Skulls & Crosses

I recently worked up the courage to reach out to one of my favorite accesorry designers, Tevin Vincent, and asked him if he would be willing to allow me to feature his products on my blog. I had been following for months before I even started blogging and just felt an immediate connection with all of his products when I stumbled across them by chance on Instagram. They're fun, edgy, and have this sort of appeal that catches the attention of most people instantaneously. So, with that said, I sent him and email and to my surprise, he agreed to have me feature his products! We went back and forth for a bit and he asked me to choose some accessories from his site and in turn he would send them to me sample. When I got them, I immediately fell in love! Below are two sample bracelets he sent me. One is a black beaded bracelet with a silver skull; the other a jewel embellished cross with maroon beading. Once I saw them, I knew exactly what I wanted to wear them with. 

I pulled out my statement blazer since I felt that the maroon and black in the beads would complement the royal blue lining and tobacco color altogether. Then, I found some other simple blues and whites in my closet to pair it with. Since summer is starting, I felt my self-made shorts would be a nice fit for the weather; the white button-up was sort of a given since it would keep me coolest. Shortly after that, as I ransacked my room for accessories, I was lucky enough to find my vintage brown leather belt whose color was almost identical to my blazer. How lucky is that?! Shoes are usually the last thing that I choose for any outfit, so once I had the tops and bottoms chosen, the shoes were almost a no-brainer. I went with my Generic Surplus dual-toned oxfords and, as might see at the bottom, wore them without socks. (Sockless is allowed in the summer!) Overall, I love this outfit because it's casual and dapper and has the E-D-G-E that I am always dying to add, and it was all thanks to Tevin. As he would say... Thanks my dude!

To check out more of his merchandise, go to www.tevin-vinent.com. I can promise you that you won't regret it!

 

 

Cotton H&M Blazer (Similar), White H&M Shirt (Similar), Blue Chino Shorts (Similar), Skull Bracelet (Here), Cross Bracelet (Here)

Oversized Sweaters & Shoes of Leather

After last night's unexpected thunder storm here in Stockton and the hazy weather that followed, I decided to wear an oversized sweater I found buried under other piles of clothes in my apartment. What I love about this sweater is the kind of waffle knit detail in navy and beige. But! That's not the best part of it, the best part is that I found it at a thrift store for only $2.00. Tell me that isn't a deal! As previously mentioned in a few of my other posts (Like this one), thrift shopping is great to do if you'd like to find common items for a cheaper price. This sweater resembles one that I have been eying from +American Apparel for quite some time, but could never find it in myself to spend so much on a sweater. As far as the rest of the outfit, I kept it minimal with some plain black skinny jeans and my go-to cherry red Justin rider boots with kilties. What do you all think of the outfit? Too much? Too little? Not enough? Feel free to share! 

Thrifted Clubmaster Sunglasses (Similar), Thrifted Waffle Knit Sweater (Similar), Black RSQ Skinny Jeans (Similar), Cherry Red Justin Boots (Similar)

DARE to Be Different

One thing that I love about this outfit is just how edgy it is. It's a statement without being too over the top. As a matter of fact, it's different for me because I have never worn a cap before and I do have to say, I love the way it looks! I got this cap as a gift from a brand called Extreme 80's whose line focuses solely on an 80's revival through a series of neon, retro, and gnarly designs. Now, since there has been a large resurge of vintage and retro styles, I find that many of my friends (unknowingly) are wearing clothing that revolves around a different decade. It's a nice change in fashion. Along with the whole Extreme 80's mission, there is an appearance in neon clothing for this spring and summer that X80 would be fantastic to complement. What do you think about the 80's revival? Love or hate? 

To learn more about Extreme 80's and see some of their merchandise, go to Extreme80's.com

