#OOTD: One shirt, two occasions

Sheer Sleeveless top (express, $20USD), slim cut indigo wash jeans ($16, Mossimo @ Target), hematite necklace (Forever XXI, $4USD), Pammy wedges (Steve Madden, $32 USD)

Sheer Sleeveless top (Express, $20USD), Black cardigan ($8USD, Mossimo @ Target), Black Skinny Jeans ($12USD, L.E.I. @ Walmart), Adriana pumps ($49USD, Guess)

#OOTD: Happy Holidays

Since I've gained quite a bit of weight, the challenge now whenever buying clothing is choosing something that will transfer easily as I lose weight. So for my holiday dress this year, I decided on a top and skirt instead of a dress to give me more versatility.  The skirt actually had a top that completely matched but Forever XXI didn't have it in my size. I then opted for a basic black top. I'm actually more partial to this look instead. It's more me. 

 

 

Black Crop Top ($8USD, Forever XXI), Jacquard metallic pencil skirt ($12USD, Forever XXI), hematite 3 stud  pendant necklace ($4USD, Forever XXI), Adriana pumps ($49USD, Guess)

#Rant: Forever XXI v. H&M

I went in Forever XXI yesterday and was intrigued by the similarities to H&M. My local mall will literally have them head to head when the H&M finally opens- right across the hall from a bigger better Forever XXI that opened within the month. 

Basics Section. 

I know Forever XXI has always had basics but they've actually sectioned them off and are really pushing the prices lower than they've ever been. #ftw

Saw a lot of these on Black Friday in H&M. 

Workout/Activewear Section 

(not shown)

I believe H&M has had their own section for a while. It's nice to see Forever XXI shedding light in all aspects of life. 

OOTD: Jacquard Pants

As every other time that I've purchased a next article of clothing, I get so excited to wear it that I make plans to wear it the next day- this time being no exception. 

Wore this to church (yes, mine is super progressive- no sinner sweater necessary) and was pretty comfortable overall.

Vest ($7, Forever XXI), Pants ($24, XOXO @ Macy's), Wedges ($17, Aldo)

Barrette ($2.50, Icing), Necklace ($4.50, 5•7•9), Lipgloss ($7, Maybelline Colorshow)

OOTD: Sheer Tank

Was looking for a way to incorporate this sheer chiffon top that I scored from Garage to my work Wardrobe and this was the first attempt.

Shirt ($3, Garage), Cardigan ($16, Mossimo @ Target), Cross Necklace ($4.50, Forever XXI), Jeans ($20, Guess @ Plato's Closet), Wedges ($52, Aldo)

OOTD: Nautical

I broke two personal rules at the same time because I felt that these two needed each other. I almost never wear red. Also usually steer away from horizontal stripes as a general preference as well. Would've rathered gold with this 

Nailed: More fun with the stamper

This is the result of not wanting completely nude nails.

OOTD: The only floral i'll ever wear

I'm not a fan of white. Never have been seeing as my makeup leaves orange baseball field residue on any white fabric that gets within my face's force field. Having a shirt with little orange fingerprints all over it by noon makes me look like a dirty girl-and not in a good way.

This shirt, from Target, hasn't been seen in this blog for a while, partially because it was so challenging to pair. I think I finally got it right though.

I decided to make my hourglass work for me. I pulled the only pair of khaki shorts I own, courtesy of Forever XXI, and decided tio wear them with this top, throwing a belt (also Forever XXI) on top to create a waist- 86ing the original problem. I also decided that I would wear my BCBG espadrilles (not shown) with it to stay with that light, summery feeling.

OOTD: When leather meets pumps

Is there a reason that I look like a biker bitch in this picture? Like don't get me wrong, I absolutely love looking like a badass and this outfit screams it.
And the weekend before, I was in Orlando freezing my ass off. 45-55 degree weather can be brutal for a Miami girl especially if your sister is being a bitch and takes the only warm jacket that you brought because it happens to belong to her. It worked out because I ran into Ross at 8:45 & walked out with this bomber jacket at 9:10. It has turned out to be the perfect missing part of my wardrobe. I've put it with so many past outfits that now look completely different. Then you throw in those badass heels & its the perfect recipe.
Jacket.
Ross.
V-neck.
Forever XXI
Jeans.
PacSun.
Heels.
Charlotte Russe.

