmare.

Regardless, I made sure to go in style. I got a semi-sheer black top from Zara in Atlanta and paired it with the pants I wore to the FOB concert. I knew that wearing heels or open toe shoes was a no-no for a standing concert, so I instead went with my purple high tops. 

For my hair, I did a simple braid around a high ponytail. I eventually made it into a bun when it got suffocating at the concert since my hair was getting stuck to my neck, but at least my hair is growing!

If interested, head on over to my Instagram (iluvme21) to see more pics from the concert!

Peaches and Cream

Even though summer is known to be the time for neons and bright clothing, neutrals are not to be forgotten. I was inspired to do this set by the image included in the set featuring Demi Lovato from the November 2012 Teen Vogue photo shoot. These neutral peaches and cream patterns/shades can give a soft feel and reminds me of a girly meets boho trend.

Summer Heat: Wardrobe

It's heating up here in Rochester, and that means a lot of different fashion transitions for me. Gone are the jeggings, jeans, and leggings of spring; it's time for skirts! 

I've probably have said this before, but I'll say it again: I don't like shorts. I don't find them flattering on me and have had issues finding a pair that isn't too short but also not made for middle aged women. Since I can't spend the whole of hot weather living off of jeans, I decided last year to instead spend money on skirts. It worked great last year, and I'm doing the same this summer.

I wore this little ensemble to Eastview Mall the other day. Around here, it's the closest to an upscale shopping center that we have. I originally was just going to throw on something not as cute because I didn't think I would see anyone while I was there... Of course, I ran into about 6 different familiar faces (some I did want to see, like a girl I graduated with; others I made sure to avoid all eye contact and hide in the aisles of Forever 21), so it's a good thing I reconsidered.