Hello and Happy Friday! 

Its been a week here! Kind of a roller coaster of a week to be honest. We had an issue with bees earlier which seems to have been resolved -fingers crossed!

Although as I sit here typing this, I can hear buzzing going on in the other room! D:

Today's look is a fun one! I really enjoyed shooting it. Actually, I have really enjoyed shooting the last few posts! I mean I always enjoy shooting but getting out of my comfort zone and finding places to shoot and get different pictures has really reignited my love for blogging. 

It has given me challenges to overcome and opportunities to grow creatively. 

And although it can still be nerve-wrecking at times, the results are so worth it! And interestingly enough, I'm finding that I'm getting past that easier than I thought I would. 

This is a look I have been thinking of for a while and it came together just as I imagined it would. I have styled a similar look before, these same (extra) wide-legged jeans and a crop top. I find that since these jeans are SO high waisted, crop tops tend to look better with them. But I am still looking to style other tops with these jeans. I have in mind a ruffled, pink tank -although it maybe a little too much together.... but that's for another day! 

The piece I was really excited to style was this beautiful, light pink bag! I feel it doesn't get the love it deserves! Everything about this bag is so lovely! It is a firm structure, it is elegant in design, and feminine in color! It comes with a longer strap as well so I can carry as a shoulder bag or a crossbody bag. 

I found it at Target a while back and snatched it up right away. It was one of those pieces that when I saw it, I just knew I would be giving it a home with me. :D

Thanks for reading and now if you'll excuse me, I am going to spend the rest of the weekend jammin' to Queen Bey's new music! :D See you guys' Monday! Have a great weekend! 

Jeans: Shein.com
Top and Bag: Target
Accessories: Necklace-Target, Bracelets-Macy's Sunnies-Shein and Headband-Walgreens

Happy Wednesday! 

And welcome to another Fashion Inspo post! Today's inspo is the amazingly creative and talented, fashion designer, Anna Sui! 

Back in April, Anna Sui had an exhibit at the Mint Museum here in Charlotte. My mom, Aunt, and I got all dressed up and headed out to see it! We had such a great time! I kept meaning to write a whole post devoted to it, but first I had some technical issues and then I had some personal issues where my posts were pretty scattered anyway. All that to say it got to a point where so much time had passed it seemed kind of silly to revisit the exhibit. 

But being the genius I am, (yeeeeeah.. okay!) started this Fashion Inspo post, which is the perfect way to revisit the world and designs of Anna Sui!  

Anna Sui is a very celebrated, second generation Chinese-American fashion designer, from Detroit, Michigan. She has a plethora of brand categories under her belt that include several fashion lines, cosmetics, shoes, perfumes, "eyewear," accessories, and interestingly home goods and a gift line. 

From a very young age -4 to be exact- Anna knew she wanted to be a fashion designer. Her mother would bring her along to pick out fabrics and would teach her how to put a wardrobe together. She also learned how to sew and was soon creating her own outfits. She went to school at Parsons School of Design in New York City, and in her second year she had her first tastes of success. First, she was hired to a clothing line called Charlie's Girls and designed for sportswear labels and styling photoshoots.  About this time, Anna had also been creating out of her apartment. What is most interesting to me about Anna, is that when it came to her personal designing business, she was inspired to design for rock stars and focused her sales to mainly target music stores. 

It was about this time, she took five of her pieces to a New York trade show, which ended up being a hit with stores like Bloomingdale's and Macy's and led to a full-page ad in the New York Times. Unfortunately, it also led to her being let go from her job at the time, but she would not let that stop her and continued to create out of her apartment.

One thing that sets Anna Sui apart is that she tended to explore the grunge fashion scene, which was different and also caused her to struggle a bit at the time. Chanel and Versace were among some of the bigger, powerhouse, brands at the time. But Anna got one of her biggest breaks came in 1991. While researching for this post, this had to be one of my favorite stories I read about Anna. She was on her way to Paris Fashion Week with one of her friends from Parsons college, Steven Meisel, and stopped to pick up his friend, Madonna. 

Madonna!

Ya know, Queen of Pop, Madonna! Material Girl, Madonna! Kissed Britney Spears, Madonna!

