Thursday, December 29, 2011

Out with the old, in with the new

As the new year approaches I decided it was time to clean out my closet. After taking a load of clothes to a second-hand store, I happily hung up the new clothes I received for Christmas and from post- Christmas sales.

I got some really good deals the other day: Lululemon leggings: $49, Lilly Pulitzer Shift Dress: $45, and a pair of AG Stone-colored Denim for $45 were the highlights of my post- Christmas shopping trip. Looking forward to the fresh start in 2012 with some new outfits!
Out with the old...
In with the new! Lilly Pulitzer Cardigan, J.Crew Minnie Pant, and Sam Edelman Heels.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Wearing PJs out and about?

There has been a trend lately of wearing PJs as normal clothing. A recent article on Refinery29 discusses wearing PJs, UGGs, and other slub-wear for finals week, which I think is totally acceptable as well. But I am not talking about wearing them just around your house on a lazy day or at 1am in the library, but in actual public places during the day. I am not certain how I feel about this trend yet. Sometimes it looks fine, but other times you literally looked liked you were too lazy to get dressed. I believe it entirely depends on your set of PJs.
I am not feeling these PJ bottoms, but I do like her sweater. 
She's pulling this off, but it's not a look for everyone.

Maybe if I come across the right pair of pajamas and am feeling adventurous and lazy at the same time, I'll give this trend a go. What do you think? Would you wear your pajamas out during the day?

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

A review of a college girl's wardrobe staple

The legging/yoga pant. When wearing it you can actually look like you are going to yoga, they can be sufficiently dressed up for a night-out, or can work for everyday, to-class-wear. Also, I am pretty sure yoga pants are not as accepted in the real world so I am going to wear them while I can.

Over the past five years or so I have owned numerous pairs of leggings/yoga pants - some definitely have lasted better than others.  It seems odd to think of them as an investment piece, but if you are a college freshman right now, trust me, they are! So here are the leggings I have owned and the ratings I give them:

Hardtail Forever Yoga Pants
  • American Apparel (Cotton regular):These are great basic and versatile leggings. They work for every possible scenario except formal events. I bought two pairs my freshman year and am about to retire them. They last awhile, but now are faded and stretched out.  Verdict: B+
  • American Apparel (Winter weight): They are called "Winter" for a reason. They are considerably heavier and great to wear to class during the cold months. They do not work as work out pants (way too hot). I have had them for a year and my pair has not faded or lost elasticity.  Verdict: A
  • Hardtail Forever: I have two pairs of their flared, tie-died fold-over, stretch, pants. Each one gets a weekly wear and are best for causal/sporty dress or the gym. They are super long or maybe it's just my 5'1 frame, but I had to have several inches hemmed off. My older pair (2 years old) has started to fade. Verdict: A
  • Forever 21: They are really cheap and you get what you pay for. The leggings are kind of sheer and may work better as tights than actual leggings.  Verdict: C
  • Aerie: I purchased a pair of leggings for approximately $20 so fairly inexpensive. I was pretty excited about the purchase and wore them the next day. They are black leggings with a fold-over top. However, after two wears they have started to fade and pill - super annoying.  Verdict: C-
  • BCBG: I got thick, ribbed, leggings from BCBG at an after Christmas sale last year. I bought them for about $45 and they were originally over $100 if I recall correctly. They didn't have my size so I decided to squeeze into one size smaller, although very form-fitting, I really like this more dressy legging. This legging is not for the gym and I almost wear it strictly going-out at night. Only downside- dry clean only! Verdict: A
  • The North Face: Their yoga pant is good for hiking, lounging around, and basically what you would expect from The North Face brand. One of the issues that I have with the two pairs I own is that they faded quickly. Verdict: B
 I plan on soon acquiring Lululemon yoga pants, which I am very much looking forward to and have faith that they will get a good rating. 

What is your favorite brand of legging and/or yoga pant?

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Funky French

I have been sooo bad at blogging lately. I had some outfits that I fully intended on documenting, but alas it just did not happen. I blame the end of semester craziness, the on-going job search, and the start of the holiday season.

Although I probably should be studying or something like that, I instead decided to paint my nails. Lately, there has been so much cool nail art posted on the web (Refinery29 has some of the best). Usually I try some cool design and either mess it up or decide it looks too ridiculous on my nails. Today, I did a french manicure, but use glittery silver nail polish instead of white tips and I actually like how it turned out!

