Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Mallzee: A Unique Shopping Experience

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Hello! I know that I posted about Mallzee last August but the site is now up and running! Ready for customers!

So what really is Mallzee? Mallzee is a website that provides shoppers with a truly unique shopping experience. You "create your perfect mall" with your favorite stores and brands. And get this- Mallzee has over 300 stores/ brands to choose from! Crazy, right? A few of my faves are Urban Outfitters, Asos and Forever 21.

Another great thing about Mallzee is that it is similar to shopping with friends. But online. The whole thing is very social.

Mallzee also has "Mallzee dollars" which you earn when you spend money in your "perfect mall." Those "Mallzee dollars" can be used to buy exclusive products or as store credit.

And now a little bit of a giveaway....Mallzee has graciously offered the first ten people who click through to sign up for an account a free VIP membership! Who doesn't want to be VIP? VIP memberships provide awesome discounts, offers and first access to features in near future. So sign up for a Mallzee account HERE- I don't think that you will regret it!

**Mallzee did not provide me with monetary compensation for this post. I posted about this topic because I thought Mallzee sounded like something that you guys would be interested in.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

4 Reasons Why I Adore Pins

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Hello! Boy, is it getting hot here in Richmond! Today temperatures soared up into the high 80's and will continue to soar into the 90's later this week.

For this look, I started styling with this airy drawstring skirt. The soft green color of this skirt and the drawstring waist cause me to come crawling back to it time and time again. No matter what season, you are guaranteed to spot me in this skirt multiple times. Did I mention that it only cost me a dollar when I thrifted it in May 2011? Talk about scoring a good deal! You can check out other ways that I have styled it here, here and here

I chose to stick with a relatively neutral color scheme and paired it with this navy and white striped top. Ah, another favorite! Worn time and time again and again and again. Of course, I couldn't resist mixing patterns and slipped into my leopard print boots. I accessorized with a pair of dark tortoiseshell sunglasses and a pile of pins. 

Recently, I've been dolling my looks up with pins and ditching other jewelry entirely. Today, I wore an assortment of different vintage pins including a "Dressed to Kill" button, "U.S." pin from WWII, Delta flying pin and a simple golden pin. A few months ago, I hardly ever wore pins but they have definitely grown on me. There are four main reasons why I adore pins:

1. The way that you can mix and match pins to entirely customize the look has me swooning over pins. You can pair similar pairs together to create harmony in your look or juxtapose opposing pins together to create contrast.

2. Vintage pins can be purchased for practically pennies as opposed to more expensive necklaces, earrings and bracelets. I believe that my "Dressed to Kill" pin cost about $3, my airline pin $1 and other small pin 50 cents!

3. Pins are so easy and never get in the way. I'm pretty sure that we've all had those days where our bracelets created a racket in a room of complete silence or the clasp to our necklace won't stay hidden by our necks or one of our dangle-y earrings has slipped right out of our piercing. Been there, done that. And I can safely say that I've never had any of those problems with pins.

4. Pins can be worn on bags, shirts, dresses, etc. Unlike other types of jewelry, pins do not have one specific place in which they are worn. They look just as good pinned on a backpack as they do on the collar of a blouse.

I hope that you guys are enjoying your last week of May!

Assorted pins: Vintage
Striped top: Vintage
Drawstring skirt: Vintage DKNY
Leopard print boots: Target
Cat-eye sunglasses: c/o Giant Vintage

Sunday, May 26, 2013

3 Reasons Why Clutches Dominate

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Hello! Happy Memorial Day Weekend! Memorial Day Weekend has always been one of my favorite weekends because it signifies the beginning of the summer (and commemorates those who have fought and died for the United States). The weekend is filled with pool openings and other summer festivities such as BBQ's. It also puts me in the summer "mindset." No longer am I thinking about essays, tests and projects but about sunny days and waking up late. And luckily, I only have one more week of high school left. Forever. It is kind of crazy to think about but I am just so ready to be done with high school! Yes, a lot of friendships have been formed and memories have been made but I am ready to begin the next stage of my life.

Hermes (hermès): A French brand responsible for the production of luxurious silk scarves among other things. Today, I channeled my inner Parisian and donned this knockoff Hermes scarf. Tied loosely around my neck, this nautical scarf is the perfect example of a summer scarf. Who said scarves cannot be worn in the summer?

