New Adventures

I've just returned from my trip with my family - it was great! We visited the Grand Canyon, Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon, Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Salt Lake City, and Mt. Rushmore. Now that I'm back, I can pack and get everything ready for college. Xuewei and I have decided that we'll put blogging on hold while we're in school, to give us more time to transition to the new environment. As a parting message, here's one last outfit post, from earlier this summer. I've been making friendship bracelets nonstop - it's so fun and rewarding when you can wear your own creations. I get my designs from friendship-bracelets.net. 

Outfit details: Shirt: American Eagle / Shorts: LOFT / Necklace: DIY / Bracelets: DIY / Sandals: Merrell

The top bracelet was made by my friend. I made the bottom two bracelets.

It's been a great experience writing this blog and I hope to continue blogging in the future. 

Have a lovely day!

Camp Style and Swiss Miss Braids

A typical day at camp for me begins with deciding how to wear my hair. This is usually dependent on the weather forecast for the day. Today's forecast was a high of 82 degrees and sunny. That meant an updo! I decided on this style by The Beauty Department, but also found online in many places. The Beauty Department has a great tutorial. I modified it by making a side part in the front and Dutch braiding the first two inches of hair behind my hairline. I have some short hairs by my hairline and the little front braid helps keep them out of the way. The shirt says Summer Super Stars, the name of the camp. 

Outfit details: Shirt: Old camp shirt / Shorts: American Eagle / Sandals: Merrell / Earrings: Anthropologie 

Here's some inspiration for your day.

In high school, I changed my mindset. I learned to enjoy the process of the events in a day, instead of always focusing on the destination. That's really helping me feel more fulfilled each day. I hope you're having a wonderful day. 

Transformation

Would you believe me if I told you this shirt...was a dress?

Remember this dress? I wore it here.

I really wanted to pair the dress with these mint pants, but when I put them on, the flare of the dress didn't go well with the skinny jeans. I've never been into the dress over pants look. However, I still felt determined to make the two go together...with a little rolling and tying, I turned the dress into a shirt! I put on a blazer to cover up some of the pinning in the back and keep myself warm - perfect for a spring day.

Outfit details: Blazer: Gap / Pants: American Eagle / Top (dress): H&M / Sandals: Franco Sarto / Earrings: Native American shop in North Carolina 

Have you ever gotten creative with your clothes and transformed them? I'm going to try to learn how to sew this summer with my grandmother so I can create my own designs! 

Shine Bright

For this outfit, I wanted to style my powder blue blouse with my white jeans. Both items are classic and simple. I matched the silver crystals on my blouse to silver TOMs, and tried a double braid in the back instead of my usual braids that meet in the middle. My hair is getting long! I'm going to get a haircut soon...only a few inches, though! 

Outfit details: Blouse: Forever 21 / Pants: American Eagle / Shoes: TOMs / Watch: Pierre Cardin / Bracelet: Handmade 

I like the hairstyle, and I think I would bobby-pin it next time instead of using the clips. I've been brainstorming prom hairstyles...there are so many pretty styles! Prom is in a few weeks for me, but some of my friends have already had theirs. They looked gorgeous! This is a fun time of year and the weather seems to reflect everyone's mood. The seniors are starting to feel restless, because our AP and IB tests are over. I think everyone is ready for summer and starting to realize how soon graduation is. I'm trying to enjoy the last few days of high school before summer - and college - begins. 

Have a beautiful day!

Bohemian Maxi

In Xuewei's last post, she styled a pretty maxi skirt with a chambray shirt. Here's how I styled my maxi and chambray. My outfit features a  bohemian, relaxed style. I wanted to be comfortable yet stylish for school.

Outfit details: Chambray shirt: American Eagle / Printed shirt: Delia's / Maxi skirt: TJMaxx / Shoes: TOMs / Watch: Citizen / Belt: Vintage / Necklace: The Hot Jewelry Box (local store) 

The printed top contrasts with the simplicity of the black skirt and the chambray added another layer of comfort and warmth.

I had no idea how to style this black maxi skirt, so I browsed Pinterest for ideas. Whenever I get a new piece of clothing, I always look at Pinterest for inspiration. It's great to see how other ladies have chosen to pair clothes together. Sometimes I come across some ingenious solutions! 

Hope you're having a great day.

Pastel Pairing and Arm Parties

I had wanted to wear pastels in an outfit, inspired by all the cute spring lookbooks I've been seeing! Pastels are so feminine and sweet. I put together this sweater, hand knit by my extraordinarily talented grandmother, and these mint pants. I've had this sweater for ages (literally: think elementary school) but it amazingly still fits me. It's super comfortable and every time I wear it, I think of my grandmother. To keep the outfit from being too colorful, I wore a white neutral shirt. I also played up on the arm party trend with a mix of handmade, gifted and store-bought bracelets! 

Outfit details: Top: Gap / Sweater: Handmade by my grandmother! / Pants: American Eagle / Necklace: Forever 21 / Shoes: Sperry 

The arm parties:

From bottom to top: Vivabeads bracelet, Handmade friendship bracelet (braided rainbow and navy nylon embroidery thread with a chain from a necklace), Citizen watch (gifted)

From bottom to top: Handmade friendship bracelet following this pattern (made it last summer!), Gold bracelet gifted from my mom, Jade bracelet (used to be my mom's)

I love making friendship bracelets and I'm looking forward to making more this summer!

