Pinstripes with a Bow

This outfit was sweet and comfortable - I played up the volume of the boyfriend shirt with skinny white pants. My favorite part about these shirts is the fit - I feel like I'm wearing pajamas! I added a bright green bow to complete the preppy look and my blue handmade necklace for some sparkle. 

Outfit details: Shirt: Gap / Pants: American Eagle / Shoes: TOMs / Necklace: DIY 

Have a beautiful day! 

Nautical and Inspired

I feel like the luckiest girl ever - my school's Spring Break coincided with the loveliest weather! I felt like wearing something comfortable yet chic, and I was only slightly inspired by Xuewei's cute outfit :) I grabbed my favorite skirt, a closet staple of mine since middle school - it's actually a skort! This top is another one of my favorites, because it's light and matches almost everything. The Sperry Top-siders combined with the striped shirt lean a little nautical, but the bright aqua skirt keep the outfit grounded. Thanks to my awesome grandfather for the photos! Since I was home, I got to use our D5100 rather than the iPhone I usually use for my outfit pictures. 

Outfit details: Shirt: Gap / Skirt: Gap Kids / Shoes: Sperry / Purse: Secondhand Vera Bradley / Sunglasses: Google

Here's a shot of some beautiful pink roses my mom took at Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania. I am a complete nature lover - I enjoy just walking around and admiring the plants growing around me! I hope the weather continues to be this nice. Here's to longer days, blossoming blooms, and sunny weather!

Candy Shop

When I put together this outfit, I thought about combining classics - the striped shirt - and Spring pastels - the mint jeans. I added the necklace, something I made in Chinese school in a macrame class, as a fun pop of fruity pink. The colors in this outfit remind me of cotton candy or a candy store! I spotted this denim jacket in my grandmother's room and I asked her where she had found it. This is one of her secondhand store finds! I really like how it balances out the outfit and tones down the colors. Its length helps coordinate the pieces together.

Outfit details: Jacket: Secondhand / Shirt: Gap / Jeans: American Eagle / Shoes: Sperry / Necklace: Handmade 

I just love Spring colors :) 

A quote for your day:

Found on Tumblr

I've been doing a lot of reading for pleasure lately, and this quote reminded me of the books - it's a great motivational quote. 

Have a beautiful Spring day! 

Mixing Prints

For the past three weeks, I've been suffering from itchy and red eyes and a runny nose. A few days ago, my mom introduced me to my new best friend: Allergy medicine! Now that my symptoms are alleviated, I've been feeling so much better. These photos were taken on a day when I had, unfortunately, not started taking the allergy medicine. That also is one explanation for why I usually am not wearing makeup in my photos. I don't like to wear makeup when my eyes hurt, but I think the allergy medicine might change things up a bit! 

Outfit details: Blazer: Lush via Nordstrom / Shirt: Gap / Jeans: American Eagle / Boat shoes: Sperry / Necklace: Forever 21 / Earrings: Anthropologie 

For someone who loves nature as much as I do, being able to deal with my allergies is such a relief. 

Now onto the style theory behind this...I've wanted to wear this floral blazer with something striped for a while, but I've always been wary of mixing prints. I finally decided to give it a try and I like how it turned out. I think having this blog has made me more adventurous in my outfit choices :) I kept the shoes and jeans neutral so my outfit would not be a visual overload. These are one of my favorite pairs of jeans - super comfortable and I like the flare style! It goes with my more bohemian, casual side. 

Hope you're having a fantastic day! Here's a quote for your day. 

Comfy Casual Stripes

To mix things up and play with prints, I incorporated stripes and florals into this outfit. I like how it turned out - and this scarf, a birthday gift from my grandmother, is showing up again! 

Outfit details: T-shirt: LOFT / Cardigan: Abercrombie & Fitch / Jeans: Hollister / Belt: Vintage (used to be my mom's!) / Boat shoes: Sperry / Scarf: Adrienne Landau (gifted) / Earrings: Pandora (gifted)

I did something a little different with my hair this time, instead of my usual half-up braids hairstyle. I made a deeper side part and Dutch braided my hair along my hairline, clipping it by my ear. 