Yep, they stopped to pick up Madonna on the way to Paris Fashion Week in 1991 -wow what a sentence. What a wild turn of events! Madonna apparently surprised Anna by wearing her designs to the Jean Paul Gaultier show and then again later when she graced the cover of Vogue, which was shot by her friend Meisel!

​Anna saw her first runway later the same year in New York.

Since then, she has done 2 seasonal runway shows every year, which the exception of spring/summer 2002. She has collaborated with numerous companies and brands like, Hush Puppies, Target, Ford Motor Company, Victoria's Secret, Coach, Samsung, Pottern Barn, and Vogue. She has been named one of the Top 5 Designers of the Decade, and won the Geoffrey Bean Lifetime Achievement Award in NY and The Classic Icon of Fashion Design award at the China Fashion Awards in Bejing. 

She has spoken at colleges, had her designs in print, up for show in museums and even written a book that covers her 20 year career! 

And in 2018 she received the Women's Entrepreneur Day pioneer away. 

And these are just some of her achievements! 

Does anyone else feel like they need to get up and get busy doing something or is it just me!? 

I know this is a long post, but it was worth it! I was and am so fascinated with Anna Sui! I'm so glad I got to see her creations live in person at the exhibit and that I got to share that moment with my mom and Aunt! 

Anna Sui is truly fascinating! Truly talented! And truly an inspiration! From a child eagerly watching her mother sew to a brave, young lady taking her first five pieces to a trade show, to having Madonna wear her clothes! (I still can't get over that one!) to one of the most celebrated fashion designers around! Anna Sui never gave up on her dream and never changed her styles to fit in. She wanted to stand out and she most certainly does! 

​I hope you enjoyed this post! See you Friday! 

Hello! And Happy Monday! 

I'm sweating a bit to shoot this look! But it is so worth it! These gorgeous ruby red Shein shorts have made a place for themselves in my closet most definitely! 

​You have seen them in MANY posts already this summer! (I hope you aren't sick of them yet!) 

I just love them! I keep finding new ways to style them! Last post was with a blue tank and heels and previously a tye dye crop top and wedges! 

Today I had the idea to style it with a pink tube top and initially my trench vest (remember that!?) Well, I put the look together and.... ehhh the trench vest did not really work well. (Don't worry old friend, you'll be styled again soon!) So, instead I chose this slightly oversized, cropped denim jacket, which worked perfectly!

But why a jacket in July? Well, if you're out and about during the day running errands or in the heat, nix the jacket! But a good rule of thumb is to always have a jacket handy just in case! While shooting this post, the jacket was only on for a few pictures. The rest of the time and in the car ride to locations and to run a few errands the jacket was off! 

Thanks for much for reading! I hope you're having a good start to the week! And I will see you Wednesday for a new Fashion Inspo post! =)

Shorts: Shein
Bag: Shein
Sunnies: Shein
Top: Target
Heels: Target
​Headband: Walgreens

Hello and Happy Friday! 

Today I have a special post for you! First of all, it is the last piece of my most recent Shein package. But more importantly it is a special post to me. It took a lot of work both mentally and physically to pull this together, but I am so happy I did! I think the outcome is fantastic! 

I have been driving past this magnificent tree for YEARS! And I have always felt drawn to it! I have always had ideas for ways to take pictures under some of the low hanging limbs. Almost all of my ideas involved a flowy, summery dress that would blow in the wind or I could pull out to the side like I did and then let it flutter down. 

It was a werid dream, but it was a dream of mine. 

There were always a million reasons I came up with to not do it; not enough time, not the right outfit, it was raining, it was cold, I was tired... the list could go on and on. I convinced myself they were legitimate reasons. But really the main reason was fear. I should mention that I typically take my own pictures so going other places CAN be tricky and having people coming and going CAN be nerve wrecking. 

When I got my Shein package and tried this dress on my mind immediately pictured myself taking pictures in it under this tree. When I started to take pictures, I felt myself doing the same old thing taking pictures in the normal places because it was hot, I was lacking time, and I was tired... blah blah.