My outfit reminds me of these cute and delicious looking macarons:

Image from Krista Palmu

Let's make today a great day! 

Peppermint Patties

When I saw this hat in my room, I thought it would be a fun addition to this outfit! In this outfit, I combined white, brown, and mint for a slightly bohemian yet coordinated look. When I wear this top, I like to tuck in the front because it looks less bohemian, and leave the back loose so it is more casual. I added the leopard-print shoes to mix up the colors and patterns, while staying with brown colors.

Outfit details: Top: LOFT / Pants: American Eagle / Bag: Dooney & Burke / Belt: Vintage / Necklace: DIY / Earrings: Urban Outfitters / Flats: Nine West 

This hat was a gift from my grandmother. It's going to be a lovely addition to Spring and Summer dresses and skirts! I always make sure to wear plenty of SPF when I go outside. A straw hat like this will be essential for shielding my skin from the sun's rays. I believe that skin protection starts from a young age, and that healthy skin is beautiful skin. I recently read this article about skin care at different ages here on Refinery 29, and I'll be sure to follow it as I get older! 

I always try to remember that happiness and health are the most beautiful accessories a woman can have :)

Blossoming with Contrasts

As the weather gets nicer, I'll be taking more of my photos outdoors! The first photo was taken in my school's courtyard, dedicated to one of our teachers who passed away two years ago. It has a wonderful waterfall and beautiful flowers. I love how it has tables and benches for students to sit, eat lunch, chat, and do some homework. 

When I planned this outfit, I wanted to pair the floral tank, a more formal piece that I usually wear with black blazers and pants for presentations or competitions, with my casual white pants. Since the top is sleeveless, I wanted to add another layer on top. I decided on a navy blazer, since the navy blue color pairs well with the cool tones in the top. I added a headband from LOFT, one of my favorite hair accessories. It's got green and blue stone details and matches so much of my wardrobe since I have a lot of aqua and blue! I love the cute lining of the blazer and how the striped pattern contrasts with the floral top. It brings unity to the outfit because it's light colored, like my pants. 

Outfit details: Blazer: H&M / Top: LOFT / Pants: American Eagle / Shoes: TOMS / Headband: LOFT 

In front of my school is a colorful garden. It's nice to walk outside and be able to see natural beauty all around me! 

My hairstyle is the same as the one in this post.

This was how the sky looked that day. Beautiful. It took my breath away.

This is a tree blossoming beside the Environmental Science Building (where I took the photos for this lookbook). I love it!

Hope you're having a spectacular day! 

Tie-dye Days

Shirt: American Apparel (Tie-dyed by yours truly) / Jeans: American Eagle / Shoes: TOMs

Today's outfit was inspired by the recent crop top trend. Since I didn't feel like buying a crop top from Forever21 (Senior year is expensive!), I decided to dig through my closet for other options. I found this tie-dye shirt I made last year in my AP Chemistry class.

People usually associate tie-dye with little kids, but like with any trend, if worn in the right way, it can become pretty stylish.

Originally, I had picked a crop top (unlike everyone else who picked those typical free over-sized t-shirts you get at events) to tie-dye so that I would actually want to wear it. I'm a huge fan of surprises and unexpected pairings, so naturally I decided to tie-dye a crop top.

I think the crop-top is definitely a mature trend and pairing it with tie-dye keeps the outfit from becoming too indecent for school or too second-grade.

To keep my stomach covered up, (since school's dress code doesn't allow exposure of the belly) I wore high-waisted jeans from American Eagle.

That's it for today!

Chambray Take 2

Shirt: Delia's / Skirt: Forever21 / Shoes: American Eagle

Earlier this month, I put together an outfit mixing chambray and lace for a chic western look. Now, I'm bringing back my chambray shirt and remixing it with a less fancy and more casual, feminine floral skirt.

To bring the two pieces together, I added a boho-inspired brown belt and finished off with brown lace-up booties.

For perfect, lovely spring days, I always like to keep my outfits simple and casual to embrace the weather.

Bright Neon

Cardigan: Forever21, Tank: American Eagle, Shorts: American Eagle, Bandeau: Aerie

Last week, we had some pretty unusually hot weather, hitting the high 70s (almost 80!) degrees Fahrenheit. So, I pulled out my shorts, tanks, and flip flops! I had just bought some new bright bandeaus from aerie and a new tank top from American Eagle, so I threw them together for an outfit that screams summer!

 Although pairing neon with neon and bright with bright can clash, if you pair the right color combinations, the outfit will flow seamlessly.

I paired a neon yellow bandeau with a magenta tank for a color block effect, and then finished off with neon coral shorts which manage to work with the outfit since it's in the same color family as the tank.

A rule of thumb is to keep color blocking to two colors unless you're a major fashionista who can pull it off.

 

The back of the tank is the focus of the shirt (named "Happy Hour Tank" by AE). Although just wearing it like this would be great for the beach or a warm summer day, school dress code, unfortunately, does not permit it. I ended up throwing my grey cardigan with a lace back over it, so that I could still have a bit of a peek-a-boo effect while not breaking any rules. 

To finish the outfit, I wore a new neon pink braided gold bracelet with a heart locket and painted my nails coral and bright pink in a color block pattern.