It's About Time...

The other day a friend and I were comparing our watches. His was the notorious hip-hop inspired G-Shock brand and mine was the ALDO brand. The conversation primarily revolved around the aspect of a name brand legitimizing its quality. Personally, this proves my point that most people primarily buy designer items because of the label and status that comes along with it. I agree that some items are better to buy for quality purposes such as watches or shoes, but when you don't have that option, we must resort to the cheaper substitute. To find the substitutes, you must have good taste and know a good item when you see it. Being a college student, I would rather save some money and find cheaper solutions that look as if they are higher end quality items. I have recently been drawn to men's watches because the look of a large watch on a delicate wrist looks sophisticated. Menswear and watches are a fun way to up your status as a woman.

What I'm Wearing: Head to Toe

1. Forever21 oatmeal knitted hat
2. Charlotte Russe faux gray leather jacket
3. H&M black diamonds tank top
4. H&M gray skinny jeans
5. Forever21 green faux suede ankle booties

6) ALDO mens black watch

7) ALDO everest green purse




Don't be too critical when pulling together a look, steer from being too "matchy matchy." This is a rule many people play too safe with; you don't always have to match everything. A little something here and there to pull a look together is fine, for example my booties and purse. ((Note: I'm not matching the two shades of gray from my jeans and jacket)). I'm wearing several colors: Everest green, black, beige and gray. The use of the green balances the different tones of the outfit and helps to pull the entire looks together This purse was originally $50 but received it for $25 after my discount. In any case, this is a steal because the quality of the leather and the style is designer inspired. The proof is I have been asked numerous times what designer it is and have seen many surprised faces when they find out it wasn't an expensive name brand.

So keep in mind and you don't have to spend a lot of money to look like a million bucks. As long as you use a keen eye and good sense in fashion, you will always come out on top!

Hats Off.

In this picture I paired a knit hat along with a gold sequined shoulder cream sweater from H&M. I really love accessories and one of my favorites is a hat. They simply are an amazing way to spice up an outfit to totally change your look and can camouflage bad hair days. *PLUS, my grandfather said guys always notice a woman in a hat!* Celeb's have defiantly been influential and sought after for this ongoing trend.
When I was back home in NY for the winter, I got a lot of wear out of this hat. In this picture below it shows the other ways I played it down for a more casual street style look.

1) White V-Neck- Hanes

2) Green cargo skinnies- New York and Company

A New Year, A Fresh Page.

Happy New Years everyone! I've been all over the place on the East coast recently, including NYC. I rang in the New Years in a comfortable yet fashionable outfit that grabbed attention neutrally. I'm one for colors and patterns (always inspired by BCBG) but recently I have found that I have a growing appreciation for neutral tones, particularly this camel shade. (Michael Kors uses this palette quite often)
For this outfit I paired an oversized sweater with black leggings, neutral tone over the knee boots, arm length gloves and stacked bangles/bracelets.

What Im wearing...
1. Michael by Michael Kors sweater in dark camel. $99.50
2. Black Pink Rose Leggings $12.98
3. ALDO faux black leather gloves $20
4. Miscellaneous gold bracelets I have collected over the years and my mom
5. Dolce Vita Over Knee boots in Nantucket Tan

($130 but bought for $100 at DSW)

This outfit is more on the designer side but the idea is to pair the expensive items with the more generic names. The sweater is a basic that I think looks amazing on all body types. If I were to wear this sweater with a different outfit I would defiantly consider cinching the waist with a wide belt. Belts are always our friends! As for gloves, I love to wear them in the winter. The newest over knee boot trend has been something I saw coming ever since The Devil Wears Prada came out and Anne Hathaway rocked a pair of thigh high Chanel boots. Ever since, I have been on the search looking for the perfect pair, and now that they are popular they are in easy access. The Dolce Vita's boots were defiantly a splurge but I made sure to buy them at a location I could use coupons or find them discounted. As for my bracelets, I've collected many from ALDO, Forever 21 or Macy's, but some of my favorites are from my moms jewelry box : )

(these are the usual suspects in gold)