But I kept feeling this urge to go take pictures at this tree. At least try! So, I did! I packed my camera and tripod up and headed out. It was a little awkward at first but it got easier and easier as the afternoon continued. I ended up getting really into finding other places to shoot, poses to try, how the pictures came out, and -of course- the heat, that if people were watching I didn't notice! 

I think the results are fantastic! I am extremely proud of them! I hope you like them as well! It has inspired me to continue going places as often as I can to shoot! 

This dress was the perfect piece to shoot in today by the way! It was soft, VERY breezy, comfortable, and so cute! I love the ruffles and the crisp blue color! It is a little hard to tell in the pictures, but it does have a high, ruffled neck that sounds terrible in this heat but is really not bad at all. You barely notice it heat wise and the aesthetic of it is adorable! Plus it ties in the back, which is a fun additional detail!

Thank you so much for reading! 

I hope you enjoy this post as much as I enjoyed creating it! I hope you have a great weekend and see you on Monday! =)

Dress: Shein.com
Shades/Bag: Shein.com
Sandals: Off Broadway Shoes
Watch: Anne Klein

Hello and Happy Wednesday! 

Today we are talking about the stylish, Hailey Bieber! 

Hailey Bieber -daughter of Steven Baldwin and niece of Alec and William!  Married to Justin! Best friends with Kendall Jenner! Hailey Bieber is many things to many people and to me she is one of my biggest fashion inspirations.  

From dressed down, to off-duty/out and about chic, to full on glam, I adore all of her many looks! I noticed while preparing this post today, that she seems to have a love of oversized blazers. I also have a love of oversized blazers! Maybe that is why I am drawn to her style? 

I'm sure it could be part of it! But she also has such a simplistic/effortless style that is what I really love. 

A little about Hailey that you may already know and some you may not, she of course has a huge career as a model both print and runway. And she also has really worked hard to get into the world of skin care. She trademarked her name as Hailey Bieber for "commerical purposes" and apparently requested to use the trademark "Bieber Beauty" but it was denied because as it turns out it was already owned by none other than her hubby -Justin! 

She decided to go with her middle name -Rhode- instead. In my opinion, I like this MUCH better! 

As of right now, her skin care line consists of three products; a peptide glazing fluid, a barrier restoration cream, and peptide lip treatment that comes in unscented, watermelon scented, or salted caramel. As I was looking around the website, all of the products are very affordable, which is nice to see. I haven't read any reviews, but I will keep you posted if that is something you are interested in!

While looking up Hailey and her stylish looks, I got inspired to recreate some of the looks I found! For example, I am now on the hunt for neon green heels as well more oversized blazers! (But who are we kidding? I was always already on the look out for those!) 

Also, once it gets cooler, I cannot wait to try a sweatpants, tee, and baggy sweater together. Or a sweatpants/sweatshirt and peacoat combo! Ughhh Hailey, thanks a lot! Now I have to go shopping for some fall attire and heels! ;) 

I hope you enjoyed this Fashion Inspo post! See you on Friday! =D 

Hello and Happy Manic Monday!

Does anyone else feel like today was a little... off? To put it mildly anyway. It was a weird day at work, then I get home and rush to get these blog pictures taken because my dumbass did not plan ahead. It is ridiculously hot out and my hair is a HOT mess! 

Whatever.

I get everything taken and I was getting ready to edit pictures and I couldn't get the SD card to upload in my laptop! After several different attempts and fails with other options, I was ready to cuss, scream, and cry but instead I sucked it up and mentally prepared to a. have to shell out some money for either a new camera or to get this one fixed and b. to not get a blog posted today. 

My mom suggested a place called U Break, I Fix which wasn't far from us and I'm so thankful she did! The guy was courteous, and the fix was very simple! Basically, there is a switch on the SD card I did not realize was there and it had slid down into a lock mode. That's it. That is all it was! 

He didn't even charge me! So, huge shout out to U Break, I Fix! Thank you so much! 

Thanks for reading! I hope we all have a good rest of the week! >D

​

Hello and Happy Friday! 

Today on the blog I'm sharing with you another part of my Shein haul, these sneakers! 