I will probably not be blogging much until after finals, but then again I could blog more out of procrastination. :)

Monday, November 14, 2011

To dip-die or not?

I am not usually too trendy or daring when it comes to my hair. I can put on a crazy bedazzled clothing, paint my nails all the colors of the rainbow, do cat-eye make-up, but at the end of the day I can take all those off within minutes.

I have always had hair that ranges from just below my shoulders to about 5 inches below my shoulders, except when I decided to cut it shorter the start of my junior year of college (just over a year ago). It was was a long bob an inch or so above my shoulders. Everyone said it "suited me." It was okay, but I very much prefer longer locks. I have been growing my hair out since then. However, I am ready for a change. I think I want to mess with the color, but am nervous. I reallyyy like being blonde. And when I got highlights at the end of the summer, I let my hairstylist also put in lowlights because she said my hair looked bleached out from the sun. The lowlights were supposed to be "golden," but they looked more like a cooper to me. That was the first time I had ever gone back to a salon to get my hair fixed.

SO here is what I am thinking of.....
PSYCH. I don't think blue hair would go over well in the real world and this is totally not me. But I am interested in the dip-die hair look. Mine would look more like these:


So what do think? Should I try it out or should I stick to my tried and true golden blonde? Comments and suggestions are more than welcome!

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Christmas Wishlist (Part 1)

After a long, hard, week, I can't think of anything better to do on a Saturday morning than catch up on schoolwork create a Christmas Wishlist. It is already mid- November, magazines have all published their holiday gift guides, stores have had their holiday decorations up since October - so this is perfectly acceptable.

1. Kate Spade Wallet  -on sale! AND a timeless item that I can have for years.
2. Lululemon Pullover -Cozy motivation to help me make it to the gym in the depths of winter.
3. Lilly Pulitzer Agenda -Will help organize my life for the next year.
4. Iphone - Rethinking my current Blackberry loyalty.
5. Tibi Iphone Case - Iphones do have better cases (point 1 for Iphones). 
And yes, it is a good guess there will be a part 2 to come! On another note here is my non-materialistic wishlist: 1) To be able to spend as much time as possible with my friends and family. 2) To be able to travel as much as possible. 3) To eventually have a job that a truly enjoy doing everyday. :)





Monday, October 31, 2011

If I were I biker chick...

For some reasons lately I have been more drawn to leather, spikes, suede, and I ALWAYS like animal print. For this post, I decided to let my inner- biker chick out. Loving all these pieces!
Wildfox t-shirt
Burberry leather jacket
Zara leather trouser
Sam Edelman heels

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Sick days don't have to mean bad outfits

Pictured: J.Crew tank, Caruso Caruso Sweater, BCBG Vest, James Jeans, and DSW Boots.


Fever, chills, congestion, unfortunately I had it all today, but I had places to be. Drugs, tea, and soup can help and so can a nice outfit. Today, I wore my new BCBG vest - a little biker chick, but pretty sleek.


(P.S. Doesn't picture look a little grainy? I am not sure my Blackberry is cutting it anymore, I think I need an IPhone, maybe a kind father should help out his hardworking daughter - hint hint :) )

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Real life is calling

Career fairs. Interviews. Endless applications. I spend more time on these things than on any of my actual classwork (Midterms were so last year). Real life is calling and I need this dress for it.
J.Crew Teddie Dress $198


I can dress it up or down. It is conservatively cut, but the orange allows my creative side to show. Bonus: one piece and you're done. No worries about having to put multiple pieces together.











And how cute is the pink zipper detail?!

Monday, September 26, 2011

100 reasons to love this shirt

I have always been a fan of Wildfox Couture, and I especially like this t-shirt. The shirt has a 100 reasons to be happy on it. It may seem like a pretty basic idea, but Wildfox hits all the perfect phrases to make me smile. At this moment, it's number one on my wish list!

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Shop Downtown Ann Arbor

The college town of Ann Arbor, MI has a decent amount of unique boutiques to fill the college fashionistas needs and other unique non-apparel, specialty shopping. There are four main shopping districts in Ann Arbor: Kerrytown, Main Street, State Street, and South University.


Kerrytown
It is a charming little neighborhood with brick streets and an artsy-vibe. There are a few apparel shops, but most notable is the excellent Farmer's market that takes place there every Wednesday and Saturday. Kerrytown is also famous for Zingerman's Deli.