To emphasize the golden-yellow color present in my scarf, I slipped into a yellow pair of high-rise shorts. High-rise shorts always elongate my figure and therefore, are worn essentially on repeat during the summer. I played around with the proportions in this look and paired a gray long-sleeve crop top with my high-rise shorts. Pairing cropped tops and high-rise bottoms will never get old in my book! Like my yellow shorts, my white heart sunglasses brought out the colors (white this time) in my light-weight scarf. Basic gray oxfords and a gray clutch completed my look.

Now a little more about clutches in general and this specific clutch....

There are three main reasons for my appreciation of the clutch.

1. Clutches make shopping a whole lot easier as I find them very convenient to carry around as I shop. I just tuck it under my arm and I am good to go. Very hassle free. No worries about it hitting something in the store or weighing down my shoulder.

2. They are the perfect size for holding everything that I need. Not too big, not too small; as Goldilocks would say, "just right!"

3. Clutches command elegance and sophistication.

This lovely clutch (featured above) has been in my possession for about a year and a half now (first worn on the blog HERE). The second that I saw it lying upon the shelves of my favorite thrift store, I knew it had to be mine. It is vintage Etienne Aigner and cost less than $10. It's odd to ponder how some of the items in my wardrobe are much older than I am. This clutch is likely from the 1950's which means that it has been around for more than 40 more years than I have.  Interestingly enough, I find that notion rather appealing.

This clutch has proved to be a timeless piece that I foresee will remain with me for the rest of my life. It absolutely breathes grace and poise.

Yellow shorts: Vintage
Gray crop top: Forever 21
Nautical scarf: Vintage
White heart sunglasses: c/o Giant Vintage
Gray clutch: Vintage Etienne Aigner
Gray oxfords: Forever 21

***I am linking this post up to IFB's Weekly Project, "Carry Your Clutch." If you are a blogger and aren't yet a member of IFB, I would definitely recommend that you look into setting up a (free) account. Daily, I check IFB for the latest fashion blogging news and advice. IFB is filled to the brim with helpful tips and tools for bloggers. I could spend days telling you about IFB but it will be more fun for you if you explore it yourself. If you have any questions about my experience with IFB or something along those lines, post them in a comment below and I will try to answer it. 

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Summer 2013 Bucket List

Hello! Today, I am sharing 25 activities on my "Summer 2013 Bucket List." Of course, this list doesn't encompass all of the things that I would like to do this summer. But it does highlight some of the more high priority activities that I would like to complete. Each time I complete one of the activities, I will blog about it and by the end of the summer hopefully I will have a post for each of the following:

1. Go to a flea market
2. Watch The Virgin Suicides
3. Take a bunch of Polaroids
4. Go to Maymont
5. Go to a roller-skating rink
6. Read Lolita
7. Go to a festival
8. Shopping in Carytown
9. Go to a drive-in movie theater
10. Have a picnic with friends
11. Go to my lake house with friends
12. Order a pizza
13. Go to a farmer's market
14. Bowling
15. Thrift shopping
16. Turn 18!
17. Experiment with temporary tattoos
18. Go to the Byrd theater in Richmond
19. Fro-yo with friends
20. Spend a day at the VMFA
21. Buy my first lottery ticket
22. Miniature golf
23. Make freshly squeezed lemonade
24. Get my nails done
25. Ice-cream with friends

What's on your bucket list this summer?

Monday, May 20, 2013

Young at Heart

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Hello! Today, vintage dominated my look. My look began with this lovely heart-print dress. This heart-print dress is the absolute perfect dress for summer. Why?
  • The versatile pattern allows me to pair it with essentially every piece in my wardrobe
  • The light-weight fabric and sleeveless style keep me cool when temperatures outside soar
  • The dark-navy color is one of my favorite colors for summer
Today, I chose to layer a forest green blouse over top of the dress. I love the way my collar peeks out from under the blouse. Très chic! A vintage airlines pin was pinned on to my blouse.

Retro hair and makeup presided in my look today with winged black eyeliner, cherry red lip gloss and a curly half up-half down hairstyle.

Heart print dress: Forever 21
Green blouse: Vintage
Airline pin: Vintage
Red lipgloss: Mary Kay
Green flats: Vintage

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Williamsburg, Virginia

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Hello! These photos were taken ages ago in Williamsburg, Virginia. They were taken on my way back to Richmond after my stay in Nags Head.