I had been eyeing them for a while and finally decided to get them! And they did not disappoint! I love the light color blocking, the comfortable fit, and the little bit of additional height in the platform sole.

I read some of the reviews and while most people loved them, some did mention that they fit a little snug. I ordered a 5.5 (I know small feet!) and they fit just right. And when I say just right, I mean JUST RIGHT. They are not so tight as to cause blistering but there is very little wiggle room. So, if you are between sizes or you prefer a little extra wiggle room my advice would be to go up a size or a half size. 

I kept the rest of the 'fit simple for this post. A crisp button down, a white (it shows up a little off white in the pic) crocodile print bag, and denim shorts. Ironically, aside from the shorts, the rest of these pieces are also from Shein! 

What do you guys think? Check it out and have a great weekend! 


Sneakers: Shein.com
Bag: Shein.com (similar)

Hello and Happy Wednesday! 

So, it has been a while since I posted on a Wednesday, and I have missed it! I have been toying with this idea for a while and finally decided to do it -I am going to use Wednesdays to post fashion inspiration type posts. From celeb styles I love, to high profiled fashion events, events around town that I attend, fashion trends, and whatever else I feel like! It That is my goal anyway and I am kicking it off with two of my favorite fashionistas -Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen! 

I have been following their style evolution for years, especially their "off duty" looks. I'll do another post strictly on that a little later on. Today I want to focus on their company, The Row. 

Mary Kate and Ashley are no strangers to fashion entrepreneurship. It has always been a part of their empire along with makeup, jewelry, books, and of course movies. The Row is their full fledge company. It was founded in 2006 but started out as a passion project of Ashley's the prior year while on a quest to create the "perfect t-shirt." The goal? To find a "commonality in fit and attitude" by testing it out on several women of different shapes and sizes. 

Their first collection was seven pieces and included t-shirts, cotton-sateen leggings, and a cashmere-wool tank dress that I would love to have seen! The entire collection was bought by Barney's New York. 

The Row saw a great deal of success. In 2012 they won their first (of many) Women's Wear Designer of the Year award at the Council of Fashion Designers of America. Their first store opened two years later in 2014 in Los Angelas, California, with a second store opening in 2016 in New York. It has expanded to include ready-to-wear, resort, men's clothing, handbags, sunglasses, shoes, and as of 2021 a children's line of clothing. It is featured regularly at New York Fashion Week and twice at Paris Fashion Week. And they have opened offices in London and Paris.

Interestingly enough, the Olsen twins did not want their name associated with the brand at first. Going as far as to not even give interviews regarding it for the first three years after its founding. 

The Row boasts "exceptional fabrics, impeccable details, and precise tailoring." And based on what I saw while researching for this post, the pieces are very simplistic in shape, style, and color. It all has a very sophisticated and chic look about it. For their part, Mary Kate and Ashley primarily work in New York in a TriBeCa studio. 

While all of the designs are beautiful, if you want to obtain one it is going to cost you a pretty penny. Prices range from $400 to $8 or 9,000 give or take. But that won't stop me from dreaming! :D 

I hope you enjoyed this deep dive into The Row as much as I did! I find Mary Kate and Ashley and their fashion endeavors fascinating and cannot wait to get more into it in another future post. I have always been curious about The Row, so this was informative as much as it indulged my passion for fashion and style! 

Thanks for reading! See you Friday! 

Hello and Happy Monday! 

FINALLY a day where it is not unbearably hot! It was surprising when I stepped outside this morning and was a little chilly! It has warmed up since, but still it is much nicer than it has been lately. 

Today's look is another Shein look! I told you about my recent package I got from Shein! It was a small but good haul. I actually have another one coming soon as well. But this dress was easily one of my favorites! It is so breezy and comfortable. When it is ridiculously hot -like it was when I took these pictures- I cannot stand to have a lot of fabric touching me. 

This dress is the answer to that problem! It is loose fitting and there is plenty of ventilation! I went more simplistic when it came to accessories. Sometimes less is more! 

Thanks for reading and have a great week ahead! Stay safe and stay cool! =)

Dress: Shein.com
Hat: Target
Loafers: H&M
Bag: Shein.com