Blue is the new Black

One thing that I'm very excited for is the extreme amount of blues that will be making its way in-store. There's already a ton of different variations of the color, but as a blue-enthusiast, I can't tell you enough how much I love it. You can wear blue with almost absolutely anything, that's why it's so perfect! Even more so than black in my opinion, because there are some things that you can't wear with black that you are able to wear with more specific shades of blue (such as chocolate brown). Furthermore, I think that blue as a color is more appealing than any other because it can be soft, gentle, bold, understated, a statement, and just pleases most people whenever its worn. Although it's associated with somberness and sadness in literature, in fashion I find that it's associated with a sort of playfulness and vibrance. For example, if you take a black and white striped shirt, it's automatically colorless and lifeless. Although the patterning of the stripes makes it a little fun, think of the shirt with royal blue stripes and the piece already has a different feel in your head.
The power of blue is incredible! The greatest thing about a trending color as opposed to a trending style is that you can find a color in any store, whereas a style is store-specific. On your right, you can see how I've recently worn it. Although the picture is a bit muddled by the lighting, you can still see the more muted shades of navy blue. My more modernly styled jacket is from a store in called Foreign Exchange (FE) and the striped shirt is from H&M. They're both some of my favorite pieces of clothing and I love the fact that I can wear them out and still be trending with the changing season's fashion. Another great part about blue is that you probably already have it in your closet in some way, shape, or form. Blue is everywhere and anywhere, and it's complemented very well by mostly every other color. Just think about it! But don't let me convince you, what do you think about it?

Wake Up and Smell the Flowers!

One thing that I can very honestly tell you is that I have never really been a big fan of floral up until recently. Why? Well, most floral prints that I have seen in the past are always a little too bright, a little too bold, and a little too much. However, the print has been done more frequently and as always, with practice comes perfect. Picture to your left are some examples of floral prints that I love. The subtlety again, as I have mentioned before with the likes of camouflage and stripes, is key. Look at the Billabong tank top on the bottom right of the image; using neutral tones and soft hues, the floral print isn't offensive in any way and may in fact be wore successfully by anyone who's willing to try it out. There are those men though who find that floral patterns are too "feminine" for them and are unwilling to try something new but if you notice the tie pictured above, you'll see that even some menswear accessories are incorporating a little spring trend. Alongside the ties, shoes are being slammed with floral prints as well, such as the unisex Doc Marten shoes pictured in the top left of the above image. Now, for those of you who ARE adventurous, I would suggest the more vibrantly colored tops, such as the Panama shirt by +Topman. Now, on your right you can see how I played around with a floral print. I was lucky enough to find these shorts at a Goodwill months ago and shortened them a bit to fit my style. Then, I paired the shorts with a simple loose-fit pocket tee from +H&M that I purchased last summer. I personally love that the shirt matches the hint of green in the leaf patterning on the shorts. I threw in some neutral browns to match the earthy feel of the shorts as well. Florals are fun to play around with and if you really are looking into trying some out, I would suggest +ASOS and TOPMAN; they're usually always keeping up with these trends way better than I am. Again, thanks for reading and have a great day! 

Invasion of the Stripes

Stripes have been found on the runway this season as one of the up and coming trends for this spring and summer. Granted, stripes have always been a trend, but I take this to mean that you will be seeing more striped products out in stores and boutiques. I'm all for it. This trend is one that I followed even before I discovered it as a trend this season. They add quite a bit of flare to an otherwise plain item. For example, a shirt is simple until you add some colorful horizontal or vertical stripes to it. Personally, I only wear horizontal stripes as a top simply because I feel like vertical stripes elongate my body's appearance and are hard to look at for a very long time. However, I love vertical stripes on shorts and pants.

They look nice, clean, and as previously mentioned, make boring pieces exciting. They're fun! And you can wear them on just about anything and look stylish. My favorite stripes items are accessories. The red tie picture above by Smith Street would look great with a white button-up and blue suit, giving a very simple look a bit of a nautical twist. Adding to the idea of flare, other accessories which look great in stripes include backpacks, shirts, and even some shoes if done properly. The boat shoes and espadrilles pictured above are examples of nicely constructed striped shoes. To you right, you can see how I personally wore stripes. I've paired my navy pinstriped shorts with a very eye-popping blue and a simple vintage brown leather belt. It's a classic look that has an added touch thanks to the patterning of the shorts. Take away the stripes and you have just another boring outfit. I don't like to mix more than one patterned detailing with outfits, so I personally wouldn't try adding another striped piece but that's just me. Feel free to mix it up and make them your own! And just as a quick style tip, I would suggest going nautical with navy blue or red stripes for this season to match that incoming summer feel. Thanks for reading and stay styling! :)

San Francisco Bliss

Today I'm just enjoying myself in the city of San Francisco with a glass of wine and a cute puppy. My outfit even to me is debatable with the color combinations, but I still think it looks nice enough to wear out. My friend told me I look like a tree stump, and he may be right! I'm wearing very earthy tones. But! I'd like you all to notice my shirt - it's cut and ripped to resemble a tribal design. Remember that post? Ethnic clothing is making its way into this seasons clothing and I'm trying to work it into my wardrobe. What do you all think? I'd love to know. Hope you're all having great weekends!