This is quite possibly my favorite spring/summer outfit so far. It embodies all of my "fashion favorites" including a neutral color palette, vintage pieces and a slight dose of leopard print. My outfit began with my olive colored romper. I then decided to layer a cream-colored skirt over top of the romper and throw a cream-colored knit sweater over my shoulders. Who says you can't still layer in the spring? Next, I grabbed my wide-brimmed straw hat. This hat is seriously perfect for protecting and shading my face from the sun. However, I recall that I had a bit of difficulty keeping it on my head in Williamsburg as the wind was blowing like mad.

For this look, I accessorized with a wrist-full of gold bracelets, a leopard print belt and a stylish pair of sunglasses. My vintage heeled sandals added the finishing touch to the look.

Olive romper: Forever 21
Cream skirt: Vintage
Heeled sandals: Vintage
Leopard belt: Vintage
Knit sweater: Forever 21
Sunglasses: c/o Giant Vintage Sunglasses
Wide brimmed hat: Vintage
Gold bracelets: Assorted (vintage and Cross Roads)

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Light As Air

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Hello! I hope that you guys have been enjoying May and the wonderful weather that May brings with it. I know that my posts have been few and far in between so far this month. However, I should (hopefully) be posting regularly throughout the rest of this month.

My outfit today embraced the delicate pastels that I am rather fond of. I styled my look around this lilac & white checked dress. One of the things that I like about this dress is the retro shape; it is very fitted from the waist up and from the waist down, the skirt of the dress flares out. I adore these "fit and flare" types of dresses for two reasons:

1. I cannot resist anything retro or vintage inspired! This dress style was widely popular in the 1950's.
 
2. The shape is very flattering to my figure. "Fit and flare" dresses immediately draw attention to the waist and legs.

To emphasize the lightness of the colors present in the dress, I donned a pair of white canvas flats as well as a pair of white heart sunglasses and a white daisy chain. The way the pastel colors combined to create a light-as-air, dainty look thrilled my aesthetic.

And of course, I had to grab an ethereal, purple flower to pose with for the photos!

Purple & white checked dress: Isaac Mizrahi for Target
White canvas flats: Wet Seal
White daisy chain: DIY
White heart sunglasses: c/o Giant Vintage

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Stripes Addiction

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Hello! It's hard to believe that it has been a week since I last posted. Sorry for my absence but this week has been full of studying, tests and looming deadlines. AP exam week or rather any exam week is never much fun. My afternoons and evenings this week have been spent studying, working and taking Pilates. And I also spent last weekend studying and working for the most part. However, I did manage to make an appearance at Richmond's Annual Arts in the Park for a few hours on Saturday morning. Although it was a bit chilly outside, Elizabeth and I enjoyed it. It's always interesting to see various types of art work at the event and the different kinds of people in attendance. One of my favorite things to do (when at an event like Arts in the Park) is to see what other people are wearing. Street style blogs are great, don't get me wrong but I prefer to see street style in person.

The outfit featured above is from sometime last week. I chose to style my look around yet another one of my striped thrift store finds. This top only cost $1- now that is what I call getting a good deal! It's kind of funny because although the look featured above was from last week, I am currently wearing the same striped top. Like I have said numerous times before, I have a severe addiction to patterns especially stripes and leopard. I just cannot resist them; their versatility never ceases to amaze me.

For this look, I paired the striped top with a pair of black ripped denim and black combat boots. The ripped denim and black combat boots served to slightly edge up my look. Gold bracelets and a classic pair of Giant Vintage Sunglasses completed my look.

Ripped black jeans: BDG via Urban Outfitters
Striped shirt: Thrifted
Combat boots: Target
Gold bracelets: Assorted (Vintage and Crossroads)
Classic sunglasses: c/o Giant Vintage Sunglasses

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

May 2013 Wishlist

May 2013 Wishlist

 
Hello! Today, I just thought that I would share my May 2013 wishlist with you guys. All of the pieces are such classic pieces. Oh, if only these pieces resided in my wardrobe!
 
1. High-rise bikini. It is almost time to break out your bathing suits- trips to the beach, afternoons spent lounging by the pool and days spent at the lake are soon to come. This high-rise bikini is my ideal bikini- I adore the retro vibe!
2. Madewell sandals. So versatile! Almost anything could be worn with these sandals. Now, if only they were a little bit less expensive....
3. White floppy hat. Great for (stylish) protection against the sun.
4. Black round sunglasses. I love the hippie-chic vibe of these shades.
5. Black crop top. Perfect for pairing with denim cutoffs or over any patterned dress.

What's on your wishlist this May?