What I Wore Wednesday: Belt it!

Its summer! Which means everyone is wearing dresses to the office, to the beach, or just around town. This summer, boho shift dresses and fit and flare styles have been everywhere. I have been loving the style, but for the office, I think that wearing a more causal dress makes you look a little less professional, but don’t get me wrong I do throw them on when I am feeling the need for a comfy day!

I wore my favorite dress from Brandy Melville, and I decided that I needed to add a belt to it. What I loved about the look was the change from a very large flare, which gives you no shape, to a fitted look that really makes your waist look tiny!

Feelin’ Formal

This week has been so crazy and fun! I can’t believe that spring break is only 5 days away!

We had our formal last night, it was so much fun! I know that formal season and prom are coming up soon for everyone! It’s such a great time of year.

I love that everyone looks so pretty and all dressed up! We were all saying that picking a prom dress takes forever (finding mine did take forever) but getting a dress for formal happens the week before! Its crazy what a few years can do.

This year I decided to pick a dress style that I normally wouldn’t! I ordered the dress from LuLu’s. I loved the high neck with look with a long necklace. It felt great to rock a look I normally wouldn’t!

So am I a Model now?

Yesterday was an adventure for me! I was able to go out of my comfort zone and go to a model search! I wore my favorite dress that I had gotten from Italy, and my handmade Italian shoes!

I was super excited to just go and see what it was like. There were so many different people in all shapes and sizes trying out, so I was nervous. We had to walk down the runway and show the 3 NY Agencies how well we could work the runway! Overall I think that I did an okay job!

I think it would be so funny if an agency contacted me! A lot of my friends tell me I should try out for it, so I figured why not!

It’s great to do things that get you out of your comfort zone, so always try something new if you want to! You never know if you can do it, unless you try!

Lets find some Lilly!

I am not sure about everyone else, but I am still having some PTSD from Lilly For Target and I am so mad that I wasn’t able to get any of it! But what many people forget, is that Lilly For Target was not the only way to rock Lilly on a budget!

I found some great pieces of Lilly on Etsy that I just had to share with everyone! It is 70 and sunny in Connecticut and it is starting to feel like summer, so why not pull out some of your favorite Lilly Prints?

What I also loved about these Etsy stores, was the creativity of the products! There are prints and designs that you can’t find on the Lilly Pulitzer website, and while we all want the new prints I also love some of the older prints that they no longer make dresses with!

I hope you like all of the prints and items that I found!

AnnieXfour has a great shop, and I love these mini skirts!

HollyGramsDesigns had cute monogrammed pocket tees, and I love the lobstah roll print!

LuckyLeaf has a ton of cute sandals that are Jack Rogers and Lilly inspired! The shop has great reviews on the sandals!

KaraMiaSofia has these makeup bags, and they are monogrammed as well! The shop also has some great bows!

Happy shopping sisters! Don’t forget that online shopping can be the best way to relieve the stress of finals! (and blogging about online shopping works pretty well too!)

Lilly VS. Lilly

I am so excited for Lilly for Target. I live for Lilly. Her prints are definitely my style and I know that a lot of people are excited to add Lilly for Target to their style!. While I normally wait for the semi annual sale on Lilly, this year I can get some new summer clothes early!

I think that many of us are going to be saving so much money which will be awesome, I love sales!! On top of buying clothes I am also loving all of the home goods that the line is coming out with.

I wanted to compare some Lilly to Lilly for Target! You can get pieces that are close to the original brand, but the price is much cheaper! And while I’ll be stocking up on Lilly For Target this spring, I’ll also be waiting for her sale!

These two rompers are super cute! The Jesse skirt romper is $158 the Challis romper is only $34!

The shorts from Lilly are always so cute! There are so many styles and colors. And while you can’t get the scalloped shorts from the target version, you can get the really cute lace detailed shorts from Target! The Challis pom pom shorts are $24 and the Callahan shorts are $64!

I love both of these shift dresses. The Shift Dress from Lilly For Target is $38, while the Mila Shift Dress from Lilly is $198. The dresses are both so cute, but I think there will be a difference in the quality and the intricateness of the of lace!

The bathing suits that were made for Target are very retro. I personally love that look, but if you want to go with a different style from Lilly, the Convertible twist bandeau top is also great!

No matter what style of Lilly you plan on buying this summer they are all adorable! The Lilly for Target line is great and I think that it will compliment other pieces and accessories that you have from Lilly Pulitzer! I am so excited for warmer weather!