OOTD: Changing it up with some boots

I'm on vacation in Orlando & like an idiot, packed one of my black boots. So the second night I was here, a cold front had me looking through my suitcases frantically for my boots, upon which I could only find one foot & had to buy another pair of boots to protect my feet from that weather. This photo was actually taken in Miami (I had to go home for a night to take care of some things) & I decided to switch it up from the usual uniform of sandals & it made the difference. Apparently, boots change an entire outfit.

Cardigan.
Macy's. This is what made the look classy.

Top.
Forever 21.
I also have this in blue as well.

Shorts.
Ross. They're all baggy now that I lost weight.

Boots.
Traffic. Newest addition.

OOTD: Fail from the calves down.

Head to Toe Example of the Fail.

A closer look at the top.

There is always that one day when you know that you've made the wrong decision once it's too late to change. I live 30 mins away from my job so I shouldn't have ignored that nagging feeling I had that morning. I had on some suede BC loafers that would've been 10 times cuter and I literally changed right before I left. Now, seeing the proof in pictures, I know the next time I wear this outfit, I'm going to put this with different shoes.

Top.
Forever XXI. Bought for Easter one year but it has this great pleather flower detail, which sold me on the top.

Cardigan.
Target. Threw this over the top to hide my bra (couldn't find the right one that day)

Jeans.
PacSun. They are Hermosa cut black jeans. Greatest invention ever.

Boots.
Traffic.So much cuter with other stuff.

OOTD: The challenge of a long Button down.

Frontal View.

Side View

Back View

First time wearing this combo. I have this extra long button down from Express (they went through one of those shirtdress phases a couple of years ago) and originally purchased it because I thought I could possibly wear it as a dress. It has always been a challenge to see what to put on top of this top to really make it sing. I've tried different things like belting it with both broad & skinny belts and other vests with it but this vest is the only one that brought out the classy quality of the top & played off of the length.

Top.

Express. The buttery yellow color is what sold me on this top. I believe it was on clearance when purchased.

Vest.

Forever XXI. I bought this when vests were super popular & I decided that I was going to have a shopping spree on my credit card. I literally just picked up one of every vest in Forever XXI. (This is back when I had no self control when it came to retail.) I hardly wear this vest so it was just something that I tried on with this top in frustration & it worked.

Jeans.

Guess (by way of Plato's closet) Staple. These are literally my new favorite jeans.

Shoes.

Steve Madden. Staple. These heels have definitely affirmed my belief that nude is the new black.

Halloween 2010: Year of the Ringleader

This Halloween I decided to be a ringleader.

Let me throw out there that I have no plans for Halloween

I wanted it to be my own so I decided to do my costume from scratch.

Hat & Whip

Purchased from a Halloween costume shop in Orlando. Could not find these items down here in Miami so I figured that I needed to look while I was visiting and voila I found the perfect accessories. Without them, this outfit would be nothing. The hat has a birdcage on it. 

Shorts.

Forever XXI. I found these babies in Plato's Closet. 

They were my size and everything. They're a pair of pinstriped minishorts :) My other option was to wear black tights but I ideally wanted to wear fishnets & shorts for this costume.

Fishnets.

WalMart. They're coming up on their Halloween game with accessories, shoes, and the like. 

Don't sleep on WalMart!

Boots.

Alloy. Actually purchased from a friend to be a winter option but the main objective was to have them for burlesque purposes. Since they're knee-high, I thought they'd be perfect for a ringleader and will also try another option with heels as well.

You say DYI? How is this DYI? The vest was where most of the work really came in.

Vest.

Forever XXI. A lot of work had to be done on the vest since I found it all abandoned & alone in the clearance section. (F21 went through this whole circus phase that benefited me greatly & anyone else trying to be Minnie Mouse this year lol) The vest was a large when I found it so that was great for my bust, by horrible for my shoulders since my shoulders are really small. There was a lot of work to be done & I knew that when I bought the vest but saw great potential & thought I wouldn't find another one like it so I purchased it and got to work.

Here are some process pictures because I spend a lot of time doing work on it so that it would fit me as best as possible.