Main Street
Bob Seger's "Mainstreet" is written about Ann Arbor's Mainstreet. It has the best restaurants in Ann Arbor along with upscale shopping. It caters to an older-set of locales, visitors, or students take their parents there when they visit. If you have a free afternoon, it's fun to stroll down this street and the cross streets - you'll never know what you'll find!


State Street
State Street is one of my favorite areas to shop and is very close to campus. The best clothing store are Bivouac, Urban Outfitters, the Get-up, Pink Pump, Lululemon, Allure, American Apparel, and Poshh. Poshh is going out of business in the end of October though :( Also, for the first time ever, State Street will be holding a fashion week this October!

South University
Another shopping district very close to campus where all the popular undergraduate bars are located. It includes YCI, a great higher-end boutique. Underground Printing is headquartered there and will fill any of your apparel printing needs. They also carry a lot of fun Michigan apparel already printed.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Not a borrowed, stolen, or bought guy's shirt

I am not wearing a guy's button-up in this photo (that would look a lot baggier on), but it kind of does give off that effect. I have been wanting to wear this shirt-dress since I got it a few weeks ago from Urban Outfitters, but it never quite felt right when I put it on. It was still a little too fall-looking for a couple of weeks ago and not quite right for the bar scene either. It finally looked right today paired with my Børn boots (which I am totally in love with and you'll probably see a lot of this Fall)!

Monday, September 19, 2011

Wish I was there

Hopefully, I can be in New York next year for Fashion Week! Here are some of my favorite looks from the shows....
Badgley Mischka
Bill Blass
Marc Jacobs
Ralph Lauren

Naeem Khan
Alice + Olivia

Thursday, September 15, 2011

You can never have enough leopard

I spent this evening applying for jobs Sally Hansen Salon Effects. My room mate and I discovered them this summer and I have been obsessed ever since. Best of all no smudging! My favorite color/pattern by far is "Kitty Kitty."
In the works...
RAWR!

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Wearing it while I can

After a weekend of crazy weather, we finally have a nice warm day. I took full advantage of this knowing that in a few short weeks I'll probably be pulling out the parka (maybe slight exaggeration, but then again maybe not).  Today I wore: turquoise necklace: Ralph Lauren, jean jacket: Gap,  white tank: J.Crew, suede eyelet skirt: BCBG, belt: American Eagle, floral wedges: Børn, slop-fest of a ponytail: 100% me.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Couldn't just pick one

It is another rainy day in Michigan, and I am not going show you my lazy, rainy day outfit. Instead, here is the happy part of my outfit - my layers of bracelets. Today, I just couldn't pick one (or two or three) and I am totally okay with it.  On my wrist: a gifted bow bracelet I have had for years, floral sparkly bracelet from my summer internship, my charm bracelet, friendship bracelet with my New York friends, and my watch from Micheal Kors. Head's up - you'll be seeing a lot of the watch, I wear almost everyday.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Last First-day of school

Photo Credit: Katie Wood
With no post-grad plans yet, today was my last first-day of school. Although I didn't put quite as much thought as I used to into my back-to-school outfit, I can't deny putting any thought into it. Some thought also had to go into my outfit because of our sudden fall weather. On Saturday, I was sweating it out in a sports bra and shorts and today it was 50 degrees out when I woke up! My first day back was pretty easy, hope everyone else going back to school today had a good day as well!

Saturday, September 3, 2011

I actually do need more hangers

I am still trying to get into a posting rhythm being new to the blogging world. It has been a crazy week - starting back up working at our school newspaper, living on friends' couches, moving in, and the general welcome week madness. I moved into my house for the school-year yesterday. Although I love my room, it is lacking one important essential item - a closet! I did not spend the day mourning being closet-less as would think any fashionista would, but embraced the challenge. I already had a room divider that bought while living in New York City this summer, all I really needed was to buy a hanging rack. My clothes may be less hidden in my room, but hey, I love my clothes so why not put them on display. However, I did underestimate the size of my dresser and will be needing some more hangers!

Friday, August 26, 2011

Too Cool for School

Long gone are the days of back-to-school classroom shopping lists. Despite how much I did not want to return to school, I would always gladly go back-to-school shopping. New notebooks, pencils, colorful erasers, and most importantly a new fall wardrobe. Now my back-to-school list consists of mainly overpriced textbooks.