Friday's Fashion Finds: Utility Jackets

Hello friends! I'm super excited for this post because it's the first one that involves photos from my new camera! I decided to treat myself to a Nikon D3200 for a grad gift. Although I will admit that I may have shed a tear (and my debit card might have too) while actually making the purchase, I think it was definitely worth it. So today I had a mini self-timer photo shoot in my drive way (where I may have received some questioning looks from some of my neighbors), so please bear with me and my super awkward posing for now!

And now we're on to what you actually came here to read about: the fashion! So I don't know if it's because I spent all spring on a college campus, but I feel like everywhere I look I've been seeing girls in utility jackets. I loved the look so much that I made it a point to pick one up for myself! I've always loved the layered look, so it's no surprise that a jacket has become a favorite piece in my current wardrobe. I nabbed this one from Old Navy a few weeks ago and the two of us have been practically inseparable ever since! 

Probably my favorite thing about this jacket (besides the fact that I got it on sale-- your girl is broke!)  is that it has a tie that runs throughout the waistline so you can cinch it in a little bit which makes the cut super flattering! Is there really anything worse than super boxy jacket? I don't think so.

Since the jacket has a military feel to it, I wanted to keep it paired with some feminine pieces since that's more my style. I already had this lace v-neck in my closet from years ago, so it was a perfect match! Especially since I love coral and army green together, such a great color combo for spring time.

And then I threw on these sandals from Target that I have been living in ever since the temperature came into the 50s. They had them in so many colors you would not believe the will power it took for me to only walk away with one of them.

Jacket- Old Navy

Shirt- Forever21 (old)

Jeans- Old Navy

Shoes- Target

Necklace- Burlington Coat Factory

Other Utility Jackets

Macy's / JC Penny / Forever21

Do you have any favorite spring trends? For you fashion bloggers out there, any posing tips for me? Can't wait to hear from you guys! 

Fashion Tips from Baby Elise

Well everyone, I'm officially a college graduate! And now that I'm done with school I'll be having much more time on my hands. So I promise that I'll get back onto a schedule of more than one post per week. And to kick things off with a bang and celebrate the end of an era, I thought we'd take a trip down memory lane and get some fashion tips from baby Elise. So here are the fashion rules I live by (even 20 years later).

1) Always match your shoes to your bag.

You don't always have to be as matchy matchy as mini-me was, but it's nice to have cohesion within an outfit. I like my accessories to finish a look, so I want them to be contributing to a similar theme. If I have one really loud accessory, I usually keep the others neutral. Or if everything is neutral I usually try to keep them in the same color family (browns and tans vs. blacks and grays).

2) Florals are always in.

You know what they say, April showers bring May flowers. And now that it's May it is definitely floral season! If you've been following this blog for a while then you know that my style is definitely on the more feminine side, so working in romantic floral patterns is one of my favorite ways to make an outfit. I've heard it's going to be a hot summer, so I'll be stocking up on flowy floral dresses to stay cool and look cute this summer.

3) Don't sacrifice practicality for style.

I'm better about this now, but in high school I would rather freeze to death than wear a winter coat on a regular basis because it wasn't "in". Then I went to college and all of a sudden the trends seemed to be based around what was practical (who knew that wearing a parka down to your knees would ever be considered chic?) At least here in the US it'll be a while before you have to bundle up again, but keep in mind that you should never sacrifice comfort for fashion and even practical pieces can still be cute!  So keep that in mind the next time 6 inch heels are calling your name. 

4) No matter what the outfit is, you just need to commit.

Stepping out of your comfort zone? Good for you! I know it can be nerve racking to walk around all day in something you haven't tried before, but a little confidence can go along way. You'll never look ridiculous if you hold your head up high and walk around like you and your outfit own the place.  So when trying something new, be sure to fully commit and I promise you that the feedback will be positive!

I'd love to hear your favorite holy grail fashion tips and if you do a similar post I'd love it if you left me the link in the comments so that I could check it out :)

Life Updates!

Well guys, I have less than a week until my college graduation! I never thought this day would actually come. Yesterday a few of my friends and I got all dressed up and had a pre-graduation photo shoot at some of the hot spots around campus. It's supposed to rain on Sunday on the day of my actual graduation, plus UConn has so many different graduations that I won't even be walking with any of my friends!

Here are a few of my favorites from the past week :)

And here's a few from my final SUBOG Banquet (which is the campus programming board).

P.S. My dress is from Marshall's if anyone wanted to know!