 Aqua is one of my favorite colors. I like how the aqua matches well with the turquoise in my scarf. My scarf also matches my Sperry's, which might be one of my most comfortable pairs of shoes. I love that they're water resistant! I stepped in a puddle the other day wearing these shoes and I didn't even have to worry about ruining my shoes :)

Hope you're having a great day! Here's a quote for your day...enjoy!

Easing into Spring

As the temperature slowly inches its way up, my wardrobe starts to shift. It's time to lose the bulky layers and grab those pretty spring colors!


Outfit #1

Blouse: Charlotte Russe, Cardigan: Forever21, Floral Jeans: American Eagle, Boots: American Rag, Headband: Forever21

Here's an outfit I wore this week to school. Since it's warmer, I layered a light, drapy cardigan with a sleeveless, black blouse. Although you can't tell in the picture, the blouse has a sequined collar to break up the monotony of black fabric. Overall, I tried to keep the focus of my outfit at my floral jeans, which are perfect for spring. I finished the outfit with my favorite pair of lace-up combat boots (so comfy!) and a floral headband for a boho look. Thanks to the NJ HSPAs (a test that juniors have to take in order to graduate), the other grades had three delayed openings which meant that I had time to curl my hair!

Outfit #2

I wore this outfit for a fun trip to NYC with my friends. I recently bought this striped 3/4 sleeve shirt from Forever21 last week. I've been looking for this basic closet staple for the longest time, but I just haven't been able to find the perfect one. I paired the striped shirt with a classic black blazer. I love the slightly shiny material where the sleeves are folded up. It makes the blazer less business and more glam. To spice up the simple outfit, I added a bright pop of color as a tribute to spring. The bright pink necklace is one of my favorite statement pieces. I kept the rest of the outfit simple with jeans and black boots.

Striped Shirt: Forever21, Necklace: Forever21, Jeggings: Hollister, Boots: Jessica Simpson

Love the pretty detailing, and unexpected pop of color!

That's all for now! Hope all of you are enjoying the start of spring as much as I am!

Thoughts on Spring Trends

     A few posts ago, Michelle wrote about the importance of style over fashion. Although I completely agree with her philosophy, I'm the kind of person who's easily influenced by trends. As an avid-shopper of stores like Forever21, I tend to follow the fashion of the moment.
     That's not to say, however, that I only dress according to trends. The most important part, in my opinion, is to feel comfortable in an outfit. No matter how great an outfit looks, it will never look complete without confidence. In several incidences, I've tried to wear an outfit based on a certain trend, but, for the entire day, I felt awkward and self-conscious. I find that, at the end of the day, I always feel the most comfortable in a slightly-over-sized sweater, a scarf, jeans, and boots. I wish I could pull off maxi dresses or punk-grunge styles, but with my short stature (I'm only 5 ft tall) and rather childish face, if I tried wearing any of those pieces, I'd look horrible.
      Back to the point of this post, however, I'd like to share some of my thoughts about several trends this spring season!

Circle/A-line Skirts

A DIY circle skirt from the blog "A Pair and a Spare"

Yes! All the curve-lacking girls/women of the world rejoice! I have a rather straight/boyish/athletic figure with broad shoulders and narrow hips, so when the circle skirt trend came along, I couldn't be happier.

Vertical Stripes

No! I really did try to like this trend. I really did, I promise. No matter how I look at them though, I can't help but imagine pajamas and jail uniforms. Or sleazy salesmen in pin-stripe suits.

Peplum Shirts

Yes! See above rant about circle skirts and lack of curves. Peplum shirts (and skirts!) create the illusion of curves as well and overall, I think they just really spice up an outfit.

Leather/Pleather

Depends. Personally, I think leather/pleather should only be worn from the waist down (excluding pleather jackets, which are classic) and in small amounts. A leather shirt is too overwhelming, usually more "erotic-dancer" or "sci-fi" than "biker-chick" If worn correctly and tastefully, however, leather is the perfect element to toughen up an outfit.

Skater Dresses

Yes! Wow, it's a really a good season for us curve-lackers. These dresses are short and flare out, perfect for my petite and stick-straight body. They're also just adorable when they have cut-outs.

Neons

Love! I think there's something really daring and electric about neon colors that really draws me to them. I love the idea of having that bright, eye-catching pop of neon in an outfit that screams summer.


That's all for now! Let me know what you think about the latest trends!