Just A Touch of Color

The pattern I'm wearing today follows the ethnic trend that is found in this season's menswear trends and styles. When I wear any sort of pattern, I like to make sure that it stands out against whatever I am wearing. As previously mentioned in many of my other posts, patterns should be noticed and not overshadowed by a combination of too many other statement pieces. That's why, with this Aztec patterning on my backpack, I decided to use a very colorless pallet of whites, greys, and blacks for the sake of letting the backpack stand out against everything else. The watch that I am wearing luckily matches to some degree the oranges in the backpack's fabric (a little touch which I really like about the whole look). 

As far as where I got everything, it's all very affordable. The jeans I'm wearing are from a thrift store like any other in your neighborhood and I was lucky enough to purchase them for around $5. My 3/4 length baseball tee is from American Apparel, which at this point in my posts might be recognized as my favorite store, and I purchased it for around $25. As for the shoes, they are identical to the white ones I wore in my post "Spring Green" and were around the same price. Equally loved, but probably worn more often as I wear black more than I do white. I'm not able to tell you where I found my watch as it just appeared in my closet randomly one day. (Now if only that happened more often!) Lastly, my backpack was purchased in Los Angeles last summer from a street vendor for $20 and I couldn't be any happier for making that purchase. What do you think of the backpack? Could you see yourself wearing it? 

Tribal Trends Part Deux!

Following this week's previous post about ethnically inspired clothing for Spring & Summer, today's post focuses on more Native American & tribal styles. What I love most about Native American-inspired clothing is the patterning and how bold all of the colors look together. One online store that I know I can go to for many tribal styles is +ASOS which seems to always carry these types of clothing. 
However, what I was surprised to find is that +Dr. Martens has their Pendleton boots which are tailored specifically to match this Native American theme. I'd LOVE to have a pair for myself, but at over $100 for a pair, it just isn't practical on a college budget. But! That doesn't mean I can't find different clothing and accessories with similar style elsewhere. As mentioned, ASOS has tribal

clothes and accessories, like the bracelets pictured above, so if you're interested I would check them out. The button-down shirt in the collage is nice, but again, I'm on a college budget so I went ahead and improvised. I happened to have a plain brown +American Apparel t-shirt and I that I cut into a tribal-like design myself. I did this by slicing the sleeves and cutting out a triangle pattern around the collar (the shirt cost about $7 and took 20 minutes to cut). I think it looks great and I would definitely love to try it again in a different color! The Justin boots add a little flare with the kilties and give it a sort of edge that I'm always looking to have. What do you guys think? I'd love to know!

Trend Alert!

For this Spring & Summer, a large trend that's been seen on the runway is clothes with an ethnically inspired design. Pictured here are some examples of certain pieces that follow this style. What I love most about these styles are the geometric patterns, as well as the bold colors that they utilize. In my opinion, they are statement pieces that can be used in so many different ways. Personally, I would use very understated clothing (maybe a pair of dark denim jeans and a white button-down shirt) and then make the ethnic patterns contrast the simplicity and make it pop. Of the items pictured above, I really love the bowtie and patterned shorts most. They're very eye-catching without being too much. How do you feel about these ethnic / Aztec patterns? Are they are DO or a DON'T?