Showing posts with label advice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label advice. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

What exactly is soft grunge...?


Not sure why, but I get this question a lot. I guess because I have purple hair, I'm some sort of authority on soft grunge? I mean, okay. Not really, but whatever. Anyhow, I just want to give y'all a little explanation of the trend and some examples of things that are and aren't true soft grunge. It's a term that's thrown around pretty recklessly on the internet these days, and I just want some clarification. Hope you enjoy! Plus... there just may be a pic of a kitten at the end for a little bonus.

Here's the Urban Dictionary definition of Soft Grunge that I don't like. This is the annoying stereotype that grinds my gears.


A term generally used to describe modern-day teenagers, typically girls between the ages of 14-18, who like create a "hardcore" persona on Tumblr by reblogging pictures of inverted crosses, dip-dyed hair, ying-yang symbols and toilets. They like to pretend that they listen to grunge music by wearing stylish Nirvana tees that match their $200 pair of Doc Martens. If you were ask them who the Misfits were, they'd probably say anyone who isn't sporting spikes this season.
Noun: That purple haired girl over smoking a cigarette in the rain is sooo soft grunge.

Adjective: Check out this soft grunge blog for pictures of girls that look like zombies, cats, and zombie cats!

And here's the real story:
Grunge was a movement that originated in the 80's and 90's in the Northwest. It began with musicians such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, and The Melvins. The grunge style originally was unintentional; artists would wear the same sets of clothing day in and day out, resulting in a torn and worn out look. With the help of websites like Tumblr, grunge has evolved into something new. While some people view this style as a bit of a sellout, I just view it as an aesthetically pleasing look, regardless. Some common recurring themes I've noticed in modern soft grunge are:

Upside down crosses:

Mermaids:
Cat themed accessories:

Studs and spikes:


Vintage-y photos:

Creepers (the shoes):


Exotic, pastel hair colors with flower crowns:

Doc Martens

Random photos like these:




This picture is basically the epitome of Tumblr Soft Grunge:


Special episode of pastel grunge coming soon!!

Disclaimer: This is my view of soft grunge. You can have your own view, that's fine. I'm by no means an expert. But you probably aren't either... Just sayin'



Thursday, April 18, 2013

Business Casual With a Twist


Lovelies! I hope you've all had a delightful week and are looking forward to the weekend, I know I am! Anyways, I wanted to talk about business casual clothing today. As you may or my not know, I'm in the sorority Kappa Kappa Gamma, and we are required to wear business casual to our meetings. At first, this was a huge challenge for me because my style is just not conservative. However, I've been able to figure out some easy and classy business casual options. It's really great to know how to dress this way because if you want to be successful in any professional setting or interview, a solid business casual outfit is a must.

Firstly, I want to introduce you to the general rules of business casual:

  1. No jeans. Even colored jeans.
  2. No leggings and boots.
  3. Nothing shorter than finger tip length for skirts.
  4. Nothing too low cut.
  5. Avoid showing undergarments such as bra straps.
  6. Never wear things with lots of logos or letters.
  7. Think "professional," "appropriate," and "put together"
  8. If you would wear it to the gym or the beach, it's not business casual.
  9. If you would wear it to a club or party, it's not business casual.
  10. Platform stilettos and other sky high heels are probably not appropriate.
  11. Think classy! 

Here are some ways you can dress to impress without sacrificing your personal style!

Here's one of my favorite strategies. Find a black pencil skirt that you like and make endless outfits with it. This allows you to buy less items of clothing because once you have a pencil skirt, you can add a variety of blouses, accessories, and blazers to make it an outfit. I would recommend finding a comfortable, high waisted pencil skirt that is almost knee length. I find that peplum style blouses look the best with these; I get annoyed with tucking shirts in. Mix and match your blouses, flats, heels, and accessories and you're good to go! Add a blazer to polish your look even further!

This outfit is super simple and classy. Try a dress that has a boat neck like this one. The quality silk fabric will make you look put together and professional. Make sure to steam or iron it! The 3 inch nude heels will add length to your legs while keeping it classy. Throw on a pair of stud earrings, dangly ones look much less professional. 


Throw in a couple statement pieces like the jewelry and skirt while keeping to a similar color scheme. The golds and pinks will make you stand out in a sea of grey and black! This skirt can still show off your curves while still being appropriate for the workplace.

Hope this helps!!

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Day to Night!

Hello lovelies! We've received a request for some outfits that you can easily transition from day to night! This was a really fun thing to blog about so thanks so much for your requests! We're always open to more!