 This photo is of where I had to cinch the bust a second time to make sure that the vest contours correctly to my figure. I had to do this by eye since I'm not a seamstress or anything, this is just a hobby for me.

When I bought this vest from the store, it only had 3 widely spaced apart, poorly attached hooks fasten it. They looked as if they would pop if they exprienced any slack so I headed to JoAnn's & got a package of hooks to fill the gaps & some thread to reinforce the hooks already present. I added 4 new hooks between the gaps so that the vest looks uniform and closed when fastened.

Will upload an update when I wear it this Halloween.

OOTD: Another cold day in NY

Hat.

Zumies. Okay so it was the only hat in the store but I loved the shape & the colors went with my peacoat. (It's a purplish blue). I wanted to add to the winter wardrobe which is fairly scarce. 

Top.

Forever XXI. (by way of Plato's Closet) It's like a cowlneck, knit dress with a kangaroo pocket in the front. It looked so warm that I had to take it. I also wanted to change it up so that it wasn't a thermal & jeans weekend)

Scarf.

Hot Topic. Got it during the famous 50% off clearance that they have every couple of months. I also pair this with solid racerback tanks because I'm not able to do the whole constant sweater thing in Miami.

Thermal

Miley to the Max (by way of WalMart, charcoal one shown here)

I ended up wearing one underneath because the 53 degree weather was freezing for me!

Tights.

Forever XXI. I literally have 5 pairs of solid black tights, so one day in F21, while picking up yet ANOTHER pair decided... No! Today is the day that I am going to be adventourous! I will not buy another pair of black tights! So I bought this electric blue pair which pretty much surfaces when I'm tired of wearing black :)

Boots.

Traffic. Because I refuse to pay more than 25$ for a pair of boots since I live in Florida & I would slap myself if I bought something expensive that I only end up wearing 10 days max out of the year.

OOTD: Kimono!

Top.
Forever XXI Vintage. Got this from a friend. It's something I may not wear to work again without a cami underneath because it's pretty low cut. I like the Kimono style and it definitely flatters my 28F bust. I'm thinking of making some alterations to the sleeve because they're bell sleeves and were definetly driving me crazy & getting in my way the whole day.

Pants.
Corduroys that I actually bought to wear to the hotel back when I had no uniform. I was saving them for warmer weather but when you gain a pants size, sometimes you have to improvise. Since the top is pretty busy, I didn't want to introduce more color so I chose the solid black.

Shoes.
Classified (by way of Ross) Chose to pair a very simple sandal with this to tie it together.

OOTD: Wrap Top

Okay so a friend of mine gave me a few tops that she could no longer use & I've been incorporating them into my wardrobe. This is one of them.

Top. 

Express. Its one of their more classic pieces & the color combo is unique. It reminded me of what they used to make when Express was all about versatile wraps.

Headband. 

Forever XXI. Got it for a bad hairday & everyone in my office just loves it. 

Pearls.

Reappearance. I love these.

Jeans.

American Eagle. Like back in the day when I used to work there! They don't sell or make jeans like this anymore, - I mean, they are AE Artists but when artists were actually cut for everyone, not just a whole stretchy mess like they are now.

Shoes. 

Bakers. Buckle clackers. I love these shoes.

OOTD: Lace top makes it's debut

 

I purchased this top from Target for like 3$. At first I was looking at it for Lingerie because I think lace is interesting but not durable but then I started to play around with it and realized that this top has some potential on it & it's not something you see people wear everyday so it should be unique to my collection.

Top.
Target.

Undershirt.
Forever XXI. Yes, 90% of this blog is Forever XXI- I should buy stock in that store with the amount of money I've spent there. I chose to layer with this because the undershirt is white which I though would make the lace pop, it's neutral colored & racerback so that it would stay as close to the lace sillouette as possible.

Sweater.
Ross. I bought this to replace another draped sweater that I had. You'll see it in some of my older pics. The old one was black. I literally bought this for the sole reason of throwing over tank tops for work and so that I don't freeze to death in the movies. I happened to wear this outfit on a movie day.