Congratulations to my fellow 2014 graduates! I know April was not the best blogging month but I promise that May will be 100 times better! 

What have you guys been up to lately? Let me know in the comments!

Friday's Fashion Finds: Watches

(Source)

I haven't always been into watches, but ever since I received one for Christmas last year they've been one of my go-to accessories. Not only are they super stylish and can dress up any outfit, but they actually serve a legitimate purpose! Gotta love functional fashion! 

Here are some of my top picks!

Menswear

(Charming Charlie)

Now in a perfect world I would probably be rocking a Rose Gold Michael Kohr's watch on the regular, but this girl lives on a budget. So when I found this dupe from Charming Charlie for under $30 you can bet I swooped in there and snatched that baby up. I reach for it every day and it shows limited signs of wear and tear so I'm super excited about that! I love the menswear vibe, but the rose gold metal keeps it feminine which is an important part of my personal style.

Patterned Face

(Charming Charlie)

Usually I try to be diverse with the stores I decide to feature on here, but HOW CUTE IS THIS? For real guys, I couldn't find anything similar that I liked nearly as much, so it's Charming Charlie's lucky day! They had so many of these pattern face watches which I thought were so cute for spring! They had lots of different patterns to choose from and they were all in pastel shades (you know how much pastels make me happy)! Because they had so many I feel like they must be on trend and will start to pop up all over the place once spring gets rolling. These are a lot daintier than the menswear pieces so you could definitely wear this with other jewelry too which I always think is nice.

Layering

(Source)

While the watches on their own can look nice, I love stacking them with other bracelets as well! Lately I've been in a "more is more" kind of mood when accessorizing my outfits and I refuse to apologize! I especially love how this look keeps with the cohesive color scheme while varying with the styles and textures of each piece. It really ties it all in!

Please share what your favorite accessory of the moment is? Are you a watch person or is your cellphone clock all you need?

Until next time!

Friday's Fashion Finds: LC Lauren Conrad

I have to be honest with you, when I think back to the Laguna Beach days, I'm a Team Kristin girl at heart. But one thing I can give Lauren credit for is that her fashion sense is spot on. I was checking out her collection for Kohl's online (and despite it being a bit pricey for a broke college girl like me) the pieces are absolutely to die for. Not to mention the photo shoot itself is flawless. She has two collections out right now, but all my favorites came from her "Blue Mood" line.

Look #1

(Find it at Kohls)

There are so many things that I'm loving about this outfit. The cut of the skirt is perfect for me since I prefer flowy things for day time (and really all the time). Floral prints are one of my favorite things for spring (I know,  florals? for spring? groundbreaking!) I just love soft feminine looks and the chiffon blouse with a floral skirt is so light and romantic. It's definitely something I want to wear this season.

Look #2

(Find it at Kohls)

You may have noticed a pattern sneaking into all my fashion posts recently and that would be blazers! I'm really gravitating towards a more put together look these days, especially as I start to enter the professional world and you never know when you'll run into a networking opportunity! Again, I love the shape of the skirt! I think it tones down the outfit and makes it appropriate for wearing out and about. Plus, even though they're technically different blouses, you could definitely use the same white top to recreate both of the first two outfits!

Look #3

(Find it at Kohls)

And we're back to the florals! I love this button down, and I also love it paired with the lighter wash jeans. As much as I love to look at skirts and dresses, I'm always more comfortable in pieces that are a bit more casual, so this is a more realistic look for me. I feel like this is a perfect transition look from spring into winter because you get the aesthetics of spring without having to sacrifice warmth just yet.

Overall, I am absolutely loving this collection and spring fashion in general. Let me know your favorite spring trends or your style icons in the comments!

Friday's Fashion Finds: Coral

So the weather has been teasing us lately, giving us a taste of spring and then following up with snow the next day. I have faith that warm weather is right around the corner though! 

Nothing says spring time to me like fun colors! Lately I've been lusting after all things coral. So here are a few of my favorite pieces.

(The Happy Wardrobe)

Not only am I loving the fact that a I could potentially get my hands on a coral blazer (did I mention my recent obsession with blazers?) but I love the way this is styled! I love the idea of pairing it with a statement necklace, and the jeans make it into an outfit that I could wear to class which is ideal for me since I don't have a reason to get dressed up too often. Unfortunately the one from this picture is sold out right now, but there is a very similar one that I saw at Target earlier today (and the target one was cheaper anyway)!!

(River Island)

I'm also in love with this skater skirt. How cute would this be with a chambray button down tucked in?! Or with something white and lace to keep it light for the summer time. (There's still snow on the ground here but a girl can dream right?)