So there are a few common scenarios in which a girl mind find herself needing to make a quick change between her day to day activities and going out at night. Or, let's be real, sometimes ya just don't want to change an entire outfit just for the night. I feel ya. Here are some easy, fun solutions!


The Scenario: You're at school all day, but your girls are picking you up right after to hit the town for some casual coffee and dinner. Then it's off to a kickback! Bonus: That cutie you've been eying in Spanish class just might be there...

The Solution: Wear a cute dress that's tight and, let's not sugar coat it, shows off your assets! Of course you want to leave a bit to the imagination, so don't let it all hang out, but this patterned tank dress will be appropriate with a jacket for class but still cute enough to go out in. Pair it with some comfy boots, your book bag, and you're good to go! To make the transition, lose the jacket, boots, and bag! Swap them for some bold heels and a clutch! (you can still wear the jacket if it's cold, but take it off once you get inside) Also, add some bling! Nightlife is all about glamming it up a little more than you would during the day. Throw on some unique earrings and some gold bangles and you're ready to flirt!



The Scenario: You're running errands all day. Gotta pick up that prescription, buy your mom her birthday present, get your car's oil changed; all that jazz. It's hot out so you're wearing a sheer tank and some shorts. Since you're running around, you're wearing toms. You're hurrying out of CVS when you get a call from your friend. Emergency! She was just asked out, and her date told her to bring a friend. Double date time! She wants to know if you can be ready in 20 minutes to meet them at the restaurant. Good news! You can do it! 

The Solution: Here's the quickest fix of them all. The bare bones of the day to night outfits. All you need to change here is your shoes. My theory with fashion is that you can wear almost any outfit, throw on some killer heels and call it haute couture! Well, maybe not couture... But at least cute! Of course, you can also supplement this with a small change in makeup or hair, which I'll discuss later. One big bonus when using this method is that if you use toms or small sandals, they're small enough to throw in your bag for later. When your feet get tired at the end of the night, just pull a little switcheroo and you're golden! Your feet will thank you.


The Scenario: Let's face it. You just don't have time to change your outfit. Or maybe you don't have access to another set of clothes. However, you do have your makeup bag!

The Solution: Here's what's in your makeup bag and what to do with it:

Use these gentle and natural towelettes to take away all the smudges and damage done to your makeup and skin during the course of the day. Make sure to catch that stray eyeliner and mascara under your eyes! This gives you a fresher look and feel for the rest of the evening. 

Chances are you've been busy during the day, and you've been sweating. You want to shine this evening for sure, but you don't want your skin to! Use these oil blotting sheets to soak up the oils your skin has secreted during the day.

I prefer tinted lip balm over lip gloss because it gives a more natural look without being sticky or gooey. When I think of kissable lips, I think of lips that don't look like they're covered in an abnormally colored goo that's sure to get all over the place. Also, a tinted lip balm will give an extra kick or "oomph!" to your outfit. If you're feeling bold, try a pop of color that will moisturize while you wear it!

Make sure to touch up your mascara to make those eyes pop! I often don't wear mascara during the day, so this makes a huge difference for me.

I like pencils like this because it's a 2 in 1! You can add some depth to your eyes with the same tool you use to frame your face with your eyebrows. It's unreal how big of a difference bold brows make. Think about my favorite model, Cara Delevigne. She's gorgeous! And her bold brows only accentuate her face. Also, to make your eyes stand out a bit more, place some of the color in your waterline and just under your lower lash line towards the outer corners of your eyes. This will create a mini cat eye effect which is subtle but sultry!


I really hope this helped! Have a wonderful weekend, lovelies!

Friday, March 22, 2013

The Airport Test


Hello lovelies!! I hope you all are enjoying yourselves on spring break!! I just started mine yesterday! Woo hop! Anyways, getting home was a bit of an ordeal for me... Let's just say I spent 12 hours in the airports and in the air and I had to run through the Phoenix airport from one side literally to the other. Full sprint. Carrying two bags and ski boots. Long story short, I spent 12 hours traveling in my Jeffrey Campbell Lita Espanas. They were incredibly comfortable! I couldn't believe it! Actually, I could because Jeffrey's are the best shoes in the world... But I'd say that after 12 hours of walking, waiting, running, airplane foot swelling, and what not they passed the travel test!

I can't recommend these shoes highly enough. They're super comfortable and worth the extra $$$.

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

purple hair don't care

So last thursday I was feeling a little rebellious, and I'd been thinking about dying my hair purple for a while. So... we did it! We went to Sally Beauty supply and picked up some semi-permanant hair dye.