Jeans.
Victoria's Secret. (by way of Plato's Closet) I refuse to pay full price for a pair of jeans. In fact I refuse to pay over 25$ for a pair of jeans- here meaning designer pair of jeans. Yes, I'm cheap but the way I see it, the less I spend on a pair of jeans, the more I can spend on a few more tops while shopping. I remember the day I found this cut in Victoria's Secret & I was overjoyed that I actually found a pair of jeans that did not have to be hemmed, cut or folded. These were the right length for my 4'10 frame... the hem fell right below the ankle and they were skinny jeans for a girl with booty in the pants. However, I was not going to pay 60$ for them, so when I saw them at Plato's Closet for 15$ I said 'don't mind if I do!' and happily paid for them.

Sandals.
Coach. (by way of Macy's) I don't think I've updated enough things to tell you how exactly I feel about Coach yet. But I have  a definite obsession. I'm a picky one though, I only like the Classic Signature- and with the Modern one they have now, they have not seen my money for a while (that & the fact that I'm pretty broke & saving money like a banshee) These sandals were purchase for a birthday present to myself & they were a pretty sweet buy. They're Classic signature on the sole & I can wipe them off so 30$ for durable designer sandals is not bad at all!

OOTD: Classic 50's Secretary meets Sunday Morning best.

I've always been a sucker for the 40/50's inspired wardrobe. It's always been something that stood out to me as timeless, classic and with a beautiful pinup property to it. I do wish I had a better picture of this outfit but I'll update with a better one once I wear it again.

Cardigan.

Staple! I got that from Target. It seems to be the only place to get a simple decent cardigan nowadays.

Top. 

Forever XXI. One of their premium tops for work. I actually chose to buy this every though it was a size too large because the detailing on the front (pleather flowers) captivated me. It has a smock quality to it since the sleeves are capped in a way. And since the front is adorned so heavily I have no need for a necklace when I wear this! Just a pair of studs will do it :) I have no idea how the hell I am going to wash this shirt (I may have to take it to get dry-cleaned) but it is a work of art & I'm proud to own it.

Skirt. 

Forever XXI, clearance rack. This is a purple satin skirt. Lol when I bought it, a friend of mine told me that I was crazy and would never wear it again. I haven't worn it since Easter. She might of been right, but no one wears a purple skirt. It's something I'll say that is unique to my wardrobe. I'm gonna wear it again soon. Haha, I have no idea where but everntually.

Shoes. 

Rampage by way of... Ross? or Marshalls? I can't remember, the only thing I do know is these are a pair of peeptoe pumps that I refuse to let go of.. even if the shoe repair people ruined them and they sqeak when I walk in them. They're patent with a ruffle going across the front and just classy. I love them.

OOTD: I love a man in Uniform

This outfit was based around this top when I decided that I wanted something to rep my man and have a patriotic feel. One of the girls on Army Love brought up the link & I immediately went over to Forever XXI to try to purchase one as soon as I could. This shirt has a bit of a problem, well I have a problem with it seeing as I'm 4'10 and this shirt is clearly built for someone well over 5'6- it's super long. I tried it with so many different things: vests, belts, jeans to give this top some shape but also be able to show off the sleeves and I finally had the brilliance to try this skirt with it- which I'm glad that I did.

Top.

Forever XXI

Skirt.

Express. Back in the day when I was skinny & it was long enough for work. Now that it hugs my butt, I wear it to school and out on the weekends when shopping or running errands. It's long enough to be classy & a good length away from my minis. I chose not to wear a belt because the top of this skirt is so business inspired, I didn't want to mask it.

Shoes.

Classified? I got them from Ross. They were a replacement for a pair from Traffic that totally popped on me.

OOTD: Royal Purple, old fashioned meets glam.

 

Dress. 

From Forever XXI. I wanted something that was a little old fashioned enough that I could wear to work, but modern enough to wear in Miami weather with sandals. The gold buttons brought something different to the table too and gave me something to deviate from my usual silver accessories. I actually got it from Plato's Closet. They have some good stuff there.

Shoes 

From Nine West. I wore these to my sister's wedding in Jamaica (thankfully, Perry was my date :) which I never expected & they have become a staple in my work wardrobe. I wear them once a week to the office & they go with pretty much everything. These shoes reintroduced gold into my wardrobe in a classy manner.

Sweater 

From Target. This was actually to replace my only cardigan that I couldn't find.

Rule of thumb: Everything that you try to replace surfaces shortly after you buy the replacement.

You can never have enough black cardigans though.