Living Life Standing On My Tip-Taupes

Harooo! It's the beautiful sunny weekend, I really can't wait for St. Louis to get colder so that I can pile on the layers (fashionably this year), and stop sweating my face off as I'm trekking to class in knee-high socks and cardigans. There is an intense backlog of outfit posts waiting to be written, so I should probably sit down and write them all and set them to publish after a certain time interval. School is very tiring and busy already, I don't even know what to do with myself when I have an extra 30 minutes between class and labs and research.

This is the outfit I wore last Saturday when my friends and I went to watch The Room, arguably the worst movie ever created. Its storyline is so bad that people who go there to watch it lug big plastic bags full of spoons to throw at the screen whenever someone in the audience shouts, "Spoons!" Some people might think it crazy that I would spend money to watch a terrible movie and come out enjoying it, but it really is a unique life experience. See the Wiki article for it and be amazed - don't worry, spoiling the non-existent plot probably adds to the fun. There are some hardcore fans too who have memorized every single line, so they prompt whatever will happen next with funny comments and jabs at how awful of a film it is.

I bought the taupe/wheat coloured V-neck sweater at Old Navy Outlet during my Labor Day shopping adventures. Since everything was 40% off, the sweater was marked down $29.50 to $17.70. There were other colours too but the bright aqua blue was a little too flamboyant for fall, so I opted out. I saw this perfectly matching scarf lying around and tried it. I love how soft it is and the beautiful print design and instantly felt a match made in heaven. It was $12.50 down to $7.50 so totally, I spent about $25 on the two yay! The sweater is nice and lightweight and the scarf is very versatile and warm. I'm getting used to wearing my wedges around all day too. Beauty is pain!

I also realize that I have been using too many sessions of retail therapy. Unfortunately I'm not paid for the 11-15 hours of research lab work I do every week, so I don't even have a budget to work with. That means hitting up the Psychology department to volunteer as a guinea pig and endless Stroop tasks for hours and hours. $10/hour is all right but that's about how much a lunch meal costs here. Curses, private university! Basically, I should stop buying stuff xD

Wearing:

Taupe V-neck sweater top, Old Navy (size S)

Print tapestry scarf, Old Navy

Ankle zip dark wash skinny jeans, Forever 21 (size 26)

Brown bow peep toe wedges, American Eagle for Payless (size 5)

Photographer: Boyfriend

Isn't this scarf pretty?

 My roots are showing

Snap

Front

Back

I really like this shot. It's weird

Wiii I has a cape!

Turban hahahhaa

I wish light colours wouldn't wash out as much in the shaded lighting. Without the scarf

I love wearing these wedges with knee high socks. I have yesterday's outfit to shoot and show you guys soon : )

It's huge!

I hope you guys have a blast of a weekend! I find it difficult to squeeze in shoots right after I leave class and before I go to lab, so I usually trek home and it's dark = no go for outside photos. Inside, the quality is very grainy so I think I'm going to batch-shoot outfits during the weekends xD Now I'm off to shoot yesterday's and will go with my boyfriend to Five Guys for some delicious food. We had a double date yesterday at California Pizza Kitchen and it was very filling (but don't get their Small Cravings menu - so little food for so much money D:). So silly of me, heading off to the mall twice in one weekend. Forever 21 haul came in the mail too and I should probably return some things. So much to blog about, so little time! See you soon, lovelies!

F-I-E-R-C-E

Hi again : ) I'm in a super blogging mood recently primarily to avoid work haha xD I did tackle some things off my to-do list but there is an even bigger backlog of outfit photos and makeup reviews that won't write themselves. I'm using my blogging creative juice as an excuse to prime my writing lids for some serious personal statement throwdown. The best writing is done under high pressures, room temperature, and time(max) minus a few hours.

This outfit is from Labor Day, believe it or not. I decided to break out this $4.95 USD brand new H&M dress I snagged off the racks a month ago when I was home in California. Are you serious, H&M!? You just earned a million brownie points in my book. This dress is really soft with delicate mesh covering the chest and it's a great bodycon. I bought this black one in size 4 and another one in size 4 with referee black and white vertical stripes. I should bravely put that on later and see if I look taller (as they frequently suggest to petites). Alas I forgot to take pictures of the dress alone but I will style it differently the next time I wear it. For Labor Day shopping, I wore my H&M favourite black shorts over the dress and tucked the bottom in for a romper kind of look. Time to wear the infamous leopard print wedges I impulsively bought at Forever 21 towards the end of summer. These were about $33 so I have no idea why I went for it, but I think back then I was still into the "grab whatever you see that looks like a trend and wear it for Chictopia." After an entire day of walking around malls (over 7 hours of it), my feet were very sore and painful. Forever 21 makes cheap and terribly hurtful shoes, so if you like comfort over cheap dupes of designers, avoid avoid avoid!