Still waiting for spring

Okay, so spring break is over, but I am still waiting, for spring! Right now it is below freezing, there is a fresh coating of snow on the ground, and it is march 30th. I am really getting sick of winter weather!

I have so many cute spring clothes that I want to buy, but what’s the point of buying clothes that I can’t even wear yet? If anyone else is feeling chilly, and sad that this cold weather won’t go away, I have a few springtime fashion and beauty tips that you can use no matter what the weather is like!

1. We all know that April showers bring May flowers, and in New England next month already looks rainy! Get a pair of rain boots that show your own style. Anyone can get black Hunter rain boots, but they have too many cute colors to just pick black! 

2. Buy floral and fun tops for the spring! These can still be worn with jeans and covered up with a coat. Your skirts and dresses might be a bad idea until the weather is above 50 and warm out! And if you want to know if you should buy that super cute top… Cosmo has a funny article on  20 Totally Legit Reasons for Buying New Clothes

3. Buy some new Makeup! I have been obsessed with trying out new looks with my Ipsy glam bag that I got last week. The bag is $10 and each month you are sent over $10 worth of brand name beauty products to try! I love my highlighter pencil that I got, as well as the full sized lipstick, and eyeshadow brush! MAC also came out with a cinderella makeup line that is really cute! 

4. Get a new haircut! Next week I want to get a few inches cut off of my hair, and put some new highlights in! My hair gets so dark in the winter, and some cute highlights or a new cut can really make it feel like spring! Pinterest has some great pics and ideas!

Have a great Monday sisters!

My Revelry

Last week I got a package, with my Revelry dresses! I can’t believe that they finally came. The 40 degree weather did not stop me from a quick photo shoot outside!

This week I wore my Olivia dress from the sweet tea collection! I have been looking at this dress for months and then I opened the dress I could not believe how cute it was! It looks very business like, until you put it on. The the cute back and scalloped look makes it pop. I am IN LOVE with all of the scalloped looks this spring! 

The material is super comfortable and soft which is perfect for those long days of recruitment when you just want to get out of your dress. I promise that you will want to keep this one on!

The sweet tea collection has other dress styles as well! They are all so cute. The skirts and the shorts all have the scalloped look like the dresses do!

And if your chapter is looking for a soft flowing chiffon look, the SoCal collection is also really cute! I will be wearing my dress from that collection next week! 

Happy shopping sisters!! Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about these dresses!

And don’t forget to visit Revelry Dresses

Finally formal

Is my hair done? Do I have enough lip stick on? These heels, or maybe the shorter ones? We’re running late! We can’t miss pictures!

If all of these thoughts are going through your head it must be formal!

I just had formal this past weekend and it was amazing! It is fun to get dressed up and have your nails done! There are so many things that I wanted to do,  but being in college I am always on a budget, and most of us are!

To get ready for this years formal I tried to not spend more than $100 for the night. It wasn’t hard at all! The tips that I have for a formal on a budget still let you look great, but your wallet won’t be crying.

1. Get your hair done at a beauty school or ask a hairdresser to come to you. The women that do your hair are still super talented and they can have your hair done for half the cost. I know that a lot of Salon’s charge $80-$100 on an undo alone! That is way to much for me! I got my updo done for $35. If you go to a Paul Mitchell school, they will charge $30-35 for your hair.

2.Make a dress exchange with your sisters or re-wear one of your own dresses. Formal dresses are expensive and I know that my sisters have a lot of different dresses they would be willing to lend to other sisters! It is a fun, free, and easy way to look great! Who cares in someone wore it last year, or it was your prom dress, do you really think anyone is going to notice?

 

3. Use shoes that you already own. Most formal dresses are long, and you can’t see the shoes anyway! So throw on a cute pair that you already own, or a pair of nude flats or heels!

4. Treat yourself to getting your nails or make-up done. Some of us are bad at doing make-up and some of us are bad at doing our nails. I like to play with my own make-up so I ended up getting a gel manicure! And even though gel is more expensive it lasts 2 weeks, not 2 days!

Happy formal season sisters!

Feeling so Cal

I have been loving it out in California! There is so much to do and the weather is so nice! It makes me never want to go back my chilly snow covered campus. There is nothing like leaving the cold and being somewhere warm. It really takes away from the winter depression that a lot of us get stuck in!

I really recommend California as a spring break spot. There is just so much to do! The LA area has everything from sight seeing, Rodeo Drive, Hollywood, hiking, mountains, and so much more. Going across the country and exploring is really amazing.