(Forever 21)

And finally these earrings! I think I bought this exact pair already in mint and I love them. I may actually pick them up in coral as well. I've been really into bold accessories lately, but dangle earrings have never been for me. Some thing like this is perfect though! There's nothing I love more than a pair of sassy studs.

What's your favorite color for the spring time? Let me know in the comments!

Friday's Fashion Finds: Denim on Denim

Not sure what the weather is like for the rest of the country, but here in CT, February has been one snowy month. However, it's March now and I'm praying to the weather gods for sunshine and temperatures above freezing, because I am officially snowed-out and ready for spring.

So I have to admit, I've been seeing a lot of the denim on denim trend and I am diggin' it. I'm definitely going to give it a go this spring. In my own personal wardrobe, I some how managed to find all the pieces that make up this lovely Gap ensemble which I think is just the cutest thing!

(Source)

Mix it.

After looking at a lot of pictures of this trend, I pinpointed some important aspects that made it work for me. For instance, I really gravitated towards the mixing of washes and really prefer dark wash on bottom and light wash on top.

(Source)

Layer it.

I also had a strong preference for looks that had a third piece of a different fabric. In the picture above, she has styled it with a white patterned sweater, in the Gap outfit the denim button down is left open to reveal the white tank top, and in this picture below it's paired with a white blazer. To me the extra piece makes it more wearable and less in your face.

(Source- Sincerely Jules)

Accessorize it.

If you don't want a third piece, I think the right accessories can be enough to break it up in the same was as a jacket or sweater could. I loved the skinny neon belt in this look and the fact that the shirt has the polka dot pattern really softens it up for me.

(Source- GBO Fashion)

However, please be careful with this trend darlings, we don't want a repeat of 2001.

(Source)

So thanks for giving this a read, and if you want to follow some super fashionable ladies, just click through the source of the pictures!

Let me know what spring fashion trend you're most looking forward to in the comments!

Friday's Fashion Finds: Bib Necklaces

I'm not sure what's gotten into me lately when it comes to accessorizing. I was never one for statement pieces, I think mostly because I was never quite sure how to style them. They're absolutely everywhere right now though, so for someone like me who isn't always sure what matches, it's the perfect time to be brave and experiment! 

Modeled by yours truly

I borrowed the gold one from my sister to spice up the simple dress since I was headed to the casino for my 22nd birthday, but I think it might be time to invest in some of my own.

Charlotte Russe

I love this one from Charlotte Russe and I feel like it would be perfect for everyday wear (possibly with something in white chiffon??). Also, I've been ready or spring since we hit the New Year, so this peach is calling to me!

Bauble Bar

And of course we have to include Bauble Bar. I can't afford it, but I can lust after it with the best of them. Definitely more for a night out, but the mint is one of my personal favorites. Pretty sure half the things I bought in 2013 were mint and I'm not ashamed.

What is your favorite way to accessorize? Let me know in the comments!

Friday's Fashion Finds: Chiffon Tops

So I don't know what it is with me and chiffon but we when I see a sheer button down top I literally cannot control myself. Personally, I don't feel comfortable rocking it with just a bandeau underneath, so I do opt for to cover my entire midriff with a cami so I don't feel self-conscious. Plus, I'm not the kind to really go out on the town, but I do like to dress up a little during the day. 

Tobi

I love this one from Tobi specifically because of the sparkle and my obsession with all things feminine and sassy. 

Charlotte Russe

And then this one from Charlotte Russe also has a little spice to it with the shoulder details and the slit down the sleeves.

To me chiffon says, "yes I may be sitting in a lecture hall for 3 hours today buttttttttttt, I did put some effort into trying to look like the adult I'll eventually have to be."

Let me know what your favorite piece of the moment is!

Friday's Fashion Finds: Jeweled Collars

So as my online shopping eyes begin to wonder, I always seem to stumble upon pieces that I absolutely LOVE, yet could never justify the price tag. My current obsession to lust over are these tops with the jeweled collar. 

J Crew

It's all Tanya Burr's fault since I saw her do a haul video wearing the bottom jumper from Top Shop. As a broke college student, I don't know why I was cruelly teasing myself on the J Crew website, but I spotted a similar short sleeved version which I've been lusting after ever since.

Top Shop

BUT I do feel like if I could find a way cheap polyester t-shirt, it would be a pretty easy DIY project to just glue some gems around the collar. Although I could be getting a little ambitious with that one.

Let me know if there's any fashion trends you've been loving!