After being screwed over by the editors on Chictopia for my last two uploads, I decided screw it. Defining my style around a website, around a certain ideal, just to get into a flashy gallery is nonsense. It is nice to gain recognition, but I find that when I actually wear clothes that make me feel like a normal person, what's slightly out of my comfort zone but not inappropriate, the "me" in the outfit shines through. I don't need chic votes to reassure myself. So if you've ever worked really hard and got removed from the Style Gallery because of graininess or other made-up regulations, shake it off and raise your head high. You walk that sidewalk like it's a runway. You strut that hallway like it's crumbling behind you. You pose for that camera like you've never lived. Don't let the hype ruin your day and cage your style. [And yes I will continue posting on that site. I'm just bitter towards the editors. The people there are really nice and fashionable. Why can't I squat for a photo and stay in the damn gallery?] *This rant is for my girls out there who are frustrated too*

I went shopping at the Galleria with some friends and ended up scoring an amazing fitted white blazer from Ann Taylor: my first high-end purchase. As a student I wanted this baby so bad - can you believe it was in 00P and that I could fit into it? It started off as $158 full price, then knocked down to $79.99, then with 25% off and some other fancy discount and the 20% off I got for some lipstick stains I found, it came out to be $31.70! That is really not bad and it makes me look so sharp, as if I were wearing my first white coat xD Oh a girl can dream, eh? I will hopefully style the blazer soon and get to show all of you. I also picked up some cheap essentials at Forever 21 because I wasn't impressed with the fit of things I tried on (a khaki green romper was cute but Small fit like a M-L). Taupe herringbone tights and 2 skinny belts in Camel and Taupe in Small-Medium. Sadly the XS-S sold out online a long time ago because they're so cheap at $2.50 each. I should be able to punch some holes in them somehow. I found that my guy friend can definitely shop. He hit up fancy stores like Banana Republic and we went to the outlet malls later to continue the bargain hunt. I bought a v-neck thin sweater top at Old Navy with a matching taupe scarf for under $25 for both. I already wore that outfit yesterday and can't wait to post outfit photos. They are so warm and comfortable. It's nice because the entire Old Navy outlet store was 40% off. Hurray for fall! I can't wait for the weather to cool down slightly so I can experiment with all these nice layers I have.

We finished off the day with my first Steak & Shake experience ever. I had a Guacamole steak burger and their tiny fries, along with a Cookies & Cream milkshake. It was okay, but honestly I still prefer In & Out. Funny that I've lived that long without trying it even once xD

For makeup, I used my favourite palette: Wet n Wild in Vanity. I used gold and bronze colours over the lid, tons of eyeliner, and drew leopard patterns on one of my eyes to jazz up the look. I also wore my Geo Nudy Browns for that catty halo effect when using flash photography. Add a nude lip and the result is FIERCE!

Wearing:

Mesh criss-cross overlay black bodycon dress, H&M (Euro size 4)

Black shorts, H&M (Euro size 4)

Leopard print wedges, Forever 21 (size 6)

Products used:

Anastasia Brow Wiz in Medium Ash

ELF Studio Creme Eyeliner in Black (for leopard print design too)

Wet n Wild E/S Palette in Vanity (bronze all over lid, gold on center of lid)

Revlon Photo Ready Foundation in 04 Nude

ELF Studio Concealer Pencil in Light

ELF Studio Blushing and Bronzing Powder Duo (bronzer as blush)

Revlon Colorburst Lipstick in Soft Nude,

with Revlon Super Lustrous Lipgloss in Life's a Peach over it

Geo Nudy Brown lenses

Photographer: my boyfriend. Indoor shooting is a lot better during the daytime when we can open the window for extra light. I still had to brighten these a ton. Warning: serious mosquito bite-age going on on my calves hahaha

 He caught this hair flip haha and I played with the tint overlay in Picnik and he taught me how to piece these together in Photoshop. I am such a tech un-nerd.

And here's where it starts getting crazy

Kame-hame-HAAAA! (there's an annoying door stopper in the middle of my canvas hahaha)

I love the hair draping down pose

FLIP! Had to super adjust the ISO on this so it is grainy but still pretty awesome

Details: these babies are for struttin' (yes I did wear socks inside hehe)

They're hard to walk in because of this tiny slim heel. I did fall down the stairs before wearing these xD

Mesh. The cut of this dress is actually a cute heart shaped bust but since I was carelessly wearing a black bra underneath, it looks more v-shaped

FOTD, flash

 

 

 No flash

Artistic shot by boyfriend

This crazy look received quite a bit of attention at the mall. I felt a little embarrassed that sales associates in Banana Republic, Ann Taylor, and other stores complimented me (mostly the shoes). I definitely felt super tall and high-fashion while wearing these and will find opportunities to remix these pieces into other more wearable outfits in the future. For now, there's lots of physics left undone and an application to fill out. Mondays are just downers. Why can't it always be Friday? xD Hope you all get your beauty rest and start off your week fresh!