Yesterday I went to Malibu and the beach was so nice! It was a small beach right next to Malibu and it wasn’t a really busy spot! I met a few sisters from Tri Delt at Southern Texas state university and they said they are enjoying the weather out here. Even though it is warm in Texas, there really is something great about the California sun!

This morning we hiked the San Gabriel Mountains and the views are incredible! It is nothing like the hills that I have at home. In the next few days I am heading to Palm springs and I will tell everyone about that soon!

I also got great news that I am able to get my first dresses from revelry! There were so many too choose from, so since I’m feeling so Cal, I had to order a dress from the SoCal collection! I can’t wait to get them in the mail and I will be posting pics of them soon!

There are so many cute styles in the SoCal Collection!

I hope that everyone is having a great spring break or are getting ready for spring break!

Chapter Fashion tips from a College Fashionista

I love getting dressed up for chapter. I can wear all of my dresses and blazers that I want to wear more often, but I just can’t seem to get them into my every day outfits! It’s fun to show your own style at chapter and see all of your sisters dressed up too. I wanted to talk about chapter fashion today, but I also needed a little help, so I asked one of my sisters to help me!

I’m super excited to have some style tips form Marisa today. She has her own blog, and she also writes for College Fashionista, a blog that campuses can post their own fashion and style on from all around the country! Marisa gets her insertion to blog from Lauren Conrad. When Marisa  started her blog, she realized that she wanted to write about a lot of things, “I love fashion and art and everything creative about life and wanted to inspire other people to live their lives in a similar way to that they could inspire others too and constantly see the beauty in life.”

After she started her own blog, she decided to blog for College Fashionista. She told me, “[College Fashionista] has given me a chance to get even more into the world of fashion and write for something a little more big-time than my own personal blog. I love being able to find fashionable people around my campus and take pictures of them and write about their unique styles. I especially love seeing how they are recreating runway looks and making a designer’s idea their own.”

Now let’s talk about some style Do’s and Don’ts at chapter meetings!

Marisa has some great Do’s and Don’ts that she wrote for me below! I think that she had some really great advice and she’s inspired me to shop for chapter!

“I think that it’s important that everybody’s unique style shows in very strict and sometimes tricky dress codes. Chapter is business casual, meaning something you could wear to an office or for an internship. Skirts, dresses, dress pants and even the occasional pair of harem pants are something we see a lot. But despite a dress code there’s a lot of things you should do and not do in order to get that perfect look.”

-Marisa

DOs

1. Incorporate your own style! It’s really easy to wear Lilly prints or Tory Burch flats when the rest of your sisters are, but don’t forget who you are and to make your style match it. This could be with a statement piece that pops or just a piece of jewelry or an accessory that is unique to you. Make every outfit your own.
2. Try a pair of printed pants. Classic black or tan dress pants can get boring. Try a color or a cool print to make yourself stand out. It creates a great opportunity to pair certain pieces that you wouldn’t expect would go, yet complement each other perfectly.
3. Try a pair of knee socks with tights! Layering is the key to our cutest chapter outfits, especially in the winter. Layer black tights with a pair of maroon, black or very neutral knee socks with a pair of booties. It is a very trendy look right now and perfect for warming up our chapter outfits that aren’t so cozy or weather appropriate.

 

 

DONTs

1. Stay away from dress pants that are too lose. The blouses we wear with dress pants tend to have a loser fit already. Stay away from dress pants that are borderline gouchos, or just make it look like you’re drowning in your clothes! On this note though, find a pair of dress pants that is not too tight either. This is probably the number one fashion flaw I see at chapter.
2. Heels aren’t always necessary. Where they complement some outfits perfectly, others look better with a pair of flats or even a nice pair of oxfords.
3. Don’t dress for another age. I think when people think business casual they automatically believe that they need to look like CEOs in suits and shop at stores much too serious. Being in college is a great time because it allows you the most freedom with your style and what you can wear on a daily basis. Apply this to chapter. Remember that you’re in your 20s and have plenty of time to dress like that when you get to the real world. Instead of a blazer, wear a cardigan. Instead of dress pants, wear a cute skater skirt or a maxi skirt. You can dress these pieces up just as nice and get that same business casual effect while dressing your young and fearless age too.

Marisa’s blog and her College Fashionista links! 

http://lovealwaysmarisa.blogspot.com

http://www.collegefashionista.com/author/marisacasciano/