Here's the dye we used. I used the "Violet" shade in the middle. It's a cool color. 
I was going for a lavender type look, and we started off using the dye without diluting it... Bad plan. Not only would we not have enough dye to finish all of my hair, but it would have turned out SO purple!! So only the bottom layer of my hair is extremely purple, which actually gives it a cool ombre look. After we decided to dilute the dye with some water, it went much better. 

Here's what the dye looked like in the mason jar we were using. Yes, I definitely recommend using more professional tools than a jar and hands... haha.

We were a little frightened...

But it turned out alright!

This picture shows how purple it really is.

This one does not. It really is much more purple than this picture makes it look. But I'm sure I'll have ashy/gray hair for a while. That'll be cool I hope!

#purplehairdontcare

Overall, here's what we learned:
  • Put some more thought into dying your hair than simply going and buying dye. Think of the other things you'll need such as a brush to put the dye on with.
  • Dilute it if you want a less vibrant color.
  • Do it in the shower so you don't get the mess everywhere!
  • Don't be scared, just go for it!! It's hair. Seriously, if somebody really has a problem with my hair being purple, they clearly care too much!

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

The Perfect First Date Look!

Hello Lovelies! Even though my love life is falling to shambles, I'm sure that not all of yours are so here are some date dress ideas. I hope that all your love lives are filled with unicorns and rainbows!! If you're stressing about what to wear if your special honey bunny is planning on taking you out tomorrow never fear! Here are some cute ideas for a couple different outfits depending on the type of date. Much love!!

This is a great dress. It would be super flattering on many different body types, and it could either be dressed down with some casual sandals or dressed up with cute heels!



This dress is a great look for a daytime date or maybe a concert. Throw a cute cardi and some flats on and you're golden!

I LOVE This dress! It's so great for a dinner date with that quirky guy who will appreciate your unique sense of stye.

Meeting the parents? Going to brunch? Fancy dinner? This dress is fun but still somewhat conservative with the high neckline and cap sleeves. Throw a statement necklace and some kitten heels on and you're ready to go.

Okay, I realize that probably 1% of you would wear this dress but I'm literally in LOVE with it... My style can be pretty edgy, and this is both edgy and sexy. The perfect combo for an evening with that bad boy.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

be happy!

I know that this is a fashion blog... But I've been going through a bit of a rough week, and I know that a lot of other people are too. With midterms, and spring break coming up, life is a little stressful for us all right now. So to take a little break from the fashion, I just thought I'd throw in a post about happiness! Just to brighten all you lovelies' days! (And mine of course, haha)

Here is a list of things that should bring a smile to your pretty face. :)

1. Laugh a little! Here are a couple silly videos that are guaranteed to incite a giggle:

2. Sleep!! Studies show that a solid 8 hours of sleep has countless benefits such as:
  • An increased ability for creativity!
  • Less stress!
  • Increased attention span!
  • Natural depression medication!
3.  Listen to some happy tunes! Sometimes you've gotta admit that a little T-Swift or Katy Perry action can seriously help with the blues.

4. Make a list and prioritize. If you're stressing about that essay that's due on Friday, your midterm on Wednesday, and whatever else, make a list of all the things you've got to get done. Itemize your tasks in order of their importance to you right now. For example, you need to finish studying for your test on Wednesday before you can totally focus on the essay that's due on Friday. Check off things on your list once you complete them to not only get that satisfaction of achieving your goals but also keep track of your progress.

5. Go for a walk! You'd be amazed how much better you can feel after taking a quick jaunt outside. The fresh air can relax you and give you some time to get a new perspective on your life. As a bonus, walking and other forms of exercise release endorphins which are the body's natural antidepressant. These neurotransmitters put you in a good mood automatically, so get out there and be active!

6. Count your blessings. Make a mental, or paper, list of all the things you're thankful for. Even if it seems like everything is going wrong, it isn't! Take a moment to recognize and be thankful for all the good things in your life. Even though your man just dumped you, you're homesick, stressed about classes, it's all good when you realize what you really have going for you. You have friends, family, dogs, cats, cool shoes, good weather, yummy food, good tea, and whatever else going for you! When the s#%t hits the fan, I always like to say "Well, at least nobody's shooting at me!" It really puts things into perspective. If you're reading this, that means you have access to the internet, which automatically makes you better off than a good percentage of the global population. 

7. Clichés are sometimes true. It really does get better with time, there really are more fish in the sea, and practice really does make perfect!

8. Kittens








9. Puppies






10. Baby Sloths






Best of all: